Grand Designs Downunder

A Covid Project...

2020-07-01T13:55:00.000+12:00

While we were in lock-down we created some light entertainment to keep busy.
So in the meantime, between our exercise routine of, walking the dog, cycling around our little village of Martinborough and gardening - At one stage I thought our section would end up looking like a set for 'The Good Life' I started up my trusty CAD program, and this is the result.
The project a bedroom, it had been proposed for a while the only challenge we couldn't get started until we got down to level 3, that's when we were able to get deliveries from our local timber merchant and hardware store (Mitre 10).

The doors were extremely heavy and big, so we had to construct them upstairs, they're made of 2 standard 2100 doors glue together using a MDF batten system to hold them together,
probably a bit over-engineered but they turned out quite well.
The fitting was a bit exciting hooking the 80kg door on to the overhead runner.

The Finishing Touches

2020-04-27T11:47:00.001+12:00

Another job completed, the last coat of oil on the Cedar cladding.
All quite safe using the movable scaffolding, although its quite a long way to the ground, Sue completed the operation with one hand, the other holding on...

A View From The top

2020-04-18T15:59:00.002+12:00

To trim the hedge I have built a walkway along the top which is removable so I can move very carefully along the top with the hedge trimmer.

The Hedge or the Fence?

2020-04-07T21:46:00.003+12:00

Our section or block, is surrounded by hedges, Horn-beam, English Beech and Leland Cypress, the Leland is on the road side and had the original 5 wire farm fence which was well past its use-by date, no stock had been near it for at least 18 years.

It had chicken wire along the road side to stop our dog from straying - all very glamorous.
But first we had to remove the concrete posts which was a bit of a challenge they had been in the ground for probably 25 years, and were not designed to move, plus they were a tad heavy.

So I had to resort to a Heath Robinson system using a 2500kg jack to lift the posts, using some old chain, some lumps of wood and - 'It worked' not the drama I was expecting.
Each post took both of us to lift, about 60kg each - there were only six...
Now to be re-purposed as edging for the drive.

I had organised our local contractor to help with the removal, using one of there loaders to do this but what with the Covid 19 lock down, we weren't going to see them for at least another 2 months.

After we had cleared the fence it all look very park-like, so decided to leave it open, The problem was to keep the dog in, Mrs DIY came up with the perfect solution, a fence on the inside, made with some reinforcing mesh that we had purchase for a garden structure.

So while I was on the other side Mrs DIY built the 'dog fence',

Covid-19 Total Isolation - Day 2 - Fending Off Boredom

2020-03-28T15:47:00.000+13:00

Hurrah, I've done it, I have my blog back, for some reason I couldn't get in to add new posts.
So as we now in total isolation with Covid-19 and it's a raining and we have cleaned dusted cleaned again, fed the dog, been soaked 2 times taking the dog for a walk, washed by hands for the 40th time disinfected all the door handles.
Made our 5th cup of tea, I settled down to finding out why I couldn't make my blog work.
Well it was really simple fix (wrong address) Duh!!
I will continue to update and share some of our confinement adventures...

Charlie

The End - almost...

2019-03-01T11:40:00.001+13:00

The build of the house is now complete with only the veranda and deck to complete together with the landscaping.
We had the hopefully the last delivery of timber yesterday which is sitting on our summer sun ravaged back lawn waiting for me to start work on the veranda/deck construction. the posts are so heavy as they have just been milled and have not dried out completely.
It is going to be a challenge putting them in place as there's only 2 of us to lift them into place, so I will have to work out some interesting way of placing them.

The 150 x 150 x 3000 Posts

Here are a couple of views from inside our Barn.

The void and the 4.500 high window

From kitchen to living room

Frame Constructed

2018-01-26T11:14:00.002+13:00

The frame is now completed with the roof trusses in place, all done by the 2 master DIY builders...

The build has been a little difficult due to the weather, not rain but too much sun.
We have been having some very high temperatures of between 30 - 34 deg, and humidity of around 40% a great way to get a tan but a little unpleasant to work in.

It was an interesting exercise putting up the frames at height, we had a crane lift them up to the top floor, then very carefully moved them by hand around to there correct positions.
Its a bit more reassuring when you are surrounded by scaffolding, still a bit scary.
We fixed them all in place and then hired another crane to lift the roof trusses -so we could move them along to to there appointed positions,
A real challenge with no help, only the 2 of us.but we did it!

Sue fixing the metal truss plates so the roof wont fly away.

We are just waiting for the building inspector to OK the work, so we can start with the first stage of cladding, which is to fix the outside bracing plywood then the install the roof.
The windows are ordered and should be here in 2 weeks.
Our kitchen which is coming from Germany is due to arrive in 3 weeks, so no pressure...
We will have to put it into storage while we finish the inside of the house.

More Progress

2017-12-12T07:17:00.000+13:00

The house is now moving along, with the floor insulation being installed.
The insulation was a mission as I had made an error in the joist layout so we had to cut almost every sheet of polystyrene to make it fit, I looked like a snowman when I finished.

As you can see the frames are being placed, they are very heavy but they are now all in place with the help of our next door neighbour who gave the 2 of us a hand for the very heavy ones.
The next step is to complete the installation of the lintels and then the upper floor joists and floor.

Pile Driving

2017-11-21T13:02:00.001+13:00

At last the pile driving man has arrived.
The piles were driven by a half Tonne ram most of the piles are 2.5 - 3 meters into the site.
The new house is not going to be going anywhere...

Now we can continue with the rest of the build,
We have all the materials on site, so I have no excuses.

Frame Delivery

2017-10-26T11:36:00.000+13:00

Now all I need to do is assemble it...

The good thing is, all the sections are numbered and a set of instructions showing the frame position are included.

Ground-floor Sub-Frame

2017-10-24T12:24:00.000+13:00

This blog is a great way of keeping a diary on the build.

Spent the last 2 days fixing the floor joists to the bearers,fixing them with 12Kn connectors.
The pile ends and all cuts have been coated with a timber preservative.(that's the green stuff)
Although we couldn't complete the entire ground floor due to the problem with the soft ground, today I have had notice that the Producer Statement from the Geo Engineer had been completed and we should have it tomorrow.
Great news we will now be able to get a pile driver to complete the foundations and we will be full steam ahead...
The frames are due for delivery this week, so we will need to store them until the ground floor is completed.

Double perimeter joist to support the wall

Site Clearing

2017-10-10T10:34:00.000+13:00

As some light relief from waiting for the new pile requirements are completed, 3 large logs that I was going to mill have now been turned into firewood!
I had a number of attempts at getting someone to cut them into posts but no one was interested in doing the work, so now I have converted the cedar logs into firewood.
Spent the weekend cutting and splitting.
Now have 3 years supply of firewood..

The Foundations Continued...

2017-10-02T13:48:00.002+13:00

While we wait for the solution to the soft ground foundation repair I decided to pour the concrete for the good section, after getting approval from the local authority building control.
The piles are set in 400 mm dia x 900 holes and the calcs to fill all the holes will take 10 tonne of builders mix plus Portland cement, all mixed at 6;1
The whole process took me 3 days of very hard work, but I did it!

10 Tonnes of Builders Mix!

40 Kg Bag

The Cement Measuring System...

Piling Challenge!

2017-09-25T10:31:00.000+13:00

The contractors arrived with the auger to clean out the pile holes and due to the soft ground and the ground being completely waterlogged the hole are collapsing making it impossible to pour the concrete, plus we are now down to the water table which in this area is approx 2.3 meters
So now we have to drive a whole new set of piles using a pile driver to overcome this problem.
The Geo engineer didn't think this would be a problem and is reworking the loading calculations.
Let's hope that this will work as I'm getting a bit stressed over this holdup.

Bearers...

2017-09-13T12:27:00.000+12:00

The 100 x 100 bearers have been delivered and have been stacked ready for installation, this is so I have no excuse for any delays.
They are really heavy as they wet, so had to drag them rather than lift, now have some new tracks on the lawn.
The framing is ordered and will be delivered at the end of this month (Sept) all I need now is for the contractor to re-drill the 16 remaining holes that collapsed in the storm.

The guard dog on duty.

The Start of the Foundations

2017-09-10T17:59:00.000+12:00

The holes have been drilled for the wooden piles and over half of the piles are installed ready for the concrete to be poured.
Unfortunately we had an enormous storm and we had 3 months rain in 3 hours! the remaining holes caved in, it was a terrible mess with 20 holes needing to be drilled again, plus the services of a Geo Engineer to help with a solution, thankfully not too much to do, but we will now need to drill the holes down to 2 meters plus a lot more expensive concrete - oh, the joys of building.

The anchor piles (44) go down about 1 meter and yesterday checking the depth I dropped my tape, bother, my arm is not that long, had to hook it out with the end of my hammer then proceeded to get my head stuck under the prop, all very tricky...
The site is surrounded by security mesh, to keep Charlie (dog) out of harms way plus any wandering Hedgehogs.

Essential Tools...

2017-09-01T15:10:00.000+12:00

The Site

2017-09-01T13:51:00.000+12:00

Have started the earthworks with the underground pipes installed, with the building profile now in place.
The site is starting to look like a building site with lots of mud!!

The next job is to drill the holes for the piles and to setup the posts for concreting into the ground.

Some Background

2017-08-09T17:12:00.001+12:00

The idea for this new project started some years back with a trip to the UK and a week staying in a converted barn in Wales.
We were so taken with the barn, that we decided that we would like a building based on similar design, although the new one would be built using different materials - We don't use slate and stone as building materials in New Zealand.
Although I'm a registered residential building designer (LBP) I don't have any formal qualifications when it comes to building houses, and I had to sign a declaration that only I would be doing the build with some help from friends and family (unpaid), family take note:)
So in the NZ tradition of a home builder DIY you can construct your own house as long as you don''t use any paid labour, with the exception of Plumber, Drain layer and Electrician.
The house design is 2 stories on piles, the reason for the piles is because following some very big earthquakes in NZ if your house is damaged you can start making good the repairs the system of Jack and Pack, that's jacking up the house and levelling the house as required.
Note: the last shake we had,was an astounding 2 minutes! Magnitude of 7.5, very scary, luckily we had no structural damage but a couple of towns further down the coast in the South island were badly damaged with the main road still closed, they have just reconnected the rail line yesterday for limited traffic.
A number of very big, relatively new buildings in Wellington have to be demolished because of the damage.
Building control now need a lot more information and detail which meant a lot of reworking of the plans to get the approval, Yes I did it, as the building was designed to exceed the current building code by a considerable amount with extra plywood internal bracing extra anchor piles plus an increase in insulation by 200% plus more hurricane straps to hold down the roof and building it wasn't to much of a challenge.

Now it's full steam ahead on the real building work...

The Container Conversion - Continued

2017-08-09T09:33:00.000+12:00

The container conversion has become a full-time job with an element of panic setting in, we have built a fold-up bed design I found on a web-site in the USA - they supplied the instructions plus the fittings to make it work. although the instructions were a little overwritten - far to much detail but I finally got it together, and it works really well - it's call a 'Murphy Bed' for those interested in making a foldaway bed.
The container have been lined out using drywall and plastered, painted and decorated, so now looks the business.

The Foldup Murphy Bed

Pantry and Kitchen

The outside we are covering in plywood to protect the insulation and to make it look less like a steel sea container, it's now called a studio.
I have been told, if I use the word 'Glamping' once more there will be a death in the the family - Mine!

Yes, that's my shadow taking the photograph.
The solar panel on the left is to power our... all very eco.

Progress - Continued - The Container Solution

2017-08-09T08:23:00.001+12:00

The new plans which I have been working on for our new house, have been submitted to building control for approval, (or so I thought) it has been a bit of a challenge, the detail the council require has become very detailed but, I did it, now just the wait for the build permit to be issued.
As as well as designing the new build, I had to get my head around a new CAD Program as the old Autocad had died and as Autocad don't support this program anymore, I decided to buy a new one made by BricsCAD.
The conversion worked well with all my existing files converting over to the new system.
Most of the drawing controls were very similar so there was not to much stress, plus I need a new printer which had expired (dead) in sympathy. - very surprised how the cost for new printer has dropped, purchase a suitable model on SALE for $250.00 then they gave me $100.00 cash back, although the consumables are a little expensive.-very...

On-board life is very good, we thought it would be a good idea to have somewhere else to stay over winter, life can become very uncomfortable on the boat in a storm, and we have been having some very severer weather lately.
The solution was to convert a container that would be on-site, and would be a stable platform to work and live from as a backup and temporary home.

I have insulated the container plus installing double glazed windows making the interior very warm
The tricky bit was taking the doors off, cutting the hinges with an angle grinder, they are very very heavy, some nimble footwork was required when they came off...

So It Begins...

2017-03-02T21:33:00.000+13:00

Well we have sold the house, only took 5 days! we will be homeless in 4 weeks.
What to do next? well, we brought our boat back from the South Island and now we are back in our old berth in the Seaview Marina, so at least we will have somewhere to stay.
I'm not sure how the dog will feel being a live aboard dog.
It will be a bit of a shock moving from a 326sqm house to a 11m yacht
I will post some photos of the progress in the next few days showing some of the solutions that we are considering, while we build our new house - George's amazing spaces....So watch this space.

Do It Again...

2016-01-18T11:44:00.001+13:00

After a lot more painting I have decided that I will redo the South of France painting again, taking one of my critics advice and cropping the image a little closer but this time it will be much bigger - 1220 x 910mm (48 x 36 inches).
It's becoming a challenge as its one of the biggest works that I have attempted, so watch this space.

Painting Again - South of France

2015-08-19T10:26:00.000+12:00

After a short break, I have started doing some more painting, the challenge I have is finding a subject that says something to me - not just a nice picture, so have been going though all my reference pics and sketches - this is the first in a new series.
This is a view I saw when on holiday in France, an image that that gives you a peek at life behind the walls in a small french village, still needs a bit of polishing, almost there...

A Short Note

2015-03-05T08:54:00.000+13:00

We have been incredibly busy since the Greek Odyssey, with the Barn section of the house being converted into guest accommodation.
It's working well with bookings almost every weekend since listing on a website called Bookabatch - it's absolutely brilliant with a calender showing when we are available, if you are ever looking for places to stay in New Zealand this is the site to look at. http://www.bookabatch.co.nz