The pool is open for business!

After many hours spent by the Sandhurst Crew and Stevie B, we had a beautiful setting for our very first swim in our fantastic new pool. Hard to believe that only a week earlier it was so murky and green... amazing what some great advice from Ze Pool Man can do (oh and a lot of chemicals and some elbow grease from Bikeman!). We swam and it was GREAT! It was a little chilly to begin with but Pink was in there, straight out no hesitation. It could have had ice floating in it and she would have been in there regardless. Blue had a wonderful time, he has been waiting sooooo long for this pool to be up and ready. And just in time, with a few 35+ days in a row it was the perfect antidote to a hot day (or days)! In the days following we have had lots of visitors which we are really pleased about - why have a pool if you can't share it with friends? Not enough words to describe how much fun it has been. Amazing. Cooling. Delightful. Friends. Perfect.

What's been happening at 'The Block'

Firstly Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope that 201o finds you healthy and happy. A lot has happened at 'The Block' over the last few weeks. Firstly I have reverted to calling it 'The Block'. Firstly it is helping me mentally get back into work mode and secondly it requires further explanation when I say 'home' so that way it is clear! Anyway, we and a variety of our wonderful friends and family have been very busy. Carpets went in thanks to Steve J (they look great) and the pool has the filter and pump attached so would be swimmable if it wasn't so murky. Nothing that a bit of attention from the pool vaccuum and some big time chemicals won't fix! Big thanks to the Sandhurst Crew for fronting up New Years Day after a big night the night before to work their butts off all day to get the fancy plumbing work done. Then came the storm, just minutes after the Sandhurst Crew had downed tools for the day (at 7.20pm I might add) and we were able to watch the most spectacular lightning show that I have seen in some time. Fantastic! Stevie B and his myriad of beasts (machinery, not children!) arrived a couple of days later after the soil had dried out to move around a whole heap of crushed rock. The result: around the pool is now flat and even, able to be walked on without the fear of being held hostage by mud as you walk around. The outside is pretty much now ready for paving/concrete and around the pool is nearly ready for the concrete beam required. Looks FANTASTIC! And not to mention that the Sparkies were back in on Christmas Eve to add in another light at the front (drilling through the wall at 7.30am - not good while suffering from a hangover from the street Xmas Party from the night before!) and powerpoint to the front and the back area (for the pool). And the roofers were back in to finish the downpipes. I've had a heap of 'spakfilla' helpers - Nana P and Jordan B, thanks to you both for your sanding/spakfilla efforts. And unmentioned previously was Orange (cousin of Pink and Blue) who helped me paint the front entrance way and did a GREAT job! Oh and in between all that I finally painted my last wall - our bedroom. Hurrah! Not content with all that walls had to offer, I have moved on to skirting boards and architraves and eventually will finish the doors as well. I must say the rooms look much more finished now with the skirts/arcs painted. All the carpeted areas are now done, apart from doors, so as a result we moved our bed and Blue's bed in over the weekend. And a heap of toys, to keep the billy lids happy while we frantically try and finish it all. Oh ...... and last but definitely not least : we have CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY!!! Meaning that officially we can move in - which we had planned to do before now but we're just not quite ready. So hopefully now we will be in over the next 2 weeks - probably gradually, each time we go up we'll take another load. And in between all that we had Xmas in the Mount and New Years at home. Is it any wonder we're looking a bit weary? Looking forward to being able to lay my hat at the new house and call it 'home'. Fancy Plumbing by the Sandhurst Crew, designed by Mrs B Skirting, Architraves, Carpet and a bed! Starting to look like a real room - Blue's Room. Even sheets as curtains!

Our bedroom - pink post it hearts courtesy of Pink. 'Up high so the babies can't get them' - not sure what babies but a cute thought. Very nice to have carpet underfoot and a real bed to sleep on!

Stevie B in the midst of moving around crushed rock. By the end of the day was all level around the pool.

Thanks to all our helpers we are soooooo lucky to have such wonderful people around to help us. Happy New Year to you all and my New Years Resolution for this year: To spend more time with my family and friends. And not so much on the bloomin' house!

Current pics

Excavation around the pool and rock placement View from the back (the new 'hill' - the water tank!)

Driveway ... love the shape!

Bikeman and the kids getting their feet wet. Looks so much better down that side with the excess dirt removed, a much more usable area.

Tropical Cyclone Romsey

Ok well it wasn't quite a cyclone. But there was one helluva lot of water!! And unfortunately our downpipes aren't quite connected yet so the water coming off the roof near the pool was spewing straight into the pool hole, and thus the pool. And although Blue exclaimed 'Oh there's water in the pool we should have bought our bathers' it wasn't really swimming weather or clear water for swimming! The first photo was taken when we first arrived at the house this morning, after heavy downfall of rain most of the night: And then approx 4 hours later, the water was continuing to rise. I thought Bikeman might actually have a conniption.

Thankfully our new friends the 5D's down the road had a pump that they very kindly offered for us to use. So off Bikeman went to collect....

...and as we had to get it into the deep part into the water he went. And it was c-c-c-cold! First swim in the pool, not quite as he expected. I had the camera trained on him in the hope he would go a-over-t and I would get some great 'falling in the water' shots. But alas, not this time.

This was taken right when it was absolutely pouring down. Everything was absolutely saturated and there was a river flowing outside in the street. You can see the water pouring into the pool hole on the LHS of the photo.

This shows how much water there was on the other side of the house - out the laundry door. Drainage not in properly yet, but even so I didn't see it get that high even during winter. Why did we spend all that money on a swimming pool when we could have just used this side of the house???

Wet old Romsey. Rain is good but not in such titanic proportions and not when we're waiting to finish our pool! Oh and having our tanks in would have been great .... never mind... at least our tank at home is full now.

Another busy week on the cards - electrical, more plumbing (outdoors) and flooring towards end of week. It's actually starting to look like a real house!

The pool is a-happening!

In the stinking heat of last week we had two very important visitors to our little patch of dirt - Dean the digger and Ze Pool Man (aka Mr Baird from the Sandhurst Crew). Dean worked like a navvy, removing a whole heap of dirt from the hole and creating just the perfect size to fit the pool. There were a few rocks along the way, but nothing that needed the rock breaker, but enough that he sheared through two of the bolts holding on the arm at the end of the loader - not good! So he was hampered a little while waiting for replacement bolts. Meanwhile our good friend Ze Pool Man was busy plumbing the in-floor cleaning system ready for it to be dropped in the ground. I, having suffered my little fall just a few short days before, wagged painting and just ran to hardware store as required, made some followup phone calls and made sure the boys were fed and watered.

So, in the end ... the pool was placed in the ground the next day with a minimum of fuss (well apart from the big tipper truck nearly ending up in the hole - but that's another story)... ready for some more plumbing this week and then some water! Woo hoo!! Photos to come soon....

Current update - where are we up to?

Well I've been painting now for what seems like an ETERNITY and it's getting closer (albeit slowly!) At least one coat is on all rooms except study and spare rooms (they'll be last - they're housing all the doors at the moment!), and I'm going to finish the final ceiling coat in the kids room, hallway and theatre room tomorrow. Then I will be able to paint the kids walls (they are really excited!) and the hallway, as well as the family/dining room walls. Bikeman has finished painting the verandah out the front ready for the roofer to come in next week and finish the roofing as well as all the guttering (yay! no more puddles on the ground when it rains). Verandah painting (now finished)

Painting the bulkhead above the cabinetry

Tiler has been in today to do the waterproofing, ready for tiling next week.

Painted hallway (undercoat)

So what's to come.....

Tiling - tiler (Daniel & son) to be back on the weekend (he's a good man, working weekends to get the job done!)

Electrical - Sparky will be back in tomorrow to pretty much finish the rest of the electrical. I don't even care at this point that the painting isn't finished. Just need to get things moving!

Plumbing - Hopefully Snr and Jnr will be back in over the next 2-3 weeks to finish off the plumbing fit off and installing the rainwater tank and associated plumbing. Will all depend on other subbies and when they are able to finish their bits and pieces

Pool - yes, where is the pool? Pool shell manufacturer not very forthcoming as to when shell will actually be delivered (was supposed to be this week). Hole will most likely be started next weekend, so hopefully it will arrive sometime around then! Driveway will also be started when the pool hole is dug (soil to be transferred) and big pile of dirt up the back to be spread out ready for the tank to be installed.

Timber flooring - mid-end November, once all the other trades have finished (and we have Certificate of Occupancy - $$$$!!)

Laundry Cabinetry - mid November

Progress! Kitchen, floor, tiling, laundry and POOL update!

Wow we've had a lot of progression over the last couple of weeks. Kitchen: ordered and will be delivered mid-October Flooring: very close to ordering flooring - definitely timber floors in a mid-brown colour, just deciding on supplier and whether to get them to install or Bikeman..... will all come down to $!! Will either be installed just before the kitchen or just after. Tiling: Met the tiler onsite to go through where tiles will go etc. Have decided on a chocolate coloured 400 x 400 tile for all wet areas on the floor, and also on the walls in the showers and around the bath. Will have a smaller 300 x 100 white tile as a feature tile between the vanities and the mirror, and around the bath. Also a small rock pebble strip between the white tiles as a feature. Tiling will be done just after kitchen/cabinetry.

Laundry: prices have come in a little higher than budget for the laundry, so working on different ideas for finishes to bring the price down a little. Very close though... Pool: We ordered our pool! It's very exciting, should be with us mid-Oct as well. My that's going to be a busy couple of weeks! Now, if only we can get the sun to shine :)