After putting up the fences on our last visit we were really looking forward to Psycho Pup (aka Skylar) coming up with us for the first time.

Skylar had never travelled more than a few km in the car in the past so we were a little unsure of how she would handle the trip, but she travelled like a seasoned pro, sitting up in the back of the wagon watching the world go by as we travelled along the highway.

When we let her out on arrival she appeared a little overwhelmed at all the space, preferring to trot around the grounds exploring rather than running around like a maniac as she usually does when exploring somewhere new.

Whilst Skylar explored we set about unloading the fridge and washing machine we brought up this trip, then emptied all the tools out the Hawthorn Room (so named because it is painted brown and gold) so we could rip up the floor covering… or should I say coverings, as there were 4 layers to remove! Once the lino, carpet and underlays were loaded on the trailer and the staples and tacks removed from the floor, we decided to start preparing to demolish the laundry.

While emptying the contents of an old cupboard in the corner of the laundry, Shirleen discovered several jars of a strange black substance resembling sump oil… made stranger by the fact it smelled like chutney. As it turns out it WAS chutney… OLD chutney – one jar was labelled April 1993! Needless to say it went straight in the bin.

Once the laundry was emptied and the water and electricity disconnected we were able to start removing the masonite lining and the weatherboard cladding. Once they were removed the frame literally fell apart as it was rotten from years of neglect, exposure to the weather and termites.

Whilst we were demolishing the laundry, Skylar had decided she had seen enough of Charlton so spent the remainder of the day perched in the back of the car ready for the trip home.

By late afternoon, with the firewood pile growing by the minute, we had the laundry area cleared and returned to the verandah it had been originally. It looked so good we decided there and then not to rebuild the laundry where it was, but to find an alternative location for the washing machine, most likely in the bathroom.

With sunset looming we finished up for the day, showered, and headed of Philip and Janet’s for dinner with friends, and of course wine.

Sunday morning we finished piling the old laundry frame on the firewood pile, pulled all the nails from and neatly stacked the weatherboards we were keeping for repairs to the house cladding, did a few more odd jobs, took a trailer load of rubbish to the tip, then enjoyed a lovely morning tea with friends and family before starting to pack for the trip home.

After lunch with family we closed up the house and headed off for the drive home happy that we had another productive weekend, and that Skylar had not only enjoyed her first trip to Charlton, but had helped clear the backyard by finding endless bones that had been buried there for goodness knows how long.

Bring on the next trip when we are hoping to continue demolition.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

The trip up the Calder was slower for our most recent visit, courtesy of a large trailer full of furniture. Yes… we finally have some rooms of the house which are livable so this weekend was all about decking out The Charlton Hilton with furniture – table, chairs, lounge suite, bed, fridge, freezer etc.

The other task on the agenda for the weekend was to finish the fencing so Psychopup (aka Skylar) can start visiting the Charlton House with us.

After leaving home at around 6am (with the mandatory coffee stop at Calder Park Service Centre and toilet/petrol stop at Ravenswood on the way) we arrived at the Charlton House shortly after 10am.

The post holes for the fence had been dug earlier in the morning by local contractor Randall, so we were set to go with the fence as soon as the furniture was unloaded and in the house, which we got done by lunchtime.

After a quick sandwich with my brother Phil and his wife Janet, Phil and I started on the fence whilst Shirleen and Janet set up all the furniture.

By late afternoon Phil and I had most of the wire fence mesh strained and attached to the posts and Shirleen and Janet had the inside of the house looking more and more like the Hilton, so we decided to call it a day and get cleaned up before adjourning for BBQ and drinks at Phil’s where, along with Mum, we were joined by neighbours Ken and Hazel.

After a lovely evening we returned “home” for our first sleepover at the house, but not before hanging some temporary curtains in the bedroom. Our heads had barely hit the pillow when we realised that we had not brought any breakfast with us… something we decided to sort out in the morning – perhaps buy some cereal at the local supermarket.

After a sound sleep I headed off to the main street of Charlton to rustle up some breakfast, only to find the supermarkets open late on Sundays… I forgot we were in sleepy hollow! As luck would have it though, the local cafe, “The Boyz” was open to service a special Lions club function, so we were able to nosh on a yummy breakfast of toast, egg, bacon and grilled tomato… just the thing to kick off another hard days work at the Hilton.

Whilst Phil and I finished off the fencing, Shirleen and Janet removed two of the three remaining cupboards in the kitchen. Now only the sink remains.

The rest of the day was spent repairing and dog proofing the existing fences, splashing some more sample pot paint around and generally pottering and preparing for the trip home.

We arrived home around 7pm satisfied with another productive weekend’s work and the Charlton House feeling more and more like a home away from home.

Front Fence

Cupboards Gone

Bedroom

Cup weekend we set ourselves three tasks… fencing the street boundaries so we can bring the dog with us, removing the rubber underlay which had stuck to the floor in the entry and hallway, and getting rid of the awful pantry in the corner of the kitchen.

The weather was overcast and thundery when we left home and before long it was bucketing rain. Fortunately the rain eased for our detour via Toolern Vale to pick up a couple of gates for the driveway from Stewart at Variety Fencing but resumed not long after hitting the highway again.

By the time we arrived at the Charlton House at around 12:30 the rain had stopped and the sun was shining, with the temperature heading toward the mid 30’s. After unpacking and changing into our work clothes I started setting out and digging postholes for the fences and Shirleen started attacking the floor with the belt sander. It wasn’t long before we realised that both tasks would be more time consuming than we first thought! By mid-afternoon the results of our blood, sweat and tears were extremely modest… one and a half holes dug (the ground was like concrete) and about half the entry hall floor sanded. During our afternoon tea break we reprioritised tasks… Shirleen decided to attack the pantry, and I used the heavier belt sander on the floor whilst the ‘half holes’ were soaking up a few buckets of water.

By 5 o’clock we decided we had had enough and headed back to mum’s for the usual ‘shower and wine’ ritual.

By Sunday morning the post holes had softened enough to make digging them marginally easier and by mid-morning I had the first of the gates hung. Meanwhile back in the pantry, Shirleen was making slow and steady progress on what was a very much over engineered (and smelly) construction… all the pantry, including the shelf brackets, was put together with 4” nails (even the smallest of timbers) proving a challenge for the largest crowbars and sledgehammers.

After wearing out several sanding belts completing the entry floor, we decided not to continue sanding the hallway floor but instead to temporarily cover it with some excess masonite which we had removed from the old wardrobes and the pantry walls.

With the pantry still proving stubborn, we formed a tag team to attack what remained… by evening, with the 4” nails seeming more like railway spikes, we had finally got the better of it… not only does the kitchen now benefit from the extra space, but the whole house smells so much better!

Digging the post holes was almost impossible in the hard ground, so we decided to ask local contractor Randall, who had removed our rubbish pile, to return with the auger attachment on his bobcat and drill the post holes for us, which we hope he will do this week. This meant I only needed to dig 2 more by hand in order to hang the second gate, which I did Monday morning after again soaking the holes with water.

Late on an overcast and thundery Monday morning we were visited by Bruce the Plumber who we asked to advise on some of the existing plumbing which is either disconnected or leaking, and what we needed to do to ensure that any plumbing work done now will be suitable for the future kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Shortly after Bruce left the heavens opened, giving us a first-hand view of how efficient the guttering is… the one good water tank we have overflowed, and the only other downpipe outlet spewed gallons of water out onto a very dry backyard. After about 10 minutes the rain stopped and out came the sun… unfortunately we missed seeing Incy Wincy spider!

By lunchtime we had loaded the trailer with the timber from both the pantry and the wardrobe in the ‘Hawthorn Room’ (so named because it is painted in brown and gold) which Shirleen had demolished earlier, to take to the tip.

After lunch we dug out the sample paint pots we had bought during the week and painted a small section of the entry to see what the colour scheme we had chosen would look like. So far all the colours we’ve chosen look as good as we had hoped. After washing out the paint brushes in the kitchen sink I wanted to find out how well it was draining into the broken sewer pipe we had exposed earlier. When I looked into the pipe I could see not only water but a scaly creature as well. Wondering how the hell a fish had got into the sewer I called to Shirleen to confirm that I wasn’t just losing the plot. On closer inspection she realised it was a lizard, and so began a rescue mission which involved a rubber gloved hand 2 feet down the sewer in search of the mischievous little reptile. Within minutes we had a friendly little baby bluetongue lizard back on solid ground and relocated to a safer area of the garden.

Late afternoon saw us packing up and returning to mum’s for a shower after which we had a lovely evening of drinks and nibbles with our delightful neighbours, Ken and Hazel.

By Tuesday we were feeling too tired to do too much work so we pottered around doing some tidying and packing up ready for the trip home.

Overall a productive weekend and we are looking forward to the next trip, when we are hoping to complete the fences so Skylar can come to the Charlton House with us.

Pantry before demolition

Pantry after demolition

Paint Samples

The rescued lizard

New front gate and letterbox