After finally engaging a contractor to restump The Hilton, the focus of our Easter trip was to prepare for that to happen.

I took a couple of days off work so we were able to leave home late morning on Wednesday and arrived in Charlton Mid afternoon. After unloading the car and trailer we pottered around a bit, visited family and set our plans for the next few days in place.

Thursday morning we travelled to Boort to order the timber for the replacement floor bearers. The existing bearers were a little undersized and those that hadn’t been eaten by termites were sagging, so we had made the decision to replace them all so that the floors would have a better chance of being level. Whilst in the timber store Boort we bumped into Jeff and Sue, neighbours from a few doors up whom we had heard of, but had never met. They have a similar aged house which they also are renovating. We accepted their invitation to see the work they had done, so after spending the remainder of the morning clearing out the sleepout, which was to store all our furniture during restumping, we had a bite for lunch and headed up the street to inspect Jeff and Sue’s renovations.

Jeff and Sue were much further progressed than us but they also have a lot more work… termites had not only eaten much of the sub-floor but had also attacked the wall studs, to the extent that most had to be replaced. We left thanking our lucky stars that our place is in considerably better condition.

Friday saw, amongst other things, Shirleen packing away the kitchen cupboards into cardboard boxes so the cupboards could be removed in preparation for the restumping, whilst Phil and I repaired a section of fascia which had rotted away. When we had finished our work for Friday we adjourned to Philip and Janet’s for early evening nibblies and wine.

On Saturday after our regular Saturday morning coffee and donuts at The Boyz, Shirleen started work around the garden and grounds, putting pea straw under the fruit trees and grape vines then progressing to her traditional, and now mandatory “Bindi Run”, whilst I started pulling up the floor coverings in the kitchen – vinyl glued to masonite underlay which was stapled to the timber floor. Typically, the underlay sheets came up easily, but the staples remained. That night Shirleen dreamed about pulling bindis from the garden and I dreamed of pulling staples from the kitchen floor!

Local contractor Randall visited us on Saturday to discuss cutting away of the concrete path at the back of the house so the restumper could access the subfloor which he committed to doing on Easter Monday, despite it being a public holiday. Thanks Randall!

Jeff and Sue also visited on Saturday to compare our respective renovations, and they agreed that theirs was by far a more daunting task, although they have had 2 years extra to discover their pitfalls.

By Sunday morning we were all feeling extremely tired and also unwell so we decided to unload all the furniture into the sleepout, pull up the remaining carpet from the lounge room, then head back home for a much needed rest.

Removing the Lounge Room carpet

Removing the  Kitchen Floor Coverings

Floor Coverings all gone!

It had been nearly a month since our last visit to The Hilton, which was probably a good thing given the weather this time of year can make renovating extremely uncomfortable.

With the demolition works complete (well, at least on the house… there’s plenty more outbuildings to be removed) our work was limited to some cleaning up and preparing for restumping.

We arrived on Friday afternoon after picking up a replacement verandah post and some fascia on the way and decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing so that we could attack our chores on Saturday with a vengeance.

Saturday morning we went into town to do some shopping and for donuts and coffee at “The Boyz” with Phil and Janet

Once back at the house Shirleen and Janet attacked the ever increasing crop of bindis growing in the yard whilst Phil and I set about securing the verandah posts to the fascias with some bolts to replace the rusted nails.

By the end of the day 3/4 of the verandah posts were securely bolted, 6 huge garbage bags of bindis (plus a 120 litre wheelie bin) graced the back yard, dozens old fronds had been cut from the two large palm trees in the yard, and muscles were getting sore, so we quit for the day, showered, and joined Phil and Janet for dinner and (of course) wine.

Sunday morning we filled the trailer with bindis and fronds and trundled off to the tip. We visited mum on the way home, then joined neighbours Ken and Hazel for morning tea, after which we did some chores around the house and packed up ready for the return trip.

The weekend ended far too quickly and we cant wait for our next trip which we have earmarked to start packing the house up in preparation for restumping. Roll on 5th March!

Bindi Bags

Our chosen paint scheme

Palm Tree

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

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.

Matthew and Abbey breaking up concrete

Emily and I demolishing the office

Office demolition

Years of dirt and dust had accumulated above the ceiling

Removing the decking

The silos at Brim

Office and deck gone!

No more office. Looks great!

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

Our decision to go up to the Charlton House every three or four weeks was short-lived when we decided to make the trip up the Calder, only 2 weeks after our last visit, for the Charlton Show. We thought the show would be a good chance to get to know the locals a bit better and we met quite a few of our neighbours there.

The show was a typical country show with local animals, produce, craft & needlework on display, some rides for the kids and of course sheep dog trials, although I was disappointed that not one sheep dog was found guilty!

After spending a couple of hours at the show we went back to the house to start a few of the jobs we had earmarked to do – me to mow the grass (again!) then fix the water pipe we broke on the last trip when we demolished the old laundry, and Shirleen to continue the cleanout of the front rooms.

With grass mown (actually it was more like hay) and tap fixed I joined Shirleen in demolishing the wardrobes in the front rooms, some of which went on the firewood plie and the rest earmarked for the tip.

Speaking of the tip, the rubbish pile which had grown since settlement was taken away the day before. It apparently took six trips with a seven cubic metre tip truck before it was all finally gone! Thanks Randall.

Around 6 o’clock we finished for the day and headed back to mum’s for the usual shower and wine.

Sunday morning we loaded the trailer with wood from the wardrobes and set off for the tip, in what I suspect will be the first of many trips during the renovation. It was a pleasant surprise to be changed only $20 for what would cost closer to $100 if we were at home.

Whilst I was at the tip Shirleen had started to rip up the carpet in one of the front rooms – boy, what a dust storm that created! The carpet obviously hadn’t been vacuumed in a long time. This room had traditional loose laid carpet and underlay – unfortunately the other front room had carpet with a yucky black rubbery foamy backing and had been glued down and when the carpet came up the backing stayed down. Scraping the floor with a shovel and then vacuuming it seemed to remove it OK but the process created this fine black cloud of something resembling coal dust – I hope we don’t get black lung disease as a result!

That done, we loaded all the carpet from the front rooms and the hallway onto the trailer, added the four mattresses that didn’t make it to the tip on Friday, and headed off to the tip again.

On our return from the tip we had just started packing up for the weekend when we had a visit from our lovely neighbours Ken and Hazel, who we had a good chat with, and then from Randall who had taken our rubbish to the tip on Friday. After a late lunch at mum’s we showered and set off for home, pleased with the both the work we did and the friends we made.

Roll on Melbourne Cup weekend!

Rubbish Pile

No More Rubbish Pile

Before

After

Ripping up the Carpet

Under the Carpet

AFL Grand Final weekend we decided to do the opposite to everyone else… instead of heading to Melbourne for the weekend we headed to Charlton to do some more work on the house.

On the list to do was demolition of a shade structure outside the back door and the old laundry, complete with bricks from the old copper.

Emily’s boyfriend Jayden joined us for the weekend and we wouldn’t have done half us much if he hadn’t helped out, particularly as the weather was extremely warm with 30 plus temperatures.

After arriving mid afternoon on Friday we started removing all the old plant pots from the shadehouse and emptying them into random holes in the yard. The thing was covered in chicken wire, shadecloth, corrugated iron and ivy which, along with a piece of fencing wire wrapped around a tree, was all  that was holding it together. By the time we finished early evening all that was standing was a few uprights.

After removing the uprights the next morning the next job was to cut down the cypress tree growing at the corner of the house. The combination of Jayden and the reciprocating saw made short work of that! We heaped all the branches on the growing green waste pile then proceeded to empty the old laundry of what must have been years of accumulated junk… magazines, material, an old TV, antique typewriter (unfortunately not working) hundreds of unused insulin syringes (the previous owner was diabetic), boots… you name it it was probably there!

Once emptied we all had a heap of fun ripping off the weatherboards then culminating in the best fun of all – attaching a rope and pulling the entire frame to the ground with an almighty crash! Whilst Emily, Jayden Shirleen and I stacked the frame on the ever growing firewood pile (once we move there we’ll have firewood for years!), Abbey started demolishing and old timber and corrugated iron dog kennel.

With the temperature well into the 30s the kids decided to head off for some R&R whilst we adjourned indoors  – Shirleen started ripping up the floor coverings in what will be the master bedroom while I fitted a few new latches to some of the windows.

Once the carpet, vinyl and underlay in the bedroom were removed, we found that the baltic pine flooring was much better than we expected although still with some large enough gaps between the boards to see daylight!

After calling it quits for the night we went back to Mum’s for a much needed shower and a well deserved wine and to plan Sunday’s work.

As the forecast for Sunday was for 30 plus temperatures again we decided that half a day’s work would be more than enough, so we concentrated on de-mortaring the bricks from the copper and some general tidying. While Jayden, Emily and Shirleen worked on the bricks, Abbey finished demolishing the dog kennel and I decided to rip out the built in wardrobe in the bedroom.

What a surprise it was to find that behind the wardrobe were the original lath, hessian and wallpaper walls, with remnants of the original wallpaper still in tact – even more of a surprise because the walls in that room are fibrous plaster… they have obviously been renewed at some time in the past.

By late morning we had had enough so packed up and headed back home, satisfied that we had a very productive weekend.

Thanks to Emily and Abbey for their help this weekend and for keeping up the humour, and a special thanks to Jayden for – we wouldn’t have achieved any where near as much without his hard work.

Before

After

Before

After

Demolition in progress

Original lath and hessian wall with wallpaper

We had always wondered why 2 rooms in the Charlton house – the kitchen and the lounge room – had 8′ plaster ceilings rather than the 12′ baltic pine the other rooms have.

We though that perhaps at some stage they were lowered to make heating and cooling easier and to reduce energy costs.

The mystery was solved on our last visit when a neighbour, who grew up with the son of the previous owner, told us that there had been a fire some years ago.

So, now we finally have an explanation for the lower ceilings, the new roof over those two rooms and lack of a chimney.