Buildlogue #12 - End of Phase 1

Wednesday 2 July, Construction Day 11. The morning is partly cloudy, looking brighter in the west towards the coast and the Tasman, but dark threatening clouds to the east over the Tararua mountain range. Builder John and his men are optimistic that they will complete the required tasks to be ready for the inspection eyes of the KCDC (in future I’ll call them ‘the Council’) to be given the go-ahead to cast the concrete floor slab.

There has been one change on the site: The men have brought a portable radio. It is set to a local talk/ music station, and seems to have brought the workplace to life. One of them is (sort of) singing along to some of the tunes being aired.

The work being done today is not all that photogenic (photo-worthy) : it consists of doing all the fiddly bits, seemingly little things like tying your shoe-laces, straightening you tie, scratching your eyebrow and blowing your nose. None of them earth-shattering or noticeable, but very important, in the long run. There will probably be similar days in future to be recorded in our Buildlogue, like painting a ceiling, or nailing down some skirtings, I suppose – like Grand Design’s Kevin McCloud having a mug of hot Milo with us, looking through the window at the mess of timber off-cut waste and pile of broken bricks lying in what used to be a pretty rose garden…

One last item on the to-do list was the removal of the dining-room windows. The skies looked good, so the carpenter decided to take the plunge:

(Above): The frame of the large window is cut loose all round. It still fits snugly into the framing and needs a lot of persuasion to vacate its long-time home.

(Above): the window frame and its glass proves to be tons heavier than one would imagine and all hands are needed on deck to shift it away.

(Above): A short while later, the carpenter has vertical framing fitted and fixed at 600mm centres. Here he is doing final checks on his work.

(Above) Gib Standard TE board is internal partitioning with a gypsum-type filler. These boards were manufactured at 10:40 on 06/06/14! (Because this information is imprinted on it!). The new laundry will be behind this “new” wall.

(Above): Next, the Strawberry Lane cat-flap window gets the same treatment.

(Above): As the workmen scrub up after a day’s graft, the two windows have been securely boarded up for the effects of the cold weather.

(Above): One of the three footing stays which will be concreted in, to provide anchorage for the soffit support posts.

(Above): With the exception of a few smaller jobs, the site is ready for inspection by the KCDC to-morrow, and if approved by him, for the delivery of concrete on Friday.

Project Strawberry Lane

Every project should have a name. The construction of the extension wing of Chartwell, consisting of our bedroom/sitting room and bathroom, with a workroom/ laundry for general use, should also have a name. The entry passageway to this ‘North Wing’ was called “Strawberry Lane” because of the potted strawberries which have been growing there.

Therefore, I would reckon that this building project could aptly be known as  Project Strawberry Lane.

Like Col. John ‘Hannibal’ Smith would like a plan to come together, Barry, our architect, called earlier in the week to deliver the ‘final’ preliminary plans for the extension, for us to check over, with the news that he will now start on writing the specifications on which the prospective builders, electricians, etc will be able to base their quotations.

Our job at this stage is to shop around for bathroom sanitaryware, light fittings and those sort of items for which the builder will simply allow pc amounts.

Earlier, we met one of Clayton’s contacts (a Saffer) who has set up a electrical contracting business in Waikanae. If possible, we will naturally appoint him to do the electrical work. He will also put forward the names of a couple of guys who might be interested in quoting for the building work.

Whilst the project progress of Strawberry Lane has been rather slow (just on two months since our initial enquiries), I think that the work completed has been done thoroughly, and hopefully the rest of the project will proceed in the same manner (that is thoroughly and not slowly!)

When Barry has completed the specifications, we will have the required application forms completed, with the final proposed plans and specifications, submitted to the KCDC (Kapiti Coast District Council) in Waikanae for planning permission to commence construction, a process which is supposed to take about 20 working days (give them a month). Whilst waiting for this, we can get the prospective contractors to work out their tender prices for us to make a final decision.