The plan is to keep this short and sweet. This draft has been in my inbox since late LAST week and its time has come. It’s an update. It’s a catch you up on all the things happening around the old homestead kind of post. If you missed my last update, about the construction of the timber slat privacy screens and such, head over to this blog post, it will bring you up to speed.
Everyone else, let’s get started, shall we?
As work continued, we had some repair work done to the roof, replacing damaged sections and getting quotes to resurface the entire thing (I SO want to do that now). The roofline above my office was the worse affected by water damage, and even when they had a look, some old termite damage. This damage was repaired, and the tiles returned to their former homes. Which, you can see, of so elegantly demonstrated, below.
As I mentioned, we had some storm damage from a HUGE storm in 2018, and part of that was damage to the garage roof and door. Thanks to our insurance, both have been replaced. You might notice, instead of the original cream, I’ve gone with a modern shade of black. I’m sure those of you who watch any makeover shows or know your colorbond colours will recognise it as Monument. It was this that REALLY got me excited to one day (soon!) to replace the trims and recoat the roof in the same colour.
Don’t you think that will be awesome?
Then it was back inside to replace the large side door that no longer worked (without serious force and a metal rod). Replacing this old door will not only repair an issue with water getting under the floorboards of the house but give us access to the back and side yards that isn’t via the laundry. Replacing this door has been on my wishlist for AGES, and I’m so glad we finally did it. Not only does it improve airflow through the house, but it makes my plans for a pool area off the side of the house one step closer.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though!
While trying to remove the old, very stubborn and I’m sure stuck, door, the builders managed to smash the top panel of glass, landing it on one of their heads. Not ideal! I was in the kitchen (see my view in the first image below) when it happened. I jumped out of my skin. Not half as bad as the dude who got glassed did though — poor bastard.
To their credit, they both seemed more concerned with cleaning up than with one of them potentially being impaled, so work continued quickly from that stage. Soon it was installed, the painter came and tidied things up and hey presto, side yard! And again, how good does the Monument colour look against the house both inside and outside…
I’m on to something, right?
During all this, we also replaced our lounge room air-conditioning unit (thank goodness for that, this Queensland weather, man. It’s a whole thing right now). We went with a larger unit than what was in there before to ensure some efficiency. But let’s be real, replacing a unit installed in the ’90s is a move towards energy efficiency no matter what. Right? Anyway, it is quality approved; I can see the couch office being reinstated sometime very, very soon!
Then, just like that, we are only days away from having our house back to normal.
I’ll be able to remove the drop cloth from the table, and but the shelves/display thingies back in place. Restore some order to the place. I’m not sure how long it will be until our next house update. We need to regroup a little, save some more cash, and then get back into it. My next more is the painting of the roof and the ‘red’ accents on the exterior, I think. After that, hopefully, by my birthday (I’ve said this before) I’ll be ordering a pool and organising the boys in the construction of a deck and alfresco area.
I have big plans for this little old house, let me tell you. And so what if it took me over five years to get to this stage. Look back at the archives and see where we came from. I’m pretty happy with the progress. I’d be happier sipping my beverages from a pool deck, but the spa will do for now. She’s served me well. A faithful steed of the aqua variety. Haha. How’s THAT for a tangent. I’ll rein it back in.
So, what do you think? It’s coming along nicely, don’t you think? WE LOVE IT.
If you want to see more about the house, including the renovations before we moved in head to the Suger’s Place tag or the House Tour (Living Spaces, technically) video I made in 2018 after the painting was all done.
Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.