Saturday 20 September 2014

A bit of a reality check.


Initially we were smitten with the living space, and I particularly loved the window above the kitchen sink, but I have since visited with our builder and had a bit of a reality check with regards to the state of our new project.



It obviously needs new flooring, and a lick of paint, but in actual fact there is still reasonably extensive cosmetic earthquake damage that is unrepaired, including offset windows and doors, broken window panes, and tiles. Oh, and there seems to be multiple areas of water damage. 

This wallpaper is just hanging there, only adhered at the top, as a result of long term water damage:


All of the external doors (apart from the front door) are stable-style, with top and bottom sections opening separately. This photo shows how the lower window has been offset by the quakes:


Brrrr - it's kind of freezing, especially when we consider an 80-something year old lady has been living here until recently.

The indoor window sills have ceramic tiles, many of which are cracked:



About half of the interior has been painted commercially, but really badly (rough edges, with paint over many parts of the negative detailing and frames), while the rest is un-touched.  And the exterior.....well:


In bonus news, it comes with this oven with what we presumed was an attached microwave, but is actually an attached....oven. Two ovens in one!


We may have bitten of more than we can chew here, but Matt remains optimistic about the underlying design and building.

I'm currently arranging quotes for work, and losing sleep over what we are embarking on.

Monday 8 September 2014

Watch this space...

It really feels like there is little more to say about our own home. It is getting close to perfect for us, and the parts that remain unfinished (installing a garden, re-instating the original kitchen) are a long way off right now.


So it sort of felt like the right thing to do to go and buy another house. It has been well-loved and needs a little bit more love right now.

We are on a tight deadline to get it looking good, so that it will be ready for someone very lucky to rent by November.

Watch this space...