Week 10: House gets new clothes

This week, the house has really taken shape (at least from the outside!). Most of the windows got installed first up.

New double-hung windows in the kitchen and dining rooms

Large window where the stove alcove used to be
(plus currently terrifying possibly head-injury void where future stairwell will go)

This was followed by insulation, waterproof sarking and finally some of the cladding has begun too.

New windows and sarking!

We've gone with a cement composite weatherboard - Scyon Linea. The benefits of a cement product over a traditional timber weatherboard are that it is less prone to warping, water rot and termite damage, and should need painting less often (hopefully 15-20 years vs 10 for timber). Downsides are that it is a reproduction of an original look, which bothers some people (we think it looks great however) and it is more difficult to cut and work with. Cost-wise we found during quoting that the products ended up being roughly equal, when the raw costs are weighed against labour costs.

There are many other brands of cement weatherboard out there, all with different specifications. And if you're building a new, modern home, without town planning restrictions, there are all sorts of cool cladding options out there. These include multiple cement products, aluminium, vinyl, composite hardwood etc.

OK that's it for this week! The coming week may possibly bring the new roof (scaffold got adjusted this weekend for the roofers, so here's hoping). Love to hear your thoughts on progress so far!