Tredegar

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!

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!

We travelled up to the property to check out the progress so far. On the way up we wondered what builders might be able to get done in 3 days. Given that when they got there on the Tuesday - they had to spend half a day moving the stuff that had been dropped off - as the gear had been placed inside the building boundary.

We thought perhaps the stumps might be in, or at least half of them…..

There might be the base put in with a bit of flooring in place…..

Perhaps they may have just simply sorted out the gear into logical locations…..

Who knows - we have never built a house before.

Imagine our surprise, as we rounded the bend, and looked up and saw this……. !

Look closely - it’s just about the little tree towards the centre of the picture. See the next image for a closer look!

OMG! The ground floor frame is up! We were nearly beside ourselves! Drove the last half a K at record speed so we could get to the place and check it out!

We took the dogs up for this trip, and Autumn pretty much disappeared into the scenery, and Honey stayed by our sides the whole time. She even found herself a spot in the house, and lay down for a short nap! Quite at home.

It’s quite a weird feeling walking around the framework of the house. Trying to imagine what it would look like finished. In the end, we cracked a bottle of local sparkling and sat in our living room and enjoyed the view. Honey enjoyed the living room view as well! If you look closely between Steve and Donna - you can see Autumn in the background - who’s nose was out of joint because she couldn’t jump up onto the floor.

Here’s Steve in his new kitchen. He’s more than a little excited about the prospect of a brand new kitchen that has a nice big pantry and a huge window overlooking our enormous back yard. The dining area is HUGE, which is great, because we are taking possession this week of a rather large dining table and 10 chairs!

In this shot - where he is leaning will be where the sink will be. In front of him will be a breakfast bench with cupboards underneath. Behind is where the stove will be.

And - here are a few shots of the outside - hoping to take them from the same place each week so we can observe the progress.

If the house was finished here, you would see a wide (2.4mtr) verandah, and 3 sets of double french doors.

The big question for us is where we will put the water tanks?

From this next angle you would be looking at the other side of the verandah and another 3 sets of french doors.

The verandah is on the two sides where we have the living room - and along the main bedroom.

Got a call on Monday last week from a guy delivering a portaloo to the property.  This is a wonderful addition to our block, as it is a way more civilised way to deal with the normal bodily functions.

No photo - not sure if anyone really wants to look at a portaloo???????