# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  1890s Miner's Cottage Reno

## shauck

Hi all. Thought I'd make a record of what we've been up to with our little miners cottage. Will post pics of before, during and after. 
We live in Hepburn Springs, Vic (next door to Daylesford) which is a very popular tourist town about an hour and a half west of Melbourne.  
Last November (09), my partner and I bought possibly the smallest 1890s miners cottage in town, on half an acre, right in town. The living/kitchen area is a little under 6m x 3m and two bedrooms are a little under 3m x 3m each. The bathroom is 3m x 3m. Very "cosy".  
There is presently no driveway so everything we've done so far is hard physical work. Materials carried in and demolished materials carried out.  
We are both women, although I am pretty strong and can handle the hard work and Tanya, my partner is a trooper which equals the same thing. 
I have done a little carpentry (some of my apprenticeship) and now am doing cabinetry work for a company in Ballarat as I couldn't find a local chippy to take me on (female, 41 years old). Have had a go at plastering and a few other things so will pretty much do anything and everything myself (Not electrical/plumbing as don't want fallback if something goes wrong. I like to know insurance will pay at the end of the day) 
Ok.... so far 
When we moved in we had a lot of tidying up to do, inside and out. Many ute loads of rubbish as the property was not well presented for sale. Oh well. Money in our pockets really. 
The house didn't have a real kitchen. It was basically a ratty old bench, topped with cement sheet, painted silver with a very old, rusting, cast iron enamelled sink. Also a wood stove, recessed into the wall which has a very old tin chimney attached to the wall. very quaint when seen from the outside of the house.  
The floorboards are baltic pine that had, until we uncovered them, never seen the light of day. They were covered by manky lino and carpet. Under the lino was newspaper dating back to 1927. We kept a few pages of course. 
The floor sanding guy needed more joists put in before he could sand them as they were spaced at about a metre so I got under there and used some timber I found at the tip that was meant for under house storage shelving. Problem solved in a few hours and he came back and did the floors.  
Yay. We were underway. 
To get a working kitchen we brought in assorted temporary furniture and then proceeded to gut the living/kitchen area. The ply board had to come off and the framework had to be modified to be ready for plastering.  
We widened the front door opening and put in a nice colonial style, hardwood door with upper glass panels. We stared at the door for weeks proclaiming our love. 
The bedroom door openings had to be moved and made larger as they were built for midgets.  
The wall where the fireplace is was a catastrophe. The stud work had old termite damage. Thankfully termites were long gone. The only stud that went top to bottom plate was the corner. Even some of the top and bottom plate was eaten. We pulled the wall carefully apart, without props (crazy hey, but it was fine) and I rebuilt it in place.  
I battened out the ceiling without having to remove the existing one and still have 2.7m high ceiling. Cool.  
Insulated. 
Then the plastering.... 
Hard to live amongst all this chaos, let me just say that. 
As it's an old house and nothing is square or plumb or level, everything is difficult but with persistence the plastering was completed and the house was prepared for a kitchen.  
As I work for a cabinetry firm who give all their staff cost price, well then that's where the kitchen was coming from. 
I came up with the design for a full wall kitchen and had it cut out on the cnc machine at work. The boss kindly allowed me to put it all together after hours (early starts and late finishes).  
I also used some vic ash floor boards that I had tucked away and glued and screwed and clamped them to a chipboard base. After that, sanded sealed and ployeurethaned it. It came up very nice.  
I had a little experience in installing but not a lot and so around this time I was sent out on installations at work. Perfect timing. Maybe the boss new it would help me??  Got the cabinets home and installed over a couple of days. 
Took a while for the glass splashback (a bit of a splurge for us) to happen but now it's all in and is fantastic. So nice to have a kitchen after not having one for about 6 months. 
I must say, if you are considering a small kitchen like ours, put drawers in all your base cabinets, including the sink cabinet and run the trap outside. You would be amazed at the functionality of it. Can't emphasise this point enough. 
Ok, so. Painted and almost finished except for skirting boards and hanging doors (will be external sliding). 
At the start of winter, things got slow at work and being casual they asked if I could use time off, any other work out there I could do for a week or two? I went to the bank, topped up the personal loan and asked for 4 weeks off. This turned into 5. All good.  
I began the process all over again but on the bedrooms this time and full time not weekend style. Had to get it done in the short time I had. It gets cold up here, a few degrees cooler tha Melbourne. 
Basically gutted the rooms and removed the wall between them. Then took out the windows (tiny) and rebuilt the back wall of the house to take a large colonial window in one room and double doors in the other.  
The dividing wall was rebuilt to take a little space from each room but giving each a built in wardrobe. They are small but the space saving of storage is absolutely needed here.  
Had to batten out the ceiling...again. Lots of stud work to do.....again. Plastering...again. Nothing straight...again. You get the idea. 
Still have to finish skirts and archs and put doors on wardrobes but hey, that's not much. 
The double doors will lead onto a deck that I plan to build before Christmas. First a driveway will be put in and we are presently planning that. No way will I be carrying anymore building materials down that slope.  
Today we'll be cutting a few trees down, close to the back of the house (make room for that deck) and having a big bonfire (beers of course) 
I will be back with more as it progresses. 
Love this site and all who contribute.  
Cheers, Su.

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## phillta

Phew! I'm exhausted just reading it Su - great job. 
The splashback looks fanstastic - what is it exactly? Is it coloured glass or clear glass over something else? 
Cheers
Tim

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## shauck

> Phew! I'm exhausted just reading it Su - great job. 
> The splashback looks fanstastic - what is it exactly? Is it coloured glass or clear glass over something else? 
> Cheers
> Tim

  
Thanks phillta. I'm exhausted too sometimes. That was the short version. I figured i'd wait till I'd done a fair bit before starting the thread and I'm glad coz as you know keeping up to date with posts is hard when you have no time to scratch yourself and the details in replying can get quite, well... detailed. 
It's a bit like having a baby (haven't had one but I rekon...), once you've done it, you forget the pain and just appreciate the results. 
We struggled to get the property and ended up having to go through two lenders. One a private lender charging wicked interest. That has now been turned around after very recent negotiations and re-valuation. Awesome for us and big relief. Foot in the door is all you need (and some hard work and research). Got a lot from this site and other google-ing. 
Any way.   
The splashback is glass but not starfire (low iron). Just plain hardened glass. We risked going for the cheaper glass as we were really running out of money at the time. Fortunately for us the colour we had chosen was a reasonably dark green. If you go for lighter colours, they will not end up looking the same unless you get starfire or similar. White for example will come up a faint green or blueish colour when using normal glass. 
We had the glass cut and hardened and then took it to a furniture finisher who painted the back of it for us. All up the two pieces cost about 600 bucks. That's half the cost of my cabinets. 
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

Well that was one mammoth effort. 
Saturday afternoon was spent with a friend Vern and his son Bob and Tanya removing a few trees that were leaning towards the back of the house and as such not really wanted. Another smaller tree that was in the area where the driveway will be also had to come out and the wood pile next to it, stacked in an corrugated iron tank had to be relocated as well. 
 A few hairy moments as I pulled on branches and trunks with a rope to direct their fall. While Bob was up a ladder with an extension handle and chainsaw. 
Lots of dragging branches and wheelbarrowing sections of trunks to the burnpile which was quite a spectacular bonfire by the end. 
Happy not to have found any present termites amongst the felled trees. This area apparently has been rife with them in the past according to the guy who will be excavating the driveway. 
Spent Sunday afternoon "helping" Vern on his property, dig up about 150 small oaks for relocation. This was done in the rain and with the use of a bobcat with a small bucket. The ground was very wet and they came out well with the root balls in tact all ready to be separated.  
Nice. I will probably get myself a couple of those for our place. He also has some beautiful redwoods that I just love and hope to transplant at least one of them as well.  
Vern will also help me collect some boulders and large rocks to be used for retaining walls in some places in the garden and in relation to the battering of the driveway.  
I will likely be using some old railway steel that Vern has for retaining wall posts and use perhaps some 200x100 timber where I need walls rather than boulders. Really want those walls to work as our block is sloping and if they end up over a metre then I'll definitely be going with timber that size. 
Will post some pics when I find the camera of where the drive will be and what we'll be doing with the landscape. 
Just a little background. I met Vern when I moved up here about five years ago. He is born and bred here and has the most amazing property with a small woodmill and bush buildings scattered around. There were more but due to an unfortunate fire some have been lost along with a stone hut and a huge shed which housed some amazing machinery including a Lister engine. It used to power everything. He has a lot of cool stuff collected over the years from carting steel for scrap etc. Some of this I used to help him do when I worked for him. A very interesting man. It was while working with him and another local woman that I chose carpentry and pursued that.   
Ok. Off to work now...

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## Vin

I like industrious folks and you are no exception, top stuff. It makes one feel good doing things themselves. good onya!

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## shauck

Thank's Vin.  
Everything means so much more when you do it yourself. We feel so happy with our little house and sometimes can't believe that we are actually doing this. 
Sometimes it gets to you though. Like when we hung the doors in the second bedroom. 
As the rooms are so small, I decided to make them out swinging. The back wall had to be finished very quickly. We almost got there in one day but as it got dark we stopped and boarded up the door jamb opening with some demolished ply from the walls. The next day, a very, very windy day. Tanya out on the ladder (floor height is at chest height from the back yard ground level) supporting the door on the edge of the ladder, trying to stop it from blowing away while I tried to hang them. We both got very worked up and would have given up if was an option but we persisted. They can use some adjustment but I'll do that when there is a deck to stand on out there 
Just a few more pics. 
The first pic shows a split tree. The left side was taken down as it leant back to the house.  
The second pic shows a tree at the right which also leant towards the house and was taken down.  
The third pic shows where the driveway will be at the left of house. You can't see the tree that had to be cut down or the wood pile that had to be moved in this pic. They are more forward in the yard.  
The last pic shows where the drive will end next to the back of the  house.  
We will also remove garden beds in front of house and level it out about 4m forward. An L shaped retaining wall (looking from the verandah of house) at the left and front of house, leaving the right side open to allow cars to turn around. This will be gravel area at first. The drive will be ashphalt. Don't want any failing gravel driveway. 
I think I'll have the back deck return around the house next to the driveway. Not sure yet as I want to use under the deck space for storage by cutting the ground level lower and putting a reverse roof made of tin under the joists and creating a room there. The deck design with return may cut off access from under deck to drive so if I can squeeze steps in there as well....Not sure yet. Will talk to Brian Williams who is the man in all things of the excavation variety. Not the only guy but considered the best around here. 
The country way is still alive and well. To make arrangements with Brian, I could have gottten his phone number and called him but it was recommended that I go knock on his door after 5ish and introduce myself. So I did. Greeted by two lovely,older ladies and a little dog. Brian was in the shower and would be out in a minute. Shook hands, explained what I was after and straight in the car before it got too dark, we went to our place and he took a look at the job. Got to love that.  
More soon, Su.

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## namtrak

Thats a great read - good luck with it all!!

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## shauck

Thanks Namtrak. Trying to keep it interesting.  
Su.

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## shauck

Not much to report this week. I had a bit of a lazy weekend. Meant to finish some of the architraves in the bedrooms but had a slack attack instead.  
We did go and look at some rocks. We hope to use them for structural purposes in the garden when the driveway gets excavated.  
They are lying all in a row against Vern's property fence line and have been there for years. They belong to the farmer next door to him so I will have to track him down and ask if I can take some. There are plenty of huge rocks! It'll take some big machinery to move them but Brian has all that.  
Very excited if this pans out. Excited about rocks, yes. 
More soon, Su.

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## shauck

A little more progress yesterday. 
I arranged a day off work as it is a bit quiet there at the moment and I can get more done here without working all weekend.  
Wanted to finish all the architraves and did so except for a few as the local hardware store ran out of the materials I am using.  
The bedroom doors that join with the kitchen/living area will be external sliding doors and so the doorways are now ready, with the tracks in place. I was going to use some second hand doors that I'd bought on Ebay but I've changed my mind and will cut some newies at work this week. I may use a laminate or maybe some chunky marine ply. Wonder if that'll warp?? Maybe I'll laminate some hardwood, horizontally, to some not so chunky marine ply which would give a modern look to the doors. Tanya would love that the most but it isn't necessarily fool proof. Worry about this warping too.   
What do you all reckon? 
Su.

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## shauck

Thought I'd post some pics of the "bathroom/laundry". It's a project for down the track, after driveway and deck. Seeing as it functions, we aren't in a hurry and feel the cash is best spent on things we don't have at all. It has been cold in there through the winter but that's ok. 
The first pic shows the front wall of bathroom. It's on the left side of the the house. This wall is in bad shape and will be rebuilt. Probably because the tin roof has no overhang and the side of the chimney forms part of the wall but isn't flashed properly or anything.  
I think I'll rebuild the wall a little further in to the room so that when I remove the existing wall, there will be an overhang and eaves. Will lose a little space this way but It's 3x3m and by making the laundry european style, should be able to use the space well. 
The whole room will have to be re-cladded as it's cement sheet with gaps between them and well that's not cool.  
The floor is pretty rough and various levels of concrete. That'll have to be topped with a new layer and while doing that maybe form the shower area into the floor.  
It's a shed basically that was turned into a bathroom. Sorta country camping style.  
The next pic shows the toilet divider wall and how the washing machine doesn't fit into any space so just sits out there.  
Next pic is obviously the toilet. Definitely will be replaced someday. 
Next pic is vanity basin and very dodgy window, looking onto the back of the property. The shower is to the left and the toilet is to the right. 
When renovated, I'll put a door out to the back and onto the deck so visitors can go straight into the bathroom and not through the bedroom all the time. 
Next pic shows The door in from the bedroom and dodgy flat pack laundry cupboard we scored from someone. I think that because they start out flat pack, they're always trying to get back there.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  Useful for now. 
Anyway it's driveway, landscaping and deck that are taking up the next bursts of energy and cash. Plenty of time later to dread not having a bathroom, during some future, warmer months. 
Su.

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## watson

*I think that because they start out flat pack, they're always trying to get back there. * Gotta be the quote of the week!

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## shauck

Yeah. Ta, Watson. It just came to me  :Biggrin:  
Su.

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## shauck

Well... Although my list of to do's is more outdoor oriented at the moment, I did deviate a little, last Friday. I had some old doors that I can't really use and rather than let them deteriorate, I pulled them apart and salvaged the timber. Our fireplace is looking naked without a mantle and it needs a bit of a tidy up (see pic).  
The guy who sold me the doors said they are blackwood (ehh??) Very heavy timber and cleaned up real well. Took them into work (which, by the way, I lost my job yesterday. Not enough work and I'm the casual. Bites real hard) and thicknessed and cut to size.  
Had to laminate two of the rails together that had been thicknessed down to about 25mm each. This is for the mantle piece. Then I used another upright piece from the middle section of the door to fix to the front edge of the mantle so you don't see that it's not a chunky slab. 
I used two rails from another door for the outer uprights that will frame the fireplace and another for under the mantlepiece,for support and looks. 
Since then I've given it all some thought and think I might render or tile the face of the fireplace to bring it out flush with the plaster wall. This may eliminate the timber frame aspect of the mantle and just go with the horizontal mantle piece alone. At the moment the brick face is uneven and sits back 25mm to 5mm from the wall/plaster, in places.  
Have to fix the base of the fireplace too as it is pretty average. Better find some bricks. 
My friend who welds and is also a woman by the way (lots of women in interesting work up this way), will fix a steel edge around the inside about 100mm wide that will sit flush with the plaster and give something for the render to meet up with. Or tiling. She'll also fit a piece of steel plate to the back of the fireplace eliminating the need to renovate that and give good reflective heat.  
Some pics of the mantle at it's raw stage and of the fireplace and chucked in a couple of the architraves I did recently.

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## Bloss

Ripper job  :2thumbsup:  - satisfyin' ain't it! If hellish to live through!

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## shauck

Thanks Bloss. It is sooo satisfying. We love this house and it's been the best thing for us. Living amongst the reno has been trying at times but I make the effort to keep it tidy as we go. This makes it possible to relax at the end of the day.  
When we did the bedrooms, I would pack up the bed every morning and the clothes and put them in the living room on top of the other bed and after tidy up in the afternoon I would put the bed and clothes back into place. Every day for 5 weeks. If you accept rearrangement and clean up as part of the job at hand, you don't get so stressed by it all. Tanya would come home and the place didn't look like a work site and that was important. 
Even tho I lost my job I still feel ok because we have this. I survived on odd jobs and govt handouts before this. This time I'm a little more worried because I really don't want to go back the dole office so I'm hoping to generate all my own income or find another job that builds on what I already have done (carpentry, kitchens, etc). Try to keep the wolf from the door.  
One good thing is I'll be able to be around for the driveway construction which will hopefully make that process go smoother. There's a fair bit to organise and it's hard to do that when your working full time and don't have hardly a moment in your day to make a phone call even.  
Can't wait for that driveway.  
Su.

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## Bloss

Do that reno work a bit more and use this site as support and I reckon you'd survive doing handyperson jobs. Plenty of opportunities - many of whom would be more comfortable with a woman coming into their home to help too - although your talent & skills would see you through regardless of gender!  :Biggrin:

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## shauck

Thanks again for your encouragement Bloss. I have to just get over it and get on with it.  
Back to fireplace... 
Have removed the base of the fireplace. It may well have been two full rows of bricks, on their side. The center, where the fire laid was concave and I suspect the bricks had deteriorated over time. I couldn't tell if the bricks had been mortared or just laid in sand but they came out pretty easily with minimal crow bar use. 
Acquired some bricks off my good friend Vern who had a pile of red solids. We also discussed the physics of fireplaces a bit so as to try to understand why ours may be letting a little smoke in the room.  
I had hoped that by rebuilding the base to two full rows, raising the area where the fire sat, we might conquer the problem. Lit a fire with the new base (not mortared in yet) and still a bit of smoke.  
Now I'm wondering if getting it cleaned (fair bit of build up in the chimney) will solve the rest of the problem. A chimney sweep is coming by next Saturday to take a look and we'll go from there. 
Assuming it fixes the problem, next step will be to render or more likely, tile the outside and have my friend Nik who is a welder (also a woman) place a sheet of steel against the back wall of the inside of the fireplace. Also a 100mm wide piece of steel to edge the inside, frontmost bricks, to meet neatly with the tiled face.  
Then I can get to fixing the mantle piece in place, the fun part.  
I'll be getting help with the tiling on this one. Usually I just go for it but I really want to make sure this is real nice. We'll be looking at it all the time. 
Any input on making this fireplace work better would be much appreciated. 
The first pic is of the fireplace with the bricks removed and then of the sand or mortar dust remaining. Then of the pile of old bricks and then the new bricks. Last is of the new bricks in place. 
Su.

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## Bedford

Might be some help here.  :Smilie:   Successful fireplaces in tight houses

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## shauck

> Might be some help here.   Successful fireplaces in tight houses

  Thanks Bedford. Great link and even though I don't fully understand everything, I get some of it. I was surprised to see conflicting advise on other sites. Perhaps older information.  
Our fireplace is external which is likely one cause of the problem. Short of building a room around it, not sure how to fix that. I still wonder if building the base up a bit more and making the opening smaller, will help? Will try this as I have access to more bricks and can always remove them. 
Waiting on the chimney sweep guy to come over. Hopefully today. 
One thing I did find on an American site was an exhaust system that sits on the top of the chimney and solves the air pressure problems faced by some fireplaces. I wonder if something similar is available here? It was powered but non powered would be better...if it worked of course.

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## shauck

So. Been a while since doing anything of the reno variety. Just keeping head above water, finding bits of work about. Did get asked back to my old job and so will start again on Monday. That was a surprise! 
Thank God, the restructuring of our two separate mortgage loans into one, with a cash top up has finally come through. Yay  :brava: This means we can start on the driveway, as soon as the weather improves. Today it is raining with such intent. 
As soon as the drive is finished, I'll be starting on the deck. Hoping I will find a way to make the money stretch that far. 
At least there's money coming in again. Phew! 
Su.

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## shauck

Well it's been a while since last post. Glad to be reporting on some progress.  
It has taken some patience to sit out the wet weather. Lots of it. We even had snow one morning a week or so ago.  
The earth moving equipment came yesterday and began changing the whole world. Amazing what the big equipment can do in a day.  
Many loads of fill in and several loads of tree stumps and garden beds out. Loads of soil moved about from one place to another.  
48m2 area in front of house removed out of the hill to give a flat area in front and the driveway running down the side of the house also shaped to use this front area as a turning spot. The retaining wall will be about 1.3m high. That'll be my job. 
I already have my timber to build the subframe of the deck. It's waiting down the road at my neighbour's place until I can get it on the property. Couple of days. 
Only down side was, couldn't dig the ground lower behind the house to allow for a shed under the deck as there was a solid reef of rock and just can't afford to change that. 
So by the end of the day, the majority of it was done and I parked on our property for the first time ever. Tanya said it looks like a new building site but with an old house on it.  
Today will be placing a few rocks and rolling the fill and bringing in the gravel.  
My advise to anyone handling a job this size... get someone who has the bigger equipment. Amazing results! 
I'll post some pics this evening showing the progress.  
Yay. A driveway!! 
Cheers, Su.

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## Black Cat

Great news Su, bad weather can really bring things to a grinding halt can't it (but then, I find good weather quite distracting too - so many things to do in the garden, lol). Looking forward to the photos ...

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## seriph1

very nice work folks .... Love Miner's Cottages

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## shauck

Thanks Black Cat and seriph1.  
We love miners cottages too.  
The weather had forced an exercise in patience which always does one good. hmm. Now that it's done, I have to repair the garden a bit... ehh, small issue. Hard to not stop and sit and have a beer.  
Several locals stopped in to admire the work and one guy told us how he had done some work on the roof for the elderly lady who used to own the house. It's nice showing people like this what you've done since they last saw it. Really makes it worthwhile. 
I was out on the road a fair bit, stopping traffic as loads came in and others went out. 
Lots of watching the guys do what they do, really well. Anyone in this area... Brian Williams is the guy to see. 
We started at about 7am yesterday and stopped about 3pm, then about 7am today till lunch time. All done!! So quick.  
Once I get the the post holes dug and filled with concrete, I'll get the ashphalt guy in to lay some hot mix. Was suggested to wait till all the trucks and so on are gone before laying the hot mix. Makes sense. 
Will get stuck into the setting out of post holes tomorrow for the retaining walls and the deck.  
This place has gone from a half acre bush block to a real house block. We are so stoked!! 
Ok... Pics

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## Bedford

Looks great Su, lucky he didn't let one of those toblerones get away down the hill. :Smilie:

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## shauck

> Looks great Su, lucky he didn't let one of those toblerones get away down the hill.

  Thanks Bedford. 
Yes, that would have been bad. I stood well out of the way including away from the house at times. 
He brought the truck down in front of the house and nudged them out onto the ground in a pile and then picked them up one by one,placing them. The truck then needed a bit of a nudge to get round the bend and back up the drive.  
I wish I could drive that equipment like they do> 
Cheers, Su.

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## sundancewfs

Love that roller!
and it shows that when your doing a job, how much better the result, when you  use big machinery matched to the task.

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## Black Cat

Love big earth-moving gear ... what are you planning to use for a retaining wall? More boulders would look good if you can get them locally. 
One of the greatest pleasures of doing up an old house in a rural area is the constant flow of visits from locals who share stories about the previous occupants and can give you a picture of how they lived there. I also have endless vehicles slowing down and taking photos out the front which can be a little disconcerting, but I sometimes go out and speak to them and invite them in for a look around.

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## shauck

Yes Sundancefws the big machines do such an awesome job,especially in the hands of experienced guys. When standing near the roller vibrating, the whole ground shakes. Like a mini earthquake and the result was a hard flat surface. Brian says you can't get a good result without one.  
Blackcat, we haveheard a few stories about life here before us. Lots of the neighbours have lived here all their lives and love to tell good stories over a cold beer. I'm looking forward to meeting one of the sons of the lady who owned the house. He was pretty sad for the house to leave the family and we hope that he'll feel happy that we love the house so much and have been restoring it. 
I set out most of my post holes for the retaining wall which will be 200x100 sleepers and 200x50 or 75 for the whales. No more rocks at this stage. I tried to get some beauties but failed to get them here. Too late now as moving rocks like that cause a lot of mess to the ground while placing them so sleepers it is. Most of the retaining wall post hole will be about 1.3 deep and 350mm diameter.  
I'll set the posts on a batter and dig a ditch behind them that goes from left side of house out to the left side of the long wall and then to the right and then across back to the house and down the hill. All this on a progressive down slope.  
There will be a short wall along the right edge of the drive and a sloping path to the right of that, down to the back yard and the deck return to the right of that. 
The end of the drive will have a short wall too and this will line up with the last post of the short one along the edge of the drive. 
I've marked out most of the holes to be dug and spoke to Daylesford Engineering (Col) who'll dig them for me. Just the row along the back of the deck to be set out. They may be difficult to dig as there's a bit of rock there. Oh well. That'll have to wait for the weekend as I'm off to work today and tomorrow.  
Weekend tasks (both of us working together) 
Clean up edges of driveway and whack them
clean up grass areas that have been disturbed and are now dirt
define front garden bed
finish set out of post holes
bring timber from down the road and restack out the back near where deck will be
maybe attach bearers to house - should I dress the bearers and joists (cypress macroparpa)??

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## shauck

So that was a lot of rain last weekend and fortunately the driveway didn't suffer too much. Me however, that's another story. Very anxious.  
Managed to get all the post holes set out for the deck and the retaining walls just before the rain bucketed down. A little bit of the front area caved and fell on my setting out so I had to clear that up and re set those post holes.  
Tanya had yesterday off work (cup day) and cleaned up the edge of the drive so I could give it another whack and Brian (excavator) came and checked the drive to make sure all was ok.  
He reckons the rain is great for settling it in. and it will set hard as a rock. No need to rush on laying down the hot mix. 
He handed over the bill .... We can breathe again. Well under budget, bless him. Looks like we just might scrape in with the rest of the plans.  
Should be digging post holes on Friday, weather permitting and getting posts positioned over weekend, ready for concrete as soon as have another day free. Maybe following friday unless I take a day off work. 
Lots to do 
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

A little more progress.  
Ran about all Friday morning when I realised my source for sleepers didn't include 200x100 for the posts that I needed this weekend. Tried a few places in Ballarat and eventually decided to go with steel posts. Nik my welding friend put me on to wendouree machinery in Norman Rd Wendouree. Robert is his name and he has a huge yard full of used steel. Managed to get 7-8mm thick steel H beams for $22/m. A lot more than I would have spent on posts but worth the peace of mind and looks great.  
Got them home on the ute (over 600kg) and quickly adjusted the set out of the post holes. Didn't change the spacing although I suppose I could have gone to 1500 instead of 1200 that it is.  
Had two guys, one with a crane truck to dig most of the holes and another guy with a smaller vehicle (not sure what you call it) digging the less accessible holes for deck along the back of the house.  
I followed the crane and raked the dirt back as he dug the deeper holes but wasn't quick enough with some of the others as they were both digging holes at the same time at one point. Went back after and cleaned out all the holes. 34 holes dug all up. Phew, tired.  
There's a bit of rock in the holes out the back so he couldn't get through them all. I had to hire a jackhammer Saturday morning and finish them off as best I could.  
We (Tanya, Nik and I) got all the steel in for the front retaining wall and put a bag of rapid set concrete in each hole as we went. Beers in between of course. Very professional. Was a bit unhappy with one hole as it was a good 25mm out from the rest and it was impossible to widen it all the way to the bottom. I leant it back just a little. 
I worked out a method for fixing the stirrups over the holes for the deck posts.  
I dropped a plumb bob down from the string line and set up hurdles and another string line at nearly ground level. Then joined two long pieces of timber together and fixed that to hurdles, in line with the string line. This is the same thickness ans my bearers so I will fix my stirrups to the inside edge of this, plumb as possible and spaced as planned. This way when the time comes to pour concrete, I'll be able to do it on my own and there'll be no worries about adjusting and fiddling about. 
Today we'll finish messing about with the stirrups and getting them all good and go get some sleepers for post holes for small retaining wall and guard rail fence at end of driveway. We'll set them in place and brace them all ready for the concrete pour next friday 
I'll put some pics up this evening. 
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

Didn't quite finish all I needed to on Sunday but got the stirrups fixed in place and have the sleepers for the driveway end guard rail/fence and the short retaining wall for alon side of drive. Just need to cut them and prop them in the holes.  
Found one stirrup wouldn't go in it's hole as the rock is still a bit in the way. May have to modify the stirrup or get something different for that hole.  
All that jack hammering has left my right elbow a bit inflamed but back to work this morning and hope for some mercy there. Don't think I can lift the big cabinets today. 
With the stirrups I easily got them level in one one direction but because there is a bit of twist in the prop timber it's just about impossible to get them plumb in the other plane of direction.  
Question for you... 
Do you guys reckon there'll be a bit of flex to the stirrup so when fixing the joists to the outside bearer I can pull the posts plumb?? Hoping this will be okay 
Some pics.

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## shauck

A little more progress with the concrete being poured. 
Was very happy that the truck could pour straight into the majority of the holes. This meant not having to barrow so much and made it all go by quickly.  
Also the guy who delivered the concrete offered to pour the holes at the back where the access was a little difficult. He took pity on me and my slightly sub average barrow. He did this while I tidied up each hole.  
Help arrived just as we were finishing up which was fine as it's better when friends don't have to do too much and just get to check out how things are developing.  
Made it in time for the concrete to harden enough before all that crazy rain came. Pools of water where I don't want them but will get to making trenches and hopefully finish the walls next weekend. Big ask. 
All round, pretty happy that stage is over. Soon it'll be deck time. 
Su.

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## shauck

Spent Thursday and Friday digging ditches. The one behind the main retaining wall, the small retaining wall beside the driveway and another along the side of the house that runs under the deck parallel to the driveway. 
The hardest was the main wall. Very hard clay and piles of old soggy clay from the post holes to manouver around not to mention getting in behind the steel posts with a mattock. Took nearly a whole day just for that one. One of those jobs you wish you didn't have to do but must do. 
Laid some aggie pipe and wrapped it in geo fabric and back filled with scoria then replaced the lawn section where it runs past the house and off down the hill.  
Did the same with the other ditches. and tidied up a bit.  
Saturday, started on prep for the sleeper whales. Had a pack delivered from my neighbour Col. He has a crazy three wheeled fork lift. Awesome thing. 
Drilled holes in the steel posts for the bottom row of whales to be bolted in place. 
My welding friend Nik said to use a lubricant to assist the drilling and it worked a treat. 
couldn't find anything to open the pack with (steel straps). Got out the angle grinder and cut them with that.  
Stupid me didn't know what was going to happen next and had half a dozen sleepers fall on my leg which caused me to freak out a bit and really hurt. bruising, grazing, swelling. No work for the rest of the day. Very lucky I didn't break anything. 
Felt well enough to get back into it on Sunday. Started with the bottom row, levelling and bolting the sleepers into place while Tanya backfilled with scoria.  
Measuring cutting and placing a couple of more rows on each section as she ran out of scoria and steam. Hot day out there yesterday.  
Couldn't get any more scoria as everything was shut by then so went on to do the bottom row of the guard rail fence at the end of the driveway and got a bit of that done before calling it a day. I'll try to do a bit more scoria tonight after work. 
Bit disappointed it's not finished yet but setbacks are part of it all and just lucky to get away with a fright and a bit of bruising.  
Note to self: Don't stand in front of a pack of sleepers when cutting the straps.  :Doh:  
It's all starting to look good tho.

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## shauck

Rain... my new enemy. It has caused a bit of an erosion issue which will  have to be properly addressed in due course. Still working on exactly  how that will work but it's pretty important that it gets done right.  
Thursday's and Saturday's rain stopped work but Friday and Sunday were good. The retaining walls and guard rail/fence are pretty much finished.  
A tiny bit of back filling and putting up some mesh behind the guard rail so our dog, noodle can eventually reclaim the back yard. At present she has to go next door during the day when we are both at work. It's great when I'm working about the house so she can just hang out here.  
Overall pretty happy with what we've got done so far. 
Pics, yay! 
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

Of course.. forgot to mention that all the ends of posts still need to be cut down flush with horizontals. Bob my friend will bring a wrecking saw for cutting the steel and turn it into an instructional day for SES staff. That'll be great.  
Cheers, Su.

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## sundancewfs

Great job Su!  :2thumbsup:  Looks great.

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## shauck

Ta Sundancewfs.

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## shauck

Had all the piles of dirt and clay and rocks removed yesterday. We've been tracking mud everywhere for a few weeks now. Then had a couple of meters of tuscan topping delivered. Bit of raking and shoveling to spread it out and back and forward many times with the ute to pack it down.This worked a treat. Used a rake to whack it were the car couldn't get to it. Got the hose on it a little bit (figured I'd beat the rain for once) and all is neat and tidy in front of the house. Love neat and tidy.

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## shauck

Well...The rain has come in torrential force to undo my work yesterday. It looks like I can't put off getting the driveway ashphalted and really need to concentrate on drainage before it gets any worse. Absolutely gutted. Have posted on the landscaping section and hope to find some good advise there. Really need to fix this properly. 
Not so cheery, Su.

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## Smergen

I hear your pain Su. We're in the Marsh and we've had the same rain and it has cause mudslides in my backyard, washed away my gravel drive and caused a retaining wall to do a 'Pisa' impersonation. The runoff from the development site was the main cause so the site manager is going to 'help us out'. So I was hoping you could enlighten me with:
a) Where'd you get your Tuscan mix from? I should ashphalt my drive as well, but its in the back yard and I'd rather not as the gravel is nicer for the kids. 
b) Your retaining wall looks great. Are the sleepers just slotted into the metal i-beams (posts)? Where'd you get the posts?
c) Recommend any type of drainage or sheeting behind the wall? 
Good luck with the rest of your work, I've loved watching your little cottage evolve. If I'm passing through Dayles I'll try and keep an eye out for it.

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## shauck

Oh Smergen, You put me to shame for all my complaining about the erosion. Your situation is not great and at least my walls are still standing and the driveway is still there. It's fantastic that they will help fix the problem. Make sure they do it well. 
In answer to your questions.. 
a. Tuscan topping came from a local Daylesford landscaping supplies. It was 80 bucks a cubic meter. We will ashphalt because of the steepness and gravel will erode and cause slipping. Especially with my ute's back wheels. I prefer gravel too but don't reckon it's an option for us.  
b. Thanks, we like the retaining wall. Yes the sleepers are held in place by the back fill (scoria) and top soil. The bottom row is bolted to the posts so they will stay level and hold everything together. The rest are just cut and placed on top of each other and back filled as you go. You could bolt them all but that's a lot of drilling and bolts aren't cheap. 
The posts were a bargain. Very chunky steel, second hand but perfectly straight. I think they were $27 a lineal meter. They came from Wendouree Machinery and Sales in Wendouree, a suburb of Ballarat 
c. I dug a shallow ditch before putting the sleepers in place just below their level and behind them. In this I placed an aggie pipe that drained from high to low point and out past the house.  
We have used geo-fabric but I'm wondering if my strange logic may be wrong. I decided to wrap the pipe as usual and then instead of laying the fabric against the wall side, I laid it against the dirt/clay side to protect the scoria and then back over the top of the scoria.  
Wondering if this will mean water won't enter through the membrane into the backfill and drain away fast enough??!! Will it cause pressure??!! Anyone? 
If you pass through Daylesford towards Hepburn Springs you will see it on the right. If you see my ute, stop in for a beer or a coffee, depending on the time of day. Love an impromptu visit. 
Cheers, Su.

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## Smergen

Thanks for the detailed reply Su. 
We'll get through our hiccup no problem. The roof is still on (although with the storms coming... who knows) so we're better off than some. 
a) Good to hear, I was expecting the ~$100 kind of cost. Hopefully our local guy can source it as well. Currently wondering if we should get it tarmac put in. I reckon we could ask the guys over the back in the development if they could do it whilst they lay down the road. Not much work for them, could be very quick and easy for us. I worry about the heat of it though.
b) Hmm... I really like those posts. Will see what I can find. I know Wendouree as well, my grandmother lives there.
c) In regards to your concern with membrane over the scoria, I reckon it might cause a few issues. Depends on the amount of rain I suppose. If it's not too wet the water will have time to get through, but if it's like it is at the moment, it might cause a bit of pressure build up. But I'm just guessing. Some wiser people on here will know more. 
Not often passing through that way, but if I'm ever doing the 'rat to 'go run, I'll keep a look out for sure.

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## shauck

I can't imagine worrying about the heat just yet when all I worry about is the rain. There's always a down and up side to every choice though. I'm going with the hot mix as I've seen what the rain can do to gravel on a steep drive. I'll have to live with the heat. 
Are you going to build the retaining wall yourself? 
Get the posts. They are exciting. Also strong and will last a long time. We plumbed them And tapped them into the hole a bit with a sledgie  and dropped one bag of rapid set concrete in each hole as we went. I think only one of them moved a bit but with careful attention with the level while it sets, you shouldn't have a problem. This made the concrete pour easy. 
If you want sleepers, mine came from a neighbour who has a huge shed full. $17 each 190-200 x 50 ish about 2.7-2.8m long. You can go through the packs and select as some are not great.  
Ok, hope to see you sometime. 
Cheers, Su.

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## Smergen

Yeah I was planning on having a crack at the wall myself. Just reading up about it and how I should go about it. 
Going to be a Xmas job whilst we try and offload the kids to the folks. 
How are you stopping the non-bolted sleepers from moving around in the beam, or are you planning on having the back fill exert the pressure that keeps them flush against the front side? 
What type of wood are those sleepers, as $17 each looks like a bit of a bargain to me. The only thing I've got to consider is the cost getting them from Dayles to the Marsh. Hmm... 
Here's a shot of the water coming through the wall, and the site needing a rebuild....

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## shauck

Ok. so after all advise (posted in another part of the forum and a friend who is a landscaper John Clifford)  I have now gone to the council and gotten  permission to access the storm water at the end of our property. ($55  and a small amount of paperwork). 
I called a guy with a dingo, Darren Ross and he will come with a trencher and will dig that for me.  
I will pick up the pipe and several silt pits today in preparation for this some time later next week.  
I will put a silt pit at the corner of the house, where the spoon drain  terminates and run a pipe under the path to a linear drain  crossing the end of the path. 
 Another silt pit in the corner of the end of the driveway (where the  retaining wall and guard rail fence meet) will catch water that drains  along another spoon drain running down the other side of the driveway  and across the bottom. This will join with the pipe that runs from the  linear drain off down the left side of the property and into the storm  water drain. 
I figure I should make some inspection points along the pipe so it can be flushed out if necessary. 
I feel much better now that a plan is in action.  
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

Glad your having a go yourself Smergen. It's hard work but great feeling. 
That's a lot of water coming through!! Will they be stopping that from happening in the future before you rebuild your wall?? I suspect this is important.  
Yes, the sleepers are held in place by the back fill and soil. At the moment the top sleeper is still loose as I haven't enough soil yet. Will get a couple of meters from Sonia's (local garden supply) 
I wonder if the posts in your existing wall are a bit small? Hard to tell. If you use Sleepers then you probably want 200x75 for any substantial height wall, which is what I used for the horizontal whales. I think earlier in a post I said they were 200x50 but actually that's not right. They are 200x75.  
I've found some good references on line and could dig them out if you aren't able to find good info.  
Basically whatever teh height of the wall is, the post should be that far under the ground as well. If say 1m high then the post hole should be 1m deep plus a footing under the post if you want to be really proper about it.  
If you get over a meter, then the post hole is an extra 200mm deeper than the height of the wall. I didn't do this. I just tried to equal the depth to the height.  
My wall is over engineered in the spacing of the posts as I was originally going to use 200x75 red gum sleepers (yes, those $17 sleepers are red gum). I'm happy with that as I cheated slightly on the depth. I aimed for around 1200mm spacing. I wasn't too particular about placing them perfectly or making sure the guy dug them exactly spaced. 
If you are building a shorter wall, and using steel posts you could probably space them a little further apart but find out good info first as I am no expert. 
Col could deliver them for you as he is always in the truck going places. Would still recommend selecting them first though. 
Cheers, Su.

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## Smergen

Thanks Su. Some great advice there. I might stop hijacking your Go To Whoa and start a thread in the retaining walls section. 
I've got a bit of thinking to do it seems. 
And yep, those posts are way undersized, no doubt about it.

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## shauck

Just a little mention of my Dad's recent work.  
He built a verandah off the side of the living room and has sent me some pics. He built the two story extension many years ago with mostly hand tools (not the bricks or slab but everything else).  
He is my inspiration. At 72 years old to still be getting out there and building things. 
Cheers, Su.

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## sundancewfs

Ahhhhh! Now we see where the daughter gets it from!  :Biggrin:

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## shauck

> Ahhhhh! Now we see where the daughter gets it from!

  Hee hee. Yeah, chip of the old block. (not so old....sorry Dad) 
He's a fitter and turner by trade so never had any building experience except for just having a go and has done some incredible stuff. Building a stair case, etc.  
Early on in his attempts to construct things, he made some drawers and being that he was used to the perfection of working with metal, he made it so perfect that the drawer had no room to move. He had his own sort of learning curve to deal with.

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## shauck

Finally, some progress on the deck! 
Since last Thursday I've been working on the deck. I have put aside the driveway and drainage for a bit as I have to wait for the ditch to be dug down along the property to the storm water drain and the asphalt to be laid.  
Hopefully that will happen some time soon after Christmas. I'm off work till the 10th of Jan and in that time hope to finish the deck, see the asphalt on the driveway in, put the drainage in place, build a side fence to keep the dog in the back yard and hang some doors for a local couple.  
Ok. So, the deck is coming along nicely. I have most of the posts, bearers and some of the joists in place and it's starting to look quite grand.  
It's been a bit of a process and I've had to deal with a house that isn't straight and am happy that all is relatively level and square and all that. Some of the posts are a little bowed and I'll deal with that when I get to the handrail stage but for know, I'm pretty stoked to be at this stage.  
Today I'll be picking up the Cypress (135x21mm) decking from Ferntree Gully, a bit of a hike but glad to have it finally. (Not White Cypress but Cupressus Macrocarpa) 
Then tomorrow I'll finish putting in the joists along the back of the house and then finish the return that runs along the side of the house.  
There is an old tin fireplace on the outside of the wall that will have  to stay there for the time being and so the last 3m of the return will  have to be finished when I weatherboard the house in a year or so. I'll  work around it for the time being. 
Stop for Christmas and Boxing Day. Food, drinks, barbie and family and friends.  
Hopefully nice weather. 
Some pics of drainage layout and of deck progress.  
Cheers, Su.

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## shauck

Got the rest of the joists in yesterday. Just have to finish the return along the side of the house and I'll be ready to lay the decking boards.

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## sundancewfs

Looks good Su.
Where did you get your decking boards from?

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## shauck

Thanks. We're pretty happy so far. 
I got all the timber through Sustainable Cypress macrocarpa framing timber (Rod). I think he has several sources. 
The structural timber came delivered by Jedwood Timber who turned out to be the mill that actually cut the stuff and they (Geoff Mabin & Sari Anderson) told me that they would be selling direct to public now and gave me their card. They are in Driffield. Just googled that and it's near Morwell. I have a phone number if you can't find it. 
The decking I picked up myself from Ferntree Gully but that's not where it was milled. I'm not sure who milled it but it may have been Jedwood Timber. 
It went through a moulding machine there. That was Premier Wood Machining 1A Dempster St. 
I reckon try Jedwood Timber as I reckon it will be cheaper than I got it as it's direct from the mill. I paid $6.55LM for 135x21

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## shauck

The weather has been great. Not a drop of rain in sight. Hat and sunscreen weather. 
Been plodding away at the decking. Left the first couple of rows off as I will have to fit the boards around the posts and I'm trying to have the deck usable for New Year. Almost there. Will probably get it done by end of today, excepting the first couple of boards. Maybe they'll be done tomorrow if I don't have a break. 
Even unfinished, we've already sat up there and had an afternoon beer. It's like being in the tree tops. Lovely.

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## shauck

So Christmas and New Year have passed us by, yet again. Was very happy to have a few friends sitting on the deck, new years eve. It wasn't finished but the decking was down except for the edge pieces.  
After a rest on new years day I got to finishing the edge of the decking which took a bit of fiddling about with the jig saw. I also constructed and finished the return that goes down the side of the house but only half way. I can't finish it all the way until I replace weather boards and remove the tin fireplace from the wall. Anyone interested in this for their own use? Would be awesome for a bush block campsite or something and even has a wood stove. Free to anyone who safely removes it with me. 
Very satisfying to cut all the ends of the decking off. 
I've been busy working on the handrails over the last few days. Filled the recycle bin with wood shavings and saw dust from the prepping of the timber. This took me a whole day.  
The next day I checked out the posts for the bottom rail brackets. and fitted them and the rails. 
Yesterday I cut off excess posts and notched out all my housing joins ready for the midrails and installed nearly all of those. Three cut and ready to go with a little adjustment to the housing joins. 
I could get out there and finish them but today, I'm doing nothing. Rest before back to work on Monday.  
Very happy with the results so far. I tend to try to hurry up a bit and get as much done as possible in a day and so sometimes my work isn't perfect but hey if I tried to do everything perfect, I'd still be putting the posts up. It has taken me about three weeks so far and I'd say another few days of bits and pieces should do it.  
I'll go out in a minute and take some pics and attach them. I'll even show you my imperfect stuff.

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## Smergen

Nice one Su... that is going to be one awesome deck! I love the railing work, that's some fine work. 
You gotta a pic of that fireplace? Doubt I'll need one, but it could be a nice upgrade for the shed. Perhaps.  :Smilie:

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## shauck

> Nice one Su... that is going to be one awesome deck! I love the railing work, that's some fine work. 
> You gotta a pic of that fireplace? Doubt I'll need one, but it could be a nice upgrade for the shed. Perhaps.

  Ta Smergen. After the top hand rail goes in, Nik my welding mate is going to help me frame up flat bar steel for the ballustrades. The flat bar will be on edge so as to create better view. Can't wait for that. Very excited to see how it will look. 
I'll take a pic of fireplace this afternoon and post it. It's very rustic looking and would be a shame if no-one used it.

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## shauck

Here's a couple of pics of the tin fireplace. Rustic, as I said. 
When I get to replacing the weatherboards which ought to be sooner but probably a bit later, this would be a good time to remove the fireplace.  
There's a wood stove in there too. I just pushed it back and took the doors off to get it flush inside the stud framing and plastered it in to the wall.  
Should be a fun exercise getting it out... 
That's also when I'll finish the return of the deck, up to the front of the house.

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## Smergen

Thats a decent fireplace right there Su... Bit too big for my needs though... 
Rain continues to fill the 'Mud Mine'...

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## shauck

Perhaps we should all be building swimming pools. 
No worries with the fireplace. Someone will want it.

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## Bloss

Deck's looking great - couple of comments: a) maybe it's just the pic angles but that top rail looks low to me (must be 1m minimum) and b) before you finally fix the top rail into those slots you should protect the end grain in the slots at the bottom especially. If it were me I'd actually put in a little bit of flashing too (even a piece of builders plastic or damp course would help - ) as that is an ideal spot for moisture to collect and cause problems. But really is a lovely deck.  :2thumbsup:

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## shauck

Thanks Bloss. Pretty happy with how it looks and feels. Pretty sturdy and a great addition to such a small house.  
The handrails will definitely be 1m. Wanted to put the top handrail on this weekend but after a whole week of rain, I'm wondering if I should let the joins dry out a bit before I do this?  
I had thought about putting a piece of plastic damp proof course on top of each post and using exterior wood putty in any gaps.  
What else could I use to seal them from the weather? The slots in the tall posts where the top hand rail goes - a bit of silicone on the end grain?

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## Bloss

Silicone on the end grain works well, but care so that it doesn't stop any later protective finish from adhering. A bit of damp course just cut in so it sits up a little at the side and hangs a 3-4mm over the end under the rail (so it can't be seen too) allows water to be diverted from the joint. Depends what your final finish is - if it is paint then filling with an external filler, primer or a three coats of good primer-less acrylic will be good protection. If you plan on leaving it a natural timber colour using oils or similar then you will need more care and more regular re-coats too.

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## shauck

I will be oiling the deck when I get the chance. Hopefully not too far away. That makes me think that wood filler may not be the right thing to use to fill any of the vertical gaps where the midrail slots into the posts. Unsure if oiling will protect the filler. What do you think? 
I did use some exterior grade silicone sealant on the tops of all the posts and the top of the housing joints where the hand rail will slot into the post.  
Unfortunately my handrail is the same size as the post (125mm) and because the handrails and posts were not all uniform in size (one post was 135mm!!), some posts are going to have to be buzzed a little to avoid end grain of posts showing.  
I forgot that I had ordered 125mm. I have no idea where my head was when I ordered the hand rail materials and thought they should be the same size as the posts. I really should have made them overhang. Perhaps down the track I will replace them when I'm short of something to do (yeah right). For now, I'll persist with them. 
I did get the bracing done yesterday, both vertical and horizontal. With the vertical bracing, I crossed two bays instead of one, at each end and both sides. The horizontal bracing is a double x. I used tensioners on all of it and 30mm x 0.8mm strap as this was all that was left at the local hardware store and travelling an hour and half round trip into Ballarat is not worth the trouble just to get something slightly smaller and cheaper. 
I may get to the handrails today but first I have to try and finish the side fence so that the dog can be left at home when we go to work. I'm sure she misses her own yard and wonders why she has to go next door.

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## Bloss

Fillers and oils aren't always compatible - in fact usually not. But some are - so you need to read the info on the finish you intend using to see what fillers it can be used over.

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## shauck

Cool. I'll do that when I buy some.  
So I cracked on and built the side fence and blocked off the underneath side of the deck so the dog can stay home tomorrow. 
Will cut the tops of posts next week and the gate, I cut down from a taller one which will need one piece welded on the top edge of the hinged part that bolts to the post. 
I could only put big coach screws in the top and bottom hinge bracket due to the rails but put a bolt right through the middle hinge bracket. Hopefully wont get any sagging or pulling off the hinges. Hate that.

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## Bloss

Boy you don't mess about - that all looks great!  :brava:  Just looking back at your initial post - except I am no longer in the game (well getting paid for it anyway - still manage to do plenty of jobs in addition to my day job!), and I am not where you are, I'd take you onto my team!  :2thumbsup:

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## shauck

That's quite a compliment. Thank you.  
I get to create work for myself here and that satisfies my urge to build but working with someone and being paid for it would be my ultimate choice. I hope that after I'm close to finished on my own house, this will happen. 
I really need more experience on building from start to finish so that when I do an addition to the house, I will be able to do all of it, with confidence. That would be great. 
In the mean time, cabinetry assembly is not too bad either.

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## shauck

Yay! I can stop waking up, all through the night, thinking about the handrail and if I'm going to be able to pull it straight enough to work.  
Yesterday I mucked about with clamps and the handrails to work out how much each post needed to be planed and sanded so that the top of each post was slightly smaller than the hand rail.  
About 3mm average off each front and back of every post. The verandah posts I wanted flush with the handrail, which reminded me why I bought same size handrail as the posts. Sometimes I forget my own thought process. 
The clamps worked fine and it's all in place with a few small gaps to fill, some due to joins pulling apart a little after clamping further along the handrail and some due to my typically rushed effort to get it all done before the heat took all the moisture out of me. 
I am now wondering if the wood glue and sawdust method is compatible to oiling the deck and also will it seal the joins watertight? I suppose I will work that out when I buy the oil. 
Will have to invite Nik over to measure up for the flat steel ballusters...and a beer of course. 
Couple of handrail pics.

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## Bloss

Wood glue & sawdust should work well enough so long as you used one of the cross linked polymer glues suitable for external use like Selleys Aquadhere Exterior .

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## shauck

Thanks Bloss. I like the idea of using sawdust and glue. It gives a good match. Blends in better. The dust bag in my sander has an abundance of the stuff so I may as well use it.

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## Smergen

Hey Su, been a little quiet on here... You found some more work or perhaps even taking a well deserved break?

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## shauck

Hi Smergen.  
I've been mostly keeping up with the grass which grows as soon as you turn your back. Pulled about thirty rocks out of the front lawn so I don't have to mow carefully around them anymore. When we moved in here, it took me about three days to mow the whole property and it didn't take long for me to totally trash one mower. Last week it took me about 4 hours. Still rough on the mower down the back of the block but much better.  
Also been sidetracked by some bi-fold doors for someone else which keeps getting delayed by rain or some thing or other. It seems to want to rain on Fridays, my day off. (I do believe it's raining right now) 
I've been trying to get a decent quote for the driveway to be asphalted. So far the quotes have varied quite a bit but one guy, Bob, may want to do a contra deal. A kitchen for him and a driveway for us. That would be fantastic and bring the cost down considerably.  
I might go get some doors for our bedrooms today, if the rain stops. Can't transport them in the ute if it's raining. Or I may laze about and read and have an afternoon nap.
Probably not though.  
Cheers, Su

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## Annie_s

hi su, just read thru your thread with interest.  You have really turned that place around!!!  The drive does look fab, did Brian Williams do it?  I only ask because I'm getting my old home (creswick) restumped atm, and they have arranged for B.W. to leave a big bin to take all my rubbish away!  They all seem to know each other up here, like you say, a country thing! 
I'll be watching your next project!

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## shauck

Hi Annie. Yes, Brian did do the excavation work here. Good guy. Not the cheapest but boy he can get the work done efficiently.  
We are making arrangements with another local guy to asphalt the driveway. He will do my driveway and I'll build him a kitchen. This will bring the cost down for me considerably.  
After this week I have a month off work (quiet period) or possibly more if I take on a project. They are pretty flexible with me. Looking for other work around to keep me occupied and cashed up. I wish I could use this time to weatherboard the house but finances say no to that at the moment. 
I finally hung some sliding doors for the bedrooms last week. Solid timber veneer cheapies from B***. One of them is warped. Not happy but will leave it and replace it down the track. 
I hope to clean and oil the deck by this weekend, weather permitting. Maybe paint the double doors and window at the back of the house.  
We decided to give a clear finish to all other trim in the house as we are getting used to it and quite like it. Soon, I hope. 
I also decided to dig the trench for drainage down the side of the property. Sometimes you have more time than money. About 80m all up and a couple of silt pits to go in as well as a linear drain. This will take care of water run off from the driveway, especially when it's asphalted. I have dug about 20m so far and will get back to it over the next couple of weeks.  
Always a long list of things to do. Oh well.

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## Bloss

> He will do my driveway and I'll build him a kitchen.

  That's one of the things I miss about small town life . . .  :Frown:

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## shauck

Yes. Small towns have their good points. I'm a bit unhappy with the manager at work though as he seems to be in two minds as to whether I can get the kitchen at cost price and run it through the CNC. He says the deal is for "not for profit" and I said I was told I could do one or two a year. (Just how many kitchens and bathrooms can one house need anyway). I also said, it would mean not having to borrow 8,000 bucks off my Dad.  If he says no, I really have very little holding me there anymore. I'm keen to move on and get into a building oriented job.

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## shauck

I asked the boss yesterday what his verdict was on the kitchen and he said yes, as a flat pack. Meaning I can't assemble at work. This is fine. The only down side is I don't have a brad nailer so will have to fiddle a bit more to get everything perfect and will have to set up a work bench somewhere. This is a big relief.

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## shauck

Have been delayed by weather and a painting job starting today. The deck can wait another week for cleaning and oiling. I could have cleaned it but wouldn't have had time to oil it so... 
I decided to start digging the trench instead and have spent about 6 hours so far and have dug about 45m of it. Not too hard to dig. Some small roots and rocks. I did come across one larger root that will have to be cut and when burning off weather is better, will cut that tree down (well, Bob my friend will cut it down). 
I started the trench not at the beginning where silt pits and linear drain will be but further down as I still have to determine the height of these with the guy who'll do the asphalt. When I get to the end of the block, where the storm water drain is, I'll get him in for a quick chat and finish off the rest.

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## motleymanor

Very inspiring work Su. Have really enjoyed reading everything you have done so far. Keep the comments & pics coming. It gives me more courage to tackle even bigger jobs at my place (when my partner picks up a hammer, I get really nervous on what he's about to destroy)  :Smilie:

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## shauck

Thanks motleymanor. It does come down to a bit of bravery and a lot of researching. I reckon anyone can do it if they apply themselves.  
Have been pretty busy working for other people lately and have booked myself a few days here to get the deck oiled. We gave it good scrub with napisan yesterday and a lot of gunk came up. I will probably oil it today or tomorrow and then finish digging the trench for storm water. Still waiting on the guy to asphalt the driveway. He's on country time  :Smilie:  
then I have a house to paint. That'll keep me busy for a few weeks.

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## shauck

Just a quick post to show how our deck came up. 
Cleaned it as per method in "cleaning and oiling deck" post, on Saturday morning. Freaked out  because it was forecast for rain the next day which I didn't check on  til after cleaning deck. 
Seeing as it didn't rain on Sunday afternoon, I decided to ignore the  further rain forecast for Monday and went out there in the morning and  started oiling the deck.  
I opened the tin (Intergrain, Nature's Timber Oil) and realised it was  merbau tint. Had to waste the next two hours driving in to Ballarat and  back to exchange it for natural.  
Handrails and posts took the most time. It was an overcast day but not  cold so pretty good conditions as long as it didn't rain. It took a  couple of hours to get through the whole thing and Ten Litres almost  finished one coat. Went to the local hardware store and bought another 4  Litres (all they had). Finished off what was left, had lunch and a beer  and about three hours later did a second coat on top handrail, bearer  faces and the decking boards. That used up the rest of the oil. 
So, the timber is Golden Cypress and It was starting to silver up a bit and go quite blonde. You can see from the pic that shows the top of a verandah post that will be cut later when the time comes. 
There was a little rain over night and it all seems to be fine. Water beading. No blotches or anything.

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## shauck

Finally reached the storm water pit with my trench. 60m of digging a bit at a time.  
Amazed that I only have one significant tree root to cut through. That tree will probably have to be cut down in the future. The last 10m passed very close to two trees, one of which is quite big and no roots but lots of rock so had to break it all up as I went. Perhaps the rock discouraged roots??  
Anyway, now I have to work out how to break into the pit. The trench is slightly lower than the height of the lid but I can deepen it to go through the concrete that surrounds the pit and come through the wall of it.  
Any ideas? Maybe I'll get some help with this one.

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## Bloss

Diamond hole cutter will do the job - but probably best to get someone in with the right gear.

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## shauck

That's an idea. A friend of mine said to drill a circle of holes and tap it out. For this, we have the gear to do it. Sound good?

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## Bedford

That will do it Su, at the worst you might find a bit of reo. 
Cut that out of the way with an angle grinder or bolt cutters if they'll reach it, if not you could use a hacksaw blade to start then break it off.  :Smilie:

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## shauck

Nice.

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## shauck

We spent last Saturday putting in a garden bed above the front retaining wall. Bout time.  
It was a bit of digging to loosen up the dirt and pull all the grass out. 
Trip to the tip with the grass.  
Then the exciting visit to Wombat nursery in Daylesford where we scanned all the plants and made a selection. We were going for mostly hardy and frost resistant with combo of pink and white flowers. Also mostly low growing plants.  
Then took them home, went back out and got a half meter of soil and half meter of bush mulch. Mixed some stuff (forget what it's called) into the garden bed where it's a bit clayish.  
Then in went the plants and on went the mulch.  
Couldn't be happier. We both were so pleased to finally clean up the front a bit. I think it cost us about 750 bucks all up with plants, soil and mulch. A bargain.  
On Sunday we planted three birch along the neighbouring fence line and an aspen in the front yard. That's in one of the photo's below. We originally were going to plant the birches in a group but realised the power line and the water pipe messed up any good configuration.

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## shauck

Finally had a guy come look at doing the asphalt for the driveway. Seems like the other guy who wanted a kitchen is a no go. Just never got back to me. Any way am happy it'll get done soon. Hopefully a couple of weeks. 
So. Back to the drainage.  
Spent Friday and Saturday constructing a sleeper path edge to go down the side of the house and return along the back edge of the deck. I'd like to be able to push a wheel barrow up here so most of the path, the sloping part, will be asphalt and where it meets the corner of the deck, it'll change to gravel and flatten out. This is where one of the few silt pits will be.  
Then I dug the ditch that joins up the silt pit to the ditch that I had dug recently down the side of the property. Today I'll dig two more. One that runs under the path. and comes from a silt pit at the front corner of the house. Another ditch that comes down the right side of the path (from a silt pit in corner of driveway) behind the stepped sleepers. It's all been giving me a bit of a headache, trying to make sure I get everything at the right level and position.  
Anyway. While I was doing this, Tanya was picking up rocks in part of the back yard, that had been there since the excavation of the driveway and all that blasted rain a while back which caused some erosion. It will make for easier mowing. She's also moving a pile of rocks (collected over time) down to the bottom boundary and building a low stacked stone wall. Had to put them somewhere and this seemed the best place. I think this pile will take her a while.

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## Smergen

Great work Su... Love how it's coming together for you.

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## shauck

Thanks Smergen. Good to see you're back to the wall, no pun intended. Reckon once you finish the first row, the rest is pretty quick.  
I started joining up the pipes yesterday, starting from the downpipes at the back of the house. I ran a pipe along the ground, and back wall of the house, beneath the deck, to the side path and down to the silt pit. Then across the property to the long ditch that runs down the edge of the property. I misjudged how much concrete I needed for the silt pit and will have to wait for the hardware shop to open (holidays!) so I can finish that off but I'll go on and finish digging the ditch up to the front of the house today and dig for the silt pit. Then one more hole for the silt pit for the bottom corner of the driveway and a ditch joining up to pipes lower down. It's been fun joining all the pipes. Less than fun digging all the ditches tho. 
I had a problem getting one of the elbow joins lined up properly. I had already glued the elbow in and then found I couldn't get the next pipe to join it. So I cut it off and grabbed another 45 deg elbow connected everything, turning the elbow to suit the situation so I knew it would work and then penciled a line on the join, like you would do when you mark timber for a biscuit join. This way I knew exactly the angle to connect everything up once glued. I love how the more stuff you do over time, you find that what applies to one situation can be useful in another.  
Cutting the holes in the silt pit was easy, just using pilot holes and a jigsaw. Also used an angle grinder to cut the pipes at correct lengths. Tried a hack saw at first and found that too tedious. Hope I'm not wrecking my angle grinder with the plastic dust!! 
Will do more today and then some pics of my first, hopefully not too bodgy plumbing. (bit bodgy cause  
i'll not be putting gravel in the ditch)

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## shauck

Got the ditch dug that runs up underneath the path to the top silt pit. Joined up the verandah down pipe and everything from lower down. Started to fill the ditch back up and then realised should take some pics of my pipes before I covered them up. (pic junkie, sorry) Took some care in filling the ditch by tamping down the soil either side of the pipe with the crow bar upside down and stamping with my boots in layers. had to leave the soil away from the pits until I can get more concrete. I think I might put some fly screen over the pits and under the grate, just to keep mosquitoes out. There will always be a little water in there.  
The pit at front of house and where it runs down under path (partially covered up already)  
Where the back down pipes join the path   
Back downpipes. Might have a prob to fix here as may leak if join too loose between the adapter and the 90mm pipe. Should have cut the flange off  :Doh: . Also galvanised down pipe only 60mm and nothing to fit so just sat deep inside 65mm fittings. Not crucial if a bit of overflow.  
The path silt pit 
Where pipe that leaves path silt pit, will join up to bottom of driveway. Not dug yet. 
Same pipe that goes off down the property to stormwater drain  
Ok. that's just too much about drainage. I'll just quietly finish it now.

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## Smergen

> Thanks Smergen. Good to see you're back to the wall, no pun intended. Reckon once you finish the first row, the rest is pretty quick.

  Very nice pun. The wall is defintely up and running as my latest post shows. And I hope you are right with the first row, as it is now down... 
And nice plumbing work indeed...

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## shauck

Thank you. Time will tell if the plumbing is good. Yeah, the first row is a fiddle about to get it level. The rest just sit on top and the only thing that will make it take longer is if you bother to bolt them. Personally if I don't have to do something...

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## shauck

Got all the trenches dug and pits concreted in. The hole through the storm water drain. All pipes glued and joined and backfilled some of the trenches. Just the 60m trench to backfill now. Oh boy.

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## shauck

Back with a little more progress to report. Finished filling in those ditches ages ago. Not too hard a job in the end. The great news is.... the driveway has been asphalted!! woo hoo. It's so great to have it done. It only took 6 months! I would have liked the top part of the driveway to have been edged at the time but we just couldn't afford the extra so I'll have to think of a way to finish that later. Still deliberating how to go about it. 
Won't be much to report for a while. Still building a house in Basalt, not far from here. Really enjoying that.

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## sundancewfs

Wow Su! Looks like a grand avenue now. You know..... There are no rules about doing two "go to whoas" ....
Basalt? Building a house? Sounds interesting......

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## shauck

Thanks Sundance. I reckon we could land a plane on it. I think it was about 230m2. Cost around $9,500 which included laying a row of brick edging on the left side and two gattock/linear drains. One at end of drive and one crossing from retaining wall to corner of verandah. Keith is a great guy and does great work. Highly recommend him if anyone's looking. 
Might do a go to whoa on Basalt.... Thinking about it.

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## shauck

Hi all. Concentrating on outside still.  
Last weekend, removed grass and dirt from side of house (hate mowing here) and transplanted it in front yard where I wanted to make a narrower edge of gravel for the driveway. It seems to be alive still (the grass). I then layed gravel at side of house (forgot to take pic). Much neater and better to walk on. 
Then I got some sleepers and offcuts of steel beams and built a platform for the bins. The driveway edge is very steep and hauling a full recycle bin (call it a "coopers green" bin) up it is tough going. I wanted a more level place for it.  
It needed to be filled so luckily we had a pile of rock and dirt under the deck return which needed to be removed anyway. This had to be dug out and hauled by wheelbarrow up the steep driveway. Me pushing and Tanya pushing me. Pretty funny to see if anyone was watching. 
This weekend, I got a few loads of Tuscan topping and edged both sides of the driveway, filled the bin platform level and put a layer under the deck return. All much neater although I probably should have put a timber edge or something along the grass. Will see how it goes and I can always change that. 
The bin platform will have to compact down a bit before it does the job properly but the tuscan topping is great stuff for that. It settles in quite hard.  
We also had a tree fall last week and that had to be removed and the other half carefully cut down around the power line. Thanks to Rob a good friend who does all the chainsaw jobs round here. So big bonfire last night. Love it.

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## Smergen

Su... fantastic stuff... love it. 
Was wondering if you could PM me through Keith's details if you think he'll do work in The Marsh. We've got a very large backyard driveway which the Boss and I have been trying to decide what to do with. It's currently just compacted crush rock with Tuscan toppings (yep, it's brilliant stuff) but it eroding reasonably quickly and we're trying to decide if when we (read I) fix the drainage, we actually consider asphalting it. Not sure we want a 'road' in our backyard, so perhaps a coloured asphalt could be in order. Not sure of the size, but I imagine it'd be comparable.

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## Roseanm

Loved reading your post. Thank you so much for sharing! I will continue to follow.

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## shauck

Sure Smergen. I'll contact him and see. "The Marsh"??  
Drainage.... Not a lot of fun.

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## shauck

Thank's Roseanm. I enjoy posting. It's part of my morning ritual, posting and reading through the forum.

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## Smergen

> Sure Smergen. I'll contact him and see. "The Marsh"??  
> Drainage.... Not a lot of fun.

  Bacchus Marsh... Drainage isn't too bad Su.  
Rule 1. Water goes down hill
Rule 2. Don't ignore Rule 1.

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## shauck

He he. Yeah, my place is all hill. Drainage sucks when you dig the tranches yourself. Nutter that I am.

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## Smergen

> He he. Yeah, my place is all hill. Drainage sucks when you dig the tranches yourself. Nutter that I am.

  You mean you can get other people to do it??

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## shauck

Imagine that. You hire a guy to come dig trenches and he/she turns up with a shovel.

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## Bloss

> Imagine that. You hire a guy to come dig trenches and he/she turns up with a shovel.

  Or just a big digger

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## shauck

He's not comin down my driveway!!!  :Shock:  Speaking of driveway, Smergen, have PM'd you Keith's number.

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## shauck

My other "bush house" project is waiting for a roof so I've been lazing about all last week. Managed to get through 4 books and spend some time concentrating on the details of my under-deck shed.  
My method of framing the walls will be a little unconventional which I'll show through pics as I go. Working out a way for the tin to go past the posts was solved finally with some good advise from a plumber friend. I came close to trashing the whole idea until running into him in the street, where he explained how to get around the problem.  
So i've ordered the timber (a local guy with small mill) and have found some reasonably priced tin and weatherboards on E**y. I was going to clad in cement sheet (painted dark) between the posts and then decking boards horizontally and spaced. I've changed all that as my deck already needs re-oiling and if I add the cladding to the regular job of it, I'll be going crazy pretty soon. Instead, I'm going to prime (oil based) and paint all the posts and rails dark (still to choose a colour) and use weatherboards instead, also painted. This will mean only the deck will need regular oiling.  
I hope that when I clean and oil the deck in the future, It wont make a mess of the paintwork??

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## shauck

Okay. So lucky for me Tanya has this week off so she and I gave the deck handrails and posts a coat of Dulux 1 Step Acrylic Primer Sealer Undercoat. Then two coats of Dulux weathershield. I go with Dulux because I have a trade account with them. Worth the trip to Ballarat if I'm buying enough paint.   
The color scheme is Western Myall (dark grey) for the posts and handrails, Linseed (light brown) for the weatherboards and White Duck Quarter for doors, trim, etc. Also using The Grey to paint a weathered fence next to the driveway.  
Must say, Was really happy with the coverage. Used  a bit less than half a 10L tin of the top coat and about a quarter of a 10L tin of undercoat. Also it was sunny and getting a wet edge impossible. It didn't seem to matter as it looks perfect. Don't know if that's the product or the color but very happy so far. 
Best of all, It's done for quite a few years. Woo Hoo.

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## Jim Carroll

Looking good. 
Must say though that last step in photo 2 & 5 is a doosy

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## shauck

Yes.  :Biggrin:  Actually, there will be a continuation of the deck. This will bring it to almost ground level in line with the front of the house. A small step. Can't do that till I re-weatherboard and remove the tin fireplace that's in the way.

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## ringtail

Looking great mate. How's the bitumen going ? How thick do they lay it on ? Nothing like paint on the handrails for easy maintenance eh

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## shauck

Cheers ringtail. Happy with the paint. I did get a couple of bubbles but hopefully won't develop more.  
The driveway is pretty good. From looking at the edge it looks like a couple of inches. I wasn't here when they laid it tho.  
There are a couple of patches that are a bit gravelly so I'm a bit concerned, especially after running into the guy who originally was going to do the drive.  
He reckons it looks great but was wondering if the stone in the mix was 7mm or larger. He told me that on a steep drive, it should be larger and that he had to re-do a job just to make sure of no future problems. That worries me a bit.  
I told Keith about the gravelly bits recently and he'll drop in at some time to check it out. It makes me uncomfortable to think he may have to fix it. Hate things going wrong for people.

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## ringtail

Ive got a fella quoting to put it under my house to cover up some pretty feral concrete. I was going to use epoxy seamless flooring but the quotes came back at over $ 100 m2 because of the prep work. I have know idea what other product I can use and the bitumen is something I had not considered, until now.

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## shauck

That's a great idea. I wish I'd thought of that for the slope under my deck.  
I've started putting the roof under the deck. The battens and a few pieces of tin are up. I'ts bloody fiddly and there are cut outs to go round the posts which I want as tight as possible so not too thick an edge of silicone. It takes a bit of maneuvering to get them in place but so far it's working. The cut out around the post means that the tin that butts behind the post needs to be modified so the water can run down the valleys and out sideways. To do this, you make a T cut in the crests and fold the crest flat, overlapping and siliconing the overlap. Then silicone up the hole it creates. Will put a proper pic of this up later but here's a pic that sort of shows how. Also here's a pdf of how I flashed the wall of the house.

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## ringtail

A lot of fiddly work for you with the tin. Many beers needed.

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## shauck

Yes. Many. Nothing new about that solution.

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## ringtail

Tried and proven

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## shauck

Finished the tin on Sunday. Here's a couple of pics showing how the tin was cut round the posts.      
I'm not convinced it'll be 100% effective as it's hard to make it perfect considering the very small pitch but have put loads of silicone to the back and sides of the posts.  
Yesterday framed between the posts. Haven't taken pics yet. A bit more framing today and then start on installing a couple of windows and a door. Maybe even get to start cladding today.

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## shauck

Short day today. Had to go do tax return. Aptly named. Getting some back, woo hoo!! 
Bit more framing and built the reveals for the two windows and installed them. Still pondering what to do with the door opening. It's too wide for one large door so I thought maybe double doors??? Opinions? I have some old floorboards that I can use to make barn style doors.  
Anyway, It's beer o'clock.

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## shauck

I had to take the cross bracing off to put the framing and window in. Can anyone see a way to reinstate? Looking at the first pic in the last posting, could I cross brace from the chunky beams of the framing up to the top and down to the bottom of the corner. I realise this would be going over the window but that's okay. Any ideas?

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## shauck

Finished most of the walls yesterday, including the wall that separates the roofed in section from the unroofed section. I didn't roof all the way as later I'll be putting a verandah over part of the deck above. The area under the deck has a wall across the long end but is open at the end still so it will be a good place for the mower, wheelbarrow, etc. 
Was intending to make door for the opening the other day, out of some stored timber flooring. As I pulled it out (sitting on the dirt, stupid me), got down to the last two pieces and termites (large intake of breath through gritted teeth). I've covered it back up and am waiting on guy to come this afternoon. Cleared everything else out from under the house and have a heavily loaded ute, waiting for the tip run. The dog had made a nest out of a partial pack of insulation. What a mess. At least I have chucked out everything I don't want anymore.  
I can see the end in sight. All my stuff neatly stored on shelves where I can get at it without crawling on my hands and knees.

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## Smergen

Any more recent progress Su? It's been a little while between drinks! Or are  you just to busy to type?

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## shauck

I'm still here, wandering about and commenting in others' conversations when I can.  
I should add a couple of pics of the inside of the shed and the bench/shelves and the timber door made of floor boards and the final paint job. I do have a few finishing touches to add. Some cement sheet along the bottom edge of the walls, on the angle of the slope. Eventually I'll find time.  
I did put some sliding fly screen doors in last weekend but other than that it's mowing season. Every two weeks, half an acre of sloping block. Every other weekend, I like to have a rest. 
I have been working full time on a renovation job for a customer and they keep adding work for me to do. Most of it is painting the outside of a high and big house. Had to buy scaffolding to do this job.  
I've also been replacing windows and doors and renovating their kitchen a bit. The kitchen is to last about a year or so until they can do a new kitchen. The cabinets and benchtops are pretty manky so I sanded back all cabinets for painting and removed one length, along one wall and packed out to 600mm so new benchtops were wider. Left the other side as it involved plumbing. Reconfigured some cabinets and replaced all the benchtops. Found 4.8m lengths of Merbau, finger jointed, for $330 on ebay. Good value, I thought. As there was a decent length left over, now they want a mobile island bench. The list keeps growing every time they pop their heads in. Great customers!  
When I finish there, I hope to spend a short time at our place doing whatever time and money permits. Then I will be helping a friend to build her house and then building another bush hut similar to the last one. There are other offers of work too but we'll see what eventuates. Got a fairly full dance card. It's great.

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## Smergen

Great to hear! It speaks volumes for the quality of your work (which is quite apparent on here) that you are getting so many requests for jobs. You should be very proud.  
Hope it all works out and I look forward to seeing some pics when you get the chance!

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## shauck

Cheers Smergen. Will get the camera out.

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## shauck

A few pics of the shed under deck painted and door made and clear coated.  
A side gate made by Nik our welder mate.  
The garden bed has taken off. May make a few alterations to it in future. Widen the front of the bed to add another row of small flowering plants of some sort as the grasses seem like they ought to not be in the front row.  
The aspen we planted in the front yard. Can't wait to see this grow big.

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## sundancewfs

That's going to be a handy little space under there Su. Does the floor stay dry?

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## shauck

It's very handy. Much better than under the house. Trying to get my drop saw out when bent over and crawling was bad for my back. Most of my tools are at work at the moment so it's a little empty right now but they all fit pretty well along the bench. The ground at the far wall gets a bit of water running past as the tin roof doesn't extend the full length of the deck and the ground slopes but most of the ground is dry. When I install cement sheet along the bottom edge of the walls, I'll trim some of the studs a bit as a few are too close to the ground. Don't want to invite termites.

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## shauck

Had to remove some broken concrete from a job I'm currently working on. They were pretty good sizes and so I decided to bring most of them home and lay a path with them.  
Surprised it only took Saturday morning to do the job. I'm no paving expert so I don't go to too much effort. All I wanted was for them to sit flush with the ground so grass can grow around the edges.  
Just dug the shapes out of the ground, left a bit of loose soil in the hole to level out the bottom and filled the edges with top soil and sometimes stuffed sods of grass back in where my cut out was a bit big. Rammed the grass and dirt around the edges with sledge hammer edge to make snug fit.  
Took all the left over soil and grass to fill a bad spot elsewhere in the front garden. I've transplanted grass before and it works pretty well. Watered everything and that was that.  
Had a huge downpour over night and was worried it might erode the soil around the paver edges but it was pretty good when I checked it in the morning. Now just have to wait for the edges to fill in with grass.  
Cost of job - nil. Yay, gotta love that.

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## shauck

Got a bit done over after boxing day. Aim was to get the deck return finished sowe had to remove the tin fireplace from the side wall first and weatherboard up the space left. This went pretty well without too much stress. Always get a bit concerned when someone has to climb on the roof and ladders near objects partially disassembled. Bit of a wuss.  
Did find a weird wall at the bottom. The bearers sit on the stumps and joists on those but the wall sits independently on the stumps and the front corner stud is separated from the bottom plate. The bottom plate and a couple of stumps were pretty stuffed so I put in a couple and an replaced the bottom plate with something a bit more chunky that ran to the same stump the front stud sits on. Also meant I could chop a bit off the bottom of the studs as they were in pretty poor condition. Bit of a "she'll do" job for now. Will access the studs again when I remove all the weatherboards down the track.  
Then spent two really hot days getting the deck return finished. As usual, could always be better but hey, I'm no perfectionist. Especially when I'm dropping sweat rapidly. Just happy to have another thing off my list.

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## Bloss

Just love your work Su - you've really made that old place into a great home. And provided some good tips and incentive for forum members too!  :brava:

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## denaria

Great paving job, Shauck, great BBQ!

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## watson

> Just love your work Su - you've really made that old place into a great home. An provided some good tips and incentive for forum members too!

   :What he said:  
Just luv it!!

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## goldie1

Nice job bet you find the new access handy. I put a ramp on the end of my deck and it made a huge differance.  
Did you find any old tins hidden in the back of the fireplace filled with gold nuggets? :Smilie:

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## shauck

Hey, thanks guys. I love doing this stuff. You've all been vital in my learning process.  
Denaria, the bbq/fireplace is pretty hot little item. I was given the cylinder as a present a few years ago and was shown a bit of welding and angle grinding so it was my first go at it. Vern, who gave it to me has a bush mill with loads of stuff lying around. I always get a bit excited by all of it.  
Goldie, I live in hope that a nugget passes through my hands. All that I found in the fireplace was an old rats nest. I've passed it on to Sally who I built the bush house for. She'll use it and the wood stove in a future hut or lean to. Glad it's going to keep being used.  
I figured that on such a steep block, we needed flat areas that are easy to access for anyone. Also the only way onto the deck was through my bedroom so now if we're out the back and people turn up they can just come right on to the deck without needing to walk through the house. The whole house is at reachable level from a ladder on flat surface so weatherboarding it will be a breeze too.  
Next job will be the verandah. Soon, I hope. Oh, and checking more stumps as some of them need replacing at the back of the house.

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## denaria

lol I'm sure it's a lot more reassuring that any visitors will not be appearing in the bedroom doorway anymore.  :Yikes2:

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## goldie1

> Goldie, I live in hope that a nugget passes through my hands. All that I found in the fireplace was an old rats nest. I've passed it on to Sally who I built the bush house for. She'll use it and the wood stove in a future hut or lean to. Glad it's going to keep being used. 
> .

  Wonder why Sally would want an old rats nest in a future hut? Must be a Victorian thing  :Biggrin:

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## shauck

It's a heritage listed rat's nest     :Biggrin:   
Would be nice if the bedroom stopped being a thoroughfare but it's the only way to the bathroom too. Ah well. Tiny houses have their drawbacks.

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## Draffa

Wonderful work, shauck. 
I notice in your recent pics that you've put the stirrups for the verandah posts with the bolt holes facing out.  Any particular reason why you did it that was instead of rotating them 90 degrees?  I've done the same as you, but my chippie told me off about it (not in a "you bloody idiot" way, but said it just meant a slightly deeper notch in the posts for the beams because you can't adjust the position of the posts themselves).

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## shauck

Not sure what you mean. I'm still waking up, slept in. My reason for doing it this way was so I could screw all the stirrups to a length of timber and have them hang in the holes ready for the concrete pour. I'll re-read this later and see if my brain understands.

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## Draffa

With the stirrups set the way you've got them (and same for me), the posts can be shifted slightly left or right along the verandah, but not outward or inward, which means they have to be dead accurate (and mine aren't quite).  My chippie said turning them 90 degrees would have been better, as that way the position of the posts could be adjusted in or out by 10mm or so if needed. 
Probable not an issue for you, as you hung them then poured, so they'd be in the right position anyway, but I poured and placed the stirrups, and put the posts up afterwards.

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## shauck

Got ya. Yeah, not too out of line in my case. I didn't hang the posts, just the stirrups, in case you were thinking that.  
I was pretty keen to make the concrete pour quick and painless as I had no other hands on job for most of it till a couple of friends turned up towards the end. I also had two retaining walls to do at the same time. One with steel posts, one with sleeper posts, all of which were set in the holes with a couple of bags of rapid set each. All up about 30 holes to fill ranging from about 600 to 1500 deep. We got it done pretty quick because of the way it was set up.  
I still found my method a bit inaccurate. Trying to get the stirrups plumb by packing one side or the other before screwing to the timber length using a level off the side of the stirrup. Being a high deck in most places with posts going through to be handrail posts and some verandah posts means a bit out at the bottom, translates to more out at the top. Also the timber I had bought was pretty bowed and I couldn't get it to pull in so I have a huge curve in the handrail in one section (the side return). Looks a bit like a ship's rail.  :Biggrin:  I would have liked it to be better but it's up and I'm happy enough for my first solo deck.

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## shauck

Bugger. Had  written a longer post but lost it. Oh well.  
Spent the last few days getting the verandah framing up. Two back walls not both inline with each other and roof levels different. Main house wall is parallel to front edge of deck/posts but bathroom wall is on a bit of an angle. It was a brain strain and took a bit to work it all out but eventually got there, not without some mistakes along the way. Should I strap ends of battens as well as the batten screws or will it be ok screwed?

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## Bloss

Su - I'd use a small triple grip or strap the battens especially the ends - and I'd put more than the single screw in each (I think I can see only a single?). In the rare high wind event it's often the ends that lift first and once that start the lot comes off - and most commonly what comes off is the roofing still attached to battens - which tells you the battens were not fastened well enough. It's a bit of extra time, but hard to do much about later and not costly. Of course nature might still do the dirty on you and trash it anyway - but in that sort of event it's mostly luck not the build quality! 
BTW - great but work as usual. If it were mine I'd 15 degree bevel off the rafter ends, but that's mostly aesthetic only (although allows water to drop off the top not run down the end grain) - and a bugger to do now they are up!

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## shauck

Just back from holidays. Cheers, Bloss. Another thing I wish I hadn't done was all my joins in the middle. I sometimes don't think of everything and then later I'm looking at it and go, OH. So you reckon two screws and a strap for ends? I would figure that there'd not be room to put timber connector nails in top of batten in that case?  
I could cut the rafters as the scaffolding is still up but I may be putting a gutter on the lower rafter ends and flashing on the high ends, at a later date so I plumb cut them. Then I may get a small tank under that side of the deck, as the shed doesn't go the full length of the deck. About a 3x3m space ranging in height, up to chest height. It's sloping, so I'd have to level it quite a bit and it's pretty rocky so building up a level platform would be the go. hmmm.

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## Bloss

Not intending to be too prescriptive Su (hard without actually seeing!) - just to say make sure it's better fixed than you might think it needs to be on those outer ends. So for example you might stay with the single screw in the battens, but use a couple of skewed screws or nails from the sides so the connector nails will work. 
So did ya catch some fish or just enjoy the fishing?    :Wink:

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## shauck

Cheers Bloss. Still have the ladder in place. Will get up there on the weekend.   
No fish caught. Had lots of bites and nearly caught one but it took my hook which wasn't tied on properly. If I knew what I was doing, I think there was plenty of opportunity to catch them. It was fun tho. Didn't want to come home.

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## goldie1

Nice work as usual!  How did you find those extender brackets to fit/ adjust ?  I have to do a patio roof for some one and 
am thinking of  them. Have never used them but have read all the instructions etc.

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## shauck

Thanks Goldie. The brackets would be pretty easy to fit...on a normal house. I think they're a real great way to get strong fixing to house. Great to get some height too.  
If you can't see the rafter ends, you may have to remove a few screws to lift the edge of tin and peek under to find them.  
The max overhang of beam (two sizes mentioned) as suggested on the instructions needs consideration as it may determine which rafter you choose to attach to and possibly beam size. Before I started I figured I'd attach to the end rafter but in reality it's covered by flashing on it's side and so you can't really poke a bolt through the side of the building. If your next rafter back makes you exceed the overhang, you may have to up the beam size. Get the brackets, check the instructions and find your rafters then measure the overhang before deciding the beam size. I would have, if I'd thought it through but mine were just slightly over the max (but not necessarily the same as stated in the span tables). 
The rafters on the house are pretty small and one was notched a wee bit much. Also you have to manouver around nails. The top plate was 70mm (didn't know that till I pulled the tin off) and the bracket is designed for 90mm. So with all that, trying to drill holes in the best possible place to not undermine the strength of rafter and connectivity of the bracket, was a lot of fun.  
I also had other crazy stuff going on up there. Two battens next to each other, one of which was right in the way. It seemed like it was an old batten and the one next to it was a replacement so cut into it and removed a couple of sections to get bracket to top plate. Anyway, none of that would necessarily apply to anyone else 
The bathroom roof was better, 90mm top plate and rafters better.  
The two beams were at different roof heights and the bathroom (a tacked on shed really) back wall is set back from the house back wall and not straight either. It was pretty difficult to work out the correct height and in fact I got it wrong and had to make some changes half way through putting the verandah rafters up.  
Like I said, a normal situation where you use them all in a row and everything is square to the verandah and your house isn't over 100 years old, not that hard.  
Adjustability is good. I think it's about 60mm. You have to get the adjustment set before you bolt the beam on and and fix the rafters of course so check all this before proceeding too far.

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## goldie1

Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Gotta love old houses. The one I have to do is a fairly new boring  BV. Thanks 
for that.

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## shauck

No worries.

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## shauck

Finally got the fireplace tiled. Travertine. Really like them. Only a bit disapointed with the hearth tiles as we were aiming for just a bit more contrast.  
I didn't do it myself but got a local handyman round. He did a pretty nice job. Nice to come home and work has been done for me. Cost $560. 
The tiled area was bigger than originally intended because of the opening being made smaller with the addition of bricks to fix the inside. Still had enough tiles tho.  
The edge of the hearth will be finished with flat bar steel, scribed to fit the floor. You can see from the pics, how much wider it will be at the edges.  
I'll attach a timber mantle to the wall just above the tiles. Hopefully messmate, supplied by a chippy friend who has a pile of it. There's a horizontal piece of timber there (see one of the pics). I'll use threaded rod and adhesive.  
Thought about fixing a piece of flat steel across the bottom of the opening to stop fire from rolling out but I think we're going with a fire grate.  
 Will use flat bar steel around the inside perimeter of the opening, to protect the tile edges and cover the wide grout edge. Should finish it off nicely without standing out too much.

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## Bloss

Looks great! I am a fan of the curved tube fire grates - steam pipe curved from the bottom to form a fire bed then up and over at the back. The idea is to draw room air in and through the pipes which heats it then passes it back into the room. That fireplace might be a bit small for it to work, but I have used them in larger fireplaces and they work very well - else an open fire generally is net thermal energy loser - drawing more air out of the room (and any adjacent rooms connected) and up the chimney than the radiant heat it provides back to the room. 
The type I mean look a bit like this (from a US site Fireplace Heaters for Masonry Fireplace - 5 Tubes | WoodlandDirect.com: Electric Fireplace Heaters, Fireplace Blower and the science can be seen here: http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Av...ate_Report.pdf) or like this one 16 GRT-F Fireplace Grate Heater Heat Exchanger Fanless | eBay I reckon your mate Nik could make one to suit in a morning!

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## shauck

I've heard of this design many years ago. Great way to make a fire efficient. Not my aesthetic tho. This fireplace is not our main source of heat, rather an extra for enjoyment. I'd have to see how the fire goes first. Might light it tonight? We did consider putting a plate of steel at the back, before the fire was remodeled but don't really know if that helps much.

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## Bloss

yeah if just for the ambience then not much use - a steel plough disc at the back does increase radiant heat though . . . and looks OK too

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## shauck

I wonder if I can get steel plate bent to the shape of the back of the fireplace?

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## shauck

Got a few sample pieces of flat and angle to see how all the options would look. We both reckon the angle around the opening would make it a bit busy but would hide any imperfections that are present. The flat bar on the brickface shows up the imperfections of the cut edges so decided would just use flat bar on the bottom as the tile edge there hasn't been cut and is perfect. The main idea is to protect that tile edge from chipping when tossing wood in the fire. For the hearth edge, I'll have to scribe it to the floor. I'll make a template for this. I'm thinking an angle grinder disc may be a bit big to do this accurately. Maybe combo of cutting disc to get close and grinding disc to finesse. Maybe worrying about nothing tho. With the mantle, I'm wondering if there's adhesive I can use that sets super fast so I don't have to prop the mantle. Threaded rod into timber.

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## sundancewfs

> I wonder if I can get steel plate bent to the shape of the back of the fireplace?

  
It would be great if you could get an 1890's fireback.... Firebacks | WoodlandDirect.com: Fireplace Accents & Decor, Fireplace Firebacks, Pennsylvania Firebacks, Cast Iron Fireback

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## Moondog55

The curved tube suggestion by Bloss is a good one, easy to run up if you have a tube bender and second hand black iron ( do not use gal fumes are poison) Backwell-IXL used to make them in various sizes too, personally I like the "Industrial" look the give a fireplace but not to everyones taste

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## Gaza

> Got a few sample pieces of flat and angle to see how all the options would look. We both reckon the angle around the opening would make it a bit busy but would hide any imperfections that are present. The flat bar on the brickface shows up the imperfections of the cut edges so decided would just use flat bar on the bottom as the tile edge there hasn't been cut and is perfect. The main idea is to protect that tile edge from chipping when tossing wood in the fire. For the hearth edge, I'll have to scribe it to the floor. I'll make a template for this. I'm thinking an angle grinder disc may be a bit big to do this accurately. Maybe combo of cutting disc to get close and grinding disc to finesse. Maybe worrying about nothing tho. With the mantle, I'm wondering if there's adhesive I can use that sets super fast so I don't have to prop the mantle. Threaded rod into timber.

  grab a handfull of the thin cutting disc for the 4in take off the gaurd then cut to your line you can touch up the cut with 40G flap wheel in grinder this is simplest way of getting a nice finsh on the steel

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## shauck

> It would be great if you could get an 1890's fireback.... Firebacks | WoodlandDirect.com: Fireplace Accents & Decor, Fireplace Firebacks, Pennsylvania Firebacks, Cast Iron Fireback

  Some pretty cool stuff on that website

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## shauck

> The curved tube suggestion by Bloss is a good one, easy to run up if you have a tube bender and second hand black iron ( do not use gal fumes are poison) Backwell-IXL used to make them in various sizes too, personally I like the "Industrial" look the give a fireplace but not to everyones taste

  I'll see how the fireplace goes. Maybe sometime in the future...

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## shauck

> grab a handfull of the thin cutting disc for the 4in take off the gaurd then cut to your line you can touch up the cut with 40G flap wheel in grinder this is simplest way of getting a nice finsh on the steel

  Ok. I googled flap wheel. Got image of it but no explanation of what it does exactly. Does it grind or polish or...? Do you apply the edge of the disc to the steel on an angle?

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## Bloss

Grinds - although polishing is simply grinding finely with more random movements so marks are less visible. They are useful for crude work and if you use the finest one on steel it can be quite a fine smooth finish and if you get the gist of using the grinder gently and moving around you can get a great look. Flap disks are now cheap as chips too (thanks to China) and the quality is generally v.good (they still need care as they can be made to destruct quite easily).

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## Bloss

> The curved tube suggestion by Bloss is a good one, easy to run up if you have a tube bender and second hand black iron ( do not use gal fumes are poison) Backwell-IXL used to make them in various sizes too, personally I like the "Industrial" look the give a fireplace but not to everyones taste

  Had one done many years ago from heavy 50mm steam pipe - another advantage is that the heat can stay in the metal for some time and continue to warm the room for quite a long time after the fire is out. But Su's need is not great - and a smaller fireplace too.

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## BaysideNana

The curved tube system works well, I made one many years ago when we lived inland in a cold climate.  At the time it was decided to make an extra bend toward the front lower intake edge so cool air being drawn into the pipes would be taken from the floor rather than where we would be sitting.  The pipes at both ends (looking from the front) were angled toward the left and right (respectively) for a better distribution of warm air. 
Sorry I don't have any photos and can't remember what became of the grate (maybe sold at the garage sale when that house was sold)...anyway when viewed from the side, the grate is in the shape of an open 'C' but at the bottom (front) edge is where I added the turn-down.  I used some soft copper tubing (bent by hand) to get make a template and get the best shape to fit that fireplace but used 50mm thick-walled black pipe to make the grate.  File the inside lip of the outlet edge of each pipe otherwise the warm air whistles as it's exiting the pipe.  LOL  This was something I hadn't thought about but had to 'fix' after a couple of uses.   
Hope this helps?

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## shauck

> File the inside lip of the outlet edge of each pipe otherwise the warm air whistles as it's exiting the pipe.  LOL  This was something I hadn't thought about but had to 'fix' after a couple of uses.

  Almost a musical instrument.

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## shauck

> Grinds - although polishing is simply grinding finely with more random movements so marks are less visible. They are useful for crude work and if you use the finest one on steel it can be quite a fine smooth finish and if you get the gist of using the grinder gently and moving around you can get a great look. Flap disks are now cheap as chips too (thanks to China) and the quality is generally v.good (they still need care as they can be made to destruct quite easily).

  Ta for that. Was wondering if it was potentially destructive, required careful application. Would hate to wreck it.

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## Bloss

In your hands - or Nik's it'll be fine. Like all new tools practice on a bit of waste or something which can be hidden if it doesn't quite work as planned. The rotary wire brushes in the 100-1115mm grinders are also useful for this type of work.

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## shauck

And as Nik says, always clamp your work piece. She was telling me about her experience in trade school with the young guys. After being told to do this, an apprentice working near her had the work piece in his hand, up near his face and the angle grinder in his other hand. She couldn't help herself repeat to him what was said a few minutes before. The apprentice looked at her like she was an alien so she said, just do that somewhere else, not near me then. Accident waiting to happen!

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## shauck

More progress on the fireplace.  
Went to Timberzoo (Geelong) yesterday. OMG!!! What a cool place for anyone who loves nice, reclaimed timber. Not cheap but they have a great range of stuff.  
The idea firstly was to get a piece of chunky timber for the mantle. Ended up with 130x50. Messmate, I think? While I was there, coz I hate driving to Geelong, I also got several other pieces of varying sizes. Some blackbutt and some more messmate. I'll make a steel framed kitchen bench and a stereo shelf and a TV stand.  
So today got the mantle up. Was a bit of a fiddle. Firstly the back edge needed planing as the wall has slight curve to it.  
Also the wall is not plumb so I used a bevel and level to work out the drilling angle and had Tanya eye it from the side for me (couple of pics to demonstrate).      
Drilled three holes into back of mantle and corresponding into the horizontal stud across top of fireplace. Did them all by eye/hand. I've been a long time procrastinating this job as I really didn't want to stuff it up.  
Cut some 1/2" threaded rod and test fitted it. Then glued and fitted. It wasn't perfect but the slight imperfections in the directions of the rods actually meant that I really had to bash it (using an offcut of course) to get it flush to the wall. Then propped it level and finally stuck the missing skirts on.    
The steel edge sides of the hearth are cut to size painted and glued in. I've been using Fuller's Max Bond (same for mantle). Much the same as Liquid Nails but I reckon it's better. Gives a good initial stick and it's a water clean up which is great. Also the colour was not far off the grout so I let it ooze up out of the top edge and wiped it back to fill any gap between tiles and steel edge.  
Still have to grind the top of the front steel edge. I cut the bottom edge to a template and my Dad says that the reason for the top edge not being straight now, has to do with me cutting the bottom edge (heat/friction/weird metal behaviour stuff). I sort of understand what he's on about but seems like alchemy to me. He's a fitter and turner by trade. Anyway, I've had enough today and I'll tackle that steel edge next weekend.

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## Bloss

Lookin' good  :2thumbsup:   - really like the free-form vertical supports - also done by eye . . .   :Biggrin:   :Wink:  Fireguard is schmich too - a bit of Nik's handiwork I presume.

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## shauck

Cheers Bloss. The props were adjusted with light hammer taps at the bottom, either in or out, until the level told me it was good. I hope that the glue will be strong enough to stop it leaning downward when I remove the props. I worry about that a bit. Another silly thing. I got so caught up in "will I be able to bash it flush to the wall", I totally forgot to sand it! Now i'll have to do it in place. The fireguard was a lucky score from a friend actually. I gave it a fresh spraycoat of gunmetal grey, the same as the hearth edging. Still haven't sprayed the front edge as I still have to mess with that one.

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## goldie1

Nice ! What are you finishing it with? also have you caulked you floor boards ?

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## shauck

Not sure what I'll finish it with yet. Something clear of course. Any ideas? Has to be easily cleanable (dust). Easy to apply, none of that two pac stuff. I'm a bit lazy. Sort of. The floorboards aren't caulked. I didn't go with that as it just falls out again, down the track. Got some pretty big gaps. I'll insulate underfloor at some point. Hate crawling under there. Spiders! Bit of a girl.

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## Bloss

> Spiders! Bit of a girl.

    :Roflmao:  I'd be just using some polyurethane or even simply an oil.

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## jatt

Fireplace and mantle  looks good bloke

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## shauck

> I'd be just using some polyurethane or even simply an oil.

  What ya laughing at??    :Confused:   :Biggrin:   
Is some kind of polish/wax thingy maybe ok? Something you wipe on? I would love a silky/satin look feel if it is ok for wiping dust off tho. I'm in unknown territory with stuff like that. Maybe I'll use the same stuff as the kitchen bench. I better not procrastinate another two years tho. Also seeing as it's a small piece and pretty straight forward, a bit of messing about/effort wouldn't hurt.

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## shauck

> Fireplace and mantle  looks good bloke

  Thanks Jatt. Nice to have it nearly done.

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## goldie1

I find that leaving dust on a surface helps to protect it.  :Smilie:  Reason for the caulking question was because a family 
member has a gappy Baltic floor with no access under and I have to do some thing about it "one day"

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## johnc

Danish oil or a satin wipe on poly would both meet your needs I think. Nice fireplace it is coming up nicely.

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## shauck

> I find that leaving dust on a surface helps to protect it.  Reason for the caulking question was because a family 
> member has a gappy Baltic floor with no access under and I have to do some thing about it "one day"

  Yeah "one day". I say that a bit round here. It may fall out eventually but hey, if you can't find another solution, go for it. Also, I really hate how much crud and dust falls into the gap. Sweeping can bring up more stuff than was on the floor in the first place. Sometimes I wish I had the floor guy caulk it. I don't get why there isn't a good flexible product for this purpose?

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## shauck

> Danish oil or a satin wipe on poly would both meet your needs I think. Nice fireplace it is coming up nicely.

  Ta johnc. Satin poly is a pretty safe bet if I get too confused. I used satin poly on the kitchen bench. Could only find one at the time that was safe for food. I kept the empty tin in the shed in case I needed to get more. I think it was a cabots product. This wont need to be food grade tho.  
What's Danish oil like? Will it feel oily for a while?  I'm wondering about waxes too. I basically want to bring out the grain/natural colour. Have it feel and look silky.

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## goldie1

> Yeah "one day". I say that a bit round here. It may fall out eventually but hey, if you can't find another solution, go for it. Also, I really hate how much crud and dust falls into the gap. Sweeping can bring up more stuff than was on the floor in the first place. Sometimes I wish I had the floor guy caulk it. I don't get why there isn't a good flexible product for this purpose?

  I wonder how sika would go?

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## shauck

> I wonder how sika would go?

  I've wondered that myself. Flexible caulk would seem the go but maybe it just peels out eventually, in one long strip?? Anyone?

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## goldie1

> I've wondered that myself. Flexible caulk would seem the go but maybe it just peels out eventually, in one long strip?? Anyone?

  What about this stuff  http://www.fixtech.com.au/images/MSP100current08.pdf

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## SilentButDeadly

> What's Danish oil like? Will it feel oily for a while?  I'm wondering about waxes too. I basically want to bring out the grain/natural colour. Have it feel and look silky.

  It's a surface forming product and it feels lovely when it's done well.  With something like that I'd just sand it down to 800 grit wet & dry then give it a rub with a rag damped with olive oil.  Apply enough oil to leave a film after an hour or so and then sand it again but with 1200 grit wet & dry that you wipe the oil off repeatedly as you sand.  When done with a sander it virtually polishes the timber to a lovely sheen.  Leave it a couple of weeks and then feed it with a beeswax polish....jobs done.   
Did the bathroom vanity (made from River Red Gum) this way and it remains flawless after four years of repeated water and use.  Plan to do something very similar with the kitchen benchtops too.  
Otherwise...I've been using Intergrain Interior Ultraclear in matt finish to great effect on kitchen drawer fronts recently.  Clear as and smooth to the touch even on construction ply.

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## johnc

> Ta johnc. Satin poly is a pretty safe bet if I get too confused. I used satin poly on the kitchen bench. Could only find one at the time that was safe for food. I kept the empty tin in the shed in case I needed to get more. I think it was a cabots product. This wont need to be food grade tho.  
> What's Danish oil like? Will it feel oily for a while? I'm wondering about waxes too. I basically want to bring out the grain/natural colour. Have it feel and look silky.

  Danish oil is a mix, I think it's lacquer and oil. Dries like a varnish with reasonable penetration, it is a flat finish and you can do a number of coats to bring it up. Pretty fool proof and hard to stuff up so it suits people like me.

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## Gaza

> I've wondered that myself. Flexible caulk would seem the go but maybe it just peels out eventually, in one long strip?? Anyone?

  best solution is to rip strips of timber then plane to fit tap them in with hammer trim flush with japanse pull saw finsh with hand scrapper or just sand the whole floor but yours looks to good to resand  
be total PIA of job but will be worth effort in end, have done stair treads before when they have got wet and opended up

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## Bloss

There'll be suitable Sikaflex caulk - and stays put with a fair bit of movement. As to mantle finish - depends a bit on what might sit on it. Poly is pretty much damage proof - I use matt single pack then after it hardens for a couple of weeks I rub in Scandinavian oil (teak oil or Danish oil - mangy suppliers - uBeaut too) with 000 steel wool along the grain - looks like an oil finish, but you can put water on it, hot mugs and so on and no marks. If it gets some marks or dense a light sand and redo with Scandinavian oil and steel wool.

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## shauck

Cheers all. Lots of great responses. Will soak it all in. Always takes me ages to make decisions but I'll try and get this one sorted quickly.  
With the floor, It's been sanded not that long ago. Don't really fancy taking any more thickness off the boards so, caulking but no sanding is the only consideration for me. I suppose a fairly good colour match and clean up with turps would avoid sanding?

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## shauck

Been ages since posting. Haven't done much around here for quite some time.  
Still haven't put a finish on the mantle piece. Typical of me. All my  archs and skirts are still raw timber too. We just can't decide between a  natural look or painted. I'm thinking it'll end up painted as my  carpentry was not perfect enough for natural by my reckoning. Anyway,  when the inside gets a freshen up at some point, I'll deal with it then.  As we are smokers, that probably wont be too far off and I'm hoping to  stop that habit soon anyway.  
As I was pretty busy with work for quite a while, I just didn't have much spare time. Then things got quiet and I found myself trying not spend money. Keep getting bits and pieces of work and promises of work in the near future but I started to get sick of that so I bit the bullet the other day and decided to replace the weatherboards and paint the house. With the time i've had off, it could have been done by now!!  
I'll do most of the house but not the side where the bathroom is, as I have to some major work there (when the dollars are in). Cost wise it's less than a couple of thousand to do the three walls. 
I started on the back wall the other day and in the process replaced the corner stud which was pretty stuffed. Also put in some ply bracing. The eaves let it down a bit. The house is a bit crooked and it shows where the last weatherboard meets the eaves. Not a level line. Too much to have packed so I just didn't worry about it. To pack one end would have been 45mm and that would put it lower than the fascia. You can see it to the right of the house.       
The window was not made for this type of wall and as it protruded I decided to frame it with treated pine, planed to the right thickness 60x35 and undercoated then covered by arch and the weatherboards butt into it. I could have chosen to scribe a piece to fit over the boards but I'm happy enough with this method. The doors aren't flashed above as they are under the cover of the verandah roof.  
Bit more caulking, nail punching and filling on Monday and it'll be ready for undercoat/paint. Then onto the front or side wall. Awesome. Can't wait to see this joint painted.  
So basically all weatherboards replaced, eaves at rear, fascia and eaves on side of house (i'll show you a pic of that disaster later), fit new/replace all archs, replace front fly screens with new ones that are removable, new screen on back window, undercoat and paint all weatherboards and windows and doors and archs, etc, front verandah and posts.    
The one thing I'm not too keen on is the front deck. It'll need sanding and recoat with whatever but all the nails are like this...   
Wondering if there's a cheats way around it. Undercoat and paint?? Something?? Probably best to just pull out the nails one by one and replace with screws as I go. Sink a few mm and sand it. It's pretty hard wood so hopefully not too much damage when I pull the nails.  
Anyway, this time I intend to finish it all and not leave some undone.

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## Bloss

Yep - those nails have to come out - what I'd do though is pull out one from each pair across the whole deck, drill and screw then do those left. That way you'll get a roll on and the boards will stay put. The second lot of nails to come out should be easier as the boards will be pressed down on the joists with the new screws. Get yourself a Smart-Bit (or equivalent) if you don't have one - great little tools.

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## shauck

Yeah, sounds good. That should get a good pace up. Not sure if the pics show it (useless phone camera) but they are bullet head nails! All the boards seem in great nick except one with a busted end. Hopefully I'll be able to find something suitable to replace it with. I have a smart bit. Just didn't like it on cypress boards as it left a black circular mark. Should be alright for these tough as nails boards. I'll be sanding them anyway.

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## shauck

Over the last few days I got stuck into the front wall. Ripped off all the old weather boards and replaced with new ones. Removed the fly screens that were permanently attached and made some that can be removed. That was fun and really like how they look. Replaced all the archs. Undercoated the back wall, just need to undercoat the window and double doors, including the underneath and top of doors.  :Wink 1:  
Had one rain day that had me remove a row of nails which I thought were bullet head but actually are decking nails. Replaced with screws. That was not fun even though most of them were quite proud. Really tough old hardwood. Dulled my countersink bits, broke drill bits, blah blah, etc, etc. Had a few screws that got rounded out and couldn't get them back out and some I could. I'll get back to those later. Basically no fun.  
So that's it till I get back from the Christmas visits. Mooroolbark for Christmas Eve, Mornington for Christmas Day, back home Boxing Day. Then off camping in Otway State Forest till the 2nd of Jan. Hope to be camping at Stevenson Falls or at Dandos. Depending on how busy it is. Hoping it's not too crowded. Stevenson Falls is smaller and you have to carry your stuff from the car for a short bit so I'm hoping that'll eliminate the average/lazier population. Lots of beautiful sights to see up that way. Waterfalls, redwood forest, etc. Probably even go see the Twelve Apostles. Haven't been there since I was 19. Definitely esky full of beer. Lots of eating bbq and great that dogs are allowed as everyone going has one.  
So, Merry Xmas to all and I expect I'll have a ton of posts to read when I get back.  
Stay safe, Su.

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## grandvictorian

WOW you have done such a great job. Well done it looks great :2thumbsup: . Enjoy your well deserved break.

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## shauck

Thanks grandvictorian. Back from break yesterday afternoon. Ended up moving (after a few days at Dando's in Otway state forest) to a second spot at fitzroy river where it runs into the ocean, about 70km past Warnambool. Nice spot but real windy. Dando's was a beautiful campsite but was real busy and there were a few campers who didn't understand that not everyone wants to hear their music. Probably the sort who say "look another bunch of campers leaving thanks to our loud music. Awesome, we should have the place to ourselves pretty soon." I think February would be a great time to go there next time.  
Anyway, it's a bit hot for the next couple of days so I'll just get over all the driving and get back to it very shortly.

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## shauck

Got the rest of the weatherboards off (side wall) and replaced. These were the worst of the lot. I could grab the top edge with two hands and pull them off! Some of the lowest ones were already falling off completely. Just in time I reckon. Also had to replace the eaves and fascia as they were pretty shabby.  
So all the walls windows, doors and the verandah are undercoated now. Was going to start the top coat today but figured visiting friends was also important. Will get stuck into it again tomorrow.  
I'm considering leaving the flyscreens on the front windows natural with a clear coat. Will see how it looks after the colours are on. Linseed for walls and White Duck Quarter for all trim, windows and verandah. I figured they would tie in with the front door, we'll see.

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## ringtail

Looking good Su. That's the first pic I've seen that shows the whole cottage. Its tiny eh but so cute. Hows the bitumen going ? Hasn't slid down the hill with the heat ? :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

Great little house that!  :2thumbsup:

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## Armers

Dang... looking good! You've done a fine job there! 
Cheers

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## Gaza

so cute, is your tool room down stairs the biggest room in the house? 
how big is the house?

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## shauck

> Looking good Su. That's the first pic I've seen that shows the whole cottage. Its tiny eh but so cute. Hows the bitumen going ? Hasn't slid down the hill with the heat ?

  he he. No, the driveway is holding up pretty well. Actually, on the right side of the house is the bathroom/laundry. That side will get done down the track as a whole project of it's own. I'll paint the front of the bathroom although the weatherboards are cactus. It looks pretty bad and it's sort of a waste of good paint but sometimes that how it goes.    

> so cute, is your tool room down stairs the biggest room in the house? 
> how big is the house?

  It is the biggest "room" but the floor is dirt and rock on the slope and the roof is pretty low. Works well enough for now though. I may build a proper shed some day and get rid of the reverse roof under the deck. It does collect leaves and will need cleaning out at some point. Not ideal design.  
The house as you look at it in the 3rd pic, is 6m wide and 6m deep The front room with the pitched roof (original building) is the lounge/kitchen and the back rooms with the skillion roof are the bedrooms. The bathroom/laundry off the back right hand side bedroom is 3m x 3m. So, all up 45m2. Pretty small.  
Advantage of small is it heats up real quick with a tiny rinnai heater in the winter and it's quick to cool down at night with good cross ventilation, in the summer. It doesn't get hot in the house until around 4 in the afternoon on those really stinking hot days (high 30s-40 deg). We've only had one night so far that was hot, a few days ago. That was because we went out for dinner and opened everything up too early as we expected it to have cooled down by the time we got home but it was a hot night.  
Also advantage of small house, any reno project costs a quarter compared to other houses and takes a lot less time.  
I drew up some plans to show the existing house and what I'd ideally like to do if money becomes available. Until I can do this or something less ambitious, the bathroom will wait.  plan view existing house.pdfnorth elevation.pdfsouth elevation.pdfAttachment 95521

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## shauck

First coat on front wall. Pretty much how it will look finished after white duck trim, verandah. I think I'll leave the flyscreens natural. What do you guys reckon?

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## SlowMick

Looks awesome. great choice of colours.  :2thumbsup:

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## Bloss

> First coat on front wall. Pretty much how it will look finished after white duck trim, verandah. I think I'll leave the flyscreens natural. What do you guys reckon?

  Yep I reckon the natural timber screen frames pick up the front door a treat, but that's my taste so who knows!

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## SilentButDeadly

I love little houses.  Often a challenge but always a reward.  Virtually every reno I've been part of has been on what might be considered 'little' houses.  In particular, a one bedder in Balmain that my father went nuts on some thirty years ago comes to mind... 
The paint job is the go too.  Natural timber screens are schmick...we chose to paint ours and acrylic paint just doesn't cut it compared to a good Sikkens or Cabot clear..

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## shauck

Yeah, cool guys. Mostly it just has to please us but nice to get some positive votes on it.  
Managed to get the side and back wall 1st top coat on yesterday. Seeing as the temp today isn't ridiculous, I'm going for 2nd coat on all walls by the end of the day.  
That should free me up for a small job tomorrow as I have to wait for a tin of white duck for the trim, etc. They originally sent me full colour instead of quarter and then ran out of base colour. Should have it on Friday.

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## Elegy

Su your energy, enthusiasm and ideas are amazing ....but can you hurry up so I can read more? Absolutely inspiring, I'm sure I could not have even recognized the potential let alone realized it.  Thanks for sharing your journey.

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## shauck

Thanks Elegy. I've nearly finished all the painting. Just some trim and windows to finish. Should get a fair bit of that done today. Yesterday finished the side wall and pulled the scaffolding down. Also prep and undercoat on the old weatherboards of the front wall of the bathroom. Hoping that the paint will stop it from falling apart before I get a chance to do something properly. The window frame is cactus and there are no architraves on the door or window and they butt up against each other so if I add architraves it's going to be slightly unconventional. I'll take some more pics this afternoon. 
Recognising the potential is easy when you first look at a place, it's the follow through when you live in it that's hard. It sometimes gets put on hold until you catch your next wave of enthusiasm.

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## shauck

Got undercoat and a top coat on the bathroom/laundry front wall. That's all it's going to get. It's just so it looks ok from the street. I probably won't even bother with archs. Check out the window. Paint should hold it together for a few minutes...       
All I have left to do is back double doors and window. I'll take a pic of that when done. Should be finished today maybe or tomorrow but likely next day as it may rain tomorrow.

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## shauck

Ok so a pic of the back from a distance so I could show how the under deck makes it look like a mansion...well... bigger. The back wall and left side wall of the bathroom are not painted but if Tanya feels like it, there's some spare paint. I've pretty much had it for a while. I still have one coat to finish the double doors and window. It's mostly been too hot or I've been busy earning a few bucks. Should get around to it pretty soon.     
I've attached some pics to show how I deal with painting fiddly frames. It's all pretty obvious stuff. All the back doors and windows are colonial style, so lots of small surfaces near glass. I hate masking so I just go for it and not worry about getting it on the glass and deal with it later. That way you can concentrate more on the brush strokes to get a relatively smooth finish. I paint and then wait a day or so to remove excess.  
First a stanley knife run a couple of times down the edge to make sure when I scrape, I don't lose any paint from the timber    
Then scraper to scrape paint off glass, in horizontal motion   
Then flat scraper/filler blade to remove the loose paint    
Doesn't take long and looks perfect.  
I'm thinking of becoming a hand model in my next life.

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## ringtail

Turning it into a stately manor house Su  :Biggrin:  I expect to see albino peacocks strutting around the grounds in the next pics  :Tongue:

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## shauck

Maybe albino peacock could be a euphemism for cockatoo. The screechy little b*##%rs were here this morning. No sleeping in when they visit.

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## Margaret65

Hi there, love the work you've done so far. I have a friend looking at doing a reno locally and wondering if you've come across any excavators that you could recommend. Cheers 
Marg  *Edited Post.*

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## shauck

Hi Marg.  
There are a lot to choose from in the area. I can make recommendations based on good work only. As to cheaper rates, can't help there. People sometimes ask me what my cash rate is and I say I don't have one as I only put work through the books. I don't get any benefit from doing cash work as I don't earn such a huge amount that I pay loads of tax in the end so most of the money I earn ends up in my pocket. Also, I  like knowing that if I need to borrow money from the bank at any time in  the future, my business shows my earning capacity. You have to live in  the real world.  
With regards to recommending excavators, It' does depend on the extent/size of the job. Some guys have smaller machinery and lower daily/hourly rates but are slower than those with larger machinery and higher rates. Also the type of job. I've used several different guys for different things. Access can be a factor too.  
Probably best to PM with contact details and I can talk to you in more detail about what you need done and who might be best suited for the job.  
Cheers, Su.

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## chicoelsa

Hi Su
Love your Cottage it is gorgeous!
You have done an amazing job with all the work you have been doing.
The French doors from the bedroom are gorgeous with that view of the garden.
We have found a small Miners Cottage the same as yours which we are going to have relocated to land in the country approx 2 hrs from Sydney so we can do it up and have it as a weekend cottage.
Will look forward to seeing more updates from you.
Take care

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## shauck

Thanks chicoelsa. Kind words. Miners cottages are a great choice for small, holiday accommodation and a great reno project. Best part is, anything you tackle is half or a quarter the size job than a regular house. Your energy runs out just about when you finish a stage. Best of luck with yours and of course post the progress, with lots of pics.

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## shauck

Have a little downtime at the moment. This is always a good opportunity to get more done around the house. My mind is set on getting all the unfinished items ticked off the list. There's a few.  I decided that until the list is gone, I can't start another project. I'm currently finishing off anything inside. All archs, skirts, doors, windows that haven't been painted or stained. Also a freshen up of paint on walls and ceilings. We stopped smoking in the house a couple of months ago (in prep for quitting altogether), so this is a perfect time for a clean slate.  
We decided to go full strength Hogsbristle for the walls (previously quarter strength) and so I got cracking on the kitchen/lounge. Tanya wasn't happy about the new white ceiling (too conservative) so I've redone it in Hogsbristle too. It's very slightly lighter than the walls although I was trying to match it. (spent some time in the paint section, playing with formulas and part used can of ceiling paint) All the trim and windows are Fair Bianca (white) and the bedroom doors are Estapol Satin. Also finally painted the bookshelf. Made it 5 years ago, so about time! I'm really loving the room now and very happy with colour on the ceiling. It's amazing how it makes other features stand out more. I need to take some better pictures with a proper camera as my phone camera doesn't really do it justice.   
I can feel the weight leaving as I tick things off the list. 
The weather all week has been fantastic. Lots of sunny days so yesterday my mate came over and cut off the excess steel in the front retaining wall. Before he did that, we packed and lifted a couple of panels on the wall as they weren't level with the others. Rookie mistake on my part. When I built the wall, I didn't think about keeping my eye on the levelness during the process and so with inconsistent sleeper widths, a couple of the rows were short by 20-30mm. I've been killing myself for the last two years over it. It's now looking level. I think it's my favourite thing to tick off the list.  
My Dad came to visit yesterday too and he was a little early so got to hang out and watch the steel get cut off. I think he really enjoyed that. (he said to Tanya, he could watch it all day) He's a retired machine shop foreman so working with metal is his thing. He loves a bit of reno/building too.       
I'll be starting on the bedrooms tomorrow. We've decided to go double  strength Hogsbristle in those with Fair Bianca trim, windows, etc.

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## Swerve

I like your retaining wall/ fence. Matches the house so well done  :Smilie:  
Great reno your doing, glad to see it almost done (for now)

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## ringtail

Looking good Su :2thumbsup:

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## shauck

Thanks guys.

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## chicoelsa

Wow! Su!
It has been a while since I last logged in! Your cottage is looking so gorgeous!
I love the sleeper retaining wall and the front garden.
The lounge room is looking great with the fire burning, love the floor boards. 
So good to see your dad enjoying himself and helping you out.
We are still trying to find a house mover to move the cottage we found and none of them seem interested, it is such a small cottage too, exactly the same as yours!
Don't understand why they have house moving businesses if they are not interested in moving a small cottage???
I get so excited every time I see your renos! I am on the war path again now!
I cannot remember if your cottage was there or if you had it moved???
Keep up the great work, you inspire me!
Take care
Mary

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## goldie1

Looking good Su   :Cool:  The problem I have with lists is that as fast as I cross things off one end some 
one keeps adding things to the other.

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## shauck

Thanks Chicoelsa. Keep at it. Hopefully you'll get your cottage moved. Where are you moving it from and where will it be moved to? Have you had any indications of price so far? Maybe I can find a guy down here (depends on truck size needed) and come do it if it's feasible (financially). 
Ours was here already. It used to belong to relative of the neighbours. Has a long local history so they've all been really nice about us renovating it.  
Goldie. For me, it's more a case of stop starting new projects until I have the "finish stuff off " list completed.  My actual list is not written of course. I hope to not start anymore finish off lists in the future. Just one project at a time from now on.

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## shauck

Almost finished. Taking the day off, even though I should probably push on. Have to put flush pulls on and seal the bedroom side of the doors, scrape paint off windows/doors, spray paint light fittings and have them put up (electrician - not me), cut groove in underside of bedroom doors.  
Reckon I'll eat, watch dvd's and have a nap instead.   
After a little break I have to work out some sliding doors for the bedroom wardrobes. Problem with those is the existing walls were not plumb so only one side on each wardrobe is plumb. The top of openings are level but the floors are not. I don't really want to trim the opening to cover up any packing out, especially as the top of the opening is really close to the cornice so not much room to make it look aesthetically right. Sort of stuck a bit on this one.

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## David.Elliott

I you get it right you could have self closing doors for the wardrobe?

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## shauck

> I you get it right you could have self closing doors for the wardrobe?

  he he

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## chicoelsa

Love the latest photos Su.
The kitchen, lounge and bedrooms are looking great!
Love the photo of the bedroom with the french doors and the fog outside, looks very quaint! 
I am determined to move this cottage, wish I could pick it up and move it myself! I don't give up that easily. 
We have had some rough estimates of $10-$15,000 to move it from Carrington NSW (Newcastle area) to land in the Portland NSW area past the Blue Mountains.
If you know of anyone that may be interested it would be great, I didn't think it would be so hard to find someone to do this. 
I look forward to seeing if you know of anyone interested! 
Thank you kindly

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## shauck

Thanks chicoelsa.  
It's been pretty foggy here this week. The last couple of weeks were really sunny and now this. Typical of weather here. I'll ask around and see if I can find a contender for your house move. You never know.

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## Smergen

Hey Su,Been a while since I've posted and dropped by the cottage up in the hills. It's been frosty and foggy in the Marsh... I can only imagine what it's been like up your way...  :Cold: The place looks like it's coming along nicely. Is there a grand plan for the place? What are you doing when you finish it up? Or will it be like painting the Harbour Bridge where you finish all the work, then go back to the other end and start over?Got a few projects in the garden this spring... just putting finishing touches to the Chook Ranch and Worm Rialto...Either way... keep up the good work. Love the updates.

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## shauck

Hi Smergen. Has been a long time. Spring is a great time to get out there and start some new projects. Enjoy. It's not too far away.  
Yeah, it's a bit fresh up here through the night and some frost in the morning. Got my super warm, super lightweight, polar fleece blanket over the doona and almost never feel the cold in the house. I'd hate to be a Melbourne commuter on the roads in the early, dark mornings. Fortunately most of my work has been a few minutes from my house.  
As to the grand plan. Not sure. Sometimes I look at the back of the block and think about subdividing, selling the house and building. Sometimes I think about selling the bottom half and paying a chunk off the loan and extending this place. I've seen a lot of blocks sit on the market for a long time tho. I've drawn up plans for both ideas. It's a very circular thought pattern, round and round.  
For either of these to work, ideally, I'd purchase a strip of land off the neighbour. This would mean not having to share the existing driveway or extend it in an even longer straight line to exit as far as the proposed back fence line before it can turn. It's relatively steep so it's not ideal to have a really long, driveway. I think it would devalue this place a fair bit too as most of the parking would have to be thoroughfare, leaving only the cut out in front of the house. Also, services could be brought onto the property via the new driveway. Much closer from the side street than from the road I'm on.  
Sometimes I think of selling it all, sometimes just to find out how buyers would respond to it. At the moment, I'm leaning towards selling back of block and extending this place.  
In the mean time I just plug away at all the things I think should be done. Inside is finished other than the bathroom and doors on the bedroom wardrobes. I think the doors will be the next thing. Still trying to come up with an idea for that which solves the out of square openings. Aesthetic makes it more difficult.  
Outside jobs will wait for the weather to improve and besides, need to bring the bank balance back up first.

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## Bloss

Love ya work Su!!   :2thumbsup:  :2thumbsup:

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## shauck

Cheers Bloss. Good to see you back and posting again.

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## shauck

Been sitting idle for a few weeks which has driven me near crazy. Waiting on two or three jobs to start that are on hold for weather reasons. So, started by removing the last of the old garden beds in front of the bathroom. Plan is to create another flat area so, cut out, retaining walls, tuscan topping. Be a nice spot for protecting pot plants that are currently in the corner up against the bathroom front wall. Don't like them there for moisture reasons.  
Keep too-ing and fro-ing on some of the design ideas. initially was going with a ramp against the fence line so a mower can be brought up to the front yard. At the moment, the cutout is done to accomodate that idea. I might turn it into long steps with a rise of one sleeper per step.  
My other idea is to fill the lower section of the ramp area and have a narrow, raised garden bed along the fence line (retained with sleepers) and cut some steps into the other section to give access. Should have got the excavator to do that for me but wasn't sure if I was going to do this. If I do cut it out, I can dump that dirt/clay on the lower end of the ramp section to get rid of it and build up that for the garden bed.  
Before starting, I had to dig up the main water pipe. and bury it in new trench, lower down. It was really old rusted gal pipe and has been replaced with new, poly. Also had to locate the gas main and carefully uncover it. It ran straight up the middle of the cutout. You can see it in one of the pics where we dropped it down into a new trench. While uncovering it, the guy on the excavator was very careful in removing majority of soil on top of it but then he grabbed a shovel and cut straight down and whack, cut straight through it. Fortunately, I rang the local plumber for help and he rang the guys who do this sort of work. They just happened to be in the area so half an hour later it was fixed. Very lucky they were in town.  
So, will think about which way to go, design wise, over the day. 
Sure did make a mess of the front lawn. Have to take a deep breath and remind myself, it'll grow back.

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## shauck

Got all the drainage sorted and now all the retaining walls and the tap  drain off to pit on other side of verandah and off to storm water. This  has a slotted pipe running across the front edge of verandah so as to  catch any water in the flat area in front of the house. The verandah  joist was rotten thru. Removed that and replaced and protected with  plastic dampcourse before putting the slotted pipe in. Pulling all the  nails was fun. Fortunately didn't have any trouble getting the joist in.  Near perfect fit!  
Been working on the retaining wall and steps over the last few days, on and off. Had a mate help me put the posts in. Digging by hand and mixing concrete by hand. Glad to not have to do all that alone.  
Spent yesterday putting in all the sleepers, risers and shaping the steps (bit of digging). Just a bit more to do on that today. A bit of adjusting here and there, some star pickets to put in at the far ends of each riser. Will hide them inside each step.  
Today I'll get onto shovelling scoria behind the wall and filling up the ground with tuscan topping. After that, filling up the corner with topsoil to new level. You can see that the older wall is only three sleepers high and the steel has been cut. I'll get a piece welded back on (have some offcuts) and bring it up to four sleepers.  
Overall, pretty happy with the outcome. Tanya loves it.

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## sundancewfs

Great effort Su! It's made a real change to that front area. Looks great!  
Now you just have to get Tanya on the shovel and cement mixer :Biggrin:  
Any updates on the bathroom?

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## shauck

> Great effort Su! It's made a real change to that front area. Looks great!  
> Now you just have to get Tanya on the shovel and cement mixer 
> Any updates on the bathroom?

  Cheers, sundance. Feels like a whole new area to hang out in. Tanya on the shovel....hmmm, don't think I'll put her through that.  :Biggrin:  
With the bathroom, it'll be a big job. I'll have to make some major changes to the structure. Still considering subdividing and selling the house to build on the lwoer half of block but over the last couple of weeks, we've both said maybe sell the bottom half and keep the house. If we kept the house, I'd extend the bathroom a couple of meters and back 600mm to be inline with the rest of the house. Put in a hallway and separate bath and laundry and then extend down the back of the house, around the deck with two bedrooms. Then turn the existing bedrooms into one larger living space. I've attached some plans I drew a long time ago. The first is existing and the second is reno idea. I get a bit confused on which way to go. I'd love to build us a new house but I'm getting attached to this one, even though it's limited in what can be done.

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## shauck

Got all the tuscan topping down and scoria and geofabric behind the wall and soil backfill and levelled off the lawn area a bit.  
That 4th sleeper added to the older retaining wall is temp. Had to put something there to take the soil. Didn't have a 75mm thick piece left over from the new posts. Might just plane it down to height and leave it there anyway. It's only me who'll really notice it anyway.  
Will cut off the tops of posts when I have a hand and also get my mate to weld on the bit of steel to corner post.  
Other than that, rearrange some pot plants along the stepped part and move the little fireplace into the corner probably. Bit of seating, table, etc.  
Thinking that when I do the bathroom, I'll clad it in hardwood, modern profile of some sort. Then put a screen up on the lawn above the new retaining wall. Small trees on the street/high side and a narrow garden bed on the house/lower side. Give a bit of privacy from the street.  
Maybe, we'll see.

----------


## Swerve

Su, 
I read your entire thread last night and was very impressed. You both should be very proud of what you have done, WELL DONE  :Smilie:  
Steve

----------


## shauck

Thanks Steve, I appreciate that. Reading it all at once would give you a big overview of just how much has happened to this place. Thankfully, I've sort of forgotten. Probably bit like having a baby and forgetting how painful it can be. Breaking it down into manageable projects and taking breaks in between has made it possible to keep up the energy for it. I'm starting to get the hang of the idea of finish a project completely before starting a new one. Mostly.

----------


## goldie1

Nice job Su.    :2thumbsup:     How big is your block?   If your looking for something to do that place next door 
needs painting

----------


## shauck

> Nice job Su.       How big is your block?   If your looking for something to do that place next door 
> needs painting

  Cheers goldie. Block is half acre, fairly sloping down to the back. Next doors definitely needs a spruce up on the paint job and I aint gonna do it  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

Spent the day making up a table for the new area. I re-used some big H beams that I had already used for a previous table that had cypress for a top. They were too short for what I had in mind and I removed them to the burn pile.  
My friend Vern, gave me a couple of lengths of oak that had been lying around in the weather. Bit twisted, bowed and irregular in thickness and widths. Would have liked to make the table a bit longer but one of the lengths tapered and I really didn't want to reduce the overall thickness of the table by more than necessary. I cut 2 pieces out of one length and the other out of the tapered length but couldn't totally avoid the taper.  
Had to be careful with planing the width as they would only just fit the width of steel H beams with a little bit of straightening/planing. They don't sit perfectly flush against each other but I'm happy with that anyway as it looks like it's been done by hand rather than machined.  
Same with trying to get them pretty flat, top and bottom. Didn't go too far on the underside (used malthoid for protection and a few packers here and there. Got the top pretty good, well good enough for me. It's going to get rained on, etc so it'll move anyway.  
It was fun attempting to match up three different pieces that were all over the place. Feeling as much with the hands as seeing with the eyes, where to plane. Went at it pretty rapid fire. Kinda therapeutic.  
Drilled a series of holes in the flanges and screwed short batten screws in from underneath.  
Yay, somewhere to sit for an afternoon beer and snack.

----------


## shauck

Still plugging away at the "small things/big list" agenda. Getting nearer to making bigger decisions on what to do with this place and the block. The driveway from the neighbour's is a no go. They're going to sell that block soon and don't want to sell me a piece of it. Boo Hoo.  
Other option. Extend our driveway down the side, to the lower half of block and subdivide. This would mean ripping up part of existing drive (asphalt!) to get services down there. Downside - partially shared driveway, as far as resale of existing house goes. Upside - free (already paid for) building block so only have to borrow smaller amount from bank, with no strings attached (no builders contract required). Other down side, very long steep driveway. No fun dragging the wheelie bins up once a week! Might have to drive them up on the ute.  :Biggrin:  
Will even give consideration to selling up and buying a bigger renovation job. Don't really like that as I know how much goes into reno-ing.  
Also considered the subdivision and sell lower block and extend this house as per the drawings in previous post. 
Anyway, got to make a decision soon. 
Meanwhile, I built a new wood storage for a small amount of timber. We don't use a lot so it's a fine size for us. It's nearly 2m long and should either get one row of long timber or two rows of short. Redgum sleepers for main frame and treated pine for fixing cement sheet sides, back and floor. Top is sheet steel and the doors are too. I used galvanised hanging rails top and bottom as channels, to slide the doors. Welded L shaped steel for handles. Top has rusted up already and doors are just done so will rust up soon. Should look alright once the timber greys up. Cement sheet sides are painted black. I made the top with the tiniest bit of fall to the back so pot plants could be sat on top. Probably would have been better to give it proper fall but hey, my choice.     
At the moment, I'm replacing nails in front decking with screws, countersunk, so I can sand it and oil it. Bought some cheapies from home hardware. They've recently changed their brand and no longer have alternatives for the type I was after. Got them home and stuffed every second screw, one way or another. Definitely not due to predrilling or countersinking or use of tool. Just rubbish. Waiting on Scrooz order to arrive.  
Also finally getting the balustrades on the rear deck. Seeing as I procrastinated so much on design ideas, I finally decided to just use wire. So, while I'm waiting for that to turn up, I've removed the bottom rails as I think it'll look wrong with this style. Bit of tidying up of joins that opened up and defects in timber, etc as well. 
Also, I'll be able to sand the deck properly and fix the edge board that I was never happy with in the first place. There's more I'd like to re-do but I won't go on about it. Let it go.... So I'm part way through prepping for the wire balustrades to go in. Look forward to that being done.  
Ok that's enough ranting.

----------


## ringtail

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Fischer's from scrooz or nothing :Biggrin:

----------


## ringtail

Cable all day for balustrade. Nice one.

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## shauck

Yeah, you and Fischer screws and LVLs.... I will say, the front deck is extremely hard (been there for who knows how long). I've got one broken piece that I'm going to have to match somehow. I'll post a pic of it sanded and see what you guys reckon. Maybe someone will have a piece of something similar. One can hope.  
I'm a little bit excited about the balustrade getting done. Having removed the bottom rail has opened up the view just a bit more too.  
We've discussed our options yesterday and as long as it's all do-able, we'll extend the driveway and bring the sevices down from there to the bottom half of the block. It will reduce the value of the original house by a little bit but probably not any more than the cost of buying a driveway from the neighbours.  
I'll be calling in a local guy who deals with all this sort of stuff to have a good talk about it. He knows all the ins and outs with council, etc. We all know him around town as Sam the planner.

----------


## shauck

So a fair amount of development regarding the subdivision idea. Been costing it and coming up with a general figure. So far so good. Went to the bank so just waiting on them to ok the extra lending. In the mean time, I've been organising the bathroom reno. Will be removing the concrete floor and replacing it, raised a couple hundred mm. Then the front wall won't be sitting at ground level anymore. Will have to prop and cut out all the bottom plates and lower end of studs, reinstate bottom plates and pour slab in under plates. The floor will be made with fall in the shower and an additive included for waterproofing. It'll be polished with likely an oxide used to give, hopefully an interesting finish. Not exposed aggregate. Well, maybe a few patches.  
Got the tiles already. Nice and a bargain thanks to Steve (seriph1). Pointed me in the right direction at the right time. Paid nearly a third of their retail price.  
Also finished the front verandah. All nails removed and screws in, sanded (by hand, belt sander) and oiled. I'm pretty pleased with how it looks. Oils are hard to pick. You never know what you're going to get. Also the back decks been sanded (not by me, awesome!) and one coat of the same stuff, looks totally different of course. I think I might pick a different tint for the next coat. Used intergrain ultradeck natural so far.  
Oh and the balustrade wires are in. Tick. 
So next week will be rip bathroom apart.  
Some of the pics are of the back golden cypress deck showing how bad they've handled my lack of care. Nowhere near as good as the front hardwood deck. I will never do that again. Also pics of before and during and after oiling. You can really see the difference between the two decking types.

----------


## shauck

Last week was the start of bathroom reno. Ripped everything apart. Had to prop the back and side wall to cut the studs higher and remove the bottom plates. The floor height is to be the same as rest of house at the doorway(except that rest of house is not exactly level). 
  	Removed all the external lining including that on the adjoining house wall. Packed out the wall that adjoins the rest of the house. Wow, so out of plumb. It was a crazy day. Also, with cutting out the plates and cutting the join of corner walls, was able to get the remaining walls plumb and will pack and plane them as necessary. 
  	The front wall remains in its place and I&#39;ll rebuild it a little further into the room. Reasoning for this is, it wasn&#39;t a complete wall as part of the brick chimney, next to it, made up part of the wall, into the corner. I want to weatherboard it right into the corner. Will probably have to build wall, stand upright, weatherboard the lower half and then slide it into place. 
  	The amenities of course are all removed but we managed to swing the toilet 180 degrees out onto the deck so at least I have a toilet, although it is a bit exposed on one side (makeshift ply walls for some privacy). Luckily my partner is staying elsewhere for a while so she&#39;s not put out by all the upheaval. I&#39;m kinda a bar of soap and toothbrush type so not really your typical girly girl. Tanya would have a harder time of it. 
  	So bare frame, mostly ready. Ripped out the concrete floor that was all over the place. All we needed was a crow bar and fulcrum to lift sections and while lifted, sledge hammer to very easily break into manageable sections. Put down a bed of crusher dust and formwork, ready for concreter. He came yesterday and poured the slab. He did a float finish wish gives a burnished sort of look. The concrete has some sort of waterproofing in it. The shower floor is formed with fall to the waste. It looks pretty good so far but the overall slab will still lighten as it dries. The burnished marks should stay the same tho. 
  	Am about to google a good floor sealer. Any ideas? 
  	So, Monday I will start on the front wall frame so I can then get onto the weatherboards. 
  	I&#39;ve included some older pics of the bathroom and a few of demo and new concrete floor.

----------


## Cecile

Is that your finished floor, or are you going to tile it?  If you're going to tile, have you considered under tile heating?  You won't know yourselves when it's all done.

----------


## shauck

That's the finished floor Cecile. It's sort of burnished using a power float. Makes for a hard wearing surface and I like the effect. The concrete has a waterproofing additive. Feels really smooth under foot but shouldn't be slippery when wet. Apparently a sealer is not needed but I'll likely use one anyway, if I can find one that's not going to cause slipperiness and isn't too complicated to apply.

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## Renopa

Looks good Su, and keeps with the character of the house!  I would have liked polished concrete for my bathroom reno but it's on the second level so not quite suitable.  Maybe next time.   
Can't wait to see your next photo instalment.   :Biggrin:

----------


## phild01

> I've said it before and I'll say it again, Fischer's from scrooz or nothing

  
What's this, went to scrooz site and searched "fischer"-no result!

----------


## shauck

> What's this, went to scrooz site and searched "fischer"-no result!

  I think they're called Razr now. Ringtail's not up with the current naming, that's all.

----------


## shauck

Took all the form work off and built the front wall in place. The roof is not level so I hope when I remove the old front wall, there wont be too many problems getting the rafters to drop down onto the new wall. Maybe a nail here or there that needs cutting and probably loosen off the flashing on the roof where it meets the bedroom wall. The far left (from inside looking out) was the height I went with. You can see the gap between far right rafter and the new top plate. It's always been something that's bugged me to look at.  
I'm going to pick up a bostich palm nailer so I can get into the  tight spot next to the chimney. That should sort that out. Meant I  didn't have to build the wall with weatherboards on it before standing  it in place. So glad I chose that option. 
Got a nice window opening high up in the wall. We tested it for privacy by standing up at the street and looking down at the shower area. Should only see the top of a head and the window of the neighbour's will see in a bit at the toilet area but not when you sit down on the loo. We could always put in obscured glass or something but will probably stick with clear.  
My mate who has been helping me is car-less at the moment and lives out of town so not sure when I'll have his help back. Would have been good to have a second pair of hands for the front wall removal but I'll give that a shot today. That and a bit of tweaking of the two walls that still need packing and planing. Also get the ceiling joists/battens in place. Then get started on the sisalation and external cladding.

----------


## goldie1

Looking good. Gees the old toilet would have been a bit brisk in winter.  :Smilie:

----------


## shauck

> Looking good. Gees the old toilet would have been a bit brisk in winter.

  You should see where it is now. It's sitting on the back deck with a piece of ply either side for privacy and looks out to the gully at the back of property. Luckily I'm a morning person.  :Blush7:   
Got the old front wall off yesterday and called it quits (rain). It's raining today but I'm just going to have to crack on. Get out the wet weather gear and try to set up drop saw somewhere relatively dry. Front verandah.  
Got my Bostitch mini palm nailer. Look forward to testing it out.

----------


## toooldforthis

nice work.  

> Got a nice window opening high up in the wall. We tested it for privacy by standing up at the street and looking down at the shower area. Should only see the top of a head and the window of the neighbour's will see in a bit at the toilet area but not when you sit down on the loo. We could always put in obscured glass or something but will probably stick with clear.

  maybe some (bush) screening out in the yard, or on the boundary, will solve that.

----------


## shauck

> nice work.  
> maybe some (bush) screening out in the yard, or on the boundary, will solve that.

  Cheers mate. Yeah, could do that if it ends up necessary. Pretty sure it'll be ok tho.  
Finished straightening the walls internally and putting in noggings and my mate got the water pipes placed. I'm thinking about getting hot and cold tap out to the back verandah. The back wall of the bathroom is not parallel to the rest of the house back wall and so the deck is skewed to that wall and a piece of decking is now missing there. I had to do a quick repair job on the day the sander was here. One of his guys busted a bit of decking and I had to steal it from this part of deck. Also all the old plumbing protruded here, some of it above deck height so there's a gap between deck and wall which is not parallel either. I'll take a pic of this area later if I remember. Pic will explain it better. So my idea is to maybe put in a bench to be used for a bbq area. Dismantle the bbq from it's trolley and build it into the bench. That should cover up the mess of the decking/wall area.

----------


## ringtail

> I think they're called Razr now. Ringtail's not up with the current naming, that's all.

  
Call them whatever you like, they are MADE by Fischer. And I knew about the rename too but choose to stay pure  :Biggrin:  :Tongue:

----------


## ringtail

Wow Su, I really should pay more attention. You have been busy.

----------


## shauck

Yeah, busy here coz not busy elsewhere. It's about time we had a proper bathroom too. Four years is a long time roughing it. I'm quickly draining resources while waiting for the bank to give us more money. I just couldn't wait for that to happen before starting the bathroom. It would be crazy to sit here with little work and do nothing. I've got a couple of small jobs to do after this so hopefully something bigger comes along soon.  
So the framing is all pretty much done. Just have to put in some noggings at bottom plate for the shower area flashing so villaboard can be nailed along bottom. Gotta love those James Hardie PDFs. Also alter the door opening as it's a pretty short door at the moment. Will do that just before plastering. Today will start on the weatherboards.  
I'll take some more pics today. Tried this morning but it's too dark still.

----------


## ringtail

Be a shame for "paying work " to ruin all this productivity.  :Tongue:

----------


## shauck

> Be a shame for &quot;paying work &quot; to ruin all this productivity.

    	Absolutely. It&#39;s pretty consuming at the moment, especially mind wise, but very soon I&#39;ll sit back and know that it&#39;s all done. No more nagging lists. Besides, it&#39;ll pay in the end. 
  	I forgot to take pics yesterday. Business just gets a hold of me. Will try today. Got sisalation on and one wall weatherboarded. Sisalation in the wind on your own is not fun.

----------


## barney118

> Sisalation in the wind on your own is not fun.

  I know how you feel , try doing it 2 nd storey by yourself. 
Keep up the good work, I'll be back on deck myself with some updates too. Barney   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## shauck

> I know how you feel , try doing it 2 nd storey by yourself. 
> Keep up the good work, I'll be back on deck myself with some updates too. Barney   
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  Look forward to your updates Barney. 
I don't think I'd like doing anything second story by myself. I have a "healthy" fear of heights. I'm ok if I feel safe and there's someone else around, even if they're just watching.  
Even better if I can get them to do it instead of me  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

Took Saturday off but couldn't help myself so on Sunday did the front wall and window. Just really want to get this over with.  
Didn't need the palm nailer in the end. There was plenty of room to swing a hammer between fireplace and wall. I think I made the window a little smaller than I should have but with architrave it should help it look a bit bigger. I should have drawn it to scale first. Normally I would but hey...

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## shauck

Got all three walls clad and fascia and barge done. Need to get some new flashing for roof and thinking of getting some flashing folded for the slab/wb join.  
Still have to put up the eaves lining and weatherboards to the chimney wall. I spoke to the electrician about subdivision stuff and he suggests leaving that wall till after, as a new box will be put elsewhere and then this meter box becomes my property. No need to get them to remove it when I fix those boards. Anyway, we'll see. I'll at least do the ones in the corner, between chimney and bathroom as they are missing completely.  
Wanting to get onto plastering today, As soon as electrics are done, I'll refit the insulation. While I'm waiting for that, I'll do the outside stuff. Also get the glazier in.  
Nearly had a brain melt last night. Budget being tight for the moment, my mate will run me thru tiling 101 and leave me to it. Also all the stopping up. I've done a bit of both before but still gets me worked up. This particular part of the reno is either going to make or break me. He seems to have every confidence in me. Hope he's right.

----------


## ringtail

Love stopping up, NOT :Biggrin:

----------


## goldie1

You will be right with the tiling. Just take your time with it and plenty of thinking time before you 
start spreading glue. Its not all that difficult.

----------


## shauck

Cheers Goldie. That's what I like to hear. Ringtail, cheeky as ever. Yeah stopping up sucks a bit. Messy too.  
Firstly a few minor framing jobs to finish off while the electrics were being done. Thankfully I double checked the packing of walls and found a couple of errors. Didn't finish, unfortunately and I won't have help again till Thursday so today I'll get onto painting outside while the weather holds up.  
Dropped tools quite late and went to a bush party for a mates birthday. She made the most amazing smoked venison and pork sausages. I reckon the best sausages I have EVER eaten. Venison was wild, hunted by her and her partner.  Huge bonfire. Beers of course. Great way to wind down from a crazy, long day.

----------


## ringtail

Hmmmm, deer eh. I have deer on my property  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

Really? Lucky dude. Do you hunt or are they bambi's?

----------


## ringtail

Nah, I don't hunt. We  haven't even spent a night out there yet but thats about to change over Easter. I was out there this afternoon, getting dark when a dingo started howling near by. No doubt it had been watching me for a while. Time for a slingshot me thinks.

----------


## shauck

Sounds like a perfect Easter. Think of me tiling or something.  
Yesterday went different as planned. No painting. Decided to demo and re-clad the chimney wall, perpendicular to the bathroom front wall. Had to leave a few boards where the meter box is and left the gable area as well. They can wait for when the subdivision is done. Then, the meterbox will not belong to Powercor and can be worked on by any electrician apparently. Also the overhead line will be gone and out of the way. 
Had some great news yesterday too. The extra money has been approved by the bank. Going in today to sign. Phew, just in the nick of time. Now I can replenish the savings account and breathe while I finish this job. Suddenly I'm not hating it anymore. This includes the funds for the subdivision and development of lower block, so will be getting that process underway too. I feel just awesome and grateful that it's all happening.

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## ringtail

Awesome news Su. Pitty one has to pay the bank back at some stage.  Think of you tiling ? I'd rather think of you hand batching concrete and pushing a barrow 100 mt uphill. That will make my Easter chores more palatable. :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

> Think of you tiling ? I'd rather think of you hand batching concrete and pushing a barrow 100 mt uphill.

  That'll never happen.  :Sneaktongue:  
I'll actually keep working on the outside over Easter. Get the painting done. Haven't had my mate's help as he's been in Melbourne and now it's Easter so the rest of the plastering can wait till after the long weekend.  
Had a nice big bonfire last night. Burnt some of the demo materials. Roaring 4-5m high flames. The sound was crazy, popping and cracking, echoing off the trees. Not something I've heard before.

----------


## ringtail

> That'll never happen.  
> I'll actually keep working on the outside over Easter. Get the painting done. Haven't had my mate's help as he's been in Melbourne and now it's Easter so the rest of the plastering can wait till after the long weekend.  
> Had a nice big bonfire last night. Burnt some of the demo materials. Roaring 4-5m high flames. The sound was crazy, popping and cracking, echoing off the trees. Not something I've heard before.

  
Any excuse for a fire eh. I'll be having a crack at a composting toilet today. Hopefully it all goes to plan.

----------


## shauck

> Any excuse for a fire eh. I'll be having a crack at a composting toilet today. Hopefully it all goes to plan.

  Yeah, been waiting all summer to light the burn piles. During summer we try not to even think about fires. Composting toilet, sounds fun.

----------


## ringtail

I can think of better things to be doing out there but needs must. Probably the most vital piece of infrastructure to ensure harmony, if you know what I mean :Biggrin:

----------


## Renopa

Su, there's just one problem with your work.........it's too neat!!   It's so refreshing to see someone care about their work, keep it up!     :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

> I can think of better things to be doing out there but needs must. Probably the most vital piece of infrastructure to ensure harmony, if you know what I mean

  Sure do! Toilet is on the deck at the mo. Weather getting colder....

----------


## shauck

> Su, there's just one problem with your work.........it's too neat!!   It's so refreshing to see someone care about their work, keep it up!

  He he. I get picked on by my mate Marty (who I sometimes work with) all the time for being too neat. He thinks it's time wasting. He's the opposite so I'm constantly frustrated by his ways. I prefer to have tidy ups when possible. It helps me think straight.  
Been getting into the painting. Started a bit late yesterday so I've nearly finished cutting in the undercoat. Have to wait in the mornings if it's been a bit dewy. Not enjoying working around the chimney and overhead line connection to the house. Really hard to get at some areas up there. Undercoat always takes longest.

----------


## toooldforthis

painting weatherboards seems to be all cutting in  :Wink:  
what's the story with the flashing on the top architrave on the little window? 
in one photo is there, in another is not? 
presumably you have flashing under the weatherboard over the window frame, so the external one is a 2nd? would you get much weather there with those eaves? 
good work - great to see such progress.

----------


## shauck

Yeah, it's flashed. Weather not the worst on that wall. The eaves were non existent on previous wall (when it was up against chimney) so to get even that much is a bonus. I still have to get new flashing for roof.  
I'm up to the second top coat and first trim coat today. Weather's been good, no dew yesterday morning so I got a good start. Hoping for a repeat today and I may just get it all or nearly all done before the weather changes. Can't wait for this part to be over. Sick of painting. I get painting jobs sometimes and I'm a bit over it.  
At the moment, am trying to sort out lighting and fan issues. Have a raked ceiling (and skillion roof of course) and it's presenting us with restricted choices. Am part way thru sorting it all out.

----------


## shauck

Awesome, finished the painting! Must say that was the most loathing of a painting job to date. Probably quickest too. Once the flashing is done, that's it for outside. Can move all the pot plants back into place. Waiting for my mate to get back to me so we can get on with the plastering. Hopefully today.

----------


## shauck

So most of the plastering (villaboard) is done, except for the ceiling. I ran into a small issue with the selected lighting/heater fan combo and fan for near the shower. I've sorted that but am waiting for a the ceiling fan to arrive. It'll be an inline fan mounted in the roof space so I can't put the ceiling up until I get it. In the mean time, I've been sikaflexing and waterproofing and installing the door jamb and sill. Hopefully Monday the fan will turn up and we can get on with that. Nearing the tiling part... 
Had a very interesting discussion with a neighbour of ours. He's interested in partially owning this place and setting it up for holiday accomodation with us as co-owners. He'd pay us enough for his part ownership for us to build our next house on the subdivision and we'd still own a good portion of this house. He's an interior design guy who has access to funky furniture and would be able to furnish this place beautifully. We'd be able to stay living here while we build. I can hardly believe it. I sort of dreaded the idea of just anyone owning this place and we'd have to look at it every day. Biggest fear being it would go to seed. This way we get to keep it and look after it, with help from him. We're both pretty keen on the idea as this place would really suit accomodation. Could be a nice little earner for the long term.

----------


## goldie1

That would be handy. Make sure you get all the legal side done properly.

----------


## Renopa

> That would be handy. Make sure you get all the legal side done properly.

    :Arrow Up:  :Iagree:  
Good luck, hope it works out just great!

----------


## shauck

Assuming we go ahead with it, after some careful analysis of costs/effort vs potential profit, will definitely set it up properly and legally. I have a tendency to go over everything many times and do lots of research and thinking before I do most things. Can be spontaneous and open to ideas but then the logical brain takes over.

----------


## shauck

So getting along a bit further, progress wise. Almost all the plastering side of things are done. Just another base coat and top coat on the ceiling.  
Started tiling yesterday. My mate gluing and me placing tiles. I must say, it was quite fun and mostly stress free. The tiles are 300x600 and I had fears it would be a sh#t fight. It was mostly pretty easy and managed to avoid lippage pretty much, nothing anyone would notice anyway. During the wall prep or demo and rebuild stage, I was aware of the need to get them nice. My mate says this has made a lot of difference and he also thinks the tile quality can also make it harder if they're not all that. Anyway, a pleasant surprise to finally get to do something that is fun and a bit relaxing. Freak I hear you say?   
So much fun will be doing more today. Better go have a nap now as I got up way too early.

----------


## goldie1

Nice job Su.  Is this the start of a new career path?

----------


## shauck

> Nice job Su.  Is this the start of a new career path?

  May be a bit soon to tell. Perhaps if it's always as much fun as this but i suspect it would depend on the walls and the tiles being used. It may not always be this easy. I am enjoying it though and (sorry to the tilers but) it's easier than most of the stuff I do. Maybe because it's one of the finishing trades. Suits my virgo side. There's a few spots were if you get up close you'll see imperfections like where the nook wall intersects with the shower wall. There's a slight bow in the corner over the first three tiles. It's something you'll see when in the shower but it's not something I'll slit my wrists over. With experience I probably would have picked it up and adjusted better, using adhesive. A bit of minor lippage here and there but not so much that you'll see it without really looking for it.  
Finished most of the next wall. Just have to tile inside the nook.

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## goldie1

I certainly beats standing up frames in the rain. I got into it by default. Kept having trouble finding 
tilers when I was doing bathroom upgrades so I started doing it myself. The floors are a bit harder on the  
"older " body. Don't forget a bit of fall on the bottom of your niche.

----------


## shauck

> I certainly beats standing up frames in the rain. I got into it by default. Kept having trouble finding 
> tilers when I was doing bathroom upgrades so I started doing it myself. The floors are a bit harder on the  
> "older " body. Don't forget a bit of fall on the bottom of your niche.

  Cheers goldie1, I figured a fall to niche would be a good idea. Thankfully no tiling on floor so managed to dodge that bullet. Framing gives me a sore back too. Hate working on anything in the rain.  
There has been a bit of too-ing and fro-ing on some things. One being cornice or not and finally stuck with not. Very glad. Other was whether to use trim for niche. So we set out the tiles according to that and then I really didn't want to do that anymore. Wanted to do a mitre join with caulk but too late as the niche height was set already. So stuck with that.  
Back at it tomorrow.

----------


## shauck

Ok. Been a "few" days. Normally not on this forum at nite but i was so happy to get the cabinet in, finally, had to post. Lots of boring talk so I'll skip that. Pics are more fun. Will say tho, it's really hard to photograph this bathroom. It's hard to get it all in. The chickens are in the trees, just for fun....

----------


## Renopa

Looks great.....love the benchtop!  Congratulations.     :Biggrin:  
....that rooster is Ok too!!

----------


## goldie1

Gees mate you won't know yourself  very swish   :2thumbsup:

----------


## Cecile

> The chickens are in the trees, just for fun....

  Ted's comment:  That's a "foul" picture. 
Shall I shoot him?   :Rofl:

----------


## shauck

Cheers Renopa, goldie. It's starting to look a bit fancy. Big difference from how it was.  
Yes Cecile, shoot him with your imaginary finger gun please.  
Was at my mates place, the bush hut that I built a couple years ago, when I took the pics. The chooks get up in the trees to get away from the pups. There's four of them still (was seven) and they're pretty boisterous.  
Will get all the caulking finished today (not something I'm best at) and fit the toilet roll holder and towel rail. So close to having a shower again. Other than that, I just need to get a door happening, a mirror and some new flashing for the roof and bottom edge of walls. List is short.  
Haven't got much work to go back to so I posted on our local Daylesford Grapevine Facebook page. Got a couple of jobs out of that within an hour! Love this town.

----------


## ChocDog

Yeah, double that - that bench top is great. Obvious questions: what, how, and who did? We're in the process of something similar at the moment so would love to know its story. 
Cheers!

----------


## shauck

Thanks ChocDog.  
I'm assuming your questions are about the bench/vanity?  
I did a lot of searching before choosing this cupboard. I really don't like most bathroom vanities and wanted a different look. A lot of stuff I do like is crazy expensive and making something myself was just too much for me to attempt given all the other stuff (rebuild the bathroom) I had to do.  
After googling quite a bit, I hit on an idea. Started searching for non bathroom cabinets, sideboards to be exact. I came across some pretty nice but expensive custom made stuff or reclaimed stuff. Way out of my price bracket at the moment.  
So, this one isn't designed to be a bathroom vanity. I think it was a tv entertainment unit or sideboard or something like that. I found it on ebay and the guy made me a similar one to the size I wanted so it was deeper and longer. I also wanted a solid back so I could hang it from the wall. The doors were supposed to be painted but he upgraded me to poly doors right at the last minute, probably because there was a bit of a delay getting it to me or maybe the doors didn't turn out right. I was quite surprised when it turned up and it's constructed mostly of timber. The veneer is on chipboard but the rest is timber, except for the divider shelves.  
This guy is in Sydney. Timberworx Furniture. His name is Aaron and is a nice guy. timberworx-furniture items - Get great deals on oak-furniture, oak-bedroom furniture items on eBay Stores! You can see some of the stuff he makes thru his ebay store. So basically, this was a cheaper (cost $895) alternative to custom made timber furniture which you would end up paying thousands for. Not as good of course in the sense that it's not solid oak top, etc, you get what you pay for. I figured it was worth trying it out and see if it holds up in a bathroom/moisture situation. If it lasts a few years then needs work (re-coating) or replacing, I wont be too worried for that price.  
So, there you go. That's the story.

----------


## ringtail

Looks great Su. A bit bloody fancy for the country  :Biggrin: . Never picked  you for a girly girl  :Tongue:  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

Thanks Ringtail. I like the country cottage look on the outside and the modern clean on the inside. Mostly modern works cause the house is so tiny, you sort of have to keep it simple.  
I'm definitely not a girly girl, not on the outside anyway. I run about in work boots/clothes and bonds t shirts most of the time. Never wear a dress, don't own one. Have a shaved head and make up is Tanya's domain. Here's a pic of Tanya (right) and me (left). Good lookin' aren't we?  :Biggrin:

----------


## old1955

Su, 
Have just found this thread and read it this afternoon from beginning to end. Love your work. Congratulations. 
Ross

----------


## r3nov8or

> ...
> So, this one isn't designed to be a bathroom vanity. I think it was a tv entertainment unit or sideboard or something like that..

   That's great "out of the square" thinking! Great work all round.

----------


## shauck

> Su, 
> Have just found this thread and read it this afternoon from beginning to end. Love your work. Congratulations. 
> Ross

  Thanks old1955. That would have been a hefty read. Glad you liked it.

----------


## shauck

> That's great "out of the square" thinking! Great work all round.

  Cheers, r3nov8or. Sometimes you gotta do it that way to get anything different from the masses. Overall, I think bathroom vanities with the moulded built in basins/tops are dominating the market and I usually shy away from that sort of thing. In this case I think it saved me a few bucks as well.  
The main reasoning for this style is because I needed a lot of storage as there is no laundry or linen press so this cabinet needs to store a lot of stuff. I think when I build the new house, I'll probably do something similar by choosing furniture designed as a sideboard but will spend more or build myself with solid timber tops. Maybe. Never know at this point. The style of interior may be quite a bit different and needing storage space in a bathroom will not be part of the equation.  
Got the caulking done mostly so just have to let it dry a couple of days, especially the silicone around the shower panel. Should be able to have a shower tomorrow night without going elsewhere.

----------


## ringtail

> Good lookin' aren't we?

  Indeed. Modest too.  :Biggrin:

----------


## shauck

> Indeed. Modest too.

  He he. Maybe not.  
I was thinking, maybe a post of all the regulars selfies, so we can put a face to the name. Or will that ruin the mystery?

----------


## ringtail

Might break the odd ipad screen in my case but not a bad idea

----------


## shauck

> might break the odd ipad screen in my case but not a bad idea

   :Biggrin:  he he

----------


## goldie1

> He he. Maybe not.  
> I was thinking, maybe a post of all the regulars selfies, so we can put a face to the name. Or will that ruin the mystery?

  That's an impressive idea so I'll start with an artists impression of what I see in the mirror each morning  
Or what I imagine I see

----------


## shauck

Wow goldie! Didn't know you were George in real life! Come on all. Post your pics here then.

----------


## goldie1

> Wow goldie! Didn't know you were George in real life! Come on all. Post your pics here then.

  May be a new thread?  This could get out of hand

----------


## ChocDog

> Thanks ChocDog.  
> I'm assuming your questions are about the bench/vanity?  
> This guy is in Sydney. Timberworx Furniture. His name is Aaron and is a nice guy. timberworx-furniture items - Get great deals on oak-furniture, oak-bedroom furniture items on eBay Stores! You can see some of the stuff he makes thru his ebay store. So basically, this was a cheaper (cost $895) alternative to custom made timber furniture which you would end up paying thousands for. Not as good of course in the sense that it's not solid oak top, etc, you get what you pay for. I figured it was worth trying it out and see if it holds up in a bathroom/moisture situation. If it lasts a few years then needs work (re-coating) or replacing, I wont be too worried for that price.  
> So, there you go. That's the story.

  Brilliant, thanks for that. Will definitely put it in the memory banks for later. Would have been great if he was in Melb so could check it out in person before committing though. Thanks again!

----------


## shauck

> Brilliant, thanks for that. Will definitely put it in the memory banks for later. Would have been great if he was in Melb so could check it out in person before committing though. Thanks again!

  Yeah, Melbourne would have been better for me too as the freight was 300 bucks. After I ordered it, I thought perhaps I could have taken the image to someone local and saved a bit but in the end I felt that was unfair to use his design. I suppose you could take your own ideas to a local cabinet maker. Keep in mind, this cabinet is all timber, except for the chipboard/veneer. Not sure how others would make it but I expected the inside would be melamine so was surprised when I got it. The back is tongue and groove.

----------


## shauck

Bit of an update. 
Mostly been concentrating on the subdivision. I've employed a local guy to submit planning application which includes bushfire report. We are going for a BAL29 rating.  
I've had most of the trees removed already, about 26 trees or so. Several locals came and cut up the wood and removed it either as firewood or some nice post sized logs. Mostly Yellow Box. Managed to get all the tops burnt and the ground raked and burnt all the debris before the start of fire season. That was Sunday night.  
Got the excavator who will be doing the big cutout, coming to remove the stumps and smooth it all over before the CFA come for inspection. They aren't expected to come until a week after permit application is submitted. It's being submitted this morning. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly from here... 
Pic of cleared lower half of block. Most of what you see will be the new block 998m2. Just under 1000m2 means only need 5000L tank rather than 10,000L tank. The old house will also need a 5000L tank. Hmmmm, just the start of the cockeyed-ness of things.    
Probably the best and most surprising thing, we talked to the bank/loans branch manager who we've been dealing with all along. She has made the next step really easy for us. I was all ready for the next stage to be difficult with many hoop jumping exercises. When we sell the original house, we want some cash for building the new place. She said we could transfer the loan over to the block and keep x amount based on land value without having to furninsh a builder or any owner builder/costing details stuff. It should be enough to get us a fair way, if not all the way finished, so long as we keep things under control. Takes a load off my mind.

----------


## Swerve

Sounds exciting, good luck

----------


## Renopa

Good luck Su, looks like a nice block ;-)

----------


## shauck

Thanks guys. Very exciting stage. Lots to do. Thankfully I'm working on a build a couple of doors over from our house as it keeps me concentrating on other things. I think I'd go mad with impatient distraction otherwise.

----------


## OBBob

I haven't looked in this thread before ... now I'm going to need to read the whole thing.  :Smilie:  The chickens in the trees are great, if mine did that I'd be in real trouble!

----------


## shauck

Chickens in trees... I'm pretty sure that was from my mates place. I built them an off grid house out of town. They have a very different lifestyle out there. Lots of lean too huts for kitchen, bathroom, etc. Plenty of outdoor living. Chooks are all gone now. the last rooster harrased one of the kids (7 year old girl) so the slightly older brother (about 10 yo) helped her catch it and cut it's head off. Then they both plucked it and presented it to mum to cook.

----------


## OBBob

ha ha ... roosters don't survive at my place either (little closer to the city than you). I think chopping the head off a chicken and plucking it is a pretty good lesson in where your food comes from and how it should be valued.

----------


## shauck

Also how to deal with bullies

----------


## OBBob

I see you had some trouble with the golden cypress. I imagine as decking boards it may need careful care due to the tendency to want to crack and etc. However, don't discount it completely ... I used it to make an open pergola at the last place and loved it. It was quite stable in big sections and if uncoated it just greys off to a nice silver colour. Smells lovely compared to treated pine too!  :Smilie:

----------


## shauck

Yeah, OBBob. Had some trouble.  
At the time of purchase (all the framing timber and the decking), I had no where onsite to store it and so it was stored at a yard several doors down. It was covered with a heavy duty tarp but it wasn't stacked real well. Some long lengths (posts, included) were on the top of stacks rather than the bottom and so weren't properly supported all along the lengths and then it rained some torrential rain, unlike anything I'd seen for many years. I'd say for sure this caused some of the problems.  
I also think the quality of decking was pretty poor and shouldn't have been selected in the first place. I guess it was early days experience wise and today, I would have sent the decking back and waited for replacement. I also would have re-stacked the rest of the framing materials. Best I learned this lesson on my place and not a job.

----------


## OBBob

It also generally freshly milled, so storage of unseasoned timber would be important.  
Great job on the cottage by the way, imagine what the original builders would think if they could see it in its saved, modernised state.

----------


## shauck

> It also generally freshly milled, so storage of unseasoned timber would be important.  
> Great job on the cottage by the way, imagine what the original builders would think if they could see it in its saved, modernised state.

  Thanks OBBob. It feels very satisfying. Looking forward to a new build tho, rather than a renovation.

----------


## ringtail

Looking forward to this one Su. The block looks steepish ?

----------


## shauck

Yeah it's a bit steep. About 12 degrees. It'll be very different when I'm through with the excavation tho. I should probably start a new thread when the subdivision goes through.

----------


## turnstiles

Nice sized block Su - will the new house be down alongside your current one? 
Have you drawn up any preliminary plans/designs for the new place yet? 
Looking forward to following the new thread.

----------


## shauck

> Nice sized block Su - will the new house be down alongside your current one? 
> Have you drawn up any preliminary plans/designs for the new place yet? 
> Looking forward to following the new thread.

  As you can see from the pic, the block is narrow and long. The pic shows most of what will be the backyard of this house (miners cottage) and all of what will be the new block. The new house will be situated in the middle of the new block and will face the gully at the bottom. It will take up most of the width of the block. I do have some preliminary plans drawn up. As soon as I get planning permission, I'll post them in the new thread.

----------


## shauck

Just thought I'd post some pics of the removal of stumps. I was working a couple of doors over and me and my offsider took a break to watch it all happen. Big machinery made fast work of it. Was awesome to watch. Ripped out about 25 stumps and cleaned up the site in less than a couple of hours. More time in getting set up and leaving.

----------


## ringtail

Woohoo ! Awesome Su. Gotta love machinery

----------


## Renopa

Let the project begin!!  Perfect block for a multi-level house. ;-)

----------


## OBBob

> Let the project begin!!  Perfect block for a multi-level house. ;-)

  But then where would the shed go?  :Wink:

----------


## Renopa

Oh you could have a 'whole' level for the shed....isn't that the most important part of any house??  ;-))

----------


## shauck

This guys machinery makes others look like toys. Definitely impressive. 
The shed is unfortunately not going to be impressive. Just not enough room and I want the house to be low set so.... The two cut outs will be pretty big. One for parking area and long narrow shed (to block that neighbour's house) Lower down will be one for house and a few meters in front and behind house. I see a lot of houses on sloping blocks up here and mostly they are poorly maintained due to difficult access. I want easy access sot that when I'm 70, I can still look after it myself.

----------


## SlowMick

Nothing like a blank canvas to start your masterpiece on.

----------


## shauck

> Nothing like a blank canvas to start your masterpiece on.

  Too true. Bit sad looking at it at the moment, without all the lovely trees but time will fix that.

----------


## OBBob

What a great slope ...

----------


## shauck

I'm building a studio two doors over for our neighbours. They have a similar property and have done some excavation. He also just had a slide installed, made by local engineering company. It's great fun. It seems to be getting faster. Last time I went on it, I convinced Tanya, My partner to have a go. She nearly ended up in a face plant. I grabbed her hand just in time.

----------


## SilentButDeadly

> What a great slope ...

  
nahhh....this is what they need

----------


## shauck

That I like.

----------


## shauck

Just got the all clear from the CFA regarding planning permit. Apparently that's the biggest hurdle. Also means that cutting down of trees has not been an issue. Phew! Tomorrow is the last day that objections can be made to council so feeling pretty good. Early January should see it through. :Yippy:

----------


## Renopa

WOW....great news su!!  Over the first hurdle.....

----------


## OBBob

Another busy year next year then! Good to be busy.  :Biggrin:

----------


## goldie1

> What a great slope ...

  
Roll of builders plastic and a hose    easy as!

----------


## OBBob

^ we are all waiting for the invite on the next 30+ degree day!  :Smilie:

----------


## shauck

> ^ we are all waiting for the invite on the next 30+ degree day!

  Sounds like a fun day for all. Might have to get hold of some hay bales for the stop at the bottom and rake up the random rocks and bits of tree root laying about.

----------


## OBBob

Yes,  getting snagged half way down would not be fun... but at least you've got a first aid kit on hand now!

----------


## Armers

I know first aid if you need a name and someone on site for the JSA!

----------


## shauck

> Yes,  getting snagged half way down would not be fun... but at least you've got a first aid kit on hand now!

  Yes, yes I have. Should have got one a long time ago.    

> I know first aid if you need a name and someone on site for the JSA!

  You get to go first on the slide then. QA.

----------


## Armers

Hah, that like sending the Major-General out first!

----------


## Renopa

And don't forget to post it on YouTube so the rest of us can watch!! ....sounds like fun!!! 
Seriously though, we had a sloping front lawn (not as steep as yours) when living on acres and used to buy the kids some black builders plastic (as mentioned above) for their Summer fun.  In Winter we made toboggins from a sheet of old roofing iron (edged with slit garden hose so fingers didn't get chomped off) and they used to play on the same slope....any wonder the grass was never great on that section of lawn.  I think the dog enjoyed it most of all and used to get in on the fun too....now, that was hilarious to see him trying to outdo the kids!!   :Biggrin:

----------


## OBBob

OMG... imagine the JSA for that roof iron version. :eek:

----------


## ringtail

Excellent news Su. Do the CFA do the BAL rating for your construction ?

----------


## shauck

> Excellent news Su. Do the CFA do the BAL rating for your construction ?

  The CFA look at the submission and decide if it's viable. Not just BAL but other stuff too, like access for fire truck, water tanks, etc.  
The BAL rating was put forward by a guy I employed to do the whole planning permit. He knows what will likely be approved as it's his job to get it done. Initially, I asked him if he could try for a lower BAL rating and he said it probably wouldn't be approved.  
I could have put forward all this myself if I wanted to. It was just easier to have a guy familiar with them and the process, do it for me. It cost me about 1100 bucks all up for the planning permit and BAL assessment, with the BAL assessment costing about 800 bucks of that.  
I'm better off earning a living than muddling through all that.

----------


## ringtail

True. Earning the coin has to be done either way so may as well concentrate on that. Was your BAL level pretty severe ? Just wondering as the limited research I have done indicates that anything towards the top of a hill or slope gets caned in the ratings.

----------


## shauck

> True. Earning the coin has to be done either way so may as well concentrate on that. Was your BAL level pretty severe ? Just wondering as the limited research I have done indicates that anything towards the top of a hill or slope gets caned in the ratings.

  It's BAL29. That's for both properties. Not too bad but I would have liked to attempt BAL19, especially for the original house. Probably best to go for a safe bet so as not to have to waste time and money if there's a rejection. The lower half of the block is virtually at the bottom of the gully and our bottom fence line is about 20-25m from the gully and forest. Hepburn Springs, Main Rd runs along a ridge with gullies either side so it's a fairly high fire danger area.  
One of the aspects of building that I've been keen to solve is the cladding. I want hardwood but possibly in the vertical so a bit like a lapped fence. Wider boards first with a small gap and sikaflex then a chunkier batten over the gap. The official list of timbers is short and There's a bit to know about the way they are milled to make them more suitable. I'm looking for other timbers that may be allowed and must be suitable for this application and that I can get locally milled and/or find a cheaper source.

----------


## Bloss

A few timbers are suitable - a good resource is www.timber.net.au - The Australian Database of Timber - Timber in Bushfire Prone Areas and Harpers have good info page too Timber In Bushfire Prone Areas | Harper Timber. The key will be finding suitably milled stock.

----------


## ringtail

Just out of interest, have you seen the new steel "weatherboards" from lysart ? Food for thought.

----------


## shauck

> A few timbers are suitable - a good resource is www.timber.net.au - The Australian Database of Timber - Timber in Bushfire Prone Areas and Harpers have good info page too Timber In Bushfire Prone Areas | Harper Timber. The key will be finding suitably milled stock.

  I think it'll end up being a limited search based on what I've seen so far.     

> Just out of interest, have you seen the new steel "weatherboards" from lysart ? Food for thought.

  I would have thought you'd be happy I want to use hardwood.

----------


## ringtail

Yes indeed but, horses for courses. I'll be using a mix of zincalume, mini orb and steel " weatherboards" to clad the farm cabin just so (a) next to no maintenance, longevity and hopefully a less draconian BAL rating. And the cost. HWD boards cost a bomb up here and shrink heaps which means work. The less unpaid work I do the better  :Biggrin:

----------


## OBBob

Must be busy Shauk... is the second place finished yet?  :Biggrin:

----------


## Renopa

We've missed you Su...didn't realise how long it's been!   ;-)

----------


## shauck

Sorry for having abandoned you all lately. Been sidetracked.  
Still finishing off the subdivision. The preliminary excavation work has been done and all the services have been trenched in which made a bit of a mess of the neat excavation work.  
Brian (excavator guy) will be back soon to tidy up and place all the rocks for retaining walls.  
Then rest of the list -  
Powercorp to come and hook up the underground power to the existing house and remove the overhead wire.
The water tanks for both properties to be installed (part of CFA's requirements).
The asphalt laid on the extended driveway and gravel down the north boundary and bottom property's driveway area.
A fence marking the new border.
Some garden beds established. 
Paperwork type of stuff.  
After that, I can submit planning and building permit. I'll submit them together to save time. All my plans are drawn and just need to make a few adjustments relating to the groundworks as the measurements are slightly different to the ones on the plans. I had a friend who does drafting look over my plans a while back and gave me a list of things to do to get them looking right. That was awesome.  
At the moment the rain has held up things a bit. It's been raining here for nearly two weeks. I've been waiting for the opportunity to reinstate the fence between our northern neighbour and our property. Finally yesterday, fighting the mud, managed to get the fence posts in. Some time ago, they excavated on their side of the fence right up to the fence and never retained it so I'm looking at ways to fix this. They don't live here, just visit once every while and have left it up to me. I'm thinking of using large rocks to do the job. It's a matter of getting them in there tho. I could just do a timber retaining wall but we'll see. I'm going to have to do something before I finish the fence. 
Some pics of excavation work and trenches. With the services, I made sure everything is in, right up to the house site/shed site/water tanks/drainage for retaining walls/everything. Once the rock retaining walls are in it would be damn near impossible otherwise. So this is more than is required for the subdivision purpose. Even managed to get the gas done although normally they don't do this until there is a house. I wanted to get all the services from the road down the north boundary in the one trench and covered up before selling the house. So I told them an asphalt driveway would be there soon and they agreed to do it. Awesome.  
The first point of use for power and water will be from the shed and will build that first.     extending the drivewayworking on the cutoutsview from side street, north of our propertyasphalt cut where services get trenched in.sewer trench south boundarycutout/trench for house sitecut out/trench for parking/shed area

----------


## OBBob

Glad it's still progressing!

----------


## Renopa

Didn't think you'd be sitting back but good to see your progress.  The groundwork is always the slowest but worth all the planning.   
Hope the weather is kind to you so you can power ahead.  ;-)

----------


## ringtail

Geez Su, I bet there is some evil mud run off when it rains hard

----------


## shauck

At this point, it's not too bad generally. I walked down there yesterday morning and it wasn't too muddy. Where I'm reinstating the fence, it's very soft along the side of the driveway where the services were trenched in and I removed a lot of mud from the holes and dumped it on the dirt part of the driveway where there's other loose, dumped dirt waiting to be taken away. I'm learning not to be too bothered as the big machine will be back soon and clean it all up. In my head it looks totally different.

----------


## dodobird

Su,    I am enjoying reading this one  only on page 2 and if you were closer to me would offer you a job  :Smilie:   thanks for the privelege of reading  
I have a 1940s hour with original outhouse with laundry, bathroom, and toilet,  what fun,  and the oringinal brick chimneys.  one in kitchen and one in lounge,  so going to install a 40's wood cooker.   Just for a smile  am going to try to post my photos,  love your house  :Smilie:   and the work you have done  :Smilie:  
This is what I inherited  
same angle as first but after clean up of yard.   
Your photo reminded me of mine and it also is a miners family home. 
Thank Su

----------


## dodobird

> That's quite a compliment. Thank you.  
> I get to create work for myself here and that satisfies my urge to build but working with someone and being paid for it would be my ultimate choice. I hope that after I'm close to finished on my own house, this will happen. 
> I really need more experience on building from start to finish so that when I do an addition to the house, I will be able to do all of it, with confidence. That would be great. 
> In the mean time, cabinetry assembly is not too bad either.

  Su,  I would hire you to help me,  the work you have done is awesome.  Seeing this post is a few years old..  I really hope you got your wish to work with a builder to learn more....   you really have a gift there,  Awesome work,  Should see the Jerry built bits in my kitchen area LOL and that was supposed to be a qualified builder :Smilie:   Best wishes

----------


## shauck

Hi dodobird.  
Thanks for the compliment and love your cottage. It looks like you have a nice one there. I'm betting the view is pretty awesome. Would be great to work on. Pity we're at other ends of the world.  
That comment above was so long ago. If you keep reading you'll see things did progress and am now at subdivision stage and almost ready to build a new house and start a new thread.  
Since that post I've had a fair bit of building work and am finally "qualified" carpenter (whatever that means - always feel there's more I could be better at). Mostly working on my own with labouring help from mostly the customer when I've needed it. Things like standing up frames, rafters, plastering, stuff too heavy for one. Most stuff I do on my own tho.  
I've got a couple of threads on other builds. They aren't to completion as customers like to take over at some point, usually for financial reasons. I've just finished a studio and several decks, one being a deck over the studio which had a very interesting roof design that incorporated the deck. I haven't posted that one tho.    http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/bush-house-98772/ http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/mu...levels-103782/ 
Cheers, Su.

----------


## phild01

> http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/bush-house-98772/ 
> Cheers, Su.

  Would love to be a kid experiencing that Bush House build, especially life in the bush shack.

----------


## dodobird

> Hi dodobird.  
> Thanks for the compliment and love your cottage. It looks like you have a nice one there. I'm betting the view is pretty awesome. Would be great to work on. Pity we're at other ends of the world.  
> That comment above was so long ago. If you keep reading you'll see things did progress and am now at subdivision stage and almost ready to build a new house and start a new thread.  
> Since that post I've had a fair bit of building work and am finally "qualified" carpenter (whatever that means - always feel there's more I could be better at). Mostly working on my own with labouring help from mostly the customer when I've needed it. Things like standing up frames, rafters, plastering, stuff too heavy for one. Most stuff I do on my own tho.  
> I've got a couple of threads on other builds. They aren't to completion as customers like to take over at some point, usually for financial reasons. I've just finished a studio and several decks, one being a deck over the studio which had a very interesting roof design that incorporated the deck. I haven't posted that one tho.    http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/bush-house-98772/ http://www.renovateforum.com/f176/mu...levels-103782/ 
> Cheers, Su.

  Thanks Su, 
Finished reading the whole 8 pages last night and it is truly an awesome job.  Will post image of my view from behind the garage,  Will enjoy reading your new  links.  Some fabulous ideas,  and such a joy to see work well done. 
My orignal house is great - high ceilings, and well laid out but big and not a lot to do apart from carpet and paint. Land is sloped and has been landscaped fairly nicely ... block has 2 sections that are flat one for house and other for garage..  but no way can I take a photo to see the lot,  it is 3/4 acres in town BUT will post the view from my back yard, after we trimmed/ masacared the fruit trees which had been growing wild,  now we can not only see more but all the fruit is pickable,  love eating the fresh oranges, grapefruit, apples and plums. 
Have started on my renovation - though I will be paying someone to do it..... If you ever have a month off work let me know  -   it is only 250 km  :Smilie:  
Had to pull out all the cement sheeting in the back section,   to make it easier and cheaper for spaky to rewire that section.  Originally it had small kitchen to West and the bathroom was on East side with undercover verandah inbetween.  "Jerry decided to build it in and have a dining area, plus a verandah,  and oh boy what a mess when we pulled off the cement sheets, insulation etc,  2 fosilised rats - not bad expected more - birds nests and sure glad we did it ...  the sparky would have cost a fortune. 
So now living with just the studs and trying to work out the best design for that area.   But will get there,  so many ideas in my head,  and hard to find someone who cant think outside the box and keep it in character.  Was able to buy an restored 1930's wood cooker to put in fireplace in kitchen.  And have to decide what to do,  DO NOT want the toilet in the kitchen/dining/relaxing area  :Smilie:   Call me stupid  but toilet and bathroom should not be in this area,  might make the third bedroom smaller and put there as plumbing is on that wall,  OR I could make sense of the miles of copper water pipes between bathroom and cellar underneath....  would love the bathroom down there,  would give me a lot more light .... 
I did start a thread for ideas,  but maybe posted in wrong area  :Smilie:   
 Did find the back yard view.....  when its not raining like now  :Smilie:  
Thanks for sharing your project - It has been a pleasure to read and enjoy now to go and read your other 2 projects ...   Wish you all the very best for the new home 
Blessings 
Janina

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## shauck

Must say, that's a very nice view. Tempted to help.... I'm mostly just concentrating on the subdivision at the moment. Waiting for the next big job to start and have one lead on a deck job that I'm checking out today. Had a few tyre kickers that may or may not lead to future work. Hmmm 250km. Put lots of thought into it now and you'll be happy that you did. The planning process is pretty important.

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## dodobird

> Must say, that's a very nice view. Tempted to help.... I'm mostly just concentrating on the subdivision at the moment. Waiting for the next big job to start and have one lead on a deck job that I'm checking out today. Had a few tyre kickers that may or may not lead to future work. Hmmm 250km. Put lots of thought into it now and you'll be happy that you did. The planning process is pretty important.

  Hi Su, 
Thanks,   Thanks for reminding me the planning is important -  it is driving me crazy -  I have thought so much  am going ditzy.  Am going to call a few more builders and see what happens, though I might need to see an architect for ideas?   Do you think I could tempt you and Tanya  for maybe a weekend away?  just to have a look and offer some ideas on where to put that toilet and bathroom???  Could post some more lovely pictures  LOL. 
Do you have time to have a look at    http://www.renovateforum.com/f233/ne...please-115966/   I have the plans there and maybe I have put my question in the wrong place - demolitian - and a picture of how the kitchen, toilet, bathroom is laid out.??? please. 
Your area is gorgeous as well,  Had a friend at Olinda and we travelled a lot around the area and it was all awesome....  remember going each week to fill all the water containers with natural spring water some where probably Hepburn Springs,   
Have I asked too much?  Hope I havent been rude in doing so,  Have read your other links and you do a fabulous job.  when I see your work and look at the work done on this place ...  well I will post a picture and maybe start a thread or there might be one,  good job... lousy job  :Smilie:   Have a wonderful weekend.  Hope you are not getting the rain we did, last night, it will make a slush field of your lower property.  I had a river running through my place.  On the bright side  it might be able to be converted into a small creek running down to the back orchard. so as not to have to store the water and to channel it where it is needed. 
Blessings  Janina

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## shauck

> Would love to be a kid experiencing that Bush House build, especially life in the bush shack.

  It's a great lifestyle out there. Every time I go out to see them, there's another lean to with a name like "the pavilion" At the moment they're clearing some areas a bit further out and the kids are enjoying new spaces to hang out.  
There's some huge pieces of foam block that were on the property next to them and the kids are making forts out of them. It's sort of anything goes there.  
One of the kids, Herbie, is going to have a birthday party with a medieval theme. There'll be kids and adults all joining in, all in costumes (reminds me, I've gotta get to the op shop today for some costume materials). Sword fights, bows and arrows and target practice. Great place for everyone to party.  
Frankie has his own hut. He's 12.  
The house still doesn't have plasterboard or other internal linings. All the walls are hung with heavy curtains and blankets and rugs collected from wherever/op shops. Total chaos in the house and around. Stuff everywhere. So different to our place (we're very neat) but I love it anyway.  
Wild roast pig the other weekend. Was awesome.  
I should take some more pics and post them in that thread.

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## shauck

I will talk to Tanya and if she is up for it, it may be a possibility. Hate to see you suffer like this. And, no, not rude. You just sound like you need a bit of help. 
I've had a quick look at your thread. Hope my ideas help a bit. Of course, it's best to see in person to assess the roof structure and see if any load bearing walls are needed to take the roof load. This can be worked around but it's nice (cheaper/less work) when you don't have to.

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## dodobird

> I will talk to Tanya and if she is up for it, it may be a possibility. Hate to see you suffer like this. And, no, not rude. You just sound like you need a bit of help.

  Hi Su, [ hi to Tanya  :Smilie: ] 
It would be nice if possible,  If its meant to be it will be  :Smilie:   
Sounds like kids are having an awesome time.   Thats a reminder of us as kids,  making billycarts out of scrap wood and racing down the main street,  then when more proficient down our street,  which was much steeper and full of holes.   
The council graded the main street regularly [yep no bitumen on our roads in those days - wouldnt believe that than and now we supplied all of Vics power- and no decent roads in town/village]  climbing the gums, playing cowboys and indians,  never saw home on weekends or after school and farmwork, except at breakfast and dinner....   
They were great days with just the radio, and make your own fund,  fishing in the creek, swimming at the lakes, -  but no op-shops as very few people had more than they needed so no excess to give away.  But love them,  favorite place to shop.  Found a photo of our first home which was a shack 2 rooms - that housed 2 parents and 2 children until our parents had enough money to buy the materials and buidl their own homes.  And they are still standing straight and tall .....  wish my dad was still here,  he would have the job finished by now,  LOL,  he is probably watching me and having a laugh at how disorganised I have become, and wishing he was still here,  good opportunity for a good interesting discussion  :Smilie:  
Another rainy day here,  am looking at some free online progs to see if I can make drawings of some ideas. 
Have a great day and hope everything goes to plan  :Smilie:

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## shauck

Pity you don't live up here. Lots of community minded people who would help you when you need it. Sell up, move to Daylesford/Hepburn Springs.  :Smilie:

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## shauck

Ok. Spoke to Tanya and showed her your view from the backyard (that had the winning effect) Jokingly she said "awful" then she called it "telly tubby land" If you have room to put us up and can cover the costs of travel and it's ok to bring our little schnauzer (Noodle) we could come for a Saturday/night but not till 20th June. Got stuff on this weekend and next. We can talk about ideas and hopefully get you ready to go ahead from there. PM me your number if you want to talk about it more.  :Smilie:

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## dodobird

> Pity you don't live up here. Lots of community minded people who would help you when you need it. Sell up, move to Daylesford/Hepburn Springs.

  
Good morning, 
This time I am going to read from the top so I dont miss anything  :Smilie:  will say more in next post  :Smilie:

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## dodobird

> Ok. Spoke to Tanya and showed her your view from the backyard (that had the winning effect) Jokingly she said "awful" then she called it "telly tubby land" If you have room to put us up and can cover the costs of travel and it's ok to bring our little schnauzer (Noodle) we could come for a Saturday/night but not till 20th June. Got stuff on this weekend and next. We can talk about ideas and hopefully get you ready to go ahead from there. PM me your number if you want to talk about it more.

  Tele tubby land LOL,  will have to check the videos again,   guess I will have to talk you for a walk 6km up peril bush track  :Smilie:  
I have room, 3 bedrooms, so take your pick,  even have electric blankets on all  :Smilie:   Will PM you my number,  And thank you very much,   will have to make a nice meal as well as travel costs,  would be more than well worth it,   PM me what you like to eat, and drink  :Smilie:   
This is the wood stove I bought,  thought I found someone to cut off the cement so I can fit it in,  but didnt have correct tools    
Not quite Telly tubby land  :Smilie:    
But back was probably a haven for kids,  but also spiders and snakes  
June 2012 
cleaned up and grew to this   Nov 2013          and Nov 2014     
dont think the stove belongs in this post,  will upload to my thread   :Smilie:

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## dodobird

Dont know what I did for the thumbs to become pictures,   Sorry  :Smilie:

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## shauck

Thumbnails will become pictures if you go back and edit the post. It's fine. Sometimes I do that on purpose so it saves readers from having to click onto the thumbnails. It does load the page up with a bit more so if the page has loads of photos on it, it can load slowly for some (especially when you have a dodgy rural connection that blows out over the weekend due to tourist infestation) 
Telly tubby land out the back, the rolling hills. Got your PM and have texted you my number, etc.

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## r3nov8or

> ...(especially when you have a dodgy rural connection that blows out over the weekend due to tourist infestation)

  Recently we stayed in Kyneton for a week (a bit of a relaxing tradition for us) and thought we'd see some markets in quiet little Daylesford on the Sunday. OMG! There was barely a parking spot on the railway area and surrounding streets for the market (some 'interesting' old tool traders there), and after that we went into the town center for lunch and could find nothing but a 15min spot outside the Info Centre! So the bakery kindly extorted us for our takeaway lunch and we found a park. I'm sure the locals must avoid the town centre on weekends.

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## shauck

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I live in Hepburn Springs which is a few minutes north of Daylesford. Not so manic on the weekends. I try to avoid Daylesford but I do know where the parking spots are when I need one.

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## dodobird

Thanks Su,
Enjoyed the day, company and the ideas.  Here is the Teletubbies hill today  didnt see the sun till middle afternoon.  :Smilie:   pea soup  :Smilie:

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## shauck

No worries was good to talk and hope it helped.

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## dodobird

> No worries was good to talk and hope it helped.

  Thanks Su,  sure did,  am starting to do drawings, and making list of things, then go through and prioritise.
Luckily I typed a lot of what you said,  so had a really good starting point  :Smilie:  
Again, thanks to you and Tania  :Smilie:

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## shauck

"Brian (excavator guy) will be back soon to tidy up and place all the rocks for retaining walls." 
The above quote was back in May, 5 months ago. Tell you what, waiting is not something I do well at all. Weather has been to wet to get it done sooner, so finally all the ground work is done and it's looking really neat.  
Ready for asphalt, lawn and tree planting. Will get onto the trees on Wednesday when things cool down again. Same with the lawn. Got some really long hoses.  
The trees will be aspen. Just planting root stock so it'll be a while before they are prominent but that gives us something to look forward to. Was going to plant 4 but now that I've seen the size of the front lawn area, I think I'll get more than that in.  
Will also plant natives in the rock walls to soften them up a bit. Can't wait to see that take off.  
Some pics below.

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## OBBob

Welcome back! Progress to boot.  :Smilie:

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## shauck

That was quick OBBob. Cheers.

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## OBBob

> That was quick OBBob. Cheers.

  I was just wondering about how you were getting on the other day ... and hoping that the radio silence didn't mean it'll all fallen in a heap.  :Smilie:

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## Moondog55

Nice rocks
Home for lizards

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## shauck

> I was just wondering about how you were getting on the other day ... and hoping that the radio silence didn't mean it'll all fallen in a heap.

  Nah, just had to get through winter to kick on again. Still here just a bit of a break.

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## phild01

Is that parkland at the bottom.... BTW howdy :Smilie:

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## shauck

> Nice rocks
> Home for lizards

   Rocks are the best spot for them. The Kookaburras will come back for the feast.

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## dodobird

Looking great Su,  lets hope the weather stay kind so you can finish  :Smilie:

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## shauck

> Is that parkland at the bottom.... BTW howdy

  That's the neighbours back yard. Howdy back.

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## shauck

> Looking great Su,  lets hope the weather stay kind so you can finish

  Thanks mate.

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## turnstiles

Looking good! It's great to have the warm weather back (finally!)

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## shauck

> Looking good! It's great to have the warm weather back (finally!)

  Cheers. Lovin the weather. Bit of a prelude to summer.

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## ringtail

So, house done before xmas Su ? :Tongue:

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## shauck

> So, house done before xmas Su ?

  Not this one. I'm not a magician.

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## goldie1

Lots of progress Su   Whens it start coming out of the ground

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## shauck

> Lots of progress Su   Whens it start coming out of the ground

  That will depend on getting the driveway asphalt done, the final paperwork through council and then planning permit/building permit which most of the paperwork is ready to submit. Then it'll be dependent on how long it takes to sell the cottage. I reckon it should sell pretty quickly, well I have a feeling it will. I'm hoping we are ready to build in 3-6 months.  
I've been growing grass down the bottom and it's starting to take and have transplanted some aspens which are also sprouting new growth. I'll add a few pics a bit later.  
The budget has been blown slightly with the cost of the rocks (8,500) and an overspend on service trenches (7,000) but other than that, everything has been on budget. We're either going to borrow a bit more from the bank or a short loan from my Dad. Working that out today.

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## shauck

The asphalt is done. I bit the bullet and redid the existing so it's all new. Another budget blowout but it's a virgo thing and had to be done. The conveyancer has told me paperwork is in the titles office now. Not sure how long that takes, especially over Christmas period. I think 6 weeks, tops? So close, am doing a happy dance when I think about it. Feels really good. Some pics of driveway and new lawn. 
Tanya brought one of her co-workers (real estate agent) to see the property and his feedback was very encouraging. Happy with his ballpark figures as they pretty much matched the ones in my mind. All I gotta do now is get a soil test and 6 star energy rating on the plans and an owner builder certificate thingy so I can submit planning and building permit.

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## seriph1

You're a GD legend.

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## SilentButDeadly

Sweet!  That driveway needs a big jump or a nice tall berm in it at the end...makes me feel all yeehah at the thought. Tear down the Hill on the treadly and...

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## ringtail

You need a dam at the end of the driveway Su. The run off would be epic

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## shauck

Cheers guys. I like idea of swimming hole at the end. Woo hoo!!  Getting to end of posting on this thread. I'll hold out till planning and building permit pass and sale comes thru then start a new one.

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## shauck

> You're a GD legend.

   cheers seriph. I think I know what GD stands for.

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## seriph1

G@ddam. 🤓

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## shauck

yep

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## turnstiles

Hey Su - was all your paperwork approved? Ready to launch??

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## shauck

So far, yes but a few things had been missed by the conveyancer and the surveyor which has delayed it. I'm close to done. This process is so convoluted and difficult to steer if you've not done it before. It could have been over months ago. Ah well. I'll look back one day and smile.

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## ringtail

I guess an architect would take care of all of it for a price Su ?

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## turnstiles

> So far, yes but a few things had been missed by the conveyancer and the surveyor which has delayed it. I'm close to done. This process is so convoluted and difficult to steer if you've not done it before. It could have been over months ago. Ah well. I'll look back one day and smile.

  Story of my build Su - delays have set me back at least 6 months or more. There are probably more to come! 
It's all a steep learning curve which would make the next build so much easier. But who wants to build another one after all this?!!  :Cry:  
And for me it is as much about the journey as it is the destination so I continue to enjoy even the frustrations.

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## shauck

> I guess an architect would take care of all of it for a price Su ?

  That's true but then I did my own plans. I may have wasted time but I've saved some money.  :Smilie:    

> Story of my build Su - delays have set me back at least 6 months or more. There are probably more to come! 
> It's all a steep learning curve which would make the next build so much easier. But who wants to build another one after all this?!!  
> And for me it is as much about the journey as it is the destination so I continue to enjoy even the frustrations.

  I've had a number of setbacks. Some due to excavation hold ups (winter), some due to plumber availability, some due to the stuff mentioned above. It's how it is. I am getting a bit antsy now tho.  
I'm in the process of sorting out building and planning permits for a job I'm doing. My neighbour is up here part time and so it's easier for me to handle it. The more I learn about the process, the more likely it is that I might end up doing more stuff like this in the future.  
Is there some sort of course that is out there, other than Builder? One that handles only paperwork for subdivisions, planning and building permits?

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## ringtail

Town planning maybe ?

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## r3nov8or

Building surveyor? e.g. Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying course (CPC60115) - SEEK Learning | Seek Learning Australia

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## shauck

I thought I ought to finish this thread with a fond farewell. As some of you already know, things didn't go quite to plan. Life has taken a new direction. I am flying solo these days, pretty much just as the subdivision and all the work was done.  
We have sold the house and the block of land is on the market. The house sold within several weeks and got what we wanted for it. The block is likely to take a bit longer as that's pretty usual round here. As It wasn't ever intended for sale, I probably won't see it's true value in the sale price but hey, someone will get a nice posi.  
I hope to take my portion of the spoils and maybe build a transportable dwelling. I'm living in a hut on a bush block a little out of town. Loving the simplified life. If I can generate interest in these little dwellings, all good. Worst case, I'll have one that I can transport when I get the chance to own a bush block. I'm pretty much converted to the bush ways now. I do miss flicking a light switch and instant hot water but I hope to make some of that better with this idea.  
I will start a new thread when and if it becomes a reality. Cheers all for your awesome support over the years. It has made the journey all the better. 
As I still maintain the block, here's a pic of the view from the house site of the lawn freshly mowed (first of spring) and the gully beyond.

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## phild01

Wish you well Su and do pop back from time to time, please.

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## turnstiles

Ditto!!

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## dodobird

> I thought I ought to finish this thread with a fond farewell. As some of you already know, things didn't go quite to plan. Life has taken a new direction. I am flying solo these days, pretty much just as the subdivision and all the work was done.  
> We have sold the house and the block of land is on the market. The house sold within several weeks and got what we wanted for it. The block is likely to take a bit longer as that's pretty usual round here. As It wasn't ever intended for sale, I probably won't see it's true value in the sale price but hey, someone will get a nice posi.  
> I hope to take my portion of the spoils and maybe build a transportable dwelling. I'm living in a hut on a bush block a little out of town. Loving the simplified life. If I can generate interest in these little dwellings, all good. Worst case, I'll have one that I can transport when I get the chance to own a bush block. I'm pretty much converted to the bush ways now. I do miss flicking a light switch and instant hot water but I hope to make some of that better with this idea.  
> I will start a new thread when and if it becomes a reality. Cheers all for your awesome support over the years. It has made the journey all the better. 
> As I still maintain the block, here's a pic of the view from the house site of the lawn freshly mowed (first of spring) and the gully beyond.

  Wishing you all the best ,  and hope to hear good things in the future....  Wishing you the very best always

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## SlowMick

Good luck with what ever you choose.  Looking forward to your next adventure - your posts are always good for inspiration.

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## toooldforthis

good luck Su
I always figure, once I am over the trauma, that life's twists and turns are just to give you an opportunity you might not have got to.

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## SilentButDeadly

All the best. You'll be back. It's never fun bouncing from a great height but we do bounce...often in wildly entertaining directions. 
Ours is not to reason why. Merely to point and giggle.

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## Cecile

I echo the sentiment of everyone else that has commented.  Best wishes, Su.

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## joynz

Me too.  Your posts have been a great inspiration to me.

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## goldie1

All the best Su. Good luck with your new venture and don't be a stranger

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## seriph1

Kettle's on chick.

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## shauck

Thanks all. This is truly the next big adventure. Will be sure to hang around.

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## shauck

> Kettle's on chick.

  I will definitely take you up on that. Got a bit of spare time at the moment. With all this rain....

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## OBBob

All the best! You would've learnt so much on this build, so all is not lost. I look forward to bigger (or smaller  :Smilie:  ) and better things down the track.

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## Moondog55

We will be watching your new mini projects for sure
Wishing you well for the future

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## shauck

Planning transportable at the moment. Think I've found a spot to do it.

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## joynz

Another 'go to whoa' thread?  Please...

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## shauck

Perhaps 😎

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