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What would you do?

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Julia said:
What are you on about?
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I'm lost with that too but if I've been gardening round your place the bill is still outstanding, I will however negotiate if you don't start a thread about me on here
 

Looking at the pic the tiles are already in and there is a gap that could be grouted up or sealed which would stop the paint from pooling underneath (not that is should have). I understand that skirting generally goes above tiling but I must admit I haven't personally seen skirting where the carpet is laid under the skirting. Maybe that is a west coast / east coast difference?

I get to Perth every now and then to visit my aunts and cousins. Next time I'm over I'll contact you so I can get a look at your house to get some ideas.

I'm going to be doing in-situ terrazzo floor with marble skirting on two levels so I won't be putting the skirting on until the floor is laid. Next time you are in Sydney please message me. If you come over you might be able to give me some tips.
 
I'm surprised Julia hasn't had the tiler back to fix the gap between the skirting board and the tiles.

Or should she have had the builder back to fix the gap between the two?
 

Mate I'm only a sparky, I've never built or had a house built, so I defer to your experience.
However, if you want, for a couple of hundred bucks I can chuck in some downlights to highlight the flaws.lol
By the way who's laying the terrazzo, shelly?lol

Only joking it sounds magic.
 

That would be a lot of lighting!
 

Hope to see the outcome of your sandstone house on "Grand Designs".

Good Luck.

ps any photos?
 
sptrawler said:
The 24 hour issue is very pertinent, also the $3,300, I must keep that in mind. lol

Only joking, painting is like any trade, it takes a long time to know how to do something well.
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I found painting easy to learn. Professional finish. Preparation is key - takes a long time. Then a light touch, careful touch. I reckon anyone with a steady hand and patience can do it. Someone with a heavy hand who is a bit careless will get a sloppy finish.

I picked up a few good tips along the way like wrapping my wet roller in glad wrap while I waited for the undercoat to dry. Saves cleaning and drying the roller. If you're using the one colour, and you've already 'cut in', you can easily do 5 rooms in a day. Five! Huge time saver.

Other tips: don't try to paint a door with enamel in winter!! Actually don't use enamel at all if you can help it. Acrylic cannot be applied to an old enamel base without special preparation, but it can be done.

How about getting the hands dirty Jules?! DIY next time.
 
Gringotts Bank said:
How about getting the hands dirty Jules?! DIY next time.
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Not a chance with the painting. No problem getting the hands dirty which I do all the time in the garden where I do know what I'm doing.
I simply acknowledge that I have no skills in some areas. Painting is one of these.
Not sure why so many seem intent on my doing something myself which I don't want to do and will mess up.
I'm entirely happy to pay someone to do a professional job.
PS Although we probably can't compare 'art' with the painting of skirting boards, consider this caustic observation by my high school art teacher:
Julia's artistic talents lie deeply concealed.
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tinhat said:
Got to lock up just before new year's.
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What a wonderful effort, tinhat. Gee whiz, you must be proud.
 
tinhat said:
I'm currently building a house from sandstone and I've been a computer programmer for some time now without any prior practical skills.
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Tinhat, are you a computer programmer without any prior practical skills, or are you a owner builder without any prior practical skills?

I ask the question because that house looks awesome.

I am a building contractor and would not go any where near a project like that.

How much of the construction is your work?
 
Nobody will ever improve on this.

It garnered second place in the Prix d'Architecture in Paris in 1912.



gg
 
GG that's definitely Australiana, hope the toilets have been moved into the 21st century.
 
O.K tinhat, your four aces, beats my pair of twos.
That looks excellent.
I was going to post a pic of my Aunty Betty's place in London, but didn't want to steal your thunder.lol
 
Garpal Gumnut said:
Nobody will ever improve on this.

It garnered second place in the Prix d'Architecture in Paris in 1912.



gg
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sptrawler said:
GG that's definitely Australiana, hope the toilets have been moved into the 21st century.
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MrBurns said:
Hell no, porcelain rules with plenty of yellow cubes in the urinal.
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Please note the tyre marks in the left foreground, this corner is part of Townsville's marvellous V8 Race every year.

The Railway line is the main North South line travelled by the Sunlander for many years. Many servicemen in WW2 would have passed the hotel.

It has a magnificent strategic view, and would have warned the cowardly southerners below the Brisbane line should the Japanese have invaded the north.

Nowadays that same view is used as a strategic vantage point by SP bookies, as it has a clear view of Stanley St. Copper Shop and Watchouse.

To the south it affords a view of those awaiting relatives released from the Creek Gaol and financial advisers and funeral insurance agents about to descend on pensioners.

On the far right embedded in it's cedar walls is the first ATM ever introduced to Australia during the Chifley years.

A bottlo sign is on the left, for those trudging home to judgement.

On the front are various signs indicating on which days the internal views are best.

And yes, the cubes are yellow, is there any other colour?

gg
 

Hi Macquack

This is not all my own work. A bit of a back story...

This is my mother's house. It was started by my father who was a retired builder. He died in an accident four years ago. In fact there was an accident during the concrete pour of the main roof and he died in the accident. It was in the papers and television news reports at the time. The roofs are concrete! I had to jack hammer up the fallen concrete and all the twisted and mangled steal and formwork which was spilled on the floor below, up the sides of the walls then jack hammer back the slab enough to expose enough steal to allow me to tie in new reinforcing and reform the slab and do another pour, bonding the old and new concrete with an epoxy concrete bonder.

My father built the two main floors. I worked with him a lot on the house while he was alive. I have built the two floors at the back, the roofs and the final few feet of walling around the house which forms the parapet above the roof line.

My father died right in the middle of the GFC stock market crash and by the time we sorted out his money and got access to his shares, etc, his estate (effectively my mother) had lost a lot of money (and I mean a lot!). The money to finish the house basically was gone.

So after a few stops and starts, we got to lock-up a couple of weeks ago. The build is very unconventional. For example, the windows went in after the masonry structure was built. Normally you would brick in the windows as you build. I put the windows in over the final quarter of last year. The roofs are concrete. I'm just about to start doing some grinding and filling of problem areas on the main roof slab prior to putting down the "drizoro maxiflex" waterproof membrane. These problem areas are due to the slab not being floated off properly at the time of pour due to the accident. I'm going to tile over the membrane. The very top roof is completely finished. I'm about to order rain heads to plumb up the roof. The rainwater is to be collected into tanks. We have two rainwater tanks on the property totalling 250,000 litres which is hooked up to a bushfire sprinkler system which I need to complete around the building itself.

Once I've finished the main roof and plumbed it up in the next few weeks I will start chasing in the services internally and then it's just a matter of fitting out the inside. There are a couple of walls on the exterior that need to be rendered including the balconies but I will come back to that later.

The house is huge for just one widow, so I decided with my mother that we would split up the house and effectively we will both have our own apartments inside with a large "shared" cantina/artist studio/party room which will be stage two. The two bedrooms and sitting room on the very top floor will be guest accommodation.

I've taken a very long sabbatical from IT and am just working on the house at the moment. Except for the brickies who did most of the brickwork and stone masonry, I am doing all the work myself with the help of my brother when he has spare time. With the brickies, they laid the sandstone and I did any cutting of stone blocks that they needed. My brother and I laid the capping stones mid-last year and since then I've been doing any minor stone masonry or brick laying needed to finish things off. I'm slow but can lay bricks now. Would never make a living though.

When the engineer first came onto the site after the accident he shook his head and said to me "I don't think you realise what a job you have ahead of you". Ignorance is bliss. I continue to muddle through. Thanks for the encouraging words.
 
Apart from the tragic death of your father, that is a truly inspiring story.

I was only joking when I first mentioned "Grand Designs", now Tinhat has revealed a house and story genuinely worthy of an episode of "Grand Designs".

I bet you get more job satisfaction from building that castle than from typing away at a keyboard.

Good on you Tinhat, you are the man.
 
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