Will St - Weeks Eleven and Twelve

Heading for lock up !

To say that work at Will Street is continuing at a good pace is a little bit of an understatement …. In fact, the plasterers have now been sent home because there is no space for them on site to be doing their job !  Thank God most of the plaster is already up, but this will mean that they will have to sand their joints after Christmas, which also means that Lyndell and Andrew, the owners, will have to wait until after that to get the first coats of paint on.  Luckily for them, there are a million other things for them to do in the meantime – like painting and staining the exterior and painting doors and windows.  It is sure to be an incredibly exhausting and rewarding time for them.

So the score at the end of the year is as follows ….

·         Internal walls constructed and plastered – check

·         Kitchen cabinets installed – check

·         Deck built – check

·         All external cladding complete – check

·         All roofing material on – check

·         All doors and windows installed – check

All in all, it has been a very positive couple of weeks, with lots and lots of visible progress, as opposed to the boring kind like setting out and preparation.  In fact, after Christmas we only really have tiling and the installation of fixtures and fittings in the bathrooms and laundry and wardrobes to go, which is pretty exciting.

I did however break my two golden rules on this project, and as bad luck would have it, they have both come back to bite me.  So I bet you want to know what my golden rule s are.  Well, one is slightly convoluted, but here goes – “where possible, try to avoid designing anything that has to fit perfectly within something else” and two, “never rely on someone else’s measurements”.  In this case the two rules have combined together to create a few headaches on site, serving as a stark reminder of why I have golden rules in the first place.

In reality, we have been both lucky and in extremely good hands with the builders on this project, both of which make life much, much easier when building.

So, with Christmas fast approaching, I hope you have all enjoyed the ups and downs of the progress of the Will Street renovation.  I thank you very kindly for your interest and support.  Detail 9 are planning some big things for 2012 and have some great ongoing projects which we’d love to keep showing you, as well as some brand newies lined up. 

Be kind to your families and have yourselves a happy and safe Christmas / New Year period.  We can’t wait to give you the next instalment of this project, and introduce you to some new ones on the go. 

Best Wishes, Rachel

Will Street – Weeks Nine and Ten

Roof on, brick work up

Work at Will Street continues at a cracking pace.  Early last week, the section of the extension with the flat roof had its roof sheeting installed and later in the week the recycled tiles went up on the other section of the extension.

Brickwork went up in a day, and the recycled timber windows are in.  The aim is to have the project at lock up in time for Christmas.  This means we still need the new doors and windows to arrive on site and be installed (please cross your fingers everyone) and the external wall cladding to go on. 

Fred and the boys are currently building the deck and installing the framing which goes over the deck as we speak. 

Scott the electrician was in over the weekend poking wires through the external wall framing so that the lighting above the deck will go in seamlessly.  It’s amazing how much work goes into making something look simple !!

Right now, plasterboard is going up on the walls, and next week the kitchen is going to be installed.  By the end of next week, it will be Christmas and the boys will be downing tools and having a short break before getting back into it in early January.  Two weeks with no one on site will be just enough time for Lyndell and Andrew, the owners to get in and do the first couple of coats of paint on everything.  Yep, the owners have had a few jobs to do on this project including some of the demolition, the cleaning of the bricks, and painting – both inside and out.  Doing the painting themselves will save them a couple of thousand dollars, which all adds up on a relatively small project. 

So, what have we learned this week ?? 

Firstly, that fly screens can easily cost more than the door or window they are there to protect ……

Secondly, that the reason why things from Ikea are cheap is that very often they are missing bits or have to be installed in a very, very, very odd way.  Contacting Ikea to sort this out it definitely not for the faint hearted !

Thirdly, that joining an old ceiling to a new ceiling really is in the “too hard basket” and should be avoided at all costs. 

Other than that, things really are progressing smoothly, and I can't wait to get you some shots of the inside, once we start getting some action on that front.  Exciting times !

A large part of the smooth sailing can be attributed to the Builders on this project, "Constructing Spaces" for their friendly and professional work.  Their knack for taking the stress out of the construction process for both the owner and the architect has been very much appreciated. 

So until the next instalment, thanks for reading and keep those fingers crossed that we can get some doors and windows for Christmas !!