Tales From the Box

It is a curious notion that when we dig a deep hole – we have come up with the colloquial description that it’s so deep that we are ‘..halfway to China’, when really if we were to bore a hole so deep that it could penetrate the core of the earth (and withstand the 7000 degree temps!) and come through the other side – from Australia – we would come out somewhere in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Anyway – we have been digging giant holes recently – for our big deck which will be the final masterstroke of this renovation. In digging the holes we have found a couple things – and back to the headline; we hit China! Literally. An old porcelain toilet buried in the ground. We have also hit what appears to be sewer systems, old storm water pipes and grease traps/pits. It appears that there are a couple of sewer lines that don’t appear on any map – awesome!

You might be asking, Why o why is there metal in your glorious new deck?. Well, we have to. We love wood and all its woody glory – but that part of our house (i.e. the bush-facing bit) is classified as a level three fire zone, thus has restrictions on the use of timbers in building. We are allowed Merbau decking and hand rail but not much else. Hence the Duragal posts. You might also notice the completed cladding around the bifold windows. That means we are all cladded and, apart from one or two little edging things, are sealed in dry and cool.

Maybe a completed deck by this time next week?