Bees Bee Gone

Keeping Bees in a Suburban Backyard is a Wonderful thing.

However! They are a Lot of work.  You can't just plop a Flow Hive on the top of a Box full of Bees and that's the end of it until they fill it with Honey.

There are Brood Inspections and Disease Checks and Maintenance to be done in the Brood (Bottom) Box.

Which means lifting a VERY heavy Flow Hive Box off the top.  It can have around 3kg of Honey per Frame x 7 Frames Plus the 9 kg weight of the Frames plus Box.

If you have the time and help - It can be a very rewarding Hobby.

We had a very strong Queen and when the Girls Swarmed last year 

It was one of the biggest Swarms our Bee Keeper contact had ever seen.

One Year to the Day later they swarmed again - even after doing a Hive Split.  This time they went back over our Neighbours fence and also into HER neighbours garden. Another large Swarm.

This was more than I could handle. We decided to Surrender the Girls.

Our Bee Keeper Contact had been working with the recent Varroa Mite Quarantine crew and a lot of hives had to be destroyed .  

A Strong Disease Free Colony would not be hard to Rehome.

It was sad to see them go.  

But I have had progress reports and they are doing very well in Macedon.

Day 4 and 5 - Chimney Removal

Day Four:

The final phase of the Chimney removal (for me) was the best part.

Having a Plasterer come and finish off the patching.

A job I would have done myself but this time, didn't have to.

And, while he was here - waiting for the plaster to dry.  

He also patched the holes in the ceiling where our old Air-conditioning Vents had been removed. 

A job I was certainly NOT looking forward to doing.

So Thankful for the Kindness - It did my Mental health a World of Good!

* * *

Day Five:

Was spent Filling in the Gaps.

Outside, the Eave Linings were patched.  

The only reminder that there was once a Chimney here.

It was done this way to avoid removing or damaging the existing Asbestos Eave Lining which is best left undisturbed.

Inside, They matched our Tasmanian Oak Floor with Reclaimed Polished boards and laid them in the Gap left by the Hearth.

Looks Good.

On a final inspection I commented one join was sitting a bit proud of the others. 

"Your floor wasn't quite level but don't worry about that - It will get fixed when you Polish Your Boards".

Um...? 

That Wasn't on the List . . . . .

Day Three - Chimney Removal

Monday saw the workers back - This time they were putting all the Bricks BACK into the wall.

I must admit it looked a little odd - taking them out just to put them back again.  But I had often said over the years, that I wish I could just "Push the Chimney into the Wall and Out of the Way!"

Inside the Fireplace was gone and the Hearth removed, leaving the foundation underneath.

Framework for the new wall and Floor joists were put in place.

The Plasterboard and Skirting were attached before they stopped for the day.

Day Two - Chimney Removal

Well, I have to say that for Tradies - These are amongst the Tidiest I have ever met.

It is certainly the first time I have seen Garden/Lawn protection put down before starting.

Today is "Peeling Down" the outside Brickwork

And removing the Tapestry Brick Fireplace Inside

The hardest and heaviest part of the job was to remove the "Ultimate Wood Heater".

Pulling it out through the wall was a much better option than dragging it over the Polished Floorboards.

Well, at least we can say the room is now thoroughly Aired - and there is no remaining Smoke Smell in the house!

At this point they Tidied up, 

Made Safe 

and said "See you Monday" ...

We were asked if we would like to keep the usable bricks and approx. 300 were stacked neatly on the back porch.

This left us with a very wet weekend to clean as many of them as we could while we still had access to the Rubbish Trailer.

These will be kept for Another Path OR to repair our Front Fence.  

But that is a Job for another day!

And so it Begins

I am sitting here writing while someone is outside demolishing part of my house.

My natural curiosity wants me to be out there - but as I said in an earlier post - This is a job for the Professionals.  And I am sure they do not want an audience.

They started this morning by Taping down Heavy Duty Floor Protection and erecting a "Dust Wall" in the Sewing Room. 

Scaffolding was next and a Shoot to slide the Bricks into their Trailer. 

Where someone is waiting to clean each one as it arrives.

My suspicions as to why the Smoke was Inside the House rather than Outside were verified - The Local Birdlife have enjoyed poking their unwanted nesting material into the Flue.

Now all I can do is sit and wait while it comes down Brick by Brick.

* * *

Update:

This is what the INSIDE of my Chimney Flue looked like.

Just as well it did not catch a Spark or we would have had a much bigger problem.

A timely reminder to Call a Chimney Sweep each Winter!

Elizabeth R

 Of all the Tributes to the Passing of Queen Elizabeth, I loved this one the most.

"Come on  Ma'am - Your Job is Done"

Matthew 25:21

Sorry Santa.

It was December 2014 when I posted that DH had (bless him) told me to take over the Lounge Room for a dedicated Sewing Room. And in that Sewing Space was the Feature Wood Burner Fire Place.  All cleaned and prepped and ready to light one day. . .

Well - One bitterly cold July day with the wind coming "straight off the Antarctic" we thought it would be nice to light the fire.

Bad Idea - Very, VERY Bad idea.

Instead of a nice warm glow my Sewing room filled with Black Smoke. There was so much that we could not see the fireplace from the door.

This was the last straw in a very long list of my growing dislike of the fireplace - It has to go!

* * *

It is not just the fireplace - It is removing the Chimney as well - which has issues of it's own in the Driveway.  Lets just say I don't back the car up the drive if I am tired.

This is NOT a DIY job (note the Underscore NOT).  This needs professionals and permits and scaffolding and a whole heap of other things.

I am very happy to let someone else do this one.

So - Sorry Santa, I will leave the "Magic Key" out for you. 

Or you can just outsource my pressie delivery to Australia Post!