Are we there yet?

The answer to the question is ...well almost....

There are still niggly things to finish, the last six months has been neverending fixes and oiling of woodwork (thanks Glen), and the changes don't show up in photographs...not that there have been any photos for a while anyway because we have been away!

We won't graduate from interim to full certificate of occupancy until the verandah is built on (because it is part of the plans and the approval),...
BUT we can move in and now intend so to do before the end of the year,
We will however retain and use the current house for a little while, particularly since Alastair really needs a base in Canberra until he retires,

So - we have had beds and minimal furniture in Coutts for a little while as we have stayed there fairly regularly. The kitchen area has been functional for some time, but now looks more lived in...


and more furniture is slowly making its way there as we acquire some special pieces.!

In particular we acquired this magnificent sideboard which is large enough to look pretty grand even in the enormous dining room, and reflects the classic simple style of the building.

It is a piece by Gillows of Lancaster although we acquired it at auction in Sydney. It is already a sentimental favourite!






This is the same spot in an earlier incarnation:
it's come a long way!

The dining room also has a 'new' antique dining table which is huge being over 1.2 metres wide. Here it has two of its extra leaves, and there is a third which can be added.








Now we need to acquire a large rug to go underneath it, preferably to match the chairs that we are shipping over from UK...more Gillows, with red leather seats...10 plus a 'throne type head of table chair'...and another set of red leather balloon backs of the same ilk.


Can't wait!



The hallway with some protective carpet runner looks more welcoming, and the first of the clocks has moved in so it feels more like home:










This is the second tallest clock we have, and is nearly 8 foot tall. Some of the really early clocks which are much finer and smaller might look a bit silly, though I am sure we will find suitable places for them.











The staircase has now had its coat of shellac on the banister rail (did you know shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand?)...

and the remainder has been coated with Tung oil (from the seed of the tung tree). It is all now well protected and looking magnificent:

Even the upstairs kitchenette has been set up so that early morning cups of tea don't necessitate a trip through the house to the kitchen downstairs.


Very nearly home sweet home, and the first steps towards the two storey verandah are underway!

Nearly there?

There were times when 'complete' seemed a very long way off., and even now it is only Phase 1 - the inside- that is nearly complete (with penultimate bits happening inside as we speak).
We will be up there in a week or so to check it all out!

If you have been following the progress of this renovation, you will be aware that the front verandah has old tiles, some of which are tessellated.







We always knew that there were lots of missing ones, and lots of broken ones, and that there were cracks right across the surface...

...but we hoped to be able to rescue and reuse some of them, and replace the verandah ones with something along similar lines eventually.







You may remember that we did rescue some of the tessellated tiles to be the hearth of the fireplace in the dining room...

...and we have managed to rescue enough to also make the doorstep for the backdoor.

This should also stop the sand from Newcastle beach from blowing under the door!!







The tiles still need a clean up, but they are there in place and there's an enormous number of broken ones left behind,

Removing the current verandah surface with all its cracks will be the start of Phase 2 - getting the outside looking rather better. The whole surface of the verandah needs to be completely removed and replaced with a reinforced surface, treated to ensure the cracks don't come back. Then it will be retiled. That's the research that is going on now!

We're also (at last) talking about furniture for the place - some modern but much quite old (period stuff), and all not too ornate because that's the nature of the building. Auctions here we come (soon).

One prize piece has been acquired - a magnificent Gillows sideboard which will grace the dining room. At the moment it is in the hall and shrouded in covers! All will be revealed.

The list is getting shorter

We have now stayed at the house a number of times, but it still doesn't quite feel like a home - there is still a list of things to finish off, lots of fine tuning and still lots of cedar protection going on!...
...but it is happening and the list IS getting shorter (just taking a long time)!



The skirting boards are being done - all half a kilometre of them, double height and two coats (that's a lot of Tung oil and a lot of smell...we really couldn't live there yet).


This is the rear verandah where we were able to save the floorboards (with others from rooms where we couldn't save enough.to fill the gaps). I reckon they have come up well.


The doors are all done, except for the back door which still needs a bit more sanding to take the paint off.
The architraves for the doors - and all the window fittings still to go.







This is the view across the rear entrance, (to the left), with an old rug from home protecting the polished floor.
The house is now a 'no outdoor shoes' zone!
The far door is the door into the powder room, otherwise referred to as the downstairs loo!









We are so pleased we have saved and reused whatever we could.


Every time we go upstairs, we are reminded of the history of the place...the stair treads are worn from the many sailors who used this place as their safe haven in the Port of Newcastle in the 1890s and beyond.

Barker Stairs did a great job of adding the new noses and then sanding them to match the treads.

Many parts of the house however are completely modern, and all the wiring and plumbing is brand new (a heritage home with all mod cons - what a great combination!)

.

There are still areas of the house that cannot be completed just yet - there's a dark patch on the wall in the meals area that shows it is still drying out! At least now that is happening, with the new drainage outside having helped somewhat!


There's lots of finishing off to do...

...but Carl is on to it...a couple of weeks...??? 

I'll keep you posted!

Occupancy

We have the paperwork...an interim certificate of occupancy.

Imagine - the key to the door at last.

The floors are polished, the woodwork is complete, the water flows through the taps, the loos flush.
The doors to the nonexistent balcony have been sealed.

There's still stuff happening, like oiling of the architraves and skirting boards, shellacking the banister and balustrade, a few doors to put in place, a few cupboard handles to put on, carpets and window treatments to put in...and dust is still settling, both literally and metaphorically...but it's safe and livable!

We can stay there when we visit and as we do all the fine tuning.
We have stayed there!

A couple of beds have been put into rooms (ok so one is just a mattress on the floor), along with the appropriate accoutrements, and although they are king size beds, they look quite small in the rooms which are enormous - all of them are 5m by 7.2m.

Outside is still rather a mess, but it is pointless doing much out there as we hope to start the next phase shortly, including the verandah surface and beautiful 'fencing' comprising columns and ironwork to match that at the rear of the building.

Most of the tiles of the verandah are broken, and there are numerous 'infills' of various sizes and composition. The aim is to restore as faithfully as we can to original, but it'll have to be replacement tiles.

But hey, there's even outside lights...














...and just look at the front door. There's now locks in place, though we are saving our special brass handles until we finally get to really move in!!

The Ups of Down...stairs

As I write, the stairs and the downstairs floors are being transformed. Last week they were being sanded and the polishing began. Next week the final coats of polish will be applied, a few days of hardening, and it's 'shoes off as you enter' territory (except of course when safety regulations say otherwise, in which case protective covers required!!

The carpenters will be able to get back in to put the beading round the edge of the floors, they have a couple of door to put on and then we really are down to fine tuning.

So here's a few pics of the changes downstairs over the last little while...




The lounge/sitting room/drawing room with (current) views of the clocktower, and french doors out onto the verandah (that's another phase, yet to be commenced!) and a connecting door through to the dining room...




...with another light fitting from Early Settler Recollections, and the faceted glass throws interesting patterns onto the painted walls...














...and with our reclaimed mantlepiece and a (gas) coal fire in homage to the Coal River and a major Newcastle industry!

The study still has to have the skirting boards 'tacked on' rather than being permanently fixed in place because one day there will be a floor to ceiling book case, as there should be in all good study/libraries!!














There's a powder room downstairs (all mod cons)...

...and a large kitchen with island bench, and a breakfast bar that divides it from part of the family room.

The splashback makes use of the floor tiles that we didn't use on the floor as they perfectly match the marble benchtops!






This picture is taken from the family room, to the left in this picture is the meals area which will have a large marble top table, also to match!

The cooktop (induction) is covered to protect it as the rangehood was installed.




So it really is starting to feel habitable....at last!

We'll be back up there in a couple of weeks ready to put on the main door furniture, including the old brass handles that we picked up in UK (currently on the mantlepiece in the dining room in case you spotted them in that picture), organise for the two back rooms to be carpeted, and make plans for the next phase...kitting out, and the support and retiling of the front 'patio'

...and the Ups

Fortunately there are many ups to report, and we are at the so called pointy end!

We have even been inspected and passed the test for an interim certificate of occupancy! I stress the word interim. It doesn't mean the work is finished (by a long stretch) but it does mean it is safe and sufficient for people to stay there, which will be incredibly useful as we enter the final stages in the next few weeks.

The horrendous Newcastle storms (cyclonic and resulting in devastation across the city) certainly tested out the fabric of the building, and I'm pleased to report that it came through unscathed.

We lost the eastern side fence, with the posts being ripped out of the brickwork that was holding them in place. Fortunately one of the carpenters saw it and with blocks of wood and lots of rope (and the base of a Moreton Bay fig) managed to secure it so that it could do no damage to our building or the car park (or cars) on the other side of the fence!



Inside was making good progress though, despite almost two weeks of inactivity because of the fallen trees, lack of power and the floods!


I just checked where we were up to when I last posted a blog and it's good to look back and realise that we have indeed made progress.There's still lots of fine tuning bits to do (and a few major jobs), but it really feels like a house now. As soon as we get real access, we will be in there with the oil to treat all the cedar - architraves, window sills, skirtings etc.

The floorboards of the upstairs corridor and rooms have been polished and wow!  The photos don't really do them justice but here are a few photos from upstairs to show the rooms, the finish, the floorboards, lights...and even functioning bathrooms (almost)....

The rescued floorboards in our master suite have come up really well and we are so pleased we saved them - if only we had been able to save more!! 
The painting is finished, the lights work, the wardrobes are in (though not finished), almost ready to move in!!! 












..and our glorious travertine ensuite with massive shower.

















The arch bedroom has an arched fireplace to match , and also its washbasin - now with taps!

...and new but fantastic polished flooring..wide boards as it would have been back when...












The rear verandah has coach lamps and the floors are sanded ready for polishing...

...and the stairs to the  verandah have their original conformation, and repaired and sanded boards.

We actually managed to rescue all of the steps and risers, though there are new manufactured noses (Barker Stairs craftsmanship)



While at this stage the balustrades and banister were still in the workshop, once everyone had recovered from the Newcastle cyclone and the power was back in, the staircase made another big leap forward.....







...ready for the french polisher who will shellac the balustrading and banisters to protect all that beautiful cedar. The balustrades are copies of the originals that were in the house, based on the one fuzzy photo from a newspaper clipping! More Barker stairs craftsmanship on display!

ok, so that has got us to downstairs...next post for a few pics of that!! Maybe tomorrow.

The Downs...

Ok one of the downs is that I am down on my bended knees in apology for the long gap between posts. I've been back in Australia for a few weeks now after 9 weeks in Namibia and then 10 days in Botswana  - but my feet have only just started to touch the ground.

Another of the downs is the news that Newcastle City Council have approved the DA for the house next door at number 18 Bond Street! While there have been minor modifications to the original plans, there are none that in the slightest way improve the bulk, scale or setbacks of the building, so we lose just about all our natural light, our views and our privacy. Not to mention the fact that after all our hard work, and our diligence in recreating as close to original as possible, Coutts Sailors Home  will become the jam in the sandwich and mostly lost from view. If you walk round and stand in front of the building, then you can see the front facade, no more Grand Vistas!

(Perhaps the fact that we will no longer have views of the iconic Customs House clocktower from 14 different windows gives Alastair an excuse to invest in more long case clocks??)

It's not all over, after following up using GIPA (Freedom of Information) we have discovered some interesting things relating to the process at both the Heritage Council and the Newcastle City Council, so we have taken legal advice and are challenging now!

There's been a lot of downs in the bank balance (we always knew it would cost lots), and been a few downs with regard to what's been done  (and what's been not done) at the house while I have been away and not able to monitor so closely, but there has been some great progress and that leads us on to the next post ..The ups...

Twelve months checkpoint

Progress is being made but often it isn't very photographically obvious.
The photos were taken towards the end of January, quite some time after the last posting, and show the 'obvious' bits...

(Since then I have tracked to one of my other homes away from home...this is being put together on the edge of the Namibia desert! Just hoping the Internet connection can survive it!)

So we now almost have a bathroom on the mezzanine level. The bath and plumbing is in and there is also a loo ( behind the door!) The vanity and sink are (obviously) still to be fitted. Looks a bit different to the photo in the blog some time ago when you could see through to the floor below!!

Opposite the bathroom, the shower room just awaits its glass screen (and a gas connection to heat the water).

The kitchen is at last just about sorted, with cabinets partly put together and trialled in the space...yes it will work! Hard to see in this state, but next step... The oven, hot plates and dishwasher are ordered and can be put in when the next phase of cabinet construction is completed. ie doors and drawers and handles and...

The stairs have actually had some work done on them although there is a long way to go...it took hours of painstaking work to remove the old linoleum from the stair treads, but now we can see wood which will be sanded and coated. New noses and sides are necessary for the new balustrading (we found one old photo!) and banister. Work should start on that this month too. Meanwhile the mezzanine level floor is the last bit of floor boarding...

Have to say at this point that my expertise with Blogger is limited at the best of times, but I am struggling moreso trying to do it on my iPad... Apologies for the layout. Maybe I will adjust later...






One of the things we were hoping to do was preserve the tiling of the front verandah. Closer examination of the tiles that were original revealed that most of them were in fact cracked or broken and there was no way we were going to be able to rescue enough to even make a meaningful area. So we decided to rescue some while we could and have used them to make the hearth for the dining room fireplace - the one with the cedar mantelpiece that we found in Islington (Islington Newcastle that is). We have numerous photos of the tiling that is on the verandah and will endeavour to replicate at least in style. The later addition concrete slabs will not be part of the design!

Now the guest bedrooms that don't have ensuite have their period vanity basin at least, they just need the period taps to complete the item. Pics next time.

Some rooms are still storage facilities...others are still workrooms, but we have come a long way in twelve months!