Tredegar

So, today we headed up to the property to do a couple of measurements.  We were not expecting much today so planned a 15 minute visit to measure up where we want the cupboards in the laundry…and then head back for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

AND….like many other visits, we found ourselves surprised and delighted to find that the plasterers had been very busy.

The downstairs was stacked full of plasterboard, and our bedroom was piled to the roof with insulation.  It’s really starting to feel secure and warm there.

We can’t help but feel like we are blessed with the progress we are getting on the construction of this house.

We are getting very close to having a finished product!

The upstairs has had the plasterboard added to all the walls giving shape to the upstairs bedrooms.  We are now starting to really get a feel for how big the rooms are, and how we might lay out the furnishings.

We have finally had some positive news on the plumber front.  We now have two quotes…one of which is twice the price of the other….unsure of what to do about that.  The more expensive quote had more itemised in it, and there doesn’t look like any surprises…where the cheaper quote hardly said anything, which leads me to believe there may be “add ons”.

Well, we thought we would take Mum, Dad and Grandma B up to visit.  Up until this day we have always been able to gain free access to the house….and of course, the day we really wanted access it was locked up!

Dad and Steve searched for about an hour to try and find where the builders might have left a key….to no avail.

Also, it was the first day that it was really really cold and windy, so with Nanna B there, it was a very short visit.  We ended up lunching at the Redesdale Pub…our new local.

So far, this has been the hardest part of getting our home built. We did have a plumber lined up but he pulled out because he had too much work on…so we have asked over 6 plumbers for quotes, none of which have so far gotten back to us.

We just asked another two plumbers for quotes so fingers crossed!

In the meantime, we have taken matters into our own hands and at least ordered the water tank, which we want fitted asap, so we can start collecting what little rain water this is available.

We have ordered from Rhino Water tanks. This picture is not exactly like what ours will be. We have ordered a 55,650 litre tank in the same colour colourbond as our roof…Ironstone.

Check them out www.rhinotanks.com.au

They expect delivery to be within 4 weeks, so we now need to get the “pad” done that the tank will sit on. Steve will phone his hardware mates, who did the gate and filled in the big driveway hole, and see if they would be willing to come and do the pad for us.

What a weekend! Actually - what a week! Donna had been travelling since Tuesday - working in various cities… in this order…Melbourne, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

We were all in Canberra to celebrate Alex’s 21st birthday and it was, in word, FANTASTIC! We all had such a good time, with family, friends, army personnel, a dodgy band, and a great iPod playlist! We are so proud of our Alex, who was recently promoted to Lance Corporal…only 2 out of 42 get that honour. Apart from that, she’s just a great, great kid!

So, then we all flew back to Melbourne, jumped in the car, and headed up to Tredegar to see the progress. This is a fairly long post as there are lots of changes and lot’s and lot’s pictures… and another film - with an Emma film creation!

The first thing we noticed was that, for the first half of Adairs Lane, all the trees had been stripped. At first, it looked like there had been some tree lopping, until we saw this tree. It has clearly come away at the roots. We saw some locals cutting some trees up, and stopped to ask what had happened, and apparently a tornado went down Adairs Lane last Saturday night, ripping trees out of the ground, and pretty much stripping all the others of branches and leaves. It looked unbelievable!  Didn’t make the mainstream news - but ABC picked up a bit of the story.

Unfortunately for our neighbors (who were there at the time), the tornado sucked out one of their walls leaving them with a heavily damaged weekender. We are very grateful that it didn’t come near our place - although it seems as if it came within about 400m of our place.

So - it was with some relief that we came around the corner and saw this.

The first, and obvious change is that the roof was on, starting to give our home a more finished look. We were pleased that the colour we chose for the roof (off a printed palette) looked how we expected. The colour is called “Iron Stone”.

The verandah was also finished with the railings being up and the stairs attached. AND, the baseboards around the bottom were also attached.

It’s really starting to look like the finished product.

Obviously a paint job is required at the end, but otherwise, it’s starting to look like a real home that people live in!

It was also good to see where the sun will be on the verandah in the afternoons. Not a big deal for winter, but for summer, we will be looking for shade.

So, the plumber put the roof on, and while he was there, he also did all the other plumbing for the internal taps, showers, baths and toilets.

Being a bit of a bath person, I was pretty happy to see that the bath is of a decent size and depth. Not that I will be able to indulge much given we will be on tank water….but what the hey!

In order to even see this bath, we had to get upstairs! Yep, the internal stairs went in! This is the first time we have been able to get up there and check out the upstairs rooms, and the view from the upstairs windows.

Emma tried out the front exterior stairs and the verandah railing. They appear to work well! We couldn’t help but imagine morning tea’s to come and evening cocktails, looking out over our land.

The thing that Donna enjoyed the most was our little landing outside the back/laundry door. We predict mud scrapers, piles of R.M. Williams boots and dogs sitting patiently waiting to come inside.

Here is a film that Emma took, edited and added music. It gives you a virtual tour of the house.  It’s a bit jerky  as Emma walks with the camera, but the background music is fun!    Enjoy!