Southern Tablelands Shipping Container Build

[turnstiles]

Busy couple of weeks with lots of painting done. Once the hallway was painted I set about reinstalling the sliding container panel barn door.
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The red colour of the door is the same as the original colour of the shipping containers.
I attached a handle matching the hallway doors.
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The rest of the lounge/dining room with all coats of paint.
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Now I was able to install the ceiling downlights - made easy these days because they come with a plug attached.
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Next came the moment I'd been greatly looking forward to for a long time - the lifting of the cardboard protecting the Tasmanian oak tongue and groove floorboards (which I hadn't seen for the past 16 months).
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(Above: still sweeping the floor of plaster dust and yet to mop!!)
Once the floor was washed (3 times) I could unpack the sofa, coffee table, rug and chairs.

Sofahenge!!
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Coffee table.
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To finish setting up the loungeroom I unpacked the Barcelona chairs that I bought (and kept wrapped) years ago. Also the kitchen island, a stainless steel tool trolley also bought years ago. Plus I hung a large abstract painting by a recently deceased good friend of mine, plus a small collage by one of my 13 year old ex students
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I still want a large rectangular artwork or diptych (2 panel work) for the wall behind the sofa.

Also put up the blockout blind in the guest bedroom - the morning sun through the glass doors can be quite fierce in summer.
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Couple of pix of the house model I made in 2011 when I was first starting to plan the house (this was even before I bought the land.)

Not too many changes since then (bathroom has been reconfigured and the water tank moved, and solar panels moved to ground level).
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Next is carpet for the bedrooms. I ordered it yesterday and waiting to hear when they can install it.

[rwbuild]

Totally AWESOME x 10

[ErrolFlynn]

A nice colour of red for the door; looks good. I see the kitchen island is on wheels. That could be useful. Three of them. Probably wise.

[turnstiles]

Totally AWESOME x 10

Cheers Ray!

[turnstiles]

A nice colour of red for the door; looks good. I see the kitchen island is on wheels. That could be useful. Three of them. Probably wise.

Yes the wheels (there's 4!) could be useful. Until I finish the pantry and mini butlers pantry I haven't settled on the island's final position.

I took a scrap of container wall off-cut to the paint store and they were able to scan it and make the exact same colour - clever stuff these days. I intend having some decals made in the style of lettering found on containers - letters and numbers that relate to me and the house, to put on the door.

[turnstiles]

My Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair has found its rightful place now the bedrooms have their carpet.
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By no means an adventurous choice, the 'Peppered Borneo' (truly - that's its name!!) is a neutral choice carpet in the budget range (like everything in the house!!)

I'm very happy with it - and it really finishes off the bedrooms.
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From nailing the carpet nail strips, taping and stapling the foam underlay to laying and joining the carpet in the 2 bedrooms, the carpet layer was finished in about 3 hours.

Mmmm...gotta love that new carpet smell 😁

And I have just begun to tile the kitchen splash-back. Just the grouting to do tomorrow.
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[rwbuild]

That sunset is Awesome

[ErrolFlynn]

I love the large tiles. A very neat job of cutting the hole for the power outlet.

All my life I’ve seen power cords on the walls above kitchen benches. That means the cords drag across the bench. Not the best thing if you have stuff carefully placed on the bench. Or like maybe kneading dough or something. Though, if it’s for a microwave or coffee machine that’s a permanent feature, then fine. But if it’s a hand-held mixing machine, elec knife, or some other hand-held gadget then dragging the cord over the bench I not the best idea. Kitchen designers should consider inducing space in their cabinets so that the power outlet doesn’t have to drag across the bench top.

[turnstiles]

I spent ages planning where power outlets would go. I wasn't originally going to have one above the kitchen bench as the coffee machine and toaster are only there temporarily while I build the mini 'butlers pantry', where I've put two double power points so the most used electrical items can stay plugged in and used in that spot.

But i thought there might be the occasional time I might need to have power there (like using a stick blender or mix-master) and I wanted the power point low and discrete. But the electrician said it has to be a certain distance from the hob and if it is too low it is at risk of water when washing the counter top.

I would have loved to have the 'in counter pop up' power points. They disappear back into the counter when not used, but a bit pricey and it would interfere with the drawers in the kitchen cabinets.

[ErrolFlynn]

A good point about water issues and the hob.

I've watched TV cooking shows. Quite often you see the cook stick one of those hand-held mixing machines into the saucepan while on the stove and wondered how convenient it would be to have a power point next to the stove. But then there's the risk of the cord brushing aginst something hot and burning.

[r3nov8or]

And I have just begun to tile the kitchen splash-back. Just the grouting to do tomorrow.
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Nice and neat. I angle-grind the cuts from the back of the tile to achieve the straight lines, so the disc's cut runs a little further on the back of the tile than the front (due to disc circumference and the thinkness of the tile)

How did you go about the cuts?

[turnstiles]

Nice and neat. I angle-grind the cuts from the back of the tile to achieve the straight lines, so the disc's cut runs a little further on the back of the tile than the front (due to disc circumference and the thickness of the tile)

How did you go about the cuts?

Exactly as you described! To get neat inside corners you need the overrun on the back to allow for the blade curve. Luckily I watched a YouTube clip of a tile cutter doing this! ( I woulda been totally screwed on this build if it wasn't for YouTube )

[turnstiles]

I am still plodding along getting some of the little tasks done such as random gap filling, building the pull-out pantry and planning the main pantry and bathroom cupboard (so I can order all the materials for a single delivery)

In the meantime - here are some "Then and Now" photos!
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[rwbuild]

There is no denying your vision, commitment, aesthetic creativity and skills that have grown with this. Anyone would be hard pressed not to like this and to anyone who sees it for the first time would never know its humble beginnings.
x100

[turnstiles]

Thanks Ray. I think having a fairly detailed plan (and model) of what I wanted helped a lot right throughout the building stages.

Because I stuck to the original plan, only deviating when it became apparent the first idea couldn't work, it stopped me making too many modifications as I went and thus made the final product easier to create.

Even though I'd never built anything more than an Ikea bookcase, having been a sculptor for years came in handy. Sticking to the original concept drawings made creating sculptures a lot easier. Painters can paint over a tree they don't like. With sculpture it is a lot harder, as I tell people who ask, making sculpture is like making a table. The spontaneity and creativity comes mainly in the planning and design stage. It is very hard to suddenly decide to make your table have 3 legs instead of four at the stage of putting the legs on! The same concept kept me going on the house.

This recent post made me realise what a long and complex process it has been, and I'm very glad to be near the end of it!!