Friday 4 July 2008

14 - The Crookedness

Well it has now been a little over three months since the house arrival. The movers had officially finished with the house about four weeks ago. They managed to stretch 5-6 days worth of work over two months. This is not because they work incredibly slow but rather that they are very busy and got tied up with other jobs after the stumpers had finished off here. At the moment the house looks very worse for wear, no make that worse for move. It looked great for wear. Built in 1926 and still looking wonderful, then we came along and roughed it all up by moving it. Sigh. I do remember someone telling us early on that the appearance of a freshly moved house conjures a little nervous shock in the new owners. This has happened with us. The house looks like it was thrown by a tornado. I half expected to see striped stockinged witch legs sticking out from under it, only the whole thing is off the ground on stumps of varying heights and thus the witch would be safe, you get what I mean though.

After the official “we have finished” cry following the day’s work they returned for after the stumpers pulled stumps as it were, the movers left. We thought “great we can start fixing things up”. To our dismay we noticed that the front of the house looked a bit crooked. The two posts holding up the roof of the front verandah, seen under the title atop of this blog, both went left, rhombus style. Jan, my partner now has a name, took photos of the offending crookedness and sent them to the wife of, and admin arm for, the house mover. About a week and half later he came out to have a look. He wasn’t around when his workers ‘finished off’. To our relief he was agreed that it wasn’t acceptable. We were half expecting an answer similar to “Well these things happen when you move a house, luck of the draw really,… good luck with it and good day sir”.

The crooked front end and baby.

He returned the next day and had discovered that the front of the house was twisted slightly in the opposite direction to that of the back. This needed work. Also there were some significant support pieces missing from the roof trusses. He worked on things for a day and now the house looks finished, as far as our contract with him goes. We are happy with the result though a little peeved at the time it took to achieve it. So all up we have waited quite while for the house to be at the stage it is now, which is not as far as I had envisioned before the process started. Nevertheless we have made some progress in other areas which I shall outline very soon.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi

Thanks so much for your blog.

I am contemplating buying acreage in Samford Qld...the cost of which will leave me with a very limited budget for a home.

Earlier this year I divorced and sold a renovated post war home in Coorparoo. I have moved to Samford in search of a lifestyle change and I, like you value small, energy efficient homes and believe that recycling...everything is the way of the future for this planet.

I also love old homes - for all the same reasons as you...your earlier entry about Ceilings, plasterboard, wooden windows and carpet all resonated with me...its exactly what I believe myself. I could make a home for myself anywhere but rather than media rooms and a home full of gadgets...luxury for me is an ornate, heigh ceiling and timber beneath my feet.

I have looked at all the same options as you have (and the same companies) but one I do keep coming back to is removable homes. However a lack of 'real stories' have left me feeling very nervous about the possible success of this option.

I am inspired by your experience and feel that I am finally gathering some very worthwile knowledge that can help me make an informed decision.

I look forward to reading more and wish you and your family all the best.

Christine

Sean said...

Hello Christine,
Thank you for your comments and good wishes. Keep me posted on your progress and email me if you have any specific questions.
Sean