The fiddle is over… for now

Finally i have finished redoing things and have hit building mode. Yay! It was a busy last term of the school year so I haven't got a lot done in that time or had time to blog much. The main accomplishments were sistering up new rafters and battening the roof. The back skillion roof took ages to batten as i had to string line and shim out each batten on each rafter. It took ages and had lots of fiddle, but the end result is a straight and flat roof to line with plaster.

In the gable end it was a lot easier. I sistered up the rafters in two nights after school and battened them in one day. I am finding that with this part of the house it is impossible to hide the wonky shed. So this room will have a few interesting angles to it. I have ordered insulation and booked in the electrician and lighting consultant. 6 weeks before schools starts, with christmas and preparing for school next year i am unsure how much i will get done but i might finally finish the verandah and start the hearth for the fireplace. I love this part of the building.

Abigail at 11 months watching daddy work… 

The time consuming skillion roof. 

I have cut out a trench in my slab to get power to the island bench that will be there. 

My pond is GONE!

Well after nearly a year of debating between my pond and Heathers pool we finally came to the conclusion to knock in the pit. I was very sad to see it go.

The pit was part of the original structure of the apple shed. It was used as a pit to wash the apples. It was 1.8m x 4m x 3.5m. It was a big pit. I have been trying to salvage the heritage of this place since i have started but having such a big pit just outside your front door was a bit too dangerous for my liking so in came Trent Lovell, our digger, to knocked the whole thing in and tidy it all up. Must say one thing I am happy about is not having all the cement rubble out my front door!

Tragedy and blessings

Well it has been one heck of a school holidays... it all began with Brigham having a serious incident on the farm. So no building was done by me in the holidays as it was spent in hospital or helping Brigham. He is doing well and is in high spirits but will have to adjust to some changes in his life. We have been blessed by all the support and help we have received during this

But from tragedy comes blessings. We are so appreciative of all the support and help we have received during this difficult time. A big thanks to everyone. So again my 2 weeks of building looked like it was going by the wayside again due to injury however in came in some friends to save the day. I had a builder from my local church rally the troops and he put in two days work to strip, strap and weatherboard my back verandah which is what I had planned for these holidays. I am so grateful for all those who helped and assisted in this. They did a fantastic job and I will be eternally grateful for their kindness and sacrifice.

The other thing that happened in the holidays was the glazier finally came over and finished the job. The triangle is finally in and now I can start to clad the outside and finish the verandah.

The incident also coincided with my parents visiting from America! So my dad helped me tie down the bottom plate. Being sandstone we have had to drill 200mm into the stone and then anchor it with threaded rod and epoxy.

More glazing

Good things come to those who wait... so this must be really really good because i have been waiting for ever! It is great to see the front space evolve as the doors and windows go in. It has transformed from a shed into a room-to-be.

Some sound advice I found in a magazine at a doctors.... 

The third and final door is in!

Look what the glaziers are working on next : ) 

Sounds the trumpets the glazier finally arrived!!!

Well after 9 weeks of bated breath they have finally arrived! Well make it 4 years of bated breath. Since we began our cave dwelling experience we have dreamed of these doors going in. Today two were partially installed. The other one will be installed tomorrow and the gable (weather permitting) window frame installed and templates made to order the glass. Hopefully it doesn't take too long, I am want to finish the verandah. The trick will be to not break the glass with all the rest of the building to do, but it is 4mm toughened glass. Pretty amazing how tough that stuff is. All the doors and windows are double glazed and argon gas filled. So pretty good in letting in the radiant heat and stopping the convection heat out/in. I am like a kid at christmas.... do you think it would be appropriate for me to hug a grown man for installing my windows/doors? 

Framing up the gable window

Brett from B & T Glass

All it is missing now is a fireplace!

Window Frame!

The middle and diagonal bits of timber are the beginning of the gable end window frame..... How very very exciting... glazier called today said the glass arrived so the doors will be ready and installed next week! We are very excited. 

Verandah Photos

Hi, I found the verandah going up photos finally, they were hidden away on my phone. The hip was the tricky bit... good experience though, lots of trigonometry going on. Joining the three verandah together is going to be an interesting endeavour. I know I am going to have to redo the old verandah (later, much much later) so they can meet up : (

At last something to update!

Hello everyone,

Well the calf is on the recovery I am walking freely now but I am not jogging and the fingernail is half grown back! yea. I managed to get some work done on the last 2 days of the holidays, not much but I will take it. I had a great time chilling with the children though. With the two days I got the battens on my verandah, cleaned the work shed, fixed a bed and made the centre post for my gable end.  These are some photos of what I did last weekend. The doors will be ready to install in 1 to 2 weeks : ) Gable window... maybe a month.

Georgia helping sand the centre post

The temporary balcony I built on top of my verandah so I could remove the gable.

The view from the balcony

The beginning...

All the weather boards gone, now for the studs.

Ooooh I am excited to have a big window up there...

Angus paid me a visit : ) Temporary studs up

Bill gave his life for the temporary stud work. Thanks for all your help mate. 

All weather proofed until I am ready with the window frame