Long Time No Blog

As friends will have noticed I haven't blogged for some time. During that time Werri B House has transformed. It has emerged as a tranquil, relaxing, hidie hole. I love it!

Here it is. 

The room is too large to capture it all in one photo. However you get the idea here. Where has the wall gone? Where has the dirt gone? Where has the old house gone?

This view is from the front door. Notice that clever Leigh's colour advice. That girl is clever! Thank you so much Leigh.

Sofa time. At last!!!!!

Thanks Jenny for helping with the dust, sawdust, cardboard and plastic. Mr King can design a great sofa.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

Could be my new favourite spot.

Puskah's take on the whole thing.

I can't wait for the final items to be finished, for everything to be settled and to share my fabulous little palace.

Werri B House is Looking Like a House

On Breakthrough Day I was underwhelmed by the changes. It was an exciting day but perhaps not what I expected. However, last weekend I went to Werri B House and this is what I found.

 The weather board was finished. The deck was finished. My little house looked like a cute little cottage.

 The staircase is now exposed. The old wall framework is gone. The gyprock is in. It's now looking like it's supposed to.

The staircase from the sink.

 The staircase front on.

 The old hallway to the laundry.

 The deck from my bedroom window.

The deck from my bedroom door.

 The deck.

 The house from the front. I couldn't fit it in the photo. 

The front door and the front door deck.

I'm now not undewhelmed. I'm back to excited. It is now getting close to the end of building. I can't wait.

The Deck

On break through day the deck also emerged. Over the weekend it became clear the deck was a sun catcher. It's wide, sunny and has views of the surrounding area. Underneath is a whole new area for relaxing that is cool for summer. I love it.

 The above is looking east towards the beach.

 Looking west up the hill.

 Looking north.

 Looking west under the deck.

 Looking at the front door under the deck.

The front.

These photos are now two weeks old. The deck is now complete. It no longer looks like this. It now looks cute and cottagey. I will have to photograph it and place another post. Till then..... 

Break Through Day

Two weeks ago the new met the old when the internal wall was knocked down. Have a look at the new space. Note the pieces of the old framwework still there.

 The above view is looking back into the kitchen from the new back door.

This view is the reverse of above: looking through the kitchen to the new back door.



This view is looking through the old wall into the new room - behind the garage.



This view is looking at the new front door where the old wall used to be.



Looking from the new lounge room through to the new front door. It's hard to believe this used to be the garden with the huge birds nest fern.



  

Looking from the new lounge room through the old wall into the dinng room.

I have a new love in this house............the poles. They are staying!

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.

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.  

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.