A week of progress

Well, we are officially 3 weeks into our renovations, and we're still progressing quite well, although there hasn't been much to show on a daily basis this week because they've been working on the plumbing. They did replace our main sewage line, though, so that was nice of them :) They are also cleaning up all of the random supply lines that are running all over the place downstairs, so that's good as well. With the removal of the big sewage vent stack on the balcony, they had to remove the toilet in the upstairs middle bathroom to replace the waste pipe for it. So, we also had them go ahead and disconnect the water to that bathroom as well. So, our immediate next project is actually going to be the renovation of that bathroom...something to keep us busy :)

So, that was the progress from Friday thru Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday), they poured the slab for the downstairs...very exciting! And today, they delivered the bricks and a couple of windows for building up the walls, which is planned to start next week! It seems to be going so fast, but I'm sure it slows down after these first parts are done.
Oh yeah...you will probably also be able to see from the photos how much they have absolutely destroyed the garden at the back of the house! So, we'll have to figure out our landscaping plan for that as well...fun fun!

Does it smell a bit FRUITY to anyone? :)

Well, it's now Wednesday, and the guys have managed to correct our lovely septic tank problem. The pumpers came in on Monday and drained the tanks, and then on Tuesday, they filled the tanks with rubble and sand...and that's them officially decommissioned!
They've also managed to make a bit of progress on the demolition work...

View from the balcony...you can no longer tell there was ever a problem! :)

They've made a bit of progress on the removal of the pavers in the downstairs room.

This is looking through the doorway of what will be bedroom 4...you can sort of get a feel of how big it will be...it is the smallest bedroom, I believe.

They've removed more of the slab where the bathroom is going. I'll admit that i'm not really sure why they needed to do that, but ah well! :) 

The view of the back of the house...and a silly monkey man :)

Duh duh duh...

Well, as can be expected...nothing ever goes as it's supposed to! Especially when you're dealing with renovating a house from the 60's/70's.
On Friday, Andy worked from home in the morning so he could pack to go down south for his 24-hr adventure race. So, of course, he was at the house with the demo guys. And since he's the best, he gave me a lift to the train station to get into work. As we left, a guy had just showed up with a little bobcat to carry the rubble from the back garden up the driveway to the skip...that would have been a lot of very heavy wheelbarrow loads! So, about mid-morning I got a call from Andy...the bobcat took a bit of a nosedive in the middle of our yard...and thus, we found out that we've got a septic tank in our back yard that was never decommissioned...and it was full to the brim (of course)!
So, work has taken another detour as we sign an blank variation to get our septic tank drained and filled in to allow the rest of the work to continue. Great fun!
A couple of photos of the excitement...

Demolition party! Day 2

Day 2...they seem to be moving pretty fast so far. Just wondering when they put on the brakes because nothing ever happens fast around here! :) See if you can spot the differences from yesterday!

Pile has grown to cover the floor inside the  house.

Outside view of the pile...at least double the size I would guess.

Render removed from the wall and new bricks removed to form new window.

Render removed from this side as well.

Wall & doors removed from the laundry area.

The east-side apartment again...

They have even removed the slab where the new shower will go...

Where the bathroom for the west-side apartment used to be...and where bedroom 4 will be! :)

Demolition party! Day 1

Day 1 of the demolition...I was quite surprised by the progress they made...

The pile of building waste removed after day 1.

The sliding doors removed intact and ready to sell on Gumtree!

Windows & walls removed from the east-side apartment

Walls removed inside the old bathroom in the west-side apartment

Day 3

Well, nothing really happened on day 2, except for another mistake. The plumber came to do the cut and seal on the gas & water lines, but he managed to screw up as well. The only water lines he cut were to the upstairs kitchen sink...the kitchen sink we're still using! And he also cut the gas to our stove...thank goodness we had stuff at home to make an easy salad. It's amazing how many times you use the sink just to cut up some veggies!
Day 3 - the plumber & electrician came today and fixed their screw ups, so we're back to normal. The supervisor also informed us that they should be starting the demolition tomorrow!

And we're off! - Day 1

I think we deserve some champagne this weekend or something! What a momentous occasion! Our major renovations have officially started now! The electrician came yesterday and did the electrical cut & seal on the downstairs to prepare for the demolition to start next week. Unfortunately, he screwed up and also cut the lights to have of the upstairs (kitchen, living rooms, one bathroom). So, we're living by lamp light and head torches this weekend :) It's ok, though, because we've actually started!!

Ceiling in the room downstairs where they have removed & cut the electrical lines.