Front Path Tiles Laid

Front path tiles have been laid and are waiting to be grouted when I get a chance over the next few days. Garden lighting low voltage wiring is a work in progress as you can see and step lights yet to be installed.

Off Topic Picture

Just having a wow moment with the new camera...lol

Front Progress Picture

This photo gives an idea of how all the elements of the hardscaping and landscaping are starting to come together. Once the front path is tiled I'll move on to getting the driveway sorted.

Granite Laid

It took Andy and me 2 days to lay the granite and tiles on the front steps but the result is well worth the effort. They still need a final coat of sealer and silicone applied along the edges. Some good progress this last week or 2.

New Camera

After not having done any serious photography since the late 90's I decided it was time to upgrade to a digital SLR. Hopefully this won't come back and bite me as impulse buys don't usually work out for me though I'm loving this already....the manual looks like some heavy reading but here we go.

What To Do?

I've always liked this chair for it's wow factor...now I have selected the wallpaper for the office I'm thinking this will mesh very nicely except it's size could be an issue.

Office Wallpaper Ordered

I've trawled the Internet to find the best deal on some of the wallpaper required for the house. This paper was quoted at $400 per roll minimum here in Australia and we need 5 rolls for the office...$2000 at least...ouch...imported price including freight is $740.

Developers Fence Revamp

In the interests of making the Stockland built fence a better thing I'm adding sleepers along the bottom to retain gravel and give the fence a more finished look. Trying to find straight...ish sleepers is fun....forget Bunnings they sell Bananas for sleepers...lol.

Granite Steps

I went a little over the top with the top face of the stairs by choosing Rebated Black Flamed Granite (Not cheap) but I think it looks stunning along side everything else.

But Wait There's More!

The first picture shows the area which will contain the Bali Hut, the rock on the ground is crushed Sandstone. All going well we will order the Bali Hut sometime today and hopefully the installation won't take long as things in the building trade are very slow around here at the moment. Moving to the second picture this is the cobble stone feature turned into a path.....the jury is still out for me on this one.

The Great Wallpaper Rip-off

After a few weeks of looking around for wallpaper and comparing prices of buying local or importing the same wallpaper it's become obvious we are getting ripped off by greedy importers. Don't blame the average retailer as I'm sure they aren't getting rich...it's the middle man that's making the big dollars. We are talking mark ups of several 100%....I've already purchased from overseas and saved $800 on 2 rolls of wallpaper without problem. So my advice is look around overseas first and if you feel comfortable try importing.

What The?

Hmmm.....Microdot....UV dye...Radioactive isotope...smells like bullshit but nice try!

Step Light

These are made by HPM, reasonable price at $22 but 10W Halogen bulb which I'll convert to LED. There are heaps of funky looking step lights around but apart from the price they usually require the wall to be chased which I wasn't prepared to do 10 times over.

Back Yard Taking Shape

Turf was laid yesterday along with more cobblestones. Spent today cleaning, painting and adding more electrical wiring for the outside garden lighting. We have run out of cobblestones so the path is only an outside edge until I can order more on Monday. My right elbow is killing me after painting non-stop for a week.....ouch.

Landscaping Again!

Progress picture showing rear planter box painted and cobblestones added as border around outdoor area tiling and planter box itself. If the paint shade looks off it is, it's supposed to be the same as the main house and is close but the picture makes it look more off than it really is. I'm going to have to work with the paint people to try and get the paint colour match spot on for the final coat.

Top soil is being added and all going well will be turfed by the weekend.