The stairs issue

We are not happy with the stairs. There are extra steps and other modifications that we didnt sanction. The tread is also only 22cm.



Some weird stuff happening here.

The back yard starts looking like a million dollars

Suffering because of ugly cracked walls?



Viola. Nothing a bit of cement cannot fix.

(Hopefully) No more rising damp

The alley has been lowered and the angle adjusted so the water now actually flow out!

It's a messy business

The keys left their imprint in the dust.



Manon and Katja braves the conditions to check out the view.

And there was light!

Remember these 2 doors?

Gone! And now there's much more space and light!

And we can see the view from the lounge...

But what a mess to break them out!

It always looks different on the wall

Still getting used to the color. We settled for Plascon Wall n All in the end instead of the rougher textured Micatex.

Lost air vent found

I discovered a hidden air vent under the alley cement.



An unusual but cheap solution using rain gutters. Cement will cover it with only the pipe portruding.

Final week coming up?

Chaos reigns in the kitchen as Cecile paints the bath with a rust primer.



The newly inserted window sans burglar bars, with paint sample on the wall outside.



Shafiek showing how it should be done. It came down easily but they left half of it and left early on Friday??



The courtyard will be much bigger with the service alley included.

New views in the neighbourhood

The old lady across the road told me the house looks impressive from the street below. So I had to have a look. Primer painting in progress.



Just a bit of the parapit sticking out from across the road in front of the house.

Finally... the top floor happens

The freshly screeded floor on the upstairs room.

Fire on Table Mountain!

Scenes from our new window.



People whetting their houses on De Waal drive.



Dante's Inferno

Woke up with smoke filled lungs in my bed at 1am. A fire had started near UCT and burned down half the mountain in about 2 hours in the gale force winds. I was running around the neighbourhood with tears streaming down my eyes taking photographs. There was general chaos around the neighbourhood especially around the houses up next to De Waal drive. Flames and ash were licking at the houses. This morning it sounds like a war zone as sirens and helicopters go past. And the mountain is a burned out husk.

Maroccan or just plain Walmer style?

We thought it would be a cheap way of avoiding balustrades. Cecile is not so sure. I like it.

The roof is up!

The trusses are placed and cemented in.



Voila! The new cieling and walls already painted with primer.

Will we make it?

We have set a deadline for our builder that we want to be in by the weekend of 21 March. Thats in only 10 days time! The roof STILL isn't up, and there is progress every day, but reporting on a little bit of plastering here and a bit of painting there is simply not as exciting as the big stuff!

I don't really like full-on thematic decor, but i love these morroccan tiles we are setting into the sement of our stoep.

Enter the tower

I love the smell of fresh cement in the morning! Provided its been put in the right place, in the right amount, right consistency, etc. etc. So the plastering is coming along nicely and the 3rd floor (codename: the tower) is looking good.

Now I must just speak to Shafiq about why there is a layer of cement on the stoep floor, when it should be a this screed??

"Finishing"

So the actual building part (brick and mortar)of our project is almost finished and now we are entering what is called the 'finishing' stage, which is misleading since its still far from being finished!

But it does mean i can start dreaming about kitchens and tiles and paint swatches, a lot more fun than concrete beams and drainage, although i suspect Ruan might disagree...






Above are my references for what sort of kitchen we want, now i'm off to our neighbour the carpenter for a quote on whether we can afford it...