Trixee's Passive Solar Build Perth

Melsie68 · Aug 14, 2014 3:32 pm

I probley would be crying lol . When I left my house that I had lived in for 11 years I was a mess lol .

trixee · Aug 14, 2014 3:43 pm

lol Melsie! Might need a consolation/celebratory drink tonight hey :wink:

AKB · Aug 14, 2014 4:34 pm

trixee

I'm dreading it, it's not that I'm particularly fond of the house, but it's just so final!

no turning back now :-)

asha · Aug 14, 2014 4:57 pm

You will be fine trixee

im sure a few drinks will help tho

trixee · Aug 14, 2014 5:14 pm

A few drinks always help :lol:

though maybe I should leave it until after I finish filling in the million forms they've sent me!

Slightly Random · Aug 14, 2014 10:01 pm

I remember that feeling of trepidation - after thinking and dreaming and saving and planning for so long, all of a sudden I started thinking "OMG, are we REALLY doing the right thing??" ::hyst::

Once the demo was all booked in and then when we saw the old place gone, it felt really liberating. Also a little scary when arrived to see them knock down the last vertical wall and realise we really were at the point of no return, but mainly liberating - from the old memories and worries and stresses and the chance to start afresh.

I love your plan and wish we'd thought to do something similar - the front of our block faces north so it would have allowed us to catch a bit more sun with the angled windows facing NE instead of directly E. Oh well - what we've got will still be a million times better than what we had before in terms of efficiency and comfort!

The coffee bar is a brilliant idea - I have a coffee station planned for the new kitchen and DH is looking forward to me being able to make a coffee without getting in his way while he's making dinner ::lol::

ardie514 · Aug 14, 2014 10:09 pm

Congrats on getting demo sorted. Can start new one now!!!! I'm sure you've had a few drinks by now. Good luck.

joannek · Aug 14, 2014 10:37 pm

No going back now. Congratulations. When will the slab be laid?

trixee · Aug 15, 2014 12:35 am

So I've filled out 4 forms tonight, plus an online one - it's one glass per form right?

@SR - I'm looking forward to the feeling of liberation, I think it will be a big stress relief. The coffee bar is one of the main things I'm looking forward to (although I think I say that about everything :lol:

@ardie - Thanks, just making a bluddy decision was the hardest bit I think!

@joanne - Thanks, no idea about the slab though. My current estimate puts demolition as being finished around end of September, but we still haven't signed the final contract or got finance finalised (it's pre-approved, but we can't get it until we have contracts to give the bank). And we still have some outstanding questions that builder needs to get back to us about. Hopefully we can get this sorted soon, we're pushing but it takes forever to get an answer back. So anyway, with any luck we'll have a slab before Christmas!

housebythewater · Aug 15, 2014 12:43 am

Good work Trixee! I think any forms connected to building/demo need to be done stone-cold sober. So many tricks for beginners in there. On the other hand, I think you'll need a whole bottle for actual demo day. I look forward to seeing the blurry photos.

trixee · Aug 15, 2014 12:45 am

lol HBTW I think I agree, I've actually decided to save my allocation for tomorrow night, might break out a party hat too!

yvonneh · Aug 15, 2014 11:52 am

woohoo! it's happening...

trixee · Aug 15, 2014 3:18 pm

Sewer cut is being organised today and rat baiting will be done on Tuesday.

I also closed the electricity account today. They're expecting to send me a bill, but I'm expecting to get a refund from my solar panels as I haven't been in there for the last 6 months! :lol:

MalSannie · Aug 16, 2014 6:33 pm

Trixee I can understand it must be a bit emotional - as you say it is just so final whether you like the house or not! I think you deserve a bottle or two too - and I'll keep fingers crossed for a huge refund!

Marcia · Aug 17, 2014 4:21 pm

I couldn't do it ... It would break my heart so much. But I guess on the flip side, you get a beautiful new house to make memories in!!

When we renovated the house we are in (and just sold) it was a complete house rescue, right back to sand on the bathroom and laundry floor. I still remember the day we ripped out the kitchen, laundry and bathroom and sitting back surveying the damage, thinking what the heck have we done!! Certainly had no choice but to get a start on rebuilding it coz no one would buy it in the state it was in. The most daunting day of my life for sure, even more daunting than our wedding!

Love your plan, it's very clever and even though it's full of angles, once in the house you would never know. Looking forward to seeing this one grow!

Rache · Aug 17, 2014 4:43 pm

Hey trixee. What a fabulous plan - both brave and clever I think. Looks like you have just got on the emotional rollercoaster of building, with a demo thrown in as well! Good luck with it all..I will be joining you for the ride!

trixee · Aug 17, 2014 5:16 pm

Thanks Malsannie, Marcia, and Rache!

Marcia - wow that's some renovation! We did consider what would be involved if we did a reno instead, and it turned out to just be too difficult and expensive to achieve what we wanted to, so KDR it is.

trixee · Aug 17, 2014 5:21 pm

Went back to the house today to do a few bits and pieces before demo. I still need to move some stuff out, just old bits of... stuff that we're going to do a garage sale for.

We have an ancient lemon tree there that was full of lemons, so I picked as many as I could. And underneath that we'd planted some sweet potato, so dug that all up. Unfortunately the harvest was not as bountiful as I'd hoped.

We also have a massive philodendron right near the fence outside what will end up being our bedroom sliding door, which would be great to keep (it requires no maintenance whatsoever), and is practically impossible to dig up, so we're going to tape it for the demo guys to save. Hm, should have taken a picture.

Dukecaddy · Aug 18, 2014 6:46 pm

Hi Trixee,

Signing up for this build, should be very cool

Does the sliding servery window come with sliding fly screens? If so I think that's more useful than a bifold servery as flies in the kitchen really give you the irrits!

bradster181 · Aug 18, 2014 7:07 pm

Out with the old and in with the new!
It will be worth it