Blog 41: The Big Push!

At the start of our build back in October 2018 we set the ambitious target of July 2019 to move in to our self contained B&B flat (a.k.a Granny flat) and the big push has been about making that plan a reality as winter sets in.

Its been a huge couple of months, with many people working on-site and the house seeming to transform on a daily basis - after several months work its all coming together, rapidly!

We have interior plastering, ceilings and wall linings, interior joinery installation (doors, cabinets etc..) plumbing and electrical fit outs all running at the same time.

We had so many people on-site some days that we filled the caravan awning for smoko and lunch.. lucky we have been stockpiling dining room chairs from facebook marketplace for the house.

We have chosen to oil our ply ceiling with a Scandinavian look - the ply stays a natural light colour, as there is a whitener in the oil mix from Naturalhouseco and this keeps our ceiling colour light and reflective.

The layout of the exposed ply also means that gaps between sheets and nailing require a lot of precision, so we dry fitted and planed the sheets as required before gluing them in place and nailing off. A lot of work, but it looks great - just as we had envisioned it!

Light play on the living area ceiling pitch change

Our bathrooms are being finished with a lime plaster, and the shower lining is a Moroccan plaster finish called Tadelakt that is waterproof - instead of the standard plastic liner or tiles.

It requires less materials (no tiles) but a lot more labour, skilled labour…

The timing of each step to create the finish are very precise so Pat has worked in the dark and on weekends to get our granny flat bathroom plastered.

A big thankyou to Pat and family for the time commitment.

Shower plumbing and liner in place, here comes the plaster

The interior of the granny flat has also had finish plaster go on, has been fitted off for power, lights and plumbing and had its cabinets installed.. here are some photos of the work in progress - with shots of the finished article in our next blog..

Gib stopping the granny flat bathroom wall and the storage loft

Smoke and Light.. fans, power points, switches..

Kitchenette cabinets, benchtop and appliances installed, plaster finish to come…

While the focus of the big push has been getting us moved into the granny flat, the team have completed installation of all the ceilings and insulated and lined all the interior walls throughout the house, so the whole build is also progressing on schedule.