Day 27: Some work on the windows...

Things proceed very slowly on the house. Our windows were due to arrive Friday 14, then were rescheduled for Tues 18, actually arrived Mon 17, when of course the builders weren’t there. They turned up on Tuesday and fitted one of the glazed windows and the (glass) back door, plus the frames of two more windows that will be glazed in situ later. The big sliding door unit for the back wall was a bit of a surprise. Architect drew two enormous sliders, and we specifically said ‘no flyscreens’ as we wanted a view of the garden without any blurring. What arrived was a three part slider, with fly screens. We have decided we can cope with having two sliding doors and one fixed panel, rather than two sliders as it actually gives you a bigger opening if the two doors are slid away, and the two panel effect would probably have been too heavy to move easily. And we have found that it isn’t an issue to remove the fly screens, so we will probably have it installed with the screens, then decide whether to remove them afterwards.

Since demolition commenced way back last year, we have had a temporary cable linking the house to the garage lying across the floor of the back part of the house (originally it ran over the roof, so of course it had to come down when the roof was removed). The back windows couldn’t be installed with it there, so everything stopped again until the electrician came to re-route the cable. And the builders haven’t been back since, so no more progress. We thought they were definitely coming back today to get on with the windows, but no…

In the meantime we have ordered and received a water storage tank to go in the light well. We are installing this not for environmental reasons, but rather because there is no inlet to the stormwater system in the light well, and not enough fall to put one in. For years the water from the entire roof has had to travel the whole length of the house, including negotiating two right angle bends, with the inevitable outcome that we get waterfalls from the guttering if there is any heavy rain. Some of the water from the front has been re-routed down the east side of the new roof, and what’s left will drain into our new tank, then be pumped back up and over the roof. And the plumber was supposed to be coming today to fit all that, but did he? No. The tank will just fit through the window space into the light well provided it goes through BEFORE they fit the window frame, so they can’t finish the windows until the plumber comes. We live in hope for tomorrow.

Waiting for windows

Not much activity so far in March. The builders were on site for about a day and a half in the first week, when they removed all the old iron, insulation and so forth that had come off the roof, and finished off a few other bits and pieces around the new roof.
We took advantage of the skip they brought to get rid of lots of scoria that we have dug out of the light well to make room for a rainwater tank. We uncovered some rather bizarrely arranged water pipes which may have to be relocated before the tank is installed - we're waiting for a plumber to come and provide an opinion. We also found an old earth stake at least a metre long which took us ages to dig out. Somewhere in the process of digging and shifting the scoria Peter did his back, and I pulled the muscle that I damaged last year when I fell out of the bed in the roof of the camper (but that's another story). But we've uncrocked since and are now walking normally again.
This week should be full of action. We've ordered the water tank, which may arrive as early as Monday. Windows are due to arrive Tuesday, and will presumably be fitted as soon as they arrive.  Skylights may also arrive this week. Once the windows are in we will really be able to feel we have a house again, and possibly even lock up the back part, and open up the door in between us and the building site.
And that means it is time to get back to finalising the design of the kitchen (some minor changes to be made to the old layout to adjust for walls being in slightly different places) and putting in our order for cabinets, a new sink and rangehood. We have bought a Weber barbecue which has vastly extended the range of meals I can prepare, but I am looking forward to the day I can stop cooking in a cupboard.
Watch for the next update, with photos.

Day 26: Front roof replaced

Yesterday was fine and sunny all day, but nothing happened, neither builders nor roofers on site. Today showers, but fortunately the roofers are not deterred - they have removed the old roof from the front part of the house, cleaned it out and are putting up the new roof as I write. As we try to take photos of the results, we realise that there is almost no vantage point from which you can see any part of the new roof. Makes a nonsense of the council's requirement for it to be a particular colour or material.

Day 25: Roofing continues...

The other half of the new roof at the back goes on. Suddenly the world has gone dark. We were getting used to the sun streaming into the passage through the glass door into the living area. At the moment it is even darker than it will be on completion, because the three new skylights aren't in yet.

Days 22-24: Roofing

The first day there were only battens to show, but then we had serious excitement as they ripped the old roof off the middle section of the house. The Profast guys had the dirty job of removing all the old insulation and 100 years of dust, soot and pigeon poop. They put in new insulation, and then the new roof went on. The roofers have also started on the roof on the rebuilt back section, but it's not yet visible except from below.

Our new roof








Looking across to the back section and our neighbours new roof

Roofers arrive...

...but sadly, so far all the activity has been on the other side of the wall. Watch this space for photos when our roof goes on.

Most of the time, nothing happens, again (Weinberg's Law of Twins, reprise)

Builders here most days, doing stuff, but sadly not on our side of the wall. Fascia boards are now nailed along the end of the roof, but that's about it since we got back. We are asked about roof colours, and the roofer is supposed to have come to measure up, but we're not sure whether he has or not yet.
And although we're generally pretty pleased to see some rain (to put out bushfires, water the garden, and generally cool things down), it is a bit disconcerting to have raindrops falling on one's head in the bathroom during the night. We're hoping that the roof will come RSN, before we get any more heavy rain.