Buildlogue #23–Interlude

Construction Day 30 is 31 July 2014, scheduled for work on another site by Builder John’s team. The Quin roofing guys were due to arrive in the afternoon for a spell.

Overnight, we’d had some high gale-force winds with occasional monumental gusts, which all but threatened to rip the roots from under the trees. Then the wind abated a bit and the clouds opened up during our sleeping hours, delivering 8 mm between midnight and 7:00 am – I thought to myself that the roof guys would possibly be affected.

I took advantage of the lull in developments and drove down to Lower Hutt on a couple of long-outstanding errands and also to get some dark green paint for the fascias (in my Neutron days, we called the colour Old Cape Dutch Green or Heritage Green, and it was made of 4.5 litres Gloss Mid Brunswick Green and 500ml Black Gloss); John had already delivered me some sealer/primer to apply as undercoat for the soffit boards.

When I returned a number of hours later, Jeanette reported that the guys had been, had worked on one side of the roof, but had left again. Probably something to do with the impending rain.

I couldn’t start painting the fascias, as I have just discovered that they are half a metre longer than the garage, so that painting in the face of impending showers is not a sensible option. Oh, well… I’ll take a couple of photos for the record.

(Above): The view of the (light grey) rubberised membrane-covered roof waterproofing.

(Above): The view of the green metal roof on the eastern side above the laundry, bathroom and dressing room. This is about one-third of the metal roof area

(Above): The metal roof as seen from the ground behind the garage. In view id the laundry door (left), then the laundry window and on the right, the bathroom window.

Buildlogue #22 - Up On The Roof

Wednesday 30 July 2014, Construction Day 29. It is a day of wind, high wind, strong wind, gusty wind. Ask any roofer and he’ll tell you: the wind always blows wherever they are fitting a roof. Guaranteed.

Builder John’s guys arrived and started fitting fascias and purlins (the longitudinal planks at right-angles to the roof trusses) on which the roofing sheets must rest. The roofing sheets were delivered as were the large 2.4 by 1.2 fibre-cement boards to be cut into soffit ceilings outside between the wall verticals and the fascia edge. My job will be to apply a first coat sealer-primer to these boards under cover of the roof.

(Above): View of the eastern side from the kitchen, with the fascia board fitted and the second of the purlins fixed in place.

(Above): Quin Roofing Direct (“way to go!”) delivering the roofing sheets and rolls of waterproofing membrane. Quin hails from Levin.

(Above): The waterproofing membrane gets fitted to the flat roof section, and the end folded under the metal flashing situated just below the window in Tyler’s upstairs bedroom. To ensure a proper seal, the roofers have decided that the window must be popped out. The window took less than 15 minutes to remove. Refitting takes quite a bit longer.

(Above): The Quin roofer stands on the flat roof section on top of the waterproofing membrane. To his right below the window one can see the metal profile which will hold the waterproofing down.

(Above): Hard at work applying the membrane to the flat roof.

Potting In The Potting Shed

The jury remains out on whether alcohol is good or bad. Drinking it in excessive quantities, that is.

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”  So said Benjamin Franklin.

Viscountess Nancy Astor (non-drinking Winston Churchill colleague)  was a lot more serious, and probably more correct factually, when she said “One reason I don't drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time.”

In recent weeks I have come across a strange phenomenon whilst messing around in the garden, especially while I was tidying the “natural” undergrowth along the boundary fences. On three different occasions, I encountered small glass bottles, what I would describe as “half jacks.”

In South Africa the term “half jack” is used to describe a small flat glass bottle of spirits, usually brandy, vodka, or cane spirits. Its shape is ideal for concealment of the liquor in a jacket pocket. From my discoveries, I arrived at the conclusion that one of the earlier property owners must have been some sort of “secret boozer.” The idea was further cemented when we found yet another bottle of the same brand at the back of the animal fodder shed, a place that no-one really frequents.

(Above): Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, sour mash. The Beam Formula, a standard since 1795. Non genuine without my signature, signed James B Beam. Distilled and bottled by James B Beam Distilling Co, Beam Clermont, Frankfort, Kentucky USA. 375ml 37.0% Alc/Vol

Others in the family have been pulling my leg about my “secret drinking problem”, and as a tribute to our Mystery Half-jacker, I have decided to display the latest find, which is still in a brand-new condition, as a decoration in the potting shed, which we plan to refurbish and re-construct on the outskirts of the planned veggie garden.

An old Scottish proverb goes: “You speak of my drinking, yet you don't know my thirst”

Buildlogue #21 - It’s A Wrap!

Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 July 2014 representing Construction Days 27 and 28 present us with two days worth of clear weather. Clear but very cold.

Monday consisted of a number of lesser tasks in preparation of the KCDC inspection visit. The inspector was suitably satisfied with our conformity to all the requirements in the building specifications, and gave the green light for continuation.

(Above): Workers start cutting, trimming and stapling Tekton wrap fabric along the outer walls of the extension.

Tuesday has seen the soffits being addressed and the wrapping of the external framework to be completed. Tekton Building Wrap is a synthetic breather-type building wrap for use as a wall wrap and air barrier under fixed wall cladding on timber and steel framed buildings. The product is a coated spun-bonded polypropylene, and is approximately 0.6mm thick. It allows trapped water vapour to escape from the woodwork where required, but prevents rainwater from re-soaking our structure.

(Above): The eastern facade of the building completed, ready for the windows and external timber cladding.

(Above): The western side, with the French Windows to the bedroom in the foreground.

Heave–Ho!

Relocating a timber frame house may not be so unusual in some parts, as long as you use properly qualified people with the correct equipment and appropriate transport on suitable roadways. A slow and sometimes tricky operation, but not all that impossible.

This weekend Clayton moved our greenhouse, using his muscle power, brute strength and ability to dig in hard rocky ground, and putting up with my sarcastic and hopefully sometimes useful opinion as to whether a particular feature appeared level, straight and horizontal-ish or not. Given the AA’s judgement of the quality of my vision, it is remarkable that the greenhouse is actually still standing right way up!

The greenhouse is a simple-frame lightweight structure made of a galvanised tubular metal and covered with a flexible polycarbonate fabric made for this purpose, a thick translucent plastic sheeting, if you will. It is an average size at 4.8 metres long and 2.4 metres wide.  At a rough guess, the structure had been standing just north of the back of the garage for near on 20 years or so. The time had come for it to be moved in preparation of the planned new veggie garden.

With the assistance of, say, four others (preferably weight-lifting enthusiasts), we could have jacked up the house on three long cross-beams and lifted and carried it pall-bearer-style. But there was no such assistance in the offing. Plan “A” was thus a non-starter.

So, we looked towards our ancient Egyptian ancestors who were in the habit of doing pyramid and sphinx-type stuff. If only we had three dozen three-metre broomsticks, we could roll the building to its new location.

We could roll it on firm hard level ground. But the ground is hilly and bumpy, squishy and soft in places, and we only had one regular-length broomstick.

So that put paid to plan “B.”

Then we devised a cunning scheme. To lift-push-pull the house along a rail-road track of timber. Sort of.

And so it came to pass that this cunning scheme evolved into Plan “C”. Regrettably we had no photographers who could bear witness to the sweat and toil, but I have taken a few shots of the aftermath scenes of the battlefield for posterity.

(Above): Ground Zero, the previous site lays fallow after the departure of the greenhouse, opening a sunny space for future generations of yummy organic veggies…

(Above): One of the “railway lines” of Plan “C” along which the house was lifted/dragged/ pushed to its new location nearer the boundary fence. When we were almost done, we discovered by accident that jamming a sliver of polythene on top of the rail under the greenhouse frame dramatically decreased the pulling effort required!

(Above): The greenhouse stands squarely on its new site nearer the boundary fence. Next we need to attend to its renovation and re-cladding, to fit into the planned new garden precinct.

Baa Baa

Granny and Brynn were invited to afternoon tea with the neighbours to meet their new arrivals, nothing less than a couple of day-old little lambs.

Meet Curly and Lucky, who have sadly been orphaned at birth and will be hand-reared. The adopting family have three daughters all aged 7 (and younger), and a number of young cousins as well as school pals. Curly and Lucky

Curly

Lucky

Cute little Curly

Buildlogue #20 – Roofing

Friday 25 July 2014 Construction Day 26, marks seven months since we touched down at Wellington airport at the close of Xmas at midnight on 25 December 2013.

(Above): The view of the roof above the bedroom – the plywood sheets being fitted to the first half of this area.

(Above): Fitting the supports for the metal roofing along the western side of the bedroom above the opening French Doors.

(Above): The view of the bedroom from the sitting room. On the right, just beyond the orange broom, is the bathroom door and a bit past that, the dressing room/ walk-in wardrobe door. On the left next to the panel of plywood, is the opening for the French Doors.

(Above): A view of the ply-clad “flat roof” area nearing completion as seen from Tyler’s upstairs bedroom window, and (below) as seen from the ground floor standing in the bathroom-to-be.

(Above): The framework stands bathed in bright afternoon sunshine, in preparation of a scheduled inspection by KCDC next week. Possibly the sunlight is a promise of better weather to come?

Once we have passed the upcoming inspection, cladding of the open skeleton can commence and the building will start taking on a proper character of its own… 

Buildlogue #19 – Doing Roofing Things

Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 July, being Construction Days 24 and 25, offer no better weather than earlier this week. Everything remains soaked and cold, especially the mud underfoot. The team continues working on the roof structure.

(Above): Sophie watches intently from a safe vantage point inside the dining room, as the building guys go about their tasks. She regularly smells inspects every minute detail of the day’s work, and is especially interested in the workmen’s lunch-breaks – she thinks she has been appointed official nutrition expert…

The roof consists of two distinct parts: (1) a central “flat roof” with a gentle slope away from the existing house towards the secret garden; and (2) a sloping panel all around the three exposed sides, which matches the slope along the roof of the main house.

 
(Above): Section through the building, showing the roofing detail of the long sloping “flat roof” starting at point “D” and the narrower sloping metal section ending on the right at point “E”

(Above): An artist’s impression of the roof, the darker grey clearly the larger “flat roof”

(Above): It takes a united team effort to carry and lift these heavy long-span roof trusses into position…

(Above): Each truss gets lined up accurately to blend into the slope of the existing roof.

(Above): Framed against the bare wintry Poplar trees, the sloping end of the roof at the secret garden side, where the metal sheets will be the cladding to meet the guttering at left.

(Above and below): Where new meets old. The new trusses are lined up to join the existing roof above the dining room.

Load of Hay

“You’re not a farmer’s arse.”

He’s right, you know. I probably wouldn’t ever measure up to the mark required to be a farmer. I’m far too soft and too lily-livered. Outwardly, I’m Mr Tough-Guy, a tobacco-chewing, juice-spitting, hog-kicking gum-booter, but inside… I’m only an animal softie.

This morning I went down to Goat-Hill with a bunch of hay for Jacko’s breakfast. There I go again… Can you imagine Farmer Brown admitting that he’s taken din-dins to Dobbin and Black Beauty and Billy? I think not. Animal feed is animal feed – a farming raw material, nothing more.

The morning was dry and warmer than other mornings, pleasant enough to take a stroll down the winding path of Goat-Hill – a mental reminder to myself that I should start trimming the weeds and wild fern undergrowth along the pathway as soon as we have a dry spell.  As  I approached the goat fence, I felt an eerie silence. In the distance the carpenters were busily hammering away at fixing the roof trusses, but here I could only hear a dog barking faintly in the distance.

At the lower gate I could see all the way to the bottom of the steep incline. Nothing, no-one. No Jacko.

At the tree-covered foresty-bit along the lower fence, also nothing. No Jacko.

Where was Jacko?

“Here, Boy, here Big Guy!”  I look round sheepishly, in case someone has heard me. Sometimes I whistle to attract his attention, sometimes I simply bang on his tin roof with a stick.

“Maa-aa-aa-aa!  Maa-aa-aa-aa!”

I’m not sure what a goat yawn looks like, but I suspect it may have been a goat yawn that greeted me, as a furry pink snout shoved its way through the curtained door of the goat-house.

Jacko had been taking an extra-long morning lie-in in the straw this morning!

(Above): Jacko digging into the yummy hay breakfast, packed full of free-range organic stuff, befitting a healthy Billy Boy.

Despite his goofy stare, he is really a strange but loveable creature.

Examined by Customs

“The post-man has just dropped off something for you at the gate…”

The voice came from one of the carpenters working on our build site, as I walked by the woodshed this morning. He’s a local New Zealander, who pronounces many words the way one would expect, because that’s just the way it is.

For example,his rendition “post-man” instead of my preferred “post-min”.

He thinks I’m strange. After all, the word has a huge “A” in it, not an “uh.” He shrugs and walks on.  I cannot argue with the guy – perhaps I’m wrong, after all. Those stupid junior school teachers who mis-taught me, the fools…

At the gate I find this bright yellow waterproof canvas bag. I recognise it as belonging to the Postie – I instantly recognise it, as previously he’d delivered some DVD sets from a mail order company for us, and then had asked for his bag back next day.

The parcel was a huge surprise for Jeanette – a birthday gift from our dear friend Frankie in Cape Town. The box had a good length of black and white sticker all along the top – SARS which is the South African Revenue Service Customs acronym and font style.

One might expect that the New Zealand Customs may want to examine incoming parcels for collection of customs duty or GST, or perhaps for strange or illicit contents. Why the SA authorities would want to open it before leaving the country… I am still puzzled.

Let The Games Begin

The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games are upon us. The local breakfast TV news carried an interview with Valerie Adams, one of New Zealand’s outstanding Olympians.

Olympic champion Valerie Adams says she feels "really proud" after being named as New Zealand's flag bearer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Adams will lead the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team into Celtic Park stadium for the opening ceremony, and says she is "quite excited" because it will be the first opening ceremony at which she will carry the New Zealand flag.

Adams says it was at the Commonwealth Games that her international career began. "I went to my first Commonwealth Games when I was 17 in 2002 and to be my fourth games this time is actually quite extraordinary."

It will be the nation's 20th appearance at the Commonwealth Games, having competed at every Games since their inception in 1930. The New Zealand Olympic Committee registered the complete team on 8 July 2014, with 232 athletes competing at the Games across all 17 sports.(Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Diving, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Lawn bowls, Netball, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Weightlifting, Wrestling)

Buildlogue #18 – Batten Down The Hatches

Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 July are effectively Construction Days 22 and 23. As regards the weather, we had a total of a mere 11 mm since Thursday, but the fresh rain simply puddles and lies around on the surface of the now-waterlogged muddy substrate. So, I would describe conditions underfoot as damp to quite wet.

What is happening on site? There’s quite a bit of noise: hammering, cutting and drilling. Each and every plank, beam, batten and woody-thing is being checked, screwed fast to its neighbours, top and bottom, bolted to the concrete slab…  well, let’s just say they’re battening down the hatches before commencement of a long journey over a windy stormy sea… sort of.

Physically, we’ve now removed the internal wall of the shower, to accommodate the round corner shower cubicle, and removed part of the internal passageway wall to effectively increase the usable space in the sitting room – something I should have addressed a lot earlier, I guess.

The window manufacturers have just done their final measurements and I need to do some looking around to source alternative sanitaryware items for the bathroom because of the delays our supplier will be experiencing – no big train-smash, but tough on them, they will therefore lose the sale – not my worries.

The roof trusses are being carried and lifted up for fixing atop the beams as we speak/ write – an interesting exercise which was worth watching, as the existing roof over the dining-room is removed.

(Above): The start of the roof with the first of the five roof trusses fitted in position on the western side.

Shortly, we’ll have a couple of dehumidifiers running to dry out the timbers, room by room, for inspection by the KCDC to give permission to start cladding the walls. That is when things start cooking…

Stop Here

As I walked towards a pedestrian crossing this afternoon after running a couple of errands in the downtown, I was once more soberly reminded of the ordered state in which we find ourselves in New Zealand, when compared to some other parts of the world.

For most of my life I lived in an environment where the amber (orange) traffic light indicated a challenge to the motorist to check that his/her car could beat the red light, instead of the intended ‘stop’ if you have not yet crossed the first warning line, as is enforced in New Zealand. My reason for writing this particular blog was a picture I saw earlier this afternoon:

 
I do not believe that I have seen this type of situation in New Zealand in the past seven months!

(Above): The pedestrian is king on the roads here. A driver can easily land himself in hot water for not stopping at such a crossing if there is a pedestrian anywhere in the vicinity of this sign (either side of the street) – the driver must expect that the pedestrian will step out, even if such a pedestrian doesn’t necessarily look as if he intends crossing the street.

Spring In The Air

At 21 July, it is hardly fair to think of Spring yet -  we’re probably a good couple of months away from Spring proper. The air is icy crisp outside, even though the wintry clouds have faded into the distance.

(Above): A while ago, in 1804-ish to be precise, William Wordsworth penned his famous “Daffodils” poem. If one analyses it in detail, you reach the conclusion that there was no big deal in writing this…

“… I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze…”

Strangely, I can still clearly remember the afternoon we visited his grave at St Oswald’s in Grasmere. There were a number of graves of family members there as well, if memory serves. I suspect there may be a photo or two in our travelogue “A Walk In The Park”

(Above): Our host of Daffodils. Clumps of these bright fresh little darlings have sprung up all of the place on our lawn, mostly in the safety zone near tree trunks.

While, a few metres away, Brynn is enjoying the relative warmth of the winter sun on the trampoline… A bit of spring in her jumps, as well.

(Above): Brynn demonstrates the Buddha and (below) the Superman.

Buildlogue #17–Long Weekend Ahead

Yes, I thought that the title might wake you up a bit. No, there’s no Queen’s birthday or Labour Day, or any such event. There is simply a lull in operations at the build site for tomorrow Friday 18th Construction Day 21.

The reason for the “delay” is simply because the next task to be tackled is to open up part of the north-side roof of the existing house, to make the void watertight in case of rain showers, to fit the final internal wall (along Strawberry Lane corridor) and to start installing the roof trusses. In Builder John’s opinion a continuous operation for this series of jobs is more desirable than having a weekend (with possible leaks, etc into the existing dining-room ceiling) so soon after commencement.

He will be able to use the “day off” for liaison with the window manufacturers (final measurements), and follow-up with other trades, such as the water-proofers, the roofers, plumber and electrician.

What happened today? It was indeed a day of contrasts, with snow on the nearby Kapanui peak, a clear blue sky and icy temperature at breakfast time. Then we had sunshine, rainshowers, sunshowers, alternating with combinations of those variants, until a huge golden “red rubber ball” sunset. On the work front,l the final adjustment were made to the wall frames, as regards the “squareness”, the “levelness” and the “straightness” (and any other “nesses” there may be) of everything in relation to everything else, including the cement slab floor. They are now ready to receive the timber roof trusses.

A rubbish skip was also delivered today and parked on the verge outside the gate. This will facilitate clean-up of scrap, of off-cuts, packaging and the like, to make the area more habitable and neat.

The following are shots of the framing as the building now stands.

(Above): A short break between bouts of drizzle allowed me a quick scoot through the extension. Must remember to wipe your feet before walking across the highly polished floors. I call this colour “muddy waters with animal print”

(Above): A general overview taken from Tyler’s upstairs bedroom. The rooms are colour-coded as follows: Yellow=bedroom with little passage; Goldish at left= sitting/TV room; Turquoise centre bottom= part of Strawberry Lane; Brown= dressing room/walk-in wardrobe;  Green= bathroom/WC and Blue= laundry.

(Above): View from the bedroom. with the laundry (“L”), Strawberry Lane (“SL”), the sitting room (“SR”) and entrance passage (“P”).

(Above): View of the bedroom (“BR”) from the sitting room.

(Above): View from the outside, showing the bedroom (“BR”), sitting room (“SR”) and Strawberry Lane (“SL”)

(Above) Outside view from the east, showing the laundry (“L”), the bathroom (“WC”) and the dressing room (“DR”)

(Above): The view-to-be from the bedroom-to-be through the French Doors-to-be, looking west into the sunset-to-be.

(Above): The lone frame, still to be fitted, lies lifeless on the floor of the potager-to-be, destined to separate the new laundry from the existing dining room