2009 Demolition Derby

Sunday 1st Day of rest. Monday 2nd Back to slab & garden city for more sand and then to Limestone city to pick up the last 4 limestone blocks needed for the side wall. The limestone is finally finished. Hooray! Tuesday 3rd Mark went off to Bunnings to buy steel and brick ties etc. I spent the morning doing ECU work & sent off the first module to my supervisor! Mark laid the first course of bricks and I mixed mud. That's all we did today as Tara & Nick are coming over for a BBQ. Wednesday 4th We had a day off today as Mark has worn the skin off the tips of all his fingers laying the limestone. We are both buggered and need a rest. Thursday 5th I went to Bunnings to return our ubeaut hammer drill as it gave up the ghost yesterday. Also went to brick up bricks for the internal walls...but Midland brick did not have them in stock in our local store. So we'll work out what we need and order a few packs to be delivered. Mark put up the steel guides for the brick course...

Tuesday 27th Today Mark dug the trench for the footing for the side wall and worked out levels to ensure the brickwork will fit in with the existing house. I cleaned bricks, but this lot are concrete mortar not limestone so I'm breaking more than I'm cleaning (bugger).  We then mixed concrete and poured the footing for the side wall. We need to let it set before laying the first row of limestone.  We needed to buy new blocks for the side wall as their are not enough old blocks the right size but Mark is wondering if he can use the old blocks somewhere so that he doesn't have to throw them away. Wednesday 28th Mark went off to get more sand, limestone blocks and roadbase. I worked on the computer paying bills etc until he returned and then I got back into cleaning (and breaking) more bricks. Mark laid the bottom row of limestone and shaped the remaining blocks for the front wall. We just need to get a few blocks in on the second row of the side wall before we can finish...

Tuesday 20th No house work today. Mark drove Nick up to Kalamunda to check out the job Ken & Rod are working on. I started doing ECU work but too many people dropped in & I hardly got anything done. Wednesday 21st Mark did a couple of trips to Slab & garden city for roadbase and sand. We checked out limestone city for limestone sizes and prices. Bought a couple of blocks to get us started. We mixed concrete and put down the front footing. Mark shaped the first couple of blocks. Every one of the front blocks has to be bevel cut on all 4 sides to try and match in with the existing front wall. Very time consuming. It's like putting a jigsaw puzzle together trying to work out which piece will fit where, so lots of thinking and discussion at the end of each day to work out tomorrows tasks. Thursday 22nd I picked up a few more blocks of limestone while Mark carried on cutting the blocks to shape. We now have 4 blocks concreted in...as I said very time consuming! I spent the d...

Saturday 10th Jan We removed all of the floorboards and most of the limestone however we need to get a couple of more acro props to support the roof before we knock the last pillar down. Sunday 11th Jan Day off today! Ken (Mark's brother) is picking up our acro props from Tony McLeod in Mandurah on his way home from holidays today. We are off to the movies tonight to see Australia - Gold Class. We loved Gold Class and enjoyed the movie! Monday 12th - Thursday 15th Jan Received quote for new doors...need to source a glazier & decide on best value. Mark jacked up the roof and removed the last of the brick wall, the timber beams and dug up the limestone footings. We will reuse most of the old limestone in the new footings and the buildup for the front wall. We will buy new blocks for the buildup for the side wall. Friday 16th - Monday 19th Jan No work this weekend. Friday 16th - I flew to the Gold Coast for cousin Vicki's wedding and Mark went to work at R...

Monday 5th Today was allocated as an ECU work day for me. Mark did a quick trip to the tip to drop off another load of asbestos and returned the trailer, then he was happy to have the rest of the day off! Tuesday 6th ECU work day for me. Mark back to demolishing the verandah. Today he removed the corner wall (near the front door) and pulled out more timber.       He also started attacking the front limestone wall. Just to see how hard it was to get out! He got 1 block out but it was harder than he thought. I have suggested putting more in front of the remaining section rather than removing it, as it's very solid.       Wednesday 7th This morning Mark hired a trailer & picked up a couple of acro props from Dave to support the roof. I sorted out the stuff in the boxes in the spare room. Threw lots of paper out, I'm getting good at it, but there's still lots to store away. We've decided to put a bigger trap in the new entrance floor, so we can store boxes u...

Saturday 03/01/2009 Off to Bunnings to check out their impact drills! off with most of the render! Wow that's much easier than doing it by hand. I'll also be able to use it to clean up the bricks.   Down with the front wall and off with more timber framing.   Sunday 04/01/2009 According to council rules Sunday is a day off. So today we are cleaning up some of the mess we've made. Wrapped the asbestos in black plastic and hired a trailer. Off to the tip.

Well it took a while to convince Mark to renovate the house, but it didn't take long for him to get into the demolition! What is it about boys & destruction? Tuesday 30th Dec We returned from Qld having spent Xmas with my Dad & Brothers. We had previously agreed that the house renovations would start once we returned, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast!     Wednesday 31st Dec We spent the day moving all of the office furniture out of the front room and managed to fit all my stuff in the loungeroom & Mark's stuff in the dining room (umh, that could be dangerous, his desk is right beside the bar).       Thursday 1st Jan 2009 The Demolition begins....out came the side windows and frames and the ceiling. What a mess!       Friday 2nd Jan Out came the front windows, window and door frames. Up went the building notification site sign. We started chipping away at the render...there must be an easier way! Yes, Dave suggested an impact drill with ...