From Concept to Reality April 2020
An idea sparks to life, ideas are jotted down, sketches drawn. The idea is refined, sketches become plans. Plans are made and then the process of development commences.
This is the usual process for any creation.
It may be an article of clothing, a piece of furniture, artwork, a house, basically anything. The process can be quick or long.
In the case of my artwork from idea to completed work it could be weeks or months.
In the case of my house it has been years.
When we purchased the house it was our intent to renovate, however we soon discovered that the structural issues were more substantial than we first thought. We were advised it was probably best to knock down completely that to try and salvage a few rooms. We came to the tough decision not to waste any more money on trying to fix her. We had already underpinned in parts, gutted the interior of ghastly cupboards, scrapped off peeling, old, ugly wallpaper that was everywhere, ripped out carpet, curtains & rewired.
Our house just after purchase in April 2011
Our goal was to build a house that was energy efficient, environmentally friendly, light filled, warm in winter without energy guzzling heating, cool in summer without the use of air conditioning and low or no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).
The kitchen was revolting and we stripped it bare, to make it habitable.
Stripping wallpaper off, my girls were so small then.
I am beginning this journal with this large project that my husband & I have been working on for four to five years and we are finally at the point now with the demolition of our old house. This journey is not for the faint hearted. When we commenced this project we had no idea how long it was going to take and the issues that we would face to get to this point. Even now as bricks are being knocked out to level the old house, we still are coming up against barriers. Council, surveyors, architects, builders, banks all these people that are fundamental in creating our vision, however they are also still finding issues that are required to be changed before we can commence.
I have at times just wanted to give up, sell and move on, but we have come so far and it has taken so much from us that we have to see this through.
To build a home that is not a mansion, not an architectural statement or a cookie cutter house but just a small suburban home that is environmentally friendly with sustainable and energy efficient components has been fraught with bureaucratic issues.
Our goal was to build a house that was energy efficient, environmentally friendly, light filled, warm in winter without energy guzzling heating, cool in summer without the use of air conditioning and low or no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).
Destruction commences finally April 2020
The heavy machinery is in for the slow demolition. Due to the difficult position of the house in proximity to the neighbours, this will take about a week to knock down & clear.
One week later the site is clear
We had spent many a weekends prior to this point removing and salvaging what we could to reuse in the new build. Floorboards, stain glass windows & bricks. We have about 3000 - 4000 bricks that require mortar to be chipped off, so many more weekends busy doing this but we think it will be worth it in the end. In the new house these materials will not be used as they were previously, the floorboards may become doors & shelves. The bricks will provide internal thermal mass as well as have character and I am yet to decide what to do with the windows.
Goodbye old house, hello new.