house reno week 11

house reno week 11
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

We now have a sewerage and storm water system installed. Shuttering for some of the concrete slab installation can be seen in the foreground.

The build seems to be going slow at the moment probably 2 months behind schedule. We are still very happy with the builder though, he is doing a thorough job.

[joe]

Dino ... but where? 2

Dino ... but where? 2
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

Continuing the theme, where is Dino this week. Let us know during the show - e-mail, SMS or phone.

[joe]

Naughty Neighbour

...and no, its not Tony this time, but the person who lives above us in the apartment who clomps around all day and all night (Note to property developers: Wooden floors in apartments do not insulate sound very well)

At first we thought it was a chick living there cos we could hear what sounds like stilletto shoes clicking around, but then when they had a party a while ago (and set off the fire alarms) it was all mens voices that we heard. They are also very heavy footsteps, sometimes it makes Joe's milo spill over onto the formica.

On Wednesday night we were both woken up by an almighty thud, sounds as if they had fallen over. But we're coping with it, and I'm sure that cleaning up the wine stains spilt all over our balcony from above will soon take our minds off the lack of sleep
[dino]

The Twenty-First Of June

Today marks two important occassions:
1. Mid-Winters day (in the southern hemisphere). The evenings start getting lighter as of tomorrow, yay.
2. The start of Tony-the-neighbour's favourite part of the house build... doing the sewerage pipes!
Since we first moved in (and it might have even been before), he has been telling us exactly where the sewerage pipes lie, and the fact that they need to be replaced with bigger bigger BIGGER pipes. We're not quite sure that he puts down his toilet, but he has told us a story of filling his wheelie bin with water and flushing that down the toilet. Oh, by the way, we share the sewerage pipes with neighbours on both sides, that feed into the pipe that runs down the side of our garden. As part of the house build, they are all being removed and replaced. I wonder whether the cold and rain will stop Tony from stomping around in the mud telling the builder what to do? Hmm, this could really test the patience of our builder. Hope we dont find Tony stuffed into the manhole at the weekend...
[dino]

Dino .. but where?

Dino .. but where?
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

A question for the show.. but where exactly was this taken?

[joe]

House Renovation week 10

house reno week 10 - 1
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

The bedroom floor needs a bit of levelling!

Week 10 of the renovation and extension. Piers have been dug and filled in the old house, 2m deep. Piers have also been dug and filled for the new section of the house, 3m deep, much deeper and they would have been into the Aquifer that provides our bore water. (only 4 m deep round here). Still the engineer specified it so that's what Steve (our builder) has done, it was all inspected, approved and completed in a day.

[joe]

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

One of my students taught me a new word today: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. It means "fear of long words". Fantastic... I am going to set it as the login password for my course next week.

See The Phobia List for more great words.
[dino]

pods

Has anyone had those new choccy things called pods? They are little biscuit flying saucers filled with Mars or Snickers. Keep seeing them advertised on the telly, but can't buy them for love nor money. We've tried 3 times, but the shops are always sold out. We even did an order on Coles Online, but they were out of stock too. Hmm, maybe they dont really exist... (like Kate Bush)

A Mini called Dot

minidots
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

Doesn't this look good enough to eat? It could start off a whole new Dot Com.

Fed Sq. Melbourne ....and they said it would never be a meeting place.....)

[Joe]

Catchphrases

We asked listeners last night to suggest a catchphrase for the show. Have a look at the responses on the Not The Real McCoy Website. We like 'shut up and listen' best...

Week 9 of the House Renovation

week 9 a
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

Week 9 already.
As you can see from this shot and the others on Flickr (click on the photo to see) not only is Tony (the neighbour) pointing at something (which he always is!) but all of the garden has been stripped and a huge chunk of the fencing removed ready for the preparation of the foundations and slab.
All of the interior walls in the old house have been removed and the roof is now fully supported. The brickie has been to block in unwanted openings and the beam props have been removed.
The lemon tree now lives in Tony's garden next to his other lemon tree and his satsuma - but then we guessed it might end up there, many other bits of the old house have already.

[Joe]

Site flattening, SQL and CItizenship

We got an email from the builder saying there had been more progress on the house, removing the raised garden beds, boundary fences and concrete paths and driveway in preparation for the footings to be dug next week. Joe is worried how neighbour Tony will react to his fence being removed... he told us that he built it himself and treated it with engine sump oil. We'll go and have a look tomorrow and take some pics.

I was sitting in on a course at work this week, learning SQL server. Why did I end up in a class with one smelly geek and one nerd with really greasy hair. Maybe they work so hard they dont have time to wash....

In the last couple of days we both went for interviews for Australian Citizenship. More details tomorrow night on the show.
[dino]

House Renovation Week 8

week8 steel 2.JPG
Originally uploaded by NTRMonjoy.

At last we can see things being added to the house rather than just removed. Week eight and after a bit of a delay waiting for steel fabrication, the structural steel is going into-place in the old bit of the house. This bit will form the walls of the main passage through the old bit before it transitions into the new glass walled section.

A Weekend Off!

I finished my 3 weeks of doing night-training at work last night.... phew. I was doing 7:30am-9:30pm and the students that I had must go down as being the most 'challanging' group that I have ever taught, which really brought out the school-teacher in me. I'm now looking forward to having a nice weekend off, so I should be in a bit of a better mood for the show.
[dino]