and some more tiling!

oh joy, so much fun! and the fun takes so long too!

Drew bought a dumpy level (yes, another power tool), and he's verified he's already got a great eye as his previous work (the first wall) is nice and straight. And we got stuck into the next wall - initially it went up very quickly (first pic) and then the small cut tiles took forever! Eventually we got through the rest of the that wall (well, the first two-thirds, like the first wall), and started into a little bit of the window wall.

Then yesterday, Drew attacked it a bit more - finding out that the tiles lined up beautifully with the top of the window trim. Yay! So, some more down, and still twice as much to go. *sigh*

 

another power tool

Would a power tool help the job get done better? Why yes! Okay then, let's go buy yet another power tool!

Maybe we should run an equipment hire shop from the garage once we move in. We've still got to buy a cement mixer for all the landscaping. Oh what the hell, huh? You can never have enough power tools, right Tim?

spacer, tile, spacer, tile, spacer, tile

Thus, come Sunday, started the laborious task of tiling. Ugh. We finished off the floor and also put up the pebble skirting board frieze - and then started on the first wall. Yeesh, it takes longer than you think. Kudos to Drew for his talents in accurately cutting tiles and keeping everything level and evenly spaces. It's a messy cow of a job, and it's going to take a few more weekends to finish off. *groan* bloody tilers / tradesman pulling out

let there be light!

Adam and Drew worked through the week and on Saturday to get us light! Yay! so the switchboard is changed over and everything is safe now (grandad Hillary's could have fried us, posthumously!). We have power and we have lights - it feels weird to plug into an outlet and we're all good to go - or it starts getting a bit dark, oh, just turn the light on. Nifty, huh? 

...but then Ethel turned up

So Joe is now Joe, but then his mate turned up and we think she's a girl, so we've christened her Ethel! She won't hand-feed (yet) and is a little more skittish.

sex change for our maggie

According to our expert sources (thanks Dad!), Ethel is really Ethelbert the Saxon King... but that's a liiiitle too long, so we re-christened him Joe (after Hillary Joseph the grandad, Ethel's husband).

Anyway, Joe saw Drew outside the house yesterday and hopped right up to him! (Joe hopped, that is, not Drew). Just as well we bought that mince on Sunday! :)

Ethel comes to visit

So there we are, having some breakfast at the house before Drew went back to Adam's place to fix his garage in a quid pro quo arrangement... when down pops a magpie about a metre and a half from us! We tempted her (gender unknown, but it's 50-50) with some bacon from our Maccas healthy breakfast (!), which she snavelled up, and even grabbed a piece from our fingers. So now we may have ourselves our first regular popping around for feedings! We've christened her Ethel after the nanna who lived here for so many years.

MSB time

With some pointers and assistance, Drew launched into wiring up the Main Switch Board. Not something he's been exposed yet, so this was a great learning experience (a positive one, as opposed to the tiling frustration). A neat freak and detail oriented in this regard, Drew ensured the MSB was perfect!

There's some more RCD, RCBOs and security PIRs and other interesting acronyms to be sorted out, as well as the intermediate switching plates to be sourced and fitted, but the majority of the electricals is now done. Later this week some testing will be done, with Adam, and then the changeover between the downstairs MSB and the upstairs MSB. Closer!

switch it up!

Adam came over, in a trade for services - he'd help Drew with the switching and the switchboard fit-off and change over, in exchange for Drew's construction skills in fixing up his shed/garage which came off second best with a neighbour's vehicle (with no handbrake engaged!). So all the light switches are done and ready to be tested - thanks so much Adam for your time and expertise :)

swear words!

a learning process, punctuated by many swear words... from working out the right consistency for the adhesive, the measuring up, the trowelling... and so on. *sigh* A very long couple of hours for not much visible advancement, but some lessons learnt (the hard way generally!). Lots more hours to be spent doing the rest of the tiling and grouting etc. Still, it'll save some money.

waterproofing

Greg & Mulvina - the polynesian waterproofing team - arrived on Wednesday to waterproof. Nice blue huh?

a picture of frustration

This is a picture of frustration. Borne from the glimmer of the end of the tunnel appearing, then being blotted out by train running us over, yet again. AARRGHH! Okay, enough melodrama. We found a tiler, he had a waterproofer. Tiler confirmed on Monday afternoon, yep, waterproofing Wednesday, tiling to start Thursday. Wednesday midday tiler calls - oh, sorry, got a big contract, can't do it now. Juuuuust when we thought OMG we might actually move into this house by the end of September... *sigh* Oh well, that's renovating for you, right? And at least it's waterproofed. Properly, we hope. O_o