22 December 2013

The year is running out, and we still have so much to do.

The scrolls on the street side was successfully fitted, a full 20 of them. We have another 20 in various stages of completion. We have decided to stop work on the scrolls for now, and to concentrate on the patio door.

Before we get to that, we decided to cut down all the privet trees along the street. Last season we cut and killed the flowering privet, and also cut the flowers from the common privet. This year we decided the other shrubs provide enough privacy, so we cut them all down. Then they were cut into smaller pieces and carted away to the dump. It took 3 loads, because the trailer is so small.

Did I mention the grass had to be cut, and one tyre blew, so it took some time to go to town and buy a replacement.

Then Marike arrived for a visit from SA, so work was seriously delayed.

The deal on the house in Cambridge was finalised, and we went to town on Friday for a shopping spree.

We also filed an application for another grant to rebuild the deck.

The picture does not show it clearly, but we have Christmas lights up.

We wish you all a Christmas in the spirit of Christ, and a happy few days of rest.

15 December 2013

We have got 32 scrolls now, and most of them have got their second coat of pain all around. This coming week I will start putting them up. We also have another 10 scrolls in various stages of completion. They will also be painted in a single batch.

Where did the week go? I must admit that I do not have too much energy now, and progress is slow.

We had a builder here to see the work to be done to rebuild the fireplace of the Cookhouse or "Moody's Cottage". He says he has not got time to quote before the end of December deadline for grant applications.

Similar problem with David, the guy who put up the veranda. We need him to quote for the decks. Seems people have to much work available and are not interested in "small jobs".

We will be scaling down this coming week, plenty of social events coming up.

8 December 2013

We have invited all our friends over for a braai. Just to say thank you for moral and physical support over the year. And also to bring thanks to the Lord for a wonderful year. It happened on Saturday. There was a hint of rain, but didn't materialise. Everybody had a nice time. Thank you once again.

We have been to Cambridge to have a quote done for the removal of Anneke's stuff, since the house is now sold.

Saturday I took some junk to the dump, but there is plenty more.

I nearly forgot to mention, my dropsaw was getting wobbly, bushes worn out from much use. I ordered a replacement bush and got new bearings, and it is as good as new now. Barco contributed a new blade.

We are still working on the scrolls. On Friday we painted 28 finished ones the first side. It will be a lengthy process, but there is safety in numbers. It is much better to do it this way than to paint one at a time. We are hoping to put some up before Christmas, even if it means using cable ties. Then we will see how many Christmas lights we can put up.

30 November 2013

Am I very late, or am I early? You decide.

The builders did not turn up on Monday as promised, they only came on Thursday. They finished it all off, and we are very happy. Now I could take pictures of the finished product. It is amazing what a difference it makes to the house. It is like a lady with only her slip on, and now wearing a nice dress.

View from the east, the door we use as a front entrance.

View from the street. Unfinished deck showing.

The last picture is of the "new deck"  on the northern side. The one Clearlite  (polycarbonate) sheet we had was put over the window. It surely helps with the light in the dining room. I spent some time today to put boards over the last open framing of the new deck. This is only temporary. We will rebuild the whole deck in time to come. We will submit a proposal for funding to Council by end of December, and fingers crossed...........

Elna wanted to start painting the kitchen wall,showing in the picture. I stalled. That would be another two week's sanding and painting.

I continued work on the scrolls. I had some "swamp Kauri" boards stashed away that I have bought about 8 years ago. It seemed a good time to put them to use. I ran them through the thicknesser, and glued them together to make up the required thickness. Next I marked the profile and cut it out. That was not too bad, the Kauri is a soft timber. The board was not wide enough, so I will have yo join a piece on. I managed 8 so far, but I will need plenty more. Most of the original scrolls were made from Kauri, and there is only two that is beyond repair. So I decided tofollow that. Rimu would be more difficult to cut and sand, as it is much harder.

We also decided it is well time to do some maintenance on the drop saw. It is a Ryobi. I stripped it down and bought a bearing for the blade shaft, but the other side fits into a bush. After a lot of hassle, we identified the part, and I was forced to buy a whole motor end plate. In the meantime the saw was reassembled. I hope to strip it down again on Monday to fit the part. At least, now I have learnt of the website of the importers and can identify any part in advance.

The last picture is of the flyer from the estate agents. Just a reminder of where we came from.

17 November 2013

Well, the roof and spouting is coming on very well. There are small hiccups: The builder did not order enough flashings to go around the house, so work was delayed. The other day the roofing screws were in another vehicle, and they had to keep themselves busy.

In general, most if the iron is fitted, with the exception of the eastern side. Spouting is fitted no the south and western side. They still have to put the ridging on the two corners, but at least, that has been ordered. David, the boss, came around yesterday to have a look. he said that they might not be coming this next week. Amazing, the guy stands to get a lot of money, and he is in no hurry. Well, I will make sure that I am completely satisfied with the work before I get the lady from the Council to have a look.

In the meantime, I worked on the scrolls that will go between the posts. The local enthusiasts collected all the scrolls lying around when the house was vacant, and put it under the floor. I calculated, I would need roughly 56. Checking the good ones, I counted 20, that is enough for the street side. There are some 15 more, in varying grades of disrepair.

As you can see, it was laid out with scrap pieces of timber, just to show what it is supposed to look like. The good ones are partially sanded, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

I also made a jig to glue new pieces of timber on the broken ones. It seems to work. One per day.

We have also been busy painting the patio doors. Four doors, two sides, two coats of paint. When that is done, the joy of glazing will start.

10 November 2013

Reading last week's post, I realized it was not a week wasted. (The memory is a little bit short at times)

The beginning of the week was rainy and the roofers could not work. That gave me the opportunity to finish the work on the gable ends. All of the old veranda roofing was removed. Then I replaced some rotten weatherboards. The barge boards and the gable ends all got painted. I also bought some timber to replace the beam against the wall, cut it to the right angle and painted it.

Previously I have bought timber to cut to profile for the corners of the veranda. I have taken a template off the only surviving beam when I did that corner, and marked it off on the new beam. Then I realized that I was not up to cutting it, so I left is to the roofers. They picked it up, took it to their workshop and cut it and then I could paint it.
They turned up in earnest on Thursday and leveled the beam on the perimeter and set all the posts vertical.

Friday they had other work to do and we expect them back on Monday to start in earnest.

I used the gap to start painting the patio doors, but that is a mammoth task ahead of me.
Saturday I mowed the lawns and removed some weeds, and then I just got lazy.

3 November 2013

Thursday was a no work day, we went to Hamilton and also visited friends.

David said he will be coming over in the coming week to do the veranda. I realized that I would need to prepare the eastern wall for the new veranda as well.

Between the two gable roofs is a trough, discharging the water on the end. They have cut a hole in the trough and put a downpipe in. Problem is the ridge of the downpipe is higher than the trough, and water drips down on the veranda roof and causes an irritating drip. I blocked the hole, cut the end of the trough and fitted a short piece of spouting at the end. Now the water can be routed away. I also tried repairing the fascia boards. They are original and not in a very good condition. I put doublers on where necessary.

I also bought beams to fit to the wall where the iron gets attached to the wall. They got cut at the right angle and painted.

The last row of weatherboards above the veranda roof is also in a sad state. All of that is being replaced.

The next job will be to paint the gable ends. The plywood on my scaffold board will need replacing, so no ladder on the scaffold any more. I concocted a long ladder that will hopefully be long enough. I will remove the last of the old iron.

This picture was taken this morning, so it is clear that it is a "work in progress" at this stage.

Hopefully the next report will have more to tell

27 October 2013

The spouting has been painted. The curved beams I could not cut, so I left it to David.

We also decided to extend the roof over the new deck area. That meant that I had to fit a beam to the wall where the iron gets attached. I also repaired the weatherboards and cleaned and painted the part of the wall above the roof to be.

On Friday I wanted to start cleaning and repainting the kitchen wall where it will be covered by the new roof.. I realized the platform that I have built is not adequate, so I did some work on that. We also had rain in the afternoon, a good excuse not to work.

Monday is a public holiday, and I can continue on the cleaning and painting without interfering with the professionals.

I also had to cut the grass at Cambridge, Shaun went along and it was a quite nice outing.

Sorry, not a great week to report on, but we have "Great Expectations"!

20 October 2013

I  wrote about the Heritage Fund Application way back in June. Council allow grants to repair and maintain Heritage Buildings or Sites. We have applied for funding to repair the deck and veranda, including labour. A while ago we received a letter informing us that we have been given a grant, not for the full amount we have applied for, but only to cover the cost of repairing the deck and veranda. The catch is that a) We have to do the labour ourselves b) The work has to be completed in six months and c) The money will only be paid out after inspection of the completed work by council inspectors and lastly d) we will have to finance it ourselves until the money has been paid out.(obviously we have not got that sort of money just lying around)

David Peake is the builder who supplied us with a quote. I tried contacting Dave, but he was away on holiday. He returned in the week and I went to see him in order to get a revised quote for the veranda only, including labour. He contacted Council instead and they agreed that the full amount of the grant may be used to repair the veranda, including labour. They also said we must keep in mind that a second round of grants will be made in December, and that we can apply for that to do the deck. David will start work in the following week.

In the meantime we must paint some spouting he has got in stock that is the wrong colour, and I will also have to cut two beams to follow the curvature if the roof, to be installed in the corners.

The "working platform" has got some (scrap) timber fitted, so we can proceed to work on it.

In all, a VERY GOOD WEEK for us!! Thank you Lord!

13 October 2013

We had a mini winter this week, cold and rain and the wind! I decided not to work too hard.

The bearers are new, and the joists are recycled. The biggest job was to set all the piles. we reused old piles that were left here.

We also have to provide access to the cellar. That dictated the positioning of the bearers. We will also need to provide two extra steps, going down.

We are stretched for money right now, and won't be able to fit the decking. We will use scrap timber with ply over it. The main reason for starting work on the deck is to allow us a working platform for installing the patio door. At the rate we are working now, that is still way down the track.

As you can see, the part between the windows is where the door was removed. The new patio door will replace the left hand window in the pic, and some more.

With everything out of level, it was quite a challenge to set it all up, and it is not done yet, there is still a lot to be done.

6 October 2013

It is nice to be back!!

We have finished the work on our Cambridge house. We went there daily from 9 am to 3 pm.
The tenant has also moved out. Let us hope it get sold quickly.

We removed the outside door from the dining room and fitted weatherboard instead. We even managed to apply a primer coat of paint.

Corrie volunteered to do our line trimming on the grass. He came Saturday morning. A while later Jaco and Bella came around, and Jaco started mowing the grass. Bella helped Elna with weeding of the flower beds. Lovely friends!! Now the garden is tidy once more!!

1 September 2013

Well, the firewood has been cut up and the floor removed. some of the flooring is still in a useable condition.

I also patched the floor between the dining and living rooms. I had two rows of boards, running perpendicular to each other. I managed to cut the ends and cut a floor board to fit. It is  nice not to have a piece of old carpet lying there.

There was also one board in the front room that serves as an office that was rotten away. I cut and replaced about one meter of that.

Louis, a friend had some stuff and a vehicle stored with us. Thankfully all was removed. Then I took some time to dump some metal on a metal recycler, and even got some money  for it. That money I used to dump a load of rubbish at the dump.

Week done.

As from Monday we will be working on our Cambridge house, to finish off a room that has been used for storage. We have decided to try and sell the property, and it will sell much easier if that room is finished as a  bedroom. That will mean we might miss on reporting on the Jackson House for some time.

25 August 2013

I managed to finish sanding the doors and replacing lost wedges. I also started painting the first door, but that is where it ended.

We want to concentrate on finishing our Cambridge house for sale. So the decision was made to stop work on the doors.

On Thursday Elna asked me to do some finishing touches on the new bathroom. Instead I started demolishing the old bathroom on the deck. The prime mover was to salvage some flooring boards to repair the floor between the dining room and living room. I first demolished the internal walls, but realised the outer walls were hanging only by a few nails, so off they came. That went on until Friday. I also added a beam to secure the roofing iron, temporarily)  Saturday was spent on cutting the scrap timber for firewood. Tomorrow will see the timber stored away, and possibly removing the floor boards. Who knows? What I can state, is that there is much more light in the dining room.

We are having funny weather, warm, with typical spring rain. The farmers are having a problem, too much grass!! It grows too tall for the cattle, and with the rain, it is to wet to make silage. I had to mow our grass twice in the last two weeks. It seems as if we are having an early spring. It normally starts only in late October

18 August 2013

Still battling with the doors. I have sanded all down after the paint stripping. I am now busy filling cracks and gaps with "Builders Bog", something similar to body filler. Three are nearly done.


We went to Cambridge to fit the "new" oven. Works well. I also brought back a load of timber, Rosewood I think. Could make a nice counter top.

I also made some progress cleaning up the section. We moved some of the sarking boards into the timber store, and then moved the roofing sheets we were given for the cookhouse to that spot. We gave Louis an ultimatum to remove his vehicle and stuff we have been storing for the last three months.

Friday I mowed the grass. It is amazing how fast the grass is growing. They had a story on TV about the  farmers having too much green grass. Can you believe that.

Lovely weather. We had storms forecast for the last few days, but it turned out to be nice sunny days with bits of cloud and rain.

Till next week then.

11 August 2013

I did manage to strip all the paint from the doors. First I tried the heat gun, that didn't clean it properly, so I moved on to the sander. Being so shaky, I tended to round the sharp edges of the rails. Eventually I fell back on the old trusted Polystrippa. That took the better part of two days. Next step will be repairing cracks and portions where it has to be filled. I might eventually paint the doors inside and out, but will leave that decision for later.

I also got rid of some scrap steel and a load of rubbish. At my age, that takes time. Since I started clearing up, I spent most of one day cutting scrap timber for firewood. not done yet.

We had some lovely sunshine days in the beginning of the week, but from Thursday it was overcast with slight rain, just enough to justify lighting the open fire in the lounge.

The car I reported on last week got fixed. Jaco managed all his tasks on his list and more. We have been there today and discussed some more tasks for the coming week.

Fingers crossed for nice weather for the coming week.

4 August 2013

Willie came back for a short visit. I had to keep him occupied, so we cut all of the glass for the patio doors.

I did also manage to clean the last door frames from putty, and had to repair one bar that was broken.

I feel it is a privilege to help other people. Well, this week was no exception. We have been to somebody who had car trouble, an over several visits helped remove the offending (broken) pulley. It was too late to find a replacement, so I might spend more time on that on Monday.

The Salon I am helping out on has got it's roof fitted on Saturday as well. I gave Jaco a very explicit "to do" list. Fingers crossed that will be done by the weekend.

Lots of talking and many cups of coffee. That is the advantage of being retired.......... no time schedule.

Next report next week.

28 July 2013

If the previous week was slow, I wonder what I should call this one!

I did manage a little bit of work on the doors, nothing much.

The oven we picked up for the Cambridge house needed a LOT of cleaning and I also had to replace the bottom element. That is good to be installed now.

Remember the dishwasher we bought and fixed? Well, it worked fine for two washes, now it doesn't pump the water out. Still looking for the fault.

We also helped Jaco & Bella with a Beauty Salon they want built in their front garden. The framework for the floor is done, the frames are up, and the iron for the wall is up, although not fully screwed down. I expect it will take another 3 months to finish.

Bette luck next time!!!!!!!!!

21 July 2013

This was a slow and frustrating week.

All of my time was spent on the doors. At one stage I gave up and decided only to remove the cracked putty. Well, it didn't work. I put one door down where I had only part of the putty removed, and the glass broke and partially fell out. This means I will have to remove all the glass.

I also spent time on car maintenance, and on Saturday we drove around picking up ovens we have bought on Trademe for the Cambridge house. The tenant is not satisfied with the current oven.

One ray of light is that I have started oiling Wendy's chest of drawers. Still work to do. I also sanded and oiled another drawer from our yellow wood chest.

We had some sunshine this week, but it seems the coming week will not be so nice.

14 July 2013

The doors!!. I started sanding the doors, and it has come out very nice. Keep in mind they are nearly 100 years old. There are several screw holes that has been filled with putty. The other story is that each door has 8 panes of glass. The putty is cracked and not waterproof nay more. I started removing the putty with my "renovator" tool, it vibrates rather than cut. It worked fine on other glass, but in our case, the glass is very brittle from age, and also only 2 mm thick. Most of it broke. So far I have done only one door, and it is not finished yet.We are playing with the idea to paint the outsides, but leave the insides natural.

Our car gave problems, and we spent more than a day fixing it. Then Elna complained of dizzyness, and we have been to the doctor's twice, to monitor her blood pressure, a computerised cuff that takes readings over 24 hours. Thankfully, all is well.

On Saturday we did the "garden route". When Willie was here, we bought some Pittosorum plants for hedging in two trays.When we started transplanting it into individual pots, we found we had nearly 100 plants.We transplanted only one tray. They will need to get a little bigger before they can be planted. We have also bought Camellia plants and that got planted as well. The last task was to plant Snow bells and Daffodils which were transferred in pots from Cambridge with the move. It is very late in the season, but we went ahead anyway. They were planted in the lawn, and will be mowed when  the grass starts growing again. I read of an estate in the UK where they plant 2000 additional daffodils per year in their paddocks.

7 July 2013

7 July 2013

The frame and doors are done now, but the doors still have to be paint stripped. I have bought a heat gun, but with the amount of wood shavings and sawdust under the carport, I will have a major cleanout before I can start using it. Then there is the cutouts made for splash guards on the doors that need filling. Because we are using bifold doors, the guards had to come away.

Willie has taken his leave, so I will need to do the work now. It is difficult to decide on priorities. Will see how the weather is and how I feel on Monday. Sorry, we have no new pictures.

No news from the Heritage Fund yet.

30 June 2013

I read a piece in the local paper about a "Heritage Fund Grant" to assist in restoring heritage buildings. We got the necessary quotations for the veranda and deck, and submitted our application. We have no indication of how long it will take. Fingers crossed that we get all or at least something.

Willie van Zijl is an old friend from our Stellenbosch days and we have kept in contact through the years. He is in New Zealand now, and we enticed him to visit and advise on the patio doors we want to install in the dining room. We had a lot of catching up to do. The work is secondary.

When brother Ben was here 18 months ago, I already had the patio door in mind, but put it on the back burner.

What we have achieved so far was to retrieve Rimu beams from storage under the floor, cut it to the desired size and plane it. The frame is pre assembled now. It would be impossible to move if we do not take it apart again. The next step will be to fit the hinges to the doors and get everything together. Because it is our rainy season, I will need to build a temporary roof over the work area. Then only can we remove the existing door and window and prepare the opening for the frame.

The Rimu frame looks so nice, we are planning to keep it natural wood. The doors we have bought two years ago on Trademe.  They are made of Kauri. If sanded down it will look lovely. The frame is 2 m wide and 2.4 m high or tall. The height corresponds with all our window frames.

Sorry, at the rate we are working now, it should take another four to six weeks. We will keep you posted. No pictures yet.

16 June 2013

We have been living in the old house for two years now. What have we achieved?

We have saved the cookhouse from falling down. It is a very temporary repair, but we can use the building as a workshop now.

Originally our target was to do one room every six months. When I set that target, I forgot to take outside work into account.

We have managed to sand down and repaint about 80% of the outside walls. That implied sanding down to bare wood. The remainder is the outside of the current kitchen.

We have also reinstated the posts and ring beam for the veranda .We haven't got the money at this stage to fit the roofing iron. The beams for the deck are in position, but no decking.

We have stripped five rooms of the original sarking (timber boards) and replaced that with Gib or plasterboard and fitted insulation. Four of these rooms are painted and in use. The fifth is the proposed new kitchen, where we are currently holding back a bit.

We have moved the bathroom that was on the northern side on the deck to a previous bedroom. We are currently working on finishing touches, like architraves on the window and door and tiling. The bathroom is already in use.

Every job we tackle tends to explode into something much bigger. Windows need to be repaired and repainted, doors and door frames need sanding and repair, damaged ceilings need repair.

I am enjoying every moment of it, and get wonderful support from Elna. My health is better than two years ago.

Now a brief report on the last week's activities.

We managed to repair our car on Monday. On Tuesday we went to Hamilton for routine medical checks. We also picked up a nice kitchen unit with four large drawers, ideally suited for pots and pans. Willie, a South African friend is visiting at this stage. He sleeps in the new kitchen (to be)and will assist in the manufacture of our Patio Door Frames.  He came over on Wednesday and most of the remainder of the week was spent catching up and preparing for the door frame. We had to move a lot of timber around to clear a proper work area. Moving stuff around seems to be the story of my life.

We are into winter now, but it is not really cold yet, only rainy. Our average day temperatures is 15 deg and the minimum night temp was 4. We can clearly feel the benefit of the insulation in the walls.

9 June 2013

What a week!!

We went to pick up the kitchen units we had stored with friends. All went well. Because of our small trailer, we had to do two trips. We stacked it all on the back veranda. Then Elna got concerned that we could get rain damage to the units. So I cleared all the tools and material from the kitchen to be, with the intention to store the units in a corner. Remember, we still have to install a new ceiling and stop and paint the walls. Well, we moved the units to their proposed position, just to see how it looks. It is nearly right, except for the position for the dishwasher, that is too narrow.

While we were at it, we went to see a kitchen joiner to find if he could help with some matching counter tops. We need more than we have got. Sorry, the line was discontinued years ago. The finish on the doors is Melteca, in wood grain, even that has been discontinued. We will let it simmer for a while, we might even paint it all white. Gloss white is the fashion of the day an I know a good spray painter.

On Saturday we were on our way to Hamilton to pick up another kitchen unit. We just got to Te Awamutu when the car packed up. Turns out a wrong CV joint has been fitted at some stage. Now we have no transport, and are trying to get the right part. Maybe Monday.

2 June 2013

Well, we fitted the tiles to the top of the bathroom vanity. Then priorities suddenly changed. While we waited for the tile adhesive to dry, Elna kept on wondering when the light in the bathroom will be fixed. See, we had to use the light from the streetlamp at night. Installing the switch was not straight forward. Originally, when I did the plasterboard in the bathroom, I left an area next to the door open in case the  plumber wanted to install his vent pipe there. So, I started finishing that part off, and eventually fitted the required light switch.

We were still fiddling around on that when the letting agent called: We had a sinkhole in the driveway in our Cambridge house.We went there with a trailer load of dirt (earth) and opened the hole. It turned out that when the soak holes were installed, they didn't back fill it properly, and a nice cavity developed. When the tenant drove over it, it collapsed. We dug it open to the root of the problem, filled it properly, and all's well.

But we had another outstanding problem, the next door neighbor requested that we do something about water running off our "Braai Lapa" so we tackled that while we were there. We installed more spouting. Should do the trick.

The rest of the week was spent on restoring the sliding sash window in the bathroom. Thank Goodness for proper tools. I was able to make all the required parts. Then sanding and painting, with light rain in between. The window had to be closed every night, so progress is slow. Might finish it this coming week.

We are also helping somebody to build a "sleepout" to be used as a beauty salon. Spent Saturday on that and hope to do the same tomorrow (a public holiday)

We also managed to buy two kitchen units for the new kitchen, an we are hoping to get another completer kitchen as well. If we manage that, the kitchen cabinets will be much easier to do.

26 May 2013

Well, we have sanded the vanity down in the "new kitchen". Then we had to glue the tracks for the sliding doors on. The next step was putting a coat of acrylic (PVA) paint on it. Then I was undecided about the top coat of paint. Eventually we bought some white Automotive Paint, and sprayed the whole cabinet, inside and out. Luckily Thursday was a nice sunny day.

On Friday we took the vanity into the bathroom, connected the waste pipes, and glued the large tiles on the top, with the edges.

We had a Church Camp over the weekend, starting Friday late afternoon, so no more work was done. I think we achieved enough for the week.

20 May 2013

Just made it!!

The plasterboard in the new kitchen is all up, but not plastered yet.

We had a bit of a lazy week, with people visiting and so on and so forth. (so nice)

It started raining on Thursday ,and I could not go out to get the plasterboard for the ceiling (lame excuse, I know) So we started work on the bathroom vanity. We took it apart, measured the tiles we still needed, and went to town. We could not find a suitable tile for the edging. Eventually we cut some of the 100 mm high wall tiles in half. That will do. The next part of the job will be to sand the whole cabinet down and paint it.

I am wasting time sitting here writing this blog, so, if you will excuse me, I have to get to work.

Bye

13 May 2013

Yes, I know, I am a day late. Sorry!!

We made good progress on the new kitchen. Added studs to correspond with the width of the plasterboard, and added the spacers required to get the thickness right. Then I went to get some more insulation (we had some left over from the last batch) and plasterboard. We managed to fit insulation to all the outside walls. Shaun, the grandson offered his help on Saturday, and we got the outside walls covered from the top (2.4 m). Next will be to do the bottom 1 m. I ran out of plasterboard and will need to get some more.

The inside wall towards the living room does not get covered yet, because we are planning a serving opening.

I also got hold of a backpack weed sprayer. I spent some time fixing it, mounted it on a trolley, and sprayed the weeds in part of the lawn.

This morning I got sidetracked. I resumed work on the storeroom I started some months ago. I had all the shelves already in, but no walls on two sides. I got some rain in my storage containers. It was such a lovely day, I just had to do outside work. I can report that the storeroom is finished now.

I also had to mow the grass. It is still growing, but I hope this will be the last cut before winter. Thank goodness for the ride on. In the meantime Elna is filling holes in the ground from the heap of dirt (earth) that is lying here.

5 May 2013

Having worked a whole week, I wonder where my time went?

I have stripped all of the old sarking boards off the new kitchen. That created a lot of dust. Luckily I have borrowed a proper respirator, so it was not too bad.

With the timber removed, we could do a proper clean out. I used four vacuum cleaner bags. I still haven't installed all the wiring. Saturday was spent de-nailing all the boards, and putting them away.

Jaco turned up on Friday, so we worked all day on the frames for his sleep out.

Some time during the week, we also made some time to put up the last of the veranda posts. They go in pairs, and there is supposed to be scrolls between them. That is not done yet. (Oh, I forgot to say, it goes around the corner as well)

It looks much better now, but there is still a lot of work to be done. With the rainy season starting now, it is unlikely that I will be doing much more on the veranda. The deck is another story, that is on the long term list.
Now you can understand why I did the outer beam for the deck long ago. It all fits together now. Sometimes there is still some method in my madness

Well, If you will allow me, I will continue the work in the kitchen next week, with some new studs, insulation and plaster boarding.

Have a nice week!!

28 April 2013

Elna did manage to paint all the posts, but they are not up yet.

I worked on adapting the framing for the new kitchen.We have to provide for installing a second window towards the street (south side). I also had to accommodate the corner pantry which we have in storage. Then Jaco called, he is available and wants to learn more about framing and installing plasterboard. We made some preparations and went out to get plasterboard and started installing it. All went very well, but I had a worry in the back of my mind: is there not something that I have forgotten? The next morning when
I got up, I remembered that I still had  to provide for a light and a wall heater. So I took one of the boards off again. Luckily it was only screwed down.

We went to town and bought a wall heater and a mirror (we did have a lamp in storage). Then I started the intricate task of wiring, with me first drilling the necessary holes through the framing and floor and then crawling under the floor to reroute the existing wiring for plugs. I also had to provide for the other plugs that have to be fitted in the kitchen. All of that took me most of Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday we also went to Hamilton with Jaco to select and buy used timber framing for a room they want to build for his wife for a salon. That is on their front lawn. Got a whole trailer load for $ 100.

I finished my wiring late Saturday night, just as it was getting dark and I was running out of energy. There is still next week to do more work.

21 April 2013

It is officially autumn now. We have had the most severe drought in North Island in the last 70 years, and the whole North Island was declared a drought area. With autumn arriving, we got bits of rain, but not much. The farmers called it a "green drought". The grass was green but with no growth. Luckily, it has changed, we had some rain during the week and today we had about 30 mm so far. This also implies that I will have to start work in inside tasks.

The last of the veranda posts are joined and sanded now, but not painted yet. We will have to wait for a sunny day.

I started work on cutting and removing the old studs between the bathroom and the kitchen to be. Sorry, the place is a mess, I cannot take a picture. That job went well, but it had a complication: I got affected by the dust and developed a sinus infection. It meant that I had to get antibiotics. It also delayed my progress. We also went to help friends with the finishing touches of a unit/flat renovation in Hamilton. We spent two days on that.

Next week we need to replace the hob in our kitchen in the Cambridge house, and that will require some cutting and joining of the bench top.

Well, even with getting older, we never have a spare moment. That is, excluding rest breaks whilst doing a job. But we are not complaining, we are enjoying it.

Let us hope next week will have more to report about
Bye

14 April 2013

I spent a lot of time extending the veranda posts. By last count, we had 7 painted and ready, two in clamps and two more to glue. The others are ready for paint. Progress, but slow. I hope to get all of the posts up before the rainy season starts. The roof will have to wait a while.

I called the plumber on the 11th of March to ask for the new bathroom to be connected. I called again last Friday, and he promised to come back to me this week. On Monday he called: Will Thursday be OK? We had a wedding on that we would not miss, but we could not put the guy off. In the end, we accepted. Because it is very dry and dusty under the floor, I went under and put black plastic sheets down where the guy would work. That implied that I got dusty, instead of him!!.

Thursday morning at eight he turned up, ready to go. Now, we normally only start waking up at eight, but we were up and dressed, and were ready for him. I showed him what I had in mind, and obviously, he had another layout in mind. We left him by himself and attended the wedding at 11 am. We returned about 12:30, skipping the party. He worked all day but didn't finish, so he came back on Friday. He came even earlier, but we were up and ready, but skipped breakfast. He finished at about 11. Now we have the luxury of a bathroom two meters down the passage. I must admit, there is a lot of finishing still to be done, and it was cause for an argument with the boss (what is to be priority), but we can use it in the meantime.

It gave me great pleasure to destroy the old toilet and basin in the old bathroom on the deck!!!(If I took the shower out, the whole structure will collapse)

Well, we have made great progress this week, but none of it is visible, it is all under the floor.The veranda posts are still in the workshop. I hope to fit at least the seven that are ready. Keep in mind the posts go in pairs, 450 mm apart (did I type that correctly?)

Love you all

7 April 2013

This week I managed to fit the 10 posts that were extended last week. It is beginning to take shape, but there is a lot more to be done. There is about another 13 to do. Remember, most of the posts are doubled, 450 mm apart. I asked around and was told of a different epoxy glue, and man, that one works! I can manage two posts per day (with the eight clamps I have). I think, including Saturday's two, I have about seven done now. Still to be sanded and painted.

I called tie plumber on Friday, it is four weeks we have been waiting now, but it seems he is not very interested. I will give him another week, then start the pipework myself.

On Saturday we picked up a fridge/freezer we bought in Hamilton, so half the day was gone. We spent some time today to remove the old fridge and freezer and install the "new" combination unit. We still have a separate smaller freezer.

We are still planning to fit the "new" used hob in Cambridge this coming week. We will have to modify the counter top to accept the smaller hob.

We also had some rain on Saturday, and the weather has suddenly turned. Our forecast for tonight is 5 deg. I think winter has started. Thank goodness we are sleeping in the front room which is insulated.

I am very excited about the patio door frame I need to build for the dining room, but realise I have to be patient till Willie arrives here to advise me.

29 March 2013

I stand corrected, and I humbly apologise. The conversion from 2 inch is not 500 mm but 50 mm. That was a double strike while typing. So the bath outlet is 50 mm.

No plumber in sight yet, so we are playing the waiting game.

I spent time on joining more veranda posts, but none are really finished or painted yet. It is an ongoing task.

I also bought a Bosch dishwasher on Trademe for $10, and had to pick it up in Hamilton. We took the opportunity to visit friends and had an enjoyable day. Yesterday I spent trying to establish what is wrong with it, and how to repair it. It is still an ongoing task. Will report on progress.

Whilst using the tap next to the house, I realised we had a water leak. The tap was about 300 mm from the house, and I just might have hit it with the Ride on lawnmower. So I dug it up and removed rusted out pipe sections and rerouted the pipe to have the tap against the wall. I did not have a standpipe with threads on both ends, and had to dig my pipe threader from deep storage. (I have never used it in NZ, and was considering to sell it as scrap) Pipe threaded and secured to the wall, now it is safe from roaming mowers. Eventually all pipework will have to be replaced with polythene pipes.

It is Good Friday today, which means a very short week.

We are expecting Anneke up from Christchurch for the weekend, so no more work will be done.

24 March 2013

I took all of Monday and Tuesday to finish off the jobs on my list for Saturday.

It mostly concerned fitting the brackets for the shower frame, and fitting a waste pipe for the bath. The bath has a 500 mm or 2 inch waste, so I had to reduce it to 1 1/2 inch. Then I cut a hole in the floor for the toilet waste. We also finalised the position for the kitchen sink, and cut a hole for the waste. I had to remove some of the timber stored under the floor for the plumber to get in. All in anticipation of the plumber turning up. Needless to say, he didn't.

I measured the difference in height between the veranda posts, and the height of the rebuilt corner storage area. It turned out to be 180 mm. I repaired three left over posts and cut them to size. Those will still need to have nail holes and cracks filled in. Then I planned the extensions to the other posts, 27 of them. I ended up cutting a block of timber the right size and length, then drilling a hole through it, and joining it to the post with a galvanised iron rod, 8 mm and weatherproof glue. I had one rod easily available, and made the first one, then went to the shop to buy more. Sorry, only 6 mm and 10 mm available. I have a piece of offcut rolltop pool fencing in my scrap bin, so I was forced to  use that. Only problem is that it was welded in a grid, and I had to cut it all loose. Rods are OK now, and I hope to continue extending posts in the coming week, two per day.

Elna also got at the "knotty pine" boards, and painted them all. Looks like a unit now.

One of our friends was in the process of buying a house, and I was asked to do an inspection ( Builder's report). The final inspection was on Thursday, they settled (took transfer) on Friday and we all helped them move over on Saturday. Cutting it a little fine, but everything worked out fine.

Well, that was our week. We are looking forward to a visit from Anneke over Easter.we will surely enjoy that.

17 March 2013

Sorry, I missed a week. It has been a hectic time (for me).

First, back to the bath. I used a lot of sanding discs. Then I decided to try scraping the coating off, and guess what? It came off easily with a wood chisel. The original enamel is still in good condition. There are a few stains, but that has to wait for a later day. Then we turned the bath over. and cleaned the outside. I found a casting date of 1926. I removed the feet. Only one of the bolts broke. Elna painted the outside a light green, and the feet ended up a bronze/ gold colour. Feet back on and we got two tough guys to move the bath in position.

The matter of cleaning off the lacquer on the doors and skirting boards is not resolved yet. The historical people wants us to wipe it with Methylated  Spirits.That is a big job, and does not repair scratches made by kids.We considered stripping it off and applying a new coat of lacquer, but that does not seem right. Our trusted paint stripper is Polystrippa, but it works out that you would need more than two cans on a door, both sides. Now several people have told me about "Coopers" which seems to be very effective in stripping, but also very expensive. I contacted them and they promised to do a house visit sometime in April. In the meantime we tried cleaning a door with Polystrippa, but we could not get one side cleaned with one liter. So that is on hold for now. We might end up stripping and maybe polishing it.

Next job was the shower cubicle. I have bought this frameless shower surround to use in Cambridge, but got wary of the inspector. See, all glass in a bathroom has to be safety glass. I did some internet research and found that the symbol printed on it is actually a Chinese standard. We spent about two days fitting the glass, learning how wide it will be and how the edges meet. Next was to cut all the holes for water and waste pipes in the handbasin bench and the floor. That done, I could call the plumber to arrange for him to send one of the guys over. He promised it could hopefully be in the coming week.

The next door neighbours started building a framework and put a tarp over it. We were expecting a party. My dumpsite is just over the fence from them. I felt obliged to build an corrugated iron fence between us. We had the iron left over from the garage we bought 15 months ago. Elna painted it, and helped me put it up. Now my junk is hidden from their view. It turned out the guy is very sick, and they are getting a constant stream of visitors.

We also moved two large wardrobes from the kitchen to be. When we find the time, we will start planning the new kitchen. The waste pipe for the sink has to be located as well.

I have put the curved iron that I had earmarked for the veranda on Trademe, and got a good price for it. I could also return the 10 liter roof paint for a credit of  $ 200 (Yes, that is the price of paint in NZ)

The whole of North Island was declared a drought zone. We had very dry weather since January, and the farmers are suffering. The forecast was for severe rain today, but we are getting some light rain. When we put the new roof on the little corner storage area, I left a gap between the wall and the roof. Elna insisted that it be closed in, because of the threat of rain. First, I had to decide by how much I will lift the veranda beam. Remember, it was so low it would interfere with the bay window, because I took a shortcut when repairing the posts. I have cut them all to the same length. It now turns out I will have to extend all by 150 mm.

Once that was decided, I could attach the ring beam to the cross wall and fit the last weatherboard. I have a stock of "knotty pine" planks in Rimu and thought it would be easier to fit narrow planks than wide ones. It turned out to be a big job. Each plank needs to be cut at the top at the right angle (which changes as you go), then beveled and cut to length. sometimes it is too long, sometimes too short. I think I walked between the job and the shed more than 100 times, for there are more than 27 planks, and each one took fitting. In the end I think we have a nice job. We have run out of wall paint, and will need another can of paint to finish that one off. At least, the rain cannot get in there any more.

One of the next jobs will now be to extend all thirty of the veranda posts by 150 mm.

We were also given some material that was used in the local museum to make a mock street scene from the 1800's. We picked up what we thought we could use, and I spent most of a day de-nailing it. The remainder  will become firewood. At some stage I will also have to take a load of junk to the dump.

I nearly forgot, I made a load of scrap metal that I have collected over time to the scrap merchants. Made some good money. But I missed some, so I will have to go again. Slowly our section is getting more tidy, but I am not taking pictures of that yet..

3 March 2013

Back to the roof........

I reinforced the mounting of the curved beam that forms the corner of the roof. I have also screwed the  roofing sheets down properly.  That was the easy part.

I moved the scaffold to the eastern side and removed three old roofing sheets. Next I fitted one new sheet to match the grooves of the old roof. I also put the second one up towards the corner, and marked where it had to be cut. I removed the sheet and cut it, and screwed it down on the outside. Next, I removed the first sheet to be able to reach far enough to screw the second sheet down on the curved beam.

Now I have a problem. Once these sheets are fitted, I can never reach the wall or the joint again, the iron is too thin, it just bends away when you look at it. I still had to fit a flashing or ridge over the joint, where the two roofs meet. A normal ridge plate won't work, because of the curvature if the roof. I have some lead sheets  I removed from our Cambridge house. So I cut these to 200 mm wide and fitted it over the joint. Now how do you secure this to the roof? In the end pop rivets did the trick. After several false starts, I managed to get the lead fitted, and managed to install the first sheet again. The third sheet I could reach from the scaffold, so no big deal. You know how it goes: Up the ladder, do a little, down the ladder, move inside, up the other ladder, mark, down the ladder, etc, etc. Then they want me to get more exercise!!!!!!!! Well, honestly, it took me four days of work, but our little corner room /shed has got a proper roof now. Some time in future we might fit a wall and door to it.

We are trying to sell the second hand sheets we have bought now.

Remember the claw foot bath we have bought and want to fit in the bathroom? It has been re enameled at some stage, and that is coming off and has discolored over time. I have tried sanding it off with a small sander I have got, but it didn't work. So it went into the "too hard" basket. The bathroom will be our next project, and I had to do something. Paint stripper does nothing. Saturday afternoon, (while I was resting ) I had another look and decided to try the orbital sander. It seems to work well. So the project for the next week is to sand the bath, smooth it with a finer paper, and put it into position in the new bathroom. That is to say if my priorities doesn't change in the meantime.

24 January 2013

This week is not really about the house, but I thought you would be interested.

On Monday our friends had their stuff moved from their house, they are moving to Wellington. At about 4 pm. Louis called, they cannot get everything in the truck, can we help please? We started moving surplus stuff to our place, and also removed all rubbish that was left over from Friday. I was fortunate, two young friends turned up at our place at the right moment, and they were commandeered into service. At 8 pm everything was cleared (the sun is still shining then). The new owners would be moving in on Tuesday.

Tuesday was spent to sort through the stuff, and cutting up timber for firewood. I also took a load of scrap to the dump.

Wednesday we took the day off for a visit to Hamilton, and doing some shopping. The rest of the week just disappeared, nothing to report.

Now we get to Saturday, the interesting day.

When we moved in here, there was a hole in the ground outside the back door, which we filled in for safety sake. The next door neighbours told us that is where a well has been. We also planted an Olive tree and some shrubs. Sometime in the week, somebody opened both our outside taps, we suspect young guys doing it for the kick. Well, the hose was by the Olive tree where Elna has watered the garden. It got very wet. The next day we had a sinkhole, 500 to 600 mm deep, with the tree and shrubs considerably shorter. I decided the proper solution would be to lift the tree back up and backfill it. Saturday I made three legs for a tripod, and Barry (Barco) has a star that he has made just for that purpose. I called on Barry for help, we assembled the tripod and pulled the tree and shrubs up. Then we filled the hole and replanted the tree and shrubs.

17 February 2013

This week we started work on the roof of the storeroom. We have learnt that the curvature of the sheets we have bought long ago was to steep. When we put the first sheet on, the water didn't run off. That meant that I have returned the paint we have bought a month ago, and we contacted the people who curve sheets for round barns. They were most helpful, and we left there with six sheets curved to the original curvature of the veranda. More will follow.

Elna also painted the little bit of that room facing east. It makes such a big difference to the looks of the house.

We started installing the new sheets, but was that a mission! I was standing on the scaffold trying to position the iron, and Elna was pushing upward with a broom. Suddenly the head of our neighbour, Alan popped up, he saw our dilemma and came to help. Thanks Alan.. We managed to position the sheets facing towards the street, also cutting as required for the corner. They are not properly secured yet, as the rafters are very flimsy, but that will be tackled next week. I have also temporarily removed the flashing between the house walls ans the veranda roof.

Friday was spent on helping a friend clear out his back yard, and on Saturday I got rid of some of my own junk. It does help to get rid of some of my hoarding from time to time.

10 February 2013

Remember that wall we built last week? Well, we built another one as well. Sorry, the light was not kind. We have now enlarged this little blob by one meter. The Historical people said we can remove it, but we felt the locals all knew the house with it, so we respect that. You will notice that the deck is narrower than the room. In the olden days, part of  the deck was wider than the rest. So we leave it at that.There will be a step in the roof and also in the deck.

It is also clear from the picture that the roof of the room is higher than my ring beam for the veranda. Well, we considered extending the posts to bring them on one level, but we discovered that the curved sheets we have, is too hollow, the water will not run off at that height. (5 m radius) So I tried reusing some of the old iron sheets, but they are beyond saving. It will mean that I will have to have sheets curved to my spec (6 m radius). In the meantime that is on hold.

Elna did a great job of painting the latest wall.

Well, this coming week we will negotiate to have the sheets curved.

In the week we also managed to buy a swing leg table and four colonial chairs which fits better with the style of the house. Only two chairs are useable now, but we have other chairs. The chairs we bought before we got married belongs to Anneke now. Did I mention all of these will eventually require restoration? Well, it will mean that I will never get bored.

Bye for now

3 February 2013

Boy, has this been a hectic week!
I started work on a cabinet for the handbasin in the new bathroom. I have got some lovely Kauri timber, and was working on that. After a day I admitted defeat: My work is not up to standard for nice joinery.

On the south eastern corner of the house, there is a small storage area under the veranda. I started cleaning the old paint of those walls. See the right hand end of the second picture. Then I decided that I have loads of Kauri boards that will fit in better with the character of the house than the (1920) Rimu that they have used. So I removed the old boards and started replacing it. In the process, we also extended it a bit. In the meantime Elna got hold of a paintbrush, and started painting the walls that I have already cleaned. The end result is that we (mostly she) has painted most of the outside walls now, including the part where we replaced the boards.(Excluding the kitchen and bathroom extension.)  She also tackled the walls on the rear deck, on the eastern side. Because that has always been under a veranda, the old paint was in a good condition, and didn't require much preparation. The first picture was taken in bright light, but the colour is the same all around.

For a while now, the people from our church group has been talking about another work bee. I decided that I cannot put the rafters for the replacement veranda up myself, and waited for them to choose a day. Saturday they turned up. I had all the rafters pre made and prepainted  many moons ago, I have repaired the posts. Most of them had the bottom end rotten away. The solution was easy, just cut them all a bit shorter. In the meantime, we have decided to replace the veranda on the southern side as well, although the Historical people said we could do without it. When I started work on the storage area, I realised that I will have to keep the roofs at the same level. That means that all 27 of my pre painted posts will need to be extended by about 100 mm.

Well, the team turned up on Saturday morning, and by 11:30 we had all the rafters joined together and in position. I have put rafters from the house to hold it in place. It could also be added to to look like a pergola/prieel. That way it will be months before I am finished and hopefully will draw less attention from the building inspectors. The posts are not in their proper positions, they are just clamped on to the rafter.

We are impressed with the result. Now I have many months of work ahead of me, getting the framing ready and painting the curved iron sheets and cutting them to size. The paint has already been bought, but with the dry season we are experiencing, and the low humidity, the paint would dry too quickly and not adhere to the iron properly.

13 January 2013

On Monday I went to buy a "weedeater" to trim the edges of the grass. The first one wouldn't work so I took it back and got another. I must admit, tie section looks much better now with the edges trimmed.

I managed to clean the old paint off the Northern wall, and primed and painted it, in short sessions to avoid the heat. That is, only the top half of the wall. It is to  make it easier when we get around to the veranda.

You will notice, I start many jobs, and finish few. That is because we have so much to do, and to avoid boredom.

Wednesday was very hot, and I decided to work inside. There is a rumor going around that insurance will refuse to  pay a claim in case of a fire if there is any scrim (hessian) on the walls. So I tackled the last room and the passageway.  Just wondering why we didn't do it long ago. It looks so much better now. While I was at it, I removed some sarking boards in the area  where we plan to extend the kirchen. See, another new job started!!

Thursday was a day off, we visited James and Wendy. We had a lovely time. Friday we made our regular visit to the good Doctor for the next three months medicine. Just imagine how shocked I was! The cost of a prescription has gone up. It is now $5 instead of the regular $3. Thank God we are living in a country that supports is old and sick people.

Well, that is all I can report on, see you again next week
 

6 January 2013

The first week of the new year is gone, and with it all my new year's resolutions.

We had REALLY high temperatures, up to 27 deg! And I got a bug, the Holiday Bug. Nothing much happened. We visited friends, and visited friends, and visited friends, and just tinkered along,

I did manage to complete the building of the shelves in the new store room. Now I can move all of the stuff over. The walls are not completed though. If we get rain, some of it will get wet. I did manage to get some sheets of iron from Barry (Barco) and must really get around to fitting it. We are fortunate that we are allowed to build storage huts up to 10 sq m without a permit, and, in my case, only on the ground, no posts or concrete allowed.

I did call the scrap metal dealers, but they only start on Monday, so nothing happened on that front.