Building in Trentham

We should return to almost three years ago to explain why we now live in rural Victoria. In 2014 we returned on our sixth visit to France. Our good friends Carol and Michael asked if we could house sit and look after the tribe of cats that Carol had adopted. We knew others along with C & M that were escapees to rural France in the Loire. After we house sat, C & M kindly offered their cottage for us to experience life in rural France. It was this experience that gave us the confidence to move from fast moving Melbourne to where we live now in tranquil Trentham. We are only 1 hour from one of our sons in Melbourne. The other is in Belgium so maybe we will visit next year. (another opportunity to pop back to the Loire to renew friendships maybe).

After we sold our house in Mentone, the building process in Trentham started taking place. We rented for 12 months in the larger town of Kyneton (20 kms away from Trentham) and finally moved into our new Trentham home just prior to Christmas. The process of making the house into a home has been amazingly quick as we both love being here - the house, the village, the people and the relaxed lifestyle add to the experience.

So, lets do a little recap on the early building period which in actual building took 6 months. With the administration we had a further 6 months added so in full, it took 12 months from signing contracts to moving in.

The following photos with captions give you an insight to the process.

First of all, we had the block cleared where the trees were in the way of the house footprint however we retained some marvellous trees. We also had this wonderful hedge at the front of the block which was trimmed.

Then the concrete slab was poured - would you believe on the day it snowed!!!

Once the concrete slab cured, the frame went up.

The roof then went on making it more pleasant for the bricklayers and plasterers to weave their magic.

With the plastering coming to completion, Sue's kitchen was starting to take form.

Appliances installed and she started to become excited. 

Stone benches and cabinets created more excitement.

Next after the painters completed their tasks, the flooring went in.
We had both carpet and bamboo floating floorboards fitted.

The open plan kitchen, dining and family area was now finished and we started thinking about decoration.

Rather than documenting the full process in on post, we'll save some for the next few blogs. We must say though after 3 months living in Trentham, it's all and more than we hoped for.

Taking Shape

Work on the house are actually are taking shape now. The brickwork is about completed and the plasterers have finished their work. The rooms are now making more sense to us and now we are putting thought into our furniture arrangement.

We'll begin with the master bedroom and follow up on a daily basis of the other rooms during this week as there has been so much progress in the last month.

The master bedroom actually has a walking foyer. Double doors will  be installed at the entrance. We'll probably have some form of side table and lamp here. At the end of the walk thru is the bedroom and off to the right is the en-suite and with a generous dressing room.

Looking back from the bedroom, to the left is the walking dressing room.

The bedroom has an aspect of morning light and Sue is considering what window furnishings would best suit.

The en-suite. To the right on the wall will be a double vanity and at the far end is the shower recess that will have just a large glass wall allowing for a walking/walk out access. Maybe down the track as we grow older, it will be much easier.

Tomorrow, we'll move to the other rooms - all very exciting for us. Almost forgot to tell you, Sue's kitchen arrives this week for installation.

ONE STEP FURTHER

Today the house progressed one more step with the color-bond roof going on. The roofing is a corrugated steel, rather than tiles. There is nothing more romantic than the sound of rain on the roof with a wood burner in full operation while sipping a glass of port in mid-winter. That is of course we haven't taken off to France for their summer next year.
Anyway the boys worked in todays rain and the building supervisor Clint has been great as all he has estimated has happened despite our very wet weather.  As you can see from the photos, the surrounding ground is a quagmire of mud. I expect we will be bringing in soil after the house is handed over from our builder. I'm personally looking forward to the prospect of establishing our garden. BTW, did we mention that our property backs on to a reserve with the creek running at the very back. Visually it belongs to us and offers an extension to our block. I wonder how we can take advantage of this. Do you have any ideas to offer?

Our nearby neighbour rang me this morning to tell me that there was a hub of activity on the block.
When we arrived to check it out, the roof was nearing completion in one full day. 

The weather conditions are not great for the workers but we have a great deal of admiration and appreciation of their work ethic.

The whole house now takes on a very different appearance with the roof on. We are now getting an indication of the views from within to the outside world. The plans for the garden, the need for privacy screening are now forming in our minds.

 Tomorrow we are off to lunch in the city by train. Sue was given a voucher from our son and partner for her birthday present. Maybe we have another Blog Post coming very soon.

We've Been Framed

During the week I posted on Facebook a photo of the frame being erected on the slab for our new home in Trentham. It's all getting a bit real now so I thought we'd add some more detail on the progress for our readers.

Come for a walk through our home - the frame has now been erected so it is just in skeleton form at this stage but we are now getting very excited.

The double garage will be fitted with a remote door control and both our cars can sleep comfortably from the outside elements. We can enter the house from the garage via a door to the LH side and if we have wet shoes or coats, they can be left in the garage or the laundry just behind the garage. The other door to the RH side in the garage leads down to the utility area - cloths line, etc...

We've just walked into the foyer via the front door. To the left is my study and next is a passage to the master bedroom. There's a powder room next on the left. At the very far end is the kitchen, dining and family areas.

MY study, MY domain looks out to the front garden, that is when I establish it.

Opposite the study is a living room. This will be painted in a dark grey with light grey furniture and white accessories I'm told.

We have double doors that open to the entrance of our master bedroom, en suite and dressing room.

Again like the study, the window offers a view to the yet to be established front garden 

Looking back into the master bedroom from the front garden you see an alcove to the left at the back where we may make into a little reading nook. The opening to the RH side takes you to the en-suite and dressing room.

To the right of the en-suite is a very generous dressing room.
Opposite the dressing room is the en suite that contains the double basins, shower and toilet.
The house was designed as a two bath house but we could not remember when we last used a bath in preference to showers so our home does not have a bath. They are replaced with double showers in the master and second bath room.

We've now walked down from the foyer to the kitchen, dining and family area. To the right at the far end is another room that Sue has allocated to me. It's the Butler's Pantry where "I" do all the cleaning up. It's where the dishwasher is kept and a sink for me to wash up.

Here's a view from the other side of the area. To the left is a large glass window and centrally there is a triple sliding door and then a double sliding door to the L-Shaped alfresco area facing north-west. This can then open the interior to the outside entertaining areas. 

We are informed that the roof goes on next week and then we pay another chunk of progress payment. That's OK as long as the progress continues swiftly. At this stage we a mildly excited as we can see the plans becoming a reality in bricks and mortar.

We shall continue to report the ongoing progress, punctuated by regular posts of our "Country Life" in the Central Highlands of Victoria.

Framework arrived on a Friday

Friday's are becoming a day of surprises. Last week the concrete slab was poured and now this Friday the prefabricated steel frame arrived. We are hopeful that more surprises are in store for next week.

Our builder is one of the few that build with metal framing and being pre-fabricated should go up quickly. Being steel, it is free of rot or termite damage into the future.

You may have read in our last post that we met Kate, a local only a few blocks up the street from us. She was the one who asked how we chose Trentham and we told her that Trentham chose us. Her answer to us was "Well then you truely belong". Today we had another local visit us at the block.

Geoff took his French vintage Amilcar out for a test drive and said hello. He's as much as a Francophile as us as I'm to believe a 1950s Citroen 2CV is coming into his garage soon.

Geoff Scott and I sat on the MG Car Club Committee together, he as President, me as Editor. We now both belong to the Cool Country Classics Car Club in Trentham. Yes, I think we may just belong here.

This is my arty-farty photo of Geoff and his Amilcar.

Waiting for the Concrete............

Not a great deal I can report on the house project today. We expected that our slab was to be poured today but a building inspector had chucked a spanner in the works with a minor inconsistency with the metal bracing we are told so back to the drawing board. We were informed that the slab was to be poured subject to weather conditions and guess what? Today was perfect and the rest of the week, guess what? Rain predicted.

We are informed that the metal framework goes up sometime next week so JG King have a bit of time up their sleeve at this stage - I guess!!!!

I digress, sure - we did go to Trentham is check out the progress to date however I sold two of my self published books last week and needed to post them off. There is something about feeling local when sending off mail from your Post Office. Had a chat with the post mistress, telling her that I was a celebrated author and these were my books (LOL).

I also took out a PO Box which made me feel like I was more of a local - we also joined the local car club and the local Life Activities Group, so we are meeting people and becoming part of the local community.

Trentham's first Post Office established July 16, 1862. Photo taken 1869.

Trentham's Post Office today.

We are getting to meet the locals though and the town has that village feel that Kyneton does not have due to its larger population. Maybe if we arrived 20 years ago, it may have be different. Having said that, Kyneton has a lot to offer in many other areas. It is a bit of a Foodie Town with some great eating places, produce and I do like the cycling friends that I have met.

With only possibly seven working days left before the frame arrives, we expect that JG King will meet their schedule however the weather here will be a deciding factor.

The Boys are Back in Town!!!

Can't believe that the boys were back in town (TRENTHAM that is) today in the weather conditions up here (700+ metres). The quagmire that was yesterday is no more. The waffle blocks arrived, the crushed rock has been laid and all the plumbing and electrics are completed awaiting the pouring of the slab next week. Whahooo.

Styrene waffle blocks which will be covered by concrete next week - we hope!

To the left is the Tradies Loo - in the foreground is the reinforcing for the concrete.

Front of house looking towards the bedroom and study. The white uprights are the plumbing for the en-suite, kitchen and butler's pantry.

The area not covered by screed is our Alfresco under roof area for summer outdoor  entertainment. Its L-Shaped.
There are ceiling fans for those hot days and cafe blinds for the evenings with a little chill to the air.

Just to give you a better idea what the finished product may look like, here's a brochure pic of the facade. The variations are that we are going for a colorbond corrugated tin roof and extending the eaves from 450mm to 600mm to give a more country feel to the house. We would have preferred to design the house to fit more to a country look but found that the costs left less in the retirement funds due to the cost of architects. Better in our pocket than theirs.

This is out of the catalogue and our house will be the reverse of this with the renders colours on the facade shown below.

Sue picked the colours with a palette of greys that allows us to use the colours of the accessories to  give it the wow factor. I personally love the red entrance door. The living room being the darker grey will lift with our light grey lounge suite and some bright colours with the accessories to lift the room. It is a room to relax in with a glass of desert wine and an espresso at the end of the night in front of the telly.

Moving quickly

We went up to the block again today with friends and we were pleasantly surprised that work was moving quickly. Today we found that all the screw piers were driven into the earth and the Plumbers had arrived to lay the plastic pipes for our water supply and refuse.

Things are moving quickly - we are hopeful that the momentum continues.

Next come the Electricians to install the power before the concrete slab is poured over both the Plumbers and Electrician's work. We are surprised at the swiftness of progress considering that the contractors are battling against the weather conditions recently. I suspect at this rate we may even see that frame started by early next month.

Just to change the subject a little - yes, we have had some rain lately and the creek (I refer to it as a brook which drives Sue crazy) at the back of our property is now in full flow. It is a tributary to the Coliban River which then makes its way to Trentham Falls. We have blogged the Falls before but now it is in full flow as the river makes its way to the three reservoirs below (Coliban/Lauriston/Malmsbury).
BTW, we are over 700 metres above sea level in Trentham and the forecast for Friday may offer our first flurry of snow.

This little creek/brook finds its way down to the Trentham Falls. The locals tell us that in the past it was full of trout - maybe they will come back this spring.

Last time we were here during summer, the falls were flowing like a leaking tap.

I have to say that the cold is taking some getting use to but maybe next winter we can take off to warmer climates next winter. France sounds good for next July for the Tour de France.

The Next Stage

The weather here has been dismal - wet, misty and foggy, yet the tradesmen continue to progress to the stage where the concrete slab is poured. We are impressed. It hasn't always been so with a 6 month period from the day that we paid our first deposit. There has been miscommunication over that period that has caused delays. We met up with our supervisor last week and he seems to be really organized and sympathetic to our needs to be in before Christmas.

Today the Screw Piers were driven into the soil and during the week we expect that the Plumbers and Electricians will have weaved their magic to allow the slab to be poured. In preparation we have had to employ our Bobcat man to grade and deposit gravel and stone for the big truck's access. We'll post a few photos of that soon.

I thought we might bring you some of the features of the house starting with the kitchen and living areas. (Sue's domain)

For those of you that know Sue, the kitchen is her Man-Cave. It's where she designs, creates and serves her magical meals (that's my opinion, possibly shared by others). The kitchen, dining and family area is designed for family, friends and guests to enjoy the experience of food, wine, conversation and overall friendship. You'll note that there is a butler's pantry. It's like a room of its own where I do the clean-up.  It measures approx 3m x 3.5m and all the appliances sit on the benches. Rather than having two sinks in the island bench, Sue decided to move them into the Butler's Pantry along with the dishwasher and retain a single sink so that allowed for more serving area and less mess in the kitchen. We will replace the dishwasher with a wine chiller under the island bench.

The dining area takes up a space of 4.2m wide and flows into the family area with a width of 4.5m. The family area will have a wood burner on one wall however there will be two walls with double glaze glass sliding doors opening up to the L-shaped alfresco area. This is where in summer we will do most of our entertaining. It looks out over the government reserve that banks onto our property. The reserve is frequented by all species of local birds and animals. Kangaroos, Kookaburras, Parrots and Cockatoos.

The alfresco is fitted with cold and hot water taps to a sink so "I" can wash up outside. The alfresco was actually smaller however since we were "downsizing" (Ha!!!) we deleted the fourth bedroom to give us the extended alfresco.

Be tuned for the next instalment of our journey.

Sue and I would like to extend best wishes to our friends in the Loire, France with the recent floods. We know of some dear friends that had some dramas with water entering their home. Other's were more fortunate but still experiencing some inconvenience.

CHAINSAW MASSACRE

The real stuff begins - the three blokes below were my Chainsaw Massacre Team at our block. We arrived Saturday morning to discover that our builder had done soil tests. Very excited!!!

The boys, our son Mitch, my (would you believe) ex-brother in-law Andrew who lives in Trentham and my long term mate of 50 years, Kevin donated their services to clear the trees that were in our capabilities. There's still four trees that we need professional tree loppers to dispose of.

As I have no experience with chainsaws, I was relegated to labourer - note the pile of foliage behind the boys - I did that!!!!

Mitch, Andrew and Kevin - friends extraordinaire

Many tree loppings piled up in front of the Cyprus trees that offer privacy to our block.

Now there only those four trees in front of the Citroen and a few tree stumps to go so the builder can lay the concrete slab in  hopefully in 8 weeks time.

So, where do we go to from here? We start selecting paint colours, floor coverings, and appliances.
The revised plans with the changes we made to the originals will soon be in our hands.

How exciting