Progmess report

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This is what the "living room" upstairs looked like a few days ago:

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This is what it is looking like now:

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It is similar on the other side of the house too, which will be our bedroom. The challenge with this side was that the room is six meters long, which is quite a span. The support beams in the first picture are holding up the roof and we thought that it wouldn't be possible to completely open the space, but as you can see in the second, there are no visible supports. This means that we are now less constricted and the area is more versatile. On the bedroom side, the room isn't as long, but opening up the attics gives much needed space so that it won't feel packed, with only a bed in there.

A wall will extend from the corner near the door to close off the attic so that the lounge room is one space and the other side will become our daughters wardrobe and storage area for toys and random junk. This house is big, but had surprisingly little storage space, which means that additional cupboards would have to be put in, cluttering it up.

Heating the previously cold attics is an additional cost, but it creates a more unique space and adds some design detail. More importantly, it makes it far more functional for usage and because it is now well insulated, will require less energy to keep warm in the winter or cool in the summer.

In the winter this space was quite cold (I discovered one wall had no insulation whatsoever when I demolished it) and through the summer it was sweltering. We will have new water heated radiators put into the wardrobe areas that run off the heat exchange pump, so energy for heating is quite efficient. The whole house should perform far better and be more energy saving once we have completed the alterations.

Now that the attics are open, it is far easier for people to visualize what we are doing and they can now see why we have made these decisions. Functionality is a big part of it as we want our house to be the kind of place that we use daily with ease, rather than laboring continually with design choices made for a different time, culture and conditions. We as a society change over time and therefore, the homes that we build have to evolve with us, or become increasingly impractical and unsuitable for the current lifestyles. I obviously like thinking about this stuff and finding ways to "hack" the space to update it for us and hopefully others if needs be, who never knew that they wanted this kind of thing.

A lot of the Finnish design doesn't change much over time and the new houses and apartments are essentially cookie-cutter homes with little differentiation between. But, if one is willing to plan and take a few risks, the older houses offer a lot more option for variation and can be reimagined into beautiful spaces with each being unique.

The cookie cutter back in the 50s and 60s was in place of course, but as each generation of owner with their own needs and wants changed parts of the space, the homes diverged from the average in many directions. It is kind of like a decentralized design process where each started from a very similar starting point, but based on will and resources, moved further away from each other - some replicating the changes of others, some being far more daring and going out on a limb. We are looking to go a little out on limbs, but the driving force is practicality and usecase suitable to who we are as a family.

Even though this is a huge mess and there is a long way to go, soon we will be able to start preparing the surfaces, which means sanding back the floors and putting gyprock onto the walls to seal the space and then all the finishing work. Once we are able to move up there, the work moves to the downstairs, which I hope will be easier as it is mostly just surfaces to contend with - but one thing with old houses is, there are generally surprises.

I have spent most of the day so far removing scrap wood from the floor via the stairs, and my butt muscles are getting pretty sore. I have been working daily like this for over two weeks now and it is taking its toll, with my hands having trouble gripping things and my back calling my names - but soon I will be able to take the night off with my wife for a movie and dinner for our fifth wedding anniversary. I am hoping that with our daughter gone for the night, we can sleep in for a change, as there should be no workers knocking early on the door. I don't count on the sleep-in though, as every time I think I have the opportunity, something happens to steal it away.

Now, time to see if I will have a camera for Sunday's Smallsteps' birthday with family. The weather should be good so we can be outside and I'd love to have some shots of her first birthday in her new home. Fingers crossed.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]



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73 comments
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Quite some progress! I wish smallsteps a late happy birthday, wish her all the happiness in the world!

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Did you have a good break?

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It was good on one side and difficult on the other. Of course that all sort of issues appeared along the way, I had issues regarding my beauty salon which I did not expect. Will get them solved I believe.
Either way, I did need a break to catch my own thoughts and think about things. I will put my focus and more of my time on two projects and I am sure that by the end of 2020 I will accomplish them and the best part is that I will include Hive along the way. I am not sure how the Hive community will react to them, I guess I will cross that bridge when I'll get there. Therefore I will direct more time to these two and keep the new rythm, which will decrease here in comparison with what I have been doing. Long term it will worth it. Thank you for asking me, I appreciate!

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Do you have your own salon?

I am not sure how the Hive community will react to them, I guess I will cross that bridge when I'll get there.

It is worth experimenting with and building your own niche here I think, if you can manage it.

Thank you for asking me, I appreciate!

Gotta keep a look out for the good ones =)

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I rented 4 walls and I have built from there. I own the years of experience which can be taken anywhere I go, the rest is just a bonus and can easily be taken away.
I do believe in the power of having a dream and working towards it. I can cope with reactions to my novelty.

Thank you for your continuous support, it means a lot for me!

!ENGAGE 15

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I rented 4 walls and I have built from there.

I think this is a good feeling.

I own the years of experience which can be taken anywhere I go

And this is very, very valuable.

Thank you for your continuous support, it means a lot for me!

You are welcome :)

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Thank you very much! The experience is the most valuable thing we have. We pay with different currencies to have it and an evaluated experience is the one we learn the most from. Many have experiences, but if they are not evaluated and analysed, they are just mere transitory facts. With no strenght to pull you further. So having an experience versus having an evaluated experience is so different.

Have a lovely day!

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So having an experience versus having an evaluated experience is so different.

This is very true. I wonder if people spend time learning how to evaluate their experience?

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I think very few do. I learn from experience... That is a phrase we hear so often. And yet you see the same person, full of experience, doing the same mistakes. I guess very few actually do an evaluation of the things which happen to them and apply the solutions on future similar experiences for a better outcome

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Your progress is looking good. Good luck with the weather working out for you. Or at least better then it is for me right now. :-)

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What's the weather like where you are?

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It's been constant rains, often downpours, here with high winds and much lightning and thunder. great for sitting at home sipping coffee, not so much for camping.

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Well, enjoy the sitting and sipping.

On a side note, I have always wanted to capture an epic lightning pic - haven't come close yet.

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Nice progress so far, @tarazkp. Looking good! :D

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It is on the way and I am hoping it will move faster from now - but from the sounds of the tradies - they are busy for the next month or more.... They are cheap and good - but not fast as they are doing this on the side of their normal business - since they are kinda friends.

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the biggest payoff .. the butt muscle development

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:D :D

My wife likely thinks the same. No matter what I have lifted - I never get much junk in the trunk

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Lining room looks great and with the right arrangement it could look twice as large as it is, I'm not much into interior decor, but I've seen it done a few times. Happy birthday to Smallsteps in advance

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I am into design, but don't learn about it or have the money to play with it :D

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No pain, No gain :)

The attic space is looking seriously good! Space is a funny concept, the fact that the outer walls are so short will still add to the 'space' (Space?) and feel much bigger than it really is. Kudos for the courage to do what you felt best.

I've lived in 3 'tract' houses. In one instance the 'design differences' were that our house was a mirror image of the ones on either side. As were they. For miles. Over the years people had made some changes to individualize their houses, but the basis was the same. It was not the best of circumstance.

I seriously hope you have a camera for Sunday. But even a phone will record the day.

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Plenty of pain here. Mostly my ears from being told what I haven't done yet.

In one instance the 'design differences' were that our house was a mirror image of the ones on either side

I was just saying this to @papilloncharity above - "smurf villages" =)

I seriously hope you have a camera for Sunday. But even a phone will record the day.

It arrived - and is still in the box... :D Tomorrow, tomorrow - I'll open it tomorrow.

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It arrived - and is still in the box... :D Tomorrow, tomorrow - I'll open it tomorrow.

Delayed Gratification at it's very best.

Smurf villages is a very polite and politically correct term. It was comfortable and serviceable but....

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Delayed Gratification at it's very best.

Forced - Anniversary dinner got in the way... :D

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Still delayed. Counts for something.

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(Edited)

A lot of the Finnish design doesn't change much over time and the new houses and apartments are essentially cookie-cutter homes with little differentiation between. But, if one is willing to plan and take a few risks, the older houses offer a lot more option for variation and can be reimagined into beautiful spaces with each being unique.

The most serious flaw of most of the new flats that are being built is the lack of space to dry your clothes in and the lack of storage space. Living rooms and foyers tend to be too large at the expense of the bedrooms. There is no lack of space in our house but even in it the utility room is almost too small to dry clothes on a rack in it. One rack can be squeezed in but two is too much. An electric dryer is a possibility but those things tend to do damage to the clothes.

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the lack of space to dry your clothes and the lack of storage space

Yes! It is like people are expected to use a dryer and own no more than two pairs of underwear.

The issue with the old houses (imo) is the small windows that keep places a bit dark. I know why it was done, but it is something that I would change if I could.

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There is no choice but to work around it with interior colour choices and lighting.

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Yep, this is what we were discussing at dinner.

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Everything that is thought about, dealt with and arranged at will is yours. and makes you feel happy. This house will make you very happy as a result. Also, a little sport is always good. :)
I will wait to hear that some details are finished. and I wish you a nice year. My English is not good at all. I'm sorry for that. I hope my broken sentences were enough to express myself. Thanks for sharing with us.

Posted using Dapplr

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It is a lot of thinking, planning - money. :D

Don't worry about your English, just have some fun and experiement - it will help you learn much faster. :)

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Oh yeah, that looks so much better and space is always a winner.
You guys call the basic houses "cookie cutters" and we call them "chicken cages" lol.
Renovations always deliver tons of scraps, but it so worth it to carve out your own character in your home.

One day in the far future a new owner will come and divide all of the open spaces into smaller rooms again hahaha. Just the way that life works!

Happy Birthday to @smallsteps from all of us!

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You guys call the basic houses "cookie cutters" and we call them "chicken cages" lol.

There are some suburbs in Australia that I call smurf villages - they are so close together and painted pastel colours to make them look fun - but they aren't. Most are just mirror images of the neighbour house repeated, street after street.

One day in the far future a new owner will come and divide all of the open spaces into smaller rooms again hahaha.

Yeah - and fit in 6 families in a dystopian future where no house is allowed to be shared by any less than 4 different races and 7 genders.

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You will laugh when you see our 3 bedroom "house" Taraz.
18 little cottages where individuality is verboten.
Ringfenced with an electrical fence to keep out visiting strangers with dark motives.
Ruled by a committee and no changes can be made without going through the torture of applications and yay, or nay votes.
But there's only the two of us, so we have 1 bedroom, 1 study (2nd bedroom) where I am writing this now on my PC and one tool store (3rd cubicle that they call a bedroom).

No complaints here, as it's a place where we can lay our heads down and the only sadness is that our views are very limited.
But then again, the mountains and the ocean is only a short distance away.

Amazingly my wife had one of those academical discussions this very morning and guess what the title of the paper was?

"Dystopian reality? Reading the Hunger Games in an African context"
Something about Dystopia being the opposite of Utopia, but I didn't listen to the talk.

Here's something utopian for smallsteps from my post today!

299.JPG

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Ringfenced with an electrical fence to keep out visiting strangers with dark motives.

One of my brothers was working for a time in Papua New Guinea from within a compound, three sets of fences...

Ruled by a committee and no changes can be made without going through the torture of applications and yay, or nay votes.

This is the worst bit!

I am not sure if a true utopia is possible, but e do seem to be heading faster toward dystopia, despite the advances in tech that should swing it the other way. The problem with technology is that it is leveraged to control us, rather than free us by those who will never have enough power.

But hey, may as well have fun on the way down :)

Are the bears for sale?

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O yeah, over here they are called lifestyle units and the electric fences are there to ensure that the residents can sleep safely at night.
All of the private homes are also electric fenced to protect them against burglars.

Technology might help on the economic front my friend and you are totally correct about the controlling factors, but it will most certainly not create an utopia on the practical side.
The human factor is our downfall and we might all become slaves to the system.

But nothing prevents us from enjoying the ride on the Titanic.

Yes, he invented the new mobile soft toy business, as I explained in the post.

Did you show smallsteps the picture?

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You have done a tremendous job. I love the way the room looks. I think you will have a great home.

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It is coming along nicely and I think that once we are up there, it will be cozy :)

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There's still a lot to do, but you can already see the changes. After this great day, it's time for you to get a good massage and take the vacation you've been waiting for. You deserve it! I hope Smallsteps enjoys his birthday and that he gets lots of presents that day. Have a good weekend, @tarazkp

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it's time for you to get a good massage and take the vacation you've been waiting for.

It has been the time for this for a few years already - still waiting :)

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Having fun lol. I envy you in some ways having a project like this as my family would be too scared for me to get my hands dirty.The sense of achievement and pride when this is done will be so rewarding. Loads to do obviously and you deserve a lie in at least every now and then.

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It is fun, but I am tired at the moment and my whole body is sore. I have been on holiday from work a week, and I am looking forward to going back to work so I don't have to lift heavy things :D

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Well I see you are progressing quite well bringing your own modern day twist to Mr. Douglas who, unlike the old generational Mr Douglas, had to rely on Ralph and Melph for remodeling, often times waking Mr & Mrs Douglas up in the morning, that's when they'd show up of course.

(disclaimer: Being a Mr Douglas is a compliment)

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Fucking that living room up nicely! The finished product versus the room at its worst is going to make a god post I think.

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Yeah, the changes will end up being quite extreme once the progression is put together. :)

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Grab some apocalyptic abandoned lounge room photos whilst you can.

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I am looking forward to crashing there in front of the TV...

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Yeah, will be good. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

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Once I told my wife I have a promess to make and she wasn't particularly happy when I did just that.

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Wive's want the work done, but aren't happy in the process of the doing :)

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I had missed this big reno of yours.

Good luck!

The space seems to be really nice.

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Cheers mate :)

It will be a decent place once finished - but it is going to be some time off before we can get there, as there is a tonne left to do and a tonne of money missing from the budget :)

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