What is that doing there?

Hugh the Digger has been hard at work removing the rubble that had built up to gargantuan proportions on the front garden and preparing the site for the entrance walkway and lower lawn.

But we got an unexpected visitor. Yep, you guessed it, a vast expanse of pipe - which actually looks bigger than this in person! We were horrified.

Now, I know what I am about to tell you sounds unbelievable but it's true. Everyone knew there was a water pipe running through our property but when Sydney Water was initially consulted about the pipe's exact  depth and measurements, they said they had no record of it even though its end is visible outside our property on council land. Despite this, we (ie the architect) had to work around it re the landscaping and submit the plans to Sydney Water for their approval - which we got without a hitch.

Until Hugh got to work. The pipe was way higher in the ground than anyone expected. Oh dear. But, thankfully, not only is the exposed part going to be mostly under the walkway but our architect has come up with a great solution to build a sandstone wall around it that will blend in with what will be raised garden beds in sandstone, to extend the garden bed to the right of the lawn and  raise the height of the lawn a little so it is fully submerged.

Looking at it now, it's hard to believe it could ever be made to disappear but let's hope it vanishes forever otherwise mowing the lawn could be a nightmare!

Hard to believe, I know, but this will be the front lawn with trees lining the back fence and garden beds and/or vege patch to the back and sides.

Making a Date with a Builder

I feel quite buoyed tonight as we met with the architect tonight and finally, finally have a date for the build to start, having secured the builders only last week. What we need now is to gather the final bits and pieces in order to get the building certificate. This means getting an engineer to do a dilapidation report of all of our neighbours, which is security for them in the event that our building causes damage to their property; ensuring the builders organise their insurance and paying yet more fees to the council.

 

The date is June 15th when the old garage, part of which you can see here that has definitely seen better days, will be demolished along with what's left of the house, aside from the sandstone and concrete paths that we are going to recycle. And you know, looking at this close-up of the number two I think we should keep it too, as a reminder of the old house.

It will be goodbye chocolate brown bricks and hello, white weatherboard and sandstone. The builders have allocated 65 weeks for the build, taking into account wet weather days, which seems a long time and an age away - basically September 2011. Wow. But I can't wait.

This is the original letterbox that hasn't been used for goodness knows how long as you can tell by the spiderwebs (there may even be something living inside, who knows?!)

I'm now wondering whether we should keep this, too. Give it a spruce up and turn it into a bird house or something ..? Any ideas anyone?

Poring over Architectural Plans

I can't believe it was over a year ago that we first began discussing our house plans with our architects and we're still going! I have sometimes wondered whether it is all just fun and games on paper and if it will really happen. But now, I think I can say that we are getting closer to it really happening. Once we got council approval just before Christmas, the process has been full speed ahead and hopefully, yes, hopefully in two months time we will be ready to start. Yipee!

Because our current house, while cute and quaint and all that, is beginning to drive me nuts. The only decent work space in the kitchen - the island bench -is only 125 x 90 cm and acts not only as a meal preparation area but a desk on which to do leave homework, do homework, leave stuff, do 'stuff''. The cupboards are crammed with ....well, stuff. The study/my office is piled with more stuff, including five boxes of wine hubby decided to purchase en masse. The bedroom the girls share is crammed with other stuff and toys and junk that no matter how many times we tidy and clean out, never seems to diminish.

If you think I'm starting to sound a little ruffled, you'd be right.

Rock on the new house.

Which brings me back to where we're now at - scrutinising endless pages of detailed architectural drawings and plans. For while the overall design and layout of the house hasn't changed much, we are now at the nuts and bolts stage where every little detail - from power switches to speaker zones, window openings and dimensions, uplights, downlights, pendant lights, ceiling fans, drawer and door openings and closings etc etc - is to be itemised and specified.

Take a look at the electrical 'legend' for the laundry for instance ...

And that's just a laundry!

Here's what some of the symbols for an electrical legend look like ...

Bored yet? Well, here's more ...

Then there are pages and pages on every window and door for which you have to look back at the drawings of the whole house to figure out which window or door each picture is referring to.

Wow, it's complicated and oh so detailed and requires a lot of pretending to walk in the rooms, use them, live in them to realise what's missing or what's wrong, if anything at all.

I have to take mini bites at it, otherwise my eyes glaze over and I loose interest - and this is coming from someone who thought she liked a bit of detail! Needless to say, hubby, while deeply interested of course, is demonstrating all the traits of a typical male preferring to look at the overall picture and leaving the detail to me. Sigh.

So, for the umpteenth time I'm going to peruse, study, scrutinise and ruminate over every itsy bitsy, teensy weensy thing in this house in the hope of getting it right. Wish me luck!