Today was the first day that Anthony and his Dad made a start on the bricklaying. We decided this time around that we would go at it alone and not rely on another trade. To be honest, Anthony has been pretty fed up with hiring people – maybe we just aren’t that great at finding them.
Last weekend we had a bit of a break from building while we focused on our son’s 7th birthday party celebrations. Although we have these renovations going on, life just doesn’t stop. I also spent part of the week packing boxes in preparation for our move to the new areas of the house. It felt good to sort out all the items to keep or throw. It’s amazing how much stuff we have no use for but still keep. All of this will help though when the internal walls are demolished and needing to protect our belongings from the fine dust that will, I am sure, get into everything.
In the background of last week, Anthony’s Dad continued to be industrious and made his own scaffolding for when the wall of bricks get taller. It has saved us a lot of money as scaffold hire can set you back a few thousand. The great thing about the scaffold he has built is that it can be used inside the house too, for painting and wiring etc. A very handy and talented man is Anthony’s Dad, I can definitely see where he gets his skills from.
My first day as a “brickies labourer” was not a great start…called in sick due to a cold, so Anthony and his Dad made a start without me. They did spend half the day planning their courses, but this stage is equally if not more important than laying the bricks themselves. It turns out that the bricks on the strip footing weren’t level, so it looks like there will be around 8 courses of bricks before they get to level. Luckily we are rendering the entire house, so this won’t be noticeable.
So for Day 1, roughly 100 or so bricks have been laid on the left side of the house. Only 2900 bricks to go! I hope I am well enough tomorrow to give the men a hand.
An owner builder home renovation 