The Build - Wk 16

This week all the remaining house rafters went up, along with the rafters for the carport.  The beam around the outside posts got put on and bolted into place.  Blocking out between the roof rafters at the perimeter of the house was done and along with the cement sheeting for fireproofing.  Also Ray moved all the clay that we will use in rendering onto big sheets of plastic for it to dry out.  We think there is around 60 tons of clay!  That’s a lot of rendering….

Coming up next week will be all the preparation work to enable the tin roof to go up the week after.

...the container...

With our extra helpers on site this week, we took the opportunity to open the 40ft container on Monday morning.  To our relief not a thing had moved out of place… we didn’t know if anything would come out to greet us, but nothing had shifted!  We managed to unload all the furniture and nothing was damaged, so now it’s important we keep it under wraps in the shed, so it doesn’t get damaged there.  The process of unloading all the boxes and bikes will happen over the coming weeks.

The Build - Wk 15

A huge amount achieved this week, despite the short week. We had extra helpers on hand this week – yay!  Antony, Graeme’s brother, and Ian, our good friend, flew in from Sydney on Tuesday morning to what was a very cold day.  I took them via the hardware to purchase some gloves so their hands would not freeze!  No sooner had they arrived to our property, they were on site with tool belts and flannie shirts ready to go.  During the week all the posts and beams were securely drilled, the verandah joists were put up, the major roof beam was put in place and the rafters were fitted. Also the roof hips were put in place and we really needed the extra manpower to lift these.  As we were not using prefab roof trusses, the builders had to nut out all the complex angles on the bird mouth notches for the hip joists. So the job required not only braun, but brains.  Now it is easy to see the shape of the roof to come. 

Danny Vonk, our plumber was on site all week putting all the pipes and drains in place in all the wet areas.  The weather warmed up as each day rolled in and by the end of the week our city slickers both had sunburn!  Their help was very much appreciated and we were glad we were also able to offer them lots of lovely Tassie food and beverages J

The container...

A life in a box...the container has finally arrived after months down at the Hobart docks.  It was quite surreal seeing such a large truck arrive containing all the things that we have lived without for almost six month…begs the question.  Unfortunately the container is not without damage to two sides and we won’t really know what has been damaged until we open it and start to unpack everything…a daunting prospect in itself.

The Build - Wk 14

Lots of preparation for pitching the roof this week…joists have been cut for the roof and for the verandah ready to go once the beam arrives on site.  Scaffolds around the central posts are now in place and the posts have been cut to size to fit the roof.  Also lots of time was spent drilling holes to anchor posts around the verandah. 

On Friday night we had strong winds and on Saturday we discovered that the framing for the carport was blown to the ground, despite all the bracing!  No major damage, but we are becoming more aware of the very strong winds up this way.  A short this week and next due to Easter.

The Shed - watertanks

A few weeks ago the two 10,000 litre water tanks were installed behind the shed. With all the wind we have been having lately, we paid to have them partially filled so they wouldn’t blow away…then it rained overnight. Sods law!!

The Build - Wk13

All the internal wall framing is finished.  This week was spent placing the ceiling joists in the rooms with conventional ceilings, ie: kitchen and the bathrooms and bedrooms.  All the celery top pine verandah posts were also put in place around the house.

This next week will be spent pitching the roof…