Extension Finished

I am pleased to announce that the extensions are all finished. Phew!

It took a while to wrap up the finishing touches, with the biggest headache caused by the carpet. But all done and dusted now and I have also taken a buch of photos and thrown them up on flickr.

We are yet to finish up outside as we had some clearing done and the grass was taken out as a result. We are also going to move the fence forward to give the boys more room to play in.

The extension is awesome and we love it. It had transformed our family and our lifestyle. We now have segmented living areas and some space to get some time out. Entertaining will be a lot easier now and we also have room for guests!

Take a look at the flickr page as pictures speak louder than words.

Extension Update 3: Rooms and Wireless Planning

Came home today and inspected the progress on the extensions. Very happy that the dividing frame is up. Now we can really see what sort of area that we have to work from.

I can start planning the new built in desk layout and function. Looks like there is going to be heaps of room to play with. Looking forward to the big desk and built-in cupboards.

In thinking about the layout of the new office I am also considering the associated work such as the home network. I am planning on hard wiring most of the house to the Internet. Including a wireless access point upstairs to provide wireless access over the whole house.

As far as wireless access points go I am currently considering two models from Netgear:

1. PROSAFE™ 802.11G WG102
2. PROSAFE™ 802.11G WG302

Both are pretty good wireless access points. The one thing that I have to consider is that I am trying to provide wireless access over two floors and I need the signal to travel both horizontal and vertically. The point will be upstairs and most of the coverage will be over this area. So the additional areal on the WG302 may be distinct advantage, being able to position it at a different angle. Both units are capable of PoE which is a must as the access point will be on a small shelf high on the wall. I am going to have a chat to my brother as he is a guru with this sort of thing… he should be, since he is an IT manager!

The hard-wiring over the rest of the house is mainly to the entertainment areas such as near TV’s etc. This is not so much essential now but more a future proofing measure. I firmly believe that in the future all our “Television” will be delivered via the Internet and not as a signal through the air as it is now (in Australia at least). So I figure that hard wiring it with CAT6 cable is the best option for this application.

So getting back to the office layout; I’ll need a shelf or cupboard dedicated to routers, power, switches and access terminals. So being able to see the walls is starting to make the decisions as to where these things go a lot easier.

Maybe by the end of the week we shall see a second floor start to emerge.

House Extensions Update 2

I got home this afternoon and I was excited to see that the frame has gone up on the ground floor. The dividing wall between the two rooms is missing but I am guessing that it will go in tomorrow.

I managed to get out before it got too dark and take some photos. I took the boys down as well and they had a great time walking around and getting a feel for what it will look like when it is finished.

Initially we were concerned about the size of the rooms. We had the plan revised before they started. But we were never 100% sure that we allowed enough and made the rooms large enough. Today I was pleased to have a look at what will be my study and actually visualize the room size and where things will go. The rooms are going to be great. No regrets so far as to design and sizing. Although we do have the upstairs floor to go yet. But things are looking good.

No doubt with the dividing frame tomorrow there will be yet another hole into some fixture. But I am getting used to that!

More images on flickr

House Extensions Update 1

Finally found the time to take some photos and write about the new house extensions that we are doing. After much planning, measuring and revising plans and waiting for everything to get through council we have started!

So I got out today and got some photos so that I could post an update. Yesterday the concrete was poured for the footings. Now the builders won’t be back for the rest of the week because they want these to settle and set. Then we should see some real progress. The small slab was poured for the new stair well last week but that was not that exciting. But now we can actually see the beginnings of something.

See not that exciting, a slab of concrete. The window that is there will disapear. Not even sure why it is there as it is under the house.

This is looking from the side, that slab is to the left. The 2 metal poles are holding the front of the house up. The ground floor joists and bearers are partly in place. This extension is going to extend out towards the front and this is the begining of the ground floor. The footings in the foreground are for the new upper deck. Here under that deck will be a water tank. To the right in front of the lower floor are some more footings for a smaller lower deck that will open out from the 4th bedroom. The office that will be most distant in this image will have a small deck as well and will join by a walkway to the lower bedroom deck.

This is exciting for me because this is my new office. I know it doesn’t look like much now but it will! The concrete slab to the left will be the stairs. The office will have it’s own external access and a small deck landing. Not huge but big enough to have a few chairs and enjoy a beer in the hot summer evenings.

There are more images on my flickr page, I have linked these to there. I am trying to keep this up to date now things are started. Sorry if it is boring everyone to tears. But this will be great to look back on over the years. Pkus the listeners of the podcast are wanting some photos and a blog post. See I do listen! More updates to come.

Bats in the Belfry… Well a Mouse Anyway

Three days a go there was a strange noise coming from the main toilet light. A grinding, tapping, weird noise. I had no idea what it was. At first I thought it might have been a bird that had got caught in the roof. I was wrong.

I investigated the noise initially and banged the ceiling and it just stopped. A conformation of a bird would have been frantic running looking for an escape route, no frantic running. So I went back to doing what I was doing and it started again a few minutes later with me banging again. It did not happen again until the next morning. Kate told me that there was a weird noise in the toilet… mmm

So the following day it got the better of me and the fact that the noise was back again! So armed with the phone I held it up to the noise source for my Dad to hear, it had him stumped as well. It was time for drastic measures! Tools! So screwdriver in hand I dismantled the light fitting, although the 5 inch screws that the builder deemed necessary for the job of holding it in baffled me. I got the light fitting half off and inspected the light fitting and both positive and negative wires exposed! I decided that one rodent bait and expert help were necessary.

So having coaxed a rodent bait into the small hole with the help of an insulated screwdriver I called the electrician, the same one that we have had for the past eight years who said that he could be here at seven am today! Woot! So this morning he came and lifted the sheeting off the roof and inspected the damage. Turns out a mouse had decided that the wiring of the toilet light and the fitting were great for wearing his teeth down and he had successfully removed the insulating wire from both wires and had started on the earth wire! Light fitting fixed and light replaced 30 minutes later all was good. The electrician also threw another 3 or 4 baits around the roof space… Eat well mousey…

The big question is why had the damn mouse not chewed on the wires with the light on! That would have fixed the probelm before it started! Apparently they can tell when there is current flowing through the wire and they leave it alone and that is why they had gone for that one fitting. Don’t know how they do that but they do!

Very strange indeed, but I suspect that I won’t have a problem now. Rat bait is great stuff… I just hope I don’t smell it in a few days!