A very productive week

Its Saturday and all the gib board is up in the lounge, one piece is 4m long and will probably be the longest piece in the house there were 2 pieces that could have been almost 6m but I opted to join them and the pieces of batten you see screwed to the ceiling are there to create a hollow for the plasterer and will be removed once the glue has dried, it is so good to have done this as it was a dirty job and have still got the itches from dealing with the fiberglass batts as its the older one that has more itch than the newer batts.

I have decided to employ a professional plasterer as I think a lounge ceiling needs to be well done then its time to get on with a new window and sliding door so I can complete those walls and do the coveing.
I was able to celebrate the ceiling with fresh strawberry from the garden well I have had 2 of them but if I can keep the birds off them there are more to come and if you look closely there are tomatoes growing behind that if I keep watering them should produce, we are having dry weather and most days are warm and sunny so some of the solar water heating tubes have been turned around so we don't produce more hot water than we need and have to waste it.      

Another milestone

Ho how I have been longing to do this, I have looked at this awful ceiling
everyday and wondered how soon I could rip it down.
Now that it is gone I can see what was causing the sag, I had thought it was water damage from the roof leaking and whilst that had done its share of damage the sag was caused by sloppy workmanship, in 1984 the house had 2 extensions put on the back which changed the roof shape a very large wooden beam was put in the roof space to hold up the ceiling as some walls were removed, that beam was never put in the correct place it was not sat on the outer bearing wall but on a ceiling joist and for some strange reason pieces of wood were pushing the ceiling down off the roof, some timbers that had been cut to get the beam in were never nailed to the beam and were floating around loose, there is also a short piece of timber missing from the
roof structure by where the solar water unit sits so I will remedy this problem, all the other problems are now sorted and in the second photo you will see one piece of Rondo ceiling batten in place.
Some time prior to the 1984 alterations the ceiling was insulated with Insulfluff or mashed up newspapers that is blown in on an hit and miss basis that has now all gone along with the old fibrous plaster now I have a pile of pink batts and some of the newer white insulation to put back up once the new battens are in place before the new gib board is fixed.
Our living area is suddenly very small we are hidden behind that blue curtain that is doing a wonderful job of keeping the dust contained. 
I should have a third picture of strawberry or should I say the one the birds got but its dark now and raining, there are lots of green strawberry and some old net curtains are going to come in useful soon.  

A Rush of Enthusiasm

I think it had been brewing for a while, I had to keep moving that huge heavy slab of wood and it took up space in the carport now with the new roof it seemed time to extend the rail between the legs on the little table and fill up the deck, the power planer, 100mm sander and grinder got a good work out cleaning up the top and with it out on the lawn the next time I cut the grass all the mess will be gone, I am thinking the finish is temporary I will see how it weathers with nothing on it and if next year it needs doing again I will re think it then, the slab is 60mm thick so it is viable to give it a sand each year ready for the summer.
If you look closely you will see some of the eaves have been replaced and the rest of it will happen very soon, I removed the old eaves from by the toilet pipe as it was poorly fitted and had been painted so many times it was never going to look good under new paint.
Now I am looking at the decking and wondering where to go with that, a good water blast then decide whether to replace a few boards or to wait till I replace the whole deck.
I am trying to prepare myself for removing the lounge ceiling it would be nice to see it done and out of the way this year, it looks like a big job but having done the bedroom and finding it was not too difficult I can see a week will see it down and back up with just the surrounding areas to contend with next year and that will be a new project.    

Summer ready

I opted for an oil stain on the cedar, the directions on the tin said overnight drying and two coats needed, well overnight the oil soaks into the timber but is not dry with the timber then saturated the second coat is still wet the next day and that is the ho so porous cedar the more dense pine probably needs a week to dry so I decided to get the white painting done and get it all in place where it can dry with plenty of air around it and I will come back one day and give it all another coat of oil.
I think our winter has been dry, we have had rain but I think our spring could be wetter and warmer so I wanted this roof up and doing its job, I think we will get a little rain in the back as there is a gap due to the curve but both the door to the kitchen and the bedroom door will get a lot of shelter so can be left open it it rains.
As with most projects I start it is not complete, there are still eves to sort out and I am looking at the electrical wiring I can see and thinking do I need to get to any of this and if I do now is the time to do it.

The table on the deck is small as the other house had a small deck, I have a large slab of macrocarpa timber its about 2.1m long 1.3m wide and 60mm thick and am thinking of swapping table tops I will use the current legs but make them wider to accommodate the longer top, some day those steps and deck are going to get a make over.