White sunroom

The weekend saw one small section of the sunroom completely transformed.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, paint is the most effective way of lifting a room. The new VJ (vertical join) walls instead of fibro and the salvaged hopscotch (thanks Will!) windows help too.

Jason was keen to have this area finished as he likes to clock up wins every now and then in the slow renovating process. It is like an appetiser for the rest of the room which we will tackle over the next few weekends.

Jason is back at work now, satisfied with a productive week at home.

Painted ceiling, VJs and casement windows. I will have to get the heat gun out to scrape back the rest of that back door.

Brass hardware installed on the windows

Brass casement stays added on the windows

What to paint our back door?

We've started painting the sunroom. We will be doing it in stages over the coming weeks - one section at a time.

Already, the white undercoat has lifted the sunroom from looking like it was a movie set in a bad 1970s Alpine porno. Those are Jason's words, not mine....

scraping the door back

painting the sunroom

I also started to scrape back the inside of the back door. It is in a bad state but that's mostly due to the many layers of paint and spakfilla. It has endured numerous gluggy paint jobs.

I love seeing the history of the door being revealed. Under the cream colour, there is a light grey colour, then a fire engine red, then orange and then a deep shade of cerulean blue.

After it is scraped back we will paint it white like our internal walls, however I would like to see the outside of the door in a strong vibrant colour. It is currently a heritage green (dark green).

orange exterior door

The exterior of the Sow's Ear will be white with a dark brown trim, but it would be fun to do a bright door. Perhaps a red, blue or even orange...

Do you have a colourful door and what colour is it?

Tick of approval

I'm back online!

I  know I have a problem after my visit to the addicted blogger's equivalent of a methadone clinic (the public library for free internet when phone and internet connection is down). The internet hit yesterday was definitely needed; and my, didn't it feel good!

Anyway, much progress has been made on the sunroom. All the VJ (vertical join) walls are up! And the room  is on its way to looking most excellent. We are not called Fun and VJs for nothing!

Below are the photos I took before Jason finished the work. It was getting too dark to take the final shots.

VJ walls in the sunroom

Mr Rooney, our doubting Thomas builder, has been keeping close tabs on Jason's efforts.

He was slightly dismayed that Jason was opting to use real VJs rather than the Easy VJ paneling board. The intention was always for Jason to finish off the walls with the Easy VJs as it would be...well, easier.

VJs being added progressively

It seems Mr Rooney has been won over. He left a really nice comment on our last post:

Dropped in to check on progress this afternoon.

For the record, I'll say here, what I said then.

"An absolutely first class job, meticulously planned and perfectly executed.

I'm not in the habit of blowing smoke up other people's fundaments, but given the degree of difficulty, the workmanship exhibited here would embarrass many professionals. I only wish I could take some of the credit for it."



But you can Mr Rooney. More credit than you'd ever know. And the loan of the nail gun sped things up greatly too!

Sunroom VJ wall progress

Day one of Jason's holidays was productive and thankfully he seems much happier.

VJ wall beneath the casement windows.
I cropped shirtless Jason out of the photo...two days in a row would really be spoiling you all.

He nailed up the VJs beneath the windows and added the decorative bull nose and scotia, which is consistent to the other windows in the Sow's Ear.

Jason also nailed the timber frames around the windows. This one side is now almost complete, awaiting just a coat of paint. If Jason is really motivated he may try to finish the other side of the sunroom on his holidays.

The sunroom is progressing nicely and is starting to feel more like a room rather than a "tacked on" afterthought, which is often the case with enclosed verandahs in Queenslander homes.

P.S Our telephone and internet access were knocked out during a spectacular electrical storm last night, so I've had to post this from the free internet service at the public library... Dedicated blogger that I am! I'll be offline until further notice. Boo hoo!

VJs in the sunroom

Jason is taking the week off work to get some much needed R and R. He's been cranky at work, he's been cranky at home, he's cranky at clients, he's cranky at friends and it's like the whole world is conspiring against him.

The man needs a holiday and this week he's planning to cruise and do what he pleases.

Fortunately for me, that means working around the house and finishing off the internal wall lining in the sunroom! What madness! But some people are happier when they are perpetually in motion!

If it were me, I'd be lazing on a beach with a Caprioska cocktail with newly-painted toe nails and a few good novels. Ha! 

Mr Rooney, our trusty builder, will still be on the scene over the next little while doing other things like attaching weatherboards on the external side of the sunroom and finishing off our deck ceiling.

Stops nailed onto the window sill and VJs nailed above the back door.

This afternoon, Jason had a bit of a potter in the sunroom and added stops on the window sills (this seals the gap where window and sill meet).

VJs will form the wall lining

He also started to nail the VJ (vertical join or tongue and groove) boards for the wall lining. Real VJs. We were originally going to use Easy VJ which is like paneling. Faux VJ.

The real VJs are a lot stronger which is probably a good thing with three young boys running around the house. Because the sunroom is a high traffic area, we thought we'd need the added strength. It will be slightly more expensive and perhaps more fiddly, but it is only one wall which is mostly made up of windows.

Shirtless Jason is back! Perusing his handiwork. This photo is for Faux Fuchsia who was wondering about old Jason. 

So that's the plan for this week.