NHG Amenities Block

North Hamlet Garden Amenities Block

We have started building the NHG Amenities Block. We started this project back in February 2025. We needed some other projects to finished before we could get this project going in earnest.

With its unique location we are adding a couple of additional features to this facility. There will be a vegetable wash station on the left side and a pet wash station on the right hand side. These two features are because the Amenities block is located at the top of the North Hamlet Garden.

This facility is built using recycled international shipping container pallets used for small vehicles like golf buggies. This presented some unique issues on this journey simply because these materials are not straight, full of nails and screws, yet represented about $2,000 worth of materials, which the community collects for free.

Other recycles materials and locally purchased items from the rubbish tip, and other local sources includes, the bath tub and shower pan, the steps also built from pallets, the vanity unit, the internal piping for hot and cold water, the floor tiles and many other materials.

The Structure

The two old doors in the background are given a new lease on life. They are pulled apart by Mike and Elyse, and retuned to a former glory by hand in a pains taking effort involving totally disassembling them, cleaning them up and repairing them, before putting them back together and repainting them... Wait until you see the result. Another recycled item used in this build.

Extending the roof either side of the amenities block. This side will be the dog wash station, the other side will be the veggie wash station.

We added some steps made from the shipping pallets.

Fixing the hardiflex for the ceiling.

The original plan was simply to use a shower pan that we got second hand. One of our members came up with this from the rubbish tip. Too goos to waste. So the plans changed to include a small bath as our shower base. We insulated it all the way around and under when we fitted it.

We thought a dwarf wall would add a nice touch and give people a place to rest legs for shaving etc. without breaking the soap dish. So in goes the drawf wall. This was also to help secure the bath and make the place a little more fancy.

We added the waterproof membrane all around the tub and under it too. This took several days and coats to complete.

Once the structure was done, it was time to put some aquacheck waterproof gyprock on the frame.

A special shout-out to two of our "Friends of Kirra" Mike and Elyse, who have helped us with so many things, turns out Mike was a Plasterer. So he grabbed the task and crushed it in just a few days. Great Job, thanks to you both.

Then we insulated the roof. Our summers can be very hot and we were looking to make this space comfortable.

Time to get the 3 in 1 prep coat done. This changed the way the whole place looked and we started to get a feel for the final result.

We added the waterproof membrane nearly to the ceiling, as all this area will be tiled and its the shower area above the small bath tub.

I moved on to doing some of the wiring for the light switches and power points both inside and outside.

Installing the 4 downlights above the facilities in the bathroom was pretty straight forward as we had already installed the points in the ceiling before the ceiling went in. So we installed them, and wow, what a huge difference the lights make.

We now started painting the walls. We picked a peach sort of colour, which goes well with the tiles. I was hoping for something a little more subtle. We bought 15 litres, so expect to see a lot more of it on other projects in the future. We still think it looks pretty good.

Our floor tiles were purchased as a job left over on facebook, so this was the first time we got to see the wall tiles, floor tiles and wall paint all together. We liked it.

Fitted the wall switches and light switch. Looks just like a shop bought one. You can see the power point is a salvaged item. It will be for the 6-stage water purification unit under the laundry sink and the washing machine. These two things are basically switched on all the time.

Starting to installing the plumbing now. The two inlets for the vanity and my dog Willow.

Creating the water proof envelope in both the toilet and main bathroom now. Started by sealing the corners of the walls and the floor all the way around.

Then sealed 200 mm up the wall and the entire floor area.

With everything sealed, now its time to start the tiling. I'm not a fan of painting, but tiling makes painting look like fun. These next photos were taken over several weeks. Tiling is a mundane and tedious job with many stop starts as you need to meticulously cut and fit tiles on the blind edges. Cutting holes for plumbing and taps took me a while to get any good at, as I just didn't have the right tools. Once I got a really cheap ebay set of diamond tile saws for $17, ha job done. I did buy a $206 Suttons hole saw kit for the job, but it smashed and broke tiles and was pretty useless at the task.

Moved on to the skirting tiles in the toilet first, so see how that would work out. Yeah!

Then finished the main bathroom floor.

Moving on to the main shower tiles and the skirting tiles in the main bathroom. Remember that this was made with mostly recycled timber, so nothing was plumb or square. Although each additional item, makes that less obvious. The shower and dwarf wall were completed over two weekends. And we are pretty happy with the result. Once its grouted and the caulking is done, I think it will look pretty good.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse