Renovation of an old house in Sydney (2)

? Every brick and tile is dedicated

One day in mid-June, just after days of rainy weather in Sydney, the rare sunset shone on the long In this land of hope, our family of three finally waited for the day when the house was delivered, and received a bunch of heavy house keys from the agent, Mr. Gary.

We excitedly opened every room and the door to the backyard, only to find that the house had been emptied, like photos of celebrities without filters, like beauties who had removed their makeup to prove that they had not had plastic surgery. The face is covered with spots.

This needs to be repaired, that needs to be replaced, this needs to be completely torn down, that needs to be polished, waxed and painted!

There is also the backyard that makes us unable to describe it. It has grown wildly for years. At a glance, weeds, old trees, and abandoned swimming pools suddenly evoked the memory of playing "Harvest Moon" when I was a child. Every time I save it, The land is calling the protagonist: stop talking nonsense, work...just work...

So, the old house was renovated, and after we slapped the table and couldn't stand it anymore, we looked for it among the crowd. He searched thousands of times and finally found Uncle Geogre, and it started with a bang!

Uncle Geogre is an old Chinese decoration master recommended by a friend. He has more than 20 years of local decoration experience and what’s more rare is that his charges are reasonable.

Back then, he was a handsome international student with a well-off family. Now he is in his sixties, but the wind and rain in Australia over the past few decades have been very good to him, and he walks as briskly as a young man.

The only disadvantage is that the work is not that fast and needs to be urged. This is also a common problem among Australians. But fortunately, the communication was very smooth and the people were very patient.

We also understand that decoration is a complex and large project, and it is inevitable that there will be oversights. If there is a discrepancy between the requirements and the results, he will try his best to make changes to our satisfaction and give us a lot of suggestions.

We are most grateful to him for finding an experienced Western plumber for us. He was called by Geogre just after the operation, and he specifically chose a more troublesome modification plan for our future convenience. , there is no additional charge.

Speaking of cost, this is also the first question that many people who read the previous article asked me after I returned to China.

If there is a hostess who will not let others say how expensive Australian labor is, but also stubbornly believes that she can find high-quality and low-priced craftsmen, she will not renovate to the point of bankruptcy. In the end, we renovated a bathroom using someone else's house. For the money, two bathrooms were renovated!

Another hero of this renovation is none other than Tuanzi’s father. Halfway through the project, Tuanzi and I returned home due to business, leaving Tuanzi’s father to guard the position. In order to save money, Tuanzi's father worked as a laborer, painter, plumber, carpenter, gardener... and did everything himself. The good man's flag was instantly raised!

At that time, the summer World Cup in the northern hemisphere was full of passion, the battle was in full swing, and it was very lively. In the winter here in the southern hemisphere, the cold is raging, but Tuanzi's father is focused on the house. There is no football, no beer, or skewers. Later, his wife and children are no longer around, and he has been alone for two months.

Let me tell you in detail what he has been busy with. First of all, in early July, with my help, Tuanzi’s father, who has difficulty in making choices, stayed up late for several days and finally selected two bathrooms. All tiles, equipment installed.

Firstly, they are two people who pursue perfection. Secondly, they are afraid that if they buy something bad, it will be more expensive to repair later, so the faucets, showerheads, etc. are carefully selected to be made in Germany. The ceramic tiles, bathtubs, etc. are the new concrete style sold by the old Chinese store in Guangdong. This style of ceramic tiles looks like the owner, and it looks hot on the inside and cold on the outside.

In short, although everything is very simple, it suits our taste of not being fancy.

Then Tuanzi’s father began to purchase these materials, traveling all over the south, north, and northwest of Sydney. He often made many trips to find a bathtub of the same style but at a lower price or to change to a more perfect mirror. Ten kilometers away.

Speaking of mirrors, Tuanzi’s father was worried about so many facts that he was so busy that he even forgot that he had put the new mirror on the lawn beside the house. What’s even more incredible is that after doing it, When leaving the job, he and Geogre both passed by Mirror Master, but their memories seemed to have been erased. When they returned home in the middle of the night, they both insisted on the phone: The mirror is lost!

As a result, Mr. Mirror stood alone on the roadside all night, with no one to care about him, and no one to steal it.

Back to the topic, after the construction started, Tuanzi Dad, a software engineer, consciously started a second career and went online to learn how to paint the walls. For a time, I was very busy buying paint and equipment.

Every night at seven or eight o'clock after get off work, I have to dress up as a researcher from the 731 Army and drive to my new house to paint the walls. I don't come back until midnight every day.

While painting, Tuanzi’s father also had to clean up the garbage after decoration, clean the dust in the house, and constantly called or communicated with Geogre in person to urge them to hurry up.

Then, Tuanzi’s dad still had to clean up the house he rented here and prepare to quit the rent. Although I had cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom and packed the things before returning home, Tuanzi’s dad still had to stay up late to pack the furniture. After dismantling it, do the final cleaning work, because the agency requires professional clean (professional-level cleaning effect) before the deposit can be refunded.

Finally, there are the endless small jobs in the new house, such as changing switches, door locks, screens, sanding the floor, repairing the driveway, flowers and plants...

In fact, when I received the key , the moment the door is opened, it also opens up another completely different way of life. Here, except for various second generations, most people cannot rely on others but themselves.

Although people say "game life", life is ultimately crueler than games. Without cheats, there is no way to cheat. A comfortable life is an old soup that must be simmered slowly before it can be served.

If an ordinary Australian family has a clean house and well-kept front and back yards, then the only place where you can find the man of the house every weekend must be in his yard, with pain and joy day after day, day after day. Every blade of grass, every brick and tile is the result of hard work.

During the renovation of the house, when others asked Tuanzi’s father whether he could handle it alone when his wife and children returned to China, Tuanzi’s father, who was not very talkative, actually said, “When they come back, I will give them a A perfect home!" These words made me so moved that I felt embarrassed to argue with him again.

By mid-August, the renovation task of the craftsmen has ended, but the "renovation" of the lives of the three of us has just begun.

From the day we landed in Australia, where we had no relatives, our days were like adventures specially written for us, with thrills, surprises, surprises, and excitement, all staged one after another.

When I came here, I realized that buying a house is a protracted battle that makes you feel ups and downs. It depends on the area, topography, structure... In the end, what are the loan requirements that are becoming more stringent these days? Give you a fright.

When I came here, I realized what a terrible species termites are, so powerful that they can destroy a house. I just learned that fallen leaves on the roof must be cleaned up in time, otherwise the backlog will easily make your home leaky.

Only when I came here did I know what asbestos is and that it cannot be removed casually. Then I learned that many building coatings can pollute the air and endanger health. Only then did I know that construction waste cannot be mixed with general garbage. I have to spend money to find someone special. If you deal with it, your wallet will shrink every minute.

…

These are the costs of breaking through the comfortable life circle, but after experiencing it, when I think about it again, I no longer think it is a big deal, I just laugh and get over it.

Now, looking at our new home, I seem to have seen the day in the future. Tuanzi’s father was repairing the roof in work clothes, I was playing with vegetables and flowers in the backyard on water boots, and Tuanzi was carrying a small bucket for a while. Help your mother water the water, and talk to your father later...

A beautiful home carries the expectation of happiness.

But the future is long, and we cannot control our destiny. I hope that no matter what kind of troubles, confusions, or difficulties we face in the future, no one will stand on the opposite side and watch or criticize, but will always be firm. Stay by each other's side and never change your original intention.

Therefore, after I go back, I will also join the home construction team that improves the inside and outside of the house. Many things at home still need to be done by women before they can be perfect. When relatives and friends come to visit, I can start from We picked fresh vegetables from the garden and took golden fruits from the orange trees. We sat under the pergola and slowly told the three of us Australian stories.

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