Peter and Natasha

Written by Peter, on 08-03-2009

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It does not compute. It leaves me with no space for cloistery windows, which is the whole point of having a split level roof and not really even enough room to install the rafters. I've gone by the figures provided on the engineering but unless there's something I'm not getting then the figures are wrong. This would appear to mean that all the central posts we've put up will have to come down. Maybe all of the ring beams on the northern side will have to come down along with their supporting posts. We'll have to get new timber for almost everything we take down as it will prove too short. And, most frustratingly, we can't construct internal wall framing because we have no heights to go by as the ridge beam is required to determine these dimensions.

Needless to say, this feels like a tremendous waste of time and possibly materials. And money. I'm not prepared to proceed until I have a clearer idea of how the posts, ridge beams, rafters and windows fit together. To have to redo work already done is very frustrating and expensive of course so the less we have to do this the better. 

So what's the way forward? I will speak to the draftsman who came up with these figures and see what it really means on Tuesday, this is the soonest I could do this as Monday is Labour Day, a day celebrating this thing people used to do, called a 40 hour working week, I think. Building this house is full time for me, even when I'm not physically building it, it's in my brain. I dream about it. I wake up and can think about nothing else in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong, owner-building is great but not every second of the 24 hour cycle.

So here's the good stuff that came out of the weekend. We marked the rest of the rooms on to the flooring and now can see the shape and size of every room exactly, which meant we could cut the bottom plates of the internal walls to size and lay them all out. What a fantastic house we are building, I can't wait to be living in it and to declare it complete. There's a long way to go for that but we've come so far and the thought of waking up there every day is so inspiring that it keeps me going.

The support we get from friends and family through this build makes such a difference. From this weekend I'd like to acknowledge a few people. Katrina, for your amazing enthusiasm and can-do-wanna-learn attitude. Claire for helping out with a smile and a laugh. Brenda for taking care of everything around us so that all we need to think about is the build. Matt Noyes, who not only put this website together and continues to add features we ask for, but comes out with a car full of tools, strength and level-headedness. And most of all Natasha who keeps me on the level when all things seem against me. Perspective is a most valuable thing.

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Posted by Sue Mills, on 09-03-2009, 1. Glitch What disappointment that things have conspired against you over the past few days. It is really tough trying to overcome such setbacks, but you'll probably discover some unexpected silver lining further down the track, so - courage. Pete, your friends, particularly Matt who is the most steadfast and supportive friend anyone could dream of having and your wonderful mother and sister-in-law and niece who are always there for you deserve medals for their help and support. As the HASH guys say "on on".   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment... Posted by Matt, on 08-03-2009, 2. All is not lost... I learned some things about myself this weekend Pete. Having Sienna spew all over me last night whilst screaming reminded me that life is bascially raw, continuous, inexorable and I have no choice about many of the things that happen. Two things about your build; 1) you caught it before MUCH worse things could have happened, you stuck to your mantra of "Assume Nothing" and 2) many things have failed in history because of imperfect information, that's what you have got. All there is to do now is get the detail clear and go on. Sweet. Rework means success is coming :-)   » Report this comment to administrator » Reply to this comment... » See all 1 replie(s)