Tomorrow we move

The water tank is on its spot, the septic tank is in the ground and connected. Tomorrow the finishing touch and we will move in.

More pictures

I added a few more pictures to the Photo book.

The house is ours

We did the "hand-over":  listing the things that still need to be done (most of it is painting the deck), payed the final bill, and got the keys. It is our house now !

Cleaning is almost done, the new bed is in, and the kitchen already looks great.

just a fly

getting close now

One wall to be done: the right side of the deck will get a fully closed wall. Then the railing and the outside job is somewhat finished. Painting will be done later. Noel will finish his job on Sunday and we can start moving. In the meantime the plumber can finish his work.

And we got power too

Ergon Energy showed up and connected us. We have power, everything is working ! And the veranda roof is on.

The veranda

Progress in regards to the veranda roof as well. The posts are timber, the roof frame is steel. Tomorrow there will be a start to put the steel roof sheets on.

Some more progress

Tomorrow will be a crowded day. The parts for the veranda roof will arrive, the plumber is going to start (he should have started today, but because of the rain, it was delayed one day) and maybe Ergon Energy shows up to connect the power.
Anyway, in the meantime Noel has been fixing all sorts of things inside. All looks beautiful.
A few more pictures are in the photo book.

not completely done yet

As you can see, there is quite a bit to be done before we can move in. As far as the house itself: The veranda railing, stairs, roof, insulation, sidewall, the gutters around the house, the back stairs and railing. And inside all the sliding doors (including the frosted glass doors for the pantry in the kitchen), the ceiling fans, the water heater. Next Monday Halley Homes will return and finish everything. They probably need a week to do so, and in the same period the plumber will do his job.
So---fingers crossed--- after next week we should be able to move in !!
But please, give us a few weeks to unpack all the boxes that we are going to move into the guest room first, before you all come over here for your holiday.

And the veranda floor

Allan finished his part of the job today. the house is on its feet, the veranda is welded on. Next week all the details will be done, including the roof over the veranda and the railings, the stairs. Also next week the plumber and electrician are booked to connect everything.

more house

quite a change

The first section in the background, the second pushed in. The white plastic cover on the two sides will come off before they put everything together.
More pictures HERE

Yesssss it is happening

The first section rolling into Mt. Perry

And a few more

More gardenwork

We did a little experiment this morning in using the rocks that we have got.

Water and the first plants

Our water meter is connected to the main water supply and the council put in a temporary tap (kraan) to be used untill the final house connections are made. So, we could start and plant our first plants and water them.

We got a phone call too from Halley Homes today confirming that the house will arrive next Monday. They are ready, so are we. Exiting !

A new guest

I wondered why the food tray for the birds often was empty so quick, or knocked on the ground. Well here is the answer: a bush turkey (wilde kalkoen) enjoys the seeds too. I have seen him around several times, but he is pretty shy. I did not expect him to fly onto the table so close to the house. Had to take the picture through the glass of the window in the kitchen. Christmas dinner?

Plastic bags

Always trouble with the knots in plastic bags ? Here is Pam's solution.

Cut the top of a plastic bottle that holds a screw-top. Pull the plastic bag through the bottle-top, fold it over and screw the lid on. Nice and tidy, and easy to re-open.

And a place to rest

My little petrol chainsaw (kettingzaag) en electric planer (schaaf) make those split posts into a simple bench under the trees. We can watch Russel from here with a bottle of water (no typing error!) and a smoke.

The house block is ready

After some more earthmoving last week, Russel was back today with two truck loads of "blue metal".
Blue metal is crushed granite (with a metal blue colour). It is used as gravel for roads, but also very nice for a patio or driveway (inrit). Because the concrete footings are in the ground and the house itself is not there yet, we had the time to cover everything with a layer (10 cm) of blue metal. This will keep the area under the house dry and dustfree, and the patio free of mud (modder). Once it has set, it will be very hard and stable, and the rain will wash the gray dirt off and make the colour of the material visible.