Building up the Front Wall & Adding Another Garage Door

While we were busy with our bedroom, we also began building up our front wall because the wall as it stood, wasn't very secure. We also needed to make space for an extra garage door so we could park our two cars in the property.  We had to source an extra high garage door so we could fit our 1977 Bay Window VW Kombi in. 

Sounds easy enough. But it wasn't. Building started during the week of the 21st of November and was completed on the 7th December, after what seemed like an eternity (although it was only 2 and a half weeks later). I now know why people say that building is a stressful thing. During the building we had a guy walk off the street and into the property, straight past our builders. He told them his granny worked there, and because they had only been on the site for two days, they didn't know we never had a domestic worker so they let him walk right on by. After a while they got suspicious and called their boss who then in turn alerted us. It ended up that they guy had gone around the back of the house and kicked in the kitchen burglar guards (because the window was already open so we could run extension cords for the builders). Luckily because we were still in the process of moving our stuff in, most stuff was in boxes and there wasn't anything of value besides two spare cell phones that were taken. (I also think he could only take what he could fit in his pockets because he had to walk out the front past the builders.) 

THE BUILDING

Plastered wall with plaster band waiting to be primed. 

The plaster primer we used was 'Modo Plaster Primer' from Builders Warehouse

Wall painted with plaster primer.

Painting complete. The paint we used was 'Fired Earth's Severe Weather' paint and the colour was 'Windchill'. We weren't entirely happy with the way it covered over the existing paint. It seemed to be perfect on the newly plastered and primed section of wall but it ended up looking a bit blotchy in some places on top of the older paint. We had never heard of the brand but bought it because it was on special at Builders Warehouse. It may have just been worth going the good old Dulux or Plason way and paying a little more, but we live and we learn.

Garage door is FINALLY in. We waited so long to get it because it had to be custom made because of the extra height. When it finally arrived and it was time to install it, we found out that it was too wide. So instead of taking it back and waiting for them to cut it down slightly, we had the builders just knock off a section of the column they had just built and painted. In the end it all turned out ok. 

The pedestrian door is also finally in and sealed with Woodoc 35, an exterior polywax sealer, with a low-gloss finish with extra UV-protection and water repellence. We added an ebony stain to the Woodoc to give it the dark colour. It wasn't what we originally had in mind but as with the garage door, it turned out ok in the end.

As we are learning with all our renovations, you have to be willing to compromise on certain things and just go with it because it hardly ever works out exactly how you want or how you have pictured. After its all done you don't really even seem to notice those small things that bugged you when you were actually doing it.

After the door was finally in and secure and painted, we went on the hunt to find a post box. Because this was a bit of an after thought and we hadn't allowed for it to be built into the wall, we had to try and put it in the wooden door. Instead of an hour, this took close on 2-3 hours. And we had to be careful where we made the hole to make sure we weren't cutting through any of the support beams (Although the door we bought said it was a solid wooden door, it wasn't). We also put in a peep hole just above where the post box slit is. Pics to follow.

The last thing I am looking for now to complete the front wall is a house number that isn't brass, although I would love it to be. Unfortunately we have been told that brass numbers seem to get legs and disappear not long after you put them up.