The end of the beginning

A final morning of work to prepare the house for a new assault of labourers. From today the Master takes a more critical, managerial role in the process as he has others do his bidding.

The final piece was replacing the front door frame. The old was removed, I was covered in a century of dust as it was tipped my way, and the new frame was put in place. As with all the other parts of the house the door frame area was far from square, and so it took some time buffering up the walls and floor so a square frame can fit in a square hole.

I had to leave before the door itself was put in place, so no pictures of the final product. However, I drove past it this morning and can confirm that a $5 door looks remarkably plain and boring. A solid white-ish color that's only trimming is a lockwood deadlock. Needless, we will not be keeping this door, it is a filler. The new door will be grand. Grand! Plans are afoot for its GRANDNESS!

This week the plasterers start plastererin'. The Master will be onsite with them to stuff the insulation in the internal walls and 'keep an eye on things'. By the end of this week the ceiling and all walls will be plastered.

I think the checklist looks something like this:

1. Plaster
2. Painting
3. Flooring
4. Fittings
5. Happy dance

I'll let the Master's rain on my parade with 'details' another day. For now, we are nearing the Happy Dance!

Doorless.

Also, The Master's 'Good Side'.

So long, old door.

Nephews are tiring, and something about a house

Wow! By the end of the weekend the house was [mostly] clean, [mostly] devoid of 'stuff' in each room, all the external walls were filled with insulation, the external and internal walls are as straight as they are going to be, the ceiling insulation is sitting in the ceiling awaiting the lights and power to be finished so it can be laid, the power box has moved from its stupid position next to the front door to being tucked away in the side, we found that power tools are more effective at removing paint than paint stripper AND all the lathers have been removed from the property - we are officially lather free. And we didnt have to resort to burning the storage shed down to get rid of them, despite it being an option right to the last minute.

I also found that my throwing arm is pretty good.

Unverified photo of Dan with his nephews,
living large in his money bin.

I am somewhat happy to announce that I had limited participation in all the above. The Shadow's nephews were down for the weekend and so most of my time was spent throwing and kicking balls in the nearby park. This activity was actually started the week before when they came for a day, and we spent about three hours throwing my Official NFL football around. I barely moved for three days as my muscles complained heavily. The nephews were enthralled with the NFL and demanded more, More, MORE! So I think about 5 hours was spent this past weekend throwing the ol' pigskin around. Actually, I bought them a replica gameball each so it wasnt pigskin, unless the pig was heavily into botox before giving up its life for the great good [Greater good = NFL football].

The nephews (aged 9 and 7, with a star appearance from the 16yo) are getting to be pretty good quarterbacks and cornerbacks (defenders, in that they like interrupting other people catching the ball). I'm not convinced of their wide receiver status, and they certainly aren't up to linesman level (let's call the minimum requirement 6ft 2in and 310lbs. They have some growing up to do). I might give them extra points in the wide receiver column for being 'precious' at times with the occasional hissy fit - a very WR trait.

Meanwhile, The Shadow and the Masters finished off the house. Good for them! I remain insulation-irritation-free. But they retain free use of their muscles. Touche.

Next weekend the Masters will replace the front door frame with the new one and a new temporary front door, and then the plasterererers can begin plastering the house with plaster. It should then be a slippery slope to painting, tiling, carpeting, fixturing and moving. I have a feeling that the moving bit won't be as slippery as we'd like.

The Shadow dropped off the planning permit for the back extension to council yesterday. I'm sure council is all over it by now and we should be getting the approval any day now. Council work quick like that right?

In awful news, some clown scraped the front of our beautiful car this morning. Not happy :(

Confused House is Confused with not having a power box right next to the front door. 

Is it me, or does anybody else see a bit of George W. in that face?

[Mostly] Clean rooms with insulation

No sound, just delicious power and data

Covered walls:

Going deep down the hallway, not a lather in sight:

New look: 

OMFG MY CAR, YOU MONSTER!!!! 

Details are sketchy but it is thought Dan had to apologise for his outburst at the perpetrator of this cruel act of wanton violence against the innocent. He was not proud of his actions.

Moat: Denied. Fine, insulate the crap out of the house

For some reason the Council* decided to reject our request to build a moat around our house. We may have over-stepped in the request by building it over our neighbours and therefore knocking their houses down. It seemed like a logical thing to do at the time the plans were being drawn up. I blame tequila.**

The Masters, who had objected to the whole moat idea to begin with for some reason, suggested just putting insulation in all the walls. They alerted us to insulation that provides not just heating and cooling benefits, but also blocks sound. We grudgingly accepted, for now. We'll keep the moat plan for another opportunity. On on other hand, screw you sound!

Interestingly, now that the external walls are filled with insulation it makes the house feel closer, more like rooms in a house. When all the lights were off and we were on our way out we stopped for a moment in the hallway, and maybe it was just me but it felt cool and quiet. I can hope.

The Master's continue to do their best to straighten the rhomboidal walls. I think rhomboidal walls add character, apparently it makes it hard to plaster, etc. Fiiiine.

The Shadow and I used up a small tin of paint stripper to peel the decades of paintal abuse from the front window. I will refrain from laying down more curses upon the previous owners/builders, but the sentiment is there. Bastards! The top coat of white paint came off easily enough, the two under-layers of pink and green - they were total asshats.

The Shadow and I would also like to thank the sun for smiling down upon us while we worked. Wait, not thank, curse! We curse the sun - it was a spiteful jerk, shooting rays at us and trying to hurt us. Don't think the sun is your friend! Especially when you're called The Shadow. Thankfully our 50+ sunscreen blocked its vile, harmful rays - so we won. Hah! Take that sun!

Which reminds me:
*Add to checklist* Complete council permit to erect structure to block the sun.

Fat stacks of insulation:

Elevated flooring that the bath will sit on:

Front window after a tin of painstripper:

Insulation in the front bedrooms:

More insulation:

Dramatisation of The Shadow and I preparing our business case for 'The Device That Will Block The Sun Out Over An Enlarged Area Of The Surrounding Square Kilometers Of Which Our House Is In The Middle'

*This part of the story may or may not be a fictionalised retelling.
**I apologise to the tequila, it was an innocent and should not have been blamed.

Cableland

The cabling/security team from Barwon Security were in on Friday to cable up the house. There is cat-6 cable for data, tv cable for tv, cable for foxtel, cable for the security cameras, cable for phone-line (I think). Cable cable cable.

On Saturday The Shadow and I visited the house for an inspection. No more trench in the backyard - that was good - the Kaiju threat level has been decreased to its typical level. The dump-pile had grown again, and there was indeed cable and pipes everywhere.

After the quick inspection we re-visited a lighting store on Nepean Hwy, Christopher & Alexander's. We had stepped in several weeks earlier and were very impressed with their lighting options. Instead of the typical plastic-looking crap from Beacon et al, these guys had good looking stuff imported from France.

We want to put in three hanging lights in the passage. A large piece at the front and two smaller pieces further down. The lights we want to look period, to match the front of the house. So, when you enter the property it will look period-ish, then enter to a period-ish passage way. The rooms will have modern LED lighting, carpeting etc, but we are trying to balance a period-ish feel with a contemporary living space.

To that end we picked out the lighting we wanted. I dont have photos of our selection. I think you all can wait to see what they look like after we install them. Now now, no tantrums. A little patience won't kill you.

We returned to the store on Sunday morning to pick up the lighting fixtures, giving them some time to wrap them up for transport. True to their word, when we arrived Sunday the lights were ready to go so we loaded the car and took them home. There is no easy way to get from Brunswick to St Kilda - it's pretty much faster to drive from Brunswick to Sydney and back. Melbourne's roads are rubbish.

The Master's were onsite Sunday and Monday doing whatever it is they are doing - playing with NOGGINGS I assume. I would be. Unfortunately my beloved Tigers let me down terrible in the AFL final Sunday afternoon so I was not the most pleasant company to be in Sunday night. Stupid football. Stupid Tigers. Thankfully the AFL season is now over (as far as I care) which is perfect timing as the NFL season started this weekend. Back to my true love - finally. Seven months of no NFL seems like an eternity every year.

Monday night is my NFL night - GO PATRIOTS/PACKERS/RAVENS/SEAHAWKS/JETS/STEELERS/REDSKINS/MEGATRON and 49ers to a lesser degree.

Plumbing? Where'd the pipes [and Kaiju] go?

Cabling just hanging around, waiting for the new extension to be built:

Hansgrohe wall units, one for each shower head, the large rainshower head and the normal rail shower head. Both independently plumbed so they can both be on the same time for mega-showerage:

Plumbing, sooner to be covered and never seen again: 

Hansgrohe diverter. This connects the bath spout and the handheld unit. These are plumbed together so only the spout or the handheld will be on at once. Which is fine for the bath: 

Pipes: 

Electricty and air-con cables/pipes: 

Electricity and data: 

Standing where our bed will be looking at the wall where the tv will be. On the other side of the wall is the bathroom: 

Water Story

In which the author describes the process for obtaining a permit from the water authority.

On Monday night The Master's requested that I obtain a permit from the local water authority.

As I understand it, to complete his/her work and put mountains of dirt back over the in-ground pipes so they can never been seen by human eyes again the plumber requires that his/her work be cited and approved by an appropriately authorised inspector. To book an inspector to inspect requires the plumber to have a permit number that the inspector can approve against. This permit number authorises the plumber to modify the local sewer connection; tinker with the water authorities assets.

A quick phone call to the water authority on Tuesday morning and I am told which form needs to be completed, how to submit it and how much it will cost. I am told it will take 3-4 weeks to approve.

Not good, the plumber wants it all wrapped up by the end of the week so he can cover the big-ass trench he created and not leave obvious OH&S issues at the job site.

"Err, any chance that can be processed quicker?"
"Hold a moment."
<Hold>
"If you go to one of the easyAccess shops they should be able to do it faster. There is one in Coburg and one in Preston."
"Thank you."

Download and complete the form. Attach the plans.

The easyAccess shop is part of a plumbing goods store in Preston. Like all god plumbers the store opens at 7am. The Shadow and I arise early on Wednesday morning and head to the shop before work.

"I've got this form I'd like processed."
"Ok, I'll do it now," a very helpful water authority rep says.

Five minutes later I am on my way with an approved permit sitting in my Inbox, along with the sewer and water connections for the street. The permit is sent on to the plumber and he books the inspector to inspect the next day (Thursday). When I saw the plumber Thursday morning he was waiting for the inspector, 24 hours after getting the approval; less than 36 hours after initially being told it would be 3-4 weeks.

I assume (I havent been back to check) I no longer have a trench in my backyard and that no more Level 4 kaiju's will be entering this dimension from my backyard. There is always a downside to every success story - I love those guys.

Another interesting experience.

Stoned Weekend

Saturday was spent shopping for stuff: tiles, ceiling rose (again!), carpet, front door and front door locking mechanism.

Tiles: selected. A dark colored, large square tile for the floors. White, rectangular tiles for the walls. 

Rose: two different roses selected, a large one and a small one. In the passage way, a large rose will hold a large ceiling light at the front door. Then down the passage two small roses will hold smaller lights.

Carpet: A very nice, very soft, dark grey carpet for the bedrooms.

Front door: fairly simple door in the old style. We will add stained glass panels to it.

Front door lock: We will fit an electronic system to the latch so it can be released via remote. Modern living!

Sunday we were back at the House. The Master's instructed us to offload a truck full of stones. For some reason they then disappeared. The truck was parked at the end of the ROW, we had to load up wheelbarrows can lump the stones about 25m to a spot next to the toilet. I forgot to photo the before, I only have the after. 

After about 90 minutes of muscle tearing, apprentice-style labour we finished up. Forearms felt like jelly. Only at the end was I told the stones weighed 3 tonne. Three. Tonne. 

The stones provide the underlay for the plumbing, which was starting on the Monday. 

On Sunday the air con guy started. The pre-fit the three bedrooms with the things needed for the air cons. 

After moving all the stones The Shadow and I then de-lathered another wall. I think thats the end of those jerks. Except we now have a storage shed full of them, waiting to be taken to the recycling station. I'm thinking setting the shed on fire and burning them all might be easier.

On Monday the plumber started. By Wednesday afternoon the backyard had been dug up and the pipes laid out [on top of the stones]. 

Probably no labour for The Shadow and I this weekend - the Master's aren't coming up Saturday and I am taking Sunday off to watch the Tigers play in the Prelim final. Go Tiges!!

On Friday [tomorrow] our security/cabling guy starts doing the security/cabling stuff.

Yes, a lot is happening.

Stone pile:

Dirt pile, reminds me of the garbage pile thing from Fraggle Rock

Trench warfare

Busy plumbers

Trenchy