Instead of posting a whole bunch of pics about the progress of the house I wanted to take a bit of time and document the journey (yes our house is like a reality TV contestant) our little house has taken us all on. This is mainly for my record (and to get it out of my head at 3am).
In a previous lifetime David and I bought a block of land and got a builder to build a very basic shoebox (rectangle ) house up to the joinery fit stage. We moved in 6 weeks before Bear was born and bit by bit David completed all the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and misc joinery. He does beautiful work so I always knew he was capable when it came to construction "stuff".
and heights don't bother him apparently
Fast forward a few years and insert a move to the Qld coast. We were renting down the road and still debating moving back home or settling here for good but I guess some things are just meant to be.
David and I had a very rare day off together as I was suppose to be having a minor op at the local hospital. At the last minute the Dr cancelled and we were sent home. As we were walking back to our car we went past a real estate window and decided to have a look . The agent came out and asked up what we were wanting (we had no idea as we weren't even sure what our long term plans were). He told us about a property that had been on the market for over a year and had a lot of land with a very basic house. We drove out and found a forest of gum trees with a shoebox house. In fact the house was almost a replica of the little house we had built back home (only in a lot worse condition). David was really keen to make an offer which we did and after a bit of negotiating (is there anything more stressful than buying or selling a house? ) it was ours. We moved in and the next couple of months were very dark for me. Both in the emotional and literal sense. The previous owners had built the house right in the middle of the gums. You could reach out and touch the massive trees from the balcony. It was a bushfire, wind and lighting nightmare. They had also put coverings on EVERY window (where they using it as a drug lab? probably who knows). There was no natural light at all. I pulled down all the curtains the first night we moved in... surely one of the benefits of having a home amongst the gum trees is natural privacy. I also had to make peace with the fact that we probably wouldn't be moving back home (to family) and I really needed to start settling into the coast.
I am ashamed to say I didn't really appreciate our property or see its potential. ALL the joinery work was substandard and dated, all the finishes and colours were tasteless (burnt orange paint anyone?) and nothing was finished off properly. Coupled with the fact that it had been vacant for a year so it was grotty in that un lived in way. It was also a house that had some strange things going on (like the previous owners had scribbled on the bathroom wall in pencil where each persons towel should be hung, not like a home decor thing like someone had grabbed a 2b and scribbled on the painted wall!). But David was in his element. He had the ability to see what the property could become and the patience to stick with the work to achieve it.
First David tackled the downstairs and garden area. He cut down all the trees around the house and gave us a least a chance if a bush fire ever comes through. His family love the story of David outside with his chainsaw and me inside with a friend I had met through the kids school. Suddenly David is screaming out "get out of the kitchen get out of the kitchen!" I calmly pushed Robyn out towards the back of the house as a huge gum came down just cm away from where we had been having coffee. They laugh like drains at this tale ... and yeah Robyn didn't come back for a while. We put in a pool which required masses of retaining walls built by D and a semi decent driveway.
We always knew that the upstairs required work. The layout of the house was a rectangle with a long but small in width balcony running along one side of the house. We used the balcony to entertain but it really was a bit of a nightmare being so small. David and I would often sit out there and plan what we would do to make the house more livable. We decided to enclose the balcony and add an en suite to Bears room (our new bedroom). As we are removing a wall that now runs through the middle of the house we are also replacing the kitchen completely and the old bathroom.
Dad with the love of his life and his grandkid on the balcony of my nightmares.
David drew up the new plans for the house and we had them approved.
On Fathers Day in September 2010 David started ripping up the balcony.
Same boy Same spot plus 9 months.
And since then he hasn't stopped. He has completed all the construction so far except for the final plumbing and electrical fitoff. We thought the hardest part would be the mess or living in a construction site but neither of those things have bothered us. The hardest part of the build has been that, baring Christmas or the very odd special occasion D has worked on this house almost EVERYDAY for the last nine months. EVERY WEEKEND has involved the kids and I doing our normal activities or giving him a hand and David ... working. It sounds cheesy but we all miss him. This has been hard on everybody but we all know its going to be finished soon and we will get D back.
Same spot minus the cute fluffy white dog.
2011 has been a shocker for us. My Dad and I were discussing 2011 and I told him I was hating on it hard. I also told him it sucked a dead dogs d*** and he agreed that summed it up eloquently ;-)
The build hasn't been the cause of our annus horribilus by any means its just adds a little more stress to an already crappy situation. But not a week goes by when I don't tell David how incredible he is for rebuilding our house... on his own! It isn't just his ability to know what to do (or at least google it mid construction) but also his tenacity to keep going with it. I admire this because I always start out well with great intentions then get bored with a project and drop it. Or I want instant results. David can work on a section of the house all day and I cant see any progress but its all important steps that are being done (boring!). Lately I keep reminding myself of Davids "stick ability" as Lucy and I have started on a pretty intense tutoring exercise. Lu has been diagnosed with a vision learning disability (hello 2011, I hate you) and we are trying a vision learning program. It takes time and energy but if Dave can build a house surely I can get my kid to read.
So we are now at the stage of ripping down the internal wall and finishing off our new bedroom, en suite and walk in robe. Then comes the new kitchen, main bathroom and laundry (say it fast it hurts less).
Our house is going to be great. It's even going to have more than one toilet and a front door.
Onward!
