It’s been getting close to the awkward part of the reno – the back wall getting removed and the existing house reconfigured internally.
Mr B and I discussed where we would live during that time. In theory it’s all well and good to just live in the new section, but with 3 kids, work, school and everything else, it wouldn’t work. We needed to clear out.
I checked out “housesitting” websites where you can stay for free in someone’s house whilst they’re on holidays, usually in return for caring for their pet/s. Pretty cool hey? But there never seemed to be any around our area, all way north or south of us.
As luck would have it though, some good friends from around the corner had to move interstate quite quickly. They didn’t have a property manager or tenant organised yet for their house, so with some discussions and negotiations, we both realised a mutual benefit for us to rent it for 6 weeks. And we moved out that weekend!
That meant our builder could have a clear run to demo and rebuild internally – get the messy stuff out the way.
So although it pushed his schedule further forward than he’d planned, on Monday I handed the builder the house key and said “Go for it!”
Well, he was up for the challenge all right, cos when I got home that arvo the house looked like this:
The girls freaked when they saw their bedroom floor ripped up to be concreted for our ensuite.
The new doorway for our ensuite/robe was created,
The laundry and toilet were knocked out,
The kitchen was removed (we kept most of the cupboards for another purpose..),
And the dining room floor was dug up for the laundry!
Outside, one layer (leaf) of bricks were removed, which made the one still standing very fragile.
I was so excited and thrilled so much had been done in one day!
It was a massive mess but I’m a bit obsessed with demolition so I was loving it!
Of course it’s quicker to knock down than build back up though, right?
When that little window on the right was taken out, that part of the wall fell in to! It needed to be boarded up to keep it safe until the whole wall is ready to come down.
The kids were thrilled to see the crusty old vanity and bath in the front yard. I was thrilled once I saw them in the skip bin!
At this stage it was discovered that the water pipe in the wall for the shower had an asbestos covering. Apparently it’s pretty rare but it’s the worst type of asbestos so the lovely wall with the pinky tiles had to be left until the professionals could come and remove it.
As soon as that was done, the ceilings were all removed. There were 2, yes 2, big old water heaters in the ceiling, as well as metal airconditioning ductwork and a heap of electrical wires. All of it was removed which was awesome.
I was also pretty chuffed right about now that we weren’t living anywhere near this mess! (can you imagine???!!)
So by Friday the view from the front door looked like this:
And I was waiting (im)patiently for the back wall to finally come down..
On Monday morning after dropping the kids to school I went straight to the house. The guys were there and as I stepped in the door I said “So are you knocking out the back wall today?….” As the words came out and I took another step, I saw it was already gone!! The momentous occasion had already happened!
Oh well. I was a bit devo I missed it (I wanted to video it), but with it being so fragile it came down very quickly and easily.
So we just celebrated:
Now the view from the front door looks like this:
And from the back looking in:
It’s still not pretty but it’s much better.
In the meantime, we’re loving living in a big house with ducted heating! It feels completely luxurious in comparison to our accommodation this winter.
Aahh, warmth,
