# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  New full house reno

## nberry83

Me and the missus were meant to get into our 'new' house this Wednesday but it has been delayed by 3 days(grace period) due to illness of the seller. We will be taking a photo diary of all work that happens in the place. It is a 3 bed, 2 bath double brick and tile house built in the mid 70's. Also looks like the interior decorating has not changed since then as well.  
It is going to get the 2 bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, 3 bedrooms and 2 living areas, all floor coverings and outdoor done to bring it into the present. We are planning on converting the old dining room into a study and the single car garage(7 x 3.5) into another living area. If we end up converting the garage we will put a 2 car brick and tile garage out the front and tie it into the front of the house for car parking. Will be putting a big outdoor entertaining area up, I think the measurements are about 8m x 7m. Pulling the 5m x 10m pool out as it is just too big.  
Roof and gutters were only restored last year. New solar hot water system is in, has ducted evap and split refrig air cond systems.  
We are planning on tackling the majority of the work ourselves along with the help of family and friends. I have attached a couple of pics we took at the final inspection. 
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Yeah, being my father-in-law I hope not to see him in the ensuite when getting out of the shower. hahahaha

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## nberry83

Finally received our keys last night. Invited the family around for them to see what we got ourselves into - and them to an extent. Surprising how much larger the rooms are without 30years worth of hording stuff there. There was still a couple of surprises - mouse poo in all the kitchen drawers and cupboards and found that the old owner used to leave trays of meat out for the neighbourhood cats - I doubt they will stay long with our little Jack Russell(site supervisor) around. 
This weekend is going to be pulling the slate tiles and carpets up, sugarsoaping the walls, dismantling the main bathroom(leaving the ensuite functional at the moment), pulling half the kitchen out - leaving the sink and cleaning the other half - and starting to kill the ivy and cut out cocos palms. 
The fun is due to start soon, will keep you posted.

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## nberry83

Well one the weekend just gone - 22/05 and 23/05 - we started to pull up all the old carpets and slate tiles inorder to get the floors level to redo them. The jack hammer on the trolley from Kennards hire was a godsend to pull the slate up. Unfortunately, this machine burnt out after about 4 hours work. I returned the machine and they supplied a normal jackhammer for us to do the rest. Pulling the laundry and main bathroom tiles up was difficult as they are not part of the main slab. This is good in a way as we can change the position of bath/shower/vanity without overly expensive costs.  
The pool is getting cleaned as part of the contract of sale. It is not a mosquito breeding ground anymore which is good considering the amount of work we will be doing after our 9-5 paying jobs.  
I set my folks and wife in the garden to attack the ivy and lemon& grapefuit trees. They did a great job. Attached are a couple more photos of the destruction and the aftermath. Will try to take a couple more of outside soon.

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## jago

What do you intend to do to the house, do you have drawings ...I'm in the same boat weekend warrior have sledgehammer with demolish. 
Good luck and I will keep an eye out for udates. :2thumbsup:

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## barney118

Thats got to be the ugliest colour for a basin benchtop I have ever seen.

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## nberry83

> What do you intend to do to the house, do you have drawings ...I'm in the same boat weekend warrior have sledgehammer with demolish. 
> Good luck and I will keep an eye out for udates.

  No plans drawn down yet - just ideas in our heads. We are going to try and keep the same layout to cut down on costs shifting walls and so forth. There will be an extreme amount of measure twice/three times - cut once. 
The backyard is going to take a great deal of planning but I believe that as long as the planning is done properly, we will be able to achieve an end result that we are both happy with.

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## nberry83

> Thats got to be the ugliest colour for a basin benchtop I have ever seen.

  At least it would have been an easy way to wake up in the morning.

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## nberry83

Well, a quick update of goings on this week. Monday was all about getting supplies from Bunnings ready to fix floor when we first walk through the front door, and stuff to plaster over the exposed brickwork in main bed and entrance hall. Tuesday we mixed up the self levelling compound and applied. This is truely an amazing product. before and after photos attached below. Wednesday we had the air cond guys come out to repair the evap air cond unit. I started to remove tiles from the shower/roman bath in the main bathroom, removed the old laundry trough - the wife is going on the weekend to choose one that she likes along with new taps for the laundry - and gouged the cracks in the plaster out so we could start the base coat on these. Wednesday night we got a couple of bags of plaster - one top coat and one base coat. Last night went on a mission to Ikea to see what is available on the kitchen front. Then went and started to plaster the bigger of the plaster cracks.  
We have found that the wiring of some extras in the house - outside lights and exhaust fans - are very interesting to say the least. We are going to employ the services of a mate who is an electrician at reduced rates to fix it all. 
That is about it for the time being. The weekend coming up we will hopefully be able to put the laundry trough in and reset the laundry floor. More patching of plaster so we can hopefully finish off the back bedroom and laundry walls. It has been a good learning experience so far and while this early on am still enjoying it.  
Cheers 
Nathan

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## jago

Thats a large area to cover with self leveling, my questions as I have to do the same 
Approx area
Thickness
Workability,easy to mix , set time etc
Cost

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## nberry83

> Thats a large area to cover with self leveling, my questions as I have to do the same 
> Approx area
> Thickness
> Workability,easy to mix , set time etc
> Cost

  Hi Jago, 
Area was approx 1500 x 2000 rectangle with varying depths of 5-30mm. We used 5 20kg bags of the dunlop self levelling compound - covers 4 square metres at a depth of 3mm. It was $35 per bag and mixed with 4.5 litres of water. We used a drill with homemade stirring attachment - courtesy of my father in law - to mix it up. Real easy to mix up, pour it on the area needing to be levelled and we left it overnight to set but says 3-4 hours is all it needs. 
Any other questions let me know 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Well, this weekend we started to plaster and sort the rest of the garden out. It is looking like the rear bedroom and laundry will be right to paint this weekend. We sugar soaped the outside walls ready to paint them. We removed the archway into the roman bath/shower and removed the roman bath - what a pain in the bum this was. They really bedded the bath in. Found that the drain for the shower/bath was rusted and not connected anymore - looks like this is where the moisture was coming from causing the rising damp in the 2nd bedroom.  
The rest of the ivy is off the front of the house. Does anyone know how to remove the 'suckers' that attached the ivy to the render?  
Conifer has been cut down. The front of the house looks a whole lot more inviting now.  
Exhaust fan in kitchen has been taken down as we will be putting a rangehood in directly above the cooktop.  
All of the pictures were taken at the death knock last night so they are quite dark. I will see if I can get some more in daylight today. 
Laundry trough has been purchased so looking at finishing the floor in the laundry to get that looking like a laundry again.  
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Right, the past week has been fairly full on still. We managed to pick up a cheap, brand new cement mixer on Tuesday from Glenfords. It is a 2.2cubic foot model. Works really well for the price that we paid.  
We swapped the floor drain in the laundry from the wall closest to the patio to the centre of the floor - exitting through to the back yard. Filled the hole that was left when we removed the old landry trough with cement mixture. Set the floor in the laundry so that all the gradients have changed - now flowing to centre of flowing to centre of floor. On Saturday we set up the new trough. Swapped out the outside drainage pipes with 50mm - up from 40mm. When we removed the old trough drain we found that the drain did not fully connect to the 100mm drain outside.  
Continued with the plastering inside and started to fill the outside holes with motar. Plastering up the exposed brick in the front of the house is proving a bit of a challenge. Base coat on most of the wall is done. Need to sand it back and a coat or 2 of top coat and it will be done. I went around in the laundry and 2 minor bedrooms using no-more-gaps to fill the cracks between cornice and wall. Really finishes the rooms off. Now back bedroom and laundry are ready to paint - hopefully tonight.  
New section of floor in the main bathroom has been laid. New section of ceiling has been screwed in where the archway to the bath was. All the roof vents in the ceiling have been plastered up. Moved the hall light about 20cms to centralize it. Changed the light out the front of the front door to a security light so that we can actually see where the key hole is in the dark. 
Drainage for the main bathroom has been dug up and ready to replace, just need to buy the bath and vanity to work out drainage and where the taps need to be. Most of the gardens near the patio are free of weeds and grass now.  
Hopefully this weekend we will be able to get a sparkie in to start moving the lights. replacing most in the living/kitchen areas with down lights. 
Pictures are below.

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## ChunkyCharcoal

Nice job mate! The best thing about a full reno when you buy an old house is that all the smells etc. disappear and get replaced with new stuff!  
Keep the updates and pics coming. I'm really liking it all. :2thumbsup:

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## nberry83

Right, a bit of time has passed since the last update. The wife and I decided to go down to Margaret River for the weekend just past to get away from the house for a couple of days. Try to keep ourselves focussed by taking a bit of time away. Since the last update we have been plastering the exposed brick in the entrance and main bedroom. Looks totally different as it does not look as dark anymore. Did the second coat of paint in the laundry - just need to purchase then lay tiles. First coat of paint went in the 3rd bedroom and dining room, ceilings in each of these and 2nd bedroom have had 2 coats. Been through plastering all of the little holes that were not seen with the old paint in these rooms. Started to motar up the bathroom where the arch and roman bath came out of. Bath has been bought and mocked up. Need the vanity so that we can plumb up drainage and start to position where taps are going.  
At the moment we are focussing on the inside of the house as weather is not the best for outdoor work.

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## nberry83

Hi All, 
Quick update from the weekend just gone. Started on Saturday going out to look at new vanities for the bathrooms. Ordered a 900mm long, single bowl one for the main bathroom and 1500mm long, double bowl one for ensuite. Made it to the house by midday. Started to remove the small windows in front bedroom in order to brick them up. made a huge difference to the look of the room. Continued to plaster entrance. 2 of the walls are almost ready to seal. Started to render walls in bathroom where the roman bath/shower once was.  
On Sunday we continued to render bathroom wall - finished at about 3pm - and plaster internal wall of front bedroom where we bricked up. Rendered the front wall where we bricked up. Finished painting the back bedroom skirting and door frames. Wife started to paint the middle bedroom and living area. Moved the light in the entrance from the right hand corner to the middle of the roof. Provides a whole lot more light which is good.  
Monday we started to plaster the front bedroom wall while the wife went to collect 2 new toilets and some new taps. We ended up getting a bit bored with the continued plastering so decided it was time to remove the archway leading into the kitchen. We already had the lintels - I picked them up on Friday. It now looks totally different than before. After we had done it, we sat and had a beer looking at our handy work and for the life of me I could not remeber what it looked like before.  
A couple of pictures attached. 
Nathan

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## trevhutch

Curious about why you decided to remove the two small front windows...

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## nberry83

> Curious about why you decided to remove the two small front windows...

  Hi, 
We wanted to remove the two windows as they did not provide much in the way of light. There is a large sliding door to a court yard area which we thought was letting in plenty of natural sunlight. Plus we have now gained a full wall and are not limited to the height of the bed we are putting in(knocking our head on the little window sills). 
We are also wanting to put a double garage off the front wall of the house(funds and council approval permitting) which is the wall these windows were on. 
Regards 
Nathan

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## trevhutch

Ah that makes sense. I was thinking that it might look a bit bunker-ish without the windows, but if there's a garage there it won't be an issue.

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## nberry83

The past week we have been focussing on sorting the drainage/flooring of the main bathroom. We moved the exhaust fan to a more central location - between new shower and toilet. Marked out some points for new lights. Knocked the old toilet out and it is surprising how the bathroom smelt like Bali when the sewer pipe was exposed - don't know if that is a good or bad thing for Bali. Layed a bit of floor leveller where the vanity is going to be going. Layed some more where toilet came out of and added 3 floor drains, drain for shower, vanity and pipe for bath. Starting to look like it is coming together.  
Drew a bit of a concept for the kitchen on the floor and walls. Just need someone to come through and do a 3D drawing on the computer to see what it will look like/costs/timeframes etc.

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## NoviceReno

I am learning a lot from your diary. Keep up the great work!  
NoviceReno

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## nberry83

Weekend just gone we finished the drainage in the bathroom. We now have 3 floor drains - one near toilet, one between where bath will go and vanity, and one where we will step out of shower - new drain in shower and new drain for vanity which bath will use the same outlet as well. Organised for the water pipes to be fitted up - we ground out the wall where they needed to be and fitted lagging once brazed up. Layed floor where shower recess will be - little $300 cement mixer is going strong for the reno so far. Waiting to lay floor under bath as we are still trying to sort the height of the bath. Progress looks to be slowing a bit to everyone who comes in, but there has been a whole lot of work go in this week/weekend which when the floor is in, no one will ever see again. 
Will try to load some pics up later in the week. 
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Weekend just gone was fairly busy. I guess it is always busy when one is trying to sell their current house and still do some renovations as well. One house is absolutely spotless, the other like many bombs have hit it. 
Anyway, we focussed majority of our attention to the bathroom. During the week we made a frame for the bath to sit on. Thought that it would provide a whole lot more support than just framing front and end. Sorted out the heights for drain for the bath. covered front and end face of frame with villaboard. Dynabolted frame to walls of the bathroom and concreted in the bottom of the bath. I think we put the bath in and took it out about 6 or 7 times in the process of setting everything up.  
New toilet bowl was mortared in late yesterday. Cut a new channel to run power down the wall. Then mortared up the shower pipes, bath pipes and conduit channel. Vanity is in - all plumbed up except for the flick mixer itself. Only thing to do is build brick wall at end of bath for shower screen to sit on and brick height surround for shower door. Then waterproof shower and tile. Slowly coming together. 
Had a kitchen designer come around Wednesday night to give us some ideas. Just waiting on him/his company to come back with some drawings. Bit more plasterwork done.  
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Last week/weekend was all about finishing the bathroom as much as we could. Toilet is now in and plumbed up. Nobody is game enough to use it yet - guys don't want to as the missus hasn't used it and the missus hasn't used it as there is no door on the bathroom plus there is a perfectly good(not that perfect but it works) toilet in the ensuite still. We also started to mark out the holes for the lighting. We are going for downlights on dimmer circuits in the majority of the living areas but have not fully figured out the bedrooms yet - only that they will be on a dimmer as well. The downlights were chosen as they provide ample light and make a feature out of the furniture below without drawing too much attention to the ceiling. 
All downlights should be in by next weekend. We swapped the light switch in the kitchen from the door architrave near the sink to the inside of the wall when we walk into the kitchen. Just made sense not to have to walk through the kitchen to turn the light on. While sparkie was there doing downlights, got him to move the power from under window in bathroom to above vanity. We had chased a bit of conduit and new box into the wall, same as in kitchen. Also cleaned up the wiring in the bathroom ceiling. There was a lot of excess cable that eventually came out. Wired up the bathroom so that the exhaust fan comes on with the lights.  :2thumbsup:  
There are quite a lot of pics on this one.  
Hopefully next weekend we will get rid of all the branches to the tip and take down the shed and pergola around the side of the garage.  
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Another busy weekend just gone. Started by going to a door place to find out about new front door, laundry to outside door and a couple for inside where we are cutting arches out of. Spent 2 hours talking to the young fella there, really knowledgable. Finally made it to the house at 1pm. Started to cut channels out of the walls in the 2 minor bedrooms to move the light switches. One was on the architrave and the other is on a wall. The one on the architrave dates the house - our opinion - and it is easy enough to cut bricks, put a new box in and get it wired up then plaster. The other bedroom had a sliding door that we are changing to a swinging door. The switch has to move so we can have door swinging to a wall - made sense to us. 
Got the remaining downlights put in. Now have 4 in kitchen, 4 in family room, 3 in bathroom, 2 above breakfast bar, 3 in 'L' shaped hall and 6 in front lounge. Laundry light now a double globe oyster light. Light in walk in robe in main bedroom is a single oyster light. Father-in-law was in the roof trying to sort as much of the insulation as possible. He said it looked like when they put the evap air cond in they just threw all of the insulation around. Now it is back in place and there are holes in the insulation around each of the downlights.  
The wife finished painting the built in wardrobe doors and bedroom door for the 3rd bedroom. Once channel for the switch is plastered we will be right to finish the painting. That will be one room down. 
Have the gas man - plumbing mate - coming around this week to sort the connection of gas to our house. Later on, will get him to run a line to kitchen(for gas cooktop), front lounge(bayonet for heater) and back yard(bayonet for bbq). Have another kitchen company coming around to do some concept drawings for us this week as well. Trying to sort a time for an architectural draftie to do some drawings of patio, carport conversion to games room and double garage out the front. 
Till next time, thanks for reading 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Ok, last week/weekend was spent doing a lot of plaster work. Mainly on the exposed brick surfaces in the entrance and main bedroom. I cut new channels in walls of the main bedroom ready to move light switch from architrave to wall. On Saturday we had a mate from surf club come around and show us how to build a gyprock wall and gyprock up an archway that used to house a liquor cabinet - don't worry, I am thinking where I can fit a bar. The framing went up fairly quickly and then 20mins later the sheeting was up and looked like it actually belonged. He is back tonight to put the cornice up.  
Sunday was a bit of a writeoff as we had surf club re-enrolments. Then went out to lunch with the in-laws to discuss the goings on for the house. Had my folks come around to the house Sunday arvo for a drink and to see the progress. Then had other friends come around to admire the work so far and to catch up over a drink or 2.  
Last night had a kitchen/cabinet maker come out to measure up the kitchen and laundry. Should hopefully get a quote back this week. I will also be ringing a couple of other companies to get their take on it. 
This week will mostly be about getting the walls/skirting/architraves ready for paint and to paint all of the ceilings in the house. May be moving the light switch in the walk in robe and move the controls for the ceiling fan in the main bedroom into the walk in robe as well.

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## twinny

more photo's mate  :Biggrin:  
good stuff  :2thumbsup:

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## nberry83

OK, weekend just gone was very productive. Started off on Saturday morning having to vote - what a waste of 30mins. Lining up and then casting a vote only to hear we may not have a result for a couple of weeks. Anyway, after that my brother and I started to dismantle the old shed. Drilled out the old rivets holding the sheets on. Removed the sheets and roofing only. Dismantled both lean-tos. The old guy who built this thing was obviously never going to take it down. It looked like he had a slab of concrete laid down and then set a gym up, welded it all together and built a shed around it. After 4hrs we managed to dismantle it all. Whilst we were doing this, the father-in-law was sealing the newly built gyprock walls and old exposed brick that now has plaster on it. That pretty well took us through to the end of the day. Sunday we had to initially clean our house and then went down to start painting. Ended up painting the 2nd bedroom wardrobe doors and ceiling in 2nd bedroom. Cornice in kitchen and hall has had first coat. Started to refit the architrave to door frames that had them removed.  
Monday night I finished of doors of wardrobe and finished plastering where archway to kitchen was cut out of. Bit of an early night. 
This week we have another bin booked for the weekend. Will be focussing on clearing out the back yard of the piles of metal that came out of the shed. Possibly a bit of painting and ordering our tiles. 
Pictures will hopefully follow soon, waiting for a cable that will suit the camera.

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## renonewbie

It is fabulous to see the progress. I am a single woman with no previous experience in renovation or tools, but have a keen interest. I bought my own house earlier this year - it is a dump, but has potential. I put a heap of effort into getting rid of the rank carpet, old tiles, revolting T&G wood panels which covered every surface of the walls.  I knocked out some of the manky walls in bathroom that had water damage, removed the vanity/shower/bath in bathroom and replaced the struts.  ...Then I got pneumonia (originally from mould spores in the walls I believe) and was sick for two months, money began to run out, my mum had a couple of heart attacks and I've gone back to work on a casual basis and have been looking after my mum the rest of the time.   
The reason I mention the sob story (besides being highly relevant in my life right now) is that for the last 2 months I've been in the process of replacing the fibro sheeting in the bathroom. I have found this impossible to do alone (sheets too heavy for me to handle alone, and I am a novice) and have lost my motivation.  I have to do virtually all of what you are doing. 
I have really enjoyed reading your posts.  It is reigniting the fire in me that has dimmed of late.  Please keep it up!  I love that you are documenting with photos.  Sincerely, best of luck and keep the updates coming!

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## nberry83

Hi Renonewbie, 
I am glad our little reno is helping you get back into your work after such a tough time.  
The weekend just gone we ordered another 8cbm skip bin. It was pretty well full on Sunday morning but continued to try and fit as much stuff in there as we could. The back yard is now clear of all the gear from the shed. We cut down a few cocos palms in the front yard as they are not going to fit into our plan.  
We finally ordered our tiles. Due to be delivered today. Need to go and pick up the adhesive and grout from the tile shop tomorrow.  
Pictures are going to be uploaded early next week as we finally have found the cable for the camera, it is just that I left the camera at the house today. 
Cheers 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Right, time for some pics. 
This week our tiles got delivered. Mid week was a bit interrupted as good friends of ours had their first baby, only thing was they live in Albany, approx 4.5hrs drive south of Perth. We went down there on Tuesday night after work and came back on Wednesday evening.  
Saturday my wife and I started to move into her parents house for us to be closer to the house we are renovating and a bit more organised for when we sell our other house. 
Sunday, being father's day, we went out to breakfast with my mum, dad, pop, sister-in-law and the wife's mum and dad. Was good to not have to wake up too early and go renovating. Sunday arvo we loaded the ute up to go to the tip with the greens that did not fit in the skip bin. Did a bit of painting and then started to strip the front end off a magna to fix it up. 
Pics from the last month.

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## nberry83

More pics of shed demolition and yard clean up.

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## twinny

super 6 fence?

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## nberry83

> super 6 fence?

  I believe it is Twinny. We will be keeping it at the moment, probably just giving it another coat of paint.

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## twinny

it's everywhere over there  :Doh:  
before you replace it at any later date out of concern about nasties, I'd consider getting a sample tested, as I think I read somewhere once that a lot of the super 6 used over there for fencing didn't actually contain any of the panic stuff  :Wacko:  
anyone know if that was actually the case??? 
edit - just saw this one which may be of interest to you, your's might be the bad super 6 or not, this might help you do some checks.......... http://asbestosremovalguide.com/322/...nd-hardifence/

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## nberry83

Thanks Twinny, will check it out before we do anything

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## nberry83

Right, last week I started to paint the cornice of the kitchen and main hall and living area. has taken 2 coats so far and still has stains showing through. I think that the paint is just getting sucked into the plaster. Then did a couple of coats on the ceiling of the same areas. Really notice the difference between the painted and non-painted. Need to do at least 3 coats I think. Friday we went and picked up a couple of things from Bunnings. Ended up getting an Ozito tile saw, Ozito compond mitre saw, new lengths of MDF skirting board and various tools for the tiling.  
Saturday morning we started to do some tile cuts. Am really surprised how well the little saw works, especially for the price. We are tiling ourselves so it is a good learning experience for me and the father in law has done a bit in the past. He laid the first tile while the wife and I were investigating kitchens and shower screens. We made it back to the house just after lunch. I started to cut tiles and painted a bit more. About 6pm the father in law got back from a conference for surf life saving and we laid some more tiles - started on the walls.  
Sunday morning was taken up with surf club new enrolments. About 11.30 we made it to Bunnings and purchased some paint for the feature wall in the main bedroom. Continued to tile the wall in the laundry while the wife painted the feature wall and a bit of the skirting and architraving. Sliding door to Laundry is ready to hang once tiling is finished. the tiling process is very time consuming for a couple of amateurs but extremely rewarding when people notice the job we are doing. Had my folks and brother & sister in law come around and have a look. They are noticing the difference now. 
Hopefully this week the doors and frames for the internal archways come in. The rest of the time will be taken up with tiling and painting. 
Thanks for reading. Photos to follow later. 
Nathan

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## nberry83

We spent most of last week tiling in the laundry and painting skirting and architraving. New internal door frames and doors showed up at the showroom. Collected them on Thursday afternoon. All ready to cut the archways and brick up one side.  
On the weekend we focussed the majority of our time and effort on the laundry tiling. the floor tiling was finished at about 330pm Sunday afternoon. One side of the wall tiles are completed. Just need to do the wall where the sliding door hangs. We had a group grouting session on Saturday afternoon.night. Finished working at 7pm and had a couple of beers looking at our handywork. Just have a bit of grouting on the floor to finish and then when wall tiles finished we have to do one and a bit walls with grout.  
The wife continued painting. Now all walls in main area are painted one coat. Back bedroom is finished except for cutting in around cornice. We ended up moving all the tool boxes and power tools into the back bedroom so we had clear access to the walls in the family room. Trial fitted the sliding door in the laundry but found the leading wheel does not run properly. Luckily there is a couple of more doors to rob parts from. If that fails, I will try to get some new ones from Bunnings.  
This week we are hoping to finish the tiling in the laundry and start on the bathroom. Need to purchase the shower screen and brick up a base for it to sit on.  
Hopefully I remember to bring the camera to work to download the new pics so I can upload them to here.  
Till next time,  
Nathan

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## nberry83

A couple of pics from the last few weeks.

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## nberry83

Week/Weekend just gone we finished the tiling in the laundry. I took the wheels off the top of the sliding door to the laundry as they were dragging along the rail. Ground a bit off the base plates and refitted. All ok. Laundry is now grouted as well. We have one finished room - except for cutting in around cornice and floor to ceiling cupboards down one end of laundry. Fleeting with the idea of patching and painting the door that is there at the moment. 
The shower area has been waterproofed now. Started by proofing the whole area, then built a one brick surround and filled up underneath the bath end. Then got the waterproofing finished off. Started to tile in the bathroom. Most of the edge tiles are in. 
Sunday, I decided that the archway leading to the front lounge was looking like it wanted to be changed to square. 3 hours later, and a bit of cursing, and it was done. Fitted the built to measure door frame in and stood back. Need to brick up the side as the door frame is smaller than the opening was. Bathroom and second bedroom now have architraving to match the rest of the house. These 2 doors used to be sliding ones. Have MDF skirting ready to go into study and lounge room. Need to purchase some jarrah skirting for 2 door frames and under breakfast bar to match the rest of the house.  
Will try to remember to bring camera in later this week to update photos.

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## nberry83

Here are a couple of pics from the weekend.

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## twinny

looking good mate, keep it going  :brava:

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## nberry83

The weekend just gone was a bit of a rightoff. Being the replay of the AFL Grand final, dropping the in-laws to the airport Saturday morning, 1st year wedding anniversary Sunday. Did not do anything on Saturday, went to breakfast Sunday morning with the missus, did a little bit of tiling in the bathroom on Sunday arvo and then went to dinner Sunday night.  
Tiling in the bathroom is slowly coming along. All the border tiles are on the floor now. Just filling in the gaps between it all. We will then grout and start on the walls. 
Unfortunately no photos this week.

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## nberry83

Continued to tile the floor of the bathroom. Majority is in except around the toilet. I think that in the ensuite we will tile first, the put toilet in. Started on the walls in the bathroom as well. Needed to wait to do the around the bath as I did not know how to tie the tiles into the top of the bath and the shower floor as I was not confident on getting the right runoff.  
Started to top coat above the new frame in the lounge. Need to get some mortar bags so I can brick up the gap next to the frame.  
Was a bit of a lost cause this week with only myself there of a night time. Also trying not to make too much noise with the tile saw after work. The cuts took a lot of my time on the weekend. Just did not seem to go as quick as I had hoped. 
Hopefully this week it will come together a lot quicker.

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## nberry83

Week/weekend just gone, finished tiling the floor of the bathroom. Just need to do shower floor. Started on the walls of the bathroom. Pretty much only have 2 walls to finish plus the final cut tile at the cornice - once the cornice is painted. Bricked up next to the door frame in the lounge room and marked out where the other door frame will go from. Started to plaster this and is pretty much ready for final coat and then sealing.  
It has been pretty difficult this week as our Surf club season started on Sunday. The missus, her father and I run the under 8's nippers program at the local club. Sunday mornings from now to March will be taken up with this. It will be good to get a break from renovating.  
Sunday arvo we had my brother and his wife come over and look at the progress. They bought their daughter around who found the only flowering rose in the garden. So we cut the flower and sent it home with her.  
Will try to remember to bring the camera into work tomorrow to update the photos.

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## nberry83

Time to upload some pictures from the last 3 weeks. 
Most is the progression through the bathroom with a couple on the cutting out and filling up of the archway to the lounge.  
Enjoy. 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Weekend just gone the father-in-law and I decided to start at the house at 7am with the intention of working through for 10-12 hours. We started by doing a bit of a clean up. I painted the ceiling - the joys of being able to reach the ceiling without a ladder or crate - in the kitchen/family room and entrance and hall. Probably just needs one more coat and it should be right. We tested the floor drain in the laundry while we were cleaning up. It all flows to the centre - not that we doubted our tiling. There are just a few low spots on the grout which we will fill when we grout the bathroom. 
By this stage it was 9.30 and Waz's mum came around. We sat down and had a cuppa and some morning tea. We were then able to start the tile saw. I continued along the wall and Waz did the floor of the shower area. So many little cuts in the shower. We added a second piece of Villaboard onto the frame of the bath to space the tiles out enough to finish on the lip of the bath. Started to tile the window frame towards the end of the day. Was starting to lose a bit of focus so we sat in our empty pool and threw the ball around for the dog whole having a beer. Got stuck back into it and called it a day at 6pm. Had a beer and left. 
Sunday morning was Surf club again. Got to the house after lunch on Sunday to start tiling again.Finished off the little wall in the shower at the end of the bath. We currently have approx 2 square metres left to do and then we can paint the ceiling and do the last tile to the cornice. 
Some pics attached.

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## nberry83

It has been a fairly interupted week and a bit. All we have been doing is fiddly liittle things to finish some things off. I cut the 2 holes for the downlights in the study. As we only had one light left we had it wired in and a wire run for the other and capped off for the time being. The bathroom only need one column of tiles laid to finish the shower. Started to grout the floors. Wall behind the cistern is grouted so we could hang the toilet.  
Waz started to cut in the paint around the cornice in the family room, laundry and third bedroom.  
We did not end up doing anything at the house over the weekend as we had surf club patrol on Saturday morning followed by shopping for the house and an afternoon siesta, then Sunday it was back down to surfclub for Juniors and then our mates from Albany had driven up so we caught up with them for the arvo. 
I am planning a big weekend this weekend to catch up on a bit of stuff we missed out on last one.

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## nberry83

The weekend just gone was all about the main bathroom. We finished the tiling up to the last one from the cornice. Finished sanding and preping the ceiling and cornice for painting. Undersealed the ceiling and cornice due to the amount of work that went into it. First coat of paint went on Sunday. Will see what it looks like this afternoon to see if it needs another coat. Grouted all the wall tile except above the vanity. Will finish them this afternoon as well. Hung the new shower rail and fitted tap handles.  
Started to demolish the ensuite. It is the last remaining room with nothing done to it. The smell is horrendous. Started to dig the old drainage from outside. Found the shower and vanity drains are metal going into PVC and the toilet is terracotta going into PVC. Might give us the opportunity to change the location of the toilet a bit without too much cost as we are changing the pipes anyway.

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## nberry83

Well, a month has past without an update. The bathroom is now fully tiled and painted. Need to polish the tiles free from all the excess grout. The roof has had 2 coats of paint on it. The door has been patched and a new hinge pin has been made - old tent peg with a bit of weld on the top.  
We got rid of one of the old Magna's from the garage. A scrap metal guy came around and left us enough cash for a carton($50). Just need a radiator, bonnet, bumper and grill for the sedan and we will be able to run it anround. 
Kitchen appliances and cupboards have been ordered. Pick the appliances up tomorrow arvo after surf club patrol. Cupboards should be ready early-mid January. We are getting floor to ceiling laundry cupboards built now as well. The other thing the cabinet maker is doing is making a set of full height half width doors into the old dining room to kitchen doorway which we converted into the pantry. Need to organise the plumber to come and sort the gas out. Will probably get him to sort the kitchen sink plumbing at the same time.  
Started to rip up the ensuite floor so the drainage pipes could start to get done. Shower drain was still in tact. The drain for the vanity basin is clogged about 2/3's the way. It had started to leak as well - probably due to the moisture stuck in it. Next thing to do is pull the toilet out so the pipe for that will be able to be changed to PVC as well.  
It seems we may have scored a 8m X 10m colourbond patio which will be a HUGE cost saving for us. Plans for the garage conversion to a games room and a new double carport/garage out the front have sort of stalled at the moment.  
Hopefully I remember to bring the camera into work on Monday to upload some photos of the progress.

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## rod1949

[quote=nberry83;806595]Last week/weekend was all about finishing the bathroom as much as we could. quote] 
The bath looks like fibreglass?  Yes / No?  I can't see any support under the base of the bath ie a compacted bed of sand, or timber or brick?

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## nberry83

We layed it on a bed of sand. We bolted the frame to the wall and then worked out how much sand we needed and then put the bath on top. Then we clad the outside of the frame with villaboard.

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## nberry83

Time to finally upload some pics from the last month or so.  
Finished pulling the drain pipes out of the ensuite. Channelled out the wall where the shower and vanity pipes are as we are changing the location of these.

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## nberry83

Some before and after pics of the bathroom and laundry. 
Bathroom only needs a shower screen and mirror now and laundry cabinets are being built and need to space the laundry taps out so we can put the backing plates on..

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## nberry83

The last few weeks have been fairly slow with the lead up to christmas then new years as well. I took some time off between christmas and new years but it was extremely hot on the Sunday and Monday. Tuesday I enlisted help from my brother to remove an 8m x 10m patio that we got from work collegues. That ended up taking us from 8.30am through to about 1.30pm. We were then waiting around for about an hour for the truck to roll up to transport it the 30kms back to our house.   On the Thursday, the wife and I went and bought an outdoor tablesetting as a company over here had a 30-70% off sale on. Ended up with a glass top, rectangular table with box legs and 10 chairs. We bought this with money received at christmas time.   Picked the setting up on Friday and then started to rip into the ensuite flooring and walls to get ready for plumbing/drainage. The toilet had old clay pipes that the rubber o rings had perished and therefore not much from the loo was going into the sewer. We have now had this changed to PVC. Have attached a picture showing the old metal drainage pipes and how blocked the were.   Saturday and Sunday were spent helping the plumber and painting. Sunday arvo we started to lay the floor in the ensuite and on Monday morning finished this off. Monday arvo we went around and cut the skirting and architraves ready to attach and paint.

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## nberry83

The last couple of weeks have been focussed on painting a couple of rooms and the skirting and fititng the vanity in the ensuite. Vanity only just fits in the ensuite. We had to take the architraving off the doorframe to get the base and top in.  
On Saturday I started by starting to fit a swing open door for the 2nd bedroom. This used to be a sliding door. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. During the week I had changed a couple of old louvre doors for the linen cupboard to flat hollow doors. This had provided me with a bit of knowledge to be able to hang this door properly. Saturday arvo I started to remove/square up the last remaining internal archway. Decided to use a demo saw as the grinder took a long time to cut through and the blade on the grinder was too thin which meant I had to drill out the cut further for the lintel to fit in. Note to those playing along at home, if you use a petrol driven saw inside your house, the smoke alarm will activate itself.  
The arch took just under 2hrs to square up, considering the last one took 3 it is marginally better.  
Sunday we had surfclub in the morning and then got to the house around 1230pm. i started to tidy up the wall for the door frame to sit snug and then started to plaster above the frame where the lintel is. Mixed up a bit of mortar and started to fill the gap between the frame and old wall. Progress was quite slow as it was the first time I had laid a new wall. The tough part was trying to line everything up. I am glad I am able to learn this as there will hopefully be a few wall outside to build. 
The vanity is now in and functional in the ensuite. The drainage pipes all lined up with the holes that were cut in the base.

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## nberry83

Last weekend we had the plumber around to start laying out the plan for the kitchen. He cutout where the pipes for the sink and dishwasher are going to be. Then cutout where gasline is coming in for stove. I mortared all walls back up to save some time. First coat of plaster is on. New power point for fridge is in and extended conduit down for oven connection.  
Plaster on bricks between original wall and doorframe has been started. Lounge wall is looking alright but study wall needs a fair bit more attention. While trying to plaster in the study I turned the lights on but nothing happened. I need to get my old man to have a look at it. Hopefully just a loose connection in the roof.  
Yesterday my brother and I cut up the old fibreglass pool. Took about a metre off the top and a large section from the bottom for drainage. While we were cutting it up I had a lamb roast(what else would one eat on Australia Day) cooking in the weber for lunch. Had lamb rolls and a beer after it was all cut up.

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## Smergen

Nice work... Been following with interest. 
That's quite a large hole you're going to be left with. I may have missed you mentioning in earlier posts, but what are you going to do with?!?

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## nberry83

Hi Smergen, 
The hole that is left is approx 75cbm. We took the pool out as it was not safe for kids due to the depth, we weren't able to fence it without the fencing looking like it was just plonked there. We will be using the space for gardens and lawn, plus the patio we have extends out about half way down where the pool was. The pool, i believe, is quite a money pit - almost like a boat but without the oppurtunity to catch fish from it. 
The sides of the pool have been cut up and we are trying to see if the council will pick it up as part of a bulk rubbish verge side collection.

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## barney118

Shame about the pool, I havent looked back with young kids swimming everyday up until 9pm on these hot days.

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## nberry83

The last couple of weeks has been getting the kitchen basics sorted, power, gas and plumbing prior to the kitchen getting installed. Gas was plumbed into the kitchen and I had a point put in outside for the bbq - no more changing gas bottles halfway through a cook up. Cut a couple of electrical boxes in the walls and ran cable for the sparkie to wire up for the dishwasher, microwave, oven and an extra for misc items. This will give us 3 powerpoints for small appliances and dedicated points for fridge, dishwasher and microwave.  
Step for the shower recess in the ensuite is in, just need to get waterproofing done and we will be able to start tiling.  
Have been plastering the doorway to the study up. I reckon maybe one more coat and it will be done.  
Patio and pergola off the back of the house has been removed. We put all the scrap out for the verge side clean up. We also cut back the lemon tree to within an inch of its life. Cut the grapefruit tree out as neither of us eat grapefruit. We will be planting an orange tree there instead.  
Am going this week to order a new workshop - its only going to be 10 foot wide by 9 foot long. We are going to put it back down on the old slab to save on costs. I have some concrete paint that I will be using once it is up. And the kitchen gets delivered and installed on Thursday :2thumbsup: . Need to get all the plastering done and a bit of painting prior to then. Plus packing up a house and everything else that goes on in the working week. :Doh:

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## nberry83

Well, the kitchen has gone in. Just need the handles put on the drawers and cupboards. Stone mason is coming out for the benchtop soon. Once the benchtop is in the plumber will be back to connect the gas and water. The laundry cupboard have been fitted as well. I finished the tiling off too the cupboards yesterday, just need to grout and cut in the paint and the laundry is complete. 
Workshop has been ordered and is due to be put up on Friday.

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## nberry83

Another productive weekend just passed. Was only there for 2 half days due to niece's second birthday party on Saturday morning and surf club on Sunday morning.  
On Friday the little workshop was put up so I can now start to transfer all the tools into it and clean out my other little shed at our other house.  
Saturday I decided it was about time to hang the doors to the lounge right near the entrance. Took a couple of hours cause I first hung them without checking that they would fit without cutting them down. So I cut both doors down and they fitted nice and snug. Then put up the door jam. Just need to paint and fit handles and a latch to the top of the door and it will be all done. While I was doing that the father-in-law started to tile the ensuite.  
On Sunday I hung the doors to the study from the lounge and this time it only took an hour. I then started to cut some tiles for the ensuite. Chased a new piece of conduit in the study for a light switch. We will be double switching this for convenience. I then finished off the grouting in the laundry to the cupboards. 
Father-in-law continued the tiling and his mum came around and started to paint the walk-in-robe for us.

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## nberry83

Well it has been over a month since the last update. We have been painting and tiling and painting and tiling. People are starting to notice it is looking like a house. Second coat of paint is completed is bedroom 2, hall and entrance. Second coat needs to be done in kitchen, family and study.  
We have the benchtop guy coming in on Monday morning to fit the bench and kitchen guys are coming back on Monday to sort the handles and replace a couple of doors. Cabinet maker has also made a couple of shelves for the walk-in-pantry.  
We only have 1 and a half walls of tiling then grouting left in the ensuite. Floor has been tiled and just needs grout in shower recess.  
Decided to move about 10cbm of clean fill - not so clean as it was full of limestone rocks - from the front yard to the hole where the pool used to be. Have now decided to move the rest with a bobcat as it is going to be a whole lot easier, plus working where I am I have access to a lot of people with machines.  
I will post some pics up in the next couple of days.

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## nberry83

Well, benchtop went in last week. Handles to drawers and cupboard doors went on at the same time. Made a huge difference to the look of the place. During the week we continued to paint and now all rooms except study and lounge have 2 coats on them. Also had a bobcat operator come in and move the 20cbm of clean fill into the hole where the pool was. 
On the weekend I continued to tile the ensuite walls, changed the location of the exhaust fan and made 2 new holes for lighting. I then decided to test fit the freestanding stove & dishwasher in the kitchen. Looks great. Sunday morning I went to our other house and cleaned the gardens up and started to repair the retic for the rear courtyard. Found the solenoid was working but the valve was siezed. Went to the big green warehouse and got a whole new assembly. Need to go back tonight and test to ensure all is well.  
Got to the new house at 12.30pm and finished off the small cut to the cornice and ready to grout. The father-in-law was laying out the tiles in the entrance and working out best look for the little hall.

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## nberry83

The following are a few photos of the progress over the past month and a bit. 
This first lot is the kitchen with the benchtop in. Just need to get the plumbing for the dishwasher and gas & electricity for the stove connected and we have a working kitchen.   
This next few are of the laundry cupboards. The only thing left in the laundry to do is repair the external door.  
And the rest are of the ensuite. I now have all tiles in, no more gaps around the tiles to the cornice and around the vanity. Just need to change the light switch and grout the walls tiles.

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## nberry83

Well, I ended up taking the 3 days off after Easter/ANZAC day in order to get as much done at the house as I could. Started off on Good Friday by getting the Laundry door to outside off and sanding it back, filling small dents and removing one of the handles. I filled the hole left by removing the handle with a piece of wood I had cutout from another door in order to fit a handle. While I was doing that the father-in-law was cutting the tiles for the border in the main living area/kitchen. I grouted the walls in the ensuite. The cistern for the toilet went on next and then we had to test it out. It all works well now.   Saturday we started to lay the border tiles. It took longer than I thought it would as there were still tiles to lay on Sunday as well.   Monday we started to lay the floor tiles. We ended up getting from the entrance to the living room including the kitchen done on Monday. Tuesday we finished as much of the tiling as possible. I don't think it looks too bad for a couple of amateurs.  Wednesday there was only 8 tile cuts to do for it to be completed. That was until I decided to tile the linen press floor. Thinking about it as I was laying the tiles out, I ended up deciding to do the same pattern as the rest of the house - half tile border with a diagonal lay.   Thursday was about starting to grout in the kitchen/pantry and linen press.  I got the shower taps and shower rail in. Found that the shower floor pooled in one corner so removed the tiles in the corner and relayed at higher position with a bit more of a slope on it. Works well now.  Friday I and the missus went to a tile shop to find some tiles for the splashback, then to a door shop to try and find a front door, then a carpet shop for carpet for the bedrooms, lounge and study. We ended up buying towel rails, toilet roll holders and robe hooks for the bathrooms and new oyster lights for the minor bedrooms and a new fan/light for the main bedroom. While the missus was watching the royal wedding I decided it was time to grout the floor again, I got from the front door through to the living room.   Saturday we started off by finishing the grouting in the living area.   We then started to test the aerial points. Found one in the living room was not even connected any more. We dropped a new one in as it is a cavity wall and then repaired the one in the lounge room. Got the sparkie in to tell us what we need to wire the fan up. Had to run a new single wire from the fan to the switch and he connected it all up. I ended up running a new switch wire at the same time as it was just easier. Put a junction box in the roof above where the switch wires come in to tidy it up a bit.

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## nberry83

Over the past three weeks we have been finishing the small things off. Started off by fitting the bathroom accessories. Shower screens are booked for this coming Friday.  
Had the plumber come around to finish the kitchen. We now have stove plumbed up ready for gas inspector to come and sign off. Dishwasher is plumbed in and tap for sink done.   
Continued to touch up paint in living room and kitchen. Painted study and sorted out new positions for powerpoints and a data point. Organised some new MDF skirting for the lounge room and painted them before fitting. Finished painting in the main bedroom and put new power point in which will be on right hand side of bed. Painted the inside of the linen cupboard.     
Once oven was plumbed up we started to think about how to layout the tiles for the splashback. We decided on a brick laying pattern. The tiles are 400mm by 200mm. Just need to seal the grout and we can start cooking. Weekend just gone we started to fit the rangehood. We got it all mocked up and then plugged it into the old exhaust fan powerpoint in the roof cavity and turned it on. Found that the lights would constantly hum. Tried it with an extension cord from a powerpoint in the house and same thing. Was not a happy man at 5.30pm on a Saturday. Got to the house on Sunday at about 8am and painted the ceiling in the lounge. Started to add another aerial port in the lounge on the other side of the window. Called the store we got the rangehood from when the opened and suggested it would be good if they allowed me to come in and swap it over for another one. They agreed. Went and changed it over and came back and fitted it. Plugged it in and all good. fitted the ducting to the old top hat on the roof and tested. All good. Finished up by clearing out the bedrooms where the carpet is going. Carpet goes in on Friday.   
Will hopefully have an update early next week with most things inside the house finished. 
Nathan

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## nberry83

Well it has been a fairly long time since the last update - nearly 3 years. We moved into the house in mid June 2011 and have slowly been doing a few little things. I started to work at a new job working a FIFO roster in September 2011 which has allowed us to be able to afford to finish off some stuff outside.  
In early 2012 we got a new patio put up as it was going to take too much to modify the secondhand one we scored. We started to remove all the old concrete that was under the old patio to be able to pave. We made a new half height wall from the garage to the middle post of the patio as we planned to build in the BBQ and create a small outdoor kitchen.  
By mid 2012 we found out my wife was expecting our first child in early January so the pressure was back on to sort the backyard out. We went an chose some pavers that we liked and I learnt pretty quickly how to lay them. It took a fair while to sort the area ready to pave but once I was taught how to do it they went down quite easy. It is just like tiling but you can lay and then pick them up if need be. Also, if the preparation is well thought out and planned it is a lot easier. Once the paving was done we painted the outside of the house in Paperbark to match the patio - much better the 35 year old white.  
The wife was able to have her baby shower at home which was what she wanted. Roll around Christmas Eve 2012 and I got a phone call from my wife while I was at work telling me that I was going to be a dad on the 31st of December as she was getting booked in for a c-section.  
Our son has taken up a lot of our time but having the majority of the Reno done made it better.  
For my 30th birthday last year my wife organised some cabinets to be built by the same company we got our kitchen through for the BBQ area. We now have a wood fired pizza oven next to the BBQ as well.  
I made a promise to my wife that there would be lawn down for the son's first birthday. The retic was installed on December 21st 2013 and I flew home from site on the 23rd ready to lay the lawn on the 24th. Plenty of time to spare. In the weeks prior to this I built a garden bed against the back fence with limestone blocks.  
In the near future I have to finish off some paving, build a couple of more garden beds, remove some others as I have some colourbond raised beds ready for the veggie patch and paint the rest of the house.  
I will try to find some pics to upload but I don't know if I can upload them from an iPad.  
Hopefully won't be as long between updates either.

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## nberry83



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## nberry83

Well how time flies. We have planted a few new fruit trees in the garden bed we built with limestone blocks. My wife found a kids play gym/cubby house on gumtree near home. We went and dismantled it, transported it home and put it up in the 'sandpit'.   
We we have come up with the need to complete at least one little thing around the house each time I am home. It has been working well lately just got to keep it up to make sure it continues.

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## freeman2015

I am happy to find this thread. I am also embarking on a similar adventure. Full house reno. Keeping this thread in my list of favorites. Thanks for sharing!

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