My little Hawaii fling seems such a distant memory at the moment. We got back about 2 weeks ago. After 24 hours travel to get home and after arriving at Midnight local time, I was back on the job at 6am the next day. ( I must be mad! 
)
Managed to keep a few things going whilst I was away with the Stone laid around the Pool and the last bits of the Texture coat were finished. Still lost a bit of momentum but that's the price you pay...
Since then I've had the paving guys in to lay my Recycled bricks. 3500 of the buggers we pulled down and cleaned, stacked and seemed to endlessly move around the site over the last 12 months were chewed up. So now I finally have a bit less sand out the front at least. 
Pool fence was ordered prior to holidays and was also installed this week. Last of the Interior Cabinetry went in for Study, Pantry and Study Nooks and downpipes for gutters where finished off. Last week I pulled out the old leadlight and repaired broken glass etc. All put back in in new Sashes so as good as it was when it went in the first time.
Anyway I'll post some pics and a few more comments below. As they say a picture paints a thousand words....
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Boring but necessary. I put down the Pre-lay for Retic and power for Garden lighting prior to paving. also ran in a 90mm pipe (Nothing in it) Just in case I need to run anythign else through in the future
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5m3 of paving sand I had to move and roughly level by hand ready for the pavers. Wasn't worth getting a bobcat as he couldnt fit in past the Frangipani without damaging so wheelbarrow and shovel it was...
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Recycled bricks going down as pavers. The "Holes" in the middle will be planted with grass. Idea was to replicate what they did in the old days. "Sort of a Tram track affect, and it softens the hard surface up at the same time. this will be Visitor parking as our main Garage comes off the rear laneway.
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Finished product up close. Came up great and now in hindsight was worth the effort of clearing and keeping them all.
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Frameless glass pool fence between the deck and the pool area. On the Garden side we have used Aluminium fencing as;
1 - Glass is expensive and
2 - would have been a nightmare to keep clean with sprinklers and plants all around it.
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Cabinetry in for the Study / Office area upstairs in the loft. A "His" and "Hers" side as I was told in no uncertain terms my desk is a shambles and nothing is to go past the dividers in the middle! 
Black material is a Pin up board which we have also used in the Kids Study nooks downstairs.
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Cabinetry on other side of Study is for printer, filing and storage. As you can see the raked roof comes down quite low but perfect for what we will use it for.
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Downstairs "Study nook" This sits under the stairwell space and is an area we will use for the kids computer / study area. Located near the main living area means we can keep an eye on things they are up to online. (At least for a while anyway) Down the track I might use it for a Stereo / Hi-fi shelf. We have 2 Study nooks like this so when the time comes each of the boys can have their own space. Under the desk you can see the Skirtings which are being put throughout the house at the moment. These are 210mm high Skirtings but complement the house nicely.
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This cabinetry is what we call our "Drop zone" (as named by our architect)
Idea is that it is an area near where we enter the house (from the rear laneway and and Garage) It's to be used for Kids Schoolbags (Lockers above), DW Handbag, Hats, Laptops, keys etc. All the stuff that normally clutters up your Kitchen benchtop each day as you come and go should be "dumped" here. then as you leave the next day its all nice and handy to get on your way back out.
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Entertainment unit Cabinetry in main lounge. Just a low slung cabinet for putting in DVD players etc. As well as speakers at either end. IMO it will look awesome with a big kick @$$ TV hanging over it (That's my little reward to myself for when this is all over)
So in reality I am now just weeks away from being finished (inside anyway). I have a few light pendants to finish installing, Fixing carpenter is maybe half way through Skirtings and Architraves, then a bit of touch up paint and lots of cleaning to do. also need to lay Carpet upstairs but that is booked for Mid January then we should be complete.
Curtain rails have already been installed and curtains are made and ready to hang once the last of the dusty work is completed.
That said I still want to get a large percentage of the outdoor area sorted before we move in. At the very least the front lawn down, and I can then work on the backyard area garden and paving once we are in. Will see how we go and how much more patience the DW has.
Other than that I have the Council coming to inspect the pool fence for compliance tomorrow. All going well I'll fill it with water the first week of January when my Pool guys are booked to come back to do the final fit off and install the Liner Pumps and filters etc.
So until then will keep soldiering on. Theres still lots of things I need to complete (all relatively small in the scheme of things but if there's 200 plus things on the list the time adds up) I've heard a million stories of people moving in knowing they just need to finish A, B and C and will "do it once they are settled."
5 years later and it's still not done. so I promised myself I wont be like that.
Time will tell.....
Statistics: Posted by docker_rob — Dec 20, 2012 10:06 pm