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Published: December 29th 2009
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Mud and Rain don't mix!
We had a number of evenings when the heavens opened and a trip to the porta loo was a mission at the other end of the garden! As the weeks slipped into months and we became accustomed to our nomadic existence in ‘The Shed’ we managed to survive on limited furniture and cooking facilities and became quite adept at cooking meals for five in the all in one grill pan! The outside awning became an excellent kitchen with garden hose and buckets as sink and dishwasher! It was interesting to see how much you can wash-up with one kettle of boiled water.
I think one of the funniest memories will be the look on the faces of the men working on the house when they saw people emerge from the shed going off to work wearing boots and wellies and Kevin carrying a brief case. Their look of bewilderment as to where we had come from and how many more were going to appear from the back of the garden was highly amusing and soon became a common sight as the weeks went on.
Once the house had been raised and placed in its new position we longed for the drains to be laid in readiness for the concrete slab and the new ground floor. We found ourselves saying ‘when the drains have been laid’, ‘when
All hands on deck
The brickies turned up at 6.00am and laid the outer rim of brick work to form the ground floor foundation walls. the concrete slab is down’, ‘once the bracing has been added the house won’t wobble so much’ each step of the way was marked with a new milestone and ‘an improvement’ making it one step closer to moving back into the house.
Once we had established we could run sufficient electricity supplies in the house to serve just the basic necessities and the garden hose would reach inside the house to fill the sink, we managed to connect all manner of waste pipes and guttering tubes to the house, Kevin and the boys amazingly hoisted the fridge-freezer up the ladder and through the back door, we moved back into the house after four months of co-habiting in the shed and fell into our beds with relief and sheer pleasure. Eating at the dining room table was a novelty and washing in the bath in a stacker box filled with hot water was an improvement to showering at school before work and of course we were able to watch the television once more, there are only so many DVDs you can watch!
Each week we seemed to improve upon our makeshift existence in the house, a plumber connect the cold water
Laying the concrete slab
An army of men turned up with four lorry loads of cement. The entire slab was laid in 2 hours! supply back to the pipes and fixed the washing machine up again so we did not have to do our washing in the school laundry anymore. The portable toilet was removed from the garden and we no longer had to flush the toilet with a bucket! The electrician managed to hook up a temporary ring main (and the spa) so we now have light and some power, most importantly so we could now light the Christmas tree and lights under the house to keep up with the neighbour’s illuminations!
With the pending arrival of Cieran we were determined to relocate the spa and restack the removal boxes so that he could move into the ‘garage’ and make it his space once he arrived in Brisbane after his trip to India. He had requested he had his own space and was keen to make ‘The Raj’ as he now affectionately calls it, his home. Thanks should be given at this point to Sebs’ ten friends who physically lifted the spa from the garage to its new position on the concrete slab, all 400 kilos of it: no mean task.
Kevin has been busy laying slate detailed tiles in the recesses formed
Preparing the detail for the ground slab.
Much to the amusement of the builders they measured and laid wooden forms to create a grid in the concrete so we could lay a slate tile detail within the slab. in the concrete to provide a pattern and detail in what will be the drive and under side of the deck at the rear of the house. The sun has been so intense and unbearably hot that he resorted to getting up early and laying them before breakfast and then later kneeling carefully under a strategically placed parasol.
We also invested in some blue tarpaulins and created some temporary walls between the steel columns under the house to provide some privacy and security much to the annoyance of the inhabitants in the street who can no longer see what is going on at No 133. Who needs Grand Designs when we can be so creative for just a few dollars?!
With the impending visit of Jon, Lou and Isabel after Christmas were arranged for a carpenter to build the deck staircase and a partial deck area outside the back door so that we no longer had to climb the step ladder in and out of the house. So with yet one more ‘when the staircase is built’ we were able to ceremonially replace the step ladder with a wooden staircase and now enjoy sitting on our furniture under the parasol
Kevin grouting the tiles.
We did question our decision about the detailing we decided upon but liked the overall look when completed. in the shade. It never ceases to amaze us as to how we derive pleasure from so many little steps along the way and then talk and plan the next chapter and in true Aussie tradition we find ourselves quoting the infamous phrase ‘We’re over it!’ At least until the next time!!!!
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