5  August 2012

The week started slow, mainly because there was a lot of planning to do. We had a problem positioning the shower. The preferred position was against the inner wall, but then the bathroom door would interfere with the all glass shower door. We had a visit from Jaco, a friend who suggested a sliding door for the bathroom. Now that is radical for an old house. In the end we accepted his logic, especially since the original door frame was so decayed from borer that it would have to be replaced anyway. We will still be using the original door, but as a slider now. The picture shows the door in the cavity, and the "new" wall to the right. The shower tray is still standing upright.

So I could proceed building the frames for the sliding door, and also for the new wall between the bathroom and the new kitchen. We also sealed gaps on the outside wall weatherboards and floor. That is ready now for insulation. The insulation on the inside wall on the bath side got done, and on Saturday Jaco and his kids turned up to help. We managed to do the gibbing of that whole wall. The next picture shows the newly gibbed wall on the left, and part of the doorway to the right

We still have some detail to sort out on the frameless shower we want to install. Remember, once the gib is up, there is no going back to add another nog or stud.

The water pipes will all be new, and be installed behind the gib. In new construction, the building inspector insists that the pipes be connected and be under pressure before it may be covered up. I might have to do a temporary coupling of the pipes before we cover it up.

We also experienced problems with the strips of nails I use on the nail gun. Because the box was stored in the tool shed, it got moist and if you try to lift a strip of nails, it just falls apart. There are 3000 nails in a box, and I cannot afford to throw it away and buy new, at $ 120 per box. So Elna started repacking, re aligning  the nails, 60 to a strip, and we reglued it with construction adhesive. It was an enormous job, but it is nearly done now. I have used some of the "new" strips and it works well.