Month: November 2015

It’s the little things.

| Jessica

We’re getting ever closer to a finished result in our first ever set of renovations. Today the lads are off again, but John promises me he will be back at lunch time because the glass is here!

Which means that some time in the next two weeks we will be completely finished. Bar the shouting. And the painting.

The window frames are all in. The door is hung. The beading is nearly complete bar some teeny-tiny bits in the WIR.

I bought some drawer furniture from Paddington Hardware on La Trobe Terrace, Paddington. The 4 shell handles (RRP $7 ea) will go on the drawers and the single crystal door knob (RRP $12) on the cupboard drawer in the centre of the vanity. These will be installed soon, once the vanity has been fitted into place.

This morning I shall spend a few hours filling and sanding the beading that went in yesterday. I don’t want to get entirely paint encrusted, but I can certainly do a few things before John arrives. (I don’t actually believe he will come back today because builders always underestimate the length of time it will take to complete something.)

When John arrives we shall have a little conversation about how to fill some of the gaps in the window frames – will it be spak filler or timber nail filler? I’m thinking spak filler because the joins are too large for a little timber filler.

The following day…

I was right: John the builder wasn’t about when I left the house, BUT! He had been back to put in some glass. Now the ensuite is completely weather-proof and on Monday the louvre windows will be installed in the WIR.

I also bought our white LED downlights from Ideal Electrical Suppliers in Woolloongabba on Wednesday. They have a gimble because of the raked ceiling, so can be pointed in any direction. Now our house is nearly entirely LED fitted. The LED downlights also have a dimmer capability, and are not heat emitting, huzzah. They look fantastic in the bright white ceiling and I’m thinking of putting them in other rooms around the house too. Next year’s job, along with new ceiling fans!

Friday…

I waited and waited for the electrician to show, but I had to go and locate an expensive extractor fan called a Minivent M1 series from Allvent at Milton Lighting at RRP $145 (why does everything for this room have to be top of the line and cost so much? Huh?), so when I finally got back the electrician had been and gone. Sadly, I didn’t have the extractor fan, and my builder had wilfully ignored my specific instructions (with picture evidence of preferred face plates sent via text message) to put in shiny chrome electrical face plates, instead putting in crappy looking brushed aluminum ones that stand out like dog’s balls. Of course, the electrician not informing me as to WHEN he was going to be there I didn’t get the chance to show him where the transformer was for the WIR light, nor to remind him that I want dimmer switches because the lights I bought all have dimmer capability.

So he’ll have to come back AGAIN. Which is annoying for all of us but the last little bit should only take 15 minutes to fix, and he can install the hugely expensive but very low-key-looking extractor fan then too.

However, John the builder has now installed all the glass in the East Wing, and only needs to now put on the window furniture – very simple spur catch handles (RRP $12.95) for the casement windows in bright chrome from Finlayson’s Hardware in Woolloongabba. Chrome spur catch

Today is Saturday. Friday was spent being relieved about an impending tax return that looks very promising and should pay the builder nearly to the end. Phew. Have to admit the fee was looking a little worrying just now. But this means we shouldn’t have to hit the credit cards and should still have enough cash for Xmas.

Friday was also spent buying a new “Looking Glass” style mirror (RRP $350) for the ensuite from Reflect Mirrors in Lutwyche Road, Bowen Hills:

Mirror round

This dull bronze frame (it is actually a solid metal frame and really well built) looks fantastic against our warm grey tiles and chrome and milk-glaze white wall lamps. It’s 90cm diameter. We need some round things to offset the severe angles in the room. The tiles are squares and rectangles, the vanity is square, the windows are rectangular, the shower frame is too. So there are some round touches for balance. The oval vanity bowl and softly curved toilet cistern and bowl; the shower heads; the lights; the mirror; the shell shaped vanity handles. I’ve used 3 different tiles (warm grey, white and warm concrete look) and 3 different grout colours to contrast. There’s lots of grey and white, with the gorgeous vanity blackbutt top providing a focus, offset really well now by the wall lights and mirror. I’ve got a mostly surviving flowering orchid to plonk in the ensuite and I’ll be buying some simple woven baskets for under the vanity (Freedom Furniture), which will hide stuff but also provide another warm and natural look.

Saturday…

Today I went to Bunnings and finally decided on my trim paint and colour. As the walls and ceilings are Dulux Vivid White, I need a very gentle contrast for the wood trims. So I’ve bought 4 litres of oil paint in High gloss Natural White. Yes. I’ll have to be VERY careful not to crap this one up, being high gloss (there was no plain gloss, and semi-gloss won’t cut it). Lots of prep for the new windows and trim, and some very judicious sanding and filling for the old windows. Luckily the boys have framed up the old windows with new wood, so I only have to worry about sanding the old windows and NOT the old, tired frames as well. I KNEW it was a good idea to leave these alone 4 years ago!

I also bought LED lights for the wall lights in the bathroom and yet more painting products, including that Selley’s spakfiller and gap filler I was thinking about.

And now: to work I go.

 

I can’t even.

| Jessica

So tired. SO, SO tired. I spent the weekend filling holes and sanding in preparation for painting the East Wing. Yesterday I gave the East Wing its first undercoat. I’m so wrung out I can’t even think, let alone walk around. I removed the huge sofa so that I could roll the ceilings and walls, put down my drop sheets, and went hard for 6 hours. Now, this doesn’t sound like much, does it? Except I’m an oldish, slightly unfit lady who has to smoosh paint into the VJ grooves with nothing more than brute strength and a tricky roller position. I’m all done in. And of course the muscles around my right shoulder have decided to cark it!

I’m about ready to kill the owner of the house for wanting VJ mdf sheets. The painter now has to fill every single little black triangle left by the groove with acrylic filler, which is a horrible job the painter has NO skill in. Given that the painter and the owner are one and the same, I’m shitty at myself for giving myself more work to do. Gah.  However, the owner thinks the VJ looks amazing. The painter reluctantly agrees, nursing her tennis elbow and cursing.

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Yesterday I completed the second round of cutting in with the undercoat and cleaned up some patchy areas, and now it’s only the acrylic filling and top coats to do in the East Wing. Then I have to decide on paint for the wood trims and architraves. Do I go with proper oil paint, or do I go with aqua oil paint (which is a big furphy, it’s just water based paint, and in no way looks or feels like oil paint)?

The lads are busy at it today putting in the windows. It’s starting to take shape but I don’t really like to work with them around. Mainly because I think they’re quietly laughing at my povvo attempts to cut in, but also because I’m concerned I’m getting in the way. They work fast and consistently, and are out of the house at about 3pm, so it’s best if I stay well out of harm’s way.

The weekend is looking a little dicey – we have family functions to manage, so I’m not sure if I’ll get to paint. However, I am all set up and nail filling, sanding or cutting in is certainly something I can manage if nothing else! And it’s a good opportunity to prepare a couple of areas I’ve pretended don’t exist, such as the new proper wooden VJs in our bedroom.

Like every building job ever, it’s the little things that remain unfinished. An architrave here, a window there. In every room being worked on. There is nothing that is fully finished! I’m keen to get the painting finished in the ensuite, WIR and the East Wing, because this gets a lot of clothing out of the way, and a lot of crap in cupboards. It means DH and I get to use our new bathroom (huzzah!), and there will be at least 2 places without dust everywhere.

However, this is the dragging time. The moment when you think “when will this ever end?” And we’ve only been going about 4 weeks. I should be patient!

 

 

 

Filling and sanding. Oh joy.

| Jessica

Today was my prep day for the ensuite and WIR. In the past I’ve underprepared my paint surfaces because temporary. This time it has to look good because permanent. So I’ve gone the whole hog.

I bought ground sheets. I bought timber filler. I bought an all purpose filler for MDF and plasterboard. I bought an acrylic filler for the movable bits – wood and joins. I bought a cheap and cheerful 270mm paint roller and pan. I bought a sanding grip and a sanding grip for an extension pole. I bought a good quality glass scraper. I bought a roll of 240 fine grit paint sandpaper and a roll of 140 fine grit wood sandpaper. I bought 15 litres of Dulux Vivid White 3-in-1 primer, sealer and undercoat, and 15 litres of Dulux Wash and Wear Vivid White low sheen acrylic paint. I also bought 4 litres of Dulux bathroom and kitchen Wash and Wear in a semi-gloss, because I think this will be good for the bathroom.

I already own several good quality brushes and other painting accoutrements (and bloody oath doesn’t one accumulate this stuff over the years!) and I think I got it right this time.

So yesterday and today I laid the ground sheets, hung some plastic to cover the tiles (because I’m NOT scraping them back in 3 years time) and began filling the nail holes.

Surprisingly, the work is quick, although I’m taking inordinately long breaks. Had I been a little faster I would have done the undercoat today. But no. However, all nail holes are filled and sanded (what a difference good quality tools makes), door and window frames are done too. Tomorrow I’ll be rolling for a while, then I’ll be grabbing the paint brush and doing the rest by hand, because VJ MDF sheeting has grooves in it that can’t be covered using the roller. I’ve brushed first in the past but I’m thinking that rolling first will give me the best coverage, and fast, and I can finish off a little slower. I have been putting on the brakes with the painting because once you start you kinda have to finish it off. Paint quickly goes hard in the Brisbane heat, so planning my painting days is really important. I hate the clean up at the end of the day because I just so often seem to get it wrong. Brushes dry up on me, I inadvertently leave paint tins open: I just don’t finish well. I’m usually in a hurry to do something else.

Wednesday the lads come back to finish hanging more MDF, finish the beading, frame up some more door and window frames, fit some windows, and fling in a vanity unit. They may even fit the WIR.  Note to self: ring Reece about the bathroom stuff. And then there will be another longish wait for the shower glass, so I will finish off the topcoat painting in that time.

I’m thinking vivid white.

| Jessica

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Seeing this warm grey wall, I’m happy to go Dulux “Vivid White” on the walls. Beige, Dulux “Sand Dune” or “Hog Bristle” bring out too much brown, shown by the unpainted VJs at the top. I want to emphasize the grey. We’re going chrome fittings for everything, and warmth will be provided by the Blackbutt topped vanity unit. The grey tiles will have white grout, the white tiles will have a pale grey and the floor tiles dark grey. (Poor tiler – he had seen a bit of The Block on the TV and the floor tiles were the same – except they used it on the wall and used dark grout. He thought this was good somehow, and instead of listening to me saying repeatedly “pale grey grout for the white tiles, white grout for the grey tiles, dark grout for the floor tiles”, decided he wanted to add his own sartorial choices to the plan. I had to put him straight. Dear fellow.)

I’m a fond user of Dulux products. I use their 3-in-1 primer, sealer and undercoat, which has great coverage. One coat on already primed walls is usually enough, two coats on untreated wood. I’ve done a check on what I need and there’s plenty! I’ve just bought 4 litres of Dulux bathroom and kitchen semi gloss in Vivid White. This paint apparently resists mould and humidity, which will be important in this bathroom, as the view will be to the West and quite hot in the afternoon.

* (later this afternoon)

Having a look at the wall below, I’m particularly thrilled with the white grout. The grey really pops. It’s stronger and darker than I expected. I think the pale grey grout will look great with the white tile and it won’t be long until the whole room is basically done and I can get started on the painting. Best to do it before the fittings go in!

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Quiet

| Jessica

Today a moment of quiet as the boys head off to do a “quick job” elsewhere before coming back in the afternoon to finish off the final bits and pieces. John the builder popped in to let me know, bless him. The tiler never arrives before 8.30am. Bliss.

The builders are nearly done. Except of course the windows. It’s always the windows. There are a few more pieces of VJ to install, a few more beadings to hide the joins, and then it’s my turn to prepare the WIR for painting prior to the installation of the robe carcasses. As John said to me yesterday, laughing, “you know the story, don’t you? The painters will fix that!” I replied, sadly knowing this to be true, “yes, but as I’m the not-very-good painter, you had better do a really good job!” Preparation is key. My understanding (from when I dated a house painter) is that for new walls (not plasterboard) and new wood a quick undercoat is applied first. Then the patching and sanding happens. Nail holes are filled, joins are sealed, then everything needing sanding is sanded. Another undercoat for the tricky areas such as ceilings of bathrooms, and 2 coats of the top coat are applied. I’ll be painting until Xmas, cursing every crusty old french door and window I insisted on keeping. I’ll be painting them all white but the last paint job they had was pretty terrible (oil paint in a beige colour, messy and just painted right over old crusty surfaces), so I’ll be working my butt off to make them look even partly respectable.

We have yet to decide on the topcoat paint colour, but I recently painted my stepdaughter’s room bright white, and it looks lovely and not at all stark. I’m tempted to follow suit for the rest of the house. In truth the whole house needs another paint because the ceilings are starting to look dull and the wall colour has lost its appeal. Dark rooms look darker, and light rooms look tired. Painting VJ is a bitch though and takes forever. There are 6 rooms definitely needing new paint including our bedroom, and it’s looking more and more like I’ll need to do it all. DH is too busy at work, besides, he’s not much chop as a painter.

The tiler will be finished by tomorrow (should he ever appear) and apparently we’re deciding on grout colours today.  Next week the bathroom fittings will arrive and soon enough the trades will be back to install and finish our new ensuite. And now: finding the rest of the money to pay for all this stuff.

The trials and tribulations of tiling

| Jessica

This week sees the joy of tiling the ensuite and WIR. We’re going for a 600×600 concrete-look floor tile with enough warmth in it to match the feature grey Spanish wall tiles (rustic subway design, as shown below). The feature tiles will go on the vanity wall, with the 300×600 glossy white tiles fitted in a brick pattern over the remaining. We’re tiling all the way up to 2400mm, and VJs on the top. Our tiler, Roj, is a man clearly fond of a good meal. He works to a gentle pace, although I must say he’s picked up since the contractor has appeared on site! He has been laying the floor tiles this week, and he’s nearly finished in the ensuite and will move onto the WIR in no time. I bet. BTW, we’re not having marble on the vanity: we’re going with a blackbutt wood. It’s a beautiful wood predominant in pinks and browns, and we’re having a top-sitting basin. Should look good with the slightly old-style chrome tap fittings we’ve chosen.

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The lads are about in force again today as they are now doing the East Wing (which I think they had completely forgotten about). On Sunday afternoon DH and I cleared out the room and now it’s ready for them to rip the guts out and start work. It’s a simple job in there: they’re putting in some French doors (which will eventually open onto the verandah but for now open onto a small enclosed vestibule), replacing some louvre windows at the front with casement windows, and replacing one bank of louvre windows on the east side with wall. I said to DH, it’s never going to be used as a verandah so why should it be lit like one? It’s too hot and bright in there most of the year. The room will be insulated, relined, and have new powerpoints and a light. A simple job and one they should have done in a couple of days depending on the availability of the windows.

Nowhere to run to… nowhere to hide

| Jessica

Today is the day when the air-conditioning unit is removed from its old place in the old teaching studio and moved to the dining room/kitchen. DH and I discussed the merits of having it in the master bedroom (merits: at night, in summer, I want to die because of the heat, so air-con in the bedroom would be SO GOOD), but then we agreed that it’s not really the most used room in the house: the kitchen is. So for the good of all, it’s going there today.

This means, of course I have nowhere to hide. Every room bar the bathroom and Mara’s room) is taken up with noisy people. The dog has taken to my feet (a normal place for her, but she’s even more under my feet than usual), and there’s bangs and crashes everywhere. I’m sure the air-con tradies will be done by 10am, but early morning is quite the busy junction here. (* All done by 11am but no sparky to attach the electrics because we moved it too far, we’ll have to wait for the next sparky visit, in about 3 weeks.)

I COULD go to the gym, I suppose. But I’m much more interested in seeing what’s happening here. The French doors are DEFINITELY coming out today. The ghastly half-wall bifurcating the West wing for most of the last 40 years has just been removed. There will be light and space in the back section of the wing for the next year, until we do the other bathroom. Which will either be done next year or after we’ve added a whole new room.

I am about to tidy up the kitchen and dining room now – we’ve stored stuff in here while the other rooms have been otherwise occupied and it’s time now to move stuff back out. As usual, it’s the bookcases that take up most of the space.

An amusing side note: the builders are working in and around our bedroom, which we still have to sleep in. Today there’s a fair amount of dust all over the bed, bedsheets and covers, but it has to be said DH and I are usually so exhausted from the day (tradie days start at 6.30am, muso days don’t finish until after 10 sometimes, YES, even the administrative muso ones, so we’re a bit tired all the time) that we’ve taken to half-heartedly shaking off the dust and literally falling into bed.

Plenty of people who renovate complain about the dust and general mess, but these guys only make a mess during the day. They clean up after themselves, and we’re left with unfinished but quite tidy spaces. Ask me again in a few weeks how I’m feeling then and I’m sure I’ll feel differently!

The sad part is that I get to do the interior painting. Which means that once all the interior spaces that have been relined or in some way altered are finished, I’m the one that gets to wander round in my dungarees painting all the VJ board. Oh! And in case anyone thought we’re just using only VJ sheeting, think again. Discovered today that removing the French doors necessitates the insertion of proper VJs. Actual wooden boards. Because the sheeting is too thin for the cavity. Huh!

Monday and VJs are going up

| Jessica

These guys are SO quick, I swear. Today the wall between the WIR and the other bathroom was put up. I reminded the builders to put up cement sheeting on the outer wall because of the other bathroom renovations down the track (maybe a year away, maybe longer). On the inside wall there’s now insulation and Vjs, which I get to paint prior to the WIR shells going in. The paint will be white. So that we can see things.

But in our new ensuite all the VJs are going up (it’s sheeting, not individual wooden slats!), and the room will have its waterproof coat on Wednesday. Then tiles, then fitout. At some point the new louvre windows and picture window will be put in too. I’ll be painting this room too. Including the sad old windows which frankly need some tlc before the topcoat. That’s my November taken care of!

Today too it looks like the wall and French doors between the verandah and our bedroom will be removed and replaced. Huzzah!

I will be repainting our bedroom too. At the moment it’s a not unattractive pale sandy faun with beige paint on the woodwork and a white ceiling. We’re thinking of going all white. Depends how our wooden furniture will look with white painted walls. White can be pretty stark with 19th century style furniture but the room will need repainting anyway so it’s a good chance to see if it will work.

Photos later, people.