KATOOMBA COTTAGE UPDATE - ENJOY ;-)
Yes I thought I could do everything all by myself and given more arms and time I'm sure I could but having the boys from Matt Painting finish the outside work was just the blessing I needed to take some of the pressure off and doesn't the home look great!
So many extra jobs have been done since I last placed a post it's hard to keep up but having the outside painted by professionals was a great idea and saved me climbing the scaffolding in this cold weather.
Tass from MATT PAINTING m 0418 226 684, matpainting@optusnet.com.au, sent his boys up from Sydney to do a superb job using the paint I bought from Dulux trade centre Chippendale. The undercoat was tinted to the final colour and 2 coats of finish Low Sheen to give the best quality job.
All around the house the nails were punched in and I then filled all the holes, the boys gave the WeatherTex timber cladding board's
http://www.weathertex.com.au/products.php a light sand and filled any holes that needed a top up or ones missed as they were just too high for me.
The WeatherTex Company and most that do a pre primed board say that there is no need to undercoat
though
all those I spoke to agreed
that you should paint one coat of a 3 step primer so I used the best, Dulux 'Total Prep', you just can't go wrong with this product.
Here's Steve hanging on in the placed I didn't want to go!!!
Lot's of painting photos
The team with Joal, left keeping an eye on the works
You can see here that the skirt infill has been attached between the brick posts, this I wanted to keep the house warm in Winter, less breeze rushing under the house but plenty of air flow. This I will be painting with Total Prep before rendering as I did to the front of the house with Dulux Acra Tex.
I really like this colour, it's a Bristol colour called 'Stormy Shadow' not quite grey, not quite blue, just right.
Now while the boys were madly painting away the walls, I got stuck into working on the beams under the decks and the carport. What a job, even Joal said I was tough to tackle the amount of timber here and there is still the top coat to go. I have completed the 2 undercoats though I am told 1 coat is enough, it just soaked in so much I felt it best to do the right thing and give it a lasting base. I'm yet to paint the gloss finish but that can be when my neck stops hurting and there are plenty of other things to do.
Looks so fresh & smart, yes the hand rails are next YA!!!
OK, as you can see things have happened which I haven't posted about and that's the Fretwork. The next post will be about this as I hand designed and made these little sweeties myself so I feel they need there own story.
P.S. the inside is looking awesome!!!
THE STEPS
They say all things come to those who wait, so far this project is 5 + months behind schedule ;-( but having front & rear steps make it feel all that much closer to complete.
Nathan built these steps in his workshop and brought them up to the house last week. Having them in place was such a good site. The timber is Merbau, a super hardwood that will last forever; I will stain them as per the decking timbers.
Nathan supported the steps in position and propped them up with a few bricks while he dug the footing holes.
The back steps were a touch too wide so they were taken apart on one side and the steps trimmed back
The galvanised steel support posts are attached to the base of the stringer and Nathan poured in a bag or 3 of dry cement mix adding water between bags and stirring with the trusty stick as he went, he said that it is a good idea to wet the dirt before adding the cement.
Also best not to walk on them for a few days while the cement sets.
Slowly they start to come together and really dress the house.
Now all I have to do is paint them............more paint!
