You don't say where you re, but in New South Wales, you can do work without an owner builder permit if the work is:
Under $10,000 in market value
Doesn't require…

A quick update on the veggie garden for anyone interested in veggie growing!!
The most noticeable change is with the butternut pumpkin. In the three weeks since my previous post, they…

Spring means focus is shifted to outdoors. I'm back to my regular weed rambles, where I take a bucket and secateurs and wander around my 25 acres looking for weed…

Well it seems to have been one of the windiest Septembers I can remember since being in this region. More than any other weather phenomenon - I hate wind the…

Brief update - work on the house moves slowly on, but I did manage to finish the pantry.
Now the surround is complete, I am warming to the 'Shaker' style cupboards.…

Thanks for your input.
Council approved the 300mm high concrete and metal piers that the containers sit on. The subfloor has adequate ventilation as both the front and back decks run…

Council recently graded our dirt road and kindly dumped about 30 tonnes of clean fill on my doorstep!
It is a nice mixture of silt and road base - which means…

Time for net curtains. NOT, I might add, for privacy!
But I've realised that at this time of year, when the sun is lower in the sky, and the days…

I've slowed down a fair bit lately - even taken time off to read a book, look at the view, go for walks. But there are still some things to…

A few more 'Then and Now' photos:

I am still plodding along getting some of the little tasks done such as random gap filling, building the pull-out pantry and planning the main pantry and bathroom cupboard (so…

My Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair has found its rightful place now the bedrooms have their carpet.
By no means an adventurous choice, the 'Peppered Borneo' (truly - that's its name!!) is…

Busy couple of weeks with lots of painting done. Once the hallway was painted I set about reinstalling the sliding container panel barn door.
The red colour of the door is…

Once the lounge cupboards were done, I was able to fill them with stuff that was cluttering up the lounge. (Most of my tools are now temporarily in one of…

Perhaps widen the hole a bit more and insert a nice piece of timber and make it an in counter knife block??
Nice sink BTW!

Well a month has passed by quickly. I have been busy working every day but there is not a huge amount to show.
School thankfully finished for Summer 2 weeks ago…

In the past 10 days since my last post I haven't managed to get a huge amount done. Four of those days were teaching (and a day at school is…

As mentioned int the previous post, I had been sleeping in the guest room while I plastered, sanded and painted the main bedroom:

A strip of sand paper taped…

Three and a half weeks living here and I'm loving the quiet (except for the occasional distant cow conversations)
Solar is holding up exceptionally well. First time I used the oven…

The electricians came on Monday and finished all of the electrical work. All of the lights, switches and power-points are operational and so too is the hot water tank. (Electric…

The plumber returned today and installed all the kitchen, bathroom vanity, toilet, shower and laundry tub plumbing. It is all usable now (except the shower which needs the hot water…

Bathroom is moving along.
Screed down:

Floor tiles:

Tile up close:
I grouted them Tuesday:
Today the wall tiles went up and I will grout them tomorrow:

Outside ceiling painted:
Kitchen wall sanded, and 2 undercoats…

Quick update - working away steadily as usual on lots of little things mainly taping/plastering, putting up some fibre cement panels on the ceilings outside, ceiling battens (yes my delivery…

I'm still waiting for the order mentioned in the previous post - over 3 weeks now so I have no batten clips or insulation to finish the lounge room ceiling.…

Main bedroom ceiling now sheeted. I'm running low on insulation for the lounge/dining ceiling so have ordered more along with other odds and ends (doors for the hall cupboard, door…

Last 4 days at the house (2 were in the classroom!) since my last post and I managed to get the kitchen ceiling up. The battens certainly made it easier…

With the long weekend over I realised that I have now been working 7 days a week for 2 years straight except for 3 days off for Christmas (the one…

So the gyprocking continues!!
Main bedroom walls are all up:

And this finally closed up the back of the two large loungeroom cupboards which used to allow me to walk through for…

More gyprocking, faffing around trying to keep insulation in place while I add glue to studs and hold up the gyprock with one hand whilst applying screws with the other.…

So just a bit more gyprocking in the bathroom:
Had to extend the window reveals, and cut the exhaust vent through the walls:
Didn't have a hole saw big enough! And simple…