Am I crazy? OB near Port Macquarie

Gyprocking now complete. Here is the finished kitchen which, like the rest of the GF, is awaiting platestering - sorry about the scaff in the way.



And the living area looking towards the bathroom and bedroom 2. Not the casing bead finish on the top of the walls - no cornices, just a nice clean finish to the ceiling once the walls and bead are painted.



The living area looking back to the window on the north east side, plasterer getting ready to start (tape hanging off wiring)......



Living area looking north....




And more below.....

Bed 2 looking to wardrobe.....


And now he is hard at work........



Steve doing some last minute laser checks and ensuring everything is dead straight. My laser purchase has been incredibly useful for so many things. They have come down in price a lot in recent years and become better quality too - I would recommend this A-Line laser with 360 degree lines vertical and horizontal for under $500.

The casing on the top of the wall sheets looks brilliant.
I hate it when I see these small but great ideas after my own build... Still a nice option over standard sq set.
I can only imagine that the the wall and ceiling sheets must be extremely level /straight to get away with that finish.
I'm really liking all these little things you've done that really highlight the value of OB.

Thanks SteveMC. Yes, it will look very good when it is painted. It was suggested by the plasterer who is a friend from the Mens Shed of which I am a member. He started plastering 45 years ago and learnt all the traditional methods. It is not as hard as you might think but it does take a little more time and effort. The casing bead is a U shaped channel on which the back side is angled inwards about 10-15 degrees to grip onto the gyprock. The front lip of the channel is longer than the back. You cut the gyprock about 5mm or so short of the ceiling and push the channel down over the top. The slide the gyprock into place resting it on the piece below and fix as usual. Then push up the casing bead against the ceiling with a screwdriver etc - there is enough length in the sides of the bead to allow filling of the gap between gyprock and ceiling while remaining gripped on the gyprock. We chamfered off the back edge of the beads at the ends on long walls where strips had to but up to each other (they were 3m strips) so they would butt tightly together.

It takes just a little more care with cutting and a small amount of fiddling to get right, but not much once you get used to it.


Given that the Versiclad ceiling it still covered in plastic, I can paint the edges without having to cut in - just paint up to the ceiling then cut around the edge to remove the plastic later. Pre-masked!! Plus the door jambs, architraves and skirtings are not yet on, making painting a much quicker job, particularly since I am doing 3 coats - primer and two topcoats.

You are right, these little touches make an OB just that bit better. I am considering doing a shadow line finish at the tops in the house - that would add some time for the plasterer, but the end result would be very good. And even considering doing a full skim coat of plaster on the gyprock, not just joins and nail holes. This gives a much better overall finish and is how it was done in the old days, but would add about 30% to the plasterer's time as well. I'll see how the money goes!

Plastering all complete and sanded now.

Kitchen ready to be painted tomorrow prior to install of cupboards early next week..



Living area looking to front corner.....painting this next week early....




Bed 2 looking towards wardrobe.....


Bed 2 looking towards opposite wall......



Bed 1 looking towards where bed will be under high window with view to bushland.....




And the bathroom. This will be tiled to the ceiling......



Living area looking back to the kitchen area to the left with window over where sink will be, the front sliding door to outside



Despite some of the usual problems, including some stuffups by Bunnings kitchens which means most of the upper cabinets won't go up for a few weeks, things are progressing OK, just a bit slower than I would like. I was hoping that the granny flat would be ready to move into by end of next week with just a few things to finish off such as blinds and maybe some architraves etc. But I don't think that will happen now. The following week I will be going away to Cairns for a week's well deserved break.

Unfortunately, a week ago i feel off a trestle - well actually, I stepped down onto a milk crate that wasn't there and went arse over. I put out my hand to stop my head hitting the concrete and that really hurt my left hand. I left it for a week hoping it would heal, but had to go to the doctor the other day. An X_Ray and visit to Emergency later and my wrist is set in plaster - broken scaphoid bone. Bummer! Still in pain but it is now fairly immobile.

So a bit slowed down, but I can still paint with my right hand! I am keen to get into the granny flat before it gets too warm here. The shed gets quite hot when the temp goes above 30 C and the aircon just can't cope.

Wish me luck!

I've just sat here and read your blog from the beginning, what a great read! Loved reading all of your ups and downs

That "school gym" roof is massive!! What a statement it makes!!

We live up the road from you in Port and are about to start our first build with Coral homes so i've been doing a lot of research and reading!

Side note - if you'd like a quote for blinds/shutters, fly screens, security screens or doors contact us - 1800 Blinds Port Macquarie

PM sent

OK, OK, so I am not dead. But I am just a little bit winged. The wrist was reasonably painful and I found that, surprise surprise, by doing too much, it hurt more. And presumably was not mending well. It was only in a half plastering so I still had some movement in it which meant the bone wasn't mending.

So off I go the following week to the Orthopedic clinic for a review and on goes a full plaster. But at least this time it is a waterproof one so I can shower, swim etc in it. But now my wrist and thumb can't really move and i can't grip things etc. Grrrr!

So I struggle on. But not before a fight to the death over 4mths with Telstra over getting a landline (which I don't really need) but it comes with ADSL2 (which I do need because the mobile reception is appalling here so I can't use my 60g mobile data). In the end I won, and I now have both. Telstra NIL, me ONE - Yea!!!! And that was after 5 mths battling the NBN, which they won by simply refusing to acknowledge my block existed. If I wrote a film script about it all, both Telstra and NBN, people would accuse me of making it up. Simply unbelievable. And such a huge waste of time on both sides, sometimes I was spending up to 3 hrs a day on the phone with them. Plus the TIO.

Meantime, building has progressed thanks to the efforts of trusty Steve on the job and me wandering around aimlessly trying to help as best I can. And my son Patrick came up from Canberra and helped with the painting and the tractor digging for the big tank. Nice to see him. I enjoyed having here.

Also a lot of time spent sitting in the office in the metal mansion doing the large amount of project management stuff that is required to build a house. Chasing product, harassing suppliers, investigating and choosing things, paying bills (why do people expect to be paid for selling me something or doing work for me??). I really underestimated the amount of time that needed to be spent on this sort of stuff. At least my years of working in the public service and as a consultant gave me the skills for it!

I also had a week's holiday up in Cairns/Port Douglas with my friend Alayne, which i desperately needed after the wrist thing, the battle with Telstra and continuous work on the house since New Year. I am looking forward to actual retirement......

Here's where I am up to.

Real signs of progress - the kitchen appliances arrived.



As did the kitchen - well, some of it - and install started.



Once again, this picture is a not so subtle plug for AEG powertools. I love them, and they must love me, given I have been such a good customer! They have been doing such a great job, and I have a wide range of them bought in packs on Powerpass specials at Bunnings.

Unfortunately, the saga of the kitchen turned out to be very problematic too. Various things not delivered, misinformation, things damaged because of poor tying down on the pallet, incorrect speccing, delays and more. Bunnings have been good to me up to now and apart from some slipups which did not affect my installs and were able to be sorted in time, the no significant problems. Unfortunately I cannot say the same from the point of view of the Kaboodle kitchen - the peoples knowledge and communication, system processes, reliability, some quality aspects and delivery all failed reasonable expectations. I have been speaking to my account manager who is responsive - hopefully things will change. The price was very good though. But I will be definitely buying a custom kitchen from a reputable local supplier for my house - the Granny Flat is a rental so I can cope with a few modest quality issues. And both Steve and I are pretty fussy, most people wouldn't notice what we see! For example, if you laser align vertically the drawer fronts on one side of the 3 drawer 900mm cabinet, the other side doesn't align - the fronts are not precisely cut to the same length, so you can align only one side. Who will see it? Me, and Steve.

These are the granite slabs at Edstein's factory which will provide both the benchtops for the kitchen and over the vanity and washing machine in the bathroom. The colour is a little stronger than the photo appears with the merest hint of a green in the grey - wasn't easy to capture with my phone camera.

On that note, although I haven't yet had the benchtop installed, I can say the service so far from Edstein Creative Stone at Taree (also at Sydney and Newcastle) has been fantastic. Most importantly, the cost of my granite kitchen benchtop, measured and installed by them, was only $200 more than Bunnings' uninstalled manufactured stone top. Easy choice. They were recommended by a neighbour who had two large kitchen benchtops installed which were just beautiful and an excellent service experience. And the cost is much lower than going through a kitchen place. Worth a look if you are owner building in their area.

BTW, I have no association with Edsteins of any kind, just impressed so far with my dealings with them.

Here is the granite I am considering for the house kitchen and laundry.

It may vary a bit from this slab, depending on what is available at the time. That is why they ask you to come to the factory to select the slabs you prefer at the time of measuring and cutting. The green is a bit stronger than this sample in the pic, and I am hoping to bring into the living area a bit more of the colours of the bushland against the neutral wall colour.

And the bathroom tiled, awaiting the roof painted, silastic seal around ceiling line (no cornices throughout the flat), fan install (a larger remote one in the ceiling for quietness and ducted to outside), frameless glass shower door going in around 15 Nov) and granite benchtop for the vanity into which the white ABEY Quadro sink will drop.





Shower alcove below. Shower rose and tap was bought at a remainders outfit at Mascot. They are also in the Shed Bathroom. Nice quality Italian items at $20 each (new $120-140). There are great bargains to be had if you are in the right place (Sydney - I was working there for 5mths last year) and have the time to search. Wish I had been in a position to search out more then. Maybe an excuse for a trip to Sydney to buy some stuff for the house?




Still need to buy bathroom accessories - towel rail, hooks for robes, shower shelf, cupboard, mirror etc etc.

Aim for completion of the flat is 20 November. Fingers crossed!

Oh your poor wrist! But it sounds like you're not helping it heal by trying to work haha! The nurse in me cringed at reading that you were still working with the half cast on!

Progress is looking good...I like the granite but what colour is your kitchen and laundry cabinetry?

Yes, I know, I know, I shouldn't be working with my crook wrist, but what can I do? Sit around and drink beer and play on the internet? Who would want to do that?

Err, maybe I won't answer that.

Anyway, I am impatient to get the granny flat finished so i can move into it and enjoy some comfort, after a year of building and about 2 years before that of mostly living on the block and travelling in my camper. It is getting hotter, lots of flies around and plenty of smoke from bushfires not so far away, so I want to be able to live in a well insulated place, with aircon as needed.

The cabinets in both are gloss white. Not exciting, but neutral and fresh looking. The wall colour throughout is White Beach Quarter, a light sandy colour. One wall in the lounge will be Red Terra, an ochre/terracotta colour to give a bit of a lift. And I have a red coffee machine and other appliances. In the end, though, this will be a rental so I wanted something crisp and clean looking.

Still trying to decide on the splashback tiles. Again, probably simple.

Thanks for your concern about my wrist. I will probably get told off by the Orthopedic Clinic on the 20th when i see them too!

I think your colour choices are great, neutral is best!

I can totally understand wanting a solid structure to live in after all that time in your camper. I hope you're safe from the fires where you are. It came quite close to us on Friday and my poor mum in-law lost her farm further north

BT-Hardy - sorry to hear about your Mum's loss. Really tough to lose property, animals etc. But hopefully she is safe. And you are all travelling ok. My tiler Jake's house was threatened at John's River near here and he was away working with his family at home. Two nearby houses to him went up and sadly a neighbour died. And I have some other friends who lost property.

I went through this in the Canberra bushfires and, while not burnt out, it was close and risky. I never want to repeat that experience.

My heart goes out to all those affected by these terrible fires. And tomorrow is looking like another terrible day.

Be prepared, and be safe.

So some more pics to keep you up to date.

Kitchen coming along. Waiting on some last bits from Bunnings.



Colour going on the feature wall - needs more coats.... and is very orangey.



Wall colour on living area - White Beach Quarter by Dulux. Has a little more creaminess in reality.



And in the other corner of living area.

And more.

Finished. It took 3 coats to cover. Top strip needs to be done but I can't reach and not getting up on scaffold (can't even move it on own) with crook wrist. Line on ceiling doesn't matter - still coated in plastic wrap. Will remove all later.




Floor going in......



And finished.









I like the figuring and grain. Possibly a little darker than I would prefer, but looks good and feels nice underfoot. It has a Dunlop acoustic guard underlay, it is good quality.Will fit skirtings over the top.

Getting closer. Looking good for finish next week.

Meantime, fire prep done, could be a bit risky tonight and lots of smoke around. Off to complete painting.

Looking good! I love the floor choice too

Glad to hear you've got a fire plan... I didn't have one until Friday last week when the apocalypse scenes hit Port!

Been a bit of a challenging week.

Firstly the bushfires. For those in living in the face of them, my thoughts go out to you. This level of fires, and their prolonged nature, is unprecedented, particularly at this time of year. So many people have been directly affected, whether by the fires themselves, loss of lives or property, the threat of fires, the loss of staff in their business to RFS volunteering or protecting their families and homes, the smoke and its health effects and as emergency services workers who have had to deal with the impacts and aftermath. Thankfully, here in Laurieton/Lakewood the fires haven't burnt into town, at least yet. I feel for all of you affected.

The fires have had some impact in terms of availability of goods and services, trades and deliveries. What's more, my delivery of a case of Pilsener Urquell, a lovely Czech Pilsener, has been held up too! It may not help fight a bushfire, but certainly would quench my fire. Oh well, these are trying times.



Work has progressed.To demonstrate how bad the smoke gets at times, here is a pic out the door of my shed on e morning. The fires were still at least 10kms away south and north.......



Carpet laid in Bed 1.



Another view.



Bed 2 done as well. Layer rells me that it is an interesting synthetic fibre. It feels more like wool than nylon, is very durable and cleans well, doesn't shed fluff and is made of 33% corn starch. Very popular for rentals. He has the more plush pile version in his own home. Oh well, if I get hungry.....


These are the tiles I have chosen for the kitchen splashback. Simple, with the texture they will add a bit of life but not clash with the colouring in the granite.

You can see in the pictures above of the Bedroom that the colour of the paint does not match the edging (and the earlier photos of the lounge/kitchen area) already painted in Dulux Whie Beach Quarter. The main colour is much darker, a greeny/grey. I am not sure I like it. When I opened the tin, it was pretty clear that the colour was wrong, but as I was running late from fire prep and the carpet was being laid the next day, I had no choice but to use it. As the curtains are also grey in a textured weave, I think the overall effect will be a dull greyness. But it means I will have to repaint at some point, probably before renting it out. Didn't finish until 10.30pm that night. Ah the joys of owner building! Not happy Jan.....

Mate, looking really good, but that is the opinion of Just a Carpenter.

Thanks - but what would Just a Carpenter know?(private joke!).

Still a bit to go and some interruption to proceedings from the bushfires which have been taking some of my time plus delaying some deliveries.

Still hoping I may be able to move into the Granny Flat by the end of the week but looking challenging at the moment.