We're building a garage ....
And its taking forever!
The previous owners of our house converted the double garage (under the house) into a two room unit, which we love, and which we rent out to holidaymakers when the rest of the family aren't staying in it. I covet the main room for my sewing room ... time will tell!
We knew we would need to build a garage at some stage, and we originally intended to put up some kind of drive-thru carport at the side of the house. But my husband decided to buy two jet skis and that meant that we needed to put both the cars and jet skis under cover from sun and salt air.
Our problem was where to build the garage on the property. We knew we wanted it to be big, and we didn't want to go to the expense of building new driveways to get to it. Also, our Biolytix waste septic system has several irrigation beds spread around the property, and we had to avoid digging those up.
So we decided to locate the garage on the old tennis court, which we weren't using, and which required an expensive new surface as well as the expense of fixing the drainage problem that was the cause of the surface deterioration in the first place.
Another good reason was that the surface under the tennis mat is concrete - and concrete is horrendously expensive in Australia - so we save a lot of money by putting the garage on top of that.
We wanted to install rainwater tanks to help with irrigation of the garden, but didn't really want them on display - so these will sit behind the garage and will be much less obvious than they would otherwise be.
My husband, who is not known for his DIY talents, got his Owner Builder license, with my help of course, but we won't tell the authorities that! And we found a very competent builder to actually put the garage up. He works very closely with us and is project managing a lot of the job too, but he juggles clients (as all tradies do) and riding the 'will he, won't he be here today' roller coaster has put a strain on relationships.
Still, after several months of choosing Colorbond colours, driving around the neighbourhood and talking to complete strangers about why they chose what they did, endless delays getting planning permission, a construction certificate, drawing, re-drawing and re-drawing the plans (it went on and on) the building is up and almost finished.
Building the garage, together with some internal home renovation is highly stressful - but we are almost there!
The previous owners of our house converted the double garage (under the house) into a two room unit, which we love, and which we rent out to holidaymakers when the rest of the family aren't staying in it. I covet the main room for my sewing room ... time will tell!
We knew we would need to build a garage at some stage, and we originally intended to put up some kind of drive-thru carport at the side of the house. But my husband decided to buy two jet skis and that meant that we needed to put both the cars and jet skis under cover from sun and salt air.
Our problem was where to build the garage on the property. We knew we wanted it to be big, and we didn't want to go to the expense of building new driveways to get to it. Also, our Biolytix waste septic system has several irrigation beds spread around the property, and we had to avoid digging those up.
So we decided to locate the garage on the old tennis court, which we weren't using, and which required an expensive new surface as well as the expense of fixing the drainage problem that was the cause of the surface deterioration in the first place.
Another good reason was that the surface under the tennis mat is concrete - and concrete is horrendously expensive in Australia - so we save a lot of money by putting the garage on top of that.
We wanted to install rainwater tanks to help with irrigation of the garden, but didn't really want them on display - so these will sit behind the garage and will be much less obvious than they would otherwise be.
My husband, who is not known for his DIY talents, got his Owner Builder license, with my help of course, but we won't tell the authorities that! And we found a very competent builder to actually put the garage up. He works very closely with us and is project managing a lot of the job too, but he juggles clients (as all tradies do) and riding the 'will he, won't he be here today' roller coaster has put a strain on relationships.
Still, after several months of choosing Colorbond colours, driving around the neighbourhood and talking to complete strangers about why they chose what they did, endless delays getting planning permission, a construction certificate, drawing, re-drawing and re-drawing the plans (it went on and on) the building is up and almost finished.
Building the garage, together with some internal home renovation is highly stressful - but we are almost there!
oooOOOooo
All structures in the garden, including three gazebos and the bridge and fence near the pond need to be repainted. We went to Bunnings a few days ago (we go so often these days we should have beds in there) and got another sample pot of paint for the bridge and terrace near the pond. If this goes anything like choosing the colour for the garage, I can expect to try out around half a dozen sample pots before painting begins (sigh). And I'll be doing most of the painting. The good thing is that the colour of the garage provides a bit of a reference point at least - we went with Basalt, Ironstone and Monument Grey.
The Grevillias we planted down near the old shed last year are flowering. Aren't they gorgeous?
I love natives. We are so lucky to live here. I couldn't grow Grevillias in the City as it was too frosty. They thrive here on the New South Wales coast.
Hubblebird
The Grevillias we planted down near the old shed last year are flowering. Aren't they gorgeous?
I love natives. We are so lucky to live here. I couldn't grow Grevillias in the City as it was too frosty. They thrive here on the New South Wales coast.
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