January | 2016 | CHARLTON HOUSE

After starting the removal of the deck on the previous visit we were anxious to get back up to The Charlton House to continue demolition and bring us closer to the time when we could arrange re-stumping.

I had arranged for leave on Monday 25th and we had 4 days to finish removing the decking, so Saturday morning we loaded the tools in the trailer and the dogs in the station wagon and headed up the Calder looking forward to an extra long weekend of work and wine.

Our work didn’t actually start until Sunday though… on our arrival around lunchtime on Saturday we unloaded and installed some kitchen shelves we had brought up, then headed straight to the Charlton Lawn Tennis Club to watch family members playing in the annual Australia Day tournament. Whilst there we bumped into friends who live around the corner from us in Somerville on their first ever visit to Charlton – they had come to play in the tournament with the Frankston Tennis Club. What a small world!

Our very pleasant and relaxing day culminated with lovely BBQ dinner and drinks with our Charlton neighbours Philip & Janet and Ken & Hazel.

Sunday and Monday were dedicated to continuing the demolition we started on the previous visit… cutting some of the wood for firewood, and stacking the remainder on the ever increasing “yet to be cut” firewood pile – I’m certain by the time we finish we’ll have firewood for years to come. By Monday evening we had all the decking pulled up, bearers and joists removed, redgum stumps dug out and veranda posts temporarily secured with star pickets, meaning the house is basically ready for restumping – a major milestone we have reached well in advance of what we anticipated.

On our last visit we received an invitation to attend an Australia Day breakfast and ceremony at the Charlton Hall, during which we were to be officially welcomed to Charlton, so Tuesday morning we headed into town to attend the ceremony and accept a welcoming gift of a “Welcome to Charlton” coffee mug. We had a lovely time meeting more of the locals who made us feel very welcome.

After the ceremony we returned to the house to clear up, pick some of the ripened grapes from our vines, and prepare for the trip back to Somerville.

Overall a very productive weekend and as usual we cant wait for our next trip.

This is why we demolished the deck – wonky stumps, rotten joists and uneven boards

Partially completed

Two of the “stumps” holding up the decking.

Job completed!

We were impatient to get up to the Charlton house for an extended period over Christmas & New Year. The plan was to stay from 28th December until 6th January, and the kids were joining us on this trip as well as some friends visiting for a couple of nights in the new year.

We left home together… me in the ute loaded with 10 days supply of food and water and the trailer loaded with tools, Shirleen in the station wagon with the dogs, and Emily and Abbey in Emily’s car. We were joined at the Calder Park service centre by Matthew, forming a convoy as we made our way up the highway.

After unloading all the cars on arrival, we changed into working clothes and got stuck into the things we decided to tackle this trip… removing the concrete slab under the old laundry, and demolishing the “office” which was really just a room which had been built by closing in the verandah on the western side of the house.

By the end of the day Shirleen, Matthew and Abbey had the slab broken up and stacked on the “concrete and brick” rubbish pile and Emily and I had the internal wall lining and external weatherboards removed from the verandah infill.

After cleaning up we joined family and friends and Philip and Janet’s for dinner and drinks followed by a hilarious game of Cards against Humanity.

The following day was low key as a result of being tired from both the previous days work and the hot weather. We enjoyed lunch at “The Boyz” after which Matthew headed off back to Melbourne and the rest of us relaxed back at the house with the air conditioning on high.

Wednesday was earmarked for me to return to Melbourne with the trailer and pick up some cupboards which had been given to us to use as a temporary kitchen. On the way to Melbourne I stopped off at The Good Guys at Essendon Fields to buy a portable hotplate after discovering that the side burner on the barbecue, which we had earmarked as a stove replacement, wouldn’t light.

The return trip to Charlton was a slow one due to the ute and trailer being loaded to the hilt with joinery, requiring continual stops to check and tighten the ropes and tie downs due to the load shifting on Melbourne’s crappy roads. Whilst making the usual toilet stop at the outbound Calder Park service centre I phoned Emily and Abbey to see how their return trip was, to discover that they were stopped at the inbound Calder Park service centre! After unloading all the cupboards into the garage on arrival at Charlton we assembled one of the joinery units to use in the kitchen as much needed storage.

Over the next few days the weather was quite hot with temperatures in the high 30’s and we got into a pattern of working on the house in the mornings (including continuing the demolition of the office, starting on removing the decking and gurneying the weatherboards) and retiring to air conditioned comfort in the afternoons.

We did break from demolition a couple of times when friends came to visit, on one occasion taking a trip to Brim to see the disused wheat silos which had been painted with a mural of four local residents by artist Guido van Helten.

Other “outings” during our stay included dinner at a quaint little pub at Wychitella as well as at the local East Charlton Hotel, and several walks with the dogs around the local neighbourhood.

The time to return home to Melbourne was upon us way too quickly and we would have liked to stay longer, however a return to work was necessary to continue to fund the Charlton House restorations, so we can but look forward to the next visit on Australia Day weekend, when we have been invited to attend a ceremony at the Charlton Hall to be officially welcomed to the town. We feel special.