STEPPING UP A GEAR

A lot has been going on lately at the site. Firstly, we've made a start on tiling one of the upstairs bathrooms. We started by 18mm putting ply sheets in between and level with the tops of the floor joists, and covered this with a layer of 12mm fibre cement board. We put a cement screed to fall over this on the shower floor, and built the rest of the bathroom floor up with 18mm plyboard and another layer of 12mm fire cement board. 12mm fibre cement boards were also fixed to the timber stud bathroom walls. The entire floor, as well as the shower walls were then tanked using a bituminous product called Tilesafe, which is applied using a neoprene primer. Glass mosaic tiles were then laid on the floor, and we've made a start on the granite tiles affixed to the walls. All tiles were fixed using Tal Marbleflex, a flexible waterproof tile adhesive.

Ply inbetween the joists...

...covered with 12mm fibre cement board [note the shower drain]

Granite over Tilesafe on the walls, glass mosaic on the floor

RELIEF: Modern conveniences arrive on site

 Out front we also started on the gate structures. These consist of a galvanised steel structure, clad on the outside with vertical wood decking planks. The galvanised steel structure was manufactured and installed by a gate specialist. It consists of a pedestrian gate and fixed fence to one side, and a sliding vehicular gate to the other side. We have since started rivet fixing the decking planks to the steel gate structure. The decking planks are machined from locally grown radiata pine, and pressure treated with a CCA preservative. The pine is FSC certified, and we have gone to great lengths to avoid using any tropical hardwoods in this house. We oiled the planks with two coats of a “teak” coloured preserving oil to provide additional protection, and to improve the colour of the treated pine.

Front gates on a misty morning

Gate close-up

Oops, how did that get in here?  Sparky and Rusty, two new family additions

We are currently making use of our builder Derek on site again. His has fixed pine battens [38x38mm] at 600mm centres to the north and south walls of the house, to enable the shiplap cladding planks to go up. Derek's team also put up one of the main architectural features of the house, the pre-coloured alu-zinc flashings around the upstairs windows on the north side of the house. I am sure you'll agree that it totally transforms the appearance of the house.

North side, with cladding battens and window surround

South side with cladding battens up

The shiplap cladding planks lie in wait

Derek and his team are currently busy laying foundation for the Pool Pavillion on the north side of the house. This will provide a third reception area in the house, and will eventually house a built in braai/BBQ with a strong focus on the swimming pool.

Pool Pavillion foundation trenches

And last but certainly not least, we are very lucky and grateful to have had the assistance of Joe and Margaret who are visiting all the way from Ireland. Many thanks indeed! We could never have done this much in as little time without your invaluable help!

ICING ON THE UNDERSIDE

We've been toying with a number of solutions for insulating our metal sheet roof. We've thought of polyester fibre rolls, blown in cellulose, and polystyrene. But all these options create problems in terms of difficulty of installation and continuity of thermal break. We finally settled on polyurethane foam spray. We found a local installer, PFC-Sprayfoam, and two days later, they were on site and working away. The whole job only took a few hours.

Basically, they arrive with a van containing the equipment, and a generator on a trailer behind. In simple terms, the spray foam is applied by mixing two chemical compounds, which react with each other and the atmosphere and begin expanding to many times their original volume. This applied foam hardens to an extremely effective closed cell insulating layer which is also completely watertight. It also [very importantly] renders the roof and its connections to the walls effectively airtight, eliminating drafts and associated heat loss/gain, something very critical to thermal performance which is often overlooked in roof structures.

The van, trailer, and heated pipe carrying the foam insulation

The generator, and the two drums of chemicals which make up the foam

The reactor which prepares and pumps the chemicals

 The van contains the 2 drums of chemical product, as well as a reactor which prepares the chemicals at the correct temperature. From here they were pumped separately along a 60m long heated hose into the house. The chemicals are only mixed in the spray nozzle as they are applied to the surface. The insulation as applied to the underside of our roof has made a massive impact on regulating the interior temperature of the house already. We intend to apply the polyurethane spray foam to the exterior surface of our brick walls as well, before they receive their cladding, in order to create a super-insulated house with a high internal thermal mass.

Application of the sprayfoam insulation begins

The finished product

We recommend this product without any reservations. It is the perfect solution for insulation your house's roof, while at the same time rendering it air and watertight. Contact Koos from PFC-Sprayfoam on +27(0)83 234 8978 for a quote. This product means you don't even need a membrane under you metal sheet or concrete tiled roof. The spray foam is applied and adheres directly to the underside of the roofing material, sealing every nook and cranny. Your roof space will become completely dust proof and air tight. Elegantly simple.

Since our last update we have also has the electricity finally connected up, with a pre-paid electicity meter installed by the utility, Eskom.

The start of the distribution board...

This is what our pre-paid electicity meter looks like

PS. The satellite dish has also gone up. Rather than a boring, generic eyesore in a prominent location, we decided to decorate the dish and spread a little sunshine to passers by. Hope you like it!

Smile!

Happy dish