27 May 2012.
What happened just now reminds me of the joke about the computer user who had a problem. She called in a technician and he sorted it in a few seconds. She wanted to know what the problem has been? He replied:"It was an ID ten T error". She wrote it down to tell her friends: "ID10T" I nearly had my post finished, and accidentally touched a wrong key somewhere, and lost it all.
Now where were I?
Last week I said the window was nearly finished. We have removed the rotten frame and built a new frame, leaving the windowsill in place. Every night we put the sliding sashes back in to close the big hole. We had some broken or cracked panes of glass in the sashes, which obviously needed replacing. If bought new, they cost $ 57.
When we first saw the house in 2009, there were windows lying on the deck. In 2006 they installed one in place of a rotten one in the western wall. When we bought the place, the other was still lying there, with pieces of the rotted one as well. We put them in storage. Beginning to work on the windows, we learnt that the original ones were 40 inches, as opposed to 34 for the replacement ones. We also learnt that two panes could possibly be salvaged from the sashes that was thrown out. Now, my rate of success in removing old glass from wooden frames is nearly zero. But I have seen an tool advertised on TV which cuts with a vibrating action, like they used to remove plaster casts in the old days. These tools cost up to $ 260, but I bought a cheap one at $ 60. I managed to remove two panes from the old sashes, and all the broken and cracked ones from our window. In lifting one glass out of the frame, it just shattered in my hands. Well, one was still in the sash, and we had three more.
We sanded the sashes down, and repainted them all. Sometimes the humidity was too high outside, and we had to put them in the house and put a heater on. I fitted the new/old glass. We also installed the new sash cords.
As we had to refit the sashes every night, I learned that my frame was too narrow at the top. Luckily it was screwed together. I quickly removed the screws and refitted it a bit wider. Now it turned out it was too wide, and the frame was too tall. We would have a nice draught over the top. Next day I measured again, and cut back where necessary and reassembled the frame. Nice fit now.
At last we could start with the final assembly. We first fitted the top or outside sash, and it worked just fine. Next was the bottom one. I put it in position, and asked Elna to look for the weights while I went outside to fetch something. I heard a big crash. A gust of wind had blown the sash out, breaking tie only pane of glass that was not replaced. We stuck a piece of perspex over it, and installed the weights. Next we sealed all the air gaps between the timber architraves. Much better now.
I have been buying aluminium windows on Trademe to salvage the glass and try and cut it down About 50% success rate. On Friday I won an auction for two windows at $ 15.50. We went to pick it up yesterday, and it turned out it was a group of people converting a house into a church. When I explained what I was doing, the guy said they had a lot of glass, I could help myself. I got two more sheets of glass. I gave them $ 20, thus $5 each. The window is still not finished, but we are getting there, slowly.
Our two sheep were complaining about their grass. Totally unjustified, but they were bleating a lot. On Saturday afternoon we decided to put them each on a chain. It worked for about 30 minutes, they broke their collars, bad leather. Now they were running free in the yard. I have been planning to repair the street fence, since there is only three steel wires. Now it became a necessity. We put chicken fence against the wire, as a temporary measure. Tomorrow I will be doing some fencing again.We have a nice steel farm gate that should fit. We will not be moving over this week.
Never a dull moment
Bye
G&E
Sunday
20 May 2012
Tomorrow it will be one year since we took possession of the house. Our first night in the house was a few days later. Now, we had a target of one room every six months, disregarding or forgetting about the outside. We have nearly achieved that.
Our front room is sooo nearly finished. We finished painting the walls and now we are working on draught proofing the windows. We learned that the bay was definitely installed at a later stage. They re-used the original window and added two narrower windows, one on either side. Now, the original window was made of Kauri, and was riddled with borer. As soft as Weet Bix and broke in several places. It had to be repaired / replaced. The sliding sashes are OK, why I don't know. So I set out to remake the surrounding frame. Not as easy as it seems. I am more of a carpenter than a joiner, so everything takes a lot of time. Hopefully it will be finished some time this week. We have a forecast for the coming week of clear sunny days and frosty nights. I want to move over as soon as possible.
Marike notified us that she is coming to visit us in June, for a month. We need another bedroom. No pressure.
Just joking. she has slept in an Ice Hotel in Norway, so the Waikato climate should not be too bad.
Tomorrow it will be one year since we took possession of the house. Our first night in the house was a few days later. Now, we had a target of one room every six months, disregarding or forgetting about the outside. We have nearly achieved that.
Our front room is sooo nearly finished. We finished painting the walls and now we are working on draught proofing the windows. We learned that the bay was definitely installed at a later stage. They re-used the original window and added two narrower windows, one on either side. Now, the original window was made of Kauri, and was riddled with borer. As soft as Weet Bix and broke in several places. It had to be repaired / replaced. The sliding sashes are OK, why I don't know. So I set out to remake the surrounding frame. Not as easy as it seems. I am more of a carpenter than a joiner, so everything takes a lot of time. Hopefully it will be finished some time this week. We have a forecast for the coming week of clear sunny days and frosty nights. I want to move over as soon as possible.
Marike notified us that she is coming to visit us in June, for a month. We need another bedroom. No pressure.
Just joking. she has slept in an Ice Hotel in Norway, so the Waikato climate should not be too bad.
6 May 2012
The previous week, we had to do some repairs and maintenance to our Cambridge property. We replaced the bathroom ceiling. That was quite an effort. We cut the gib panels to size, and pre-painted them. On Wednesday Barco offered to help, and we managed to put the panels up. A little akward to move between the bath, vanity and toilet, but we made it. Then gibstopping, and gibstopping. and eventually painting the new ceiling. Finished at five on Friday and the new tenant started moving in at six. Thank God for the new tenant.
This week we had more gibstopping, in the bay room this time. We tried contacting two different gibstoppers, without success. Eventually I started doing it myself. The first layer is done, and on Saturday I started on the second layer. Obviously it first has to dry properly, then it has to be sanded before the next layer can be put on. If I hold the plastering trowel with two hands, I manage a sort of finish, because of my shaking. Will see if we eventually will need four or five sandings. The previous week we also managed to buy curtain rails and a curtain on a roll. The Ruffelette is already sewn on, and you buy it by the meter. We selected a plain pale green curtain with a gold speck in it. We had a minimum requirement of 9 meters, but the roll had 9.8, so we took it all. That is 2.4 m high. Will just fit.
We have a lovely fireplace in the room, dating from about 1920. We tested it by burning newspaper, and it seems to work. It is really intended for coal, because it is narrow, but we will be using wood. Imagine how nice it will be to lie in bed with a fire going next to us.
Till next time
The previous week, we had to do some repairs and maintenance to our Cambridge property. We replaced the bathroom ceiling. That was quite an effort. We cut the gib panels to size, and pre-painted them. On Wednesday Barco offered to help, and we managed to put the panels up. A little akward to move between the bath, vanity and toilet, but we made it. Then gibstopping, and gibstopping. and eventually painting the new ceiling. Finished at five on Friday and the new tenant started moving in at six. Thank God for the new tenant.
This week we had more gibstopping, in the bay room this time. We tried contacting two different gibstoppers, without success. Eventually I started doing it myself. The first layer is done, and on Saturday I started on the second layer. Obviously it first has to dry properly, then it has to be sanded before the next layer can be put on. If I hold the plastering trowel with two hands, I manage a sort of finish, because of my shaking. Will see if we eventually will need four or five sandings. The previous week we also managed to buy curtain rails and a curtain on a roll. The Ruffelette is already sewn on, and you buy it by the meter. We selected a plain pale green curtain with a gold speck in it. We had a minimum requirement of 9 meters, but the roll had 9.8, so we took it all. That is 2.4 m high. Will just fit.
We have a lovely fireplace in the room, dating from about 1920. We tested it by burning newspaper, and it seems to work. It is really intended for coal, because it is narrow, but we will be using wood. Imagine how nice it will be to lie in bed with a fire going next to us.
Till next time
22 April 2012
Yes, the impossible is still possible. Jaco, another church friend, expressed interest to learn Gibbing. I called on him and on Tuesday he came over and we got most of the Gib up. I just completed the last few bits. Now the room is done. The previous room took more than two months. Next will be Gib stopping, but if it turns cold, we might move in without that. Curtains will be our next priority. I am thinking of having a tube bent to fit the bay, but we will have to go window shopping.
Our tenant in Cambridge moved out, so most of our next week will be spent on minor repairs there.
Yes, the impossible is still possible. Jaco, another church friend, expressed interest to learn Gibbing. I called on him and on Tuesday he came over and we got most of the Gib up. I just completed the last few bits. Now the room is done. The previous room took more than two months. Next will be Gib stopping, but if it turns cold, we might move in without that. Curtains will be our next priority. I am thinking of having a tube bent to fit the bay, but we will have to go window shopping.
Our tenant in Cambridge moved out, so most of our next week will be spent on minor repairs there.
15 April 2012
What a week!
We finished painting the posts for the veranda. I also bought some timber for the horizontal beams and cut it to length. It is cut at an angle for better strength on the joint. We also cut the joist that goes against the wall. Those are all under our work veranda and clamped together so as not to warp.
We heard a rumour that our church group would be coming again on Saturday to do some work. So we decided, if it was raining on Saturday, we would find inside work. So I bought the plasterboard and insulation to do a full room, and we cleared the room and removed the skirting and architraves. That is the North Western room, the original lounge with the bay window. We will make that our bedroom for the time being. We have decided we don't want to experience another seriously cold winter in a drafty room.
Saturday turned up, a nice sunny day, as did our volunteers at 8:30. They even caught me before I was fully dressed! I decided on the spur of the moment that a warm bedroom is more important than a veranda, so we tackled the room. For those who don't know old New Zealand houses, the house is timber framed, with weatherboards outside. Efficient against rain, but with large gaps allowing wind to blow in and through the whole house. Large gaps in the flooring under the framing. The inside is lined with boards, (sarking) spaced about 10 mm apart, then there used to be scrim (hessian) and wall paper. That has been long removed. No insulation at all. We all pitched in and removed the sarking on the outside walls and most of the inside as well. I have decided to insulate the inside walls as well for sound proofing. First we made inserts to cover the gaps in the floor between the framing studs. Then we installed insulation (pink batts). All of these were big jobs. Then we proceeded to install the plasterboard. In some places 3,6 m long. Remember the ceiling height is 3.4 m. We managed to get all of the long boards up, except for one where the framework is rotten. That will need repair before the board can go up. By 6:30 we had a bunch of very tired volunteers, and two very happy residents. We don't see ourselves as owners, we are the current custodians of this old house.!!
We cannot begin to express our gratitude towards those families from our church group who so tirelessly and with good spirit worked so hard for our sake. Well done guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In this room we have the loveliest cast iron fireplace, with tile surround. We will have to make sure the chimney is on good repair before we start making a fire. I also did a temperature check, the "new" room is a full two and a half degrees warmer than the rest of the house. I must admit the sun is shining outside and there are no curtains.
Have a nice week.
What a week!
We finished painting the posts for the veranda. I also bought some timber for the horizontal beams and cut it to length. It is cut at an angle for better strength on the joint. We also cut the joist that goes against the wall. Those are all under our work veranda and clamped together so as not to warp.
We heard a rumour that our church group would be coming again on Saturday to do some work. So we decided, if it was raining on Saturday, we would find inside work. So I bought the plasterboard and insulation to do a full room, and we cleared the room and removed the skirting and architraves. That is the North Western room, the original lounge with the bay window. We will make that our bedroom for the time being. We have decided we don't want to experience another seriously cold winter in a drafty room.
Saturday turned up, a nice sunny day, as did our volunteers at 8:30. They even caught me before I was fully dressed! I decided on the spur of the moment that a warm bedroom is more important than a veranda, so we tackled the room. For those who don't know old New Zealand houses, the house is timber framed, with weatherboards outside. Efficient against rain, but with large gaps allowing wind to blow in and through the whole house. Large gaps in the flooring under the framing. The inside is lined with boards, (sarking) spaced about 10 mm apart, then there used to be scrim (hessian) and wall paper. That has been long removed. No insulation at all. We all pitched in and removed the sarking on the outside walls and most of the inside as well. I have decided to insulate the inside walls as well for sound proofing. First we made inserts to cover the gaps in the floor between the framing studs. Then we installed insulation (pink batts). All of these were big jobs. Then we proceeded to install the plasterboard. In some places 3,6 m long. Remember the ceiling height is 3.4 m. We managed to get all of the long boards up, except for one where the framework is rotten. That will need repair before the board can go up. By 6:30 we had a bunch of very tired volunteers, and two very happy residents. We don't see ourselves as owners, we are the current custodians of this old house.!!
We cannot begin to express our gratitude towards those families from our church group who so tirelessly and with good spirit worked so hard for our sake. Well done guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In this room we have the loveliest cast iron fireplace, with tile surround. We will have to make sure the chimney is on good repair before we start making a fire. I also did a temperature check, the "new" room is a full two and a half degrees warmer than the rest of the house. I must admit the sun is shining outside and there are no curtains.
Have a nice week.
8 April 2012
We had rain forecast for the last week, so I pushed for the joists for the deck. In the end we had a lovely sunny week and I kept on working on the deck. The decision was made to extend the deck for the full southern side. This is the side visible from Grey Street. Previously we wanted to do it only partially. We also had to decide on the width, because where we stopped in December, the deck went wider by 300 mm. We decided to do all of the new deck on the narrower width. There was a problem though. The height of the old deck would be 50 mm higher than the new one. After much deliberation, I cut the outer edge of the old deck off, and went past it. I removed two thirds of the joists we put up in December, and replaced it with a stronger joist, 100*100 as opposed to 100* 75 laid flat. I had to notch some of the bearers and gradually changed the height. Now we have all the joists on the outer side up, as well as the joists against the wall. That done, now at last we can continue on the posts. No decking boards though, we have not got money for that now. Once we have the veranda posts all finished, we can put the posts and lintol up. only held in place by a few ties.
Remember we have two lambs. One of them got attacked by blowfly (brommers). The wool was quite long and they burrowed into the wool to lay their eggs on the skin. I have never seen this before, normally it happens at the back end where it is wet and clogged. First one side, so we cut the wool and treated it, then the other, but they kept at it. We tried to get a shearer to shear them, with no luck. It is shearing season and everybody is busy. On Saturday Barco (Barry) and Jeamien offered to help. He has got a pair of hand shears for the garden, and we sharpened that and fired away. The ladies started from the front end with kitchen scissors. In all it took us about 3 hours to shear two sheep, but now the job is done and the infestation is treated and the lamb feels much better. I built a platform from scaffolds to put the sheep on. My job was to hold the sheep down, very important, Yes? We also used purple disinfectant, now Snowy has become purply.
Have a blessed Easter
We had rain forecast for the last week, so I pushed for the joists for the deck. In the end we had a lovely sunny week and I kept on working on the deck. The decision was made to extend the deck for the full southern side. This is the side visible from Grey Street. Previously we wanted to do it only partially. We also had to decide on the width, because where we stopped in December, the deck went wider by 300 mm. We decided to do all of the new deck on the narrower width. There was a problem though. The height of the old deck would be 50 mm higher than the new one. After much deliberation, I cut the outer edge of the old deck off, and went past it. I removed two thirds of the joists we put up in December, and replaced it with a stronger joist, 100*100 as opposed to 100* 75 laid flat. I had to notch some of the bearers and gradually changed the height. Now we have all the joists on the outer side up, as well as the joists against the wall. That done, now at last we can continue on the posts. No decking boards though, we have not got money for that now. Once we have the veranda posts all finished, we can put the posts and lintol up. only held in place by a few ties.
Remember we have two lambs. One of them got attacked by blowfly (brommers). The wool was quite long and they burrowed into the wool to lay their eggs on the skin. I have never seen this before, normally it happens at the back end where it is wet and clogged. First one side, so we cut the wool and treated it, then the other, but they kept at it. We tried to get a shearer to shear them, with no luck. It is shearing season and everybody is busy. On Saturday Barco (Barry) and Jeamien offered to help. He has got a pair of hand shears for the garden, and we sharpened that and fired away. The ladies started from the front end with kitchen scissors. In all it took us about 3 hours to shear two sheep, but now the job is done and the infestation is treated and the lamb feels much better. I built a platform from scaffolds to put the sheep on. My job was to hold the sheep down, very important, Yes? We also used purple disinfectant, now Snowy has become purply.
Have a blessed Easter
1 April 2012
We became world famous in Kihikihi this week! The local paper, the Courier, ran a front page article about us and the house. It was very accurate and sympathetic. All the townspeople we saw commented on it. Let us hope we will not disappoint them.
The idea is not that you should try reading the article, just to prove I am not lying! There is a continuation on page 5 and more photos.
The kitchen shelves were finished. In the end I spent about two days on them and it makes a big difference for Elna. Why haven't I done them long ago?
I managed to repair all the old veranda posts, and on Saturday (Anneke and Matt were here) Matt pushed me a bit and I managed to finish sanding 15 of the 27 posts, and Matt graciously painted them for me. Hopefully we can finish the posts this coming week. Then we will tackle the deck.
Until next week
We became world famous in Kihikihi this week! The local paper, the Courier, ran a front page article about us and the house. It was very accurate and sympathetic. All the townspeople we saw commented on it. Let us hope we will not disappoint them.
The idea is not that you should try reading the article, just to prove I am not lying! There is a continuation on page 5 and more photos.
The kitchen shelves were finished. In the end I spent about two days on them and it makes a big difference for Elna. Why haven't I done them long ago?
I managed to repair all the old veranda posts, and on Saturday (Anneke and Matt were here) Matt pushed me a bit and I managed to finish sanding 15 of the 27 posts, and Matt graciously painted them for me. Hopefully we can finish the posts this coming week. Then we will tackle the deck.
Until next week
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