Let me use this opportunity to wish you all all the blessings of CHRISTMAS and of CHRIST during this season.
The room is finished and we have moved in. Out old room and the"office' has been converted to guest rooms, just in time to receive Mieke and her friend. We are looking forward to a time of rest and enjoying our family
Thursday
Sunday
13 December 2015
The fingers healed quite well, thank you, although the glass has not been replaced yet.
We have spent the last two weeks finishing off the room. The architraves around the windows are done and finished off. The curtains are up. We have painted an old cabinet (die grys kas) in the same colour as the walls, as well as the cabinet from the old kitchen that remained behind the door. The flooring is installed and is looking swell. We did find that the ramp might be a bit slippery, so we bought a piece of "novilon" and put that on top of the flooring. It works well.
The plan of action is to start moving in tomorrow, wish us luck!!
We have spent the last two weeks finishing off the room. The architraves around the windows are done and finished off. The curtains are up. We have painted an old cabinet (die grys kas) in the same colour as the walls, as well as the cabinet from the old kitchen that remained behind the door. The flooring is installed and is looking swell. We did find that the ramp might be a bit slippery, so we bought a piece of "novilon" and put that on top of the flooring. It works well.
The plan of action is to start moving in tomorrow, wish us luck!!
Saturday
28 November 2015
It seems a two weekly blog will be OK. Our progress does not warrant a weekly update.
We have fitted the "new" old window sashes, after I had to have one pane cut. The frames were puttied and painted. It works smoothly. After that we started "Gib stopping" (Polyfilla) on the walls. The second coat was put on yesterday, with the intention to finish it today.
First we went to Hamilton to look for floor covering. We took Barco along, since they had their floor done recently. We found a similar click flooring to theirs, but it was quite expensive. In the end we found an alternative click flooring at a reasonable price. We bought that and returned home. After lunch we sat down to coffee, and I got up to open the window in the dining area. When I moved the upper sash down, both the cords broke, the sash came crashing down and caught my fingers between the two frames. Luckily Barco was still here to rescue me. I ended up with nasty cuts on my fingers on one hand. That means that I have time to do the blog now, and no more work for the day.
On Monday I will have to replace the cords and a glass pane that broke in the process. Hopefully we can finish the sanding and start painting as well.
Sunday
15 November 2015
Progress at last. Seems to me I should do this on a two weekly basis.
The outside wall on the eastern side has been painted, and the window fitted. I still need to repair and fit the architraves around the window. Barco found me nice antique stays and catches for the window. I passed it to somebody who sand blasted it, and now I am awaiting the painting of it by Barco, when he next have to paint something at work.
The ceiling in the old kitchen: On Friday Jaco called and announced that he would be bringing two prisoners over on Saturday to do some work. Me must think about what we want done. Elna went into a flat spin, how to treat them, what about a warden? In the end it turned out it was Jaco and Corrie volunteering.
Saturday morning I rented a Gib lift. That is a contraption used to hoist the plasterboard sheet in position. With me "supervising" they fitted the insulation and all of the ceiling in 5 hours. What a blessing! During the last week, I managed to do the Gib stopping (Polyfilla) and I painted the ceiling under supervision of Elna.
Petrus called and volunteered his services for yesterday. We have a planted hedge that was getting out of control. I thought that would be nice to have that trimmed. When that was done, I expected Petrus to want to move on, but he wanted to know hat else? In the end we removed the old window frame on the western side that was rotten. Over time, I have repaired another old frame we have taken out when we fitted the folding doors. It is wider than the original, and we wanted to move it a little. We built the necessary stud frame and fitted the window (without the sliding sashes) Now I expected him to be in a hurry to make his getaway. In the end he replaced the damaged weatherboards as well. We closed the opening with building paper in the meantime. Thanks Petrus!
The next job will be to fit the glass to the sliding sashes, seal the gaps around the window and fit the last of the insulation and plasterboards on the walls.
The outside wall on the eastern side has been painted, and the window fitted. I still need to repair and fit the architraves around the window. Barco found me nice antique stays and catches for the window. I passed it to somebody who sand blasted it, and now I am awaiting the painting of it by Barco, when he next have to paint something at work.
The ceiling in the old kitchen: On Friday Jaco called and announced that he would be bringing two prisoners over on Saturday to do some work. Me must think about what we want done. Elna went into a flat spin, how to treat them, what about a warden? In the end it turned out it was Jaco and Corrie volunteering.
Saturday morning I rented a Gib lift. That is a contraption used to hoist the plasterboard sheet in position. With me "supervising" they fitted the insulation and all of the ceiling in 5 hours. What a blessing! During the last week, I managed to do the Gib stopping (Polyfilla) and I painted the ceiling under supervision of Elna.
Petrus called and volunteered his services for yesterday. We have a planted hedge that was getting out of control. I thought that would be nice to have that trimmed. When that was done, I expected Petrus to want to move on, but he wanted to know hat else? In the end we removed the old window frame on the western side that was rotten. Over time, I have repaired another old frame we have taken out when we fitted the folding doors. It is wider than the original, and we wanted to move it a little. We built the necessary stud frame and fitted the window (without the sliding sashes) Now I expected him to be in a hurry to make his getaway. In the end he replaced the damaged weatherboards as well. We closed the opening with building paper in the meantime. Thanks Petrus!
The next job will be to fit the glass to the sliding sashes, seal the gaps around the window and fit the last of the insulation and plasterboards on the walls.
1 November 2015
In trouble as always.
My medication for controlling my shakes is being changed, and as a result I am shaking much more now (hopefully it will become more effective as time goes by) The result is that I am not as productive as I hoped to be.
We did finish off the eastern wall of the old kitchen, stripped it and painted it. The opening window is not fitted yet, because I was looking for useable used glass. That is sorted now, but I will have to have it cut to size and fit it to the frame.
As you can see from the pictures, I tend to do the wall bit by bit. The new window is covered with building paper.
I have also started working on the ceiling, but the progress is very slow. I hope I can add more pictures next time
My medication for controlling my shakes is being changed, and as a result I am shaking much more now (hopefully it will become more effective as time goes by) The result is that I am not as productive as I hoped to be.
We did finish off the eastern wall of the old kitchen, stripped it and painted it. The opening window is not fitted yet, because I was looking for useable used glass. That is sorted now, but I will have to have it cut to size and fit it to the frame.
As you can see from the pictures, I tend to do the wall bit by bit. The new window is covered with building paper.
I have also started working on the ceiling, but the progress is very slow. I hope I can add more pictures next time
11 October 2015
I will not blame you if you are not interested in the Blog anymore. I do apologise
I have lined the insides of the outer walls with building paper. I have also fitted the frame for the special window, and repaired the weatherboard on the outside. Then we fitted insulation in the eastern wall, and added plasterboard.
I also spent time on covering the gap on the outside between the living room and the old kitchen. The timber there was thoroughly rotten. I could not source the sanding/ buffing pads I have used in the past to clear the paint from the weatherboards, and was forced to have it ordered specially for me. That arrived in the week, 5 of them. Yesterday I could start sanding the weatherboards.
The ceiling of that room is very degraded, and I feel it is not fit for a repair (and I am not fit to do a paint strip there). We have bought some timber to build the framing for a new ceiling, below the original one.
Some time was spent to help and advise Jaco who is putting up a veranda by his front door. Amazing how time flies!
I will not blame you if you are not interested in the Blog anymore. I do apologise
I have lined the insides of the outer walls with building paper. I have also fitted the frame for the special window, and repaired the weatherboard on the outside. Then we fitted insulation in the eastern wall, and added plasterboard.
I also spent time on covering the gap on the outside between the living room and the old kitchen. The timber there was thoroughly rotten. I could not source the sanding/ buffing pads I have used in the past to clear the paint from the weatherboards, and was forced to have it ordered specially for me. That arrived in the week, 5 of them. Yesterday I could start sanding the weatherboards.
The ceiling of that room is very degraded, and I feel it is not fit for a repair (and I am not fit to do a paint strip there). We have bought some timber to build the framing for a new ceiling, below the original one.
Some time was spent to help and advise Jaco who is putting up a veranda by his front door. Amazing how time flies!
20 September 2015
Sorry for having been away so long. Our WiFi has failed and it took a while to replace.
I have been working on windows for both sides of the new bedroom. I used half a sliding sash to fit on the eastern side. I had to build a new frame and sill. All went well, everything was good until Barco came around and we measured the sizes for glass. A little background. Most of the windows in the house are 2 meters tall, except one, which is 1.8 meters. That is the one we removed when we fitted the folding doors to the deck. It was still basically sound and I removed all the paint and made repairs as necessary. I have found four tall sliding sashes in the cellar, and took one and cleaned it. Now I was working on two windows at the same time. Only yesterday I realised I have used one of the shorter sashes for my new window.
The result is that I will have to fit new boards on the sides of the single sash window and to rout slots to fit the hinges. Then I will have to fill in the slots in the smaller sash and make new grooves where the sash cord can fit. It will set me back the better part of a week. Only when the windows are fixed can I start repairing the weatherboards and rot in the studs.
In the meantime I was cutting our grass, and the ride on decided to go on strike. I have spent about two days cleaning the fuel tank and carburetor. It still does not run. I will need to get help from outside.
I have been working on windows for both sides of the new bedroom. I used half a sliding sash to fit on the eastern side. I had to build a new frame and sill. All went well, everything was good until Barco came around and we measured the sizes for glass. A little background. Most of the windows in the house are 2 meters tall, except one, which is 1.8 meters. That is the one we removed when we fitted the folding doors to the deck. It was still basically sound and I removed all the paint and made repairs as necessary. I have found four tall sliding sashes in the cellar, and took one and cleaned it. Now I was working on two windows at the same time. Only yesterday I realised I have used one of the shorter sashes for my new window.
The result is that I will have to fit new boards on the sides of the single sash window and to rout slots to fit the hinges. Then I will have to fill in the slots in the smaller sash and make new grooves where the sash cord can fit. It will set me back the better part of a week. Only when the windows are fixed can I start repairing the weatherboards and rot in the studs.
In the meantime I was cutting our grass, and the ride on decided to go on strike. I have spent about two days cleaning the fuel tank and carburetor. It still does not run. I will need to get help from outside.
Saturday
15 August 2015
Nothing to report this week. I have spent a lot of time on the LED lights on the trailer, and then I picked up a cold. It took me some time to get over it. I stayed in the house all of Friday and today, Saturday. That is in spite of semi sunny days. It seems the weather is changing and hopefully most if our rain is something of the past. You will never know.
Sunday
9 August 2015
Now you can see what the inside walls look like. The first picture shows where the kitchen sink used to be. The second one is toward the outside wall where we had the fridges.
I must admit, since we opened the whole lot up, it has got much drier. And the rest of the house has got much colder. In some areas there are gaps of 8 mm between the weatherboards. I am still undecided about windows and doors. The latest line of thinking is to make a special sash window for the outer wall, but to make the lower sash only 100 to 200 mm high and to make it non opening. That will allow us to have a bed head underneath.
For the other side I intend to restore/ repair the old window that we took out where the large folding doors are now. I have done one in a worse condition before (in the bay window). One thing that I will definitely do is to box the weights in both windows, like I have done in Cambridge. It means a lot of work, but it means we wont need to rely on the architraves for weather tightness.
I had great aspirations to start building the floor, but that got delayed. With the new car we could not use the trailer (no tow bar) We went to Hamilton on Friday to pick up a new tow bar, and yesterday Hans sacrificed a whole day to look at our car and fit a tow bar. With the modern vehicles using LED's it took specialist knowledge to get that right. Now I am obliged to fit LED's to the trailer as well.
Never a dull moment!!!!
2 August 2015
Another week gone. We have managed to do the framing and insulation in front of the old fireplace. Then we routed the electrical wiring for five plugs. I don't want to run out of sockets. We have also fitted two sheets of plasterboard to that wall. Then we fitted the plasterboard against the internal wall, next to the door. It does not sound much, but there was a lot of work to get rid of rotten and unwanted timber.
I have also started work on a niche next to the fireplaces for the proposed gas water heater. That will take a lot of time. Currently I have only removed some short lengths of weatherboard. Now at least I have a crawlspace to get in there.
I have also started work on a niche next to the fireplaces for the proposed gas water heater. That will take a lot of time. Currently I have only removed some short lengths of weatherboard. Now at least I have a crawlspace to get in there.
This picture shows the wall between the original kitchen and the dining room The innsulation showing was fitted when we installed the large folding doors. The weatherboard showing was original and in the original colour.
From the last picture it is clear that the door to the old kitchen was cut from the original framing. I always had an idea that there has been a door originally. So we learn.
My rate of work has gone down a bit, I ascribe it to the wintry season.Elna is of invaluable help to me.
Sometimes I wonder if I am wasting my time. Only one person read the blog last week?
26 July 2015
The openings got closed, but what a job! The door sill had to be reinforced and then fitted. At the moment it creaks a little, but I will be able to put in a few more screws. At least we have a door between the old kitchen and the dining room.No more cold wind coming through!
We also had to tidy up outside. There was a pile of timber lying on the grass that has come from under the deck. By moving some other timber around, we managed to get all under cover. Elna helped a lot. That does not imply that we have processed all the old timber from the original deck. These have been lying on a pile next to the cookhouse for more than a year now. I am thinking to get a skip toe get rid if it. It takes a lot of time to cut up and store away as firewood.
I managed to remove the "sarking" boards from the western wall, de nailed them and put it away. Some time in future all of these can be used to replace the iron we have got on the Cookhouse.
This coming week I hope to build a recess next to the back to back fireplaces in which to eventually install a gas hot water unit. That will be a mess similar to the repair of the door frame.
We also had to tidy up outside. There was a pile of timber lying on the grass that has come from under the deck. By moving some other timber around, we managed to get all under cover. Elna helped a lot. That does not imply that we have processed all the old timber from the original deck. These have been lying on a pile next to the cookhouse for more than a year now. I am thinking to get a skip toe get rid if it. It takes a lot of time to cut up and store away as firewood.
I managed to remove the "sarking" boards from the western wall, de nailed them and put it away. Some time in future all of these can be used to replace the iron we have got on the Cookhouse.
This coming week I hope to build a recess next to the back to back fireplaces in which to eventually install a gas hot water unit. That will be a mess similar to the repair of the door frame.
19 July 2015
So it happened again. I had half a page of text and six pictures ready for publishing and lost it all.
Petrus did his last day on Thursday. He is taking up a new position. Without his help the kitchen would not nearly be to the standard it is now. We appreciate his voluntary work very much By special request, I include some more pictures of the kitchen
View of the corner pantry and fridge with the top of the centre island showing. We got nce roller blinds for the windows.
Petrus and myself started taking the old kitchen out. That was on Thursday. We also used the opportunity to buy some flooring boards and joists. The idea is to install a false floor 100 mm above the old kitchen floor with insulation to preserve heat.
Sorry, one picture should not have been there, but it shows a view from the dining room to the new kitchen before the last varnishing was done on the board dividing them.
We found that the door sill to the old kitchen was beyond repair, cracked and word. Petrus suggested replacing it. On Friday Jaco was here and we cut a perfect replacement, but just 500 mm too short. With the sill being 315 mm wide,it was difficult to find the right board. In the end I used a piece of oak and it looks well. When the old kitchen extension was made in the 1920's they didn't care much and we had to strip a lot of timber out to get to study timber. Now we have a hole of 350 by 850 mm wide to the under floor space, and we are also open to the cellar door frame. That will have to be closed in on Monday and insulation put in.
On Saturday we had a rain storm and it was impossible to walk to the sheds, so nothing much was done.
Petrus did his last day on Thursday. He is taking up a new position. Without his help the kitchen would not nearly be to the standard it is now. We appreciate his voluntary work very much By special request, I include some more pictures of the kitchen
Petrus and myself started taking the old kitchen out. That was on Thursday. We also used the opportunity to buy some flooring boards and joists. The idea is to install a false floor 100 mm above the old kitchen floor with insulation to preserve heat.
Sorry, one picture should not have been there, but it shows a view from the dining room to the new kitchen before the last varnishing was done on the board dividing them.
We found that the door sill to the old kitchen was beyond repair, cracked and word. Petrus suggested replacing it. On Friday Jaco was here and we cut a perfect replacement, but just 500 mm too short. With the sill being 315 mm wide,it was difficult to find the right board. In the end I used a piece of oak and it looks well. When the old kitchen extension was made in the 1920's they didn't care much and we had to strip a lot of timber out to get to study timber. Now we have a hole of 350 by 850 mm wide to the under floor space, and we are also open to the cellar door frame. That will have to be closed in on Monday and insulation put in.
On Saturday we had a rain storm and it was impossible to walk to the sheds, so nothing much was done.
12 July 2015
We had a roaring time. Marike came to visit for three weeks, and Anneke and Roger also came to visit. That was the main reason for moving the kitchen over.
I am proud to report that the kitchen is completed now, including splashbacks and a Kauri surround for the opening. Sealing that took a long time because I was afraid to make a mistake. Some of the pictures will still show the masking tape. Petrus did that in the week.
After Anneke and Roger have left, we tackled the fireplace. The front was done inm 1975 facebricks. We took most of it off, and decided to cover it up. Before we could do that, we had to put insulation on the dining room side . There are two fireplaces back to back.The old kitchen is very cold and we experienced a severe cold spell. I measured minus 1.7 outside last night
I decided that the door between the old kitchen and dining room is the highest priority, as the old kitchen is very drafty. We had some doors in storage, and suitably decided on the door we have removed from the new kitchen. Fitting it posed a bigger problem. not only was the door frame rotten, but the framing behind it as well. We have replaced both but it is unfinished at this stage. One of the panels of the door has been punched in, and I tried to follow expert advice: Remove the beading, take the panel out and glue together, refit. It turned out that the panel was recessed into the frame of the door. We had to cut it out with a Router and then glue it. The door has been hung but it will need removing to strip the paint and lacquer before final fit.
Next priority is to make a frame for the double doors that we had in storage. (Waar is Willie nou?)We have taken all the timber that was stored under the deck out and started cutting the timbers for the frame.
It seems I will have to change my priorities again, because I have nowhere to store the timber. I might need to fit a better roof to one of my sheds.
I do apologize for the long silence, but with family visiting and finger trouble on the computer to download pictures, things got out of hand
Fireplace in old kitchen
Elna working in the new kitchen
Bottom, "new" door to the old kitchen
I am proud to report that the kitchen is completed now, including splashbacks and a Kauri surround for the opening. Sealing that took a long time because I was afraid to make a mistake. Some of the pictures will still show the masking tape. Petrus did that in the week.
After Anneke and Roger have left, we tackled the fireplace. The front was done inm 1975 facebricks. We took most of it off, and decided to cover it up. Before we could do that, we had to put insulation on the dining room side . There are two fireplaces back to back.The old kitchen is very cold and we experienced a severe cold spell. I measured minus 1.7 outside last night
I decided that the door between the old kitchen and dining room is the highest priority, as the old kitchen is very drafty. We had some doors in storage, and suitably decided on the door we have removed from the new kitchen. Fitting it posed a bigger problem. not only was the door frame rotten, but the framing behind it as well. We have replaced both but it is unfinished at this stage. One of the panels of the door has been punched in, and I tried to follow expert advice: Remove the beading, take the panel out and glue together, refit. It turned out that the panel was recessed into the frame of the door. We had to cut it out with a Router and then glue it. The door has been hung but it will need removing to strip the paint and lacquer before final fit.
Next priority is to make a frame for the double doors that we had in storage. (Waar is Willie nou?)We have taken all the timber that was stored under the deck out and started cutting the timbers for the frame.
It seems I will have to change my priorities again, because I have nowhere to store the timber. I might need to fit a better roof to one of my sheds.
I do apologize for the long silence, but with family visiting and finger trouble on the computer to download pictures, things got out of hand
Fireplace in old kitchen
Elna working in the new kitchen
Bottom, "new" door to the old kitchen
Saturday
16 May 2015
Work has progressed well on the kitchen.We have moved over on Thursday. Now nobody can find anything. It is taking a while to get used to.
The electrics is connected, but I have not finished the gib stopping or the painting thereof. That also implies that we haven't stuck the splashback tiles to the wall. The glass splashback at the windows works fine, but also needs painting. The cover where we cut the wall will still take a while.
We have Marike visiting for three weeks and this weekend Anneke and Roger flew up to visit. Happy family and full house. It will be the first use of the old kitchen as a bedroom.
The electrics is connected, but I have not finished the gib stopping or the painting thereof. That also implies that we haven't stuck the splashback tiles to the wall. The glass splashback at the windows works fine, but also needs painting. The cover where we cut the wall will still take a while.
We have Marike visiting for three weeks and this weekend Anneke and Roger flew up to visit. Happy family and full house. It will be the first use of the old kitchen as a bedroom.
Sunday
3 May 2015
Sorry, the work happening now does not justify putting up
pictures.
We have finished the worktops and tiling on top of it. We started
doing the edging for the tops. That is being done in Kwila, a very tough timber
from East Timor . I have had it saved for a
long time, and now we had the opportunity to use it. works lovely. That will
hopefully be done in this week.
We also had another problem. The height of the units is
about 200 mm higher than the bottom of the windows. Just this last week we saw
a program on TV where they have installed glass to act as a splash back. We are
in the process of replicating that. For the remainder we have ordered white
tiles, 100*300 mm. And then the painting of the part of one wall. That is
not doen yet.
We are making good progress, thanks to the help from Petrus.
Without him it would have taken me much longer.
26 April 2015
The lighting was sorted out, and white melamine edging fitted to all units. Then I started the task to cut counter tops as bases for the tiles. I had to remove the hob again to mark it off for the cut out. It turned out that the corners of the room are not exactly square, so I had to try and trim one tile on the side. Needless to say, I scrapped the tile. Next, I tried cutting the cutout for the sink, and broke a tile. Afterwards, I cut one tile to go on the side of the hob. It took me 45 minutes. When I brought the tile in to check it, I realized that I have cut a nick in the surface, about in the middle of the tile. I was quite depressed. Thankfully Petrus turned up on Friday and together (with me leaning on the tiles with my elbows to prevent it to slip) Petrus cut all of the remainder of the tiles and pieces. Luckily we have bought a few spare tiles, so we had enough to play with.
The next task will be to screw the timber bases for the counter tops to the bases and also to remove a part pf the gib that I have already fitted to brace it from the back, otherwise the splashback tiles will not be properly secured.
There is still the edging for the tops and a large edge around the opening to the dining room. We are getting there, I reckon we could have it all finished in two to four weeks.
On Saturday we had ANZAC day, the commemoration of the Australian and New Zealand troops landing in Gallipoli in Turkey during the first world war. That was in 1915, so there was a lot of commemoration.
The next task will be to screw the timber bases for the counter tops to the bases and also to remove a part pf the gib that I have already fitted to brace it from the back, otherwise the splashback tiles will not be properly secured.
There is still the edging for the tops and a large edge around the opening to the dining room. We are getting there, I reckon we could have it all finished in two to four weeks.
On Saturday we had ANZAC day, the commemoration of the Australian and New Zealand troops landing in Gallipoli in Turkey during the first world war. That was in 1915, so there was a lot of commemoration.
19 April 2015
We picked up the tiles, and it looks swell. Petrus came to help again for a few days, and we finished the partition wall. Then we went over to the counter tops. It turned out that one of the kitchen units was wider than the others (must have been custom built) After Petrus left, I cut that unit down, and then realized that another one is too wide as well. I cut that down as well. I also realized that there is no excuse not to do the lighting, so the lamps against the wall were fitted. I have not had time to connect it to a switch yet. Hopefully Petrus will come to my rescue in the next week. We also started removing the original black edging and replacing it with white.
We had some serious rain on Saturday and measured 75 mm. Truly the beginning of winter.
We had some serious rain on Saturday and measured 75 mm. Truly the beginning of winter.
12 April 2015
I do apologize for missing a week. There just was not enough progress to report on.
We have decided to do the kitchen tops with tiles. It is something we have used before with great success. We went shopping locally, but could not find anything to our taste, so we went to Hamilton. There we found 600*600 tiles to our liking. It is very expensive but in the end it will be cheaper than to do a timber top, and that would need constant maintenance. We will pick it up on Monday.
Meanwhile, I was forced to work in the garden as well, mowing lawns and trimming edges. It is looking better now and we hope, with the colder period coming, that it will not require so much work. We have received 26 mm of rain in the last week, on top of 16 mm the week before.
The kitchen had me stumped for a while. I was not happy with the remainder of the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, so I took it all down and rebuilt it. It is not finished yet, but we think we now know where we are going. I also have to line the kitchen side of the wall, which means we had to remove some of the units that has already been leveled and screwed together. We also got adjustable feet for the island unit, and fitted them. It makes adjustment so much easier.
I have not done any more work on the dining room floor. It has got two sides done about 900 mm wide for easy passage when we do the rest.
We have decided to do the kitchen tops with tiles. It is something we have used before with great success. We went shopping locally, but could not find anything to our taste, so we went to Hamilton. There we found 600*600 tiles to our liking. It is very expensive but in the end it will be cheaper than to do a timber top, and that would need constant maintenance. We will pick it up on Monday.
Meanwhile, I was forced to work in the garden as well, mowing lawns and trimming edges. It is looking better now and we hope, with the colder period coming, that it will not require so much work. We have received 26 mm of rain in the last week, on top of 16 mm the week before.
The kitchen had me stumped for a while. I was not happy with the remainder of the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, so I took it all down and rebuilt it. It is not finished yet, but we think we now know where we are going. I also have to line the kitchen side of the wall, which means we had to remove some of the units that has already been leveled and screwed together. We also got adjustable feet for the island unit, and fitted them. It makes adjustment so much easier.
I have not done any more work on the dining room floor. It has got two sides done about 900 mm wide for easy passage when we do the rest.
The first picture is from the inside of the kitchen, two weeks ago.
The last two are from the dining room, showing the cut wall. We are planning to use the left over timber to extend the partition horizontally.
29 March 2015
Well, the "loving room" got sanded, as well as four boards of the dining room.That is intended to form a walkway to the kitchen when we do the dining room floor. Then we had to apply the "Woodoc" floor varnish. That took 3 coats, the last of which was at 8 pm. The next day we also sanded about 1 meter by the entrance door to the house, and also sealed that the next day. We have (temporarily) removed half of the wall to the new kitchen. Yesterday we moved the kitchen unit that will form the island over from the old kitchen. Looking good.
This coming week we have a few appointments, so I expect progress to be slower. The next task is to sand and seal the remainder of the dining room floor.
I haven't paid any attention to the countertops yet, it is a nightmare looming ahead.
This coming week we have a few appointments, so I expect progress to be slower. The next task is to sand and seal the remainder of the dining room floor.
I haven't paid any attention to the countertops yet, it is a nightmare looming ahead.
Sorry, it is not a good picture, but the others got lost somewhere.
22 March 2015
Well, the expected rain has not materialized. The South Island is getting rain, but very little here.
Petrus came and we built the oven unit and fitted a filler of about 70 mm to take up the space between the units. There was a spacer of 40 mm between the edge of the door and the edge of the cabinet, so it fits in as good as anybody can ask for.
I thanked Petrus for all his work, and set him free. I finished the drawer ends and fitted handles. We were lucky to get more of the same as the original black ones.
Petrus came and we built the oven unit and fitted a filler of about 70 mm to take up the space between the units. There was a spacer of 40 mm between the edge of the door and the edge of the cabinet, so it fits in as good as anybody can ask for.
I thanked Petrus for all his work, and set him free. I finished the drawer ends and fitted handles. We were lucky to get more of the same as the original black ones.
The wall on the last picture is towards the dining room. Half of that will be reduced to a convenient height. The counter tops will also need a lot of attention, but we have decided that the floors in the dining room and loving room will be our next priority. Think of me sanding away!
15 March 2015
We (Petrus and me) finished all doors and managed to fit all. We have made all of the drawer ends but have not fitted it yet. I have planned on using the current oven unit in the new kitchen, but found the oven sits too close to the hob, too high. (To take all measurements I had to remove the hob and oven in the "old" kitchen to take measurements. and refit the whole lot)
In the end I have decided to make a new unit. I have made all the panels but have not screwed it together. You have to keep in mind that Petrus comes three days a week, for which I am very grateful. For the remainder I must do the best I can on my own. I have also bought the proper electrical fittings for the new installation.
Saturday was spent on mowing lawns. There used to be a small patch of Kikuyu when we moved in nearly three years ago. It is encouraging to see it spread and take over the weeds. I think it has spread for about 3 meters. Only Paspellum grass remains a problem, but for that we have weed killer. I wish I had the time to attend to the garden, but that is on the back burner for now.
We had a dry spell since December, some of the fine lwan grass has even died off in patches. We are thankful for 20 mm rain on Wednesday, and we have a forecast for about 40 more as the side effect of a cyclone coming our way.
In the end I have decided to make a new unit. I have made all the panels but have not screwed it together. You have to keep in mind that Petrus comes three days a week, for which I am very grateful. For the remainder I must do the best I can on my own. I have also bought the proper electrical fittings for the new installation.
Saturday was spent on mowing lawns. There used to be a small patch of Kikuyu when we moved in nearly three years ago. It is encouraging to see it spread and take over the weeds. I think it has spread for about 3 meters. Only Paspellum grass remains a problem, but for that we have weed killer. I wish I had the time to attend to the garden, but that is on the back burner for now.
We had a dry spell since December, some of the fine lwan grass has even died off in patches. We are thankful for 20 mm rain on Wednesday, and we have a forecast for about 40 more as the side effect of a cyclone coming our way.
8 March 2015
I did manage to apply four coats of Woodoc varnish to the kitchen floor. The kitchen units are in place now, although not leveled out yet. Making such good progress on the floor, we discussed it and decided there is nothing to prevent us to finish the living room and dining room floors. The original idea was first to complete all building work before we start doing the floors. So I started sanding again, with the little orbital sander. I made good progress on the living room floor, about a third of the total, and felt quite good about it, until the sander packed up. It is not really intended for such heavy duty work. Well, I was forced to go and buy a new one. We also had a problem deciding how we can move between the old kitchen and our bedroom, passing through the dining room when the floors are wet. Petrus suggested why don't I seal a few boards to one side of the dining room. So the priority changed once again, I started sanding the first four boards of the dining room. The end result is that I have got a lot of work ahead of me. I have ordered some more Woodoc and hope it will be delivered in time for sealing the floor when the sanding is done.
I had the welcome help of Petrus in doing the kitchen Cabinet doors. We have made good progress on cutting and edging the doors, but we still need to trim most of them. Then the big task of fitting the hinges in exactly the right positions will follow. Thanks to Petrus who is very meticulous, I have all confidence that it will work out fine.
I had the welcome help of Petrus in doing the kitchen Cabinet doors. We have made good progress on cutting and edging the doors, but we still need to trim most of them. Then the big task of fitting the hinges in exactly the right positions will follow. Thanks to Petrus who is very meticulous, I have all confidence that it will work out fine.
1 March 2015
I have managed to cut and trim some melamine doors, but then the priority on getting the kitchen floor done became bigger. I started sanding the new kitchen floor. It turned out to be quite a job. I have been using the small orbital sander. That means that I don't cut grooves in the floorboards with the belt sander. Only problem is this machine vibrates a lot. My wrists could not take more than about an hour at a time. That meant that I spent all week sanding. I have not removed all blemishes, that is what gives the building it's character. On Tuesday I contacted our Woodoc rep in NZ, in Tauranga. Thursday morning I received the required two cans of Woodoc 25. And the price is 66% of the local product. All the units have now been removed, sitting in the dining room, and tomorrow I am planning to tidy up and start applying the varnish. Sorry, I am having finger trouble with the pictures, but is you use your imagination, you will see a room with a bare floor and a corner pantry in one corner.
22 February 2015
After some discussion, Elna admitted that she really preferred the White Melamine. So the decision was made to go for white. Barry/Barco offered to trim the edge tape that I have to put on the edges, I am too shaky to trim it properly. This week was spent on cutting up the boards to nearly the right size. After that I cut the edges accurately with the router. I have not gotten very far yet, maybe the coming week will show more progress.
We also started positioning the units against the walls. That works fine, we will only have a filler of about 50 mm on one side. The next problem is that I will have to move a unit that we have in the old kitchen over, and it is full of pots and pans! That will become a centre cabinet. We have not yet started thinking about the counter tops, maybe Rimu.
I think I have mentioned long ago that we fitted vinyl on the floor. When Ben was here, he gave it one look and told me that he thinks we should remove the vinyl and clean the floor and varnish it. I appreciate his advice and started removing the vinyl, but could not yet get myself so far as to tackle the floor It will take a lot of sanding and scraping. I must say it will be easier to do while I can still move the units around. That is a problem for another day, Let's first get the doors sorted.
We also started positioning the units against the walls. That works fine, we will only have a filler of about 50 mm on one side. The next problem is that I will have to move a unit that we have in the old kitchen over, and it is full of pots and pans! That will become a centre cabinet. We have not yet started thinking about the counter tops, maybe Rimu.
I think I have mentioned long ago that we fitted vinyl on the floor. When Ben was here, he gave it one look and told me that he thinks we should remove the vinyl and clean the floor and varnish it. I appreciate his advice and started removing the vinyl, but could not yet get myself so far as to tackle the floor It will take a lot of sanding and scraping. I must say it will be easier to do while I can still move the units around. That is a problem for another day, Let's first get the doors sorted.
15 February 2015
I found high gloss white melamine sheets from a dealer, and bought four sheets. now my problems started. I have an old table saw which has not been used in nearly four years. The it has stopped working because of a blunt cutting blade, and I left it in storage in one of the sheds. My newer and smaller table saw has developed a"wobble"in the blade. It will require replacing the bearings. Only tested it last week and found it was only the overload trip that has popped. Now I had to move the saw. Firstly I had to move the roofing iron that has been there for two years. Then I had to move my pile of usable scrap timber to the back of the shed. Next came the spare weatherboard in the shed. Only then could I move the table saw to where I used to have my workbench under the lean to. In the meantime the melamine sheetswere on the trailer under the new car port. With help that was done.With everything set up, Me and Elna moved the first sheet over, Quite a task for two oldies. We set a guide and cut it ti form a side panel for the corner pantry. Then I had to put edge strip on the edge and trim it down. It worked, but is not secured yet. Then followed the second panel and a filler at the top. From the off cuts I made the two doors required, and edged them as well.
Today we had visitors, and the general consensus was that we should retain the original wood grain doors with black edging. I will need to make 7 new doors and drawer faces out of the spare wood grain sheets and panels that I have. What I will do about the edging I don't know yet. I have got 100 meters of white edging! It will mean less work for me, and I would prefer to remove the black and have brown edging done by a joiner, but I don't know if he will be interested in such a small job. Time will tell.
Well folks, that has been my week.
8 February 2015
It took a while to get into "work mode". And then I must admit I do not achieve as much as I used to when I am doing tasks.
I did manage to build a carport at tie back of my sheds for Marike's car. That has been standing parked under a tree ever since we moved in. I had some left over curved roofing sheets left over from the build of the Veranda. I used those and steel channeling similar to our existing carport. In the end I spent no money on it at all. And I have managed to park the car there for one night!!!
We had to decide on our next priority, and we decided to tackle the kitchen next.We decided to remake all the doors of the kitchen units in white melamine. I went to town and bought four sheets of melamine board. Now that has to be kept under cover, so Marike's car was expelled. I have a feeling that I have previously built two carports with the intention of storing the car, and the same thing has happened (twice) I will also need to use the large table saw, so I cleared some boards and moved it out of storage. The place seems too small and I decided to get rid of my workbench under the lean to and move the saw table there. That implied moving the pile of usable timber to the back of the shed to enable me to move the saw bench around. I am making good progress, but it will still take a while. So that was our week, with the trailer with a load of melamine boards still under the carport.
I did manage to build a carport at tie back of my sheds for Marike's car. That has been standing parked under a tree ever since we moved in. I had some left over curved roofing sheets left over from the build of the Veranda. I used those and steel channeling similar to our existing carport. In the end I spent no money on it at all. And I have managed to park the car there for one night!!!
We had to decide on our next priority, and we decided to tackle the kitchen next.We decided to remake all the doors of the kitchen units in white melamine. I went to town and bought four sheets of melamine board. Now that has to be kept under cover, so Marike's car was expelled. I have a feeling that I have previously built two carports with the intention of storing the car, and the same thing has happened (twice) I will also need to use the large table saw, so I cleared some boards and moved it out of storage. The place seems too small and I decided to get rid of my workbench under the lean to and move the saw table there. That implied moving the pile of usable timber to the back of the shed to enable me to move the saw bench around. I am making good progress, but it will still take a while. So that was our week, with the trailer with a load of melamine boards still under the carport.
Thursday
29 January 2015
A whole month has passed, and nothing has been done on the house. We hav been on an extended tour of the lower part of the country and have enjoyed it immensely
I used the opportunity to study other period houses, primarily to decide what we are going to do with our front door. Will sleep on it for a while.
I also started work on an extra car port to get Mieke's car out of sight. I must say progress is very slow.
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