20 July 2014

After a long period of inactivity, we rented a "Gib lift" and got Barco to assist. We managed to fit all three of the ceiling panels, as well as the one over the nook formed by the new bathroom wall being moved. We also fitted the Gib on that side.

Next we secured the lintel where the serving hatch will go. Suddenly I realised that we have never secured the studs on the other side, and the Gib is fitted now. Luckily we have a space from 2 m height to 3.4 m  height which was built for access. I removed one of the sarking boards there and secured the studs.

We also started planning the positioning of lights, and had to lay wiring for that. That was easy with the sarking removed, but where the stove will be, we had to remove a Gib panel and lay the wiring.

The next job was to fit the last of the 3.5 m Gib panels, over the lintel where the hatch will go. With a lot of help from Above, Elna and myself managed that. We had to lift it 2 m. That is screwed down now.

Saturday I bought half rounds to replicate the original, and some cleats fir the corners, also as per the original. The plan was to start painting those, but the grandchildren came over and Shaun has been dreaming of a "box car" (kaskar). We selected material and designed the thing, and after he  left I welded a frame. That meant that my work wad not done.

13 July 2014

I have decided it is well time for the new kitchen to get attention. I commandeered Jaco to assist me, and we added battens to the old ceiling, The ones I fitted way back were not secure enough. the new ones are 40 *40 mm and screwed to the beams with 100 mm screws. I rented a gib lift and Barco assisted and the boards were fitted easily. I realised I cannot continue to do work on the cornices and half round battens (strips) before all the walls are done. That means I will need to cut the serving hatch and remove the door, as planned. It will also mean I cannot close the door on the job when I do not feel up to it.

Saturday was a very rainy day and I called on Jaco so we could work on his door and door frame he want to fit in his garage to change it to a play room for the kids. That is nearly done now.

Our article did appear in the paper, see attached

6 July 2014

We have had a lot of rain and rainy weather this past week. That meant that the work output as accordingly very low.

One day we had a litlle sunshine, and I managed to cut the grass, hopefully for the last time this season.

We did manage to clean all the architraves for the patio door, stain/varnish them and cut it to the right sizes. On all three sides we had to join the timber. In the end all was fitted and looks very nice.

We also removed the broken cement floor insert in front of the now closed fireplace in the lounge, and replaced that

I did manage to start work on the inspection door into the ceiling in the 'new" kitchen. That has been omitted during the lat work done there.

sorry for such an uninteresting report, but that's all folks!

29 June 2014

I have taken a break after the rush to get the doors finished.

Firstly, I needed to upgrade my computer, and ended up with a new box and Windows 8.1  I made a mistake, everybody I spoke to says I should have gone for 7. VERY steep learning curve!

I also had to do a new WOF on our car to stay road legal, that took some time to fix a torn CV boot.

We had plenty of rain this month, and the profiles that will go around the door on the inside (the architraves), was paint stripped, and would not dry properly. As a last resort, I  put them inside next to the fireplace. The last few bits are to be sanded, and then the process of cutting and joining the bits will start.

On Saturday I invited our grandson over to help me tidy up with all the rubbish lying around. That was done sweetly.

We have taken pictures of the outside of the patio door. This also shows the deck and veranda. Nice northerly aspect.

15 June 2014

Yes, we have made the first three years! Originally we have set ourselves a target of one room per year. We forgot about the outside. To date, we have done the front room, which is our temporary bedroom, and the living room with the dining room, and I nearly forgot about the bathroom! We have also done some work on the new kitchen to be. On the outside we have repainted 80 % of the outside walls, rebuilt the decks. I think we are about on target.

We did manage to sand and paint the interior wall by the patio door, and stain / varnished the Rimu door frame that Willie helped build a year ago. It blends in perfectly with the original stain on the doors and skirtings. We also sanded the rod for the curtains. I made it myself and it was a bit rough. I was not prepared to pay the price for a new one. I cut a plastic pipe in half, stuck a piece of sandpaper inside it, and got it as nice as a baby's arm ( no, not that part). That was also stain/ varnished as before.All four of the curtains we have been given are up now. The outside of the doors got a lick of paint in anticipation of a visit from the local newspaper on Tuesday.

Sorry, visually there is not enough progress to justify a picture.

8 June 2014

YES! The grant for the deck has been paid out. We are very thankful to the Council and to our Lord. Everything worked out just fine.

We had a nice surprise on Thursday? Steve, a mate from Hamilton who we got to know through Peet, turned up to have a look at our progress. He follows the blog. It was nice to be able to show him around. And then he had a surprise for us. He had a lot of nails and screws and Rimu timber in surplus, and kindly gifted that to us. Thanks again Steve!

We had a lovely sunny week, and I realised that I have to clear grass in the garden. I spent two days spraying weedkiller in anticipation of cultivating the veggie patch. It has had very little attention during the last summer.

We have done some Gib stopping on the inside wall by the patio door, but it is not finished yet. We have decided to stain/varnish the Rimu door frame. That will have to be done before the architraves goes up.

Talking of the architraves, we have hunted around among our hoard and found (hopefully) enough to do the inside. We are in the process of cleaning it, with scrapers, heat gun, paint stripper. The final stage will be sandpaper before we stain/varnish them. On the outside we will be using smooth board.

We have been to Hamilton and bought the material for a roman blind behind the fancy curtains. That will help keeping the place warm in winter. We will be making that only after the other work is done.

Another week and we will be in our "new" house for three years now. It is VERY interesting to go back to the beginning and revisit where we started.

25 May 2014

The most important news is that the people from council has been here on Friday, and they are happy with the work we have done. That implies we will be getting our grant in due time. Thank you Lord for all your mercies!.

Remember our camera failed, and we had to replace it. Some people could not wait for the latest pictures, so they had a sneak preview.

Both pictures were taken from the inside, the first one before all the glass was fitted. The white thing to the right is a light switch. The second picture gives an indication of the amount of light we are getting. Lovely.

The doors are double folding, and works very well. On the left hand from the inside, they fold flat against the wall, thanks to the parliament hinges we have used. On the other side it folds nicely against the opposing wall

Please!!!, don't think the job is done now, there is still a lot of work to be done. Last night we had a rainstorm with wind, and it is amazing the amount of wind that came in between the post on the right of the top picture and the wall. It will certainly need sealing. We also have to fit architraves on the inside and out. Did I mention that the glass was bedded in but not finished from the outside. The Gib stopping also awaits me.

On Friday afternoon we went to Hamilton to look for curtains. We will need them to cover 3.5 m wide and 2.6 m  tall. Quite a hefty bill!! It has to be made on order and the making fee is twice that of the material.