Time to Fix It

The Front Fence came with the House - It was not well built

The Bricks were not Keyed in to the Pillars and
With Children walking past to School, Childcare and the local Playground it is an Accident waiting to happen.

It's amazing how long you keep something and then FINALLY you have a use for it!

These are my Father's PIPE CLAMPS, they are very strong and infinitely adjustable and Just the tool to pull the leaning brickwork back in line with the Pillar

With it securely braced we were able to attach strong Corner brackets into the bricks.

It's not Pretty - 

But it IS Safe.

And the View from the Street.

I am very happy with the result.

(It will certainly hold until we can get it replaced.)

Shade Garden Re-Build

There was a disaster at my Mother's Home in the form of a VERY old a dilapidated 'Shade House'. 

I can't say WHEN my Father built it but it does feature in my Wedding Photos.

It has to GO - We just need a plan ..

The only way to get Mother to agree to doing something about this was to turn it into a "Big Secret Project" while my DB was away.  We had 4 Weeks.

Demolition: 

Got to break stuff before it can be fixed.

Remove what remained of a Galvanised Water-pipe framework extension.

Remove Shade cloth including Clothesline Wire it was sewn to, as well as remaining Watering system.

Knock down Rotted Timber Framework. 

Make safe all Rubbish.

Privacy Fence Extension:

We 'Think' the infill is Cement Sheet but on the off-chance that it is actually Asbestos - It is Staying.

Work out how to and

Secure the Screen to old Poles

Reattach Shade cloth to Frame.

Lets Paint Stuff...

1 x Tin Colourbond Cream to match the Fence

and the Blue - leftover from Our Garage Reno & Still Good.

Note the 2 Tone to hide the Poles!

Framework Finished:

Needless to say there were many trips back & Forth to Bunnings and a lot of Measure twice Cut once and the inevitable "Why doesn't that fit" moment.

Shade cloth:

Attaching the Shade cloth was going to be the most challenging.

Bearing in mind that there are just DH and Myself doing this we had to come up with a way to tension the fabric and secure it and make sure we weren't short when we got to the other side...

The Overhang:

Do we cut it Off?

Let it drape at the back of the garden?

No - There is enough to attach to the top of the Fence extension... Let's do that - because everything else is too easy!

Part 2 - This Mess:

Sunken Pavers - The result of not waiting or compacting the soil after removing an Ancient Lemon Tree.

A Massive Tripping hazard for anyone let alone my elderly Mother.

Making Safe:

DH thought we could just lift a few pavers and fill underneath.. 

I have laid enough paths to know it was quicker to Lift everything, Level, Compact and Re-lay the pavers.

From Clearing off all the Pots,

Transplanting Cyclamen growing between the Pavers

Lifting and Replacing 120 pavers

and Sweeping Paving Sand in

It took just 3 hrs to do.

Not Quite Finished:

Where we left the last photo - the area was very hot.

Here is where we re-purpose that Artificial Turf from #DS's Garden rebuild.

There was just enough to cover the space.

It's a Wrap:

We returned refurbished Pot plants and installed a couple of Safety items - Handrail on the house wall and Raised planters IF she wants to potter. 

And a "it doesn't matter if it gets wet" Chair.

Did we make it?:

YES!

25 days after we moved the plants out. With a couple of weekends off.

Was #DB Surprised - I think it was more relief that the job had been done.

And Mum?  Well - After 50 years she finally stated that DH "was a Good Bloke."

* * *

Footnote: Incase anyone is interested - 

Final Cost to do this AUD $1,000.00
(not including our time and Coffee)

More Work ...

March was mainly spent plodding along with the Repairs at DD's.

An important part of this exercise was allowing the Children to Help. 

Showing GD#1 (Miss A) to paint the wall was something she quickly lost interest in.

But GD#3 (Miss P) was certainly not going to miss out -  2 years old and ready to Pitch in and help.

Encouraging her older Sister by example!

And once the Flooring Contractors were finished - It was decided that Grandpa needed help to measure up for the Skirting boards ...

I am sure DH really didn't need the help of a 6 foot long hand puppet but - Sometimes Memories are more important than Measurements ..

(Especially when you always measure twice!)

A Little Weeding

It started off with pulling out some dead Fern Fronds from around the Pond Area.

And from there we started asking "How much do we spend on Reviving The Pond?" 

It's under there Somewhere!

The Fern Rhizomes had lifted the Slate capping on the wall.

And it had really got to the point where it was unmanageable as a Pond - with or without Fish.

Eventually, The Fibreglass Pond was also 'Weeded Out" and we came to realise that this was going to be a much bigger project.

This pipe fed Water to the (Long gone) Evaporative Air-conditioning.

When we followed it into the Roof we discovered that it had been capped with - a Hose fitting.

Better to remove it altogether!

While the Boards were accessible, a trip to Bunnings for some Weathershield Paint was next.

We found the Perfect colour amongst the Markdown Mis-tints.

Time to re-arrange things, 

Fill in the Hole with some new Garden Soil

and Repot the Cycad

We raided the Garden for anything we can use/re-locate here 

and bought some new plants - 

I am trying some I have not been able to grow anywhere else (Hoping they will like the New Soil).

The Moss had been happily growing in the spouting, and likes its new position.

And to finish it off, we also installed some Garden Lights.

I think it a Job Well Done! - (View from Inside).

MAY

Message from DD

"You know I never liked my Pantry, well ....."

Long story short - A Rat had decided to take up residence in the space above the Pantry.  

Amusing itself  over the space of 3 days by chewing through 4 separate Water pipes 

(3 downstairs and 1 upstairs).

By the time they discovered the first leak, water had soaked everything in the Pantry. .

It ran along the Cornices, down the walls, behind Power points,  and under their Floating Floorboards.

Its a big mess but thankfully the Insurance Company said they were covered. 

That is - until they said They weren't covered for "Damage caused by Insects, Wildlife and Vermin."

Looks like we have another Renovation Project ahead of us.

APRIL

The AQC (Australian Quilt Convention) is on at the Beautiful Royal Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne

And Once again I am on deck for White Glove/Quilt Angel Duty.  This Year we had Quilts designed by the Incredible Kate Ceberano.  

- And on the Home Front ...

Spike has a Heart Murmur.  

Whereas he is not phased by it, the Vet said his NT-Pro-BNP levels were Way too high and required an ECG. 

(He wasn't quite so relaxed when he realised that meant GOING to to the Vet!)

AND - We went Up The Wall with Tiling Our Bathroom.

Finally placing the last tile on April 24. 

Tiles - Finally

If I can offer any advise to anyone who is thinking about doing a Bathroom Reno/Rebuild it would be ... DON'T choose your tiles until you are ready to put them down!

Our Floor tiles were the wrong colour and the Wall tiles 'just didn't jell" so we had to start the lengthy process of finding new tiles again.

A week to get the Floor tiles in and down.

DH happily volunteered  to smash the tile spacers and levelling wedges out for me.

Before we make another (costly) mistake, Time to get the Graph paper out.

Working around a window or niche, it is necessary to make sure the tiles flow through and not leave you cutting a 1" tile strip.

We can now order our chosen tile in a size that is going to work.

Progress is slow...

The Bathroom Reno is progressing very slowly with unavoidable delays and necessary distractions. 

But at least there have been times when DH got to play with his toys!

And the rest of it all is literally as interesting as watching Paint dry.

Working against the Clock

 Why is it when you have a deadline everything seems to conspire against you?

First the hinges gave way on the Security door - Easy fix. 

Then a week later the Lock broke OK THAT needed immediate attention.  

While we are at it we may as well replace them all and install the Emergency Key Lock box too!

NOW can we get back to work?

We need help - and even Stowaway Frog offered with his new Frog sized Ryobi Drill.

Fortunately DS#1 was available to help install the waterproof Wedi Boards and then DS#2 was also able to spare us the time to get the Domus Shower base installed.

It was very heavy and being semi recessed into the floor made it awkward to manage.

And with that we have run out of time.  

We had hoped to have the tiles on and be waiting for our Shower screen by now.  

Next week we need to be somewhere else!

December - Week One

And when you think you have all your Ducks neatly lined up...

Enter "Murphy's Law"

It started with my Mother needing a New Phone and Microwave Oven in the same week and the inevitable "I don't know how to use this modern thing" .

Christmas Decorations were - Once again kept to the Bare Minimum.

Distractions, Sidetracks and the Inaccessibility of the Tree and Decorations meant that This was it!

Oh well - There's always "Next Year"

The Bathroom Project saw the Plaster up 

(We were only replastering the bottom of the walls so I was pleased with the finish on the jointing.) 

And it all had to be Sealed and Painted before the Electrician arrived.

He was't able to do everything on our list so will be returning in the New Year.

And just when we were getting a run on the Reno it was Swap tools to deal with some Storm damage.

Our damage was insignificant compared to Others With only unblocking gutters and the Leucadendron needing an extreme Prune.

And speaking of Damage - Spare a  thought for this young man who was stuck blocking the road with a Broken Wheel Hub.

The local Bus was diverted and there he sat (for Hours) until a specialist Tow Truck arrived.

Distractions dealt with and underfloor Plumbing completed.

Finally we were able to get the flooring back down  so no more draughts!

 

November

Once again I am playing 'Catch Up' So - What happened in November?

The First Weekend in November is Demonstrating Simple Cake Decorations to the Children at the Whittlesea Show.  

Each year we hope we will get some new Members for our efforts.

At home, we Introduced DGD#2 

(Little Miss H) to Our Fairy Garden.

Looks Like Grandpa is a bit Big to play in here! 

She also Celebrated her 3rd Birthday with a Cat Themed Party.

Her Cake was made by Mum (DDIL#1) from the Iconic Australian Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book.

The rest of the Month was taken up with Renovating the Bathroom. 

It's a Long process if you are to do it right.

Flooring had to be removed to prepare for the Shower Base to be Installed.

When we removed the Tiles from the Shower recess wall we found a Power point or in fact the back of one.

At some point in time a Plumber didn't think that THIS could be a Safety Issue.

Fortunately the Month ended with the arrival of the Electrician and moving the Power Point was added to the list!