Exactly a week ago, the third (and final) coat of render took place on the eve of the Leo new moon. Matty and I woke up at 5:40 am on Saturday July 22nd, worried for the upcoming day; little did we know then that we were to be blessed in almost every way.  Sipping our morning coffee half an hour later,  we spotted a silvery crescent moon sitting atop the house, a position of the moon we had never witnessed whilst living on the property for over a year.  To us this was a blessing, and it lifted our spirits to no end. Render prep Matty and I spent a…

The house got to bathe in the Libra full moonlight with its freshly covered second coat on April 11th and 12th. Mark and his assistant (the professional render team) arrived on the morning of April 11th, along with our friends Val, Charlotte and Benny Boy to help us with the second coat. Matty had envisaged the whole task taking about 8 hours each day, but thankfully we finished up around 1 pm on the second day; giving Matty and I time to celebrate this special milestone. The second coat had to be followed by someone trowelling by hand after the render pump (unlike the first coat), and this trowelling started to give the…

The house finally got its first layer of skin yesterday, thus marking the beginning of the longest milestone. The third and final coat of render will not be applied till all the internal fit-out is complete, which we estimate to be late winter/early spring. To say that this past week has been hard is an understatement. Thankfully everything went smoothly on the day, and all the hard work was worth it all, especially for the view of the house from the driveway.  As the Grand Design peeps love to say: “it blends into the environment”, and for once Matty and I seem to think so too! Render prep Prior to the…