From renovation to home

We are in and the house is magical! Check out the pictures. I have included pictures of the kitchen and bathroom.

The garage is still to come, so boxes and STUFF fill up corners and other available spaces, such as bedroom cupboards and the luxiously SPACIOUS decking area. A full glossy magazine of renovation highlights and stunning features is in preparation, so stay tuned!

Day 55. Getting dressed up

Much has happened since the last post:

• floor boards laid out to acclimatise for two weeks, then relaid and nailed down.

• cabinetry added in kitchen, main bathroom, second bathroom and laundry. All except the laundry cupboards are new. The laundry cupboards were the old kitchen cupboard with new doors. The solid wood doors are added to the evergrowing pile of unwanted goods.

• tried selling some of these goods on ebay - its so simple that I somehow managed to stuff it up, so we still have 2 waterheaters, an oven and rangehood, ceiling fan and light, and now ktichen cupbaord doors, solid wood, baltic pine finish...

• tiles are up, they look amazing.

• Oh, and here is our solar hot water cells on the roof. They are bumpy to catch more light on dull days - better efficiency, better return

Still to come:

• Study shelving (should have been today) at end of kitchen
• shower screen
• electricals
• kitchen doors on hanging cupboards, will be metal frames with frosted glass
• rangehood, will be NO NOISE because it is designed to have the motor in the roof
• bits and pieces for the laundry still
• lots of plumbing
• lots of electricals
• AND
• decking and pergola
• new shed and carport, which requires pulling down the old. This is Russells job!!!

We are now starting to shift our lives. Each trip to the house s accompanied by parts of us that stay there. I need to paint the new cupboard and shelving areas so we can store everyting. Being without a shed for a couple of months will mean that our shed stuff will have to be house stuff for a short time. At the moment the shed is Kierans room.

So that is it so far. Lots more to come in two weeks. Somehow I dont think we will be alone for the first couple of weeks. Moving in day is two weeks away.

Home Renovations IV: Walls, windows and all that stuff!

Day 23: Taking shape

We have walls, windows and lots of bits and pieces.

French doors and windows have been added on the back wall. They look lovely from inside and out.
The kitchen is taking shape with plaster being added to the wall frames. It looks like a very spacious kitchen, but benches and appliances will reduce floor space. The middle bench will be 900mm deep, as it will have a 300mm bookshelf on the living area side. Fridge and pantry on the right from the middle wall down. Cooker, oven and water areas on the left against outer wall. Overhead shelving and cupboards will span from door to door, except where interrupted by window.

The ensuite is decreasing in size with shower base and plaster installed. Can't wait for the brick window!

Home Renovations Part III

Day 12. Taking shape
After the initial destruction of the kitchen and bathroom, the house is beginning to take shape. The initial plan for alterations is a fluid plan, I now realise. Since drawing it up we have made room for:

• wider kitchen bench with bookshelves behind and upstand only between lounge and kitchen
• longer wall sections between front entry and back entry, with no bulkhead giving a feeling of height (see entry photo below)
  
• removal of storage cupboard from the entry to completely open up the back entry for desk space - this will be my study
• replacing the rather short vanity unit only in the bathroom - will hopefully lift the feel of the room without huge expense
  
• plans to erect bookshelves on the entry wall for my study - I want shelf downlights underneath - should look cool!
  

The protruding toilet room has been removed leaving a big whole in the ground, and the back wall. The back line of the wall is now a conitnuous line - much tidier.

The frames define where the new cedar french windows and window will go.

From the front entry we see backyard already! Wow! What a delightful outlook - won't be so nice when clothes are on the line. Hmmm...


Notice the frames for the added walls have been erected on the left and right. No bulkhead creates a feeling of height. My bookshelves and desk will be on the right and kitchen will be on the left. Imagine this with Tasmanian Oak floorboards from here through the kitchen and into dining area.









The frames are up for the robe and ensuite. Plumbing and electricity continues with the fine detail. See the tall space in the middle of the knocked out wall, that will be a brick window. We went for glass, not perspex. This is being made by Geelong Glass.



We have chosen our kitchen appliances:

• Dishwasher: LG LD-1415M ($849 Good Guys)
• Cooktop: AEG A604VTGB-m 600mm ($799 Owen & Crowl)
• Oven: Bosch electronic oven HBN4752AU 600mm (heavily reduced $1699 Owen & Crowl)
• Rangehood: Softline 600mm ($750 Energy Efficient Products) www.energyefficientproducts.com.au
  

Also solar hot water system from Apricus Solar

Which means we have appliances up for grabs:

- 2 x mistrel fans with light

- 1 x toilet

- 2 x 135L Rheem Gas Hot Water Systems (6 years old)

- 1 x Westinghouse stove and matching rangehood (6 years old)

- Plus a blue bath and vanity sink - not attractive? Sorry no claws

[Click photo to enlarge]

What's to come:

• doors
• lights, electrics, gas
  
• plaster
  
• bricks
• kitchen stuff
• bathroom stuff
  

Home renovations Part II

Day 3. The destructive force of Hayden Gross Builders!

Front and back befores




New door into ensuite
Front wall - what shall become of this?
Skip - full already




Kitchen, bedroom and bathroom stripped. But what a mess!













Russell and Alannah planning with Hayden.


Remember the entry? Bathroom and toilet have been gutted to make way for my study and french doors and windows, a much more pleasant vista when walking through the front door.





The backyard is the storeroom for redundant materials. Anybody need a blue bath or bathrrom sink, or an almost new stove/oven or reangehood. Notice the toilet is still intact - not for long!

Renovation Saga - Before shots

Welcome to Home Renovations 101! You will see a house transformed before your eyes.


This is our house.

Thanks to Hayden Gross Builders our 1960's house will be modernised to a stylish home fit for entertaining.






Entry. Bathroom ahead, living area front left, rear entry back left leading into kitchen.

Child of previous owner said they hated walking out of the bathroom when someone was at the front door - can't have that!

So where will the bathroom go?




In the main bedroom, which is an L shape and provides the perfect spot from a walk-in-robe leading to the main bathroom/ensuite.





Living area now without carpets



Current kitchen. Only 6 years old - quite nice, but for a family with 4 kids? (Hang on, the previous owner had 7!!)

Wait till you see what happens next?












The back view at night. Lots of bits and pieces.









Plans for existing house and renovation plans. The masterplan involves changes to the second bathroom and laundry but these will come later.

The first stage will concentrate on:

• remove existing bathrrom and toilet to bring back wall into alignment
  
• new kitchen and creation of a study area (for Linda!!)
  
• new ensuite and robes
• decking and pergola area out the back
  
• new garage and carport (lots of storage)
• transplant kitchen cabinetry to laundry
  

That will do for now.

Existing house

Planned renovations

A Day at the Pool