2010 at 292



292 - At the beginning

 A major part of my 2010 was 292. This was a personal building project which used my professional skills, is a rite of passage for us Minty kids (my brother and sister developed a building with my father some years previously) as well as creating a home base for me.
In January 2010, 292 was a two level building with two flats that was in a rather sad state. I had lived in it for the previous three years then my father and I stood united, (he as an architect/builder and me as an interior designer/assistant builder/occupant) and along with a professional builder, we brought this baby up to scratch. Here is the long process in a nutshell...
(click on the highlighted blue keywords to read more details about each chapter.)


Start of the interior demolition



Removing the trees from behind.



Excavation and our builder comes on board.



Finish the interior demolition



Digging holes




Concrete.





Digging out the footings.



Concrete in and breaking through into the building.



Blockwork.



More concrete.



Timber framing goes up.



Timber framing continues and getting ready for the roof.



The addition of a new roof and soffit.



The new roof is on and prepping for cladding.



The cladding goes on.



The new weatherboards are installed on the top level



Exterior painting is started.



Windows removed and bigger holes are cut for the new french doors.



Framing for new interior walls.



Electrical.



Insulation.



Gib.



Gib stopping.



The joinery for the two kitchens are  installed.



So are the bathroom vanities.



The painters arrive on site.



The upper level's balcony goes up.



The driveway ready for concrete.



The tiling is done in the bathrooms.




Kitchen is finished and I move back in to 292 in July 2010.

 


The bathroom is finished too.




The balcony handrail goes up.



And we do some landscaping at the front.





292 - the end result.

Whew! That's it. That was my big personal project for 2010. The downstairs flat has tenants and I have been enjoying living upstairs with my new flatmate. When the job was completed and I got my weekends back, I was at a loss what to do with myself. I enjoyed those weekends working with my father and achieving something each weekend. It was very satisfying. Thanks Dad.
Photographs by Charlotte Minty.