Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Tree

To be rid of the tree in the front yard has been a long held desire. Today my wish came true. The building team spoilt me today by working hard to get everything in place and remove the tree. The tree started out looking like this.
It completely dominated the yard. It was ugly and it dropped seeds that hurt when you walked on them. Today the chain saw arrived. The tree looked pretty for about 30 seconds while builder Mark took away the lower branches.

The tree had some shape.

However, it must go.

And it has gone!
The yard grew in moments. Now the old house can really be seen. But not for long. Decisions can now be made about the deck and the front yard landscaping. Decisions. Decisions. This was a good one.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Some Comparisons

When viewing some comparisons it is almost a shock. I miss the plants and garden but I know I will create them again. 

Before
After.
This photo was taken from the same place as the above photo.

Before


After.
Again, taken from the same place as the above photo.

Before

After.
This photo was taken slightly further away than the photo above. It was taken from the new back door.

Before

After
Again, this photo was taken from the same place as the photo above. 

Before

After.
No building work here. Just disarray.

No comparison here. Just a photo of the new room taken from the old back door.



The weather here is just beautiful. Thankfully I get to take full advantage of it from 7am in the morning. The builders cheerfully wake me up.  I am now going to walk to Gerroa and have a coffee.  

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Story of the Downstairs Bedroom

The downstairs bedroom was always a funny room. The ceiling was low. It had an odd floor covering. It had the biggest shelf/table across half the room. Fortunately, it also had a lovely view across the lavender garden and was the coolest room in the house in the summer. I came to understand the oddities as ..........water. Water across the floor. Water up through the floor covering. Water as puddles under the silly shelf/table.  Mark the builder came to have a look. He pulled out the silly shelf/table............yay! He pulled out the walls around it..........more yay! This is what Mark found.

This is where the silly table/shelf used to be. Note the angled wall.



Here is a closer look at the angled wall. Note the black on the frame. This was rot. The frame was hanging from the ceiling!


Look at the expert drainage. No wonder there was water!


Look at the junk left in the walls.......


and a bathroom cabinet.

Builder Mark said, "There's only one way to do this WerriB".
I could feel the dollars signs rising".
"Properly".
Dollar signals were confirmed.

With holidays in Paris put on further hold, we proceeded to "do it properly". The bedroom has gone from above to this:


Completely missing.


The neighbours love to tell me about the bobcat under the house. A retaining wall has been built. The floor has been dug out and dropped several centimetres. Drainage has been added all around. The room is much bigger. As I  write today the room looks like this:

 Here it is from the front.

 Notice the window that used to overlook the lavender now overlooks the peach tree in the back yard.

There will be a sliding door to the front yard and a courtyard.


With the floor dropped the windows are higher.  

As I write this the builders bang and drill. I can't hear the sea. However it's hot and I am contemplating a swim.  Perhaps afternoon tea and a swim.


  

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Time For WerriB House To Grow

The time has come to expand the living area and open the house up to the garden. The living room is growing, the downstairs bedroom is expanding and the deck is becoming a space to use and relax. However, to arrive at this point, this is what WerriB has to go through:

Whoops! Where did the downstairs bedroom go?


Missing. One lavender garden bed!


Look at the front yard! That tree. It's like a cockroach. It's surviving anything!


Whoops. Left the windows lying about.


Oh dear. Lost that bedroom again!


Whoops! Now the deck.

 Luckily there is a vision. You just can't see it here.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

People at Werri

WerriB House has shared it's space with a flow of people. Celebrations, relaxation and lots of dinners are the order of the day....or the weekend.......or the week.





Yes. This house was definitely a good idea.


Sunday, April 3, 2011

Where It All Began

The WerriB House story began in November 2008. The funny little house with the fabulous peach trees and gorgeous roses caught the eye of WerriB. After much negotiating and rangling WerriB House was mine. The garden is lovely as seen here.

 And here.

And here.

I could anticipate many happy hours listening to the sea, pottering around in the garden and enjoying the South Coast. Yes, this house was a very good idea. 

 


 


 

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Day of the Blog

Today the Blog was established. Weekends at Werri will tell the story of what happens at WerriB House at Werri Beach Gerringong. The house that started out as a weekend shack has become a home away from home. Just like the house, I hope the story that is WerriB House brings pleasure to others.