Painting begins...

We finally started painting the granny flat...on New Year's Eve of all days. We just had to bit the bullet and do it. I was keen on the whitest of whites to match the trimmings on the house, but luckily Graham convinced me to go off white. It would have ended up looking like a beacon otherwise and burnt your eyes to look at it in the midday sun.

Painting is a hideous task at the best of times and this wasn't really any different. It didn't take as long as we thought it would. Josh decided he wanted to stay home instead of going to his Dad's and so we had an extra pair of hands.

It's come up an absolute treat. Clappy hands all round.

The Side Garden

Progress on the granny flat has come to a screaming halt while I wait for some money from my tax return to come through. In the meantime though, we've been working on the garden.

When we bought the house, the garden was (and still is) a completely blank canvas.  Aside from a courtyard at the front, the garden is bare.  A large area has softfall in it, and a sandpit, but no garden beds or plants.  The plan is for a French Provincial, cottage style garden in white. I plan to put a fragrant garden, with gardenias, jasmine, magnolias, roses and anything else with white flowers.  Sadly...I get very excited by this!

This is the side of the house.  We'll put garden beds either side of the gate and a border of bricks using the pile of bricks left by the previous owners.  We set up a stringline, Josh sprayed the line and we dug up the trench for the border...by hand. Trying to save money sucks.  I'm pretty sure we could have hired a dingo for about $300 and done the whole backyard.  

It took us four hours to do this and every muscle in my body is aching.  But we're happy with it.  Next we'll dig up the other side, and then, with trial and error, work out how to mortar in a brick border.  Stay tuned.

Got a handle on it!

Finally found a handle that fits with the lock that's on there. It's a Gainsborough, same brand as the other ones, but slightly more modern and slimline.  That's it now for a while on the Granny Flat, until I get the money together for Stage 2.

Painting Decisions

OK, now that the stage one is complete, the next decision is what colour to paint everything.  The advice I got from everyone regarding the timber windows was to paint it, otherwise I would be re-varnishing it every year.  But the joinery is kwila and just beautiful and I can't bear to cover it up.  The front windows though will have to be painted. The original window is pine so even if it was sanded back, wouldn't match the other window at the front.  So I'm thinking white, to match the trim on the main house, with black trim, and perhaps a blue door.  The casement windows and french doors I will stain...they're just too beautiful. 

Window complete!

Finally the last window is complete!  And not for the $598 I was quoted.  Definitely pays to ask around - my cousin Alana used to work at Woodworkers, so passed on the name of her friend Jack, a professional glazier who supplied and installed for the awesomest price of $150.

Jack also used putty instead of the beading that we tried to salvage from the original windows.  The finish was much more professional and matched the other double hung window.  Very happy.

Window still isn't fixed...

Everything has been smooth sailing up until this window.  It's still not fixed.  Brett has taken the remaining glass out as it was frosted and didn't match the rest of the house.  He replaced all the clasps and spiral bounds, but we've had problems getting replacement glass.  The quotes I got were all very expensive, around $200 just for the glass.  Brett's supplier hasn't gotten back to him.  It's a little frustrating as the very last thing needed to make this stage complete.  I'm wondering whether it would have been easier just to get a new one.

Missed it by millimetres...

The bargain handle I bought from Bunnings doesn't fit the back French doors because we're using it as an outdoor one and it's meant to be indoor.  The lock underneath, which wouldn't normally be used on an indoor handle, is too big.  I'll have to find an alternative.

Window Glass Replacement

The front window is the only original window that remains in the granny flat. We kept this because we "assumed" that it would be cheaper to just replace the glass, rather than an entire window.  The other front window is also double hung sash, to match this, while the ones at the sides are all casement windows.  This window has frosted glass, while the others have clear glass, so even though only the top panel was broken, all the panels will require replacing.  The springs and locks on it will also have to be replaced as they no longer work.

It just goes to show you should never assume anything.  I've had 2 quotes to supply and install the 4 replacement glass panels and one quote was $490 and the other was $598.  Astounding!!!

I've asked them to requote just to supply, and Graham will have a go at installing them, as I'm assuming (again) that the labour charge is the largest component. 

Expensive lesson learned.  It may have been cheaper for me to have just bought new windows.

Stage One Almost Complete

So here it is, Stage 1 almost complete.  Once the door locks window clasps are in, then "granny flat to enclosure" stage is complete!! Woohoo!  We went with a plain door and supposedly jazzing it up with some door handles, knockers etc..but I'm not sold on the idea.  Am thinking of putting some mouldings on it to make it a bit fancier and more sympathetic to the rest of the building.

Escutcheon Plates Rip Off (Grrrr)

Grrr, these annoying little escutcheon plates were $22 each at Brett's Architectural.  I know for a FACT I could have got them at Handle House in Maroochydore for half that price, because I got all the other locks there for about half the retail price of Brett's, but they only had it in satin chrome, and I needed bright chrome. Grrr.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Awesome Joinery!

The joinery has arrived and I'm ecstatic!  It's made from kwila hardwood and the craftsmanship is excellent.  They're so beautiful I don't want to paint over them. But I'm advised that oiling or staining them is too hard to maintain.  Either way, I'm very, very happy with them - they look great!

There's 6 casement windows at the side.

The Raked Ceiling

So that the ceiling is legal height, but also to give the feeling of more space, the ceiling will be raked.  The beam at the front of the photo is a load bearing beam and will have to remain.  It'll be a...feature beam!

(Hi Corey)

Tradesman's Entrance ;-)

This will eventually be the back french doors.  Corey has started enclosing the sections that were originally windows.  

Framing Up

With the slab well and truly cured, the builders have started on the outside frame.  The section on the left will eventually be the bedroom.

Bargain Tapware

I had to get the mixer for the bathroom shower because the plumber is doing the rough in as part of the first stage.  Brett recommended going to Highgrove Bathrooms in Woolloongabba and they were a treasure trove of bargain bathroom and kitchen supplies.  Most things were at least 30%-40% off RRP compared to Bunnings or other places.  And most of the items were from Italy.  I ended up getting the shower mixer, basin mixer, shower rose and kitchen mixer (pictured) so they all matched.  Very happy customer :) .

Slab Day!

Here's the slab prepped for pouring!  They started at 6.30am and it was pretty much poured by 7.00pm.  I was pretty impressed by how quickly and how smoothly it all went.  The concrete truck only just fit through the gates, but other than that, all went fabulously!

Slab curing!

Polishing the slab?

I have no idea what Corey's doing here, but he was doing it by 2pm that afternoon, so I'm amazed how quickly this stuff dries. It was still wet-ish to touch late that afternoon so we were lucky that the dog didn't leave her paw prints in them.

Prepping for the slab

The shed is jacked up and the builders are preparing the slab for the top up.  This is Brett and Corey. Brett used to be my next door neighbour at my last house in Sherwood.  In a bizarre twist, he has also done most of the renos on the house.  

The jacks propping up the house are much smaller than I thought they'd be. I was expecting some sort of scissor lift action, but nope, just a few poles with springs.

I've also decided that a conventional size door would be more practical - it would make more space in the granny flat, and also aesthetically it would look more pleasing.  So the guys have taken the whole front panel off and will move it to the right when they put it back together.

Bring on that Contract Variation...my budget is blown already!

Bargain Handles

I was at Bunnings before work even started on the granny flat and these handles were on a clearance table for $10.  I didn't know if I was ever going to need them, or if they were even the rights ones for what I was building, but I thought for $20 I could just throw them on eBay if they weren't right.  

Turns out I could use them, on the bedroom and bathroom doors, but I also needed one for the french doors, so rang around to price them. They're $64.95 each RRP.  So I'm pretty happy with my bargain :) .

The answer...

1066. That's how many bricks were in that pile.  And it took Josh and I a couple of days to move them to the back fence.  I would never have thought there was that many bricks in the pile, it looked so much smaller.  I paid him $10 for his efforts...that's probably comes down to $2/hour...slave labour ;-P .

Guess how many bricks in this pile?

This pile of bricks has been sitting against the shed since we bought it.  The built in section underneath the deck on the house is made from these, and I know the guy who lived here in the 60s built it.  So they've possibly been sitting here for 40 years. I have no idea how many are in the pile, but Brett said we need to move them so they can get the jacks in.  No problem.  There's maybe...200 or so?  A pocket money job for the 11 year old methinks.

What's back here?

This is the back of the shed.  The windows will be turned into french doors.  Originally I was going to make it a sliding door, but there simply won't be enough room for the kitchen.  Eventually I'll put a little back deck on there...when I have money again.  Could be a long wait ;-) .

Building - Day 1

Building Day 1! So the trusty builders, Brett and Corey have arrived.  The immediate plan is to cut the way timber section away from the slab and jack it up.  The slab needs to be topped up by 100mm, and ant capping and termite proofing will be added.

I'm still undecided about the double doors.  To keep costs down, Brett was going to keep them, and just clean them up a bit.  They're in relatively good condition, just need some repair and repainting.  Because of their size though, and because they open inwards, they do take up valuable space in the already small living area.  Will have to think about this...but the builders say I have to make a decision soon!

A clean slate

We had a stack of stuff (read: crap) stored in the shed and seeing as it needed to be empty to start building we had to have a garage sale.
We sold most of the stuff that day and in the days after, so now the shed is empty and ready to start building.

Change in design

Have decided to change the layout from a studio to a one bedroom. Firstly for better rental potential and I think if there's a couple in there, there really needs to be a separate bedroom.

I've also changed around the bathroom - this is the best layout so that all the services are on the outside wall, and the door doesn't open to the toilet.

Hey there little fella

Look at this cute little fella! After many months of finalising quotes, it was time to start cleaning out the shed in preparation for the builders. We'd had a stack of flattened boxes stored in the roof section and when I went to pull the down, this cute little possum stuck his head out. It looked like he'd been living there for quite some time.
I left him up there while I thought of a way to re-house him. He stayed for another couple of days, but I checked on him one morning, and he was gone. I guess he could sense change...