# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  122 year old home Gawler SA

## morrell

G,day to everyone busy out their,we moved into our new {old } home September 7,we had intended to start renovations to the Laundry [just about non- existant ],Kitchen , bathroom,drive extension with new garage & Verandah, but since then on the first day I pulled a small  shelf off the kitchen wall it was screwed directly in the masonary wall lol,then came home from work the next day to find my wife paint edging the kitchen,and for the next three weeks removing heaps of trees & large overgrown bushes etc. as I mentioned reno,s were to start when are other home was sold,well here is a few pics of where we are after the first two months  :Rolleyes:

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## morrell

:Wink: wern,t supposed to start until we had the slush funds from the sale of our pre-downsized home  thats is still for salebut we started before we got our fridge in the tiny old kitchen (September 7)

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## Bloss

Wonderful old house - will give hours of reno pleasure . . . :Wink:

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## barney118

Hope you have deep pockets, look on the bright side I did see some DPC in the pictures.

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## morrell

Thanks for the reply guys hmmmmm deep pockets yes but aint it fun seeing how you can revive a property that well is structurally great but run down through time etc . DPC  yeah at the base plus on the first course ,when I  pulled down the old walls I didn,t know what this black stuff was under the brickwork until Gerry (my stepdad a retired bricky ) he said it,s soot thats what they use to use have  you noticed how good it repels water that,s why its their :Smilie:

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## Bloss

Unlikely to be 'soot - more likely to be what's left over from an old tar/pitch-based DPC - sometimes layered between hessian or oiled paper (like kraft paper) similar to Malthoid. When oils eventually dry out, which is relatively soon in dry Aussie climates, what is left is black crumbly residue - which looks like 'soot', but isn't. Another common DPC was tar&sand - again the oils dry out over time and are absorbed into bricks & stonework and what is left looks like soot too.

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## morrell

What your reply sounds ok with me, I wonder why Gerry said they used soot,has him doing his trade many years ago ,maybe cause he is at 74 & he,s getting a bit loopy who knows :Cry:

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## morrell

bit more rendering done :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

> What your reply sounds ok with me, I wonder why Gerry said they used soot,has him doing his trade many years ago ,maybe cause he is at 74 & he,s getting a bit loopy who knows

  It might well have been 'dodgy bros' using soot to make it look like they'd installed a DPC - expensive houses used lead, less dear ones used tar/pitch, and many had no DPC either because they were owner built and the people just didn't know or it was seen as unneeded in dry climates so could be a cost saver. Of course many used impermeable rocks as foundations with bricks on top starting above ground level with just strong mortar for the first few courses - in most places that was fine. He might be recalling failed old DPC made from mastic asphalt or bitumen.

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## wozzzzza

man i love them old houses in gawler, i used to live down there, hundreds of old pre 1900 houses, im amazed they are all holding up soo well and all havent been knocked down to make way for new ones. glad to see someone doing one up and posting online here.
hey is that a picture of an old original 1900's weet bix box on the sink there? find that in the wall or something??

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## gamesover

It is cheap as long as you are handyman. Otherwise, if you have to hire somebody else to renovate the old house, you'd rather to buy a new house.

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## morrell

> man i love them old houses in gawler, i used to live down there, hundreds of old pre 1900 houses, im amazed they are all holding up soo well and all havent been knocked down to make way for new ones. glad to see someone doing one up and posting online here.
> hey is that a picture of an old original 1900's weetbix box on the sink there? find that in the wall or something??

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          the weetbix tin is a reproduction im a bit strange I suppose :Whistling2:  I have a dozen or so of differant tins  :Biggrin:  heay my main thing is Aussie Carnival glass I luv my master bowls their nearly 100 years old and not so many were made here in  :Aussie5:  at the turn of 1900 compared with the  :Unitedstates:  ones made. :Smilie:

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## morrell

> It might well have been 'dodgy bros' using soot to make it look like they'd installed a DPC - expensive houses used lead, less dear ones used tar/pitch, and many had no DPC either because they were owner built and the people just didn't know or it was seen as unneeded in dry climates so could be a cost saver. Of course many used impermeable rocks as foundations with bricks on top starting above ground level with just strong mortar for the first few courses - in most places that was fine. He might be recalling failed old DPC made from mastic asphalt or bitumen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              You should see the very bodgy roof timbers that im going to replace  th,this is the old sink im re-using & plumbing up to the left elbow on the picture above it

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## morrell

> It is cheap as long as you are handyman. Otherwise, if you have to hire somebody else to renovate the old house, you'd rather to buy a new house.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Your dead right thats why im here to fill in the odd question or two,being a boilermaker/fitter/welder for 34 years,plus doing betterbrick panneling with my dad for a year which also included fitting ally windows,also my stepdads brickies labourer for six+ months,and completly redoing a half trust house in 1985 has given me a bit of an insight to domestic building over time, so yes it really helps being a handyman forsure :Biggrin:

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## activeman

Really liking this so far... good luck.

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## morrell

> Really liking this so far... good luck.

  Cheers  :2thumbsup: the rendering is nearly complete now :Smilie:

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## morrell

:Off Topic: Oh I forgot to introduce ya all to Acka & Daka, Acka & Daka they were to be secured  when I came home from work friday the second week after we moved in , and to my anguish some asshole stole Acker & Angas (im a long time AC DC fan hence their nick names :Lolol:  )Angus is below Acker is one of the twins below Angus ! and obviously the secured twins in their permanent spot :Cool:

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## morrell

The rendering is now completely done :Rolleyes:

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## wozzzzza

> Oh I forgot to introduce ya all to Acka & Daka, Acka & Daka they were to be secured  when I came home from work friday the second week after we moved in , and to my anguish some asshole stole Acker & Angas

   ya get that, ya wait and then ya suffer.
But hey, its Gawler remember, plenty of ferals up that way. just goto the local school and you'll know what i mean. i used to teach at the local school up there and i dont doubt for a second that your stuff was stolen as quick as it was, quite a high absenteeism rate and i bet i know what they do during the day and night when not there.

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## morrell

> ya get that, ya wait and then ya suffer.
> But hey, its Gawler remember, plenty of ferals up that way. just goto the local school and you'll know what i mean. i used to teach at the local school up there and i dont doubt for a second that your stuff was stolen as quick as it was, quite a high absenteeism rate and i bet i know what they do during the day and night when not there.

  Yeah your right but I forgot to say they stole it during the day after I went to work and my wife was home when they stole it! but anyway today we have cleaned up at the back rubble plus I.ve done the concrete foundation fixup + the sewer for the old  double concrete sink this morning & here is the picture before it and after! but I can,t take the boards off till tomorrow then I will put a picture of it here cheers wozzzzza :Rolleyes:

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## goldie1

Coming along nicely  :2thumbsup:   Does the pump and well still work ?

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## morrell

> Coming along nicely   Does the pump and well still work ?

                                                                                                                                                  The pump will get refurbished when I have the time and theirs a spare one in the shed the well is a large stone/concrete tank around 5 mtrs round by the same in depth their is also an identical tank next to it under the rear Laundry floor that I found that out when I took out the original floor,we are thinking of linking the two and using them for some thing in the future, I took the shuttering boards off just then & am sort of pleased just have to patch one spot up. :Rolleyes:  hopefully today we will get the glass panels fitted to the french doors then it will be at a lock up stage then.got

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## morrell

got them hung by 7pm   :Smilie:

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## morrell

boy O boy I new the paint would help but im really happy with the Look concidering the small budget were on,   :Biggrin:

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## shauck

Very nice.  
How will you be dealing with the concrete surfaces? Tiled/paved area perhaps?

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## morrell

> Very nice.  
> How will you be dealing with the concrete surfaces? Tiled/paved area perhaps?

                                                                                                      Thankyou for the compliment,yes ya right their shauck inside the kitchen extension  & laundry will be tiled,& the outside will be paved under the future veranda. :Smilie:

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## shauck

That'll look fab.

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## morrell

Cheers :Cheers2:  :Biggrin:

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## shauck

> Cheers

  Bit early for that. It's still caffeine time.

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## morrell

> Bit early for that. It's still caffeine time.

  ha ha true even for an old big(5 6'  1/2")kid like me,but just finished my coffee  :2thumbsup:

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## morrell

A revised view through my wife Nadene,s eyes :Rolleyes:  :Biggrin:

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## Bloss

Are the well & pump in working order?

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## morrell

> Are the well & pump in working order?

                                                                                                                              NO Bloss theirs what looks like a spare one in the rear garden shed that i,ve not closely looked at yet, the well is actually a very big Stone/concrete tank,also when I tore up the old laundry floor i uncovered an identical sized tank next the other,I,ve put the renos on hold for now due to our budget hits as i mentioned before we wernt supposed to start yet anyway till our other home is Sold (last pic),ive also been off work for 4 weeks due to inflaiming my left Bursa,so to keep me focused ive picked up an old Kitchen Dresser & Wardrobe to refurbish,also we finally had to buy the third poolpump as Onga would not oner the warranty on the 2 month old pump that we waited two months for delivery for :Frown:  they riggled out of covering it by saying it was submered & thats what burnt it out (impossible to submerge it,s fixed at Ground level) and all the plumbing got burnt out too cause the Salt cell oveheated everthing,my sons mate used to work at a pool place so last monday he installed the NEW Pump! plumbing modified as 2 pumps later i was faced with replacing the distorted salt cell $400,as well he said many clients before just had it removed and used Clhorine so he removed it and now it,s no longer a salt clhorinated pool,all of this extra expense is on top of the $1500 for our first agent and so far $1300 for our current agent aswell as workcover dropping my net income a bit over $200 net a week around this time of year so my reply is a bit long winded but IMO it,s a reasonable reason for my now tight budget lol,heres a few pics of what i,ve just rambled on cheers Bloss

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## morrell

Well it,s been a six month plus nightmare but from a deep BLACK pool last week i,ve got on top of it FINALY! :Biggrin: Ps. if anyone out their is up for a bargin she,s going for a song now lol ($625,000 :Biggrin:   Sign InorRegister  [COLOR=#C20014 !important]*my*[COLOR=#000000 !important]*real*[/COLOR][COLOR=#666666 !important]*estate*[/COLOR]  BUYRENTNEW HOMESSHAREFIND AN AGENTSOLD PRICESHOME IDEASEXPERTS  [/COLOR] location:  
Address, Suburbs, Postcodes, or Regions _(separated by semi-colons)_        Property No. 111827383*69 Riverview Drive Hewett SA 5118*Show Page VisitsMortgage Calculator   $624,950

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## morrell

It has been awhile since i,ve done anything to our renos (due to the bursa in my right shoulder)Oh and $$$$$$$$ :Ontopic:  not quite but my wife insisted we have a semi permanent Gazebo i had to agree due to this heatwave right now that a small spend of less than $380 was worth doing this till our larger funds arrive, it,s been over 7 months so who knows when our other house sells,again this is only to get us by for now!I would like to mention im pleased with this second  " Mimosa gazebo" ive used. :Biggrin:

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## morrell

them bloody posts moved them to a more suitable spot Australia day

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## Bloss

Lovely old home you've moved to - hope your other one sells. Barely buy the land for that here in the ACT!  :Frown:

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## morrell

> Lovely old home you've moved to - hope your other one sells. Barely buy the land for that here in the ACT!

  Thankyou Bloss. it will sell one day mate :Rolleyes:  just the other day I said to my wife you know bubby !just to replace that House,block,extra's  today would be around $800,000! so some one is getting it for around $625,000, A Boutique  built x 10 only Company built homes per year & no longer build out this way again! :No:

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## morrell



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## ToneG

Very neat  with the relocated post - now why didn't they do that the first time...??? :Doh:  
Really interesting thread -keep the updates coming

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## morrell

> Very neat  with the relocated post - now why didn't they do that the first time...??? 
> Really interesting thread -keep the updates coming

   :Smilie: thankyou, The last owner got the Carport done over seven years ago ! and the down pipe was at the edge of the 350mm wide concrete  path, for protection around the foundation( you can now see in the first Photo now) when the home was built about 122 years ago, & that is for just the front Veranda's guttering, so theirs no High water pressure for it ! so I cut it off flush and a bit later on i'm getting my 9" Grinder with the diamond blade & gunna cut a slot through the concrete to install a new 50mm pipe below the surface and then re-concrete it  so it,s then hidden out of sight! :2thumbsup:

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## morrell



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## morrell



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## morrell



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