Deck Reno #11

 Chute for the concrete pump.

 Concrete pump waiting for the concrete truck to arrive.

 Concrete pump from the other side of the house.

Squealy checking out all the action. Was quite interesting waiting the concrete flow out of the chute.

Rancho Relaxo.

 The *only* way for a little guy to play Donkey Kong Country Returns!

Sweet.

Deck Reno #10

These photos were taken the day before the slab was poured.

So the form work is finished and the house is covered in plastic to keep it clean during the slab pour.

You can see the rio has been double meshed where the brick piers are underneath.

The saddles have also been placed to raise rio to the right height.

All good to go for the slab pour.

Deck Reno #9

The boys have been around again, this time laying black plastic to stop any yucky smells and water marks coming through.

On top of that is the rio.

Slab is being poured on Thursday. Fingers crossed the rain stays away.

Deck Reno #8

 The reno just keep rolling along. The rain we've had has slowed things down a little but not by too much. The pouring of the slab was set for Tuesday next week, but has been pushed back till Thursday. So not too bad all things considered.

Rob has ordered the pergola for us, so that part should go ahead quite quickly.

The fill had been completely laid and compacted.

 

Wooden edging in place getting ready for the slab to be poured. Rob is planning on being on site next week to finish all the prep before the slab is poured.

He has also kindly offered to bring in the bob cat and clear the yard, leaving it a clean slate ready for us to plant and mulch to our hearts content :) We've also asked him to quote on fixing the mess we have on the side ramp. There doesn't seem much point in planting a garden and then needing machinery in the yard again at a later stage.

Deck Reno #7

We had a truck delivering fill get bogged today. Much excitement for the kids. Especially when an even bigger truck came along to get him out.

We've had some rain so it was quite wet under foot. Not overly surprised the truck got bogged where it did.

Left: Pile of fill. Covered up the hole left behind.

 Right: The fill has been compacted with the whacker packer.

Rob's left the Whacker Packer behind as he hasn't finished with it yet.

Amber Cat has been giving it a wide berth.

You can also see the one step onto the path close to the house.

Deck Reno #6

 

 L: Charlie Dog checking where the plumbers have been.

R: Tap has been removed and copper pipe has been laid to they new tap site.

The plumbers came out yesterday, on a Saturday, to move our existing tap. The old tap would have been right in the middle of the new deck and given the slab height wouldn't have had any clearance.

The new tap is now right next to the old path and new steps. It is in the wall now in a much more central spot in the backyard, so happy with that.

This week we will hopefully have the fill compacted, the slab poured and Rob is also planning on ordering the pergola :) Not long to go and it will all be finished.

Deck Reno #5

The deck is going along really smoothly. The brickies came through during the week and have done their thing.

We now have a flight of stairs off the high side of the deck, which will connect onto the existing footpath. We also have one step down onto the footpath near the family room.

 

 L: steps off the deck.

R: piers to support the slab and crushed concrete fill.

Rob has brought the digger back again as he needs it to move the fill around and to also dig a trench for the pergola down pipe to connect to.

Today we are expecting the plumber to arrive. We've decided to just move the tap instead of putting a drain in. Too fiddly and not exactly visually pleasing. The tap will be moved to be next to the steps.

Deck Reno #4

 

Left: the foundations have been laid.                                           

Right: exposed pipe that will become a drain for the tap.

Rob has done a really good job matching the deck bricks closely to the existing house bricks. You wont be able to tell much of a difference unless you look very closely.

The brickie is booked in for this week. This reno is taking place very quickly and easily so far!

A Fun Week

What a busy but fun week. We attended the Annual Scouts and Guides Trivia Quiz.

The theme was the Olympics and Husband Deluxe was the MC.

Fuzzy Wuzzy won 'Player of the Week' for his amazing soccer skills on field.

He played goalie and didn't let anything get past him.

What a star!

Squealy has also been enjoying soccer but invariably he ends up absolutely shattered and freezing after his early morning game.

Poor little guy just crashes out wherever he can!

Deck Reno #3

 

 Rob and the boys got busy digging footings for the slab late last week. On the left are the footings for the stairs off the deck and on the right the trench for the footing on the long side of the deck.

Cool shot of the digger (again) lol.

Left: hole/footings.

The backyard is a total bombsite. The kids can't go out there at the moment. The builder said not to let them onto the digger. hmmmm major temptation but so far, so good. They've stayed away!

Deck Reno #2

 The first day on site Rob and the boys removed the small concrete deck that was original to the house and totally useless. It was so small you couldn't fit an outdoor setting out there.

 The slab gave them alot of trouble. In the end they had to cut it to remove it. Our home is built tough!!!

You can see where the existing deck used to be and they have also removed the footpath leading up to it!

Exciting stuff!

Kiama Family Holiday #2

 The dinosaur show at the Illwarra Fly by Erth was awesome. A show with huge puppets and audience participation. Our family got lots of audience participation. Here are some photos. Excuse the crappy photos, light levels were low!


String Bean patting one of the baby dinosaurs at the start of the show.

 Squealy had a giant dragon fly land on his hand (I was too slow with the camera).

Husband Deluxe had to stand up and dance :)







 

 Shep (the presenter) selected Fuzzy Wuzzy because he was 'brave'. He didn't even have to talk him into it, he was all over it.


He did look pretty confident to begin with.






 

Triumphant at the end of the head biting!

Kiama Family Holiday #1

 This is the view from our cabin while staying at Kiama, just a short walk straight onto the beach!
 

 L: Fuzzy and Squealy at Christmas in July at the Fountaindale Grand Manor.    

R: String Bean and Squealy checking out the lighthouse at the Kiama headland.

 
 L: Fuzzy at the blowhole.                                  R: the 'Little Blowhole' puts on a show.
 

 The Bombo Headland, which looks like something from a sci-fi movie.

 

 

 Here are some photos from our recent Kiama holiday.

Fuzzy Wuzzy get close to the python at the Minnamurra Rainforest.

Long Weekend = New Quilt

 Here is my latest quilt top that I completed recently.

The fabric used in this quilt was a real bargain: $5 charm packs x 3.

I'll be getting my friend Fran at Willow Patch Quilting to finish this little baby off for me.