we (halfway) have a proper pier!

We've had a functional pier for a year now, made out of old wire fence panels, salvaged from the Toora house.  But while perfectly serviceable, it lacked a certain charm up close.  So when he needs a break from the heavy digging work, Dad has been using up the leftover decking wood, from his own verandah in Melbourne, as well as the offcuts from the 'lake house' floor, to give it a proper pier finish.  

Here's a few photos of it in progress: 

 

A fence from Parnu, Estonia

In mid-August I went on a week's road trip across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.  It was great, although I wish we'd had more time, since there were some great things that were off the beaten path that we weren't able to see.

However, one night we stopped in Parnu, a beach resort town in Estonia, about halfway between Riga and Tallinn.  While wandering there I saw this fence:



While it's not the lovely brick walled garden fence of my dreams, it doesn't look half bad.  And it would be a hell of a lot cheaper and faster to erect than brick.  So perhaps we could compromise... put fence like this between most of the pillars, with solid brick walls in just a few sections.  That way we'd still have area to grow fruit against the walls, but without it completely breaking the bank, which a fully enclosed bricked walled garden will sadly do.  

dad donates a chair and dressing table

Dad is a master at scavenging useful objects from the roadside.  His latest find is a lovely Lloyd Loom style chair (in fact it could even be Lloyd Loom -- I can't tell without seeing if it has a label).  It needs painting, of course, but that's easy, and it will be perfect to go at a dressing table.



Speaking of which, Dad has also donated a dressing table top to go in the Lakehouse.  Here's his description, and below a photo.  I think, with a little restoration and creativity regarding finding it a proper base, it'll come up well.  I like the shape and it looks perfect paired with the old washbasin.  

I bought an antique cedar dresser from the woman who sold you the panelling.  It turned out that the whole of the bottom part was totally ruined and not salvageable.  So I took that away and made another base for the top and put it onto a table top for Jenny and Paul.  But they didn't want it anymore so I got it back.  I was storing it in my garage with the prospect of using it as a vanity in my bathroom here in Ringwood, but decided it would be much better in the Lakehouse if you like it.  The carving is by hand, and the whole will come up very nice with restoration.  

foundation digging

Dave had a fleeting trip to Australia in early August and managed to get a few hectic days working with Dad up at Amherst.  It turned out to be a frustrating time because the work they were doing -- on the foundations of the old house -- was tedious and slow.  There are apparently about 60 stumps needed for the extension area and they have to be in very precise positions.  The ground was hard and if you hit a rock, well, you just had to find a way through.  The little tractor wasn't strong enough to do it on its own so they had to experiment with jerry-rigging weights to it, in order to get more downward pressure.  And even then, did a lot by hand.  Anyway, progress was made, but just nowhere near as much as they'd hoped.

Here's some photos:







Here's an extract from Dad's email about it, after a subsequent trip: 

I am focussing on the old house ...   I will be working this week on getting the stump-holes completed.  I am hopeful a new approach of using progressively larger augers until the size needed is achieved will mean I won't  have to do so much manual digging to get the holes right for the stumps.  I was able to do the holes at the front of the house with just the large auger so was surprised with all the trouble we have at the rear of the house.  The weighting basket arrangement for the auger is working well, but with one less rock than we had before.  Getting our approach right for digging holes on the block is valuable lessons learned.  Dave and I struggled with the manual digging this trip, and with a better approach to digging holes may avoid another such crisis when time is precious. 

I cannot wait until the foundations are done and Dad can get onto the proper building. But that's nothing compared to Dad, I think all this digging work is intensely hard and frustrating for him; he much prefers carpentry.  

Rain rain rain

So work continues but oh so slowly.  In winter there's less daylight, it's cold and it's pot luck whether the weather is nice or not.  For an area that's meant to be dry, it does seem to rain a lot at the wrong times.  Still I will never begrudge the rain there, even though it does slow things down.  

Dad's report from last week's trip:

I had dreadful weather this visit.  On Sunday and Monday it was very cold but not raining, just overcast.  But the clouds bucketed down on Tues and a bit on Weds.  I was able to complete the enclosure of the octagon room by working until 9pm on Sun, using light and generator, and again working from 0430 to 9pm on Mon.  Little did I know that the heavy rain was to come on Tues, but needless to say I was relieved I had made the octagon room serviceable. 

(The 'Octagon room' is a small enclosure Dad has built near his campsite surrounding the fire, so there is somewhere warm to be when it's cold)

I moved a tankful of water to the 5000 gal tank so we could continue to collect water this winter.  When I go back I will move more water. I moved materials stored in the Lakehouse out to the embankment.  I had put the decking into the Lakehouse the previous visit because the rains had filled the dam and where the decking was lying was underwater.  But now all is tidy in the Lakehouse and materials stored properly under covers on the embankment ready to resume the building of the pier.  I moved the planks to cover as well since they were left on the outriggers at the side of the Lakehouse and were exposed to serious weather.  I am gradually removing all the building waste material from the embankment as well.  I have taken three pots of firewood to the octagon room and sorted these according to type of wood for either kindling, small wood, or large wood pieces.  I did these jobs when it was raining because I could not use the generator.  

Some good news though:  

When I got home I found the permit for the amendment to plans for the old house waiting.  I can now seriously begin work on the extension. 

Revised plans for the old house

Late last year we decided to hedge our bets.  Making the old house bigger shouldn't cost a lot extra, but brings a lot more flexibility for staying in it long-term, should the 'dream house' build get postponed.

We finally got the revised plans back from the draftsman and I'm really happy with them.   Here's the floorplan now: 

The key changes are:

• Addition of walk-in wardrobe and small corridor (with storage) between the master bedroom and the bathroom.  
• Extra room for the kitchen, with the addition of a jutting out "L" section.  This means we no longer have to stress about squeezing the dining table into the kitchen.  
• Repositioning of the stained glass bay window.

It's mostly straightforward, except the bathroom.  I wanted a luxurious bathroom with lots of space, so Dad suggested adding a loft area for the bath, accessed via a spiral staircase.  He also came up with the idea of having a glass roof for part of it, so it has the feel of a conservatory.  Having the light coming in should mean we can grow tropical plants that it would otherwise be too dark for.  I also like how there's a big high ceiling above the shower... I think I am going to experiment with having the shower head up high so it feels like a rainshower...  

Finally, here's what it looks like from each angle.  Although it's not on the same scale as the 'dream house', it does have a very different look from each side, which I really like: 


South elevation: 


This shows the original front door side.  The master bedroom is on the left, and I'm hoping we can keep a section of the verandah without a balcony, so you can sit on the edge and dangle your feet over.  :-)  We'll likely also have a canopy shade over the big bedroom window too -- but that's a finishing touch we can add later.


East elevation:


This shows the side that faces down to the dam.  There's the long verandah with the double doors that leads into the dining area, and the kitchen window on the right.



North elevation:


This shows the technical 'back' of the house.  The laundry is on the right and deliberately is accessed via the covered porch, so it can also function as a kind of mudroom.


West elevation: 

Finally, this shows most private side of the house -- the one that faces uphill.  There's a small door from the master bedroom to step outside, and there's a small balcony that adjoins the upstairs bathroom area.  I don't expect we'll use the balcony area a lot for sitting in since I don't know if it's going to have a nice view -- unless we get lucky and can see over the hilltop.  But it should work out OK as a place for plants, or (if I flyscreened it in) as an occasional sleeping area for hot summer nights.  Or perhaps even a place for the telescope?  This side will look more symmetrical in reality than the sketch shows, because the drawing had to get squished on the far left to fit on the page.  

a long overdue update

Sorry for the radio silence.  Things have been progressing the past few months, albeit like molasses.

Dad has almost got the lakehouse finished -- apart from the painting that is, which I asked him to leave for me to do.  The only thing still outstanding is to finish the pier.  I am desperate to see photos, but I think Dad is waiting until it's completely finished before unveiling it :-)

In his spare time, Dad has also been working on what he calls the "octagon room" at his campsite.  This is sort of like a mini enclosed gazebo area, so that when Dave comes for his next winter working trip they have somewhere properly warm to sit.

He's also apparently cleared lots of stuff out from the old house so there's space to work inside when the weather is bad.  On the next trip, he and Dave are hoping to get the stumps for the extension poured as well as begin with the window restoration.

Speaking of the old house, we also *finally* got the revised plans for the old house renovation from the draftsman.  In late 2011, you might remember we decided to hedge our bets and make the "old house" a little bigger and more suitable for longer-term living.  The revised plans are now with the council so fingers crossed all will be smooth sailing.  

lakehouse is almost done, but not quite

We finished up getting about 95% of the way there with the lakehouse.  Which isn't bad going considering we lost Dave from the team after his accident.

If you take a photo from the right angle, it looks quite complete... (except we eventually do need to get some trees planted to shield the next door neighbors shed and house roof - they weren't there when we started)


But from other angles, it's clear there's a ways to go

There are a few little bits and pieces left to do inside but nothing major.  The bulk of the work is outside - painting and some carpentry.  Dad has since got all the important stuff done so it's watertight and secure, but the painting I fear will need to wait for my next visit!