26th April - 2nd May 2010

The builders were back on full time this week and were pressing on as rain was expected. The first bit of the inside layer of plywood appeared ...

... and the garage was made ready for the roofers. The fascia board was put up ready for Dave to fill and paint ...

... and the bracing plywood sheets were nailed up.

All was going well and Dave had filled the holes on the fascia and started to paint when a torrential downpour arrived. So heavy that even our builders were forced to seek shelter and the rain washed off much the paint. It was amazing, you could see the the marks of individual raindrops. But it turned out to be worse than that as the water got into the filler, even bits that had just been painted, and caused it to swell up. We hoped this might dry out and flatten out again but no such luck.


And just when Dave was wondering if he was going to sort this out before the roofers returned, his next job arrived. The first 20 sheets of external plywood arrived and these had to be painted before theyt could be put up. At an estimated 5 sheets today, the total of 140 sheets is set to take Dave .... a very long time. Will he keep ahead of the builders is the main question.

Anyway, the weather cleared up, the inner layer of plywood extended,


... and Dave's system for painting got underway.



Sunday is a lovely day and still the fascia is waiting attention. Fortunately our two daughters appear, ready and willing to help...

... but despite this, and a few additional panics over the replacement filler, somehow the job gets finished ready for the workmen next week.

19th - 25th April 2010

Monday, and the builders are back, but only briefly unfortunately. Anyway, they could make progress while the sun shone, and they set to work on the garage roof.


And the roofers were back and they made a dramatic difference.



Tuesday and the roof on the back of the house appeared.



And we made some extra defences in the veggie patch. We're not sure if its pukekos or hares that are eating the broad beans so we go for a two-edged approach and build a frame to tie some fishing line round to confuse the pukekos (maybe) and paint it with hare repellent.

And the builders pressed on with the garage.... so that Neil could go off hunting again.

The rest of the week was very quiet once the main part of the roof was completed ...

... but it gave Dave time to dig up yet more gorse and (drum roll) to install his piece de resistance, the central vacuum system. How many hours had he spent telling anyone who will listen (mainly Joanna) about his problems with the pipes. But at last it was all nicely in place. A relief to all.


Oh yes and the flitch beam was still being straightened. There was slight cause for concern when the building inspector arrived and asked what a flitch beam was rather than checking it was correctly fixed!

12th - 18th April 2010

Time for a bit of rest and relaxation for the builders and for Dave. Neil was off for a week's hunting but had left the main part of the roof ready for the roofer. I think he suspected the roofer may not turn up and that is in fact what happened until Wednesday. On Wednesday, though he came and did a lot of preparation...


... and on Thursday the iron came but the roofer did not. Probably too windy - as was Friday.

Dave turned his attentions to the pukekos. They had been very much in evidence recently and had clearly checked out the inside of the house a few times as well as sampling bits and pieces in the veggie patch. The internet suggested the only known repellent was to hang up a dead friend and by chance, the next morning, Dave found a suitable candidate by the side of the road. Very surreptitiously he managed to get it to the car and then the section and hung it up for all to see.

He was so pleased with his conquest, we both hurried back on the Wednesday morning only to find it had been interpreted as a party sign, and seven of its former mates had arrived already.

So its back to the drawing board as far as the pukekos are concerned and fingers crossed for a bit more action on the house next week.

5th - 11th April 2010

Easter came and went and the builder hardly seemed to notice. He pressed on as he was wanting to take a break next week. The fascia boards went up and were handed over to Dave for painting ...



... while the builders turned their attention to the garage. Very much a case of 'if you snooze you loose' as it seemed to miraculously appear between the time Dave left at 3pm on the Tuesday...

... and when we arrived at 8.15 on the Wednesday. Most impressive!


We had plenty to do and it took us about 5 hours to get 2 coats of a beautiful delicate green on to the fascia board that was up on about half the perimeter of the house. It may look sunny but there was a bitterly cold gusty southerly that came and went during the day.


The builders pressed on and put up the beams to make the 'breezeway', which we have now renamed the 'wind tunnel' as it has been suggested that that's what it will turn out to be. We shall see.


Thursday and up go the trusses over the wind tunnel so that the main part of the house is ready for the roof. Hopefully that will go on next week while the builders are away having a well earned break.


And Dave at last sorted out his vacuum system pipes (he had been sold the wrong size) and installed them before the roof appeared.
It was also clear we had had a visit from the local family of pukekos.

Friday and one last task for the builders, to get the flitch beam in position over the garage door. Could be a bit heavy...

... but with some supports to help and two big strong men and Dave ...

... it popped up no trouble (I think)

Just needs a bit of pressure to straighten it out.

The builders then left for a week's holiday and Dave was left with the next bit of fascia boards to paint. Awesome weather for it!