Anna S.

December disappears into a haze of waiting

This photo of a lake near Ohakune was taken around 1910. It may be in the scenic reserve on Lakes Road.

December went by in a rush. After submitting my building consent application at the end of November it was taken up with resolving design queries from the council and paying the bills. Unfortunately I was three days late submitting to get my consent approved before their Christmas close-down.

I finished work mid-December, so with a month off it was time to start researching products, estimating costs, and finalising design elements. The costs soon stack up even when you’re looking at stock bog-standard items.

The heated toilet seat with the anti-bacterial nozzle, pressure wash, deodorisation, warm water bidet function, and remote control was quickly taken off the list. Now I just have to decide if I want a retro toilet or something more modern. Decisions, decisions.

Next time: All you wanted to know about getting a change of use approved but were too afraid to ask

Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much

This photo of the swing bridge over the river was taken around 1910. Like the wagoner crossing via the ford I usually have to take the long way around.

Okay, so the heading might be a slight exaggeration, but it seems that way at times. Take my purchase of the church. I paid nearly 35% more for it in August than when I tried to buy it in May.

The kitchen cabinets are costing me 33% more because I need to get the more expensive oak cabinets sanded and spray-painted. The spray-painting is costing me 50% more than estimated as the spray-painter has to do a special clean of his equipment before and after he uses the paint products I’ve specified. The cabinets are imported and despite ordering them in September I won’t get them until late January.

The roof window in the kitchenette is going to cost me more because the company I wanted to use no longer makes them, and I now may need to get it fabricated to order. The french doors will also be a special order so that they fit the width of the existing window. I will need to order both of them soon so that I can get them fabricated in the new year, but I need to wait for building consent approval before I can do that.

Installing insulation will be more expensive as I have to remove the floorboards to install it underneath. At least that will make it easier for the plumber to install the plumbing to the kitchenette! It will be more expensive to install insulation in the walls as I will need to pump it in for most areas. I need to add new rafters to create enough depth in the roof cavity to install insulation. And so it goes on.

I got a great piece of advice when I started out contracting and consulting – “work out how long you think it ought to take, then double it”. That’s proven to be the case for the design and drawings, and I’m following that mantra for the consent and building phases.

Let the fun begin!

Next time: December disappears into a haze of waiting

The cabinets are coming, the cabinets are coming……….

Glass-fronted wall cabinet – coming to my kitchenette soon! I like being able to see where things are without having to open numerous cupboard doors.

I’ve loved the BespOak NZ kitchen cabinets since I first saw them. However, with wooden floors, walls, and ceilings in my church this natural white oak product may have been a wood too far. I was delighted to discover that they also had a painted product using acacia wood for the external panels, and white oak for the internal panels and shelves.

Being the mildly OCD person that I am, I decided to order the cabinets in September which was a couple of months in advance of when I anticipated the kitchen and bathroom would be put together. (Little did I know then what I know now.) I duly went online to get the product numbers only to discover that the painted versions were no longer listed.

Inquiries to BespOak NZ revealed that the manufacturer had discontinued the product line due to a lack of demand. However, I could purchase the oak cabinets and have them treated and painted so that I would achieve a similar effect. And so commenced my next mission.

Products ordered, BespOak NZ put me in touch with a spray-painter who had already worked with their products, but not my preferred paint products. The Natural Paint Company had supplied their products to another client for painting BespOak NZ products. They were awesome at liaising with the spray-painter and talking through their products, how best to use them, and paint options.

Meanwhile, I had worked out my colour scheme for the bathroom and kitchen, and ordered a colour chart from The Natural Paint Company. Rather than printing their colours on glossy cards they actually paint them onto cardboard so you get a ‘real’ sample. They have an awesome service which gives you your first 10 colour chips free.

Colour ‘chart’ in hand, I’d tested the colours in the natural light of the vestry earlier in the month and narrowed it down to white and three shades of grey. The second part of The Natural Paint Company’s awesome service is that they will send you four 85ml test pots and a brush for under $20.

I’d managed to scavenge some unused plasterboard from my sister so painted three of them up with a base coat and two top coats of the greys. I figured white is white, right? I couldn’t choose between the three colours so it was time to test them in-situ.

That called for another road trip, this time with one of my sisters and a niece in tow. My sister is renovating her 1930’s ‘railway cottage’ and kindly lent me some of her DIY tools in the demo phase. (I may have ‘killed’ her girly-drill in the process.) My niece has been keen on interior design for a few years now so I’ve enlisted her help in choosing fixtures and fittings for the bathroom and kitchen, and choosing the bedroom decor.

I’d arranged to meet with the person doing the detailed drawings council need to support my change of use and building consent application. It was a good opportunity for my sister and niece to look around whilst I talked my plans over with the designer.

Choosing the colour for the cabinets was much harder than I thought. I wanted to have the same colour in the bathroom and kitchen which will have different light sources. The bathroom window faces south-east, whilst the kitchen will be lit by a roof window and artificial light.

I’d recently seen the Grand Designs NZ episode where they renovated a historic building in Christchurch and used dark colours with the original native wood. Whilst I’m not a fan of black or blue, I was struck by how rich the dark colours and native wood looked together. I was very tempted to paint the cabinets a dark grey, but decided that I needed something lighter.

My final choice was between two light greys – one cool in tone whilst the other was a bit warmer. They both looked fine in the bathroom area, but the warmer tone looked better in the kitchen area. Job done.

Back in Wellington, it was time to order the paint for delivery to the spray-painter in Mt Maunganui, only to discover that there was going to be a delay in the cabinets arriving in the country. Ah well, it’s not like I’ve got building consent to be able to install them before the new year!

Next time: Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much

Pantry shelves – not for the paint shop!

Why I write

This photo of Mt Ruapehu from Ohakune was taken around 1910.

Most people who know me well know I’m an ‘extroverted’ introvert and a very private person. I might be on Facebook and Twitter but it’s not like I’m into sharing my every action or thought. Speaking in public or writing and publishing a blog aren’t easy for me – so why do I write?

I write because it’s not easy for me. I write to practice writing, to become better at it, to try different styles of writing. Sometimes I’ll bash out a post as a travel-log or musings upon a topic. Other times it’s a quick and dirty update with photos so that I can see my progress. Going back and re-reading my posts last weekend as I added categories to them was a great reminder of my ‘before’ and ‘after’.

I have an uneasy relationship with words. Whilst I may have been the earliest of my siblings to speak, I was born with a hearing impairment like a number of children at that time. That means I don’t always hear what people say, misunderstand their meaning, and misinterpret what they have said. That’s lead to some hilarious and painful conversations at times.

We have such a strong aural tradition as a society. From parents reading and singing to their young children, listening to the radio, or live and recorded music. TV shows and movies were around but not as dominant as they are now. I’ve always loved reading books. There I could be more certain of the words I was reading, and gain my understanding of their meaning from the words around them and the context.

I may have loved reading as a child but I was rubbish at English in my first year of secondary school. I’d always sat at the front of the class during my primary schooling due to my dodgy hearing. At secondary school I was often sitting in the middle of the class due to my family name. I changed it when I was 16 so I then ended up sitting at the back of some classrooms. I don’t think I can blame my class seating position on my understanding of English though!

I went to the sort of girls’ secondary school where the ‘brainy’ kids did French and Latin as their third form (Year 9) electives and everyone else did Shorthand-Typing and Home Economics. My mother figured that I’d struggle with French so it was Latin and Shorthand-Typing for me! I may not have ‘passed’ School Certificate (NCEA Level 1) Latin but at least it took my understanding of English from a ‘C’ to an ‘A’ in three years.

The other thing it did was take my writing from simple to complex. Let’s face it, a sentence in Latin translates to a paragraph in English so I was rocking those tenses! Unfortunately that didn’t always translate so well to the business world, where active language and plain English are preferred.

By my 30’s I was having to relearn how to write business documents in a way that others could actually understand. Readability statistics are now my best friend! More recently I’ve explored copy-writing techniques to improve my business writing. But writing fact-based documents which have specific legal meaning is not the same as writing for personal pleasure. A journey of 10,000 hours starts with a few blog posts. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Next time: The cabinets are coming, the cabinets are coming……………..

Decidedly average coffee

Warning: this is a post about a road trip. Look away now if it’s not your thing.

If you’ve been reading my posts you’ll know that I have a predilection for old things – especially second-hand furniture. I also have a predilection for buying things online. One of the risks that comes with that is the item you covet / purchase can be in a town far, far away. I’ve limited myself to the North Island for my searches but there can still be dragons.

My new two-seater recliner couch was one such item, being a resident of one of Auckland’s eastern beach suburbs. Dimensions in hand I loaded them into an online freight calculator to discover that it would cost me as much to freight it to Ohakune as it did to purchase it. Don’t people know I’m on a budget?

The seller reassured me that it could be dismantled so I figured that I should be able to fit it in the back of my trusty red Mazda6 liftback. I’d also bought a 2.5 x 3.4m Flokati rug residing in one of Auckland’s western suburbs so I now had two reasons to make the trip to Auckland. Said rug is the feature image for this post. It will keep my toes toasty on chilly mornings.

An early finish at work on Friday meant that I could take in my niece’s final school prize-giving followed by a family dinner. I contemplated a coffee injection prior to getting on the road at 8pm, but figured that I had enough energy and focus for the 3+ hour trip to Turangi, including the Desert Road. There wasn’t much traffic on the road for the most part, and a little bit of drizzle kept me on my toes. I made it to Turangi shortly after 11pm and headed straight to bed.

Coffee count for the day = 1. People’s Coffee, Don Wilfredo blend, plunger. Above average.

I was up early, breakfasted, sheets changed, dishes done, and on the road by 8am. I’m not a ‘needs coffee first thing in the morning’ kind of person so thought I’d wait until I got to Tirau for my first coffee for the day. My sister and brother-in-law do a lot of motorbike riding so she’d introduced me to her favourite cafe there a few years ago. I think it’s changed hands since the last time I was there as my flat white was very watery, and my friand came with the dairy products I asked to be excluded. Not the service we usually get there!

Back on the road to Auckland with an ETA of midday. Then I caught up with the traffic heading to the car races at Pukekohe. Traffic slowed down to a crawl meant that I wasn’t going to make my first pick-up on time. Sigh. Fortunately the sellers had left the rug in an accessible location so I loaded it into my car and headed to Titirangi for lunch. After an average lunch and acceptable coffee I was ready to head east to collect the sofa.

Unfortunately my pick-up was delayed so I headed to Hillsborough Cemetery to try and find the grave of someone connected to my maternal family history. Geneology websites are very good at giving you plot numbers etc for specific graves – cemetery operators not so much! After stomping around the cemetery for a while I gave up and headed for my next destination.

Of course I was early and the seller not at home yet so I parked up for a nap. The seller’s son arrived at the appointed time and we tried to figure out how to dismantle the sofa. We figured it out but didn’t have the tools to make it happen. The seller arrived, pulled out his trusty tools and we were able to get the back rests off. The next challenge was to get it out of the building via a long narrow corridor, down a U-shaped ramp, and into the back of my car.

Whilst I’d worked out that it should fit into my car, I hadn’t taken into account that the reclining mechanism would make the couch heavy. As in very heavy. As in almost too heavy for three people to carry / lift. We finally managed to get it into the car, and the seller took a photo to prove to his sister that it could be done! I had no idea how I was going to get it out of my car and into the church on my own. I figured the universe would provide the answer!

Then it was off down the motorway to Hamilton where I’d arranged to stay with my cousin and his wife. It was great catching up with them, seeing how tall their four boys had grown, and recharging for the final day of my road trip. I’d arranged to meet the Session Clerk of the Taihape-Waimarino Presbyterian Parish in Taihape at midday, so it was going to be another early start for me the following day.

Coffee count for the day = 2. (1) Unknown roaster and blend, flat white. Almost undrinkable. (2) Allpress Espresso, unknown blend, flat white. Acceptable.

It’s been a while since I’d driven to Ohakune via State Highway 3. Being on a mission to get the car unloaded meant that I didn’t stop for a coffee en-route. It was surprisingly easy to get the couch out of the car and into the church. I was able to reverse up to the front doors so that there was about 70cm between my car and the entry.

The steps up to the front door meant that the floor and boot were almost level. A bit of huffing and puffing saw me wriggle the couch out of the car, into the church, and position it in front of the nave windows. Low cloud meant that I couldn’t check out the views, but I did have enough time to check on the wood oils I’d applied last time to see which one I preferred. I also tested the paint chips in the vestry’s natural light to see which ones worked best.

I decided that I had enough time to grab a coffee from one of the carts in Ohakune before I was due in Taihape. I hadn’t tried the brand before even though it was a Wellington roaster. Oh well, cross that one off my list! It kept me going long enough to spend a couple of hours going through the old records for my church which I’ll use to add to the history section of this website over time.

After a late lunch at the reliable Brown Sugar cafe, it was back on the road for the last leg to Wellington. I promised myself a decent coffee at Bulls but it was not to be! Coffee yes, decent no. What was usually a very reliable coffee stop wasn’t on this occasion.

The rest of the trip was uneventful until I got to Paraparaumu. A crash at Paekakariki had caused significant delays so I made a detour to my mother’s to say hello. I managed to cap my weekend off by leaving my mobile at her place. Needless to say I was too tired to drive back to retrieve it that day!

Coffee count for the day = 2. (1) Lucky Espresso, unknown blend, flat white. Below average. (2) Revive Espresso, unknown blend, flat white. Disappointingly very average.

Next time: Why I write

Mostly old, sometimes new, occasionally borrowed, nothing blue (or black)

Red car, red sofa. There’s a theme here somewhere……………………

So here’s the thing. Apart from old buildings and cars I also like other old things. I think it’s a family trait. I remember my eldest sister inheriting an old lounge suite from our gran which she had for a good few years before she replaced it. She’s still got gran’s coffee table in her holiday house, and I have the oak sideboard from our other grandparent’s holiday house.

If I didn’t inherit my furniture I’ve generally bought it second-hand from a shop or online. This two-seater couch is a recent purchase that I’m looking forward to trying out. It reminds me of old railway carriage seats – railway carriages are another mild obsession of mine.

I’m determined to try and buy second-hand furniture where I can – except my mattress – I think that needs to be new as you never know where they’ve been or what adventures they’ve had. I made the mistake of buying a second-hand bed and mattress online a few years ago to discover the mattress was stained. I’ve now learned to read between the lines!

I do like buying new kitchenware and appliances for some reason. So far I’ve had to restrict myself to the basics that are essential for making coffee and heating lunch. I’ve still opted for quality as I figure it will only cost me once.

Borrowed? Well that may take the form of something a relative ‘insists’ that I use. I’m trying to avoid it becoming a dumping ground for other people’s unwanted stuff without offending anyone. I want it to be a peaceful and relaxing environment without jarring elements that don’t work for the space.

Blue and black? They aren’t colours that I like or wear which is a bit of a challenge when it comes to purchasing clothes. At least I can avoid them with my decor!

Next time: Decidedly average coffee

Boom and bust

This photo of my roof ‘scissor’ trusses shows the underneath of the post-WW2 concrete tiles and the complete absence of insulation or a moisture barrier. The strong winds associated with the March 1918 fires nearby pushed the original building over and removed the roof! I wonder if the random bits of wood lying alongside the king posts are still good?

The construction industry works like many others – it goes through periods of boom and bust. It was the final years of the first World War at the time my church was being built. Market gardening and milling native trees were the key industries – it’s hard to gauge if there were labour shortages in the area caused by the war. I’m hoping some historical research I’m conducting next month will reveal more about how the church was funded and built.

I grew up in an immediate and extended family involved in the construction trades. Most of them worked on new-builds or in commercial construction. I learned that competent trades professionals are more likely to survive bust cycles, and you’re more likely to get shoddy work or tradies doing ‘foreign orders’ in boom cycles.

I also learned that there are two methods of charging – colloquially known as ‘do and charge’ or ‘job and knock’. The former is paying for all hours worked, the latter is paying for work as quoted regardless of how long it takes.

I went overseas in 1985 when the industrial landscape was one of paying for all hours worked. It changed whilst I was overseas, and I returned in 1993 to a more competitive environment. Unfortunately that competitive environment has seen a lot of price undercutting in order to secure work. I’ve observed family members losing money on jobs they sub-contracted to as the main contractor went bust.

I’m fortunate as a self-employed contractor to be paid for the hours I work. I believe that I should respect the trades professionals I engage by paying them for the work they do. I know that there will always be some ‘surprises’ with an old building, and I don’t want to compromise the quality of the work.

Every project is subject to time, cost and quality constraints. I would prefer that tradespeople under-promised and over-delivered than the other way around!

Next time: Mostly old, sometimes new, occasionally borrowed, never blue (or black)

Finding and choosing great professionals

Every church should come with it’s own organ. I have no idea what the different knobs mean in case you’re wondering.

The title of this blog is adapted from a document I wrote nearly twenty years ago. It was a guide for franchise owners on how to find and choose great people for their business. The document’s purpose was to provide small business owners with corporate expertise on employing people.

It reinforced three key things:

People tend to associate with others who hold similar values, attributes, and beliefs as themselves
The best recommendations for your job are people already working there
People are more likely to refer people who will reflect well on them

I believe in evidence-based practice in my professional life – focusing on data-driven decision-making. My search for an architect was a very rational approach. I looked at the NZ Register of Architects and the NZ Institute of Architects websites to identify someone with the skills and experience I was looking for.

My search for other professionals was quite different. I’ve used a mix of recommendations from work colleagues with connections to the area, referrals from my new neighbours, and real estate agents. I knew from my upbringing that working on a building site can be quite a tense environment. Construction professionals want to work with people that they get on with, so referrals from one professional for another was another important part of my approach.

Just like the knobs on the old organ that came with the church, every construction professional adds their unique ‘note’ to a build. Getting everyone playing in time and harmoniously is the objective.

Next time: Boom and bust

The money pit just got a whole lot deeper

I took this photo in April on my first visit showing the south-facing corner of the building. You can see the false ceiling cutting across the top of the windows.

My latest trip to Ohakune was to retrieve the tools my sister loaned me and meet with prospective builders. My neighbour across the road had recommended the first one I met. Turns out she’s friends with his daughter. Ohakune’s a bit like that.

I’d wanted to meet him as he has a reputation as a craftsman who does meticulous work. I was looking for someone who would treat the old church with the care, love, and respect it deserved.

It also turned out that he knew the council’s requirements inside out and back to front. That included the requirement to have a minimum 600mm clearance between the floor and the ground. My sloping section gives me 400mm at the front entry and 250mm at the back. You do the maths…………….

One of the joys of applying for a change of use is that my 100 year old building has to comply with new building standards. I’d known that I’d need to lift the floorboards to get the required insulation underneath. Now I was learning that I may have to lift the building.

That’s right. Pick up a 144m2 building, re-pile it, and put it down 350mm higher than it was originally. And the cost of that I hear you ask? Just a lazy $15-20k – that’s all!

The second building team I met were very enthusiastic about what I was trying to achieve and full of ideas of how I could achieve it. They too were a recommendation from the same neighbour whose partner occasionally works for them.

I also met up with the plumber who had quoted on connecting the building to the water supply and sewerage. And yes he was another recommendation from my neighbour. They need to be giving her a commission!

The rest of my visit was spent removing remnants of underlay foam and staples from the floor. I also got to mark out the new walls and where the fixtures and fittings would go.

This is the likely kitchen and shower room layouts. Note the old door at the entrance to the where the bedroom will be. There will be a roof window or two above the kitchen cabinets and the old chair will be replaced with a porcelain ‘throne’.

Kitchen cabinets will run along this wall.

Shower, vanity & ‘throne’ in the bathroom.

Back in Wellington for work during the week saw me putting in calls to council planners and planning consultants about what I would and wouldn’t need to do. You can see from this photo taken in April that the back section is a bit too close to the ground.

My discussion with the council planner was promising. I may be able to postpone lifting the building until phase two when I will need to strengthen the sub-floor to bear the weight of the mezzanine. I’ll still need do all I can to improve the insulation and ventilation to the sub-floor – but I was going to do that anyway.

Next time: Finding and choosing great professionals

Why, why, why Delilah?

Why Ohakune?

Why a renovation project?

Why a church?

These are the questions people ask me when they find out what I’m up to. I was thinking about this as I was walking to an early morning meeting in May with someone I respect as a coach and mentor. I thought about the first car I bought in 1994 which was a 1965 Volkswagen Kharmann Ghia Type34. If you’re not a car nut then this is what it looks like:

Early May was when I was trying to buy the church from the new owner, and I was tossing up whether or not to increase my original offer. I thought about my first car purchase and realised that I just don’t do ordinary! That spurred me to up my offer but unfortunately it was not to be at that stage.

Ohakune is a cute little village near the base of Mount Ruapehu. I love the small size and population, the large sections, the historic areas, and of course the views. It’s an easy drive from Wellington and negates the need to traverse the treacherous Desert Road. I feel that it is a place where I can relax and re-charge my batteries at the end of the week.

I’ve dreamed of renovating a property since I was a teenager. I remember cutting up paint charts and putting together different colour combinations to see how they went together. I’ve lived in old and modern properties, and have always preferred older properties with their generous proportions, sense of history, and space. Making a space my own has been a long-held dream.

I’m fascinated by churches – the spaces they create and the energy they contain. History is a favourite subject of mine. I remember visiting churches of different denominations in my home town as part of our history class to explore how their religious beliefs were reflected in their architecture.

I’ve been eyeing up churches for conversion for about a decade now. Serendipity provided me with a church ripe for renovation for sale in Ohakune when I was looking to buy. It was meant to be.

So there you have it. Let the adventure begin!

Next time: The money pit just got a whole lot deeper