29 April 2013

1,400 views....

1,400 page views on the blog tonight. 400 in the last 20 days. Interesting how it ramps up! Thanks for your interest folks, wherever you are.

Monday rubbish day

I awoke at 2:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep, on a day that we had a couple of 9 cubic metre skips arriving, and two of us (Ken and I) loading both of them with the rubbish and debris that had accumulated again in what will become the main counselling room. Not a good start to the day, but I used the time wisely and started preparation of company policy documentation. I was at the rehab at 7:00 am, and with roller in hand, finished applying a third coat to the rear corridors. 

The skip arrived soon after that, and then the along came the guys doing the floors. I started getting rid of some of the rubbish pile, and before I knew it, Ken was there too. The day flew by.....but what an effort. Man, I ache.


Going....




going....


gone!!!


One of the skips....




Ken getting stuck in


Keep your eyes peeled for surprises 
(syringe in the middle).....


The floors have started to be sanded back.




28 April 2013

And now for the woodwork

We went down to the rehab to do some painting today. I managed to get 5 hours in. Just to make me feel better, I put a coat of "Toffee Fingers" brown on the woodwork in one of the corridors. Vic came with me and was cutting in the walls and corners of some of the rooms that I have done too. That will be a great help. Looking good though if I dare say so myself......I really cant wait for the floors to be done, and they start that tomorrow. Two 9 cubic metre skips to be filled and taken away tomorrow as well....that will be fun!


Looks so much better with a bit of contrast...



Sets it all off nicely....


27 April 2013

A presentation at Tabor College

I forgot to say that on Tuesday afternoon of last week, I was lucky enough to be invited by friend, colleague and brilliant counsellor Joy Anasta, to deliver a session with her Masters and Graduate Diploma in Counselling students at Tabor College as a part of her tutorials on addiction. Many of these people were in their own counselling practices already. It gave me an opportunity to share my life story of addiction with them, answer any questions they had, as well as present to them what I am doing at the rehab, and all about Visible Recovery. It went down so well, I was pleased to see that they all took business cards, and some have been in touch with me about potential clients, employment possibilities and volunteering already. It is this type of presentation that I would love to get involved with more regularly, and include other colleges and universities, as it can only help to spread the word about my business, and offer their clients a solution to their issue. Big thanks to you for the opportunity Joy, I appreciated it.

26 April 2013

Undercoating woodwork

I have started to coat the woodwork in the corridors with primer, just so something looks a little different around here! I'm glad I have started that, getting rid of all that green is a blessing. I have put three coats on the walls of just about every room in the house now, so woodwork next in the corridors. It took me all day to do one corridor with the 7 door frames that need doing both sides as well, and they are fiddly too. Lots of profiled frames and skirting in this place, but it will look nice when it is all done. Toffee brown on next, then it will change...


Looking better already...

Because my beautiful dog, Gandalf (9 months old), decided to eat his bed the other day when we leave him at home...




...he is now making his amends by becoming a highly vigilant and trained attack security dog for me at the rehab while I work. Looks like he's got the right idea to me..... 



19 April 2013

The first floors....

The guys turned up to start on the floors today. They wanted to strip the three rooms that had underfelt glued to the boards to bring it back to bare wood like the rest of the place. They will start on the entire house to start and finish it all over 10 days in around 2 weeks time. First they soak it in kerosene, which stinks, but it does the job apparently. 


Anyone that can turn a room from this....


 ...to this......

 
 to this... deserves the job. What a transformation!
 
It's noisy work, that machine is an animal, but the results are awesome. Seeing the timber stripped bare like that was amazing. They do 3 more sanding runs, then 3 coats of urethane to seal it all.  I cant wait until it's done. It has made it all seem worthwhile seeing this happen in one day. More shots below....


One of the other rooms....


...just like shearing sheep....


How to get the replaced floorboards home for kindling without a trailer...

18 April 2013

Still painting....

I decided that I had to paint the two corridors so that I felt that the place was changing. I have done three coats to cover up that horrible green that it used to be, and it looks brilliant if I say so myself. It has encouraged me a lot. I've painted out 40 litres of paint so far this week, and most the rooms have had three coats on the west side, with the rest one coat for now. The man is in to sand the floors back tomorrow. He is doing the floors (3) that have had carpet glued on them first, they need to be soaked in kerosene, and there is a fair bit of spatter, so I've been told not to paint out those rooms just yet until that process has been finished. There will be some cleaning up to do for sure from that. 

Taking shape, you can see the wall colour...

The carpenter has come to replace all of the dodgy floorboards. Of course we have found a few dodgy woodworm eaten joists as well, so they need replacing too, but there you go. I am sure the finished product will look beautiful.


Quite a few had to come out of this room





This one not so bad...


Finishing off the plastering in the bathroom...

16 April 2013

Walking the plank...

It is not often I get up this high to paint, and now I know why! 


 Walking the plank....

We have managed to get all the ceilings done, and I did the cornices in the corridors as well. The last two days I have been painting the bedroom walls on the west side of the building, and also the new ceilings that have just been done. They need a few coats to get them sorted out. I must say though it is all starting to change. The help that I enlisted for the week didn't really work out, so I am happy to do it myself. That way I know it gets done properly, and to standard that we want to have throughout. I managed to get a second coat on the western four bedrooms before I finished tonight. That horrible green is going...... thank God.


Much easier on the eyes...still loads to do...

14 April 2013

Painting Painting Painting.....



A Happy Painter...

We managed to get some paint on the ceiling on Friday. Ken came in to help too, so we blitzed the ceilings before the LED's are fitted. This week we have the rest of it to do in its entirety, so that will be massive. The rooms should really start to look like something by the end of the week, and relieve this feeling I have had for the last few weeks that I am not getting anywhere! On the contrary, in fact this week I have enlisted some help from people of the wonderful fellowship that I am a grateful member of. One of them is coming in every day this week to help, so we will make good progress I expect. This weeks pictures will be enlightening and revealing then.

11 April 2013

Bathroom started, plastering sanded and ready for paint

I am pleased to say that I managed to get the corridors and ten door frames finished and sanded back by the end of play today. What a job that has been. Thankfully you only have to do it once. My hands kill from manually sanding the curved parts in the frames and the skirting, and there's a lot of it. (88 metres of corridor skirting to be precise!) The plasterers have finished that part of the house as well, so we can start to paint at last. The tilers are busy in the bathroom....


 One of our 600 x 300 tiles....



Coming along nicely...

 ...so we are getting there. The carpenter is in next week to replace a few dodgy floorboards, and to set the floor up for sanding and polyurethane from the 24th. We might just have a few more jobs for him to do as well. Hopefully by then we will have the place painted out. 



The first tins of paint, ceiling white, 
going on tomorrow....

9 April 2013

Over 1,000 views in 6 weeks!!

Well I never thought that would happen! We have had over 1000 views of this blog from all over the world. The statistics show over 8 countries viewing, in Australia, the UK, US, Thailand, South Korea, Denmark, Egypt, Germany and others...all of which I have friends in. Thanks to all of you who are looking in. Spread the word for me too, as this place will be open soon, and we need all the support we can get so that I don't have to keep eating baked beans and jacket potatoes....

Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers

Finishing off the plastering now....

If any of you ever need a team of gyprock fixers for something around the house, then give me a shout. These guys have been brilliant and work all day, non stop. And great work too. They have been finishing off and putting cornice up on the ceilings that are new, and its starting to come together.


The Finishing touches...




Voila!! One Finished Kitchen...

 I have to say that I am getting a little delusional doing the sanding! I managed to finish one of the 22 metre corridors today with 6 door frames, all with profiled skirting that is about 30cm tall. My hands hurt. Still, one more to do tomorrow, then there's the counselling room, and that dear friends is that. For the inside anyway. 

The people that quoted on the floors have come back with a good price too, so hopefully they will be starting that in around 2 weeks time...just as we finish painting hopefully. I am definitely looking forward to that, as there will be no one allowed in the building for a few days while that is all happening - me included! A well deserved break....




8 April 2013

Fireplaces finished

I managed to get all of the fireplaces finished off today before I started the sanding in the corridors. They look fantastic to be honest with you if I dare say so myself. It took ages to get them back to cast iron, and then etch prime and undercoat them before I could put any colour on them at all. Worth it all though, they look fantastic, so that will be three bedrooms and an office with a nice feature in them.




All black at last...

After that, Ken came in and we got stuck in to the remaining of the sanding back work that needs doing. Managed to get the front doors done, and made a great dent in the corridors today as well. It's me, myself, I tomorrow and for the rest of the week, and then we (I) will be ready to paint. 

5 April 2013

Plastering and fireplaces

Well the plastering crew were back today, and completed 3 ceilings and a partition wall. They just work so fast and do such a great job.


Boris batoning out the old ceiling


The finished product

Got some tester paint on the walls and the woodwork too. The first wall paint I selected was just too yellow, and looked almost dirty, so we have gone for an off white for a cleaner look. Goes well with the toffee colour on the woodwork too...and loads better than the green that it used to be...


We're having the off white colour on the left

I have finished spray painting the fireplaces in undercoat now, so a final coat of black on Monday and that job is another one done and dusted.


Sanding, sanding, sanding.....

I would have written more than I have this week, and presented more pictures as well, but I really didn't think it would be necessary to show you pieces of aluminium oxide paper and bits of skirting board that have been prepared for painting. Suffice to say it is, and I'm happier to say that if we crack on with it today, we may well be close to having finished the interior woodwork. I have to remember that whilst it is joined, it is two houses and not one. We had the pleasure of John Chester's company (Manager, Aboriginal Lands Trust) for a visit yesterday. He hasn't seen the place since we started, and he was blown away by what we are doing. I'm really pleased about that, it is their building after all, and he is so happy to see it come back to life after years of not being used. 

They have another large 2 storey property in leafy North Adelaide, and Ken and I have been offered the opportunity of having a look at that as well to see if we can fit our Recovery Housing Program in over there. Im going to see if we can take a look next week. It's a shame we couldn't have a rehab there too, it has just all been rezoned as residential. That wouldn't stop people that have graduated form our 12 week program from living there though, and has a Managers home on the property as well. Perfect. It has been amazing what I have been presented with for this project, amazing. We shall see...

Today is the return of the plasterers. They will work now until the job is finished completely. A few days for them, and that will be all done, and we can apply paint. I have the tester pots in the car with me so we will be able to see how it looks later on today.

3 April 2013

Still Sanding....

I am definitely having a long relationship with some aluminium oxide paper and all the woodwork in the rehab. I think it will possibly go on for days. There is progress, albeit slow, but I am getting there. I am certain that sanding is the single most uninteresting job of the entire project. It makes things look worse, not better!

The sparky has cut the holes and cabled for the new lights. They'll be here within 2 weeks depending on delivery. The plasterers are back on Thursday to finish the ceilings. They will be a able to finish off completely now the cabling is all done for the LED's. Just before the sparky left, all of the old flouro lights were removed so that we can finish off the ceilings. We can roll them all too before the lights get here, so no cutting in.  Then we can start painting. Then we will see change.




Holes in situ for the new lighting