Work continued on box gutters in the last working week before Christmas. The box gutters also have a fall to keep the water moving along.
Water is like a bored teenager
I have often considered water to be like a bored teenager, if left idle it will get into trouble, but if kept occupied it will behave in an understandable manner. So the idea is to put a good fall on the roof, followed by a good fall in the box gutters.
Our box gutters are 450mm wide which makes them self clean in a reasonable wind. It also means they can be walked in which makes maintaining the roof and gutters a safe task for the eventual home owners.
The carpenters have finalised tying down the roof members with steel hoop iron. This is required to guarantee the roof is able to resist the lifting force of any wind that will pass over it.
The building inspector has passed the frame work. His next inspection is at completion of the job. In years gone by the building inspector used to check waterproofing details and stormwater drainage. Neither of these trades are inspected by an external person today.
With all this work on rooves I need to be conscious of working at heights. Simple mistakes or trips during this work can have disastrous consequences. After the roof is complete the carpenters are doing detail work on the frame. They are filling in over doorways, creating set downs in the floor for external sliding doors and trimming for plaster.
We use nearly half a pack of timber for this work and I always wonder where does all that timber go? During the Christmas break the site was broken into and screws and hardware were stolen. We also found the remains of fireworks which reminded me that sites are highly attractive places to children. We owe the same duty of care to kids who climb over the two meter high site fence as I do to the men and women who work here.
