Fixing the fly screen door

There really isn't much point even having a fly screen door at the moment. It is not as if it is stopping any bugs from getting in through all the many, many other holes in the walls like this:

 and this:

We bought the timber flyscreen door some years ago now, from ebay. It was green, but a different green to the green on our current door. It was never so odd though that we saw an urgency to change it.

Before (A similar green but as you can see the green colour on the panel next to it, quite different too)

Also it had many holes and the netting was quite loose.

 

So I bought some new flyscreen from Bunnings. This is what I needed, just the right size to do one door. It was about $7.

 I removed the door from it's hinges and pried apart the beading from the back of it.

I had to remove the nails and then take the old screen off.

Then I gave it all a sand to clean it up and make sure the new paint would stick.

Then it was time to paint. It needed 3 coats.

I had my helper Sam again

I had to paint all the beading too.

Once that all dried it was time to unroll the new screen and tack it onto the door.

All tacked on

Then trim the excess so it doesn't show under the beading

Then replace the old beading. This was tricky as the small nails I used kept bending, but I got there eventually.

Action shot. Ha ha ha

Then I just had to re-hang it and all done-ski.

Still wearing my work clothes. Who has time to get changed?

And here is the newly painted and screened door in action.

All pretty again

No more dusty screen and no more leaves stuck behind it.

So far it is doing a great job of keeping the flies from getting in the front door. Barvo! If only the rest of the house wasn't full of holes we'd be laughing.

Cheers,
Nat

Let there be space

A huge change at This Little Yellow House this weekend. It was never the plan for the weekend  and we thought maybe we bit off more than we could chew. Thankfully it was chewable.

Initially we just planned to finish the metal work and lay the missing flooring. Instead, we realised to do this properly, we really had to remove the bi-fold doors and move them to their permanent home at the back of the house.

And WOW!!  I couldn't be happier with the result.

It all started on Friday after work with Dave doing a small job that had to be done. The bolts on the outdoor beams have to be covered with 50mm of grout to stop them rusting. A very dull but necessary job according to the surveyor.

 Then Saturday morning we began with removing the bi-fold doors from their old position next to the kitchen.

Sammy was a great helper as always

 The doors are gone. You can see the missing floor that we had to lay.

 Moving the door frame into place was a bit tricky for us as it was a very tight fit, but we did it without too much grief.

 Looking back to the kitchen where the doors use to be.

I'd been desperate to finish this floor and make it safe for the kids.

 It felt so much more open instantly. We then had to move and remove the workbench and wall that was there.

Removing the workbench and wall

 The kids helping to rake the dirt flat under the floor joists.

A messy job. Of course the kids loved it.

Bench and wall gone

 By about 9pm on Saturday night, we'd finished laying the floor.

However the place wasn't safe because we could be bothered at that time to put the windows at that time of night. We just put the fly screens in the windows to keep the bugs and badies out.

Waking up this morning it felt so weird. We walked out to a large open space that seemed to much lighter. I loved it and so did the kids.

Space for the kids to play

Looking bad toward the bathroom

 The kids enjoyed having some cake and playing connect 4 in the new space.

 Then we had to lay the floor in the raised section where the new living room will be. But first we needed to install the metal brackets.

Aren't they sexy.

Sam was helping at every stage.

Clearing out the mess under the floor.

 Most of the floor was laid by dinner time.

 Look at all that space! I am in heaven.

 The floor was finished after dinner apart from a small section that we left up so the new gas lines can be run.

 No more chance of the kids falling down holes when coming down the ladder. Oh and we put the windows back into those large windows so we are all locked up downstairs now. Not hole proof but at least only bugs can get in now and not badies.

I feel like I can stretch out and breath again now. It is a big mess,but to me it feels wonderful and feels like progress.

I also did some window painting and a general clean up and threw out lots of rubbish.

So happy we got this much done. Lucky weather is warm today so I don't mind the holes everywhere.

Cheers,
Nat

Houses in our neighbourhood #3 (Featuring Dan & Dani from The Block's new house)

When I was out on my run this morning, I took my camera along to snap some photos of nice houses in our area. You can see part 1 and part 2 previously on my blog.

As it is spring here now, the mornings are warmer and bright. The first thing I saw was the hot air balloons above Melbourne.

One very odd shaped hot air balloon today

This first house is a big one. I love the blue and cream colouring and just all the window trims and period details.

Side view of double storey weatherboard in Seddon.

Front view

From the opposite angle

How cute is that little window at the front. Goregous!

The next one, I loved the colours. They painted the brick a grey/brown colour and the trim, black. They are till renovating it by the looks of the tiles out the front.

Add caption

 This one actually looked so much nicer in real life. The colours didn't turn out right.

 The next is also still undergoing renovation but again I love the trim details and cute window at the front as well as the big chunky columns on the large porch

It will look great when it is all done.

 This house below I believe is owned by a local real estate agent. It is like a mansion and I bet it is haunted by the scarey look of it.

Gorgeous front fence

 This is just a classic period home which has been well looked after and on a lovely large block for the area.

 I like the frontage of the next house. The detail on the roof pitch and the establish conifer trees made it look so pretty.

 And I just had to share this cute little sign out the front of one house. A cheeky way to ask for spare lemons. I like it!

For those fans of The Block, Dan and Dani are renovating a house in the neighbourhood. It is a period Victorian double fronted house. They have gutted it and just kept the facade and like us are adding a second storey.

Can't wait to see this progress.

That's it for now. Enjoy your grand final day for all those footy fans out there.

Cheers,
Nat