It's been a long, rainy week in Sydney to mark the beginning of construction. The sun made an appearance later in the week so work could progress on site, and slowly and surely the front facade of the house disappeared amongst framing and scaffolding. It has made the house look very small and vulnerable and I am trying to focus on the bigger picture as it gets swallowed by construction materials.
Naturally with constructions, we have taken over the whole street with trucks coming and going and I really hope my neighbours take it in their stride with all the activity and noise. We live in a quiet street most of the time, but not so much at the moment thanks to the Stephens family. Better remember to send them all Christmas cards thanking them for their patience and tolerance!
As of Friday, the roof has been off and the house exposed to the elements. If there was ever a time to pray for the rain to stay away, this was it!
A meeting with the external cladding company late in the week had us looking to change the colour to a lighter grey, and let's hope some savings for even more exciting things like decorating and furniture. We would have loved a darker grey but for the sake of efficiency a lighter colour is probably a more wise selection.
The rate at which the project has been moving along is both scary and exciting. To give you an indication: 7:30am builders started constructing an external ramp to access the roof, 8:45am ramp was constructed and excess materials loaded onto truck for removal, and 10:15am roof was off and morning tea was on the cards. Having said that, the rest of the day was not without its issues including delivery of the wrong windows and a section of the ceiling falling in! While these can cause frustration and concern, knowing you have a responsive team of builders goes a long way.
Timewise, if the weather behaves we may be cladding the exterior mid September followed by some scaffolding coming down, and continuation of internal work on the first floor. The cut in for the internal staircase will also happen at this point so the kids will be bunking in with mum and dad - heaven help us all!
Watch this space for next week's post on flooding and internal water damage due to rain....joking...I hope...
images: Shelley Stephens for Little Elm House