getting schooled

Its not always easy being wrong, but when it turns out to be a good thing, its easier to take.  My meticulously planned calendar took a beating over the last two days.  I really really need to work on rolling with stuff when its not going my way.  Reilly went out to grab some materials and while away i get a phone call....

Reilly: So.... Plasterboards on sale....
Me: Mmmmhhhmmmmm?
Reilly: So i think we should reline the kitchen ceiling
Me: ???? What the???? *mentally recalculating my calendar and not liking the look of that AT ALL*
Reilly: ........
Me: really??
Reilly:.....
Me: OH GOD! *throws hands in air*

So - while he is gathering more plasterboard, i threw a tantrum at the house and ripped down the ceiling.  of course the temperature goes through the roof, i have spiders crawling in my hair and I'm covered in CRAP - I'm a barrel of laughs.  i then proceed to be an epic dick all day long.

and now - of course - i look at this space and realise that of course this needed to happen - its WAY WAY better.

Have also had a fun time installing gib cove, which is NOT as easy as they make it seem on the youtube video - liars liars liars, that crap is tricky as hell! also you absolutely need two people to install long lengths as Reilly found out when i went out with Saara and the twins and he was home alone arms overhead for 10mins and not able to move! what a crack up! tiny little voice yelling - "help help" as we drove down the drive! funny!!

so now we are knocking together some cabinetry for a fridge surround, which has been quite fun really - I'm thinking we are over half way there! exciting!!!

KITCHEN

Man its hot.  Its hot and dry and when you have half the ceiling down and the ceiling cavity heat pouring down on you while you work - it can make life a bit unpleasant.  HOWEVER, when you have nice in laws who buy you a lovely pool (which you haven't ever put up yet) you put it up - you fill it up - then when your hot you run outside and jump in it! BLISS!!

We are now pretending we are camping - we had some old tall posts at home that we threw in the ground, put up shade cloth and now we have base camp out in the back yard - BBQ, table, pool - definitely just like being on camp.  Its especially good while we don't have a functioning kitchen, plus its giving the kids a great hang out spot to play, roll around and fight and wait in between swims.  thank god for the pool! we LOVE it!

So the kitchen re-lining is happening.  Of course the house is OLD and none of the studs line up nicely with our 1200 wide sheets of plasterboard, there has been a lot of nogging going on around here in the hot hot weather.  also a little bit of gib stopping - don't look too closely I'm not that hot at it.   skirtings are going back on - timber is now up on lounge opening and tomorrow is going to be ANOTHER big day of prep - i LOVE painting - but i think by the time all this prep is done i might be over it! haha! we are actually having a great time - i feel sorry for Reilly because this is his christmas holiday break and he's spending it filthy and tired.  he reckons he's having a good time so I'm going to believe him.  hopefully only maybe two more days of prep before some fun stuff!

Hot Paint on a Hot Day!

Another long long day starting early with the sprayer was a really good idea, roof done before 10am. only one coat though so going to have to do the second good coat later next month - BUT we have a plan for that so its going to work out nicely with some interior spraying as well.

Doing the exterior paint with the sprayer was 1000x easier than by hand.  Around and around we went scaffold and sprayer, it went on really really easily and quickly.  We were finishing up - exhausted - at 5pm.  The kids have been getting pretty sick of being there with not a lot to do and no great place to hang out and relax - however, within the next couple of weeks we hope to have something set up so they have a nice space to themselves.

So outside painting that still needs to happen - chimney! exterior windows and barge boards - actually looking forward to that as its going to make the house POP! YAH!! also - have a tricky plan to install shutters to the windows.  now thats exciting!

We have been off to hamilton and grabbed some plaster board and MDF thin - it was a great opportunity to reward the kids with an hour at leap which was right next door to the wood yard.  fun for the grown ups too!

Those first few days

its filthy work.  honestly. filthy.  Those first few days, we are hot, sweaty and gritty.  the smell of chlorine bleach is in my dreams. luckily i remembered to pack the house rubber gloves, of course i didn't remember that until after i had dunked my hand a few thousand times in hot bleach water to wash down the ceilings.  I'm guessing they have literally never been cleaned - in 51 years or so.  not so good.  in one bedroom there was a whole lot of fantastic graffiti in black and highlighter pink - it was such a shame to cover that up... but i think the only person who could appropriately appreciate it was the artist themselves - sadly it had to go.  i did find at Mitre 10 a seal everything undercoat/sealer on special so i thought i had better try that out.  it did a pretty good job, it didn't actually cover EVERYTHING up, but enough that when i put on two coats of ceiling white, we should be rock n roll.  even as it is, its a vast improvement, it was feeling so toxic - now - its so much fresher!

Our Weekend job, was actually washing the whole exterior down and sorting out the roof.  After lots of close inspection the roof was actually really good.  a bit of surface rust to grind off and rust prime and a whole bunch of new roofing screws and its ready for a proper paint!  Reilly did a grand job up there non stop for just about two days straight in the hot hot sun! CHAMPION!

The exterior wash down was actually pretty straight forward - lovely thing about brick! not a lot of prep work required!  obviously the windows need a good sand, seal and paint, but apart from that not too bad on the whole - one window needs definite replacing, and that big lounge window is being pushed out into french doors onto a deck!  We are ready for paint Wed/Thurs weather depending.

So - The beginning of this week its just been me and the kids - my calendar (which I'm sticking to at the moment) was for DEMO!   now - i love a good demo day.... i just normally don't do it alone!  Demo Day alone is definitely not as much fun.  all that crash, boom, bang really requires a friend to make the work load 1. go faster (obviously) 2. crack funny jokes with 3. rock out to some heavy metal.  instead i forgot all that coolness and did the following - 1. pretty slow going by myself while i stood around for a while figuring crap out by myself - i even started asking myself questions out loud 'how you gonna get that down Mandy?'  '...uuummmm.... maybe..... hhhmmmmm'.  in the end i worked it out - i took the long way a few times but got that eventually.  2. cracking funny jokes alone really isn't that funny.  3. I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO ROCK OUT TO HEAVY METAL! what an idiot! I'm going to have to make this a cardinal rule - never DEMO DAY to John Mayer or Corinne Bayley Rae, no wonder i was so slow - i was taking the sunday morning drive!  *smacks self in head*.

So - things that went well - i got a new jimmy bar for 10 bucks from Mitre 10 - love that new jimmy bar - I'm going to name it, just not sure what yet, something dependable.  A crow bar is your best friend.  also -  i got a lot of the skirting boards off intact! WHAT? thats right... not 100% all of them, but enough to impress myself (and I'm pretty hard to impress).

So I've thrown all this demo crap out the back door and I'm very hopeful that its all going to fit on the back of our trailer so i can bring it home and burn it - before the 11th of January when the summer fire ban kicks in!

Also - its almost Christmas - I'm in super denial about  that though!

In the Beginning....

We heard about this house down the road from my mums long before it came up for auction.  it was one of those situations where it perculates in the back of your mind for weeks on end and you think to yourself 'well could i do it?' ....."Yeah maybe".....'If i did it HOW would i do it?'.  

A hundred scenarios went through my mind, nutting out the hows, the whos and the most crucial question - WHY on earth would i do this?  By the time the house actually came up on the market, i had talked myself in and out of it a dozen or so times.  There is a unique feeling you get when you walk into a house that you desperately want, and i got that feeling when we walked into this one.  Sure it looks like a piece of crap - and thats being generous - its been very very unloved for a long time ..... but there is definitely something about it - crying out for .... i think - ME!  And so here we are ... again.... starting out with something old, looking to make it into something new... excited for sure, but a bit scared as well.  Its going to be hell on wheels no doubt, but WHAT A RIDE IT WILL BE!! The kind of ride that when you get to the other end you go 'what the hell? did we actually do that!!'.  In other words, its going to be a lot of hard work, and a lot of fun!

The auction - was horrible - it was so bad that i refused to stay in there when the auction started.  I worked myself into such a state about it i felt sick.  I honestly couldnt believe the number of people that showed up to bid.  In my mind i had thought - maybe 5 people max, but there were a heck of a lot more people than that.  Having convinced my husband to use his lunch break to bid so i wouldnt have to, i ran off down stairs to wait and see what happened.  Believing it was over, i went back up and stood at the back but they were still going!  Hubby was out and someone else had the flipping bid!!! And just like that i saw all my excitement and DIY dream going down the tube and just like that up went my hand and it was ME with the bid.  Lord i was thinking 'what the heck am i doing!', but before i knew it - the auctioneer was calling it - once, twice...... and then who goes and puts in another bid..... my HUSBAND! against me!! you could hear my 'nnnnooooooooo' from down the block.  In retrospect it was actually really funny.  He didnt know i was back there, and i didnt know he was going to go again.  Everyone in that very packed room had a great laugh, and that was it. going once, twice and sold to hubby.  I told him jokingly, 'fine then, have it see if i care'.  The auctioneer came to shake our hands and told us, that in all of his years he had never seen a husband and wife bid against each other... he was chuckling as he walked away - im sure to tell everyone in the office.  

So - we now have our crap old house, a painstakingly planned out budget and calander. and we are ready to start.  Excited, scared and ... ready!