Friday, April 26, 2013

Plans for the Big House

Were we, perhaps, less masochistic people, Dan and I would probably have worked towards renovating the little house then lived in it while we did the big one.

Logical.

As it is, though, we did not take that course of action, and we are now at a point where we have a massive amount of very dirty work to do in our house and nowhere to live while we do it.

We have come up with a solution, and I've drawn some highly technical floor plans to help explain it.

This is our floor plan as it is now. It is not at all to scale.

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Basically, what we're going to do is convert our back verandah into a kitchen for the process of the restoration of the main kitchen and dining areas, as it already has a sink which we can use - plus plenty of open space for our temporary benches and cupboards (which is all we have in our actual kitchen currently, so moving it is relatively simple).

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We're going to block access to half the house by putting up temporary fencing on the front verandah and keeping the door at the top of the hall closed.

And, we're going to have to  remove some VJs from wall that separates the bathroom and the back verandah. In the bottom right of the bathroom (on this drawing, anyway) is an airing cupboard. Access to the bathroom and boot room will be through the airing cupboard.

Quirky, no?

Everything else - kitchen, pantry, dining, hallway, post office room and most of the front verandah - will be out of bounds until the messy work on the left hand side of the house is done.

Here's another quick scribble showing the floor plan we've decided on for the house - but this is very much the long-term plan. The main changes are the opening of the kitchen into the rooms either side of it, the conversion of the bathroom and bootroom into a laundry, the conversion of the back verandah and third bedroom into a master suite, and the installation of a family bathroom around the existing loo.

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Where possible, we've tried to keep plumbed-in rooms where there is already plumbing to keep costs down.

So, now I've got a few minor things to do to try and get the back verandah feeling clean and functional enough to be a space we are happy to cook and eat in for the next few months.

And Dan has a lot of major things to do to start working on the left-hand side of our house. He's come home from the local salvage yard with a ute-load of VJs today, so I think he's getting geared up.

14 comments:

  1. That all makes sense and looks good. The Slow Cooker is your best friend when without a real kitchen as you can make hearty stews, roasts (I do mine in there as well) whole chickens, apricot chickens, etc....I also make my spag bol in there as well.....double your recipe quantity and have one meal in the freezer for next week. Totally love the slow cooker. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

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    1. Kathy, that is a cracking idea. I'll dig mine out of its box and actually put it to use!

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  2. Sounds like a great plan. Have you thought about popping out to Lifeline and picking up some old rugs or carpet to place over the floor boards in winter. It will help stop the cold air running up your leg while you cook or wash up.

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    1. I always find it such a hassle looking at rugs in op shops, because they've usually got them taped up so you can't see if they're stained or not... I did buy a few cheapies at Kmart though. I'll look at some heavy curtains to keep the air from coming through the louvres too much as well.

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  3. Looks and sounds great. Good suggestions above.

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  4. It will all be worth it-looks like a great plan!

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  5. Love the new plan and it all makes sense. Ditto on the slow cooker and the rugs for winter. They can always be put up in the roof during summer - extra insulation.

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  6. Wow the new plan looks great. Like the layout and how you've managed to kepp the new plumbing to a minimum. I am looking forward to seeing you make the plan into a reality.x

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  7. If you have the freezer space, cook up in quantities and freeze them before you tear up your current kitchen. I did big pots of soup, stew, casseroles - and had about 6 weeks worth in the freezer for quick use. Saved my sanity! After the remodel I still put up batches - great for sudden company or no time to cook days...
    Am amazed at what you have accomplished to date!!

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  8. Looks good - but what's a VJ??

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    1. It's an abbreviation for the vertical join timbers used to clad walls in Queenslander (and other) homes. Also known as tongue and groove. You can see it in the picture above of the verandah. :-)

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    2. Ah, thanks! I lived in Queensland for 7 yrs (granted not in a Qlder) and never heard that term before!

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  9. Good luck with the make do kitchen,it will be fine with just the three of you to cook for.
    The new floor plan is a great use of space, a really workable layout.
    Those old places had the big hallways for cross ventilation, are you installing ceiling fans or air conditioning instead ?

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  10. The long term plan looks great Edwina, takes a while to nut it all out. Our reno starts next week, we have lived here almost three years and the plans were cooked up about a year ago. You guys really are rocketing along. mel x

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