First Things First

I have jumped way back with this entry, as this is the beginning. The very first item that I bought for our place. I bought these before we even settled on the property. Its ironic really because the bathroom is probably the last thing we tackle after the rest of the renovations so they are sitting under the bed in their original boxes. Toto is enjoying the destruction (and consumption) of the cardboard boxes in the mean time.

If you have not heard of Bisazza, you do not know what mosaics are capable of. The blend of Italian elegance, European bling, romantic and free spirited, edgy and classic at once. Check the site for the ultimate Bisazza experience. The site is beautifully put together too by the way. (Normally I hate background music on websites, but Bisazza is forgiven).

Naturally, I didnt want to spend the $120 + per meter and in fact I wasn't looking specifically for these, but somehow I found 6 boxes of them on eBay for the low price of $165.00 and thought they were magnificent and had to have them. There are about 15 square meters and should cover all of our bathroom walls.

Extreme colour you think? Dated and impractical? Not good for reselling the apartment. "Oh well" I say. It will make showering a BISAZZA EXPERIENCE. Our bathroom is really small and is only an en-suite so imagine floor to wall glistening aquamarine mosaics. It will be like being underwater. A shiny sparkling gem off of our bedroom. Because of the brown paper backing, and the transparency of the glass tiles, we have to use grey adhesive, though I'm hoping we can still use white grout.


The illustration is a picture of a queen (Edition of 125 - Gocco print) by Lab Partners, a duo from San Fran. Earlier this year, I bought a print for Pete's birthday and had it framed in chunky gold.
This in our bedroom wall will carry the aqua nicely.



For a while, we were tossing up weather to use the mosaics as a kitchen splash back but I have plans for marble tiles (or marble tile LOOK at like a 10th of the cost - but then again, I have my eyes peeled for a bargain on the real stuff at the moment.) Once the kitchen and floor is installed, I'll be ready to pounce!

Electrified, Mesmerised, Gentrified.

Some things have been difficult to take pictures of because our camera is a point and shoot. Without a wide angle, I cant fit in the images that span the width of the unit. Below is a collage to show the connecting wires. Bill the electrician and his son Ben the electrician visited last Tuesday. The messiest and most intensive part of the day was the routing. This was to allow for new cables to reach new power points. Bill and Ben wired above the rondo ceiling before we lay the plasterboard. This made the job much easier.


The work that will be completed...

1. The old, original power box will be replaced and moved to the cabinet above the rangehood. (Yet to be installed.)
2. Two new lights, (one above the bookshelves and one above the sink) will be installed.
3. Installation of the oven, cooktop and rangehood.
4. Disconnecting and reconnecting the electric hot water system.
5. Replacing the lounge, kitchen and bedroom light fittings and light switches.
6. A new power point the kitchen.
7. Moving the fridge power point so it is behind the fridge.
8. A new power point on the long wall for our hifi and record player.

Pete made this wooden wrap for the light in the bedroom and is making the same for the kitchen and lounge. Our bedroom light weighs about 10 kilos so we need the strength of the concrete to drill the screws into.

Goodnight Vermiculite

On Saturday we tackled the ceiling in the bedroom. The hoist worked a treat. We wouldn't have been able to do the job without it. The plasterboard is HEAVY and big and really awkward to maneuver but the hoist, though seeming to be a cheep, rusty hunk of metal worked perfectly, even without the spring that fell off and went missing half way through the job...

Pete drilling up the first plasterboard sheet with our faithful hoist. The (temporary) pendant light behind him has a wooden block to give strength to the light fitting yet to be installed (drilling into the wood will be stronger than just drilling into vermiculite).



It was so nice to wake up on Sunday morning to the sight of a smooth ceiling. It was quite a dramatic effect from one days work.









We have opted for a shadow-line rather than a cornice. Much more modern and clean. This nifty metal edging form Greyking makes the job easy and neat. We ordered them in 3 meter strips and have enough to finish the rest of the ceiling.

Take it Down - Put it Up

Pete and I demolished our wall cupboards on Sunday in preparation for electrical work that will start on Tuesday. Bill the electrician and his son will be arriving on Tuesday to work on new light fittings and new power points. We also wanted to rule up the shape/size of the new layout to see where our new cupboards, bench, oven and cook-top will eventually go. This was to ensure that Bill could get a good idea of the work he needs to do on his second visit once we are ready to install the kitchen.




We will be getting our kitchen from IKEA. We purchased these rails a couple of months but only got the chance to put them up on Sunday. They are from the Grundtal series. They are here on the wall but still a little temporary. Seeing as we haven't any cupboards on the opposite wall now, these dishes will live here for the time being.
We have plans to tile this short wall with mosaics and to use these Grundtal shelves as well as a Grundtal rail with hooks as functional storage. We will probably put our more pretty items on these shelves later though, like vases, large salad bowls and other items that are used infrequently. We are going for a bit of a science kitchen feel so it looks a little cluttered now, but once everything else is all white, they'll make a nice feature.

Plasterboard Gets a Hoist

Two deliveries last week. The first to arrive was a purchase from eBay for a plasterboard hoist. We need this to carry the weight of the plasterboard to the ceiling. Even with two of us lifting the boards, they are so big and bendy that it is almost impossible to do without this machine. You can find them at many hire places. We looked at Kennards in Alexandria. It costs about $80 for a half day, around $100 for a full day. Because it is going to take us a long time to get the job done (we usually work on the renos one day a week because of work), we decided to splash out and buy one for $189 (inc. delivery). We figure we can sell it at the end of the job and make most of our money back anyway.



The plasterboard arrived on Friday morning. This was part of the bulk purchase from Grayking. They supplied us with 13 Boral panels that are 1200mm x 3000mm and 10mm thick (two panels slightly shorter for the wardrobe wall.) The delivery guy showed up at about 9am. Rain was approaching and we had to move quickly. There was no way they were going to fit up the stairs, we were going to have to hoist them into our apartment through the balcony. There wasn't time for that on Friday so we had to stand them up next to the bins at the side of the building. They needed to be covered by a tarp, (which was too sort) to stop them getting damaged from the fast approaching rain. There was nowhere else to put these gigantic panels. The other option was to cut them down to take them up the stairs, but cutting panels means more joints, which isn't good when it comes to plastering later on.

The delivery guy and Pete unloaded all the panels. Pete and I decided to at least TRY and fit them up the stairs. We maneuvered the boards, sliding it up the central spiral of the staircase, and flipping them over by the first floor to get them over the rail. It was really tight, some boards were scraped on the sides from the stair rail, others bumped the corner from scraping on the vermiculite ceiling. The marks are really minor though, hardly noticeable and wont be seen once on the ceiling. About 15 minutes after we got the last panel up, there was a downpour. Pete made it to work for the rest of the day and I started at 12. It was a busy, but successful morning.


These panels are MASSIVE and take up so much room in our apartment. It is starting to get uncomfortable in here!

Not Gyprock. Gyprock.

Here are some before and after shots of what Pete accomplished on Saturday. Plaster walls and metal edging to give a square edge and to make the plasterboard sturdy. Truly shows the size and shape of the wardrobe now. We will be hiring a professional plasterer to finish the job. It is a difficult job to do well, particularly making the joins on the ceiling flush. It will be money well spent.

The Bright Lights of Modernity

Currently, the lights in the apartment, (all but the bathroom light) seem to be original. They are brass and frosted glass, stuck to the ceilings like the first wave of oyster lights. They are not retro chic, vintage cool or period charm, so they must go.

We started the light journey into looking at LED down lights. After all, we were fitting a new ceiling, so we could take advantage of making life easy and installing them at the same time, before the plasterboard got in the way. After researching into it, mainly on blogs, the process it seemed would have been expensive, fiddly, risky and less effective than you may think. LED's are a fairly new type of globe, especially to the residential market. Each globe uses a very small amount of wattage to produce a massive amount of light. LED's can start and range up to 3,4,5 watts, the equivalent of a regular halogen down-light uses around 40-50 watts each. PLUS an LED globe lifespan can last for many years. (I've read up to 50,000 hours. That's about 6 years if you left it on 24 hours a day!!!)
Now here's the "BUT" and indeed it is an important one because we wont be installing LED down lights because of the buts. Each LED down light can cost around $80-$100, omitting 9 watts of power with a 3x3 watt globe. The light is very directional and lights up with a narrow beam rather than as a sheet of light. The light can also look quite blue, the newer "warm light" ones looked VERY yellow and artificial. Installing energy saving globes (that's the common spiral ones that were all used to now) into regular down light fittings were another option, however many people found that they took a long time to warm up as the globes are so small. A forum speaker said it took 30-60 seconds to light up, depending on how cold of a day it was.
As for regular down lights, by law you need to have a gap in your roof of 100mm (so we would have had to lower the ceiling by more than we wanted) because of potential fire hazards. There was no way I was installing hot little burning embers in the ceiling. (Plus they output waaay to much energy which was the reason behind the LED saga in the first place.


Here is our solution:
For the bedroom, we purchased this lovely bit of bling. They were selling this in the shop for around $500. I bought the very same from a guy in Waterloo who was selling it on Ebay for $200 (I got him down to $150 though!). He bought it back from Hong Kong but couldn't install it because it was too heavy. Its VERY heavy actually, though made out of acrylic. Our ceilings being concrete will be able to withstand the weight.



Something similar to this was purchased from Luminous Lifestyle. These spot lights are a new addition and will sit next to the shelves, lighting up the dullest corner of our apartment.



Similar to this Louis Poulsen "Satelitte" light, a timeless design from the 50's, we purchased two lights to sit as spotlights over the prep area once we install our new kitchen.



I found this image online as inspiration for two drum lights to go in both the lounge and dining area. Most pendant lights I have found only have one globe with a maximum wattage of 100, (That's 20 watts with energy saving globes.) and I'm not sure if its going to be bright enough. Need to test this out and then go shopping so were ready for the electrician. Hes coming this Tuesday to start work.

Besta Burs Storage Solution

During our shopping spree at IKEA a couple of months ago, we were looking at storage solutions. Getting things off the ground when your in a small space is a great tip. If any store understands small spaces and storage, its IKEA. Now don't think our house is going to be an IKEA house. because yes I admit there's a lot of crappy stuff there (like signed framed Matisse prints and canvas art) and poor quality stuff too so we were cautious in our selection. This wall storage is called Besta Burs and its intended to store DVDs above your 1800mm wide flat-screen TV, but seeing as we don't have a TV or many DVDs we were planning on putting it above the computer for office storage.
However, it didnt really suit and after we put it together, we couldnt take it back! so we looked at options around the unit and felt it was well suited above the bed. About the same width as a queen bed and easy to reach, it now is used as a medicine cabinet, also storing out hairdryer, tissues, haircare, toiletries - all things that we wont be able to fit in out TINY EN-SUITE SIZED bathroom. After much convincing Pete agrees it looks pretty good too.








The swatch of paper is wallpaper by Cole and Son. We are pretty sure this is print that we are going to use to wallpaper this wall behind the bed in the bedroom. Will our house look like a Cafe? Maybe. Will it look dated in a few years? Perhaps. Is it money better spent on something else? Possibly. But every time I look at it, I will feel really happy and may even sleep with my head at the base of the bed just so I can sit and stare at it for many happy hours.

Rondo Covers Vermiculite (Popcorn ceiling) - Part 1

OK. So this is the first major job that we have been tackling in the unit. (When I say we, I mean Pete mainly, he's been working on this stuff while I am at work on the weekends.)
When first inspecting the unit the thing that screamed YUK was the popcorn ceiling. We all know what this stuff is right? Its called vermiculite, and it was really popular in the 60's/ 70's. Popular because it was used as a fire retardant, insulator and ceiling leveler. I guess it was the cheapest, easiest way of covering a ceiling.
When researching how to get rid of it from online forums, it was apparent that this stuff had to stay. Removing it was not an option and Strata probably wouldn't want it removed anyway because of the fire safety and noise issues. There were two options. The inferior and cheaper way was to just paint it white, as often they are left as concrete grey, or faded to off yellow. Painting it requires a spray gun and heaps of paint. It soaks it up. I think the previous owner may have done this in the past because the ceiling is actually fairly white, so you can see from the before pictures, it wouldn't improve much by painting it. The only option then really was to cover it.
We discovered two ways. There is a company out there in Sydney that covers it with a thin film of stretchy material, attaching to the sides with cornices. Kind of like clingfilm. Its a cheaper option and quick but not as durable as plasterboard and with a slight sag in the middle of the room. Possibilities of it being punctured too.

Insert Rondo. I discovered this from an online forum as it seemed many people had the same problem and didn't know how to DIY. Its a big expense getting someone else to do this job, and I must admit, it IS a big job and understandable why they would charge so much.
Rondo products are like Meccano for adults. They are used in a lot of commercial buildings to add a lower suspension ceiling.

Main factors:

1. You will lose about 100mm height on your ceiling. Luckily ours were 2600, (as are a lot of ceilings built in the 60's).
2. You need a pretty powerful drill to drill the hooks into the ceiling. Pete had to buy a second one as the first one he bought wasn't powerful enough, you need one that has a "jackhammer" movement.
3. There are many components and it seems confusing but that's only because the parts are used for many applications and there is something suitable for every job. In our case, we only needed 4 parts.
4. If you live in Sydney, Grayking is where you can purchase Rondo products. Talk to Phil, he was really helpful and explained everything to us.

We had to bring in the furring channels though the balcony, they were so long we couldn't fit them up the stairs! (That's the metal rods you can see in the picture below)

The wood isn't part of Rondo, but was purchased from Bunnings to frame the built-in wardrobe. Pete has been working on this at the same time, as the frame will be really sturdy because its attached to the concrete ceiling and not the plasterboard.