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.
Sunday
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..
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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