Concrete

Last week, after hours of George's digging, we were finally ready to pour the concrete that will be the base of the footings for the back extension.

I really like the KEEP OUT sign. Very homely. Martha Stewart would be proud.

In case you've never seen a concrete pump in action, here's a little video for you.

Next will be the bricklayer and I have a feeling that kind of work will be exciting to see. To me bricks mean that something is really happening. Like walls.

In other news I am trying to track down a person or company who restores old staircases. Any Sydney recommendations would be appreciated.

Bounty

I forgot to mention something BIG in the previous post. George dug up a gun an a helluva lot of ammunition. It was buried under the concrete floor of the shed he ripped up, which makes me think it was used for some kind of killing spree. This is the video he took of his discovery. I particularly enjoyed the soundtrack which I think was just whatever was on the radio at the time.

Anyway, we put the gun in a box and dragged it with us everywhere we went between Thursday and Sunday night, when we finally made it over to Balmain Police Station and handed it in. It was very dramatic walking into the police station with a big box and announcing "We've got a gun" but once the cop eyeballed it he wasn't too worried. We were kind of hoping they would decide to come and excavate the back yard to look for more evidence of crime, thus saving us the hassle of doing it ourselves*.

Sadly this was not to be, but the cop did say that he would do some kind of criminal record search for previous occupants of our address, and then they're probably melt the gun down into some kind of scrap metal.

*By ourselves I obviously mean George.

Trenches

George has been busy ripping up concrete, digging trenches and painting walls with bitumen paint as you can see in the picture above.

He's kept a little bit of the original back structure as a kind of shelter for the mini fridge, power tools and the radio, but that will eventually by torn down.

This is Rahul admiring George's fine handywork.

Demolition Day #3

Not unlike the ruins at Pompeii!

Seriously, I can't believe the pace this demolition is moving at. It's all due to George, our labourer who is visiting Australia from Greece. Our communication is obviously limited, but I gave him watermelon, so I think he likes me. He also gets along amazingly well with George II (our neighbour) and I imagine he will also like George III (our brickie.)

Demolition Day #2

I have to admit I quite liked the results of day 2. It was like having an outdoor patio area. I almost could have kept it.

Demolition Day #1

The shed took a walk down to the back of the yard to serve it's new purpose as a portaloo. That's right, Theo worked out that we could cheaply plumb a toilet right into the sewage line and use the shed to provide shelter, thus saving the money we would have spent hiring a portaloo for months of construction. Are you surprised to know that the plumbers have nicknamed him "tightarse" (in Greek of course!)

patience is a virtue

This is our current toilet. Isn't is lovely?

And this is our almost toilet which is infinitely nicer.

Almost is the word of the moment because we really are very close to having a completed bathroom. The bench tops in the bathroom and laundry were not installed as planned on January 17th but did make their grand appearance today. I love the Osprey Caesarstone so I'm giving myself a big pat on the back for choosing it. Ah modesty...

So here's a picture of the bathroom sink and the new bench.

And a picture of the lovely shower head which I am dying to test out.

And finally a picture of the laundry. Is it possible to be besotted with a laundry? Because I am. The space underneath the bench is where the washing machine will live (obviously it's a front loader.) So that's all I have for you today, but there is a rumour that shower screens will arrive on Friday, and the plumber will be back on Monday. We just need the electrician to appear and I will be one happy girl. Also I'm desperate to start the painting and that can't happen til after the lights go in.