When we bought this house, we were conscious of a very tight budget. We bought it because it was a well build home, with a huge yard. But it is a small home. We had just come off a couple of acres prior to the flood and the most important thing to us was the yard to give the boys space play, the dogs to run, room to grow veggies and have chooks. It has beautiful shade throughout the day. Though when we bought the property the yard resembled a tip with about 8 tailor loads of rubbish/scrap metal in it. But we could see past that. The house was also empty with grotty carpet and its broken kitchen which was part of the reason we were able to negotiate a good lump off the asking price. If you can see past the surface problems in a house you can save a huge ton of money.
One of the plans we always had was to build a big shed (4bays) and then line out half into a spare room/sewing room/second lounge room. We got quotes for an extension but at over $100,000 it was out of our budget.
It took us a couple of years to get to it as we dealt with the kitchen, bathroom and gardens first but it was recently done and the space for my sewing and to have a spare bed set up is just amazing. We have put the TV out there which means to watch TV has to be a conscious decision. It takes away the habbit of sitting in the lounge and turning the telly on. And I have a full size desk for my sewing which means no more constant packing up/unpacking!
As usual when buying materials Grant scoured Gumtree for second had/excess building materials. He bought the timber for the walls second hand but used new timber for the ceiling. Also he found the insulation on Gumtree. Brand new and unused but someone had bought too much for a job and they were getting rid of the excess cheap. We found a brand new, uninstalled but older style air conditioner for about $300, the paint was left over from other jobs. The rest was bought new. I cant remember the total cost of the project now as we did it over time a little bit here and a little bit there. I think the materials were around $2,500 and Grant did most of the labor himself.
Henry burying the Ronnie in the insulation. Ronnie loved it! (it is a modern poly fiber insulation - like the stuff that's in quilts/pillows etc. We researched its safety prior to letting the kids touch it don't worry. Insulation has changed a lot over the years from the itchy fibrous stuff that was around when I was a kid.)
Our kids are always around us when we work on anything. They help out here and there or go find something to do. I think it is important for them to be surrounded by work. They absorb knowledge by watching and getting the opportunity to ask questions as we go. And often help out too. It makes the job slower, sometimes it is frustrating but watching, asking and doing is how we all learn.
Here Grant is painting the shed, nearly done...
And here is the room nearly finished, its just waiting on its skirting boards, curtains and light fittings.....Its a comfortable room and a nice space to be in.
My sewing desk is under the window for lots of natural light. I have storage!!
xx
