rainbows and aching muscles...
02.August.2007
Almost 3 weeks flew by and the short of it is that our slab foundation for the granny flat and workshop is done!
We managed to work nonstop - Here's the list after pouring the initial footings: laying the masonry blocks, mixing concrete with Guy Greener's mixer, filling the masonry block cores with concrete, building the formwork, laying trench and slab mesh, bending and wiring reinforcing, compacting and levelling the slab fill, organising both concrete deliveries and contractors for hire with juggling the weather and broken down cement trucks. That's why every muscle in our bodies ache. The weather has not been as bad as it could have been - only a few mornings were our fingers so cold we had to stop - get in the truck with heater on and warm our hands and gloves until the pain went away and we could move again. Graham was EXTREMELY precise in laying the masonry blocks... the first day I think we laid about 10 blocks, then each day after our speed doubled - but every block was to line and level (for amateur brickies). But the precision paid off, the slabs are level and true. The slabs are probably a bit more involved than originally intended... experimenting with an insulated slab, it meant two separate pours. This involved organising the crew, trucks, inspections and (weather) twice and somehow it all worked out. During construction of the forms for slab 1, we had fantastic double rainbows appear near sunset, and as the sunlight dimmed, the intensity of the rainbow increased. It keep getting brighter and brighter and we couldn't believe it. Kind of a special moment, like someone up there was saying,"stop and take a second to look around... now keep going, you're doing ok.." The last few weeks have been a bit of a marathon - late nights and early mornings, working everyday to stay on schedule.
We watched the weather forecasts religiously - and on the one day it wasn't supposed to rain AT ALL, we got 1 inch overnight. We didn't drape the tarps carefully that night and all the water went into the trenches... anyway we survived that sleepless night! The under soil is dry, so it soaks the water up fairly fast, but now we cover everything no matter what the forecasts say... Finished the block work and filled the cores with concrete - also added polystyrene foam insulation barrier between the two slabs. We're employing green building principles as much as we can, employing local contractors, supporting local businesses, and obtaining materials within a local region. Luckily, the insulation we needed for the second slab was located at a factory only 8km (5 miles) away from Franklin - Polyfoam in Castle Forbes Bay. They make polystyrene insulation boxes for the local salmon industry and they were the least expensive. We got a friendly spontaneous tour and when we saw the foam sheets to load - with aching muscle and no energy to lift another thing - it was a breeze to get them into the ute. A couple days before the final pour, "George" the goanna passed away... we think he had a good life and actually may have eaten a delicious piece of pear from Graham's lunch on his last day. During our work days, we often get visits from our next door neighbours Tony and Rachel and their two sons Max and Nathaniel - they loved to come up and see the goanna lizard - but now he's buried at his favourite spot with some red, yellow and orange poppy seeds we hope to see bloom in the spring! The cottage is modelled similar to the timber cladding of the local Wooden Boat Building School, so after the slab pours, we revisited it to look at the details before we start the framing in two weeks.
With the framing due for delivery in a week, we ventured to the big city of Hobart, to make final payment for the shed, get window quotes, replace the blade for the brushcutter and back-up chain for the chain saw and we managed to see Harry Potter in the theatre - BTW a good home DVD movie tip - Miss Potter with Renee Zellweger - EXCELLENT. On the way back from Hobart, we stopped in to see Guy Greener who's doing well and started drafting again. This is was a day of rest - we went to fix some tyre ruts in our road, but the showers got too heavy - so to the apartment to rest, relax and update...
The slabs need to cure for 2 weeks, so we'll be back to brush cutting and recycling the formwork timber: a couple saw horses, workbenches and water valve cover, we'll see! Then comes the framing of the cottage… stay tuned!
We managed to work nonstop - Here's the list after pouring the initial footings: laying the masonry blocks, mixing concrete with Guy Greener's mixer, filling the masonry block cores with concrete, building the formwork, laying trench and slab mesh, bending and wiring reinforcing, compacting and levelling the slab fill, organising both concrete deliveries and contractors for hire with juggling the weather and broken down cement trucks. That's why every muscle in our bodies ache. The weather has not been as bad as it could have been - only a few mornings were our fingers so cold we had to stop - get in the truck with heater on and warm our hands and gloves until the pain went away and we could move again. Graham was EXTREMELY precise in laying the masonry blocks... the first day I think we laid about 10 blocks, then each day after our speed doubled - but every block was to line and level (for amateur brickies). But the precision paid off, the slabs are level and true. The slabs are probably a bit more involved than originally intended... experimenting with an insulated slab, it meant two separate pours. This involved organising the crew, trucks, inspections and (weather) twice and somehow it all worked out. During construction of the forms for slab 1, we had fantastic double rainbows appear near sunset, and as the sunlight dimmed, the intensity of the rainbow increased. It keep getting brighter and brighter and we couldn't believe it. Kind of a special moment, like someone up there was saying,"stop and take a second to look around... now keep going, you're doing ok.." The last few weeks have been a bit of a marathon - late nights and early mornings, working everyday to stay on schedule.
We watched the weather forecasts religiously - and on the one day it wasn't supposed to rain AT ALL, we got 1 inch overnight. We didn't drape the tarps carefully that night and all the water went into the trenches... anyway we survived that sleepless night! The under soil is dry, so it soaks the water up fairly fast, but now we cover everything no matter what the forecasts say... Finished the block work and filled the cores with concrete - also added polystyrene foam insulation barrier between the two slabs. We're employing green building principles as much as we can, employing local contractors, supporting local businesses, and obtaining materials within a local region. Luckily, the insulation we needed for the second slab was located at a factory only 8km (5 miles) away from Franklin - Polyfoam in Castle Forbes Bay. They make polystyrene insulation boxes for the local salmon industry and they were the least expensive. We got a friendly spontaneous tour and when we saw the foam sheets to load - with aching muscle and no energy to lift another thing - it was a breeze to get them into the ute. A couple days before the final pour, "George" the goanna passed away... we think he had a good life and actually may have eaten a delicious piece of pear from Graham's lunch on his last day. During our work days, we often get visits from our next door neighbours Tony and Rachel and their two sons Max and Nathaniel - they loved to come up and see the goanna lizard - but now he's buried at his favourite spot with some red, yellow and orange poppy seeds we hope to see bloom in the spring! The cottage is modelled similar to the timber cladding of the local Wooden Boat Building School, so after the slab pours, we revisited it to look at the details before we start the framing in two weeks.
With the framing due for delivery in a week, we ventured to the big city of Hobart, to make final payment for the shed, get window quotes, replace the blade for the brushcutter and back-up chain for the chain saw and we managed to see Harry Potter in the theatre - BTW a good home DVD movie tip - Miss Potter with Renee Zellweger - EXCELLENT. On the way back from Hobart, we stopped in to see Guy Greener who's doing well and started drafting again. This is was a day of rest - we went to fix some tyre ruts in our road, but the showers got too heavy - so to the apartment to rest, relax and update...
The slabs need to cure for 2 weeks, so we'll be back to brush cutting and recycling the formwork timber: a couple saw horses, workbenches and water valve cover, we'll see! Then comes the framing of the cottage… stay tuned!