10 best tools

Ok, so you can see that I've got some time on my hands with all of this rain. With all this time comes contemplation about what we need to get done and what we've already achieved.

That said, here are the tools we couldn't have done without (I'm not sure if the order is important here):

1: My husband - yes, the joke had to be made. But in all seriousness, he is amazing. I couldn't and wouldn't have done it without him. This is an amazing project we're completing together. What he doesn't know he's willing to learn, what he does know he's already onto. Ok, enough gushing, he's in the top 10.

2: Gumboots. Simple, yet very important during any excavations / stormwater installations / muddy weekends. Worth the $20 from bunnings.

3: Drop saw. We've borrowed this from my brother and used it almost every weekend. Sometimes all weekend (sorry to the neighbours). It's been absolutely essential.

4. Paint-sanding disk attachment for the angle grinder. So much better than using the attachment on a drill (and sooooo much better than hand-sanding). The downside is the sharp flecks of paint that get flicked back into your face and eyes - it really stings!!

5. Wheelbarrow. Where would we be without it? Probably still in bed exhausted from carrying everything (including wet concrete) around ourselves.

6. New makita drill from dad. This drill gets a real workout - there's always a spare battery on charge in the kitchen. In fact, dad's been great at letting us in on the important / time saving equipment. He's helped us with nearly all of this top 10. Thanks so much dad!

7. Scaffolding. Borrowed from a good family friend, it's been so useful accessing those points on the walls and roof that a ladder would have proved very difficult. The only downside is the amount of times we've all walked into the support posts banging our heads. It really hurts.

8. Tarpaulins. They start at $2 each and can be used in any circumstance. As a roof, as a floor, as a wall, for covering building materials, windows, tiles and even as a massive make-shift tree pot. What a bargain.

9. Gloves. You do genuinely get what you pay for in work / garden gloves and they will inevitably wear out but they are absolutely essential. I recommend having a spare pair for when you saw through yours with a tree saw. Oh, and a first aid kit too.

10. The internet. I could be sappy and say writing this blog is cathartic (which it is) and makes us realise how far we've come, blah, blah. Seriously, the internet has helped pull so many things together...council provisions, material suppliers, finding out the difference between the eaves and soffit (still not sure on that one).