revamping the shed

Besides making cheesy videos of house models, this weekend I did some real work too on our London backyard.

Specifically, we finally tackled the shed problem.

The shed was old when we bought the place nearly 10 years ago and we've done nothing to it except stuff it full of junk.

So... On Saturday we cleared it out. By giving stuff away (eg: a drawer full of aquarium equipment), throwing the really badly broken stuff out and taking the remainder "to the allotment" ... we managed to get to a shed that was more than half empty. Incredible.

On Sunday we tackled the junk that had built up outside, around the side & back. Mostly this was old wood and broken garden furniture. Dave salvaged what he could and then burnt the rest. Our decorative chiminea has turned out to be a brilliant incinerator. :-)

Then today, Monday, we wire-brushed the outer walls then I painted it a lovely blue to match the chicken house, and Dave replaced the broken glass and put on new roof felt. Now it looks like a brand new shed, I'm really pleased.

Here's the side view where you can truly appreciate the roofing:


This is what it looks like from the back step:

the house model has landed

So I gave you a sneak preview of this a while back, but this week the real thing arrived!

It's had pride of place on the kitchen table but finally this weekend I got round to taking photos. Here's a montage of them complete with cheesy music. Enjoy! :-)

permits are underway...

Thank goodness, it's all looking positive on the planning permit front so far.

From Dad's email (May 2):

"Hi, I have returned from Maryborough and have good news: Norm looked over the whole application documentation, and I spoke to him about the plan you sent locating everything. As well I mentioned the height of the place due to 12 ceilings. He said he was involved in a place in England several years ago so he knows what you are talking about when you wish to have the higher ceilings... Norm and Jeff (the soil tester) both commented that it will be a great home when finished and an asset in that quiet neighborhood".

We still have to get a couple more things to Norm for the planning permit process, but it's all underway.

soil test update

We're still waiting for the full set of test results, but we've heard about the Foundation test.

From Dad's email (May 1st):
"He said he has done one of the tests, the foundations, and the news is good, an M classification for the footings. He has to complete the capability tests, as these require time for dispersal of water from holes before he can submit his samples"

I had a little hunt online and found a booklet thanks to Soil Test Australia which defines the different classifications. It turns out M = average. :-)

Aerial shot

Dad sent me an aerial photo of our property that he was given by the council. He asked me to mark on it all the things that we ultimately want to build, so they can see how it would all fit together long term.

I'd done a rougher version of this before using Google Earth but this time I was careful to copy across the precise outline of both the new and old houses, and to get them in the correct relative positions. Click image to see full size:

Town planning for Talbot

I was looking at the Central Goldfields Shire website today for info about the planning rules and discovered a mention of Talbot in their news. Woohoo!

Apparently they are in the midst of an "Urban Design Framework" review. I'm not sure what it means, other than that I would guess there is a chance we might see some upgrading of infrastructure as a result. It's also a signal of how much it is growing: I presume they wouldn't invest in a 6 month long review otherwise.

It looks like they have finished the initial analysis of opportunities - will update as I learn more. Very exciting. :-)



The image above is a screengrab from the announcement. I couldn't resist posting as it has some cute photos of the current town. You can see the full announcement including links to download the PDFs here.

Our house in miniature

Ta da... The first sighting of the model for the new house which is currently winging its way across the oceans to us.



I'll take more photos from every angle when it arrives but couldn't resist sharing this sneak preview.

I love it. :-)

hello to neighbouring bloggers

So the world is a small place. I've just stumbled over a site by some other folk building a house not far from ours... who ironically enough come from the UK originally. Perhaps the Talbot vortex really does have some magic to it...

Anyway, hello Colin & Alex, and good luck with your house (de)construction. :-)