Archive for category Renovations
Renovations
Posted by james in Renovations on July 4, 2010
A blog post from the Android Phone.
We are nearing completion. Just have to install Stainless Steel Wire Balustrading from All Things Stainless (incidentally they use Joomla and VirtueMart so nice to see a bit of open source being used in a nuts and bolts style of business). And fitout the laundry and then paint…
And done!
Brick Piers, Antcaps and Termite Proof Silicone
Posted by james in Renovations on January 27, 2010
My Wife and I are putting an extension on our Weatherboard House. The extension is supported by 350x350mm brick piers with Gal Threaded rod running up through the centre of the piers to hold down the bearers. This setup requires a penetration through the Ant-cap (see image below). In the old days you would close the hole using solder. However these days there is a product named Termite Proof Silicone.
I was looking for Termite Proof Silicone and couldn’t source it from two of my local Hardware Stores. It turns out that it is available at Saddingtons.
Pier
While researching for the piers I found a fantastic brick laying resource Brickwork.net.au at the time of this post they are in the process of moving most of their content to a wiki. I was interested in creating Piers and setting up profiles. Brickwork.net.au has many photos making the concepts very easy to understand. If you are an Owner-builder these types of resources are invaluable.
New Guttering Installed
Posted by james in House, Renovations on November 18, 2009
After 3 days of struggling with scaffold my Wife and I have finished the scaffolding.
We sourced the Guttering from a sheetmetal product company in Newcastle Hancock Speedway
When ordering the guttering I used my trusty QCAD, an Opensource 2D CAD Program to provide a drawing of what I wanted to purchase.
It was a heck of a lot of work but now it’s finished I can divert the rain water into my new tank. Excellent!
Insulation – DIY
Posted by james in Renovations on October 12, 2009
Cold Floors
We own an old timber cottage. It’s sitting on concrete peers on a sloping block, so wind can get under the house and chill the floor boards down.
Insulating under the floors
To try and take the chill off the boards, we have put insulation under the floor boards. It’s a fairly simple process as follows:
- Staple builders string (the same stuff brickies use for their string lines) under the floor joists at intervals suitable to support the fibre glass insulation batts. You need a good stapler! I was stapling into hardwood joists. So I used staples with 6mm or 1/4 inch legs
- Place the insulation batts between the floor joists resting them on the builders string. If neccessary cut out sections of the batts to allow them to get around obstacles without squishing them. If the joists are too wide apart to snuggly fit between the floor joists, cut extra strips of batt to fill big voids
- Staple Sisalation (needs to be the perforated stuff that allows water vapour through it) to the underside of the joists.
- Tape the joins and any perforations (e.g. Bathroom drains, water & gas piping etc). I bought the silvered tape at Bunnings. Sometimes this part makes you feel like you are packaging an elephant
- Then use Pryda Foil Fix nails to permanently fix Sisalation to the bottom of joists at roughly 500mm centres. The staples may tear through the sisalation or pull out but the pryda foil fix nails should stay put.
The Benefits
Less Chilly
Taking the chill off the boards. As we did the insulation in stages, we tested the insulations effect by taking our socks off late at night and checking the floor temps from both the insulated and uninsulated areas. While the floors weren’t warm in the insulated areas the chill had definately reduced. (Yes I know it’s unscientific but I didn’t have a infrared temperature taking gun).
Quieter
Our uninsulated floors allowed noise to travel from outside to inside our house and vice versa. Putting insulation under the floor reduces noises. My wife says she can no longer hear me stomping around inside when she’s in the Garden.
Reduced Dust Incursion
Our floorboards are old and have gaps in the form of broken and missing tongues due to our house being relocated after the 1955 Maitland floods. This allows dust up through the floor into the house in places. The insulation and sisalation has reduced this considerably.
Owner Builders License
Posted by james in Renovations on September 29, 2009
After completing an ozob.com.au online owner builders course. Today I traveled to Newcastle to get my
Owner Builders License.
After getting the license I let the council know that I’m about to start using a “Notice of Commencement”.
Another small step/s in the reno complete!
Woo Hoo Plans Approved – On to the Manual Labour
Posted by james in Renovations on September 25, 2009
After submitting my plans and less than a month later they have been approved.
Excellent!
Now a trip to the office of Fair trading to get my Owner Builders permit and we are good to go…
Finally – Plans submitted to Council
Posted by james in Renovations on September 5, 2009
After many months of fretting I have mustered up the courage to submit my plans to council…. Hopefully in 4 to 6 weeks I will get approval and be able to proceed.
4/09/2009
Owner Builder Exam Passed!
Posted by james in Renovations on August 29, 2009
Just passed my Owner-builder exam online at http://www.ozob.com.au. Now I have to go to the office of fair trading and get an Owner-builders certificate.
I am so not good at digesting regulations and understanding what needs doing.
Funny how some things you do, other people may find difficult (e.g. IT) and then other things you attempt, make you feel like you’re climbing Everest (Complying with local gov. regulations). However I find the journey interesting.
Only hope I can get council approval and get building. It’s going to be great to have a proper Laundry and rear deck to hangout on…
Draw Your Plans with QCAD
If you think that Open Source Software is still waiting in the wings and has a few more years before it becomes useful. Check out the image of my floor plan I drew for my reno. QCAD, although not as featureful as AutoCAD or similar does the job well:
Organic Feast Cafe
Posted by james in House and Garden, Renovations on May 24, 2009
Went to Organic Feast for a Coffee on the weekend. As you do at Cafe’s you grab a magazine.
My wife found me a magazine named “The Owner Builder“. I loved it. So many real life experiences of people building low cost but very interesting structures.
By the end of the magazine I was ready to buy 30 acres back in the hills and build a mud/timber home using hessian and wire.
Sigh. I have always loved the ideal of self sufficiency but lack the gumption to ever make it a reality.
Besides, the further you move out of town, the less chance you have of getting a cheap yet fast internet connection.