25 December 2011
It is Christmas day!! What a wonderful time of the year. To remind us of what He has done for us!!!
My brother Ben came for a visit. He arrived on Sunday 18th, and will be here for a full month. What a joy. He has been drawn in to help. (Working holiday, see) Before he came we had a list of things to do. We succeeded in completing some of it, but then we moved the goalposts, we want to do it before Christmas. Well, we managed most of it. Small tasks like getting rid of rubbish in the section, mowing grass, clearing the last workshop stuff out of the house, install a missing part of the weatherboard, etc, etc.
This last week Ben did the rebuild of the front deck. I sat down on the timber to hold it in place, and he nailed or bolted it down. I can't understand why he was so tired at night, I felt OK. We managed to rebuild the existing part of the deck and install the main outer joist for the part that has disappeared. The idea is to install a new top beam on the old verandah posts, and then to reinstall the old curved roofing sheets, just to get the verandah up again. The deck itself will come at a later stage.
I must take care not to load too much work on Ben, he might run away. Fingers crossed.
Sunday
11 December 2011
We missed a week. The week was busy, but not "Jackson House" related.
Last week I went to Hamilton on two occasions. Coming back on the Thursday, I back ended a car in front of me. My fault. Our trusty old Mitsi was still driveable, but it turned out, beyond economic repair. Hopefully
the insurance will pay out in this coming week. So I spent time fixing the Toyota Corsa I bought more than a year ago. In the meantime we are using our daughter, Mieke's car. I also developed a flu and had to visit the Doctor. Much better now, but work time lost.
Developments on the house? We finally removed the last of my junk that has been stored in the third bedroom, and set it up as a bedroom. My brother Ben will be visiting us from the 18th, and we need another room for Anneke and Matt (our other daughter). We don't know how much work will get done , we'll see.
Our lawnmower finally packed up, now the grass is getting out of control. The sheep cannot beat it. Wish I had the money for a Ride On.
We also got hold of some fibreglass roofing sheet, to replace the verandah roof by the living room. Not done yet.
We missed a week. The week was busy, but not "Jackson House" related.
Last week I went to Hamilton on two occasions. Coming back on the Thursday, I back ended a car in front of me. My fault. Our trusty old Mitsi was still driveable, but it turned out, beyond economic repair. Hopefully
the insurance will pay out in this coming week. So I spent time fixing the Toyota Corsa I bought more than a year ago. In the meantime we are using our daughter, Mieke's car. I also developed a flu and had to visit the Doctor. Much better now, but work time lost.
Developments on the house? We finally removed the last of my junk that has been stored in the third bedroom, and set it up as a bedroom. My brother Ben will be visiting us from the 18th, and we need another room for Anneke and Matt (our other daughter). We don't know how much work will get done , we'll see.
Our lawnmower finally packed up, now the grass is getting out of control. The sheep cannot beat it. Wish I had the money for a Ride On.
We also got hold of some fibreglass roofing sheet, to replace the verandah roof by the living room. Not done yet.
27 November 2011
Not much to report this week. We worked on the outside where the verandah roof is supposed to be. Used some paint given to us, actually mixed two cans and now have 15l of green paint. After the gable was painted, Elna decided she actually likes the colour. Will see. I Also started sanding the verandah posts down, with the belt sander. The Rimu timber is in a remarkably good condition. The bottom ends are somewhat rotten, but i will splice it together with a short replacement piece. Thursday was rainy, and I started working on the electrics inside. Remember the old rubber insulated wires? They have been replaced now, and cabling for TV into the other bedroom done. Now the grandkids can watch their cartoon TV while the other people have a quiet chat. We also did a external light by the back door, and a hand bell we bought when we got the house.
Not much to report this week. We worked on the outside where the verandah roof is supposed to be. Used some paint given to us, actually mixed two cans and now have 15l of green paint. After the gable was painted, Elna decided she actually likes the colour. Will see. I Also started sanding the verandah posts down, with the belt sander. The Rimu timber is in a remarkably good condition. The bottom ends are somewhat rotten, but i will splice it together with a short replacement piece. Thursday was rainy, and I started working on the electrics inside. Remember the old rubber insulated wires? They have been replaced now, and cabling for TV into the other bedroom done. Now the grandkids can watch their cartoon TV while the other people have a quiet chat. We also did a external light by the back door, and a hand bell we bought when we got the house.
20 November 2011
We finished the gibbing in the living room. It makes a big difference. It feels like a room now, and the draughts will be much less. But, and there is always a but, I have not done the gib stopping (polyfilla) or any of the painting yet. I was too eager to start work outside.
We did get a relpy from NZHPT (Historical people) about our request to demolish the second bathroom and install large French doors. They have no problem with that, provided we do not dig any trenches for the sewer lines for the new bathroom. I told them that the new pipes will be suspended from the floor joists. All approved, but first things first.
Next on the agenda is securing the outside. We got the scaffolding pipes from the neighbour, but it is 6 m lengths and very awkward to handle. In the end I removed it all and put a sheet of ply over the bay window roof. It works. Yesterday I got up there and started scraping at the old paint. No luck. It is too hard. Then I got my baby angle grinder with a sanding disc. Perfect. I can grind through the flaking paint until I get to good timber. I removed about 80% of the old paint. It will need smoothing out, but for that I will use the belt sander. It will now give us a solid base to start painting on. We were given two cans of wall paint, in any odd colour. That will be good enough for a base coat. Once we have the western and southern walls done, and if we have the money, we will start painting the final colour. First of all, our big priority is to make it secure and rebuild the verandah.
We finished the gibbing in the living room. It makes a big difference. It feels like a room now, and the draughts will be much less. But, and there is always a but, I have not done the gib stopping (polyfilla) or any of the painting yet. I was too eager to start work outside.
We did get a relpy from NZHPT (Historical people) about our request to demolish the second bathroom and install large French doors. They have no problem with that, provided we do not dig any trenches for the sewer lines for the new bathroom. I told them that the new pipes will be suspended from the floor joists. All approved, but first things first.
Next on the agenda is securing the outside. We got the scaffolding pipes from the neighbour, but it is 6 m lengths and very awkward to handle. In the end I removed it all and put a sheet of ply over the bay window roof. It works. Yesterday I got up there and started scraping at the old paint. No luck. It is too hard. Then I got my baby angle grinder with a sanding disc. Perfect. I can grind through the flaking paint until I get to good timber. I removed about 80% of the old paint. It will need smoothing out, but for that I will use the belt sander. It will now give us a solid base to start painting on. We were given two cans of wall paint, in any odd colour. That will be good enough for a base coat. Once we have the western and southern walls done, and if we have the money, we will start painting the final colour. First of all, our big priority is to make it secure and rebuild the verandah.
13 November 2011
We have finished the work on the walls, and also spent a lot of time repairing the sliding sash window. It turned out that the window frames are in a sad state, and will eventually need to be remade. In the meantime, we want to move on and ignore the problem. Next week we will install the last of the gib on the opposite wall.
I am getting impatient to start work on the outside walls. We have managed to borrow some scaffolding pipes from our neighbour. We also found clamps and fittings when we moved in here. Hopefully we will be able to build some decent scaffolds. We plan to clean the weatherboards, fill holes and apply a base coat of paint. It will not be the final colour, but having done that, we will be in a position to reinstate the verandah at least partially.
The grass is growing, and we had to move the sheep. They are not very happy, but they need to earn their keep. We had started a veggie patch, but the lambs got in there and mad a clean sweep of all our seedlings. Now we will have to put up a proper fence before we can try veggies again.
We have finished the work on the walls, and also spent a lot of time repairing the sliding sash window. It turned out that the window frames are in a sad state, and will eventually need to be remade. In the meantime, we want to move on and ignore the problem. Next week we will install the last of the gib on the opposite wall.
I am getting impatient to start work on the outside walls. We have managed to borrow some scaffolding pipes from our neighbour. We also found clamps and fittings when we moved in here. Hopefully we will be able to build some decent scaffolds. We plan to clean the weatherboards, fill holes and apply a base coat of paint. It will not be the final colour, but having done that, we will be in a position to reinstate the verandah at least partially.
The grass is growing, and we had to move the sheep. They are not very happy, but they need to earn their keep. We had started a veggie patch, but the lambs got in there and mad a clean sweep of all our seedlings. Now we will have to put up a proper fence before we can try veggies again.
Monday
7 November 2011
We did however achieve some during the week. We removed the fire surround on the Northern wall, next to where we have been working, and covered the air gaps and put insulation there as well. We discovered some very interesting history. The fireplace is back to back, but it seems that, originally, we had an external fireplace there. A kitchen has been added at a later stage and the fireplace was extended. We even discovered weatherboard with original lime paint. The picture was taken with the camera held in the cavity. We started relining as before, using recycled boards.
Today, Monday was chosen to mow the grass on the sidewalk (it is not a lawn) After the grass was cut, I proceeded to clear the ivy growing on our Rimu tree by the entrance. Hopefully the ivy in the tree will die now. We will still have to kill the roots.
The house in the background still looks terrible, but at least we know that we are making progress. Once the inside lining is completed where we are working now, we plan to remove the verandah roof on the outside and repair the weatherboards on the outside. Only after that we will start working on the verandah on the main entrance side. That is, provided we do not decide to do something completely different.
Missed Sunday again!! Sorry.
Last week was a short one. On Monday I had to go to Hamilton, no work done. Friday I had a runny tummy, no work done.
The house in the background still looks terrible, but at least we know that we are making progress. Once the inside lining is completed where we are working now, we plan to remove the verandah roof on the outside and repair the weatherboards on the outside. Only after that we will start working on the verandah on the main entrance side. That is, provided we do not decide to do something completely different.
Sunday
30 October
On Monday we were given a pet lamb. She is 3 months old and was used in a school project. She is very tame and still drinks from a bottle. The other two would not accept her initially, but we put them in two adjoining larger pens and later removed the partition. She is adapting well. We did have another problem though, Anne, the first lamb, got used to stick her head through the fence with the neighbour (the grass on the other side?) Yesterday I added more battens (droppers for non-kiwis) but last night she got through again. I will have to add more wires. As a temporary measure she got a hook around the neck. It works.
Tuesday I didn't feel like work, so I spent most of the day writing a motivation to demolish the little room with the existing second bathroom and fit french doors instead. The bathroom will then be moved into another room. I will submit that to the Historical Places Trust.
The original sarking (lining) of the living room was match lining in Kauri. That is tongue and groove boards. One part of the sarking has been replaced at some stage, and the replacement was in Rimu and not tongue and groove. We stripped that part on Wednesday. We repaired some damaged studs and installed insulation. Then we proceeded to install Kauri boards. Because it is recycled boards (from where we removed the other wall) it is warped and does not fit together easily. I put in a request with Barco to come and help. Sorry for the Starling's nest that has been in the wall. If we can manage to install insulation to all of the wall, we intend to paint the timber, without gibbing it. It might mean that we will have to remove some of the outside weatherboards to install the insulation.
The young guy from next door mowed our grass on the sidewalk on Saturday. He did not do a very good job, so I will be forced to use my lawnmower on that as well. I also cleared the ivy on the gatepost by the entrance. Another job on my "round tuit" list is to cut the concrete on the driveway entrance, it is a little high and sometimes our car scratches when we drive in or out.
Next door they are finishing off the new house, with a timber fence going up between us. Looking good.
On Monday we were given a pet lamb. She is 3 months old and was used in a school project. She is very tame and still drinks from a bottle. The other two would not accept her initially, but we put them in two adjoining larger pens and later removed the partition. She is adapting well. We did have another problem though, Anne, the first lamb, got used to stick her head through the fence with the neighbour (the grass on the other side?) Yesterday I added more battens (droppers for non-kiwis) but last night she got through again. I will have to add more wires. As a temporary measure she got a hook around the neck. It works.
Tuesday I didn't feel like work, so I spent most of the day writing a motivation to demolish the little room with the existing second bathroom and fit french doors instead. The bathroom will then be moved into another room. I will submit that to the Historical Places Trust.
The original sarking (lining) of the living room was match lining in Kauri. That is tongue and groove boards. One part of the sarking has been replaced at some stage, and the replacement was in Rimu and not tongue and groove. We stripped that part on Wednesday. We repaired some damaged studs and installed insulation. Then we proceeded to install Kauri boards. Because it is recycled boards (from where we removed the other wall) it is warped and does not fit together easily. I put in a request with Barco to come and help. Sorry for the Starling's nest that has been in the wall. If we can manage to install insulation to all of the wall, we intend to paint the timber, without gibbing it. It might mean that we will have to remove some of the outside weatherboards to install the insulation.
The young guy from next door mowed our grass on the sidewalk on Saturday. He did not do a very good job, so I will be forced to use my lawnmower on that as well. I also cleared the ivy on the gatepost by the entrance. Another job on my "round tuit" list is to cut the concrete on the driveway entrance, it is a little high and sometimes our car scratches when we drive in or out.
Next door they are finishing off the new house, with a timber fence going up between us. Looking good.
23 October 2011
Not much to report this week. I have moved the tree stumps to the rubbish corner. We also finished the gib stopping on the inside. On Wednesday we had a visit from a South African friend and her Kiwi daughter. It was so cold we had to put a heater on (16 deg). We had a lovely time though. We appreciate all visits immensely, it just serves to strengthen us in our resolve to do the impossible with no money.
We moved the sheep into a moveable pen which we completed. They don't like it, but the grass get cut. I also cut some grass on our "front lawn" where the sheep has been. Slowly but surely we are making some progress!!
On Thursday and Friday I had to be in Hamilton and not much was done on the house. We did clean some of the polish off the floorboards in the new lounge though, but it a very slow job. We used methylated spirits.
Monday is Labour day, but it will not affect us much. Tonight it is the AB's against France. Fingers crossed!!!!
Not much to report this week. I have moved the tree stumps to the rubbish corner. We also finished the gib stopping on the inside. On Wednesday we had a visit from a South African friend and her Kiwi daughter. It was so cold we had to put a heater on (16 deg). We had a lovely time though. We appreciate all visits immensely, it just serves to strengthen us in our resolve to do the impossible with no money.
On Thursday and Friday I had to be in Hamilton and not much was done on the house. We did clean some of the polish off the floorboards in the new lounge though, but it a very slow job. We used methylated spirits.
Monday is Labour day, but it will not affect us much. Tonight it is the AB's against France. Fingers crossed!!!!
16 October 2011
It is our anniversary!! We arrived in New Zealand on 15 October 2001. And we have never regretted one moment of it!!
Last week I said the beam we fitted was 50 mm wide, that was a mistake, it is 100 mm wide. This week we fitted the last Gib board and did most of the Gib stopping. Sanding will be next. We also repaired the timber backing (sarking) where we opened up the wall. That is good for Gibbing now, when we have the money to buy more Gib.
We also had a hole which was cut into the ceiling, into the board and batten. The boards are 300m wide and the batten covers the joints. The missing part was 500 mm long. I believe somebody used it to access the ceiling space in the past. We cut a piece of plywood, and stained it. It took about 8 coats of stain to get it dark enough. Looking good now. Still have to touch up other small blemishes in the ceiling. The wiring to the light in that room was still old rubber insulated, and I disconnected it. New wiring will have to be installed.
Saturday morning our son, Barry (or Barco for others) offered to come and cut our grass. The sheep are doing a fine job, but there are areas where we cannot build pens. I hate mowing grass, so I tackled two stumps from trees that were cut down under the deck, long ago. One was a Rimu. I have removed one in the past, and knew the roots would be mostly rotten away. The other is a Ponga, or fern, and is similar to a palm tree. I got both of them out, but I was so tired that I could not move them to the compost/rubbish area in our section. A job for another day. The result of the mowing is that I will be obliged to cut the grass more often now. But the improvement is immense. Thanks Barco!!
The All Blacks and Aussies are playing at the moment. Go AB's!!!
It is our anniversary!! We arrived in New Zealand on 15 October 2001. And we have never regretted one moment of it!!
Last week I said the beam we fitted was 50 mm wide, that was a mistake, it is 100 mm wide. This week we fitted the last Gib board and did most of the Gib stopping. Sanding will be next. We also repaired the timber backing (sarking) where we opened up the wall. That is good for Gibbing now, when we have the money to buy more Gib.
We also had a hole which was cut into the ceiling, into the board and batten. The boards are 300m wide and the batten covers the joints. The missing part was 500 mm long. I believe somebody used it to access the ceiling space in the past. We cut a piece of plywood, and stained it. It took about 8 coats of stain to get it dark enough. Looking good now. Still have to touch up other small blemishes in the ceiling. The wiring to the light in that room was still old rubber insulated, and I disconnected it. New wiring will have to be installed.
Saturday morning our son, Barry (or Barco for others) offered to come and cut our grass. The sheep are doing a fine job, but there are areas where we cannot build pens. I hate mowing grass, so I tackled two stumps from trees that were cut down under the deck, long ago. One was a Rimu. I have removed one in the past, and knew the roots would be mostly rotten away. The other is a Ponga, or fern, and is similar to a palm tree. I got both of them out, but I was so tired that I could not move them to the compost/rubbish area in our section. A job for another day. The result of the mowing is that I will be obliged to cut the grass more often now. But the improvement is immense. Thanks Barco!!
The All Blacks and Aussies are playing at the moment. Go AB's!!!
Tuesday
10 October 2011
I had some enquiries about the blog: When are you writing again? Sorry that you had to ask.
At one stage I decided that I should clear all the rubbish and stuff that moved with us from Cambridge and which was lying on the lawn. We even made a list of all the outside tasks. Then, very conveniently, I lost the list (I put it in the rubbish bin) That allowed me to start work inside the house.
We had a visit from the builder who did the roof for the previous owner. He showed me all the pictures he took whilst working here. He also told me that he still had all the sheeting for the veranda. We can buy it off him. Unfortunately we have no spare cash right now, so that will have to wait. He also asked me where my work area is, and offered that I could use his workshop if needed.
Well, eventually I had to work on the storage shed. Prompted by his asking, we decided to move the new sheds further away from the cookhouse. With levers and rollers we managed to move all of them so we have a space of about 4 meters between the buildings now. We had to redo the floor support. I used concrete fencing posts for the base, and on the tool shed, used solid doors for a floor. In the storage shed, we used pallets over the concrete posts. In the end I used all the roofing sheets we had available (been collecting it forever) and had to ask for some from my son. Thanks. On Friday we moved the timber that was stored on the front lawn under a tarp into the timber shed. We also cleared everything from the lawn. From old trampoline frames, we even made a frame for a tarp shade over the work area. We cannot leave the tarp up all the time, it is too noisy.
Elna has been asking for an area to be cleared for a veggie patch. Last Monday I decided to start on that. We have borrowed a small rotavator from a friend, and I tried that. The engine wouldn't start. On Saturday Hans came to my assistance and we got it going, and I even tried it on a small patch. I stopped the engine to clear the loose grass, but it wouldn't go again. Yesterday I opened it again and decided it needs new points. Will do that tomorrow.
On rainy days, we work inside the house. So, when it was rainy two weeks ago, we installed the beam where we removed the wall inside. It is a heavy beam, 50 by 250 mm, and 3.4 m long. I went into the roof space and fitted a coffin hoist to the joists. Then I proceeded to drill a hole through the beam, ran the cable from the hoist through that, and hoisted the beam in place. Only Elna and me. It worked fine and the beam is properly fitted now. Obviously, one needs scaffolding. We had a steel frame from a double decker bed. With reinforcement, it works fine as base for our scaffold platform.
Yesterday we had a light drizzle, and I spent time on vehicle maintenance. For those non Kiwis, we must do a warrant of fitness every six months. Our car was due for its inspection and I had two tyres fitted, but it failed on wear on the steering links. Another job for me when it is not raining.
We have rain forecast for most of the coming week, and hopefully we can continue on the lining in the "new" living room. We also started looking at paint colours. Inside I want to paint the new Gib lining and the tongue and groove lining of the original dining room part of the room to simulate the Kauri timber colour.
Working outside on the bay window, we discovered a piece of weatherboard that showed all the original paint colours. Based on that, we also decided on the outside colours. It is nice to plan ahead, even if you now there is no money to buy paint.
On Sunday we had friends over who has not been here for a couple of months. They say they can notice the progress we have made. We have been here for three months now, and even I have to admit that we are getting some things right. Originally we have budgeted to spend six months on each room.
I had some enquiries about the blog: When are you writing again? Sorry that you had to ask.
At one stage I decided that I should clear all the rubbish and stuff that moved with us from Cambridge and which was lying on the lawn. We even made a list of all the outside tasks. Then, very conveniently, I lost the list (I put it in the rubbish bin) That allowed me to start work inside the house.
We had a visit from the builder who did the roof for the previous owner. He showed me all the pictures he took whilst working here. He also told me that he still had all the sheeting for the veranda. We can buy it off him. Unfortunately we have no spare cash right now, so that will have to wait. He also asked me where my work area is, and offered that I could use his workshop if needed.
Well, eventually I had to work on the storage shed. Prompted by his asking, we decided to move the new sheds further away from the cookhouse. With levers and rollers we managed to move all of them so we have a space of about 4 meters between the buildings now. We had to redo the floor support. I used concrete fencing posts for the base, and on the tool shed, used solid doors for a floor. In the storage shed, we used pallets over the concrete posts. In the end I used all the roofing sheets we had available (been collecting it forever) and had to ask for some from my son. Thanks. On Friday we moved the timber that was stored on the front lawn under a tarp into the timber shed. We also cleared everything from the lawn. From old trampoline frames, we even made a frame for a tarp shade over the work area. We cannot leave the tarp up all the time, it is too noisy.
Elna has been asking for an area to be cleared for a veggie patch. Last Monday I decided to start on that. We have borrowed a small rotavator from a friend, and I tried that. The engine wouldn't start. On Saturday Hans came to my assistance and we got it going, and I even tried it on a small patch. I stopped the engine to clear the loose grass, but it wouldn't go again. Yesterday I opened it again and decided it needs new points. Will do that tomorrow.
On rainy days, we work inside the house. So, when it was rainy two weeks ago, we installed the beam where we removed the wall inside. It is a heavy beam, 50 by 250 mm, and 3.4 m long. I went into the roof space and fitted a coffin hoist to the joists. Then I proceeded to drill a hole through the beam, ran the cable from the hoist through that, and hoisted the beam in place. Only Elna and me. It worked fine and the beam is properly fitted now. Obviously, one needs scaffolding. We had a steel frame from a double decker bed. With reinforcement, it works fine as base for our scaffold platform.
Yesterday we had a light drizzle, and I spent time on vehicle maintenance. For those non Kiwis, we must do a warrant of fitness every six months. Our car was due for its inspection and I had two tyres fitted, but it failed on wear on the steering links. Another job for me when it is not raining.
We have rain forecast for most of the coming week, and hopefully we can continue on the lining in the "new" living room. We also started looking at paint colours. Inside I want to paint the new Gib lining and the tongue and groove lining of the original dining room part of the room to simulate the Kauri timber colour.
Working outside on the bay window, we discovered a piece of weatherboard that showed all the original paint colours. Based on that, we also decided on the outside colours. It is nice to plan ahead, even if you now there is no money to buy paint.
On Sunday we had friends over who has not been here for a couple of months. They say they can notice the progress we have made. We have been here for three months now, and even I have to admit that we are getting some things right. Originally we have budgeted to spend six months on each room.
Saturday
17 September 2011
Sorry we missed last week.
Spent a few days making and repairing our fence with the neighbours to protect our sheep. I would love to see the underside of a dog after he passed over our barbed wire fence!!.
I also worked on a further shed, for storing timber. Framing is up, and we made a floor of pallets, but nothing further.
Next door neighbour, who is building a house, came on Monday to say that part of our veranda has blown away. They have secured it temporarily. That was when I was working on the shed, they thought we were away. We had to take it down, and then found that we had rotten framing and weatherboard (we knew about it, but hoped it would go away if we ignore it. It didn't.) We repaired the framing and replaced some weatherboard, then proceeded to fit a roof over the bay window. It had one ages ago, but it has disappeared, and relied on the veranda roof. Anyhow, we installed insulation and fitted a roof. The veranda is not back yet.
We also started removing the sarking boards between the living room and the to be lounge. To save the old timber, I had to punch the nails right through the board, and take the board off. Yesterday we finished breaking the wall out. Made an enormous difference to the place, much lighter and much more spacious. We also removed the cast iron fireplace. We found a newspaper dated 1937 behind the mantle. This proved it was a later installation. We cleaned it out to original, and proceeded to cover it up with gib.(or plasterboard for the non Kiwis)
Being Saturday, we obviously could not finish the gibbing, but we cleaned all out and moved in. It makes an enormous difference, much more light and space. It was a good move..
The previous Saturday, we drove to Auckland to pick up six patio doors, or French doors we bought on Trademe. These are intended to be installed in the northern wall once we removed the silly little bathroom.We do not have a frame, but it allows us to plan a good layout.
We also closed the door from the passage with gib from the inside. We would never have used that door.
Sorry we missed last week.
Spent a few days making and repairing our fence with the neighbours to protect our sheep. I would love to see the underside of a dog after he passed over our barbed wire fence!!.
I also worked on a further shed, for storing timber. Framing is up, and we made a floor of pallets, but nothing further.
Next door neighbour, who is building a house, came on Monday to say that part of our veranda has blown away. They have secured it temporarily. That was when I was working on the shed, they thought we were away. We had to take it down, and then found that we had rotten framing and weatherboard (we knew about it, but hoped it would go away if we ignore it. It didn't.) We repaired the framing and replaced some weatherboard, then proceeded to fit a roof over the bay window. It had one ages ago, but it has disappeared, and relied on the veranda roof. Anyhow, we installed insulation and fitted a roof. The veranda is not back yet.
We also started removing the sarking boards between the living room and the to be lounge. To save the old timber, I had to punch the nails right through the board, and take the board off. Yesterday we finished breaking the wall out. Made an enormous difference to the place, much lighter and much more spacious. We also removed the cast iron fireplace. We found a newspaper dated 1937 behind the mantle. This proved it was a later installation. We cleaned it out to original, and proceeded to cover it up with gib.(or plasterboard for the non Kiwis)
Being Saturday, we obviously could not finish the gibbing, but we cleaned all out and moved in. It makes an enormous difference, much more light and space. It was a good move..
The previous Saturday, we drove to Auckland to pick up six patio doors, or French doors we bought on Trademe. These are intended to be installed in the northern wall once we removed the silly little bathroom.We do not have a frame, but it allows us to plan a good layout.
We also closed the door from the passage with gib from the inside. We would never have used that door.
Sunday
4 September 2011
Monday morning saw me clearing all the plants we have taken out on Saturday. After that, I decided the southern side of the house looks bad, and washed it with bleach to get rid of the mold, on the wall and the deck. Nice improvement. But, since we have done no work on that side yet, it needs a bit of a lean up. Removed all the leftover rubbish and cut some of the broken deck boards down. Much safer now. Then I noticed the condition of the paint, peeling and flaking. Called the Resene helpline. (This is our local paint manufacturer) They recommended taking a sample for analysis. Guess what, I got on the ladder and it slipped from under me, whilst I had a nice sharp paint scraper in my hand. A cut in my forehead of 40 mm. In to Hamilton A&E and got eight stitches. Not Harry Potter, but Gary Potterer now. Healing nicely.
Had the paint analysed. It is a lead base. The reason for the flaking seems to be water penetration from the leaking roof before that was replaced. I have proven that the original colour was a sort of khaki paint, not the white that became the norm on Victorian villas some years later. It will take some convincing to get the local historian "experts" to accept that.
Most of the remainder of the week spent on the shed. That is done now, apart from the floor. The floor has to be clear of the ground. On Friday we moved the metal lathe and large saw table to the shed, but left it outside because of the floor. I didn't mention that the one side wall of the shed hinges up, forming a nice work area. The best thing of the shed it that I haven't spent a cent on it, all built from material I had saved up, or being given by friends.
Saturday was a lazy day, not much work done. Today we had the local children over and had a nice "potjie". Discussed all the nice "things we can do" with them. Nice to dream, even if you have no money.
Monday morning saw me clearing all the plants we have taken out on Saturday. After that, I decided the southern side of the house looks bad, and washed it with bleach to get rid of the mold, on the wall and the deck. Nice improvement. But, since we have done no work on that side yet, it needs a bit of a lean up. Removed all the leftover rubbish and cut some of the broken deck boards down. Much safer now. Then I noticed the condition of the paint, peeling and flaking. Called the Resene helpline. (This is our local paint manufacturer) They recommended taking a sample for analysis. Guess what, I got on the ladder and it slipped from under me, whilst I had a nice sharp paint scraper in my hand. A cut in my forehead of 40 mm. In to Hamilton A&E and got eight stitches. Not Harry Potter, but Gary Potterer now. Healing nicely.
Had the paint analysed. It is a lead base. The reason for the flaking seems to be water penetration from the leaking roof before that was replaced. I have proven that the original colour was a sort of khaki paint, not the white that became the norm on Victorian villas some years later. It will take some convincing to get the local historian "experts" to accept that.
Most of the remainder of the week spent on the shed. That is done now, apart from the floor. The floor has to be clear of the ground. On Friday we moved the metal lathe and large saw table to the shed, but left it outside because of the floor. I didn't mention that the one side wall of the shed hinges up, forming a nice work area. The best thing of the shed it that I haven't spent a cent on it, all built from material I had saved up, or being given by friends.
Saturday was a lazy day, not much work done. Today we had the local children over and had a nice "potjie". Discussed all the nice "things we can do" with them. Nice to dream, even if you have no money.
28 August 2011
Monday morning we went somewhere, and when we returned there were sheep in the pen. But not as we expected. There was an ewe and a lamb. I knew Howard had can empty ewe, but "Mary had a little lamb" We ended up with Mary and Anne the lamb, bought at a reasonable price. Sheep sorted.
I decided to work on the shed I need for my timber. I started building it from cast off material. Three garage doors, (two forms the roof) some nice angle iron, and corrugated steel that I had saved for 6 years just for such an event. Nice welded frame and two walls and the roof is up. Then I got distracted......
We decided not to start any work on the house before the section is cleared of all my rubbish. So I started clearing rubbish to the dump, put away the cut firewood, and do a general clean up.
Saturday we picked up a small Ferguson tractor (Vaaljapie) with an auger from a friend. I made all the required holes for fence posts in no time. It took longer to unhitch the auger afterward than to make the seven holes. Now we had a tractor on site. We proceeded to remove all the shrubs and trees growing close to the house and some where the deck should be. Pulled out 20 in all. Some were just cut off in 2006, and had huge root balls. Afterward we returned the tractor, and came home. As I stopped the car, I noticed two trees that I forgot about and left them standing, on the eastern side of the house. That will have to wait for a next time.
Now the trees are out, the urgency for getting the deck sorted has become much greater. Today I started taking dimensions and made enquiries about material. See, I like to plan ahead, or shall we call it: "Dream on...."?
We did notice that there are several deep holes in the section where large trees were removed in 2006. Also there is a huge pile of dirt just over the fence where they are building a new house. We will go and talk to Rob, the builder. (And also see if we can borrow a tractor with a loader.)
We have made another list of things to do, before we start on the house. There were 26 items, and so far I could cross off eight of them. Enough to keep me busy for at least another two to three weeks.
Monday morning we went somewhere, and when we returned there were sheep in the pen. But not as we expected. There was an ewe and a lamb. I knew Howard had can empty ewe, but "Mary had a little lamb" We ended up with Mary and Anne the lamb, bought at a reasonable price. Sheep sorted.
I decided to work on the shed I need for my timber. I started building it from cast off material. Three garage doors, (two forms the roof) some nice angle iron, and corrugated steel that I had saved for 6 years just for such an event. Nice welded frame and two walls and the roof is up. Then I got distracted......
We decided not to start any work on the house before the section is cleared of all my rubbish. So I started clearing rubbish to the dump, put away the cut firewood, and do a general clean up.
Saturday we picked up a small Ferguson tractor (Vaaljapie) with an auger from a friend. I made all the required holes for fence posts in no time. It took longer to unhitch the auger afterward than to make the seven holes. Now we had a tractor on site. We proceeded to remove all the shrubs and trees growing close to the house and some where the deck should be. Pulled out 20 in all. Some were just cut off in 2006, and had huge root balls. Afterward we returned the tractor, and came home. As I stopped the car, I noticed two trees that I forgot about and left them standing, on the eastern side of the house. That will have to wait for a next time.
Now the trees are out, the urgency for getting the deck sorted has become much greater. Today I started taking dimensions and made enquiries about material. See, I like to plan ahead, or shall we call it: "Dream on...."?
We did notice that there are several deep holes in the section where large trees were removed in 2006. Also there is a huge pile of dirt just over the fence where they are building a new house. We will go and talk to Rob, the builder. (And also see if we can borrow a tractor with a loader.)
We have made another list of things to do, before we start on the house. There were 26 items, and so far I could cross off eight of them. Enough to keep me busy for at least another two to three weeks.
21 August 2011
The predicted cold spell turned up, and we even had some snow, admittedly only for about 30 seconds.
If you can't see it, I don't blame you. it was very brief. We even had snow in Auckland for the first time since 1939.
In this last week, we spent three days helping our friends move. It involved clearing surplus stuff out of his garage, and generally being a nuisance. That meant we didn't get much done.
At least, we managed to finish the work on the cookhouse / gardener's cottage. I even put lining in, using the cheapest hardboard. This picture shows the door in the dividing wall, and to the left the surviving cladding and below that the hardboard.
On Saturday we moved all of the tools that occupied the space in the original lounge (number 7 on the plan) into the shed. Then we stripped the room of sarking (hessian) and wallpaper. After a good sweep, we moved a double bed in there. Now we can receive sleepover guests. All welcome!!
We have just finished that, and was still sitting on the bed, when we had a knock on the door. "Tell us what work is your highest priority, we have come to help" Dear friends gave us their afternoon. Some cleared the grass under the deck, or where the deck is supposed to be. Others helped me cutting up the tree that blew over before we moved in. At the end of the day the whole tree was cut up for firewood, and the grass was cleared. Thank you very much. We are no drinkers, and we had no beer, but we had a nice barbie with boerewors & pap. A very enjoyable afternoon.
On Friday I created a small pen for three sheep we will get on loan, "green lawnmowers". I have been trying to put up a fence for the last three weeks. Maybe it will force me to work on that now.
Still no insulation, but just as well, I would not have had time to start putting that in. Once we start putting that in, the mode changes from first aid to restoration.
Today, a neighbour gave me a photo of a house that was built in Kihikihi in 1880, and very similar to our place. It was built for Rewi, the Maori chief who was defeated and driven from Kihikihi.
The house is larger, and has an extra room on the left, but it helps to clear up some of my questions. Take note of the finials on the end of the gables, and also the bargeboards or facias on the roof. It will be a valuable reference in future.
Hope my spelling is better than last week.
Love
G&E
The predicted cold spell turned up, and we even had some snow, admittedly only for about 30 seconds.
In this last week, we spent three days helping our friends move. It involved clearing surplus stuff out of his garage, and generally being a nuisance. That meant we didn't get much done.
On Saturday we moved all of the tools that occupied the space in the original lounge (number 7 on the plan) into the shed. Then we stripped the room of sarking (hessian) and wallpaper. After a good sweep, we moved a double bed in there. Now we can receive sleepover guests. All welcome!!
We have just finished that, and was still sitting on the bed, when we had a knock on the door. "Tell us what work is your highest priority, we have come to help" Dear friends gave us their afternoon. Some cleared the grass under the deck, or where the deck is supposed to be. Others helped me cutting up the tree that blew over before we moved in. At the end of the day the whole tree was cut up for firewood, and the grass was cleared. Thank you very much. We are no drinkers, and we had no beer, but we had a nice barbie with boerewors & pap. A very enjoyable afternoon.
On Friday I created a small pen for three sheep we will get on loan, "green lawnmowers". I have been trying to put up a fence for the last three weeks. Maybe it will force me to work on that now.
Still no insulation, but just as well, I would not have had time to start putting that in. Once we start putting that in, the mode changes from first aid to restoration.
Today, a neighbour gave me a photo of a house that was built in Kihikihi in 1880, and very similar to our place. It was built for Rewi, the Maori chief who was defeated and driven from Kihikihi.
Hope my spelling is better than last week.
Love
G&E
14 August 2011
As I have said, there is no method in my madness. Amongst the things from Willie, who moved, was a small garden shed. I started putting that up, only to realise that he had his dimensions wrong when he built it. The roof was too small by 200 mm. I cut the frame down and used gifted corrugated iron to clad the walls. Because we cannot dig into the ground, I had to fit floor joists and a MDF floor. That done, I used the remainder of the timber I had to buy to work on the floor of the large shed/cookhouse. It turned out that the height I chose for the floor initially was too high, because of the internal wall resting on the floor. So I had to change everything. The whole floor is level now, and I started repairing or replacing the rotted out floorboards. That done, I can move all of my machines and tools into the large shed. The small one will be used for bolts and nuts, etc. Then I will have to devise a roof for all the timber that is currently stored under a tarp.
A follow up on the polycarbonate for the catslide veranda roof. Steve responded with a name and I queried them. It turns out that the polycarbonate can be bent on installation to a radius of 4 m, exactly what I will need. Thanks Steve.
We have not received the insulation yet, my contacts are too busy, and there is a cold spell coming. We have got lots of firewood and will make doe.
See ya,
Gary
As I have said, there is no method in my madness. Amongst the things from Willie, who moved, was a small garden shed. I started putting that up, only to realise that he had his dimensions wrong when he built it. The roof was too small by 200 mm. I cut the frame down and used gifted corrugated iron to clad the walls. Because we cannot dig into the ground, I had to fit floor joists and a MDF floor. That done, I used the remainder of the timber I had to buy to work on the floor of the large shed/cookhouse. It turned out that the height I chose for the floor initially was too high, because of the internal wall resting on the floor. So I had to change everything. The whole floor is level now, and I started repairing or replacing the rotted out floorboards. That done, I can move all of my machines and tools into the large shed. The small one will be used for bolts and nuts, etc. Then I will have to devise a roof for all the timber that is currently stored under a tarp.
A follow up on the polycarbonate for the catslide veranda roof. Steve responded with a name and I queried them. It turns out that the polycarbonate can be bent on installation to a radius of 4 m, exactly what I will need. Thanks Steve.
We have not received the insulation yet, my contacts are too busy, and there is a cold spell coming. We have got lots of firewood and will make doe.
See ya,
Gary
7 August 2011
We have been quite busy, but have actually achieved very little. We repaired the wall of the second bathroom,and cleaned all up. Then I had a look at the plumbing. Turns out that we have two (or more) separate plumbing systems. The pipe supplying the toilet has got no water. In the end I cut into the pipe supplying the shower, and joined it up. Second bathroom functional now. I must say, I am not prepared to take a shower there, it will be too cold.
I also put a chain and lock on the door to the shed. All is nicely locked up now.
On Friday we went to Hamilton and bought enough plaster board to line the inside of the outside walls of our current bedroom. We are waiting for the delivery of insulation. The recommendation is that we remove some of the boards lining the inside to install the insulation. A saving grace is that it comes in a 15 m roll, and we will cut it in three on the width.
We also started work on the fencing of the section. You need to dig a hole 800 mm deep. The saving grace is that it is nice soft soil, and not hard at all. All dug with a spade. We have the promise of two sheep on loan as lawnmowers, once the fence is done. Willie, our neighbour is moving, and he kindly donated some pallets which can help in building a fence. I also helped him sorting his stuff.
With the cookhouse in a useable condition now, I started work on a report on the condition of the place as it were, and what we have done to it. That is a "cover your backside" report, just in case somebody decide to question what we have done there. We are not nearly finished, but I would like to get the house insulated before winter is over.
Talking of insulating, we bought hardboard and covered up the entrance door. There was a nasty draught coming in there. A result of our work there is that I was forced to remove my stuff that I had stored in the passageway. That has become part of the "house" now.
At long last, a drawing of the floor plan of the house.
1 Bathroom and laundry
2 Kitchen
3 Living room
4 Current bedroom, will become kitchen with bit if bathroom added
5 bedroom, with outside bathroom (not shown because I want to destroy it)
6 Current study, destined to become bathroom
7 Original lounge, currently tool room, to become study / bedroom
8 Bedroom, currently storeroom
9 Wrap around deck and veranda when reinstated and completed.
I am thinking of opening up between the living room and no5 to create a bigger living area. That would also give us access to the deck on the northern side. The deck is 7 ft wide, and the current bathroom on the deck is 7 ft by 7 ft.
Unfortunately, the roof of the deck is a "catslide", a hollow curved roof. Can anybody tell me how to bend a corrugated polycarbonate sheet to that curve, then I can put a clear roof over the windows?
Bye for now
We have been quite busy, but have actually achieved very little. We repaired the wall of the second bathroom,and cleaned all up. Then I had a look at the plumbing. Turns out that we have two (or more) separate plumbing systems. The pipe supplying the toilet has got no water. In the end I cut into the pipe supplying the shower, and joined it up. Second bathroom functional now. I must say, I am not prepared to take a shower there, it will be too cold.
I also put a chain and lock on the door to the shed. All is nicely locked up now.
On Friday we went to Hamilton and bought enough plaster board to line the inside of the outside walls of our current bedroom. We are waiting for the delivery of insulation. The recommendation is that we remove some of the boards lining the inside to install the insulation. A saving grace is that it comes in a 15 m roll, and we will cut it in three on the width.
We also started work on the fencing of the section. You need to dig a hole 800 mm deep. The saving grace is that it is nice soft soil, and not hard at all. All dug with a spade. We have the promise of two sheep on loan as lawnmowers, once the fence is done. Willie, our neighbour is moving, and he kindly donated some pallets which can help in building a fence. I also helped him sorting his stuff.
With the cookhouse in a useable condition now, I started work on a report on the condition of the place as it were, and what we have done to it. That is a "cover your backside" report, just in case somebody decide to question what we have done there. We are not nearly finished, but I would like to get the house insulated before winter is over.
Talking of insulating, we bought hardboard and covered up the entrance door. There was a nasty draught coming in there. A result of our work there is that I was forced to remove my stuff that I had stored in the passageway. That has become part of the "house" now.
At long last, a drawing of the floor plan of the house.
1 Bathroom and laundry
2 Kitchen
3 Living room
4 Current bedroom, will become kitchen with bit if bathroom added
5 bedroom, with outside bathroom (not shown because I want to destroy it)
6 Current study, destined to become bathroom
7 Original lounge, currently tool room, to become study / bedroom
8 Bedroom, currently storeroom
9 Wrap around deck and veranda when reinstated and completed.
I am thinking of opening up between the living room and no5 to create a bigger living area. That would also give us access to the deck on the northern side. The deck is 7 ft wide, and the current bathroom on the deck is 7 ft by 7 ft.
Unfortunately, the roof of the deck is a "catslide", a hollow curved roof. Can anybody tell me how to bend a corrugated polycarbonate sheet to that curve, then I can put a clear roof over the windows?
Bye for now
31 July 2011
Well, this has been a long month, with five weekends. I cannot claim that we have achieved that much, but we have made some progress.
We were given some roofing iron, and that fitted nicely to cover the lower end of the western wall of the cookhouse. The place is nearly secure now. I also put some of the cladding that has survived the borer back on the inner walls. We also repaired the door, and it is secured with a screw now. We even spent time to move most of the machines into the place.
The chimney has decided to separate, the outer wall and the inner wall decided to part. I spent nearly all of Saturday morning to decide if I could save it and what way would be best. In the end I put planks on both sides and clamped it together with sash clamps.
This is the area where the plants were growing inside the wall. Now I started building back the outer layer of the chimney stack. It has been about 15 years since I handled a trowel, and my courses are not too straight, but it will keep the chimney together. The upper part that does not show in the picture leans over too much and will have to be demolished and rebuilt.
On Saturday afternoon Elna decided she has had enough of my rubbish cluttering the lawn in front of the door, so we moved some of the stuff and had a sort of general cleanup. I must admit it looks much better now. (Has anybody been to and seen our "plot" at Rayton?) I am not going to embarrass myself with putting up before and after photos.
Our Heavenly father still provides. IRD sent me a cheque for"over payment of tax", just when we needed it most. Miracles, small and large keep on happening all the time.
Well, this has been a long month, with five weekends. I cannot claim that we have achieved that much, but we have made some progress.
We were given some roofing iron, and that fitted nicely to cover the lower end of the western wall of the cookhouse. The place is nearly secure now. I also put some of the cladding that has survived the borer back on the inner walls. We also repaired the door, and it is secured with a screw now. We even spent time to move most of the machines into the place.
The chimney has decided to separate, the outer wall and the inner wall decided to part. I spent nearly all of Saturday morning to decide if I could save it and what way would be best. In the end I put planks on both sides and clamped it together with sash clamps.
On Saturday afternoon Elna decided she has had enough of my rubbish cluttering the lawn in front of the door, so we moved some of the stuff and had a sort of general cleanup. I must admit it looks much better now. (Has anybody been to and seen our "plot" at Rayton?) I am not going to embarrass myself with putting up before and after photos.
Our Heavenly father still provides. IRD sent me a cheque for"over payment of tax", just when we needed it most. Miracles, small and large keep on happening all the time.
24 July 2011
Sorry, we have been busy, and the blog got delayed.
We were offered two sheep as lawnmowers, and I thought of doing a fence, but we really have not got the time, so that will have to wait.
Elna requested the deck on the northern side to be improved, so I spent some time on that. It looks better now, but it still is "Band Aid" and not even "First Aid". I wonder when we will reach the stage where we can go out and buy the right material and do the job properly.
We also put some time into the cookhouse.
It is looking much better now. The whole building is standing on paving blocks, because we cannot dig a hole to put proper piles in. The other end has received no attention yet, maybe next week. Another big problem is that the chimney is at risk of falling in. We cut the plant that was growing inside the wall, but now everything is wobbly. The old lime mortar has been reduced to sand. I have put some braces up, but it can fall at any time. Problem is, I do not want to rebuild the whole structure, because of the time involved.
We found that the Ivy on the roof is still going strong. That is because everything up there is growing in compost generated over the years.
We have also spent time on repairing the floor. All the floor joists are completely eaten by the borer. The inside wall is resting on the floor, so it needs to be lifted up, and I am not allowed to work in the ground. Now I put a plank on the ground and pack the joists to the required height.
I wish I had the time to tidy up the section, because, when we moved the stuff over, we just dumped it anywhere, and it is bothering me now. Will see where the spirit leads me in the next week.
Sorry, we have been busy, and the blog got delayed.
We were offered two sheep as lawnmowers, and I thought of doing a fence, but we really have not got the time, so that will have to wait.
Elna requested the deck on the northern side to be improved, so I spent some time on that. It looks better now, but it still is "Band Aid" and not even "First Aid". I wonder when we will reach the stage where we can go out and buy the right material and do the job properly.
We also put some time into the cookhouse.
We found that the Ivy on the roof is still going strong. That is because everything up there is growing in compost generated over the years.
We have also spent time on repairing the floor. All the floor joists are completely eaten by the borer. The inside wall is resting on the floor, so it needs to be lifted up, and I am not allowed to work in the ground. Now I put a plank on the ground and pack the joists to the required height.
I wish I had the time to tidy up the section, because, when we moved the stuff over, we just dumped it anywhere, and it is bothering me now. Will see where the spirit leads me in the next week.
10 July 2011
Finally, we have moved everything from Cambridge and the tenant has moved in. Now, you might ask, where has everything gone? The answer lies in the next picture. What you see is only part of it. We must have moved between 40 and 50 trailer loads. I stopped counting at 20. Keep in mind it is a small trailer. But it is done now. The right hand tarp covers some of the timber, and the higher pile contains some of my machines. Thankfully, we live in New Zealand. Nothing has been touched.
Now you understand why it is so important to complete the repairs on the shed. Until I can use my machines, there is not much other work I can do. We had some serious rain this last week, and everything is soggy. Let's hope we get a break this next week. The framing of the eastern wall is up, and I started a temporary cladding with corrugated steel.
Once this side is done, the western wall will get some attention. The door you see in the right hand side of the picture could not be moved for many years, the roof and ceiling crushed down on it. Now it can be moved! A small step for man. I believe that no maintenance has been done on this building for at least fifty years.The borer had a feast.
I could not understand why the ivy on the roof remained green, in spite of me cutting all the vines down. Yesterday I discovered why. Intertwined with the other branches growing in the chimney, was the stem if the ivy, about 65 mm thick. I cut that off. I dare not get on the roof in fear the whole thing might collapse. Will leave it to die a natural death.
Apart from the leak in the small bathroom, our house is not taking in any rain. Thank you for small mercies. I have not put up my rain gauge yet, but I estimate about 100 mm over the last three days. More to come.
See ya!
Finally, we have moved everything from Cambridge and the tenant has moved in. Now, you might ask, where has everything gone? The answer lies in the next picture. What you see is only part of it. We must have moved between 40 and 50 trailer loads. I stopped counting at 20. Keep in mind it is a small trailer. But it is done now. The right hand tarp covers some of the timber, and the higher pile contains some of my machines. Thankfully, we live in New Zealand. Nothing has been touched.
Now you understand why it is so important to complete the repairs on the shed. Until I can use my machines, there is not much other work I can do. We had some serious rain this last week, and everything is soggy. Let's hope we get a break this next week. The framing of the eastern wall is up, and I started a temporary cladding with corrugated steel.
I could not understand why the ivy on the roof remained green, in spite of me cutting all the vines down. Yesterday I discovered why. Intertwined with the other branches growing in the chimney, was the stem if the ivy, about 65 mm thick. I cut that off. I dare not get on the roof in fear the whole thing might collapse. Will leave it to die a natural death.
Apart from the leak in the small bathroom, our house is not taking in any rain. Thank you for small mercies. I have not put up my rain gauge yet, but I estimate about 100 mm over the last three days. More to come.
See ya!
3 July 2011
This last week we tried moving the last stuff over from Cambridge. I thought there was about 6 trailer loads to go. After moving the 6 loads, I find there is only about 6 loads to go. Keep in mind, our trailer is only 1.2 by 1.6 m. We need to finish this week, because the tenant will be moving in next week.
I started work on the cookhouse. This picture was taken after I cleared all the rubbish next to it. Note that there is hardboard under the remnants of the cladding. All of that was loose. I found that only two posts were holding the whole thing up. I started cutting the rotten studs out, to put a new top plate under the old one. After half a day's work, the whole thing came crashing down. Now I removed the old top plate and put a new one all the way. It works better now. The roof has a bow of about 100 mm, but I will build a straight wall. My biggest problem now is that I still need to lift the roof by another 200 mm to achieve my target height of 2 m. Problem is that if I jack one point, the studs on the other end falls out. Maybe I should be using more than one jack! The floor joists are also rotted out. The floor will get a similar treatment, with paver blocks to lift it to a more even height.
I have not got the all important Archaeological permit yet, but I haven't touched the ground yet, except for putting paver blocks on the surface. Any possible artifacts get dutifully collected. Hope that keeps them happy. Shaun, the grandson came to help me on Saturday. Being seven, he is stating to become useful.
I am looking forward to putting some of my machines inside.
We also fitted replacement glass panes to the internal glass door. There were two panels missing. We had clear glass cut, and put frosting film over it before we installed it. Obviously, the original glass is irreplaceable.
Looks quite good, even if I have to say so myself.
Today I noticed that one of the weatherboards on the western side has come adrift. Funny, these were replaced in 2005. So much for workmanship. I will have to fix it before we get any rain.
This last week we tried moving the last stuff over from Cambridge. I thought there was about 6 trailer loads to go. After moving the 6 loads, I find there is only about 6 loads to go. Keep in mind, our trailer is only 1.2 by 1.6 m. We need to finish this week, because the tenant will be moving in next week.
I started work on the cookhouse. This picture was taken after I cleared all the rubbish next to it. Note that there is hardboard under the remnants of the cladding. All of that was loose. I found that only two posts were holding the whole thing up. I started cutting the rotten studs out, to put a new top plate under the old one. After half a day's work, the whole thing came crashing down. Now I removed the old top plate and put a new one all the way. It works better now. The roof has a bow of about 100 mm, but I will build a straight wall. My biggest problem now is that I still need to lift the roof by another 200 mm to achieve my target height of 2 m. Problem is that if I jack one point, the studs on the other end falls out. Maybe I should be using more than one jack! The floor joists are also rotted out. The floor will get a similar treatment, with paver blocks to lift it to a more even height.
I am looking forward to putting some of my machines inside.
We also fitted replacement glass panes to the internal glass door. There were two panels missing. We had clear glass cut, and put frosting film over it before we installed it. Obviously, the original glass is irreplaceable.
Looks quite good, even if I have to say so myself.
Today I noticed that one of the weatherboards on the western side has come adrift. Funny, these were replaced in 2005. So much for workmanship. I will have to fix it before we get any rain.
26 June 2011
What a week! I have been very busy, but I feel that I am not making good progress.
Since we have little money, we cannot do any major jobs. Everything has to be done as cheaply as possible.
Before
We felt sorry for the front veranda, standing like a lady with the arm in the hip. We cleared some of the rubbish and jacked the posts back up, but then the whole roof wanted to fall down. We quickly anchored it back to the house. It looks better now, but the whole thing will need to be rebuilt. The window frames on the deck are the same we saw when we first saw the house in 2003. They are in storage now.
After
On Thursday the guy from Sky was here and fixed our antenna. Now we can watch TV again.
We had the people from the insulation company in in Friday, and they have done the insulation on the ceiling, but have not finished the underfloor because of rain. They will be back on Monday.
We also collected some timber which we had stored at our kids, and stored it under the deck, for use in building sheds.
On Friday I started removing rubbish and clearing the overgrowth from the cookhouse/gardener's cottage. It is looking better now, but we discovered an humongous trunk growing inside the double wall of the fireplace. That will mean drilling a hole in the trunk and a good dose of weed killer.
Before
I could not clear the roof yet, because of time, and the risk of collapse. If we make it this week, we will clear the other side of the building and start jacking the roof back up.
Jackson had a gardener, Frank Moody, who is said to have lived in the cottage for three years after the house was built. He was responsible for the extensive gardens and orchards around the house. Later he got married and became the local nurseryman. We had a visit from his grandson and the grandson's granddaughter. They wanted to see the place. It was nice to be able to tell them that the cottage will not be demolished, but repaired instead.
On Friday afternoon it was raining outside, and I started looking at the second bathroom, which has a leak in the roof. It turned out it was not so bad, the leak runs directly into the shower, so no harm done (Just joking)
This picture was taken inside the shower, shower rose showing on the right. The framing is completely rotten away. The bathroom was originally (in 1975) built under the pre-existing veranda, and the roof is just gone. I only now realised there was a sheet of corrugated on the outside. I had to clear that as well.
The Ivy is gone now, and we will just keep the door closed, since we are not using this bathroom.
The next job is to do an proposal/application for the work we intend to do in the section, that is for the sheds we need and also possible future garages. It has to be approved by the archaeological people. (I can't even spell the word)
Today was Sunday and it was a nice sunny day. We enjoyed the first of hopefully many sunny afternoons on the deck.
Thanks for the interest and comments. It means I am not talking to myself.
What a week! I have been very busy, but I feel that I am not making good progress.
Since we have little money, we cannot do any major jobs. Everything has to be done as cheaply as possible.
We felt sorry for the front veranda, standing like a lady with the arm in the hip. We cleared some of the rubbish and jacked the posts back up, but then the whole roof wanted to fall down. We quickly anchored it back to the house. It looks better now, but the whole thing will need to be rebuilt. The window frames on the deck are the same we saw when we first saw the house in 2003. They are in storage now.
On Thursday the guy from Sky was here and fixed our antenna. Now we can watch TV again.
We had the people from the insulation company in in Friday, and they have done the insulation on the ceiling, but have not finished the underfloor because of rain. They will be back on Monday.
We also collected some timber which we had stored at our kids, and stored it under the deck, for use in building sheds.
On Friday I started removing rubbish and clearing the overgrowth from the cookhouse/gardener's cottage. It is looking better now, but we discovered an humongous trunk growing inside the double wall of the fireplace. That will mean drilling a hole in the trunk and a good dose of weed killer.
Now you can even see the window
Jackson had a gardener, Frank Moody, who is said to have lived in the cottage for three years after the house was built. He was responsible for the extensive gardens and orchards around the house. Later he got married and became the local nurseryman. We had a visit from his grandson and the grandson's granddaughter. They wanted to see the place. It was nice to be able to tell them that the cottage will not be demolished, but repaired instead.
On Friday afternoon it was raining outside, and I started looking at the second bathroom, which has a leak in the roof. It turned out it was not so bad, the leak runs directly into the shower, so no harm done (Just joking)
The next job is to do an proposal/application for the work we intend to do in the section, that is for the sheds we need and also possible future garages. It has to be approved by the archaeological people. (I can't even spell the word)
Today was Sunday and it was a nice sunny day. We enjoyed the first of hopefully many sunny afternoons on the deck.
Thanks for the interest and comments. It means I am not talking to myself.
Wednesday
Tuesday
14 June 2011
We had the people from the Historical Trust over today. Good news. We are allowed to line the inside of the house, fit doors instead of windows where required, and generally make all the changes and upgrades we had in mind. Even skylights are allowed. The lady even suggested that we do not rebuild the missing decks and verandas. We will however rebuild the verandas on the western side.
The one little problem is that the grounds are regarded as an archaeological site, and we are not even allowed to put a fence up without approval. That puts the revamp of the cookhouse on the back burner. I will need to survey the whole section and draw full plans of everything I want to do, even long term projects, like a garage. Nothing can be done till we are settled in there. Fortunately, the sheds I will put up will not interfere with the artifacts, and i will just go ahead with that.
We had out telephone disconnected in Cambridge, so we will do the BIG move tomorrow. That means we will try to sleep there tomorrow night. If we manage that, we will report from Base Jackson.
Good night
We had the people from the Historical Trust over today. Good news. We are allowed to line the inside of the house, fit doors instead of windows where required, and generally make all the changes and upgrades we had in mind. Even skylights are allowed. The lady even suggested that we do not rebuild the missing decks and verandas. We will however rebuild the verandas on the western side.
The one little problem is that the grounds are regarded as an archaeological site, and we are not even allowed to put a fence up without approval. That puts the revamp of the cookhouse on the back burner. I will need to survey the whole section and draw full plans of everything I want to do, even long term projects, like a garage. Nothing can be done till we are settled in there. Fortunately, the sheds I will put up will not interfere with the artifacts, and i will just go ahead with that.
We had out telephone disconnected in Cambridge, so we will do the BIG move tomorrow. That means we will try to sleep there tomorrow night. If we manage that, we will report from Base Jackson.
Good night
Thursday
9 June 2011
We have just received the title deed, or whatever you want to call it. The Jackson house belongs to us since 12:46 on 08/06/2011. Now we can really start moving!!
Moving yes, but for a little problem. Today we took another load over, wardrobes and boxes, and when we got home there was water leaking under the car. A leaking water pump!! And at the moment it is our only running car. Nothing to do but to fix it. That can only be tomorrow afternoon. In the morning we are having some more potential tenants for a walk through.
I am soooo ready to move over and get settled there, but I have to be patient.
Watch this space for further developments.
We have just received the title deed, or whatever you want to call it. The Jackson house belongs to us since 12:46 on 08/06/2011. Now we can really start moving!!
Moving yes, but for a little problem. Today we took another load over, wardrobes and boxes, and when we got home there was water leaking under the car. A leaking water pump!! And at the moment it is our only running car. Nothing to do but to fix it. That can only be tomorrow afternoon. In the morning we are having some more potential tenants for a walk through.
I am soooo ready to move over and get settled there, but I have to be patient.
Watch this space for further developments.
Sunday
5 June 2011
Another week is gone. We made good progress on finishing the tasks in Cambridge. We also removed 5 trailer loads of topsoil to Kihikihi. That has been lying in our driveway since we started building here. In the living room we removed the wallpaper and scrim. It seems the timber is Kauri. And most of it is tongue and groove, which means we will not need to line it. We will discuss finishes with the Historical Places people when they visit us. Tomorrow we hope to move our extra vehicles over. There are 3 to go, one belongs to Mieke, the second is the Austin which I have sold and the buyer has not picked it up yet, and the third is a small Toyota which will eventually replace the large car. On Wednesday the property will be transferred in our names, and we hope to begin moving the larger furniture pieces over on Thursday. We might even sleep there that night. Our one concern is that we do not have tenants in Cambridge yet. Please help us pray for good tenants.
Another week is gone. We made good progress on finishing the tasks in Cambridge. We also removed 5 trailer loads of topsoil to Kihikihi. That has been lying in our driveway since we started building here. In the living room we removed the wallpaper and scrim. It seems the timber is Kauri. And most of it is tongue and groove, which means we will not need to line it. We will discuss finishes with the Historical Places people when they visit us. Tomorrow we hope to move our extra vehicles over. There are 3 to go, one belongs to Mieke, the second is the Austin which I have sold and the buyer has not picked it up yet, and the third is a small Toyota which will eventually replace the large car. On Wednesday the property will be transferred in our names, and we hope to begin moving the larger furniture pieces over on Thursday. We might even sleep there that night. Our one concern is that we do not have tenants in Cambridge yet. Please help us pray for good tenants.
Friday
27 May 2011
Sorry for the long silence. We had some computer problems, but it is all sorted now.
In the last week, the rubbish has been removed, and we started moving stuff over. We have a small trailer and we will need to make many trips. We also moved our clawfoot / rolltop bath over, which was a Trademe find. That is a very long term project, to move the bathroom into one of the current four bedrooms. On Friday we had to be out of our Cambridge house for a visit by prospective tenants, and we did our first real work on the house.We chose one room to clear of scrim and wallpaper. Scrim is the hessian that was nailed to the sarking (horizontal boards) on the inside and wallpaper was pasted over that. It looks a lot fresher now. We will definitely need to insulate the outside walls and seal the gaps. We will obtain a quote for insulating the ceiling and underfloor on Monday. We also wrote an email to Historical Places to come out and advise us on the restoration process.
Most of the work in Cambridge is completed, I reckon we will need another week. Yesterday we had some serious rainfall, and our garden project has been delayed. In the meantime we will keep moving stuff over.
Being in the Jackson house while it was raining, we noticed one leak on an outside wall. Will have to get on the roof to find it. Luckily it is on the flat roof area.
The first priority for the next week will be to repair the cookhouse or outhouse so my tools and machinery can be moved there. I do not want to move it yet, the risk of theft is still there, although it is New Zealand. All other material is left outside.
We discovered most of the posts and beams for the veranda which was broken down. We haven't checked it for completeness or condition yet.
In spite of three groups being through the Cambridge house, we do not have a tenant yet. Fingers crossed for this weekend.
Sorry for the long silence. We had some computer problems, but it is all sorted now.
In the last week, the rubbish has been removed, and we started moving stuff over. We have a small trailer and we will need to make many trips. We also moved our clawfoot / rolltop bath over, which was a Trademe find. That is a very long term project, to move the bathroom into one of the current four bedrooms. On Friday we had to be out of our Cambridge house for a visit by prospective tenants, and we did our first real work on the house.We chose one room to clear of scrim and wallpaper. Scrim is the hessian that was nailed to the sarking (horizontal boards) on the inside and wallpaper was pasted over that. It looks a lot fresher now. We will definitely need to insulate the outside walls and seal the gaps. We will obtain a quote for insulating the ceiling and underfloor on Monday. We also wrote an email to Historical Places to come out and advise us on the restoration process.
Most of the work in Cambridge is completed, I reckon we will need another week. Yesterday we had some serious rainfall, and our garden project has been delayed. In the meantime we will keep moving stuff over.
Being in the Jackson house while it was raining, we noticed one leak on an outside wall. Will have to get on the roof to find it. Luckily it is on the flat roof area.
The first priority for the next week will be to repair the cookhouse or outhouse so my tools and machinery can be moved there. I do not want to move it yet, the risk of theft is still there, although it is New Zealand. All other material is left outside.
We discovered most of the posts and beams for the veranda which was broken down. We haven't checked it for completeness or condition yet.
In spite of three groups being through the Cambridge house, we do not have a tenant yet. Fingers crossed for this weekend.
Sunday
22 May 2011
We have been to visit the house today with friends. The more I see it the more I like it.
We started a fire in the living room fireplace. No smokein the room even with green leaves, which means our "central heating" will be working this winter.
We hope that the fumigation has worked. We also took a wardrobe over, because we have been building built in wardrobes in our Cambridge house, and that was surplus to requirements.
Tomorrow the rubbish man is supposed to remove the rubbish from outside the house. Fingers crossed.
We plugged a phone in the jack, yes, we do have a line. It is disconnected, but at least we will not need to pay installation fees.
We have been to visit the house today with friends. The more I see it the more I like it.
We started a fire in the living room fireplace. No smokein the room even with green leaves, which means our "central heating" will be working this winter.
We hope that the fumigation has worked. We also took a wardrobe over, because we have been building built in wardrobes in our Cambridge house, and that was surplus to requirements.
Tomorrow the rubbish man is supposed to remove the rubbish from outside the house. Fingers crossed.
We plugged a phone in the jack, yes, we do have a line. It is disconnected, but at least we will not need to pay installation fees.
Saturday
21 May 2011
Yesterday we got the key, after some argument with the agent. We will "rent" the place untill we tak full ownership. The rubbish will only be removed on Monday. We took over and undertook to clear the house out.
The key didn't fit, but it presented no problem. Every door and window was unlocked and unlatched. We replaced the lock and nailed boards over some doors. The only loss was two sets of brass door knobs. Not too serious. We went back this morning and boarded all broken window panes, and secured the place. Then we set off a huge fumigation cannister. Apart from the rubbish, the house is remarkably clean. Tomorrow we will go back and since we can do no work, we will start with an assesment of the condition of the house.
The four fireplaces seems to be OK, but we didn't have any matches with us, so we could not test the flues. On one fireplace we have a leak on the chimney flashing on the roof. That will need urgent attention.
On an initial inspection, it seems that the sarking, or internal board, in the living room, is tounge and groove, whick might mean we will not need to gib line it. The rest of the house seems to be plain boards.
I forgot to take a picture of all the stuff that was left behind, will try to do that tomorrow.
Bedtime now.
Yesterday we got the key, after some argument with the agent. We will "rent" the place untill we tak full ownership. The rubbish will only be removed on Monday. We took over and undertook to clear the house out.
The key didn't fit, but it presented no problem. Every door and window was unlocked and unlatched. We replaced the lock and nailed boards over some doors. The only loss was two sets of brass door knobs. Not too serious. We went back this morning and boarded all broken window panes, and secured the place. Then we set off a huge fumigation cannister. Apart from the rubbish, the house is remarkably clean. Tomorrow we will go back and since we can do no work, we will start with an assesment of the condition of the house.
The four fireplaces seems to be OK, but we didn't have any matches with us, so we could not test the flues. On one fireplace we have a leak on the chimney flashing on the roof. That will need urgent attention.
On an initial inspection, it seems that the sarking, or internal board, in the living room, is tounge and groove, whick might mean we will not need to gib line it. The rest of the house seems to be plain boards.
I forgot to take a picture of all the stuff that was left behind, will try to do that tomorrow.
Bedtime now.
Tuesday
Monday
Sunday
15 May 2011
Good News!! We drove past the house yesterday, and it seemed fairly deserted, just some furniture outside. Today we went back, saw nobody and had a look through some windows. The house is basically empty, save for loads of rubbish and some furniture, scrap and otherwise. It seems the tenants have moved out!!
Tomorrow morning we will contact the agent and try to negotiate earlier occupation, with a minimal rent for the next 3 weeks. We must also make sure nothing of value was robbed out of the house.
We will also contact the letting agent and get the ball rolling to get the Cambridge
8 May 2011
Well, we are still waiting for the current tenants to move out. I heard some rumors that it might be sooner than we expected, but let's wait and see.
We had some friends enquiring about exactly where the house is. The address is 10 Grey Street, Kihikihi, New Zealand. Interestingly, the name means cikaida, or sonbesie in afrikaans.
This last week we spent on doing some of the 101 jobs before we can move. We have finished sanding and varnishing the floors. We will be moving back on Monday, after living in the top flat for the last week. Elna reckons the floors are so nice now, she does'nt want to move!! We are also collecting corrugated iron to build some sheds once we move, to store all the material we amassed over the last 6 years, and also the woodworking machines. We will keep the tools in the house. There are no outbuildings.
Sorry, there was one, a cookhouse, or outside kitchen. When we first saw the place in 2003, it was riddled with borer. The borer is not so bad now, because there is no timber left to bore. The studs of the frame are hanging in the air, about a metre from the ground, as you can see.
The people from NZHPT gave the last owner permission to demolish and rebuild, but we will try to save it. In any case, we cannot use it for storage initially.
I promise, the whole house is not in the same condition as this cookhouse (I hope)
See you next time.
We had some friends enquiring about exactly where the house is. The address is 10 Grey Street, Kihikihi, New Zealand. Interestingly, the name means cikaida, or sonbesie in afrikaans.
This last week we spent on doing some of the 101 jobs before we can move. We have finished sanding and varnishing the floors. We will be moving back on Monday, after living in the top flat for the last week. Elna reckons the floors are so nice now, she does'nt want to move!! We are also collecting corrugated iron to build some sheds once we move, to store all the material we amassed over the last 6 years, and also the woodworking machines. We will keep the tools in the house. There are no outbuildings.
The people from NZHPT gave the last owner permission to demolish and rebuild, but we will try to save it. In any case, we cannot use it for storage initially.
I promise, the whole house is not in the same condition as this cookhouse (I hope)
See you next time.
Wednesday
27 April 2011
We went unconditional and paid the deposit. The current tenants have a 6 week notice period, but we are hoping that they move out sooner. In the meantime, in our house, we have to sand our floors, build wardrobes, tidy up the garden and do100’s of small things. The idea is to rent our place out and move over as soon as possible. We never in a 100 years expected to be moving again.
15 April 2011
We got a rental assessment for our house, and went to see the lady at the bank. Remember, we are pensioners with no money. We explained the whole quest to her, showing her pictures past and present. She played on the computer and YES!, we can have a 100% loan. We are elated. Thank you Lord! We will have to do a builder’s inspection in order to get insurance however.
8 April 2011
Our offer was accepted. The price we agreed upon is the same as it has been offered to us way back in 2005. Since then house prices have doubled in New Zealand
So we bought a house, without any money. Déjà vu. We bought a property in Pretoria Austin
5 April 2011
We have been to the house. There are currently people living in the house. We had a walkthrough. It is a 4 bedroom house, with a lounge and dining room, and a kitchen and bathroom extension under a flat roof. It was as if we walked into a time capsule. Absolutely no maintenance was done for the last thirty years or so, except for the new roof and some weatherboards having been replaced. The inside walls are covered in sarking, which is horizontal timber boards and covered with scrim. Scrim was a finely woven hessian cover with wallpaper over it. The scrim is peeling off and the wallpaper is 1970’s vinyl paper. The bones are good, or so I hope. On the positive side, there are four fireplaces. (We might need it, the ceilings are 12 ft or 3.6m and there is no insulation)
We went outside and the agent asked me what I thought it was worth. I suggested a price way below the asking price. After some discussion, I made a higher offer.
This is our story of the Jackson
“We” are Gary (Gert) and Elna Bester.
The Jackson house is a historic house in Kihikihi in New Zealand
Major William Jackson was a prominent figure in the Maori Land Wars, and specifically in the King Country. After the wars, all soldiers and officers were awarded land, farmland and a town section. This was in Kihikihi.
The house was built around 1877 and was used by Jackson
We first saw the house in September 2003 while house hunting. It was totally overgrown and very neglected. It was sitting on a one acre (4000 m+) section which could not be subdivided because of the gardens, which was famous at the time. It was also a New Zealand Historical Places Trust Category ll listed property. Research revealed that the house belonged to a trust and I located the solicitor who administered the trust. He said it was not for sale. I asked him notify me if the property ever came up for sale.
In 2005 we bought our current house in Cambridge
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)