Kitchen Wall

     Last week Josh finished screwing in the last of the of the triple grip brackets which attach the roof frames to the external walls. Today he did some measurements and calculations so now he knows how long to cut the purlins.

     Then this afternoon we went down and assembled and screwed together the internal wall which goes between the kitchen and the bathroom. This is one which I had previously loosely assembled, so Josh showed me how to finish it off. I was even allowed to do some of the screwing! Then we stood it up temporarily just to see what it looks like.

          It finally gave us an idea of how big our kitchen and our bathroom are going to be on the inside. The kitchen was actually wider and shallower than I was expecting, after doing some 3D designs on the Bunnings website. The window seems wonderfully massive, and that's where the sink is going, but we still have to figure out where the stove and fridge are going to go, and what kind of cupboards we will have.

     The bathroom is a bit trickier because the window is not centred, so that means that the basin is going on the left side and we have to figure out how to fit a shower, toilet AND washing machine in the rest of the space.

         Next Josh managed to un-stick the piece for the bathroom wall frame from its neighbour. It was very thoroughly stuck together, and required lots of brute force with screwdrivers and hammers. I am glad that I did not attempt to do this on my own, as I would never have pulled it off.

     That means that next work day will be bracing the kitchen wall and screwing it in place, and assembling the bathroom wall, or cutting the purlins to length.

Window Delivery

     Yesterday morning we had an unexpected delivery - luckily I was already up and about early in the morning!

     Our 5 windows plus glass sliding-door arrived on a truck. We have nowhere to put them!

Screwing Brackets

     Today was another hot day, but we put in a few hours of work in the morning. Josh screwed a bunch more brackets in.

        He says he only has another 8 to go.

     Above is from the inside, and below is from the outside.

     Meanwhile I was trying to dig out stumps.

     This one had me stumped. I decided it was too bloody hot to stand there for hours in the full sun trying get the damn thing out, and went and picked up rocks over the other side of the house. Then Josh went back to his other job, working on IT from home. It's a busy life!

Screwing

     This morning we got up early to get some work done before it got hot. Setting up is time-consuming as it involves laying out the electrical cords from the generator shed to the house site.

     This photo was taken from the generator shed, as you can see it's a fair way to be walking repeatedly up and down the hill.

     Then Josh did some screwing. He had to take out some previously screwed-in screws in order to fit the brackets for the roof trusses, and then put the screws back in through the bracket. It would have been better if the instructions hadn't told him the wrong way to do it to begin with! So that's one done, and other 23 to go... (all of which need the previously screwed screws removed first).

     Meanwhile I pottered around moving rocks and sticks from around the house site.

     The vegetation is getting quite long, and we should start cutting it for an area around the house to help with bushfire safety. The ground is quite uneven though, and it takes a while to clear each spot. Especially when it is stinking hot!

More Internal Walls

     Over the last few days I have been down at the house site, and started assembling some more of the internal walls. The one below is for between the kitchen and the bathroom.

 

     I collected together all of the pieces with the right number on it and assembled them according to the instructions.

     I want to get Josh to check I did it right before I finish pushing the middle piece all the way down, as it is a very tight fit and would be very difficult to change if wrong. The C sections have to be facing the right way, the tops and bottoms have to be the right way round, and I haven't done this before so don't know all the little tips and tricks.

     Then I got the bits ready for the next internal wall. This one is for between the bathroom and the living room.

     I thought there was a piece missing, and looked everywhere (twice), but then realised that it was hidden INSIDE one of the other pieces. I really don't know how to get it out as it's a very tight fit, but Josh says that it has happened before, so he must know what to do. Next step is to drill stuff together.