On Monday I should have posted an update on week 18 of the renovation but I was still recovering from the disappointment of not moving in on the weekend.  That's right, we didn't quite make it.  The interior would have been fine.  We were happy to live without doors on the wardrobes, a few missing lights and a benchtop in the ensuite and outdoor kitchen/laundry.  Anything to just be home!  But on Friday the floor polishers decided that our bedroom floors really did need polishing so moving in at 7am on Saturday was no longer an option and I was left staring longingly through the french doors!   

 

Master H's Bedroom Floor

It was such a shame after everyone worked so hard all week to finish off the house.  The floors came up really well and I'm pleased with how the markings of the 'standard' grade blackbutt flooring match in with our old pine boards.



New blackbutt flooring in the study, kitchen, living, dining area.



Big progress was made on the ground floor with the wall sheeting and garage door going in plus our driveway. 

The electrician relocated our meter box and installed our outdoor lights also.  The verandah lights look gorgeous!

'Hampton Wall Bracket' from Milton Lighting

The front and back stairs were added and just need the balustrades.  At least waiting another week to move in will mean the exterior will be more complete.

So close now...



It has been a very busy week adding the finishing touches to the inside of the house before the floor sanding commenced.  The ducted airconditioning was installed, window and door furniture was added, powerpoints and lights were installed and the tiling was completed.  Our kitchen island bench was also replaced with a correct sink cutout this time!

Master H's french door with locks and handle.

Gainsborough 'Majestic' handles on the bedroom doors.

Sash lifts on the windows.

The new Caesarstone benchtop with correct sink cutout.

Kitchen pendant lights from Schots Home Emporium.  Base glass still to be added.

Re-using our existing hallway lights.

Re-using our existing lights in the kids' bedrooms.

The ensuite tiles look amazing even though they are covered in dust from the floor sanding!

On Saturday afternoon I realised that the white subway tiles I had selected for the splashback were too stark.  Not good news when the tiler was starting on Monday!  So we made a quick dash to a couple of tile shops to select a new option.  I was pleased to find a smaller, textured tile with more of an antique white finish.  I cringed when the salesman mentioned 'handmade' and 'imported from Italy' but at this late stage it was our only option.  Unfortunately the tile wasn't in stock but the lovely people at Meer Tile Market arranged for me to collect it directly from the supplier on Monday.  Thankfully I was finishing work early and could fit in a drive to Ormeau!  


New tiles for the kitchen splashback.

We are still waiting for our master bedroom and ensuite lights to be made and are having endless trouble with our ensuite benchtop.  It seems there is no black or white Caesarstone in Australia until December and other suppliers are also out of stock!  Anyway, we are pressing on with having the floors polished so that we can move in this weekend. 



The final sand completed and floors cleaned before polishing.


Outside the house was also buzzing with activity as the painters moved on to the exterior and earthworks were completed in the front yard to allow for concreting our driveway and front porch.
 



Framing completed for the garage door and entrance door.



The rest of the week will involve polishing the floors, paint touch-ups, concreting the driveway, and the erection of the front and back stairs and then we move in on Saturday!  The house won't be totally complete but it will be so good to be home!!!

It's time to sell off all of our old doors and windows.  We will be listing the items elsewhere but I thought I would give any renovators following the blog the first opportunity to grab one of our pieces.  Please share this post with anyone you think might be interested.  Of course all items are in Brisbane and sold as is.

760x1940mm



1 of 3 - 810x2010mm



815x2025mm

4 available 620x2340mm

1030x2050mm

740x2070mm

1005x2125mm



My favourite door!  Wish we could have used this somewhere.  :-(  930x2090mm



2 of 3 810x2010mm

3 of 3 810x2010mm



6 - 515x1040mm and 2 - 460x900mm



1200x600mm

5 sets - 900x1500mm overall

Floors, doors and more!  Words cannot express how pleased we are with our flooring.  We decided to pull up the pine flooring from our old kitchen dining area to use in the sleepout area that had hardwood shot boards.  The builders did such a great job of splicing in the new and old boards resulting in a seamless master bedroom area that looks like it was always there.  We even had a few extra boards left over to replace some dodgy ones throughout the house.



This also meant that there wouldn't be a join between new and old flooring in the middle of the open kitchen, dining, living area and allowed us to select a more durable timber than pine.  We opted for Blackbutt 130mm boards in a standard grade to give us some markings and character to match our aged pine boards.

We now have a smaller join between the pine and blackbutt flooring in the hallway.  Once the floors are polished the change in flooring should be even less noticeable. 

Did you spot that gorgeous transom at the end of the hallway (as well as Builder N and Builder A)?  Yes, our front doors have been installed!  The facade finally looks more authentic unlike the missing front door and mismatched french doors that we used to have.

I seriously LOVE our front door!

I also love that the kids will have lovely french doors in their bedrooms.  This is Miss O's bedroom-

More progress was made this week with framing and lining the bulkheads.  After cleaning the tops of kitchen cupboards I vowed to never have a kitchen without a bulkhead again!  So the builders and cabinet maker have coordinated a bulkhead with a picture rail running along the join and giving the look of a crown moulding above the cupboards.
 

A bulkhead will also fill the space above the study nook. 

The plumber was also on site this week installing our drain pipes, storm water pipes and hot and cold water supply pipes.  Now I really need to make up my mind about tiles!

We have colour and couldn't be happier!  We chose our paint colours back in 2010 when we purchased the house so it's a relief that we still love our selections.  Like Family Home Number 2 we were keen to make a selection from the Colorbond range and we decided upon Evening Haze as our main wall colour and Monument for the gutters and sills.  To help with the remaining selections we employed Dulux Colour Consultant, Suzanne Pike from Home and Office Revamps.  These are the exterior colours we settled on:

We replaced the gutters in Colorbond Monument.  Evening Haze has been painted on the chamfer boards and Natural White on the eaves.  The ceilings will also be painted in Natural White.  The facia, fretwork and railings are yet to be painted in Vivid White.

The plan is to paint the sills and handrails in Monument but we like the look of the white at the moment.  What do you think?  I'll share our interior colours soon.

In other news, the insulation and VJ ceilings have been installed on the deck and living room.

The ceilings on the verandah have also been insulated and lined and a couple of damaged posts replaced.

More chamfer boards were replaced on the western wall for a better integration with the existing boards.  This was a bit of a bonus as we were able to add more insulation to Master H's bedroom wall which heats up in the afternoon.

Unfortunately it hasn't been all smiles this week.  Despite previous advice from our certifier and town planner, Council is now insisting that we complete a Partial Demolition Application to put in our front door.  This is particularly frustrating considering there is evidence that there was a front door in the original house and that our entrance door on the side verandah was originally a window based on the sill check outs in the frame.  I'm all for protecting the integrity of character homes in demolition control precincts.  Our whole renovation has been planned to restore the home, as much as possible, to its former glory.  We are reinstating character features that had been removed.  It's not like we're adding a skillion roof or glass balustrades!  Anyway, more fees and time delays but my rant is over.  

The house has been a hive of activity this week with more framing and cladding by the builders and the painters starting on site.  We had a co-ordination meeting with the builder and cabinet maker to discuss the finer details of our kitchen and study.  I'll have to share the plans with you in another post.  I am so excited about this space!  We also met the electrician on site to finalise our power and lighting plans.  Meanwhile, I'm wishing Pottery Barn would start selling their lighting in Australia.  It's very difficult to source the gorgeous lighting in the images I have pinned on Pinterest.  And I'm not sure that I want the drama of importing and converting lights from the U.S.  

I have been out and about visiting lighting stores and plumbing suppliers to confirm our selections.  Having Master H and Miss O along for the trip always makes for an eventful visit!  We still need to settle on tiles for the ensuite but I think I have had enough for one week!



Painters have primed the timber doors and posts.

Flooring added ready for tiles in the ensuite
and pine flooring in the robe and retreat area.

Our old bedroom door removed and framed up
for the ensuite wall.



Framing for the main wardrobe in our master bedroom.
A new doorway cut in the hallway wall.




Framing for the guest bedroom.



Master H's bedroom door will be repositioned
to the new hallway and a robe will be on this wall
of the guest bedroom.

The hallway framing extended into the living area.
The study cabinetry will be on the left and kitchen on the right.



Chamfer boards added to the BBQ and bench area.
Battens added to the ceiling ready for VJ lining.



More ceiling battens and the primed door and windows in the living area.

Cladding complete on the bathroom wall.  Primed windows.



Cladding on the laundry/kitchen cupboard.



I must share our paint colour selections too.  Good bye poo brown and heritage green, maroon and cream!