Oiling the concrete

Grant sealed the concrete with one coat of Livos Linus to prime the floor and then two coats of Livos Kunos.

It is not a perfect finish, not by a long shot but hey..it's rugged and it looks like it has been around for many years, with a worn, aged appeal.  Footprint stains in the concrete are just an added bonus!

working the oil into the floor

The coat was put on and then left for half an hour before wiping
off the excess.

First coat

The sealed concrete up close

There is more than one footprint - we suspect they were done a while ago.
Grant tried to grind it down, however was unable to.

The floor does have a very warm and fluid feel, almost like a river bed. That's us figuring
out sofa arrangements.

Grant made the entertainment table. We are just waiting on the cabinetry to fill in the unit.

Retrofitting the original house with hemp

Starting to work on the back of the house, we are retrofitting our old dining room. It will be turned into a study/guest bedroom/second living room. 

As you can see this used to be our shed and outside toilet

toilet removed

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Our dining room is now just a frame

Our dining room sans walls

re-using lathes for battens for the hemp to lock around

Our ebay double glazed window has been installed

All the lathes and plaster removed

Taking photos with the tape measure has been an important step in retracing what we have done

The hempcreting has begun

Membrane to create an air gap to the bathroom wall

Grant setting up the formwork against the bathroom wall

Conduit to protect electrical wires from the hempcrete

The completed outside wall

linking the old house to the new, with the out hemp link

We have made a lot of measurements so we can look back at wall detail for things such as electrical wires and battens (in this case for book shelves

When working with an old house you end up finding all sorts of things, including some ancient termite eaten bearers, no wonder the floor was spongey!

Moving up the wall

Rendering - a couple of interior shots

The interior walls are finished with a lime render called Otsumigaki, it is a Rockcote product. You can see the walls are shiny in patches, this is a wax finish and is breathable. We are really happy with the finish, it has a textural finish that provides beautiful shifts of light at different times of the day and from different angles. 

Otsumigaki finish in the lounge room area

exterior render finish

Opening up the old house to the new house

Every time something else happens towards completing our renovation it is a small milestone. When we broke into the renovation from the old house it was wonderful. That is until winter set in! Cripes it has been a tough one. Sometimes we have been getting up in the morning and preparing breakfast and it is only 4 or 5 C inside!

Grant knocking out the back wall

piece by piece the wall is removed

dada!

We are at lock up...no really...we are actually at lock up!!!

Last night we cracked open a bottle of champagne to celebrate what has been an extremely long process! Our large exterior eastern facing door has been installed! We should have been locked up last year so it is with much relief and great celebration to reach this stage. We have had a productive week, with many trades dropping in on the site to do work. Grant has been retrofitting the old part of the house by hempcreting the ceiling to provide us with superior insulation. I have been working on waxing the bamboo cabinetry using a product called Treatex traditional hardwax oil. Pictures to follow.

The most important picture is the one beneath theses words. How glorious it is to have the door in, and lockable. It has large proportions and feels incredibly solid. There is still a couple of things to complete the door. Down at the base we need to place an angled door trim so we don't trip on the doorway. This will be placed once the concrete floor has been polished.

This is it, the door that has delayed the project by months!

Toffee already enjoying the sun streaming through our door!