Got our slab poured on Thursday!!!!

Kit home arrives 7.30 am on Wednesday 8th October. My dad is coming up to help Mr Y and I start assembling it. Woo-hoo!!!!!

Oh dear. Thought I’d got the thumbnails, not the big photos. Sorry!!

See if this is the thumbnails:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_Sept08035.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_Sept08041.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_Sept08045.jpg

Learning curve … sorry again!

Hmm…

Phew! I think I figured it out at last.

Glad to have good news for you all :)

Hey Yeehah…. well done on the slab being laid:D

Oh yeah and the photos getting sorted out too;P

Kit home arrives 7.30 am on Wednesday 8th October. My dad is coming up to help Mr Y and I start assembling it. Woo-hoo!!!!!
——-
yabba dabba Yeehah.
great photos and it’s a nice big house site with lots of room around it.
is that last photo the eastern side?

Oh cool Yeehah :D
Ever closer eh :)

First photo from southwestern corner. Verandah along southern side to protect from summer sun.

Second photo from Northwest corner. Western side has no windows, will eventually have a carport built onto it. Park car under western carport, walk along southern verandah to enter house through the laundry. I relocated the loo door so that we can leave our boots on to walk inside, into laundry, straight into loo, without having to go through the main part of the house.

Third photo from northeast corner. This is the loungeroom corner, window on eastern side and huuuge sliding glass door on northern side of loungeroom. I was planning an attached greenhouse off the north one day, but I didn’t realise we’d have such a built up pad for the house, thought this end would be at ground level! Eastern side (left edge on last photo) will have to have a big verandah one day :) :) :) (when we can afford it!!)

I’m VERY happy with how things have been going.

Gonna be ordering rainwater tanks on Monday, have found a reliable supplier. Found cheaper on the internet, but they’re not impressing me with their poor communications. Rather pay someone local a little bit more and be sure.

Got our slab poured on Thursday!!!!

Woo Hoo indeed!

I’m very envious.

Bubba Louie said:

I’m very envious.

It’s all good Yeehah!! Very exciting for you and good luck with it all :)

Bubba Louie said:

I’m very envious.

It’s all good Yeehah!! Very exciting for you and good luck with it all :)

At last! This is exciting!!

Dinetta said:

At last! This is exciting!!

Yes, and yes!

Got our slab poured on Thursday!!!!
———————-
Onward and upwards Yeehah.

Well done, congrats :)

Third photo from northeast corner. This is the loungeroom corner, window on eastern side and huuuge sliding glass door on northern side of loungeroom. I was planning an attached greenhouse off the north one day, but I didn’t realise we’d have such a built up pad for the house, thought this end would be at ground level! Eastern side (left edge on last photo) will have to have a big verandah one day
———-
the buildup is not too bad.
you certainly have a peaceful looking site with long range views – and tons of space.
the soil looks a bit sandy but i’m sure you will fix that.

good on you Yeehah…looks like a great place to live.
which kit are you buying?….or do you want to keep us in suspense? :)

pepe said:

the buildup is not too bad.
you certainly have a peaceful looking site with long range views – and tons of space.
the soil looks a bit sandy but i’m sure you will fix that.

I love the views, the only thing that’s missing is a mountain backdrop (I grew up in a village at the base of the Great Divide, huuuge towering hills/mountains, and they make me feel safe!). There’s a bit of a hill but it’s to the west of the house above the treeline so unless I walk down onto the flat area I can’t see it. Ah well, can’t have everything.

Soil is decomposed granite. I keep forgetting to soil test it for pH. Beautiful stuff though. Can’t wait to get my fingers into it! Will be easier to plant trees in than the cracking black clay that I had at my old place.

BTW the best thing that happened to me ALL WEEK was when I came home on Thursday and realised that the result of shovelling a bit of concrete was a BLISTER!!!!!!! I love that blister. It means that I actually did something to earn a blister. On my own house, even better. I showed lots of people my blister, and they all laughed at the fact I was overjoyed to have it. I am really looking forward to aching muscles, blisters, cracks in my fingers, bugger-all fingernails that are caked with dirt … sheer bliss :)

aquarium said:

good on you Yeehah…looks like a great place to live.
which kit are you buying?….or do you want to keep us in suspense? :)

Actually I’ve posted it before but you musta bin elsewhere ;)

From this company:
http://www.paal.com.au/

This floor plan, but altered a bit:
http://www.paal.com.au/kit-homes/lawson-3.asp

ohhh..excitement for you yeehah ..hope its all going along well

sweetpea2008 said:

ohhh..excitement for you yeehah ..hope its all going along well

Got to fill in forms for construction insurance tonight and find $1100. Got my tax refund, so the money’s there, just that I had other plans for it. Romantic stuff like new tyres for the car :P

Last day with internet.

veg gardener said:

Last day with internet.

Yep. Not sure when they’ll cut it off exactly, so I’m making the most of my last few hours!

Yeehah said:

veg gardener said:

Last day with internet.

Yep. Not sure when they’ll cut it off exactly, so I’m making the most of my last few hours!

yeah, wounder if i will kick over when it happens.

I work Mondays and Tuesdays, but we’ve taken the day off today for appointments. Hopefully I’ll get remember to put some photos on my usb stick and bring them down to the library (where I am typing from now) and update the blog.

Short update:

Mr Y and I met the PAAL semi-trailer at Glencoe at 6.20 am last Wed 8/10, it followed us out to the block and unloaded. Truck was gone by 8.30am. Mr Y and I spent a couple of hours storing the windows, doors, etc under cover, then started laying out the wall frames in the order they needed to be assembled. My dad (Pa to the grandkids, so I’ll call him Pa here) arrived just before midday, helped us finish laying out the wall frames, had lunch and then we got into it!

End of the Day 1 (Wed) we had the wall frames up for two rooms.

Day 2 (Thurs) we had the wall frames up for all but the big open lounge/dining/kitchen area.

Day 3 (Fri) we finished getting all the wall frames up and got the external walls all squared at floor level and dynabolted to the slab.

Day 4 (Sat) Mr Y finished squaring up all the internal wall frames and dynabolted them to the slab while I started assembling and bolting together the roof trusses. It rained at 1pm so we quit for the day. (It turns out it was the only shower all day according to the neighbours, but Littlemiss was with us and she wasn’t at her best so an early day was good for her.)

Day 5 (Sun) Mr Y had work so Pa, Littlemiss and I headed out, we got 2 hours in before it absolutely p-p-p-poured down. Before it rained, I discovered that we had been sent an incorrect bracing pack which slowed down the roof truss assembly.

Having Pa there has doubled our working speed, because he is the extra hand that holds things steady for one person while the other gets on with another job. Bloody brilliant. He’s got a dodgy knee, arthritis and a touch of gout so if something needs doing at floor level he’s happy to let one of us bend down!

Monday Mr Y and I both had work, yesterday I worked and Mr Y wrangled the demanding child (!) and cooked dinner, today it’s just as well we’re not out there because the weather is wet again.

Hopefully the replacement parts will turn up by courier today and the weather will be better (will check BoM shortly) and we’ll get back into it tomorrow. Need to plumb, square and brace the wall frames, and insert hundreds of tiny screws before we start putting the roof trusses up anyway, so we really just need a dry day to knock some of that fiddly stuff over.

So far, going well.

Will let youse all know when I’ve updated the blog!

it really is happening now, isn’t it. how exciting!

They even sent us a free polo shirt each. Navy blue with the company logo on the chest pocket. Guess what I’m wearing today as a conversation starter ;) ?

Yeehah said:

So far, going well.

Will let youse all know when I’ve updated the blog!

Awesome :) It must be such an amazing feeling, watching your own house go up!

geez – you are building it yourselves.
is it steel of timber frames you are working with?
well done detecting the wrong packet of fixings and replacing them so promptly – its those sorts of set backs that can ruin progress.
go yeehah and family.

Wow it’s all happening! Sounds as if it’s going well with only one minor setback so far. Crossing fingers for you that the rain falls at night until you’ve got a roof on!

http://yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com/

Just did a quick update – pictures are all squiffy and out of order, but I have to run and grab kids from school.

Weather report is good, will be back at it tomorrow :)

Thanks heaps for all the good wishes!!!!!!!

Looks good. Must be exciting to have something tangible to look at, instead of a big blank bit of dirt.

SueBk said:

Looks good. Must be exciting to have something tangible to look at, instead of a big blank bit of dirt.

Understatement of the year ;)

I’m back in the library today, finishing off a MYOB unit “A step by step approach to Processing Payroll”. Weather is crap, rang a neighbour at 8am to see whether it was wet out at the block, she said it was spitting rain, which is no good for operating a generator.

Weather report on the radio said clearing this afternoon, BoM says:

(70 km south of the block) ………………………. Armidale : Fine. Mostly sunny. Max: 17
(30 km north of the block – where we live): .. Glen Innes: Mostly fine, partly cloudy. Max: 18

We’ll be out there tomorrow come hell or high water because the replacement bracing thingy was delivered this morning, so no excuses!!!

Better get back to the MYOB ….. :-(

looking good Yeehah ………if only the weather helped you more….but then the garden would dry out

Hiyas,

Been going great guns on the house until last Sunday. It’s taken longer than we realised it would to get all of the squilllions of screws and bolts in where they are needed. All we need to do on the frame of the main part of the house is for Mr Y to get back up on the roof (he had two and a half days of walking around on the bottom of the trusses and had to quit because his feet, knees and back were killing him poor lad!) and put all the screws in the other side of the roofing battens.

Pa and I started on the verandah, which was just as well, because having increased the pitch of the roof has resulted in the verandah not fitting the way it’s supposed to. I rang the kit home people yesterday and they suggested a way of fixing it, and Mr Y went out to the house this morning to see if the suggestion would work, but he’s not hopeful. Apparently the drawings on the computer at the office of the kit home place all say that what they’ve told us will work … but Mr Y has taken photos (the camera on the mobile phone has come in handy at last!) and measurements to prove it ain’t gonna happen.

We have a few things we can go on with, but essentially we need the verandah frame finished before we can get onto the barge and fascia trim-out, then we can move to roof sheeting, install windows and external doors, then finally exterior wall sheeting to get the lock-up stage completed.

We need at least that done, plus the bathroom/loo lined and plumbing installed, before we move out to the block in 5 1/2 weeks’ time! I’m counting now!!!! To be precise, we’ll be handing in the keys on the rental house in 40 days’ time.

BTW I worked my last day at the accountant’s office two days ago, thought I’d be scratching for money. But yesterday I was offered some freelance work, designing resumes (earned my first $50!) and today I have a job interview. Ever feel like you’ve done the right thing? I do!

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

Here’s hoping these are the correct thumbnails:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_RIMG3295.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_RIMG3291.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_RIMG3277.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Yeehah/2008%20Avaleurus/th_RIMG3274.jpg

Too long since I did it last, try again:

Yeehah said:

Too long since I did it last, try again:

I’m very envious.

bubba louie said:

I’m very envious.

Bloody hard work, but very satisfying :)

I have now developed the ability to drill self-tapping metal screws in lef-handed! My upper arms are toning up nicely, even if I haven’t lost any weight.

Yeehah said:

Hiyas,

Been going great guns on the house until last Sunday. …BTW I worked my last day at the accountant’s office two days ago, thought I’d be scratching for money. But yesterday I was offered some freelance work, designing resumes (earned my first $50!) and today I have a job interview. Ever feel like you’ve done the right thing? I do!

good stuff :)

Yeehah said:

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

good grief! me, I am in favour of the occasional disciplinary smack. But you shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing!

Yeehah said:

bubba louie said:

I’m very envious.

Bloody hard work, but very satisfying :)

I have now developed the ability to drill self-tapping metal screws in lef-handed! My upper arms are toning up nicely, even if I haven’t lost any weight.

Prolly not, but your clothes might be fitting better?

Boy you don’t muck around…your progress is amazing!

bluegreen said:

Yeehah said:

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

good grief! me, I am in favour of the occasional disciplinary smack. But you shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing!

Given that Littlemiss displays temper tantrums that make a Tassie Devil look like a pussycat …

When a 9yo girl screams “you b**ch” in my face, I’m afraid I can’t walk away :(

Yeehah said:

bluegreen said:

Yeehah said:

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

good grief! me, I am in favour of the occasional disciplinary smack. But you shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing!

Given that Littlemiss displays temper tantrums that make a Tassie Devil look like a pussycat …

When a 9yo girl screams “you b**ch” in my face, I’m afraid I can’t walk away :(

As frustrating as it is, by today’s laws, you might just have to, or at least make sure her father is the one to dole out the punishment.

It really puts you in a difficult situation but I wouldn’t lay a hand on her again if I was you.

Better get going, I’ve had just over an hour on the internet doing non-work, non-banking, non-TAFE stuff (i.e. reading emails and checking blogs – had a big catchup on yours Lucky, I loooove your blog!) so I’m feeling extremely guilty. Better start on my list of things I must do downtown before I go home and hit the housework.

Mr Y and I have had 3 days in a row not working on the house and I’m feeling lazy!! Hit the housework yesterday, the bathrooms are cleaner than when we moved in, and the house had just been renovated. Wish the landlady would turn up today for an inspection, she’d be very happy with the state of the place. Except for the lawn – that’s today’s job though.

We camped out at the block 2 nights last weekend, so we worked from 8am – 6pm and only stopped for long enough to shove food into ourselves and the kids. And rescue Littlemiss from the “cubby” made out of pallets that fell down – no injuries, thank goodness! She’s a bloody brilliant kid 90% of the time, very inventive. The cubby is better since Mr Y hammered in a dozen star pickets to stop the cubby falling down again :)

bubba louie said:

Yeehah said:

bluegreen said:

Yeehah said:

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

good grief! me, I am in favour of the occasional disciplinary smack. But you shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing!

Given that Littlemiss displays temper tantrums that make a Tassie Devil look like a pussycat …

When a 9yo girl screams “you b**ch” in my face, I’m afraid I can’t walk away :(

As frustrating as it is, by today’s laws, you might just have to, or at least make sure her father is the one to dole out the punishment.

It really puts you in a difficult situation but I wouldn’t lay a hand on her again if I was you.

Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I’ll just have to play it by ear I’m afraid.

Her favourite trick is “just sitting”. When Mr Y has already left for work, we have to leave by a certain time to get her to school and me to work, and she “just sits” and refuses to do anything is when I hit a brick wall. When she’s in a mood neither reasoning nor threatening has any effect.

And funnily enough even though I’m the toughest parent in the house – Mr Y can be a walkover, which doesn’t help – she still sits on my lap, hugs me, tells me she loves me. I think respect is a big part of it. I’m consistent – even though that means I consistently have expectations about her behaviour. She knows that no matter what happens she can rely on me. I keep telling her I love her, I keep doing nice things for her, so she knows that I’m not a totally “wicked stepmother”. We get along really really well when she’s not in a mood. Having raised an Asperger’s boy (who’s doing well having flown the coop, I’m happy to say) I can see that Littlemiss has a lot of similar behaviours, and I am pretty sure she’ll grow out of them just like the Feral Teenager did. In the meantime…

Thanks for the advice though, BL, lovely to have people looking out for me!

Yeehah said:

bluegreen said:

Yeehah said:

Another BTW – Littlemiss’s mother told the police that I have been smacking Littlemiss, and the police interviewed Littlemiss. She told Mr Y and I this on Monday so Mr Y is onto the solicitors again. I’m hoping that the fact I haven’t had the police knock on my door is because nothing will come of it, but it’s a shocker that I’m living in fear of it happening. Go the happy pills!!!

good grief! me, I am in favour of the occasional disciplinary smack. But you shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing!

Given that Littlemiss displays temper tantrums that make a Tassie Devil look like a pussycat …

When a 9yo girl screams “you b**ch” in my face, I’m afraid I can’t walk away :(

Cripes… :(

I thought they were still supposed to be sugar and spice and all things nice at 9 :(

Yeehah said:

Too long since I did it last, try again:

nice work – getting nearer.
- you might be expected to cut off the overhanging rafters to fit the verandah on at the right height ?

Yeehah said:

Too long since I did it last, try again:

wow…. must say this is egg-citing…..

Lucky1 said:

Yeehah said:

Too long since I did it last, try again:

wow…. must say this is egg-citing…..

starting to come togthere now.

Cripes… :(

I thought they were still supposed to be sugar and spice and all things nice at 9 :(
=======================================================

Oh I don’t know: one of mine started pushing the boundaries about then…she’s 20 now and just starting to settle down…tell you what, all that nagging pays off (re housework and $aving, etc)…so my boys have been getting a double dose the last few days…

Dinetta said:

Cripes… :(

I thought they were still supposed to be sugar and spice and all things nice at 9 :(
=======================================================

Oh I don’t know: one of mine started pushing the boundaries about then…she’s 20 now and just starting to settle down…tell you what, all that nagging pays off (re housework and $aving, etc)…so my boys have been getting a double dose the last few days…

I don’t think I caused my mum any trouble until I was 12 or 13!! However maybe I have blocked out the memory :) Or more likely, I figured the boys were trouble enough….

Dinetta said:

Cripes… :(

I thought they were still supposed to be sugar and spice and all things nice at 9 :(
=======================================================

Oh I don’t know: one of mine started pushing the boundaries about then…she’s 20 now and just starting to settle down…tell you what, all that nagging pays off (re housework and $aving, etc)…so my boys have been getting a double dose the last few days…

Bimbo says compared to her friends…she was an angel….not in my books……

Without going into it all…. girls become human about 21 years of age…maybe a bit sooner.

Gilrs remember the fight for days, don’t talk to the person who pissed them off……. boys hit a wall and are normal again…….

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Cripes… :(

I thought they were still supposed to be sugar and spice and all things nice at 9 :(
=======================================================

Oh I don’t know: one of mine started pushing the boundaries about then…she’s 20 now and just starting to settle down…tell you what, all that nagging pays off (re housework and $aving, etc)…so my boys have been getting a double dose the last few days…

I don’t think I caused my mum any trouble until I was 12 or 13!! However maybe I have blocked out the memory :) Or more likely, I figured the boys were trouble enough….

Me I was always trying to please when I was a kid…… Only had my sister for a playmate….. outback was my oyster.

Lucky1 said:

Without going into it all…. girls become human about 21 years of age…maybe a bit sooner.

Gilrs remember the fight for days, don’t talk to the person who pissed them off……. boys hit a wall and are normal again…….

Geez – that really doesn’t describe my family!! Mind you, we are a bunch of weirdos.

Oh lovely Yeehah , coming along nicely :)

Pity about the smacking allegation, I hope it all soothes over.

I’d hate to say what I would have done had one of my girls ever said those words to me..in addition to being grounded for 35 years.

Happy Potter said:

Oh lovely Yeehah , coming along nicely :)

Pity about the smacking allegation, I hope it all soothes over.

I’d hate to say what I would have done had one of my girls ever said those words to me..in addition to being grounded for 35 years.

It’s a tricky situation when it’s not your child though. Being the stepmother must suck.

Being the stepmother must suck.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It’s hard being a “step”… some friends of mine were wonderful parents: the children were his and theirs…treated them all the same…his (in their late teens) spat the dummies after a couple of years…I think one just needs to be consistent about the boundaries…

Thanks for all the feedback re the difficult child. I realise I’m not alone, I did get the Feral Teenager to legal adult age without killing him – or him killing anyone else!

Library shuts in 2 mins, gotta be quick.

Spent Fri Sat Sun with Pa and Mr Y working on the house. All framing is finished, got the verandah glitch sorted, have had many long discussions about little details that aren’t very clear in the kit home manual, but we get there in the end.

poured rain last night, Mr Y and I were in the tent, coupla leaks, nothing serious.

Hope to get back out there tomorrow – maybe tent will be dried out a bit! We had an important meeting with Family Court person Wed but they cancelled so hopefully will have Wed as well. Kids home after Wed so shorter days working on the house to fit school hours.

Hopefully in the next week will get roof sheeting on.

35 days till we hand in the keys to the rental house, so we’re spending every spare minute on it.

Pa’s gone home, won’t be back till mid December so Mr Y and I are on our own!

I’ll put the bad news first …….
We had an appointment with the solicitors today. My Legal Aid application was knocked back (because I had the $ in the bank to pay the kit home people!) but Mr Y’s was approved – go figure. So after the update on where both Family Court cases are at (one for Littlefella aged 11yo, one for Littlemiss aged 9yo in case anyone missed the saga) we have new outstanding $s. Keep in mind that I’ve already paid out $12,000 … we’re now owing another $20,000 between us! So apart from the fact that we need to build the house so we have somewhere to live, we need to get it to the stage where we can borrow against it to pay our legal bills!!

SO HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS:

We’ve nearly got the roof finished!!!

We would have got it done yesterday but the wind got far too gusty and Pa went home (yes, I know I said he was gonna be away for a month but he surprised us by coming back – and he said he’ll drive back for 5 hrs from the coast next week to help finish the roof! Amazing man my dad!)

So without Pa, today Mr Y finished putting all of the screws in the verandah roof sheets, hopefully tomorrow he will get the rest of the screws in the sheets that are up already. About half of the screws are in, enough to stop the sheeting blowing off, but obviously they ALL need to be in!

Plumber is coming out with the bobcat man on Friday to whack into the drainage.

Next Tuesday the council building inspector comes to inspect the frame. Hope it’s all ok or else!

Next Thursday could be big – truck arrives with all the plasterboard and insulation (etc) for the inside of the house. And the 22,000 litre tank arrives.

Between now and then I have to buy the toilet, taps, vanity; hope the laundry tub arrives in that I’ve ordered; hope that the refurbish kit for the bath arrives so we can get into that.

Saturday 22nd we have a garage sale – need to get the house all cleaned out and sorted before then so we ONLY keep what we’re going to be taking with us.

Sunday 23rd Telstra sub-contractor comes to install/hook up phone, need to set up for Telstra to hit “go” for the phone to work on Monday 24th!!!

Haven’t got time to scratch myself, certainly haven’t got time to do any paid employment for the next 3 1/2 weeks. My MYOB teacher is my new boss and she’s very understanding, thank goodness.

Yeehah, won’t the solicitor agree to regular monthly payments until the bill is settled? That’s what I suggest to some of our private clients sometimes, and it works rather well.

Good new about the progress of your new home, and kudos to “Pa” for coming all that way to lend a hand…

Thanks for the update. You do sound very organized and energetic.

youse lot are certainly pushing ahead.

best of luck with the inspection and future progress.

Wow Yeehah, I need a lie down after reading all you’re doing! Rotten news about the legal aid stuff etc.
The house news is very exciting, hope all goes according to plan. Good luck!

Dinetta said:

Yeehah, won’t the solicitor agree to regular monthly payments until the bill is settled? That’s what I suggest to some of our private clients sometimes, and it works rather well.

$20,000 would take us at least 5 years to pay off! And I don’t want it hanging over my head, to be honest. We’ll whack it on the mortgage and be done with it. Solicitor said he’ll discount it if we get it paid before Christmas, so I’ve made an appointment with the credity union to refinance in mid-December. Need to locate a valuer though. And of course we’ll have to get lots done so that when the valuer waves his magic wand he comes up with a number we like, because as owner-builders we can only borrow 60% of the value of the house/land.

When I’m having a good day I can shrug it off, but other days I feel like sitting down and crying a lot.

Having the house growing before my eyes is a real motivator, though. On the weekend I pushed Mr Y to work ridiculous hours – just like I was! – because the weather forecast was for lots of rain. So we worked till 8pm Sat night, then till 6pm yesterday (Sun), and as we drove away from the block that last shower seemed to settle in for a decent downpour, as if to say “well done, good work, but it’s time to rest now so I’ll throw down some wet stuff to make you take time off”!

Even though there are little things happening that make me say some very bad words at times, I’m really having a bloody brilliant time playing with our house-sized construction toy!!

Little bit of an update, no photos I’m afraid:

www.yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com

Couple of new updates on the blog:

www.yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com

GTG, cyas!!

Yeehah said:

Couple of new updates on the blog:

www.yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com

GTG, cyas!!

Oh well done, Yeehah!

I’ve never seen a HWS in the ceiling cavity before, but then they are plumbing through the ceiling cavity these days as most houses are now built on concrete slabs…

Looking great Yeehah :D .. love the ‘ hot water forever’ bit :)

Dinetta said:

Yeehah said:

Couple of new updates on the blog:

www.yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com

GTG, cyas!!

Oh well done, Yeehah!

I’ve never seen a HWS in the ceiling cavity before, but then they are plumbing through the ceiling cavity these days as most houses are now built on concrete slabs…

i think yeehah has connected her hws to the slow combustion – in which case the tank has to be mounted in the ceiling. its better than solar heating because in winter, when the water is coldest, the waste heat does more warming than the sun.
looking good yeehah – youse guys have really moved fast.

pepe said:

Dinetta said:

Yeehah said:

Couple of new updates on the blog:

www.yeehahsgarden.blogspot.com

GTG, cyas!!

Oh well done, Yeehah!

I’ve never seen a HWS in the ceiling cavity before, but then they are plumbing through the ceiling cavity these days as most houses are now built on concrete slabs…

i think yeehah has connected her hws to the slow combustion – in which case the tank has to be mounted in the ceiling. its better than solar heating because in winter, when the water is coldest, the waste heat does more warming than the sun.
looking good yeehah – youse guys have really moved fast.

Our HWS used to be up beside the slow combustion. We’re talking the high-set queenslander house of my childhood here.

That is a very interesting point, that the HWS will warm the ceiling cavity during the winter. We turn the mains power on for the HWS during the winter, as the sun will keep the HWS warm and the mains power only kicks in if the water gets too cool…

That is a very interesting point, that the HWS will warm the ceiling cavity during the winter.
—————————————————-
i think a couple of 32mm diam copper pipes connect the heater’s wet back direct to the elevated hws. not sure?

Hi all, another sigh rainy day. Mr Y and I are packing up the house and transferring as much furniture etc into the storage shed as possible in between rain showers.

Will take more photos as we go, not sure when I’ll get in to the library to upload them though.

We have hired some big trestles and 6m long planks so we can work on the external cladding above window and door height tomorrow, a neighbour who is a builder is coming over to hang the two external doors, another has made a state-of-the-44-gallon-drum mailbox as a moving in present (stunning, will have LOTS of photos of that!), all to be done tomorrow.

Monday internal gyprock and insulation arrives after lunch.

Tuesday plumber comes to hook up tank (finally arrived yesterday, forgot to take the camera out to the block with me though) – 22,000 litre/5,000 gallons. I spent an hour or so carting buckets of water up the stepladder, got about 300 litres of water tipped in, wondered why I was buggered last night and went to bed early!! Plumber also has to jackhammer concrete where he buggered up the laundry waste and toilet waste, told him he has to do it before we move in the following weekend, don’t want concrete dust everywhere while we’re camping in the house!

Tuesday morning Telstra comes to hook up phone. Will believe it when it happens!!

We need to get as much wall linings up as possible while we’re out there (once roof has the last little bit of trim on it and the external walls are all clad). Got so much to do it’s scary, but at least when we get out there we won’t have to be worrying about travelling back and forth. Kids can catch the school bus at 7.45am and get home at 4.30pm, will make a decent day for us.

I’m getting sick of tinned food though ;)

Sold the 420Litre Westinghouse upside-down fridge today, we’re on a 38 litre camp fridge now. Oh my goodness this is gonna be an adventure!!!

No time to read your posts, sorry, library is about to close so must away.

Will talk to Mr Y about the HWS and when I have more time will post info plus photos. Keep in mind that $2800 stove plus hws plus having pipes fitted into stove plus flue kit plus freight from Vic cost just under $5,000 – so we’d better have FREE hot water forever!!