Outer Inner West

Bathroom reno update – week one

On May 9, 2018

One week into the bathroom reno and we’ve seen some really reassuring progress! And seem to have lucked into a really great builder (George) to boot.

He and his team have achieved heaps a week in (and they only work weekdays).

Here are some progress snaps!

Day 1

We come home to a stripped bathroom

Luckily no water damage to the interior walls – good old Oregon (or Douglas Fir) timber has held up well for 90 odd years – just a little dusty

The old pink tub – Malleys – they don’t make ’em like that any more:

You can see on top the original ceiling sheet – plaster and horsehair – a common early 20th century technique

A bathtub digression

‘Malleys’ wasn’t a brand I was familar with but Papa Amos mentioned it was ‘well-known.’ So a little online digging tells me that Malleys invented the Esky!

The auto box looks fine, picnic kettle looks scary

The original Esky Auto Box was released by Malleys in 1952 but the company’s history goes back to 1884. Started by Francis Malley a sheet metal worker from Gosford, his twin sons took over the business following WWI.

Malleys made absolutely everything including bathtubs.

If it was metal Malleys probably made it

They had a factory at Auburn which (burnt down in the 1950s and was later rebuilt) and is probably the origin of our old tub.

Fire Guts Factory At Auburn – FIREMEN play a hose on a fire which destroyed a block at Malleys Ltd.

They also knew how to rock a float if their participation in the 1938 Australian sesquicentenary* ‘Parramatta celebrations’ is anything to go on:

It’s like something from the future! or more accurately the Art Deco era

(*since European arrival).

Despite fielding a workforce over 2,200 following WWII and a lucrative deal to supply Whirlpool it was all over for the Malley family by the late 1970s. Which explains why I’ve never heard of them.

The business was taken over by Simpson in July 1979 and was de-listed in 1983, but they had a great run for 99 years.

If you ever find a Malleys Sunrise milk can on the side of the road hang on to it – it could be worth something as they are collectors’ items these days:

Malleys 1930s milk can advertisement

Back to the reno!

Day 3

THE BOSS assesses the new tub – ‘it’s no Malleys, but it’ll do’

The rest of our fixtures and fittings have been delivered (and carefully checked by George)

New toilet is ‘roughed in’ – that lino tile has gotta go though

Plumbing for bath and shower is in; plus the recessed shower shelf

George also left the loo outside the bathroom…temporarily of course…

Day 4

Plumbing in place, and spot for the mostly recessed shaving cabinet

Amazing progress at end of Day 4 – villaboard is up, plumbing in place, ceiling and electricals sorted, toilet, sewer and floor was plumbed in, no tiles and a new cement floor – oh and the tub is in!

We couldn’t keep the cats off the wet cement for the new flooring – so we have some little time capsule paw prints for the ages.

Day 5 – 6

Day 5 was really to let that cement dry which took us into Day 6 – bath build complete, shaving cabinet recessed in, lights and the first coat of waterproofing!

Interestingly the waterproofing doesn’t smell at all which is a plus.

At this rate we might even be done in under 14 days!

Sources FOR THE BATHTUB DIGRESSION:

Pittwater Online
Trove

Is Auburn one of the ten places in Sydney that most resemble Paris?

By Amos

On May 7, 2018

In Life In Auburn, She Says...

Well I never! Auburn – Parisian?

From the Sydney Morning Herald, 10 places in Sydney that look like Paris. They’re not where you might think:

‘Artificial intelligence that was trained in Australia has “returned” from a virtual our of 1692 cities around the world with data to show which are the most similar to Sydney and Melbourne. The results are not what humans expected.’

I’ll say!

South Parade, Auburn ranked 4th or 83.9 per cent of places in Sydney that most strongly resembled Paris on the map network.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

South Parade Auburn:

Actual Paris:

Yeah-naaaaaaaaaaaah.

Though it does make more sense when they say:

‘the features that made a city “Paris-like” on the map network were a higher density of trains and trams, broad sections of urban green space and parks integrated with waterways.’

As you can see it’s pretty chockers around the station

So it detected the density part OK, just not the actual aesthetics on the ground!

I mean it is getting gentrified, gradually, but Paris is a real stretch. Maybe we’ll cross the SMH’s ‘latte line‘ sooner rather than later!

Our temporary bathroom for the reno duration

By Amos

On May 2, 2018

In Bathroom, Renovations, She Says...

It ain’t glamourous, but our large external laundry (with the original 1920s outdoor dunny) will be our temporary shower and main loo while the reno progresses.

Wet room might be a better name for Wookie’s quick and ingenious set up?

Wookie’s ingenuity and about $25 bucks at Bunnings means we avoid the cost and hassle of arranging a temporary portable shower which was going to add at least $440 to the renovation costs.

It’ll do.

We can always shower at relatives houses if we really need to!

Bathroom reno

By Amos

On May 1, 2018

In Bathroom, She Says...

Well after nearly two years at our Outer Inner West nest it’s the day before our bathroom reno commences!

Our mood board for the new bathroom is – inexpensive but tasteful – we are on a budget! Not unlike Patsy’s mood board for the next issue – ‘But Alex, Alex…with lovely shoes’.

We are trying to emulate something along these lines – ‘The Classic New Bathroom‘:

Classic new bathroom

The budget for that one above was apparently an eye-watering $40,000 – $50,000 bucks. Just for the bathroom! Also a 5 week turnaround…

Our budget is a way more modest $16,000 and timeline is 2 weeks – 3 weeks (max).

Given it’s our only bathroom and it’s starting to get nippy in Sydney a quick project turnaround was important to us.

The quote includes all trades, labour and fixtures, fittings and accessories.

We’re hoping there’s nothing nasty and expensive lurking beneath the current bathroom…

Out with the old pink bathroom

Now a reminder of what our current bathroom looks like in all it’s 1967 grimy glory:

The bathroom before we moved in

It doesn’t look so bad in that photo…just a lot of that Neapolitan pink like the kitchen.

Now for some cameos:

As you can see from the photos this isn’t a candidate for a quick tart up with some paint and new fixtures – we don’t even have tiles! It’s all laminate on masonite that does not like water and is falling apart.

Early on during our time in the house I made the decision we’d only clean the bathroom areas we’d be touching – there was just no way to get rid of 50 years of grime in most places and knowing we’d be tearing it all out back to the studs there seemed little point.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww

So hopefully these images illustrate the poor layout and gut job we’re confronted with. We’ll be relocating the shower-bath to run along the window and tucking the the loo into the corner by the door. This means you won’t clap eyes on the toilet as soon as you walk in.

We have high hopes but feel some trepidation about whether this one will come in on time and on budget – there is some mystery around what lies beneath all that masonite and vinyl flooring.

The skip arrived this morning in readiness for D-for-demolition Day which is tomorrow!

The Boss and Top Cat inspect our latest project’s beginnings

Stay tuned to see if we pull it off in a fortnight…

The whole kitchen ‘n’ Kaboodle – visual diary of a cheap kitchen makeover

By Amos

On August 30, 2017

In Blogs, Kitchen, Renovations, She Says...

Over the last few months we’ve gradually turned our kitchen from what our friend Tony described as ‘dirty-Neapolitan ice cream pink’ (like after it melts a bit and after all the other flavours have been mixed in) to a fresh, shiny white and glossy grey.

Hmmm Neapolitan…

Prettifying pine – chest of drawers mini-makeover project

By Amos

On August 20, 2017

In She Says...

I’ve had this chest of pine drawers since I was a kid, solid, and nothing particularly wrong with her…

SO much pine!

However in our freshly painted bedroom the pine chest looked a little heavy and a little too woody on the polished Cyprus pine floors.

I’ve also been reading up for some time on “chalk paint” and it was the perfect afternoon makeover project (even if Wookie said we have other reno priorities).

I have also become really obsessed with the so-called “ombre” gradient type effect like so:

Isn’t Auburn…dangerous? Justin Bieber didn’t think so.

By Amos

On July 13, 2017

In Culture, Life In Auburn, She Says..., Uncategorized

Fair go? If you read the Daily Telegraph you’d think Auburn was a ghetto.

Isn’t Auburn … dangerous?

Nope.

I can’t really see how the “dangerous” reputation is justified.

The Daily Telegraph proclaims itself a “friend of Sydney’s west” (and has a long running campaign for a “Fair go for the west”) continues to demonise Auburn and other Western Sydney suburbs in its editorial and biased articles.

It drives me crazy as it’s totally unfair.

Well that was an interesting morning…

By Wookie

On July 7, 2017

In Blogs, He Says..., Life In Auburn

Living in Auburn, my morning commute is usually anything but exciting. Walk around the corner, hop on a bus, travel a few minutes, get off and then jump on a train. Sometimes you see a minor car accident, sometimes the bus driver is a nutter.

Today was a little different.

Sydney auction adventures with Mr Tradie Lotto and some auction advice !

By Amos

On July 5, 2017

In She Says...

After spending most of my twenties day dreaming about a beautiful federation style dream home somewhere in Sydney’s inner suburbs, then acquiring a first investment unit around 5 years ago, and the last 12 months of 2015 watching house prices climb ever higher, by early 2016 what was “just out of reach” became completely out of reach (aka impossible) – a house within the 10 kms from the CBD.

My brother and I have spent hours talking about it over the years, and even if we’d done something together on our “good” salaries five years back there was very little we could afford to buy that didn’t need major, major work close to the CBD.

Fast forward to February 2016 when I was working from home one day and perusing the real estate websites aimlessly when a little 1960s brick veneer home caught my eye. Wookie and I had been debating options for awhile – move into each other’s rental properties? Move to a new rental? Try to buy something?

Affordable Auburn – where you can still get cute, quaint, character homes in Sydney for well under $1M

By Amos

On July 4, 2017

In Life In Auburn, Uncategorized

For first home buyers in Sydney there’s not much housing under $1M that isn’t out in the sticks, (unless you want a dog box apartment and it’s at least 10kms out of the city).

And if you listen to the Sydney Morning Herald you would think the ONLY options are places like Mount Druitt (45kms from the CBD) or Campbelltown (50 kms out) 0r the Hills (if you have money 😉 and want a McMansion).

I’m fed up with the tunnel vision and here to tell you it’s simply not true. If you boot up their Domain app or check out rival realestate.com.au there’s plenty of units, town houses, semis and actual FREE STANDING HOUSES (on land!) that sit comfortably within suburbs the SMH terms “middle-ring” available in 2017 for way less than a million bucks.