26 January 2014

In the end we have demolished all of the old decks, except for the temporary "new deck". We still need some area to use for a braai. Now we are working on new joists and bearers. It is amazing how much timber is needed.  The back and buttocks don't last, and progress is slow. I must say, I spent some time assisting friends on their projects as well during this week.

We have started to install Fibreboard to seal off the cold wintry wind that we are familiar with. It is intended to seal off the whole hose.

We have also learnt that rainwater is running under the house from the down pipes (spouting), instead of away from it. That will need some drainage pipes installed, but I want to get the framing finished first.

We have been in contact with the Totara decking supplier, and we did manage to buy the remainder to finish the eastern side. That should arrive about Wednesday. Looking at the cost of good timber from other suppliers, I think we will be using treated Pine on the other decks.

Since I have not much progress to report on, i thought to give you some pictures to look at!

19 January 2014

In the end we demolished the whole of the old deck and fitted 125 * 125 mm bearers, with 100 *100 joists. Looking good. We had to cut the piles to get a proper slope on the deck. As it were, the water was running toward the house in one end. Everything is crooked, the house itself slopes 45 mm over the width of the deck.

We cut the Totara timber we have, and contacted the supplier for 160 lengths more. Turns out he had a large order and sold most of the stock. We are hoping to get enough to finish the deck on the eastern side.
We will need to run them all through a thicknesser, as there is some variation in thickness.

We also demolished the last of the old deck on the street side. Once again, all timber will have to be replaced.

That was our week  in brief, not to mention sore backs and buttocks, but we got there in the end. Elna contributed a lot.

12 January 2014

Well, and did we have a roaring time! The two daughters came for a visit over Christmas, and we chilled out, built puzzles, had huge meals and did all of those nice things. It took a while to get up to steam again, with all the other happenings happening.

I had some time on my hands and built a carport from curved iron I had, and steel framing which I have bought a while back. Now the car can fit in there, and will not get marked by the birds.

We have applied for another grant to rebuild the decks. In the meanwhile, I discovered some Totara boards, 150 *25, that is the closest to the original we can hope to get. (The original deck was built with Totara) I ordered 20 to see if it is right, with the idea to order a further 140 if it shapes up. Guess where these boards ended up? Yes, under the carport!

We started demolishing the old deck by the current entrance. It turns out none of the original timber is salvageable. I bought some house piles, 125 * 125 mm to replace the bearers. The joists will be replaced by fence posts. 100*100. I am limited by the height of the original deck and the little storage room on the corner. The piles are still in a good condition.

Thinking of  it, I might just cut the timber piles 50 mm shorter, and remove and re position the concrete piles. That would allow me to use 150 mm joists. Nah.

22 December 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 December 2013

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

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

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

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

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

8 December 2013

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

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

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

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

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

30 November 2013

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

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

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

View from the street. Unfinished deck showing.

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

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

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

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

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