Fixing up a 186 yr old home
M L
7 years ago
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CAESAR STONE
Comments (6)Caesarstone is a similar product to Corian. It is an acrylic based product...so it's plastic. For counter tops and showers it can be great. For flooring, unless they came out with a new product and I didn't notice, too slick. Benefits are that it is a repairable surface, unlike Formica, that it is seamless, once glued up and finished, it can be stacked to do undermount sinks and farmhouse style sinks and comes in big sheets so doing a surround is easier. Downside? It scratches and can burn or scorch if a hoy pan is set on it, some solvents affect it, make lying it, some people insist on using it for a cutting board (even though it contains minerals for its color). But those usually can be fixed...it is repairable. It is not cheap. Some standard granites are comparable in price. Hope this helps!...See MoreRailings - stairs and 2nd family area
Comments (7)You should replace them with vertical pickets or glass, and as soon as possible. What you have now is completely unsafe for children. If any opening is bigger than 4" it's dangerous when they're crawling. Their body can fit through, but not their head, they can hang themselves. Plus the horizontal rails are far too easy to climb once they're walking, nothing you add to what's there can fix that. Sorry to be graphic, but it's important....See MoreThe HouzzAU Queenslander club
Comments (2)I LOVE OLD QUEENSLANDERS.....emphasis on O L D! What a sight, a tall Queenslander...having come into being because of the heat in this State and therefore on tall and not so tall piers...I LOVE these houses but with one exception...and probably because in those days ther were no such things as... LIFTS! Nobody thought of the older Queenslander human whose hips and knees are worn out from hard work on the land..or for the little kids and toddlers.....STAIRS, STAIRS and more STAIRS! Beautiful gracious staircases....but.... Recently a young enthusiastic couple built a magnificent looking replica old Queenslander right across from my place. I watched it go up...and so did the rest of the neighbourhood...well, not criticising the modern builder but I'd rather have a genuine old Queenslander put together with hammer and iron nails! STAIRS seemed to have been made into a feature. The land overlooks a waterway that is prone to flooding so the piers had to be quite high....and that meant more treads! I think that maybe the builders were unaware of the need for a landing every...is it eight? steps? The back steps are straight up the rear of the house...no landings....OOOFFF going to welcome your new neighbiurs! I would not build a replica Queenslander but if I couldn't help myself I'd install A LIFT and I would invent a feature for going up and down .for the children...and I'd get my inspiration from some of the great Theme Parks that have to comply to strict safety standards.....Then and only then would I build a replica Old Queenslander...But I'd prefer A REAL ONE! .It has been my experience that replicas do not have the strength of the enormous oldies. For example: Show me a replica Queenslander with iron cyclone bolts securing the floor of the house to the piers. Show me a replica Queenslander where every VJ board in the walls and ceilings is held to the next with hidden nails? Show me one where the framework is all tongue and groove each piece locked into the other.....that cannot be achieved anymore because timbers are not seasoned for between 30-50 years and such building methods would weaken the structural timbers used today...so said the builder who added a veranda to my old place. He took photographs of the joinery! I LOVE OLD QUEENSLANDERS...But I'd only buy a really old one and renovate it using old methods and as much old timber as possible...and I'd add a LIFT and a kids "upper and downer" if the steps were to be high. One thing above all would deter me from building one from scratch....the unavailability and the expense of genuinely old timber...if it could be sourced.. A replica would never match the longevity and the methods of construction of the old ones. Those times are gone! Those homes can never be repeated...only replicated and its not the same by any bash of the nail. You can't buy those nails anymore and its impossible to hire a crew as large as a swarm of ants to build an old Queenslander from scratch. We just do not build like that these days. Meaning no disrespect to the skilled modern day builder who does marvellous things for the modern day.....its impossible to build a genuine old Queenslander for many reasons. LOVE and ADMIRE and CHERISH the old Queenslander, BUY ONE if you can and restore it as genuinely as possible. We'll never see its like again from any perspective....See MoreReclaimed wood
Comments (3)Hi EJ, I'm not going to be of much help, but I believe the obvious sources of reclaimed wood would be demolition and removal specialists in Singapore? At least that's how I know how antique dealers source vintage tiles in Singapore. Chatting with reclaimed wood furniture specialists like Journey East (https://www.houzz.com.sg/pro/journeyeast) might help too. And its true shipping costs from overseas would be prohibitive. Malaysia has always been this country's hinterland for raw material, and Indonesia has also played the part of being a significant sourcing ground for furniture makers in the region. You might want to (or have already) make sourcing trips to Central Java or Bali where costs might even be significantly lower than finding these pieces in Singapore....See MoreM L
7 years agoM L
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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