My house progress

Thought it was about time I updated you on the building of my house.
It's starting to get so exciting, it's actually looking like a real house (if a house had no walls!?). Anyway, we have had only minor hiccups along the way and are generally running to schedule (touch wood).
See the piccos below of what we've been up to (okay I haven't done much, but what my boyfriend and his crew have been up to).

My man building the garage frame 11/03/13

Frame is up! 23/03/2013

Me (looking disgraceful after LMFF) painting the fascia 23/03/2013

Fascia is up. Eaves being hung. I painted those eaves too! 06/04/13

Roof is on (although you can't see it from this angle). Wall insulation starting to go on. 20/04/13

Windows starting to go in. That's the back of the house, my future bedroom! 20/04/13

Bec's boyfriend (my boyfriend's brother) has been busy rouging in all the electrical wires. 24/04/13

So, unfortunately, a number of our windows and stacker-slider doors were damaged in transit, so we've had to send them back.
On a happier note, the timber cladding (silvertop ash) has arrived so that can start going on while we wait for new windows and doors!

Next time I update you, it will really look like a house, walls and all!


♥ Holly xx

House Construction Progress

As I've mentioned before, I (Holly) am currently in process of building my very own home (well my boyfriend is doing most of the building, I'm the new apprentice)!
We originally purchased our block on the Mornington Peninsula in November 2009 (I know, saaa long ago), we then went on to save an eff load of money so we could build our home  'owner-builder'. So to be an owner-builder you need to have at least 20% of the house construction costs plus an additional 20% overhead (basically because when you do it yourself you're more likely to go over budget).
About two years after we purchased the block (circa January 2012), we got our plans drafted up. So surprisingly we spent the entire 2012 re-drafting our plans, getting them approved by council, amending the existing planning permit for the land, obtaining a building permit and finally getting finance approval. Phew, that is a long list and yes, it really did take us all year.
So come 2013 we have some serious ants in our pants and are ready to roll!

Here's a little montage of what we've completed thus far:

BEFORE PHOTO: This is pretty much the block as we bought it (there was a little cubby where those four stumps are but we gave it away). That hideous thing down the very back is a portable toilet - well there is a real toilet in there, for when construction starts. 19/01/2013

The block has been cut here to allow for the construction and all those braced posts are for a retaining wall (I used the nailgun for this, I'm pretty tough). 09/02/2013

Concrete stumps in! 16/02/2013

Concrete slab in for garage. 19/02/2013

Bearers and joists going in 23/02/2013

Bearers and joists done! 23/02/2013

Me cutting foil board (floor insulation). I'm looking saaa hot here hahahaha 02/02/2013

Foil board in and chipboard going down 02/02/2013

The last of the chipboard 02/02/2013

Finally all the chipboard is down - the boys are marking out the rooms 02/02/2013

This weekend (yep, we're pretty much limited to weekend work) the frames are being built, so hopefully I'll be able to walk into all the rooms and really get a feel for the house... and how to decorate it!



Just so you can get a feel for where we live, here are some recent pics of the beach near our block (3km away). We might live a good hour of so from Melbourne, but look at what we get instead...

Your basic 'just before the Summer storm' pic 29/11/2012

Gorgeous day at the beach 03/03/2013

If you have any stories about when you built your home, I would love to hear them xx