This will be our last entry in the blog. I have been advised by my trusted GP that it is now time for me to take things easier. Well, we have heeded her advice and we have sold the house at the auction on 6 October. Deposit paid and contracts exchanged. We will be moving into our new (little) place on November 3.
The new people are be very enthusiastic about the villa, and we trust that they will compleste the restoration task.
We started packing this week.
We have enjoyed living in the house and enjoyed the work restoring her.
So, this is Gary and Elna signing out.
Sunday
Friday
16 September 2016
You will realise that not much has been going on on the house. The reason is that my health has been failing and I do not have any energy left to work.
The end result of this is that we have decided that it is time to move on. We will be selling the house on auction on 6 October, and we have already secured a spot in a retirement village in Te Kuiti. That is about 40 minutes drive to the south
We trust that the new owners will love the old house as much as we did, and complete the unfinished work
The end result of this is that we have decided that it is time to move on. We will be selling the house on auction on 6 October, and we have already secured a spot in a retirement village in Te Kuiti. That is about 40 minutes drive to the south
We trust that the new owners will love the old house as much as we did, and complete the unfinished work
Sunday
7 February 2016
Well, I am retired, am I not?
That however, is no excuse. Since the Christmas holidays, It took quite a while to build up enough steam to start working again.
The first order was to try and do the finishing touches on the bathroom we have done about 2 years ago. We added tiles around the bath. We also had to do some more work on the vanity. That is still awaiting painting.
I also removed the sliding door to finish it off. It was painted on the inside, and I have decided it should be varnished. The stripping took quite some time. The beading around the panels were badly borer eaten, and I ended up removing it all to clean and replace where necessary. Fortunately I had a spare door in the cellar for a donor.
One thing leads to another. The jumble of timber stored everywhere led me to call a halt to all work and to start tidying up. First in line was the large pile of mostly scrap timber as removed from the old decks, still lying outside by the cookhouse. That in itself took a week. Now I have my firewood storage tank overflowing. I salvaged some beams (Totara mostly) that can still be used after 100 years of exposure to the elements.
I am also spending time to advise and help friends on their projects. We have a new neighbour around the corner, and she has got lots of ideas and no labour. I tried doing the advise part, but I am getting more involved in the building part. That takes some time.
Lastly, my energy levels are steadily going down, that means fewer hours of work and less efficiency.
Well, now I have used up all my excuses
\
That however, is no excuse. Since the Christmas holidays, It took quite a while to build up enough steam to start working again.
The first order was to try and do the finishing touches on the bathroom we have done about 2 years ago. We added tiles around the bath. We also had to do some more work on the vanity. That is still awaiting painting.
I also removed the sliding door to finish it off. It was painted on the inside, and I have decided it should be varnished. The stripping took quite some time. The beading around the panels were badly borer eaten, and I ended up removing it all to clean and replace where necessary. Fortunately I had a spare door in the cellar for a donor.
One thing leads to another. The jumble of timber stored everywhere led me to call a halt to all work and to start tidying up. First in line was the large pile of mostly scrap timber as removed from the old decks, still lying outside by the cookhouse. That in itself took a week. Now I have my firewood storage tank overflowing. I salvaged some beams (Totara mostly) that can still be used after 100 years of exposure to the elements.
I am also spending time to advise and help friends on their projects. We have a new neighbour around the corner, and she has got lots of ideas and no labour. I tried doing the advise part, but I am getting more involved in the building part. That takes some time.
Lastly, my energy levels are steadily going down, that means fewer hours of work and less efficiency.
Well, now I have used up all my excuses
\
Thursday
24 December 2015
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
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
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.
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