Jan 2008 -Painting the house exterior at last.

After christmas 2007 we headed back down to Wanganui to finish what we had started the summer before. Our little house was still the same looking on the outside. We had only got a little bit of the back painted before it got too late in the year to do much. So the plan was to finish the job and banish those purple windows and general ugly colour scheme once and for all.

Our tenants were happy to have us come do this and Murray and Linda (our friends next door) had offered to put us up so it was all go!

To recap: the house before we started.
The work begins. Windows are stripped by Murray and Linda and their repainting begins. At the same time I was working my way around the walls with the yellow colour. I had to be careful up the ladder in my pregnant state and so let Murray do the high bits.

Mark was to work on sundry tasks from stormwater separation (from the sewage) to garage doors to fixing a lock or catch or too, and my job was painting along with the girls. We also hired Murray to paint the windows and then needed him to apply the 2nd coat of yellow after we left.
Murray paints the 2nd coat on the front windows. Each window was totally stripped and Mark cut out all rot. Murray and he carefully filled them in. Mark also painted under the eaves 'castlecliff' as it goes that shade with the sand blowing in anyway!
Caroline and Sophia liked this job. They followed behind me filling in any 'missed spots'. Even with a stucco roller it was hard to get every crevice.
Sophia painting out any window paint that went on the wall.

Looking better than ever! We were getting many compliments from passersby by the time we got half way round the front.

Mark begins making new doors for the garage. The old ones were so bad that our tenant felt unsafe parking his car in there. Could have been 'cos a two year old could break in!
The master craftsman at work. He had them up and locked in a day. My hero!

Caroline beside the completed and stained doors. Later we added an extra little bit to cover the top area above the door.
The back yard completed. Two coats are on, painted by moi and my girls.

Window with castlecliff colour on the roof.
Chris (Murray's boarder) helps by digging the spot for a soakhole for the drainpipes to feed into (so no rainwater goes into the sewage as dictated by the council).

Redoing the spouting to fit the new arrangement.
Painting a front fence post.

A new gate colour and we were done. Murray finished a 2nd coat on the front after we left.

The house is finished -for now at least!

We went down on Sunday 27th without the kids and left very late Monday 28th. It was the only time we could get down, so we had to nearly run to try and fit everything in. Wouldn't have made it if Murray and Linda hadn't helped too!

The new addition is complete and even painted! We plan to take the new yellow colour round the rest of the house next summer.
We think it really sets the place off.
The other side of the addition (its L shaped). The door is the original pantry door and is newly painted 'Castlecliff'. The kitchen. Much better than the old look.

The breakfast bar finished including 'Castlecliff' on the wooden leg.

The lino looks great. It gives the place a warm homely look -better than the original wooden floor and easier to clean too.

In the bathroon on the step that Mark built.

And in the wash-house. The place is now ready for its new tenants!

For those who want to we suggest you scroll down to the first blogs and compare. The place has certainly changed!

May 4th to 9th -Building the cover over the sleepout doors.

We went down again this time to construct a covered in 'porch'. This means that the 2 sleepouts will be sleepouts no longer. We will be able to now call the place a 4 bedroom house! This process happened mostly without a hitch. Mark had Murray from next door helping over the weekend and they did heaps. Mark then carried on through to Wed to get it done.
Fitting the new french doors.
The roof is on. We used pvc roofing in keeping with what was already there. It should be a nice little sun trap.

Nailing on the
ply.


Robert's 'roads'.

Starting the other side of the covered in area.

Putting the roof, walls and door on.

The 'completed' porch. We still need to put glass in the french doors and do a little exterior painting, but neither job will take long.
The floor ready for lino. Mark came down alone at the end of April and laid 9mm ply over the whole wooden floor. Quite a job really. There are 1400 screws in that floor.
We return once more to inspect the lino once it is down (and to re-fit the doors that had to be removed for the lino). The end is in sight. Already the property manager is looking for a tenant.

Easter weekend. 7-10 April

For the Easter break, we came down again and did some fun Wanganui things with the family. All the while getting a bit more done and visiting a rental agent.

Rather blurry, but this is a pic of the wash-house floor. We lifted some floor boards which had been cut some time in the past and laid replacements down.

The kitchen floor free of the dreaded purple paint at last (Note the breakfast bar at the side which Mark made). After putting so much work into doing this, the rental agent told us we really need to lay lino as this floor will be a serious downer on renting the place. Oh well, its only money!
Sanding the boards for the wash-house.
This is the neighbourhood friendly "pain in the neck". We named him Humbug but he prefers Ginger.
The completed pantry. It even has adjustable shelves. Isn't Mark clever?
The finished floor.
I started to paint the house. I don't think we'll get much more done until next summer though. Its getting too late in the season.

The place is now nearly done. Apart from the lino, the last thing to be done is to enclose the doors to the sleepouts. This is so that they are internal bedrooms and the property is more appealing and liveable.

We have really enjoyed doing up this house, it has been an absolute ball! It has also been a welcome escape from certain stresses of our life in Auckland. We feel jealous of whoever gets to live here. It is now a great house to live in and of course it has always been right next to the sea...

Work continues every second weekend. -4th of March

The neighbour, Murray, begins to strip this very tired window for painting. We think the paint was decades old.

Hard work, this renovation business.

The larger sleepout. We did very little except carpet it and hang curtains. O.K. maybe new skirting boards...
Mark lining the new pantry location. We stripped out the old gib 'cos it was absolute rubbish.
Robert in the back yard.Caroline.