Lighting AV

Lighting seems to be one of those things that is simple for a lucky few, and complicated for the rest of us. Where to put lights, what type of lights, how many lights, do you want fans, what circuits will they be on, where to provide for further potential lights? etc, etc. Then there is power. I have had to operate a little on the  "if-in-doubt,-put-one-in" philosophy. Fortunately Peter Guest my big Bro in law has been able to assist by advising on the lighting types and supplying the LED lamps and fittings required for the house. Pete has also recommended and is installing an Audio Visual set up for the TV room, and speaker system through the house. Watch out for the Party invite.. Brendan (electrician) has been flexible enough to move, add, change and add some more points where we needed it (learning as we go what we will "probably" need). We have decided to include an Intercom and Alarm system. The above pic is of sister Jenny with Pete. Check out Pete web site EO Lighting and Design .

External cladding

The external cladding is getting there. It is a weatherboard lookalike product by James Hardie called Linea. Fell in love with it from a house in a magazine...which is how I have chosen most things to be honest. It will be painted, and at the moment fancy the colour "Mist"( a light grey) from Porters Paints. See how we go with the sample pot first.

Some of the people involved..

Kaz our plumber!

Trent, head carpenter and right hand man with Paul, our builder.

Bryan from Donalco measuring up the commerical windows and back doors.

Brendan (behind Ali) our electrician.

Ben, Paul's aprentice builder.

behind the walls...

There are wires running everywhere. Not sure how he its done, but looks like one big spiderweb threading in and out of every room.  Combined with the plumbing   and the bracing there is so much going on behind these walls.

..more stairs

Iain from Allwood Stairs has done a great job. Handrails wont come onsite until later ( to avoid being damaged) .

Stairs

Here we are choosing the design for the stairs....Originally we had intended to carpet the entire stairs, but ....  well, you can see Pauls (builder) reaction as I explain my change of mind. Seriously, Paul has been fantastic. Very flexible, very patient.  (Went with spotted gum treads, spotted gum hand rail, the rest painted white timber pine.) 

Cathedral ceilings

One of the specs for our Architect, Jo Gillies, was to include Cathedral ceilings in the Master bedroom.  Jo was able to include them at both ends of the house so that the rumpus room  as well as the main bedroom enjoyed this feature. We love this. Cant wait until these ceilings are freshly  painted (White on White, I think). Here is a picture of Jo Gillies (on the right) visiting the site, with Carole Huard who also worked extensively on our design. We have Carol to thank for the skyights in the kitchen ..  thats the pic with the hole in the roof.

Windows go in at the front

As previously mentioned, I have been anxious about the windows;  the style, that fact that many would need to be aluminium, etc. Well I was relieved that the windows that went in at the front of the house just before Xmas are gorgeous. So happy with them! As they are timber, they look soft and a little classy I think. My professional photographic skills dont do them much justice, but you get the drift. After seeing these, we were happy to decide on similar style windows for the upper levels at the front and back ( from the kids rooms). They should be arriving in the next few weeks....

Roof : Windspray

The roofers worked during scortching hot days in December, and then came back to finish the job during the hotest week in Sydneys ever recorded history...unbelievable. Not one complaint. Wish I had an aerial shot. We used Colorbond Windspray.

Trying to get it right.

Wow. a little behind on my blog. Where did Dec and Jan go?? House has come along in leaps and bounds. But there are so many worries that accompany building, especially when it is for the 1st time. So many consequences of so  many seemingly straightforward decisions...if you do that, then this will happen. If you decide that type/style/shape it may be too busy/plain/odd/different...My wonderful friend made the point to me recently, that when you buy a house you get it as it comes;  usually with its own set of inherited problems such as backward doors, wrong hooks and locks, lack of storage, overdone wall colours, etc.  You live with it. You make it work. No big deal. But when you are starting from scratch building a home, you feel the pressure to get it right. To try to make it perfect. Afterall there is no one else to blame but yourself!!...And this is my excuse for taking time on reaching decisions on window styles ( sooo important), taps ( just pure pain and boredom), staircase ( in the end it didnt feel right to run carpet up all the way...), open fireplace ( went from 1970's style sandstone surrounds - no way we were going to change our minds - to settling on classic Victoran painted mantle ), electrics ( who really gives a shit anyway . ..thanks to help from my little bro in law, managed to sidestep most of this so far), and the list goes on.
Here are some pics to make up for lost posts on this blog over the past 2 months...

The photos above show the completion of the extensive framework that wraps around the original steel structure. You can start to see the shape of the house from the front.

Roof frame

Up in the loft, the space feels pretty good. The ceilings on this level will all be raked. Luckily, the stairs will reach this level with only one step required into the bedrooms from the landing at the top. A much safer outcome than the potential three steps. Jamie and Ali are very excited. Here they are at the front door...

Its 6 months after moving out...

On May 15th we moved out of our little old beach shack.  Demolition took place mid June and we completed building a special little garden sea wall towards the end of July.... so it feels like the actual building only started in August with the piles and engineering works underground. 6 months after having moved out, the framework is such a rewarding stage as it actually begins to show what we are creating. So far the experience has been pretty positive. No major negative drawbacks or problems. A few little items here and there, such as bathroom floor levels, minor ceiling adjustments, window placement, skylights in the rafters. We seemed to have gained a little extra kitchen bench space, and a little more in the master ensuite and Ali's room.

more framework structure

House from the front.

House from the back.

Looking up at loft level through the stairwell.

Entrance to Master Bedroom.

Looking down into what will become our Kitchen. 

Standing in the old loveshack, looking out towards what will become a courtyard...

Ali's Room with a view

These photos taken yesterday show Ali will have a fabulous view from her bedroom.   Her room will be a little bit smaller, as it is located above the Master room with raked ceilings, so it is about 50cm less wide as Jamies bedroom. Lets hope she wont notice.....

Framework

The timber framework goes up around the steel, showing us the spaces we will live in....this part is so exciting!.

The side of the house - 1.4m wide - should be enough room for an external fireplace box, air conditioning units and leave room for us to pass.....(great shot of the builders dunny too)

 On the first level up, we see the walls of the stairwell go up first, then the master bedroom. In order to fit in the vanity unit in the master ensuite, we have decided to move the internal walls out 200mm. Its so fab that you cab do this as you go...the added benefit is that Ali's room above will also get a little bigger as a result.



Back down stairs I love this lounge room which feels nice and open - guess it will when
there are no walls, ceiling or furniture!



From the street.....getting there.

ahh...I remember that view.

Charles and kids with builder, Paul, standing in what will be the kids upstairs study/rumpus.

Looking back towards the front door.

Looking down from Collaroy Plateau.