External Wall Cladding North and East Walls

June 2018

At this point we discovered that the next row of cladding on the north wall would be too difficult to put into place before it could be screwed, so we changed to working on the north wall. This was another easy start, where we put up a row of insulation, screwed the bottom wall cladding in place, and lifted the sheets into position and screwed them into place while standing on the ground.

The north side of the house is 10 metres long, so this used two sheets of cladding with an overlap in the middle.

Both of these sheets of Colorbond cladding were short enough to fit under the windows, so no cutting of metal sheets was required as yet. You can see in the photos that the insulation overlaps the bottom of the windows, but that was easy enough to cut back with a stanley knife, which we did at a later stage.

Then we realised that the next row on this wall required cutting to fit around the windows, so the east wall switched back to seeming like the easier option.

July 2018

On the east wall, the first two rows of cladding were able to be lifted it into place while standing on the ground and the ladder, but after that it got much trickier to be able to lift and hold the cladding in place while it was screwed in. I came up with a clever idea to drill holes in the top of the cladding, place strong hooks through which are threaded with rope, and then loop the rope over the top of the wall frame and pull it up into position.

Josh was dubious as to whether the hooks would hold the weight of the sheet without simply shearing through the metal, but after testing the system we discovered that four holes managed to distribute the weight evenly enough so that it was not a problem. This system meant that Josh was inside the house pulling the ropes, whilst I was on the outside guiding the sheet so that it did not scratch the previously installed sheet, and making sure that it was level and the correct height. Then I would put clamps on the sides, position the ladder, climb up and drill in the screws. Since we were shouting at each other through a wall, we devised a method of communication where we could specify which rope needed pulling at which time, with the ropes numbered 1 to 4. This was much easier than saying 'the rope closest to the creek' or 'the rope closest to the middle on the fence side'. Sometimes the most important part of building is good communication.

Before we could put up the next sheet of cladding, we had to put up the next row of insulation. I checked the instructions for the insulation which specified that there needed to be an overlap of 10cm for each sheet. Diligently we did so, and then when we tried to screw in the next sheet over the top of the two overlapped sheets of insulation, it created a problem. The combination of thicknesses was greater than the length of the screws with which we had been provided.

Luckily we had some leftover roofing screws which were a little thicker and a fair bit longer, and even though the colour of the screws are Woodland Grey instead of the Mountain Blue of the cladding, the colour difference does not stick out very much once you are looking at the wall from ground height. These roofing screws were also useful for the occasional times when we had to screw through bracing, or just had a very troublesome screw that just would not go in. So we learnt our lesson there - don't overlap the insulation because it does not suit this building situation.

Next we hit a tricky part where we would have to do some sheet cutting. The top of the east wall has a triangle to fit the gable roof. Josh had the genius idea of using the insulation sheet as a template for cutting the cladding to ensure he achieved the correct angle for the three sheets which needed to be trimmed back. It was all laid down on the verandah floor for a flat surface to be measured and marked out, and the insulation was stuck up.

Actually sticking up the insulation was a little trickier than it sounds. It requires one person to hold the 6 or 10 metre length up while the other person sticks it to the frame with insulation tape. This insulation tape is a cross between alfoil and gaffa tape, and while it is more expensive than gaffa tape, it has much better sticking power which is what was needed for this situation. We tried using gaffa tape but it quickly came unstuck in the wind. We luckily had borrowed a ladder, so it was possible for one of up to be up one on the outside and one of the inside at the same time. Otherwise it was have definitely been impossible. Thank you so much to Graham for the long-term borrowing of your ladder, without it we would not have been able to build our house. We owe you in return.

It was amazing what a difference it made to the inside of the house once the insulation went up and created a wall which suddenly blocked out the light, breeze and the view. I found it quite annoying, and often wished that I did not need to put the walls. I eventually discovered that the advantages of walls include keeping out a cold wind, keeping out the hot sun, and keeping out the unwanted creatures. These creatures included the swallows who thought that the roof frames would be a great place to build their nests. We wouldn't have such a problem with them except that they have a habit of pooing on EVERYTHING near where they are nesting, a lesson we had already learnt in the shed. Very messy and unhygienic.

Josh diligently went down to the house every day and knocked down the mud nests, but they kept rebuilding. We didn't want them to get to the stage where they had laid eggs, because then we wouldn't have the heart to destroy the little babies. The swallows kept coming back despite the destruction of their nest attempts, so Josh came up with a new plan - wait a couple of days for them to get some significant mud building done, and THEN go and knock it down. Well, this certainly worked because after doing that once, they have never come back and built there again.