Little Elm House

Week 5

This week was all about getting the construction to lock up stage. Insulation went in early in the week, and the house looked like a spaceship with all that silver foil insulation. Some shifting around indoors happened as well to move the boys out of their old bedroom and into the temporary study. I came home early in the week to find a long rectangular cut out in their old bedroom ceiling - the home of the new staircase.

Can I just say how well the kids are managing being out of their room, and adjusting to living in multiple spaces? I am surprised, and very proud that they are taking everything in their stride. We will see how we go managing over the next couple of weeks during school holidays - lots of sleepovers with cousins, movie dates, outdoor activities, to keep us all sane and out of the construction space during this time. We probably should have had a separate budget just for kids activities during construction #thingsyoulearnduringreno!

With furniture being moved out and around there is an empty echo to the house that I am not keen on, but understand the necessity so work can progress unhindered. We will feel that a little more next week, as we clear out the lounge, study and the room currently being occupied by my mum (soon to be our new living room) into another storage pod. Amazing boxes that fit more than you can imagine. The beauty is that you fill it up, and it gets picked up for offsite storage and returned when needed!

Installation of the windows was completed mid week, except for one window that is being used as the entry into the upper level. Our cat Tigress has been keeping that particular window sill warm until the work is finished and the window inserted to its frame:-) After the stairs go in in a fortnight, access will occur via the stairwell.

We also had the upper roof painted Barramundi Grey to match the new cladding. The lower roof and cladding will soon match the upper level when phase 2 of the project commences after the main build to blend the original part of the house with the new. It will include replacing windows downstairs to finish the overall look.

The week ended with the external cladding going in, not our originally selected colour, but a lovely subtle grey all the same.  I can't wait for the scaffold to come down so we can see the house in its entirety.

Plumbing and electrical rough ins closed out the week and will continue into the next.

Once the builders are downstairs to open up internal walls, things will get a whole lot more interesting and disruptive! 

Watch this space!

images: Shelley Stephens for Little Elm House