| Written by Peter, on 17-03-2009 |
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Sunday was the day to strip our new poles of bark and get a look at the timber underneath. Natasha went to work on this, hard work it was too. Once the timber was exposed, she both sprayed and brushed on a coat of Borax to repel borer and termites. The poles are looking great but there are still a couple of termites in residence to we'll continue to apply the Borax, especially to the areas where they've been spotted. Once we get the poles up on to the floor, it will create a barrier to the ground for the termites so they wont hang around long.
The floor was still a bit of a mess from the rain so I went around making sure timber was lifted up off the floor to allow things to dry. The wall markings we made aren't so easy to see anymore with all the mud we tromped around. In the afternoon I subbed out Natasha for the amazing Aygun and together we got up our first section of ridge beam. Hurrah! At last. It felt great. Now we can see the roof height properly. It feels like we're moving again. So it's time to set internal framing in my sights again. So on to Monday. The morning was spent developing a kind of database that I can use to identify every step of the process from here on, including what materials are needed and whether tradespeople need to be involved. It really helps to get this stuff down in a simple but expandable form so that I can keep in mind what I need to do to get each task done. That's been my achilles heel so far, not being able to think beyond the present task. But as everything's so related it's crucial to be prepared, otherwise things are constantly dragging to a halt while I work things out. Ironically the database is a potential distraction because I love doing databases. It's so tempting to get caught up with the details. Even so, it will be a time saver. I also looked further into windows, the clerestory (strange word that, I've been mis-spelling in this blog so far although it is sometimes known also as celestory and cloistery, take your pick!) windows are proving a bit elusive in the size we need them in. Having windows that size is fine unless they need to open, and ventilation is one of the main functions of this window. So more calls are required on that front. Then I started comparing the plumbing quotes we've had so far to try and get a better idea of how they stack up. They certainly don't follow a standard quoting format. Plumbing is an expensive part of the job so we want to be sure of getting good quality for a sensible price. By then it was lunch time so I went out to the land to get into work. This involved working out what new timber I had to get to replace anything that had to be taken down. We are reusing anything we can but there is a certain amount of wastage. Mostly it cost us time! Next I secured a section of ring beam that was only temporarily fixed on and pulled down a couple of posts that needed to be replaced. As I was putting on a replacement post, a whole flock of crimson rosellas flew up and landed on our ring beams. So I whipped out my phone to take a photo, it was a very beautiful sight. Sadly, they flew away before I got a good shot. Meanwhile, the post started to slip and by the time I noticed it falling it had fallen. No damage done. But I'll just keep my mind on the job, shall I?
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Straw Bale House 
