Laying turf was one of our major priorities after moving back into the house.  We had the odd patch of grass but mainly an awful combination of dirt and weeds.  So Hubby M decided that on his first day of holidays, 23 December, we would get some turf down.  Amongst all of the Christmas preparations and in 30 degree heat of course!

First task on the weekend prior though was to remove the old garden shed from the corner of the backyard.  It's amazing what people will buy from Gumtree!

Then, bright and early on Monday morning, the bobcat arrived to remove the garden shed slab and prepare the ground for the turf.  Master H was very excited to see the return of some machinery!

We discovered that the garden shed slab was a tad over-designed.  200mm thick, a brick base and sitting on 400mm deep piers on the corners.  The bobcat operator had a bit of difficulty breaking it up!

Gemma was less than impressed about losing her yard for the day.  

Once the yard was cleared it was a little daunting to see the large area to be covered!  

Hubby M had just finished marking out some garden beds around the perimeter of the house and yard when the turf was delivered.  All 250 square metres of Aussiblue turf from Clifton Park.

Fortunately my Dad and brother arrived to help lay the turf.

The three guys worked at quite a pace and before long we had a back yard that looked so much bigger- especially with the garden shed gone!

Even Gemma was impressed!

The fertiliser and rain has done a world of good!

The boys are mowing every 4 days at the moment!  And loving it!  

The last year of renovating our family home felt like a combat mission at times!  So, feeling a little  battle weary I took some time out to recover.  It was so good to get back into the normal rhythm of our family life and enjoy special times with loved ones in our new home without decisions and deadlines.

Where have the last 7 weeks gone?

Celebration dinner for my Dad's retirement.

Decorating gingerbread houses with my girlfriends.

Rocking out at our church Christmas Carols.

Glow sticks all round!

Master H decorating his first gingerbread house with the cousins.

Christmas baking.

Visiting Santa.

Unwrapping presents on Christmas Day.

Hosting Christmas lunch.

Celebrating Hubby M's birthday.

Trips to the glorious beach!

Hosting New Year celebrations for friends.

Of course there were still a few necessary house-related tasks of unpacking, organising, selecting, purchasing and finishing off and I'll update you in the next few blog posts.

I hope you have enjoyed some rest and family time over the holiday season too.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I look forward to our continued friendship in 2014.

I've been absent from the blog but those of you following on Instagram will know that we have moved home!  As you can imagine, life has been quite hectic so it has been easier to post quick pics.  But my new toy is set up now and there's a lot to catch up on!

Our study nook.

Almost two weeks ago now we had our handover meeting and received the keys to our home!  A wave of satisfaction, relief and excitement washed over me as I walked through each room.  All of the trials were forgotten and I was thrilled with the finished result.  Well, almost finished.  We were still waiting on the bathroom bench tops and some lights and the painters needed to complete the exterior.  But nothing was going to stop us from moving in now!

Master H making himself at home during the handover meeting.

We got Mini Movers in to move the contents of the shipping container back into the house and did countless trips in the cars from the rental property.  We were very grateful that some lovely friends helped with the move and the grandparents took the children for a sleep over.

The first of many loads.

I had visions of Hubby and I enjoying our tradition of takeaway and champagne on our first night in the house but we spent the night cleaning the rental property and collapsed into bed at 1am!

I only took a few photos before we filled the house with boxes.  I'll share some pics of the completed rooms when they are not so messy!

Welcome home!

Home Sweet Home!

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!!!

The initial duration given for our renovation was 14 weeks but we are still going!  While I know that 14 weeks really is a short period for the amount of work required it is disappointing that we can't move back in yet.  I had really hoped to be home for Miss O's 1st birthday this Friday.  We have experienced a couple of delays in the arrival of some materials and fixtures and last week we had a disaster with the kitchen island benchtop that had me wishing it was all over!  But the benchtop will be replaced and we have adjusted our orders to ensure the items we urgently require will arrive on time.  Now we have been given a practical completion date of 24th October.  1 more week!  So here's an overdue update on the last two week's progress...



Brick piers demolished

 

Temporary steel beams put in place

New internal doors hung

Airconditioning penetrations cut

Caesarstone benchtops installed in the kitchen.

Ensuite vanity cabinet installed

Loving it!

  

Back door and windows blocked in on ground floor

New steel posts concreted in

And all of this while the painters soldiered on to complete the massive task of painting the interior.

Can you believe we move in next weekend?  I'm not convinced!