Last week, every morning at 6am, Max arrived at our place to attack the next phase of the project... Where we are dumping dirt and leveling out the area in preparation for the slab, we needed to dig some trenches that will eventually be filled with concrete to act as reinforcement. As Adam put it while explaining the process to me... Basically the slab will be like a really big waffle. Which is exciting. I love waffles.
The trenches obviously would not stay trenches without the use of some sort of retaining walls to keep the dirt out... so, this is what Max has been up to... a process that I'm fairly sure is called 'trench shoring'.
Basically, bits of timber had to be cut and used as retaining walls to ensure the trenches stayed trenches, and the dirt has been piled in the square areas between. When the slab is being poured, the timber will be removed and the concrete will fill the trenches to make the ridges of our big waffle.
This part is nearly done... the countdown to the slab pour is on!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Finally up to date... and then I got lazy!
Ok, so I caught up my blog to be in line with the guys on the weekend... and then, instead of doing what I had intended to do, which was document the building progress as it happened... I got lazy. Or maybe I got busy. I really don't know. It's all a bit of a blur in general. Life, that is.
Anyway, today is Sunday January 17th and it's late afternoon(ish)... last Sunday at about this time Adam and Max finally packed away the toy they'd been playing with for 48 hours... the Dingo! Or Kanga... Or some other native-Australian-animal-named (petrol powered) contraption that was essentially a 'digger', and so will henceforth be called the digger.
The digger arrived at our place on the back of a trailer mid-Friday afternoon. I watched with a bit of fear mixed with fully-fledged horror as Max unloaded this four wheeled death machine from said trailer OVER the top of the previously mentioned foundation blocks and into what I like to call the 'pit of vacuum-inducing despair ' (because it's so freakin' dusty in our house that I am always vacuuming). The digger (and Max) made it safely... eventually.
Basically, the entire weekend was spent using the digger to dig... and move dirt from one spot... to another. The end.
Well, not quite.
Friday night, Adam dug trenches for the conduit that will eventually run microphone cables under the slab. I think this is one of the really clever aspects of the studio design... Anyway, I actually got out and helped dig some trenches too, once Ben went to sleep. It was hard work... and a week later, I'm still nursing a sore wrist. Adam didn't stop digging until we had a torrential downpour at about 10:30pm that, once again, flooded our yard.
Roxy, our site manager, overseeing construction.
Saturday morning we had 2 truck loads of road base delivered. I think it came to something like 20sqm of dirt... which, when it was dumped out of the back of the truck in two massive piles next to one another, looked a lot like two enormous steely-grey boobs sticking up out of the ground! Both individually taller than Adam.
Anyway, the dirt had to be moved and leveled around the 'pit'. Adam and Max worked on this for several hours until around lunch time when Adam had to stop because he had succumbed to a bout of dehydration and heat stroke. Luckily, it got cooler again, and out they went for the evening to continue. Lucky me, I only see my husband on weekends when he's vomiting or dead. :-)
Same story on Sunday...
The digger came in handy for a few other bits and pieces as well... Adam has been wanting to dig out these crappy palm trees from the pool area because we're moving our pool filter to where they were. A while ago he spent a good few hours trying to dig these things out by hand, but got nowhere. The digger got them out in 20 minutes. Behold... 'stealth-digger'...
Here is a link to some video footage of Adam working really, really hard. He was quite sad to return the digger... I think he wants one for Christmas.
Anyway, today is Sunday January 17th and it's late afternoon(ish)... last Sunday at about this time Adam and Max finally packed away the toy they'd been playing with for 48 hours... the Dingo! Or Kanga... Or some other native-Australian-animal-named (petrol powered) contraption that was essentially a 'digger', and so will henceforth be called the digger.
The digger arrived at our place on the back of a trailer mid-Friday afternoon. I watched with a bit of fear mixed with fully-fledged horror as Max unloaded this four wheeled death machine from said trailer OVER the top of the previously mentioned foundation blocks and into what I like to call the 'pit of vacuum-inducing despair ' (because it's so freakin' dusty in our house that I am always vacuuming). The digger (and Max) made it safely... eventually.
Basically, the entire weekend was spent using the digger to dig... and move dirt from one spot... to another. The end.Well, not quite.
Friday night, Adam dug trenches for the conduit that will eventually run microphone cables under the slab. I think this is one of the really clever aspects of the studio design... Anyway, I actually got out and helped dig some trenches too, once Ben went to sleep. It was hard work... and a week later, I'm still nursing a sore wrist. Adam didn't stop digging until we had a torrential downpour at about 10:30pm that, once again, flooded our yard.
Roxy, our site manager, overseeing construction.Saturday morning we had 2 truck loads of road base delivered. I think it came to something like 20sqm of dirt... which, when it was dumped out of the back of the truck in two massive piles next to one another, looked a lot like two enormous steely-grey boobs sticking up out of the ground! Both individually taller than Adam.
Anyway, the dirt had to be moved and leveled around the 'pit'. Adam and Max worked on this for several hours until around lunch time when Adam had to stop because he had succumbed to a bout of dehydration and heat stroke. Luckily, it got cooler again, and out they went for the evening to continue. Lucky me, I only see my husband on weekends when he's vomiting or dead. :-)
Same story on Sunday...
The digger came in handy for a few other bits and pieces as well... Adam has been wanting to dig out these crappy palm trees from the pool area because we're moving our pool filter to where they were. A while ago he spent a good few hours trying to dig these things out by hand, but got nowhere. The digger got them out in 20 minutes. Behold... 'stealth-digger'...
Here is a link to some video footage of Adam working really, really hard. He was quite sad to return the digger... I think he wants one for Christmas.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Laying the foundation blocks
After the footings were poured and dried, Adam and his Dad laid the blocks around the perimeter of what will be the slab - this took a couple of weeks in total as it fell over the Christmas/New Year period and we were all a bit busy having fun!
If you'll recall a few posts back, I mentioned that it rained quite heavily a LOT over Christmas time, which also slowed progress, and made for some pretty muddy footprints through my house. There were also quite a few 5am starts during this stage in an attempt to knock over a few hours of work before the heat kicked in... so again, I missed most of it.
I got Adam to email me the info about what materials were used and what they actually did. I thought he explained it so well that I'd go right ahead and just copy and paste it in here and leave it alone. So, here you go...
Adam:
The foundation blocks are standard 390mm x 190mm x 190mm concrete blocks. When you add 10mm of mortar it makes them 400mm units. Which is why the dimensions of the studio and locations of doors & windows are divisible by 0.4m. There were about 320 of them. We laid them the standard way with a mortar mix of 1:4 cement:sand. The ones on the top row are called "cleanout blocks". They're the form work for the slab - concrete for the slab will pour into them and lock it all together.
Me again! I have attached some photos of the blocks being laid at various points in time - not super interesting to look at, but exciting for us because finally we're building upward!
And this last one, for good measure. This is Adam working in a torrential downpour. You can't tell by this photo, but it was pi*%ing down! No rest for the wicked (or clinically insane!)
If you'll recall a few posts back, I mentioned that it rained quite heavily a LOT over Christmas time, which also slowed progress, and made for some pretty muddy footprints through my house. There were also quite a few 5am starts during this stage in an attempt to knock over a few hours of work before the heat kicked in... so again, I missed most of it.
I got Adam to email me the info about what materials were used and what they actually did. I thought he explained it so well that I'd go right ahead and just copy and paste it in here and leave it alone. So, here you go...
Adam:
The foundation blocks are standard 390mm x 190mm x 190mm concrete blocks. When you add 10mm of mortar it makes them 400mm units. Which is why the dimensions of the studio and locations of doors & windows are divisible by 0.4m. There were about 320 of them. We laid them the standard way with a mortar mix of 1:4 cement:sand. The ones on the top row are called "cleanout blocks". They're the form work for the slab - concrete for the slab will pour into them and lock it all together.
Me again! I have attached some photos of the blocks being laid at various points in time - not super interesting to look at, but exciting for us because finally we're building upward!
And this last one, for good measure. This is Adam working in a torrential downpour. You can't tell by this photo, but it was pi*%ing down! No rest for the wicked (or clinically insane!)
Are we building here, or making a cake?
Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far... and a special thanks to those of you who so thoughtfully pointed out that I had erroneously been writing the measurements for this building as 'ml' rather than 'mm'.
No, we aren't measuring out our construction in milliliters, and no, this is not actually going to be a gingerbread studio. Although I'm not sure Adam wouldn't secretly prefer that.
I've gone back and fixed those typos, and will hopefully remember not to do it again!
No, we aren't measuring out our construction in milliliters, and no, this is not actually going to be a gingerbread studio. Although I'm not sure Adam wouldn't secretly prefer that.
I've gone back and fixed those typos, and will hopefully remember not to do it again!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Pouring the footings - a 10 man job!
Saturday November 21st: 0630 hours.
We were so excited about this next step - we were finally going to bring this project up to ground level! I was still in my nightie, and not at all prepared for the scene that confronted me when I stumbled out to the lounge room. 8 blokes standing right outside (the glass doors with no blinds) all ready to hook in to the next phase of our little project - the foundation pour.
Ok, so I was a little prepared. I mean, I knew it was happening... and, in fact, the day before I had gone to Gold Coast Hire and picked up the cement vibrator (yes, that is what it's called. Why? Because it vibrates and you use it to prevent air bubbles when pouring cement! Obvious, really). What I didn't realise was how many guys were gunna show up to help! It was awesome.
The guys from Adam's band were there, plus a few other guys that Adam regularly does PA work for. Plus Adam and his Dad, of course. Add to the mix the 2 guys that showed up with the cement pump and that made a total of 10 pairs of hands to make light work of another very important step in the process.
Again, I asked Adam for some details... He couldn't tell me exactly from memory, but about 18 cubic metres of cement was needed. That was 3 cement trucks worth. I love cement trucks! I can just watch them turning and turning and turning for ages. It's hypnotising. Reminds me of cake.
Starter bars were placed at metre intervals around all sides - these will help with the beginning of the walls eventually (although, for now, they're just large, scary steel bars sticking straight up out of the ground threatening a certain impaling. I'm keeping a safe distance). Also, tie bars (that will tie into the slab) were placed at intervals of 800mm.
And, the most important event of the day by far, was my contribution... The McDonalds breakfast run! Oh, how I love being useful!
Big thanks to: Sol, Joe, Brian, Dale, Mike, Adam II, Max, and the concrete pump dudes whose names were not recorded because they were actually being paid.
Pics of the day:
We were so excited about this next step - we were finally going to bring this project up to ground level! I was still in my nightie, and not at all prepared for the scene that confronted me when I stumbled out to the lounge room. 8 blokes standing right outside (the glass doors with no blinds) all ready to hook in to the next phase of our little project - the foundation pour.
Ok, so I was a little prepared. I mean, I knew it was happening... and, in fact, the day before I had gone to Gold Coast Hire and picked up the cement vibrator (yes, that is what it's called. Why? Because it vibrates and you use it to prevent air bubbles when pouring cement! Obvious, really). What I didn't realise was how many guys were gunna show up to help! It was awesome.
The guys from Adam's band were there, plus a few other guys that Adam regularly does PA work for. Plus Adam and his Dad, of course. Add to the mix the 2 guys that showed up with the cement pump and that made a total of 10 pairs of hands to make light work of another very important step in the process.
Again, I asked Adam for some details... He couldn't tell me exactly from memory, but about 18 cubic metres of cement was needed. That was 3 cement trucks worth. I love cement trucks! I can just watch them turning and turning and turning for ages. It's hypnotising. Reminds me of cake.
Starter bars were placed at metre intervals around all sides - these will help with the beginning of the walls eventually (although, for now, they're just large, scary steel bars sticking straight up out of the ground threatening a certain impaling. I'm keeping a safe distance). Also, tie bars (that will tie into the slab) were placed at intervals of 800mm.
And, the most important event of the day by far, was my contribution... The McDonalds breakfast run! Oh, how I love being useful!
Big thanks to: Sol, Joe, Brian, Dale, Mike, Adam II, Max, and the concrete pump dudes whose names were not recorded because they were actually being paid.
Pics of the day:
When my baby smiles at me, I go to Reo...
The foundations of this gargantuan building require reinforcement. And, because, unlike the previous owners of this place, we understand the importance of reinforcement... this was a job that was very carefully considered, and undertaken with much precision.
I asked Adam to give me the specs of the reinforcement... and this is what he told me:
They used 50 metres of trench or cage mesh to complete the job. If you've ever wondered what 50m of trench mesh looks like... well, this is not a very good photo! But a photo nonetheless...
The trenches were 600mm deep. The mesh was installed in 6 metre sections, and needed to overlap by 0.5m.
I asked, "How did they stay where you put them?" (honestly, I said that... like, as if they would get up and run away if not restrained)...
Adam said,"We tied them together".
"With what??"
"Ties"
"Made of what??"
"Wire"....
So, apparently, they used tie-wire to tie each section together, to avoid a mass reo break for freedom.
One other thing Adam told me was that the mesh sits on "chairs" placed every 2 metres to keep it off the ground. Well, at least, if nothing else, the reo is comfy.
Here are some pictures of the final product (I should have rotated them, but couldn't be bothered working it out once uploaded here). The building inspector approved their work early on a Friday morning... which was very convenient as the concrete pour was already booked in for the following day.
I asked Adam to give me the specs of the reinforcement... and this is what he told me:
They used 50 metres of trench or cage mesh to complete the job. If you've ever wondered what 50m of trench mesh looks like... well, this is not a very good photo! But a photo nonetheless...
The trenches were 600mm deep. The mesh was installed in 6 metre sections, and needed to overlap by 0.5m.I asked, "How did they stay where you put them?" (honestly, I said that... like, as if they would get up and run away if not restrained)...
Adam said,"We tied them together".
"With what??"
"Ties"
"Made of what??"
"Wire"....
So, apparently, they used tie-wire to tie each section together, to avoid a mass reo break for freedom.
One other thing Adam told me was that the mesh sits on "chairs" placed every 2 metres to keep it off the ground. Well, at least, if nothing else, the reo is comfy.
Here are some pictures of the final product (I should have rotated them, but couldn't be bothered working it out once uploaded here). The building inspector approved their work early on a Friday morning... which was very convenient as the concrete pour was already booked in for the following day.
Friday, January 8, 2010
It's Excavation Day!!!
I was entrusted with the very important and honourable job of organising an excavator to come and do the earth moving in preparation for our slab. This will be one of the very few steps of this project that will involve an 'outsider', and therefore, very important to get the right guy!
So, armed with the specs of the job, I turned to yellow pages online.
Let's just say, Global Financial Crisis and soaring unemployment my (not-so) perky backside! Tradey after tradey after tradey turned me away, with varying levels of rudeness (laughing and hanging up being toward the ruder end of the scale), but with one general theme - I'm far too busy and important for you and your little domestic job. Grrrr.....
Interestingly, I got the same attitude trying to get someone to repair our fridge, change my car battery, and fix our pool filter... Seriously! What's with that shite? This is why Adam insists on DIY I s'pose. He ended up doing them all anyway...
Anyway, several dozens of phone calls later, I decided to fall back on the old faithful... calling in a favour. It really is true that it's all about who you know. I dropped a name and a reccommendation and BAM! Whadda ya know, we got a guy to come and have a look... the very next day... on his day off.
We're putting down a 130sqm slab for this bad boy, and basically, the job involved the following...
Levelling the area, a 600 x 350mm trench dug around the perimeter for footings and 18 pier holes dug down to 900mm. Plus a few trees knocked over and dug out and a small trench dug for the new pool filter pipes.
Friday, 13th November: Excavation Day is here!
Luckily, we're not a superstitious bunch, because already there were dire predictions of what could go wrong when a job as vital as this one was bestowed upon a stranger... and it's black Friday. However, all went smoothly (for the most part - only minor stress level increases). Adam was bummed out because he had to work, but the rest of us gathered indoors to bear witness to the awesomeness that is earth moving. I don't know if you've ever sat and watched the diggers do their thang... but, it was mesmerising - even on a small scale. Such strong, clunky machines capable of such gentle manipulation. I loved it! I shoulda been a Bobcat operator... except that involves heavy machinery...
When Adam got home, the job was mostly done, and it being TGIF... It was G&T's all round to celebrate the breaking of ground.
Or, something...
Here are some pics...
Looking at the site from the current deck...
You can see the beginnings of a trench attempted by hand... not gonna happen!
The pool isn't always this low/green...
The front - all marked out by moonlight the night before.
Game on!
That stump is from the largest palm tree on our block. Took this guy hours to dig out and ended up standing almost 2 metres high on it's side once removed... Must get a photo of it!
Ben overseeing proceedings.
Removing palm tree stumps... delicate operation so close to the pool edge.
Just a sample of the end result. You can see the stumps are gone. Basically, the rest of the trenches looked a lot like this.
So, armed with the specs of the job, I turned to yellow pages online.
Let's just say, Global Financial Crisis and soaring unemployment my (not-so) perky backside! Tradey after tradey after tradey turned me away, with varying levels of rudeness (laughing and hanging up being toward the ruder end of the scale), but with one general theme - I'm far too busy and important for you and your little domestic job. Grrrr.....
Interestingly, I got the same attitude trying to get someone to repair our fridge, change my car battery, and fix our pool filter... Seriously! What's with that shite? This is why Adam insists on DIY I s'pose. He ended up doing them all anyway...
Anyway, several dozens of phone calls later, I decided to fall back on the old faithful... calling in a favour. It really is true that it's all about who you know. I dropped a name and a reccommendation and BAM! Whadda ya know, we got a guy to come and have a look... the very next day... on his day off.
We're putting down a 130sqm slab for this bad boy, and basically, the job involved the following...
Levelling the area, a 600 x 350mm trench dug around the perimeter for footings and 18 pier holes dug down to 900mm. Plus a few trees knocked over and dug out and a small trench dug for the new pool filter pipes.
Friday, 13th November: Excavation Day is here!
Luckily, we're not a superstitious bunch, because already there were dire predictions of what could go wrong when a job as vital as this one was bestowed upon a stranger... and it's black Friday. However, all went smoothly (for the most part - only minor stress level increases). Adam was bummed out because he had to work, but the rest of us gathered indoors to bear witness to the awesomeness that is earth moving. I don't know if you've ever sat and watched the diggers do their thang... but, it was mesmerising - even on a small scale. Such strong, clunky machines capable of such gentle manipulation. I loved it! I shoulda been a Bobcat operator... except that involves heavy machinery...
When Adam got home, the job was mostly done, and it being TGIF... It was G&T's all round to celebrate the breaking of ground.
Or, something...
Here are some pics...
Looking at the site from the current deck...
You can see the beginnings of a trench attempted by hand... not gonna happen!
The pool isn't always this low/green...
The front - all marked out by moonlight the night before.
Game on!That stump is from the largest palm tree on our block. Took this guy hours to dig out and ended up standing almost 2 metres high on it's side once removed... Must get a photo of it!
Ben overseeing proceedings.
Removing palm tree stumps... delicate operation so close to the pool edge.
Just a sample of the end result. You can see the stumps are gone. Basically, the rest of the trenches looked a lot like this.Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Removing the car port... Lucky it didn't fall down!
Alrighty... still back-tracking here, trying to get through this as every day I spend covering old ground, new ground is hurtling forward faster than a runaway train.
Sunday, November 1st: Car port coming down
We've still got half the slab to be removed, but friend and drummer from Adam's band, Adam - yes, there are 2 Adams - has come over to help dismantle the car port so he can use some of the materials. See, we're green.
So glad we got rid of that before it fell! DODGY!!
Saturday, November 7th: Attacking the last of the slab...
Jack hammer has made it's appearance again. Adam spent most of this weekend just carving it up as the plan is for FIL Max to come over during the week and take the bits of concrete away.
Sunday, November 8th: Timmmmmmmmbbbbbbbeeeerrrrrrrr!!
And down comes the largest palm tree on our block. It was in the way!
9th/10th/11th November:
Max removed the last of the concrete from the slab and also begins on removing the pavers that were directly behind it (between the old car port and the pool). I even got out and helped! For about half an hour... then the job was done. Must have been my input that made all the difference... yeah, thats it.
Somewhere in here, the pool filter had to be moved, along with the pool fence. It's all a big jumble of events because there were many a 5am start that, frankly, I slept through.
But, to make it straightforward, here are some photos of the area, ready for excavation!
That's Roxy in the foreground.
Sunday, November 1st: Car port coming down
We've still got half the slab to be removed, but friend and drummer from Adam's band, Adam - yes, there are 2 Adams - has come over to help dismantle the car port so he can use some of the materials. See, we're green.
So glad we got rid of that before it fell! DODGY!!
Saturday, November 7th: Attacking the last of the slab...
Jack hammer has made it's appearance again. Adam spent most of this weekend just carving it up as the plan is for FIL Max to come over during the week and take the bits of concrete away.
Sunday, November 8th: Timmmmmmmmbbbbbbbeeeerrrrrrrr!!
And down comes the largest palm tree on our block. It was in the way!9th/10th/11th November:
Max removed the last of the concrete from the slab and also begins on removing the pavers that were directly behind it (between the old car port and the pool). I even got out and helped! For about half an hour... then the job was done. Must have been my input that made all the difference... yeah, thats it.
Somewhere in here, the pool filter had to be moved, along with the pool fence. It's all a big jumble of events because there were many a 5am start that, frankly, I slept through.
But, to make it straightforward, here are some photos of the area, ready for excavation!
That's Roxy in the foreground.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Back tracking is harder than I thought...
So, we received building approval for the studio on October 22nd, 2009. I had this written in my diary, along with most of what has been done so far.... but I am missing some bits and pieces. We'll do our best!
Saturday October 24th: It begins! Destruction mode...
We hired a jack hammer and took to the existing slab that was the car port. It was a tense few minutes to begin with as we didn't know what kind of reinforcement (if any) was within that slab... this job could take days, or weeks - we didn't know. Luckily for us, whoever poured this particular slab was pretty dodgy and there was no reo to speak of! Unless you count the hundreds!! of cane toads living in the cracks and crevices, all of which needed somewhere to go when we destroyed their home... Ever seen a mass exodus of concrete dust covered cane toads? It's disgusting... and a little bit cool. I wonder if they survived covered in so much dust?
While generally, I don't get to get out and help much with the manual labour, this particular day, I got down and dirty removing the concrete. MIL Robyn stayed inside (in the air conditioning) with Ben, while Adam, Max (FIL) and I spent several hours taking turns on the jack hammer, moving concrete bits to the trailer and doing runs to the tip. (Ok, I don't actually go near the power tools - I'm likely to remove a limb if I did).
All went fairly smoothly, except for the local tip not allowing us in after 3 or 4 trailer loads. Apparently you can't dump that kind of thing on a weekend...??? That's ok, we said, and drove the extra 5 mins down the road to the other tip. They were cool.
At the end of the day (or at least, when we'd had enough) we'd gotten through almost half the slab! We'd had the foresight to hire the jack hammer for the entire weekend... sadly, we didn't think to check council laws, and it turns out that Sundays are "construction noise free" in our area.... so, we had a jack hammer we weren't allowed to use, and half a slab for a few more weeks.
Here are some photos:
Adam making the first 'incision'...
End of Day 1
Saturday October 24th: It begins! Destruction mode...
We hired a jack hammer and took to the existing slab that was the car port. It was a tense few minutes to begin with as we didn't know what kind of reinforcement (if any) was within that slab... this job could take days, or weeks - we didn't know. Luckily for us, whoever poured this particular slab was pretty dodgy and there was no reo to speak of! Unless you count the hundreds!! of cane toads living in the cracks and crevices, all of which needed somewhere to go when we destroyed their home... Ever seen a mass exodus of concrete dust covered cane toads? It's disgusting... and a little bit cool. I wonder if they survived covered in so much dust?
While generally, I don't get to get out and help much with the manual labour, this particular day, I got down and dirty removing the concrete. MIL Robyn stayed inside (in the air conditioning) with Ben, while Adam, Max (FIL) and I spent several hours taking turns on the jack hammer, moving concrete bits to the trailer and doing runs to the tip. (Ok, I don't actually go near the power tools - I'm likely to remove a limb if I did).
All went fairly smoothly, except for the local tip not allowing us in after 3 or 4 trailer loads. Apparently you can't dump that kind of thing on a weekend...??? That's ok, we said, and drove the extra 5 mins down the road to the other tip. They were cool.
At the end of the day (or at least, when we'd had enough) we'd gotten through almost half the slab! We'd had the foresight to hire the jack hammer for the entire weekend... sadly, we didn't think to check council laws, and it turns out that Sundays are "construction noise free" in our area.... so, we had a jack hammer we weren't allowed to use, and half a slab for a few more weeks.
Here are some photos:
Adam making the first 'incision'...
End of Day 1Sunday, January 3, 2010
Before shots
Some photos taken before the carnage begins... We purchased here in July 2008, these photos were actually taken Xmas 2008 but no changes were made (until now!)
Photo of house taken from the North.
Proposed Studio location from the North.
From East of proposed Studio location looking Northwest.
Looking at the pool from the current deck.
The current deck and pool area.
Photo of house taken from the North.
Proposed Studio location from the North.
From East of proposed Studio location looking Northwest.
Looking at the pool from the current deck.
The current deck and pool area.Friday, January 1, 2010
A new year, a new gear...
Happy New Year to everyone! I had a fantastic NYE with sister-in-law Mel - we drove out to the boonies in the rain (only got briefly lost) and spent the night grooving to Adam's band. Ben was with his Grandparents and Mummy got a sleep in! Woo!
I am very excited about the possibilities 2010 holds! Haven't made any resolutions this year, rather just a general aspiration to be better than last year... unfortunately that involves confronting the issue of the lack of exercise I'm doing. Ugh.
I am planning on going back to work part-time, after 18 months of holding the coveted position of 'lady of leisure'.... little bit nervous, but mainly psyched at the prospect of earning some money again. This is quite a dominant factor in my decision to return to work since we began the studio -who knew that such a project would cost so much!! (Well, ok, we did... but it still hurts).
Adam also returns to work next week after a 2 week Christmas break. We kept his holiday clear of commitments (meaning fun stuff) so that he and his Dad would be able to knock over a large chunk of the building... unfortunately, the weather had other plans. It has rained cats and dogs here for the past week. We've had a lake in our backyard and flooding in our street. The grass has grown on average 3 inches everyday, and so we now officially live in the jungle. When the rain did stop, the sun shone. And shone.... And shone. By 9am the guys were dropping like flies, and our attempt at providing shade (in the form of a portable gazebo) ended up at the bottom of the pool after a run in with a freak wind gust. So, Queensland weather has triumphed, and not as much progress was made as hoped. We are, however, keeping the sunscreen and insect repellent companies in business.
Not to worry though, the guys are all geared up to pick up the pace now that the new year has rolled around.
While I'm all about only looking forward and not back and all that, I will have to back track a little bit for the next few posts. As previously mentioned, we embarked on this madness in October and so there is quite a few blanks to fill in to get to where we are now. Luckily, I have lots of progress photos and video to make it easy to remember each stage...
So, stay tuned.
I am very excited about the possibilities 2010 holds! Haven't made any resolutions this year, rather just a general aspiration to be better than last year... unfortunately that involves confronting the issue of the lack of exercise I'm doing. Ugh.
I am planning on going back to work part-time, after 18 months of holding the coveted position of 'lady of leisure'.... little bit nervous, but mainly psyched at the prospect of earning some money again. This is quite a dominant factor in my decision to return to work since we began the studio -who knew that such a project would cost so much!! (Well, ok, we did... but it still hurts).
Adam also returns to work next week after a 2 week Christmas break. We kept his holiday clear of commitments (meaning fun stuff) so that he and his Dad would be able to knock over a large chunk of the building... unfortunately, the weather had other plans. It has rained cats and dogs here for the past week. We've had a lake in our backyard and flooding in our street. The grass has grown on average 3 inches everyday, and so we now officially live in the jungle. When the rain did stop, the sun shone. And shone.... And shone. By 9am the guys were dropping like flies, and our attempt at providing shade (in the form of a portable gazebo) ended up at the bottom of the pool after a run in with a freak wind gust. So, Queensland weather has triumphed, and not as much progress was made as hoped. We are, however, keeping the sunscreen and insect repellent companies in business.
Not to worry though, the guys are all geared up to pick up the pace now that the new year has rolled around.
While I'm all about only looking forward and not back and all that, I will have to back track a little bit for the next few posts. As previously mentioned, we embarked on this madness in October and so there is quite a few blanks to fill in to get to where we are now. Luckily, I have lots of progress photos and video to make it easy to remember each stage...
So, stay tuned.
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