Tredegar

No blog entry for a couple of weeks because the last visit showed no changes. In fact, on the way up Steve and Donna had discussed the notion of “expectations” and whether we had any. I suppose, given the progress so far, we had come to expect bit moves every time we went up there.

So, last week. Nothing. Which was ok, because in we took the dogs up, had a bit of lunch and decided to make a small change to the plans. In the original plans, there is a cupboard under the stairs (where we plan to put a small bedroom for our nephew, Joshua!), and the door opens out to the living room. The back wall of the cupboard is shared with the laundry, and it seemed to make sense to move that door from the living room to the laundry, making it a utility cupboard, storage, and a place for muddy boots.

So - given no changes, I got in touch with the builder and asked for an updated schedule so that we can save ourselves a couple of trips if nothing has changed.

As a result, we were told during the the week that our roof might go on this week, and then a last minute e-mail said that the roof wouldn’t be on, but we should still see some more changes.

So up we went, in the rain (which is GREAT) to check out the progress this week. Because of the e-mail we weren’t expecting much. And, look what we got!

The weatherboards are now fully on, and we are starting to get a real sense of what the house will look like finished.

4 of the French doors were on as well, which, although needing painting, is also starting to add finish.

We expect that we will nearly be at lock up by the next time we visit.

Also, did a little video of the house which you can watch here.  Apologies for the “blair witch” style of recording.  There is a little bit of commentary if you listen carefully - and it was REALLY windy…which you can also hear.  Also, play “spot the doggies!”  Our beautiful puppies had a lovely time again at the farm!

Here is the gorgeous girl having a good time with her Mum & Dad at the farm!

Easter Sunday saw us up and at it early and heading off to the farm to check out the progress. Emma drove again to bring up her hours. She’s well over 50 hours now, which is great. Target is 120 before she can go for her “P” Plates.

It was the first time that Donna saw the vast widening of Adairs Lane and the grading has taken away many of the potholes.

Unfortunately the Campaspe River bed is still as dry as our dam. Rain is predicted this week in the region.

So, the house had progressed since the visit last week. This week we saw weatherboards on the ground floor, and all the windows are in. The upstairs dormers look fantastic!

The french door frames have been put in, awaiting the doors themselves.

The biggest surprise was that the verandah decking was in. Gave us something to sit on and have a cup of tea. We have now left a table and couple of chairs up there so the car isn’t so heavily loaded up when we drive up.

We also now have a back door! Well the space for one, anyway.

It feels like every time we travel up to the property, there has been a widening of Adairs Lane, or some other kind of improvement. The first ever time we went up the road was quite narrow, rarely used up to our place, narrow, and sharp turns. It seems that almost in time for the trucks to deliver our kit, the road was graded and, more importantly, the sharp corners had the edge taken off.

The last time Steve and Em went up there, they had graded the road … again, making it a relatively smooth drive up to our gates. It looks so picturesque. Brings about mixed emotions about tarring the road.

Steve and Emma went to Tredegar today to check on the progress of the house. Emma accompanied Steve so she could get her driving hours up. She also had not been to Tredegar since before the gate went in.

Donna, meantime, was sunning herself next to a pool in Darwin, preparing for a 2 day workshop  starting on Monday.

To say Steve and Emma were gobsmacked and just a little excited would be a monumental understatement.

Steve stood , mouth agape, for a good minute as the top floor framing was on and the floor to the upstairs was on.

The Framing for the decking was also finished and Em had a good time doing the balancing act as she walk across them.

Steve and Emma couldn’t go into the individual rooms as it is now truly a work site with support beams everywhere.

What a big development since last week.  Seems that it is going up so fast!  Can’t wait to see what has happened when we go up next weekend!