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....

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....

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....

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. 

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.

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