Weeks 4 and 5 progress on our new home project.
Plumbing inspection was called for this week. Years ago every single installation was inspected and a big green sticker would tell us if we were successful. A red sticker meant we had been knocked back which happened on about two jobs in ten. Today the plumber books the inspection and if that time passes without any inspection then it is deemed to be passed. The curious thing is that the same blokes are doing the same plumbing work but we very rarely get a knock back. Curious and curiouser.
In these warmer months the guys like to strip off and wear singlets or no shirt at all, sadly it is way too dangerous to encourage and as the builder it is imperative I provide sunscreen to these guys. It may never get used, but it has to be supplied. Sadly the bronzed aussie from Bonds underwear commercials is a deadly icon. I got a very bad sunburn in my early days that lead to a very serious melanoma. A 250mm scar on my chest attests to its seriousness. ( I used to tell the girls I had survived a shark bite!)
The subfloor insulation is a whopping R5. This resistance rating of 5 is achieved through sisalation paper slung between joist and very thick fireglass batts. It is a cumbersome and slow process. For more on current insulation trends see my earlier post stuff it full of insulation.
I was laid low with a virus during this week. All my work continued, my emails piled up and my calls went unanswered, there is no time for illness in a small business.
We laid the particlboard flooring with a high quality ( read expensive) adhesive by Bostitch and an equally high quality Quik drive screw system. The little additional expense guarantees absolutely no squeaks! Onto the flat floor surfaces we set out a large square using Pythagoras. Who said that those boring lessons in year eight on 3 4 5 triangles wouldn’t come in handy sometime? The wet area floor is a Hardies Scyon fibre cement sheet floor. Thsi robust flor is set at the same level as the particleboard. This way we will achieve an even floor surface form the tiled wet areas and the main floors with their overlay floors fitted. The large square then forms the basis for our entire building even if the base brickwork is slightly out of square. The wall set out is marked onto the floors with a chalk line .
Onto the chalk outlines we lay two timber plates which will become the top and botton plates of our wall frames. Onto these plates we mark out all our windows, doors, lintels and studs. All the information about our building is represented on these plates. We mark out all the frame openings such as doors and windows and all the roof loads. Next week we will build all these walls.
If you have any questions about the building process please email us at biyblood@gmail.com.
