Staging an intervention on behalf of the Ladyshed

 

After a fair bit of dithering the Ladyshed now has a functional floor.

 

I say functional because it's not the "if money was no object" resolution that we want (that would involve a lovely recycled timber floor laid over the Yellowtongue).

 

 

 

See this face?  This is the face of a man who can dither, procrastinate, obfuscate with the best of the them!  I love him to death but he was truly driving me to distraction with his inability to "resolve" the floor issue.  He simply could not make up his mind.

 

Weeks ago when the faint sound of warning bells went off in my head I suggested painting the floor as a short term solution.  He gave me the "face".  Any of you with husbands will know the "face".  It's the expression that is meant to be a poker face but fleetingly expresses the mental thought bubble "in your imagination darling!!!!"

 

A few weeks passed.  The boy contents of the Ladyshed sat under a tarp outside whilst nothing much was happening on the interior.

 

Finally I decided that it was time for a Come To Jesus moment:)

 

In a pattern that has been repeated many times in this house I chose to stage this intervention once we'd gone to bed a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Righto, I said.  What.Are.We.Doing??????

 

Ummm

 

Aaaaghh

 

Hmmmmnnnnn

 

Saint Mike rehashed the sorry saga of his decision-making process regarding the floor.  I listened feigning understanding and patience.

 

Then I gently (it was an effort trust me) suggested that he allow me to paint the floor and see how it came up.......if he hated it then I would ride roughshod over his financial reserve (not an unusual sequence of events) and organize the recycled timber floor.

 

Cue the sound effects.  Saint Mike thankfully saw the light.

 

 

A trip to Bunnings later and having cleaned the Yellowtongue with some sugar soap I got started.

 

Two coats of Cabots later and my colour choice of "Mattock" (dodgy name, nice colour...sort of a putty tone which is fitting for a shed) was on.

 

I followed this with two coats of a Cabots water-based estapolly thingy (see very technical) and we have a somewhat shiny finish that is pleasing to my eye.

 

The verdict from Saint Mike?  He loves it.  So much so that he got his butt into gear on Sunday morning, whipped off to Bunnings for the fixings to make himself a manly workbench.

 

The skirting boards are in and painted and now so too is the re-used Elfa Storage System that used to be in the laundry.

 

 

 Next on the list is to purchase a lockable cabinet for the chemicals/paint tins etc to ensure that little fingers can't get into them.  I'm also finishing painting the windows and door reveals and then it's time to start working on the curtain to screen off all the boy stuff. 

It's truly a work in progress people!!!! 

What do you think??  Does the floor pass muster as an interum solution?

The LadyShed Update

Each time a blog post appears in my reader that has anything remotely to do with improving your blog or managing your blog I cringe.

 

I'm pretty sure that if there was a prize for the most disorganized, sporadic and unfocused blogger I'd win it hands down!

 

What I've realized is that I no longer care about new people finding my blog.  Hence I don't link to it on Twitter where I love to lurk, or Facebook where I don't ever mention KATcapers.

 

KATcapers is currently just the place my family and some friends go to keep abreast of what's happening in my world.  Fortunately there are also some followers who visit:) 

 

So.....whilst I may be the tardiest blogger this side of the Tropic of Capricorn I don't want to leave you all hanging forever on the topic of the LadyShed!!!!!

 

As you can see, she's coming along well although I've captured her midway through applying her make-up! Foundation is applied but her eyeliner is yet to be completed in the photo below:)

 

 

Screen in front of her will be relocated...still hate the sliding door but hey, it's a small price to pay!

 

Our lovely lady now has some outdoor lights, interior downlights, ceiling fan and assorted powerpoints.  This involved Saint Mike digging a trench from the house to the shed (approximately seven metres) that needed to be 600mm deep.  Like the trooper he is, he just set to and got it done so the electrician could lay the conduit.

Photo taken before second coat of foundation applied...so ignore the coloring outside the lines!

 

The exterior lights controlled from the house as well as inside the Lady Shed to add to her user friendliness.

 

Interior prior to the window reveal being put in place...another learning curve for SM

 

We have chosen to paint her in the same colours as the house - Dulux Calfskin for the cement sheeting and Dulux Natural White for the trim.  The roofing is Colourbond Woodland Grey.

 

 

We recently delivered a thank you present to our neighbor PK who has provided such invaluable support and mentoring for Saint Mike in the construction of the LadyShed.  He's a keen cyclist so a voucher for his bike store seemed appropriate. 

 

To thank his wife for being tolerant of his repeated absences on the other side of the neighborly divide (as well as the times she made lunch for the boys when I was a bit incapacitated due to kids/arm/taxi driving duties) we also got them a voucher for a lovely cafe/restaurant down at the beach for them to enjoy a well deserved meal together:)

 

More photos will be coming as we get the floor sorted and start fitting her out...but these should satisfy your curiousity for now.

 

In case "anonymous" is reading - Jason Moran anecdote is definitely on it's way!!!!

 

 

 

The Lady Shed Gets Some Clothes

I've decided a change of vernacular is in order over here at KATcapers to describe our lovely new addition.

Calling it the Sneaky Shed was starting to make me feel like we were on the run from the law!!

Instead I'm renaming her the Lady Shed.  I feel better already.

The Lady Shed is now officially clothed.  She is still lacking her undergarments (the insulation and the internal plasterboard) and her accessories are yet to be added (timber battens on the outside plus window reveals) but she's looking pretty promising.

The weather was very kind to Saint Mike and PK on the weekend and they managed to get the new window installed on Sunday morning and then spent the remainder of the day finishing off the cement sheeting.  I did my best impression of a happy homemaker and made them a yummy lunch of baguettes which I artfully wrapped in paper and then placed in a blue Nigella tin for them to consume at their leisure.

There is only one drawback to having PK help Saint Mike and that's his ability to say "No" to me!  I politely suggested that now that the window is installed I think the cross-ventilation could be improved by adding a small highlight window on the back wall.....PK shot this down and Saint Mike then delivered the bad news to me! 

Never mind.  On the plus side Saint Mike is being quite charitable (or perhaps just his usual pragmatic self) in accepting that I have designs on this space to flex my decorating muscle and create a lovely retreat with the Lady Shed and that as soon as PK is back on his side of the neighbor divide I'll get my way on other things!!!!

For example, in return for accepting that deficiencies in cross-ventilation I have kindly offered to accommodate his "tools" and shed-type paraphernalia in an organized manner befitting my control enthusiast tendencies.  Yes, he's getting the far wall for his shelving/work-space (see below picture)

It's just a minor detail that this was ever supposed to be a shed replacement:)) I will be pedalling furiously on the Singer to sew up a nice curtain that will screen off his blokey "stuff" when the Lady Shed is being used for it's retreat-like purposes.  There is no way I'm going to staring at a wall full of boy-stuff when I'm zoning out up there with a cup of tea (or a glass of wine!)

I was planning on doing something like this one that Chez Larsson did in her basement:

As an alternative, I could do something similar to these curtains that used to hang in the Lee Matthews store in Mosman (before it relocated up the street and the curtains were banished to the back stockroom).

I love the patchworky nature of it - natural but quirky.  This is different to the Chez Larsson option though as it's a tab curtain.  Given that the Lady Shed has a raked ceiling this would mean I could (when I say "I" it probably means Mike) put up a curtain rod hung from the ceiling to string it along.  The more I think about it the more I like this option...I could have some fun with the curtain ties that attach to the rod:)

I have actually made a tab curtain once before...in our old apartment for the french doors that led out to our communal courtyard.

I'd like to think my sewing skills have improved since 2006.  Hmmmm we shall see:)

In the meantime, I'm admiring the Lady Shed in her partially clothed form and feeling very favourably inclined towards my clever husband!

Any thoughts, suggestions on the curtain options??

the sneaky shed gets a hat

Can you see the big smile on Saint Mikes dial?  Think this shot was taken at about 3pm Sunday arvo.  He'd been working since early in the morning getting his colorbond 'hat' on KATcapers sneaky shed. 

I love this shot.  How happy does my husband look!  Just quietly, I think he looks dead sexy with that happy smile on.  So nice to see him happy and not stressed, worried, burdened (fact of life for a bloke trying to keep his family afloat in aspirational Sydney).

The sneaky shed is proving as useful as hours of talking with my lovely psychologist does for me.  I know it will have to end eventually but each stage of the building process is such a treat to behold.

For some of the day I sat outside in one of the Muskoka chairs (some people call them Adirondacks) and just admired my husband at work.  One-armed labouring isn't much in demand at the moment:)

The insulation was a fairly straightforward affair, the fascia was a bit trickier...he won't be leaving his day job for a future as a roofing contractor (that's his assessment, not mine).

PK (SM's trusty compatriot and our neighbor) was back on the tools to assist.  Saint Mike has managed to find the one thing that he is just as much a novice at.  He freely admits that he'd never worked with Colorbond either. 

They are both such calm souls they just toiled away together for the entire day making it work. 

Cups of tea and cheese toasties kept their energy up (thanks to PK's wife who kept up that end of things...told you they're special neighbors!!!).

Check out that frame!  If I wasn't a one-armed invalid and currently had the libido of a hibernating grizzly bear I'd be jumping his bones and christening the sneaky shed (oh oh, oversharing!!!!)

Now that the sneaky shed has its jaunty hat in place, it's in need of that exterior cladding.  That will be a job for this weekend if the materials arrive as scheduled.

I can confidently say that the sliding door is never going to grow on me.  Hence I insisted that it be installed so that I cannot see it from the house...and I plan to whip some funky curtains up to make it slightly less dodgy looking. 

It did make sense to re-use it and it does provide a lovely outlook towards our Norfolk pine.  You can get a sense of the size of the space from these two shots I think...it's more summerhouse than shed just quietly!

So there you have it, the House of KATcapers crash course in construction continues. 

I can't get the grunting soundtrack to "Home Improvement" with Tim Allen out of my head as it so suits the tone of the sneaky shed...manly men making manly mess:))  Love it!

Sneaky Shed Update

Well the sneaky shed now has a frame! 

Saint Mike is now an expert in building timber frames.  He's even acquired a tool belt.

We were already aware that we are blessed in the neighbor department - we're surrounded by legends.  It just so happens that our neighbor PK is a legend in the handyman department and has kindly been acting as mentor for SM ensuring that the nail gun is pointed in the right direction.  So far the mantra "measure twice, cut once" has been paying dividends.

There is an opening for a lovely double hung sash window (on order) and in the interests of reduce/re-use/recycle SM has used our old sliding door which used to act as our front door pre-reno.

The sneaky shed is going to have a rakishly perched hat...a skillion roof (raked from front to back) to allow in lots of light.  The new colorbond roofing in Woodland Grey is now sitting ready for installation this weekend (if weather permits.  We have perused more YouTube videos to prepare for the 'roofing' phase and things are looking pretty do-able according to SM.

Skillion/Raked roof will look something like this
Image from here

 The back wall of the shed (her bottom) has also begun to be clad in cement sheeting...after deliberations re the degree of difficulty of putting up cladding, I suggested we go for more of a beach shack aesthetic and go with the Hardie-Board with timber batten approach.  I think this will give the sneaky shed a nice retro look (which we know I'm a huge fan of).

Image from here

This beauty (remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder) is a true retro shack with the sort of fibro look that I hope we can imitate.  It's down at Bundeena and thankfully has been protected, won't be bulldozed in favour of some tragic concrete beach McMansion.  I'm sure it's stinking hot in Summer and frigid in Winter though:)

Image from here

Our sneaky shed will be insulated (roof and walls).  Next job is to investigate a rainwater tank to get plumbed in...hang on, that's another thing to research on YouTube!  Surely SM is up for a bit of plumbing?

I also like the awnings over the windows of this shack - shouldn't be too tough to knock up should it SM???

So there you go.  Next week, expect to see the sneaky shed with her hat on and a demurely covered derriere.  

Thanks for all your lovely comments re my injured wing and my trip to Melbourne...will post an update later this week on how that's travelling:)