Today was a very special day for our building adventure – we celebrated our topping out ceremony with our building crew J.

Topping out is an ancient building custom that thanks Mother Nature for providing our shelter – and traditionally includes the nailing of a tree branch to the top of the roof.  So that is what we did – there is a little pine branch and a little jarrah branch up there.

 
















It is a very nice feeling to be thankful for all that we have in this home – the shelter that will be, the wonderful crews we have been so lucky to work with, the skills and knowledge we have gained, the fun times on site and the friendships made.  We are indeed blessed.

 













Thanks Michael, Andy, Ryan and Richard!!

Fascias - sealed and undercoated – check (Thanks Andy!)

Battens on the verandah – check

 











Laundry framed up – check (Thanks Ryan!)

 
















The boys have been busy as always!

Ready for the holiday break – check J

 








PS - I learned the silver metal tie down thingys are called triple grips.

We’ve got an important announcement!

 











People who don’t believe in Santa get underwear for Christmas!

We believe J.

We’ve got fancy hips ;-) – and we like them a lot!!

 

Check that cut out!  An outie, then an innie (Ryan’s a bit good, isn’t he?) – because these hips (that’s a new building work I learned – this is the rafter that is on the corners of the verandah) – need to fit in with the beam like this:


Oh, and see that blue, blue sky – the weather is stunning down here this week – yay – at last!!

So the guys have got all the verandah rafters up – I love the perspective of looking at them all in a row – so, so pretty...


But it is weird the optical illusion they give to make the bush poles all look like they are leaning.

These last few days are the start of some of the fidlier parts of the job – filling in some fascias and hammering in some tie thingys (those silver things - must learn what they are called):

28 bushpoles all vertical – and apparently we want them to stay that way LOL!

 













Plus you can see – beams already too – nearly ¾ of the house done – wow!

I am making it sounds much easier than it really was – to get to here it was: weld the tie-downs on; paint them twice; concrete around them (in the centre of the plinths); lots of chainsawing; lift the bushpoles into place (it takes all 3 guys!); brace them; drill the tie-down hole; cut, clean and place the metal bar into that tie-down – and (still to come) fill the drill hole with some jarrah dowel to make it all neat.  Then there was more chainsawing and fitting the beams.  The guys did good, didn’t they?

But um, this house is looking hay-uge now!

When is red, not red?

When it is the colour you want for your window fly screen frames and hardware!!

Here’s the short version – we are having stunningly gorgeous jarrah windows made by the extraordinary Jeff the Joiner.  We need to have fly/fire screens on all windows to meet our bushfire building compliance.  We are having awning windows (open from the bottom, hinged at the top), so the screens need to be inside the windows – where we will see them ALL THE TIME FOREVER!  So getting the colour right is kinda essential to me – I am special like that ;-).  So I choose a lovely dark red – not exactly neutral but one of my favourite colours and one I already know I will be using to decorate with.  Now one window hardware people say they will do custom colours, the other says they use Dulux colours – so we ask the question, how about Manor Red?  Several phone calls, emails, days = No go – from either of them!  It’s all just too hard apparently, and both companies actually only really offer black, white or shiny silver with any ease L, so that leaves Jeff and I just a wee bit urghcky to say the least! 

There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, though, when you deal with a craftsman – Jeff will now make us jarrah screen frames J - and I will pretend we don’t have the black(!) hardware that we have had to order.

In the meantime, beauty has arrived at our home – in the form of gorgeous Jarrah bushpoles –

 



 









And already, half of them are vertical!!