It's the one in the left of the photo:
Dad says it is in great condition and he thought it could fit well in the laundry extension. It is authentic rope and weight double hung window.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
new sash window
So this one sadly wasn't for free - Dad spotted it in a salvage yard. But I couldn't resist as it is such a lovely big size.
It's the one in the left of the photo:
Dad says it is in great condition and he thought it could fit well in the laundry extension. It is authentic rope and weight double hung window.
It's the one in the left of the photo:
Dad says it is in great condition and he thought it could fit well in the laundry extension. It is authentic rope and weight double hung window.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
new rules in bushfire building regs
We got some great news on the bushfire zoning requirements from Eric recently... They introduced a lot of new rules after the horrible fires in 2009 which we thought might cause us problems. It turns out it will be a bit restrictive but nowhere as bad as we feared.
Here's Eric's notes:
According to the site diagram that you sent, the bushfire attack level would be 12.5 which is pretty easy to manage. I can itemize compliance issues with a table on the "general notes" page.
Most of the items can be covered with simple detailing. Several will require a bit more thought.
Cladding needs to be either:
- 6mm cement sheet, or
- a timber species listed in appendix E1 which includes Silvertop Ash that I often use.
http://www.radialtimbers.com.au/zproducts.htm
Windows that are less than 400mm from ground or deck level need to have toughened glass. Also they need to have either:
- bushfire shutters, or
- metal window/door frames, or
- timber frames made with wood from table E2.
You may need to check timber species from window suppliers, or else use the hybrid metal outside and timber inside windows.
Miglas does a nice window, and the timber species might comply. They don't do traditional double hung windows, though. http://www.miglas.com.au/top/home/
Decking needs to be either:
- non-combustable
- a timber species listed in appendix E1 which includes Silvertop Ash
In a nut shell, it all looks manageable to me without any drastic changes. You might need a few slightly more "modern" finishes than we've been thinking of, but not many.
Here's Eric's notes:
According to the site diagram that you sent, the bushfire attack level would be 12.5 which is pretty easy to manage. I can itemize compliance issues with a table on the "general notes" page.
Most of the items can be covered with simple detailing. Several will require a bit more thought.
Cladding needs to be either:
- 6mm cement sheet, or
- a timber species listed in appendix E1 which includes Silvertop Ash that I often use.
http://www.radialtimbers.com.au/zproducts.htm
Windows that are less than 400mm from ground or deck level need to have toughened glass. Also they need to have either:
- bushfire shutters, or
- metal window/door frames, or
- timber frames made with wood from table E2.
You may need to check timber species from window suppliers, or else use the hybrid metal outside and timber inside windows.
Miglas does a nice window, and the timber species might comply. They don't do traditional double hung windows, though. http://www.miglas.com.au/top/home/
Decking needs to be either:
- non-combustable
- a timber species listed in appendix E1 which includes Silvertop Ash
In a nut shell, it all looks manageable to me without any drastic changes. You might need a few slightly more "modern" finishes than we've been thinking of, but not many.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Ebay wins: lamp and planters
I'm a sucker for stained glass and oak... so when I saw this lantern I couldn't resist.
From the description:
A very attractive and ornate 1930's Arts and craft or Art Deco hall or porch ceiling lamp... The lamp is in very good original condition no broken glass, can do with a little light restoration, a number of woodworm holes to the top square the widest point (unknown if treated) one joint is a bit loose and a couple of beading strips missing, easily replaced, Size; 53cm height (without the chain & gallery) 10.9cm square at the at the widest point.
I also recently got a bunch of old planters. They were billed as being stone but I'm pretty sure they are just concrete. But, they were nearby so easy to collect, and I quite liked the designs, especially of the square-ish ones. They also have the aged-look to them already. For now they will do great service in our garden here, and we'll decide closer to the date whether its worth sending back to Amherst.
There are 6 of the square type, and 2 each of the others:
From the description:
A very attractive and ornate 1930's Arts and craft or Art Deco hall or porch ceiling lamp... The lamp is in very good original condition no broken glass, can do with a little light restoration, a number of woodworm holes to the top square the widest point (unknown if treated) one joint is a bit loose and a couple of beading strips missing, easily replaced, Size; 53cm height (without the chain & gallery) 10.9cm square at the at the widest point.
I also recently got a bunch of old planters. They were billed as being stone but I'm pretty sure they are just concrete. But, they were nearby so easy to collect, and I quite liked the designs, especially of the square-ish ones. They also have the aged-look to them already. For now they will do great service in our garden here, and we'll decide closer to the date whether its worth sending back to Amherst.
There are 6 of the square type, and 2 each of the others:
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Talbot Farmers Market
Talbot is a little town of great charm, about 10 minutes drive from Amherst, and only 15 minutes outside of Maryborough. Once a month it stages a Farmers Market which is among the best I've ever seen.
It's been going for around 5 years now and proved so popular that ABC Radio (the biggest radio broadcaster in Australia, like the BBC in the UK) did a special segment on it.
You can hear it in the video below accompanied by photos taken at the markets.
If you ever get a chance to visit Talbot Farmers Market I highly recommend it; and if not this video will give you a little taster of what you're missing. :-)
It's been going for around 5 years now and proved so popular that ABC Radio (the biggest radio broadcaster in Australia, like the BBC in the UK) did a special segment on it.
You can hear it in the video below accompanied by photos taken at the markets.
If you ever get a chance to visit Talbot Farmers Market I highly recommend it; and if not this video will give you a little taster of what you're missing. :-)
Monday, August 31, 2009
tweak needed to veranda ceiling
So... while working on the verandah, Dave and Dad ran into another little hiccup, relating to the ceiling lining.
The problem is that the top of the eave, where the ceiling lining level occurs naturally, is 2300mm and approximately 300mm lower than the top of the old window in the lounge.
So, if we are to make the verandah ceiling flat, where it joined the wall would knock out part of the window.
Dad's recommended solution was to have a sloped lining on the front part of the verandah, so we don't have to change the window there. And then change it for the long part of the verandah to be flat, and just use a shorter window on the side (given there is no window there at the moment). He suggested we use the bay window for this.
I had a play with the layout and think moving the bay window there will be fabulous. So that's changing regardless of the ceiling.
After some deliberation though, we decided to abandon the idea of having a flat ceiling and just go with the easier approach of letting the lining boards follow the verandah rafters on an angle.
Partly this is because I think it will look wrong to have one section of the verandah with a different shaped ceiling to the other. It is a relatively small area and I want the space to feel like it flows from one to the other, which it won't do if the ceiling isn't the same.
Most persuasive of all, after a closer look at the photos, Dave persuaded me that the other house that I really liked that I thought had a flat verandah ceiling - actually didn't! So now I'm happy that we will be able to get the right effect going with them on an angle. With the added bonus that it's less work. Yay!
The problem is that the top of the eave, where the ceiling lining level occurs naturally, is 2300mm and approximately 300mm lower than the top of the old window in the lounge.
So, if we are to make the verandah ceiling flat, where it joined the wall would knock out part of the window.
Dad's recommended solution was to have a sloped lining on the front part of the verandah, so we don't have to change the window there. And then change it for the long part of the verandah to be flat, and just use a shorter window on the side (given there is no window there at the moment). He suggested we use the bay window for this.
I had a play with the layout and think moving the bay window there will be fabulous. So that's changing regardless of the ceiling.
After some deliberation though, we decided to abandon the idea of having a flat ceiling and just go with the easier approach of letting the lining boards follow the verandah rafters on an angle.
Partly this is because I think it will look wrong to have one section of the verandah with a different shaped ceiling to the other. It is a relatively small area and I want the space to feel like it flows from one to the other, which it won't do if the ceiling isn't the same.
Most persuasive of all, after a closer look at the photos, Dave persuaded me that the other house that I really liked that I thought had a flat verandah ceiling - actually didn't! So now I'm happy that we will be able to get the right effect going with them on an angle. With the added bonus that it's less work. Yay!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
sketchup model of divider shelving
I spent some time today playing around with SketchUp again. This time, doing a mock-up of the divider shelving between the kitchen and lounge in the old house (see plan here) to make sure that it works.
This is meant to be indicative only - I haven't thought in detail about the precise layout of shelving - but it illustrates how it might work.
The unit in this mock-up is measured at 2.6m by 0.5m, which I think should fit? I'm guessing because of the height and weight of this, we will want to have a support beam somewhere, going to the roof perhaps. We can figure that out later...
This is meant to be indicative only - I haven't thought in detail about the precise layout of shelving - but it illustrates how it might work.
The unit in this mock-up is measured at 2.6m by 0.5m, which I think should fit? I'm guessing because of the height and weight of this, we will want to have a support beam somewhere, going to the roof perhaps. We can figure that out later...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
possible doors
Dad spotted these doors a while back being thrown away, so nabbed them thinking they'd come in handy.
They're really solid old doors. I'm not a fan of the yellow 70's glass, but that could be easily replaced.
They are apparently normal door width, which should mean that they could possibly be used for the doors from the kitchen to the verandah in the old house.
I haven't decided for certain yet, as I had originally been envisaging something less fancy and simpler (more like these).
But, the curvy bits could work well with the curve of the bay window now it is being moved, and they would lend a slightly more formal touch as befits being framed by the stairs that will lead up to them. So I am almost convinced... just need to think on it some more. :-)
You can see them in context of the house (albeit not quite in the accurate position) here, which gives you an idea of the scale the steps will be.
They're really solid old doors. I'm not a fan of the yellow 70's glass, but that could be easily replaced.
They are apparently normal door width, which should mean that they could possibly be used for the doors from the kitchen to the verandah in the old house.
I haven't decided for certain yet, as I had originally been envisaging something less fancy and simpler (more like these).
But, the curvy bits could work well with the curve of the bay window now it is being moved, and they would lend a slightly more formal touch as befits being framed by the stairs that will lead up to them. So I am almost convinced... just need to think on it some more. :-)
You can see them in context of the house (albeit not quite in the accurate position) here, which gives you an idea of the scale the steps will be.
tweaking old house plans
Dad came up with the idea to move the bay window that was previously planned to go in the bedroom to the lounge, and build in a little window seat.
In order to see whether this would work, I needed to revisit the old house layout plans. The previous version was out-dated as we had moved the location of the kitchen doors so they lined up better between verandah posts.
The final architectural drawings for the old house are here. Using them, I played around with moving the window and overlaying furniture, and think I have come up with a layout that will work well:
We'll have to be careful how we position the window, to make sure it is nicely lined up between the verandah posts outside, while still leaving enough space for the divider wall. Also, we will need to plan carefully to get the window seat at a comfortable level without looking out of place relative to the existing front window. But in principle, they're different enough that I think it will work.
Another side-benefit to this is that it gives us more flexibility in the layout of the bedroom. By not putting in the bay window and just leaving it as solid wall (as it is currently), we would save ourselves a job as well as gain more space for furniture.
In order to see whether this would work, I needed to revisit the old house layout plans. The previous version was out-dated as we had moved the location of the kitchen doors so they lined up better between verandah posts.
The final architectural drawings for the old house are here. Using them, I played around with moving the window and overlaying furniture, and think I have come up with a layout that will work well:
We'll have to be careful how we position the window, to make sure it is nicely lined up between the verandah posts outside, while still leaving enough space for the divider wall. Also, we will need to plan carefully to get the window seat at a comfortable level without looking out of place relative to the existing front window. But in principle, they're different enough that I think it will work.
Another side-benefit to this is that it gives us more flexibility in the layout of the bedroom. By not putting in the bay window and just leaving it as solid wall (as it is currently), we would save ourselves a job as well as gain more space for furniture.
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