Am I crazy? OB near Port Macquarie

And more........









The last photo was taken from the garden of a neighbour behind looking down over the house.

In all, nearly 2 days to get the roof on both the house and the granny flat. The roof still needs to go on the porch of the house, plus of course the flashings and gutters.

The team needed to be elsewhere on another job for a couple of days but will be back next week to finish off.

Meantime the sparky Wayne and his helper John (who is over 80 but you just wouldn't believe it given the way he works) have been placing brackets for power and feeding light leads through the roof panels so initial electrical setup for the granny flat is done including the power box. They will be back later next week to sort the house.

Meantime, the p[lumber came over to check out the job, basics were agreed and he will start late next week on plumbing water and gas.

Great progress!! Very chuffed.

So more great progress. Fascias and gutters going on, rough out of plumbing and electrical for the granny flat is now complete. The plumber will come back tomorrow morning to test the gas and water lines and sign them off - he had to go and clear a blocked toilet so couln't finish that today.

Here's how it looks now.

So now the roof is on, the big scaffold can be removed and the impressive size and height of the roof is revealed. Wow!




Still some bracing to remove, hopefully the roof won't fall down.......

Looks a bit like one of those schools gym/library/multipurpose buildings built under the stimulus package a few years back.

Had some cold and foggy mornings here but lovely clear days.

What about an arty shot or two then?





And just to prove I have actually been working, here is a photo of me trying to make a mess of something.

Oops the photo didn't load.....

And I can even look like a tradie who knows what he is doing.....



This was finishing off the wind beam wall that both protects the Bed 4 window and provides a backing wall for the outdoor eating area and BBQ. That Gorilla platform ladder has proved very handy particularly with the heights I am dealing with. But I also need to buy a mobile scaffold for the sarking, cladding, interior painting and other work.

Next steps are finishing some detail work on frames, putting on the porch roof and gutters (I was one Versiclad panel short so had to order an extra) and then onto the sarking.

Meantime, I got the quantity document for the Cemintel cladding (CSR Cemintel Territory Teak to give it its full name) back but had been specified wrongly by the local agent. So another delay.

Oh well.

So, I removed the props holding up the large post that support the "al fresco dinging area" roof.

Now my "school gym" roof looks fantastic. Hopefully it won't blow away and take the rest of the house with it!

And did you notice over to the right, the first tank has arrived. I need to make a pad for it from crusher dust - the ground is quite solid underneath.

The 22,500 tank off the garage will arrive in a couple of weeks. I have dispensed with the tank on the house as required under BASIX rules and it's 4500L requirement will be serviced from the shed tank. This will need a small change to the existing piping.

I will also move the shed tank further back and set it into the ground by at least 400mm, because it needs more fall from the garage gutter outlets to the input. Shifting it back will require the bank to be cut out several metres and hole dug - my trusty Kubota backhoe attachment will get its first serious workout.

I can then build a shed for the Kubota, possibly a double one for the growing collection of Jaguars!

Crap weather here today, cold and rainy. I am doing more work on frame detailing and in between times watching the Kaboodle Kitchens videos. I will probably get one from Bunnings for the granny flat. But the top will come from Edsteins Granite in Taree - real, textured and beautiful, measured and fitted for only slightly more than Bunnings engineered stone, uninstalled. A no brainer, buying granite from the masons - might also get a cheap deal on a headstone (they are also monumental masons) if the building work kills me!

Oh dear, another break in play.....

Been really busy and completely stuffed at the end of the day.

I picked up some temporary downpipe from Bunnings and hooked up the downpipes so water wouldn't just spew out of the gutter drain onto the ground. Then it stopped raining!

I got the small tank base done, and the connection to the GF carport roof through the diverter is in place and operational. Along the way, we discovered that the original plumber had taken the supply from the main roof of the GF straight out to the shared overflow sump, not to the tank. What was he thinking!!! Grr. Anyway, the plumber dug it up and set it up correctly, but ran out of time that day to connect it to the diverter and the tank. But since it was so dry, it didn't matter.





You can see that there is already some insulation in the wall behind it. Because the brace board is on the inside as a result of the Cemintel cladding requirements, the insulation in those parts has to be done before the sarking and cladding has to go on.

On the subject of insulation, due to a bit of a stuffup, I got Bradford Acoustishield R2.5 for the price of Brahdford Gold HP R2.5. I bought some extra at a good price too. I was going to use it on the lounge/media room in the house anyway, so having it for the GF as well was a bonus. In another deal I got some more Knauff R2.5 Acoustic batts fro an excellent price from Bunnings Trade, so I may have enough to do the whole house in acoustic batts too. I am also insulating internal walls, so both places will be very sound dead internally. No-one will be able to hear me whining about the cost of all this!!

Oh well, best laid plans etc..... Not only have I been having some health issues, distractions, building work, work on my subdivision plans and more, I have been trying to get my new (old, but absolutely beautiful) Jaguar XJ6 ready for rego. Oh, did I mention that I am a confirmed car nut and love Jaguars? Bought this one from an auction in Adelaide, sight unseen. Is even better than expected. Has had a large amount of money spent on it by the previous owner (I have spoken to him, he loved the car and spent lots on what was a very good original car) and drives beautifully and looks like almost new. I will be putting it on historic rego which is a process in itself, won't manage that for another month or so.

Meantime, back at homebuilding....

The cladding is going on slowly. There is a lot of detail work that has to be done in prep for putting it on. Firstly, a lower flashing is put on the bottom of the frames at slab level to hold down the snakeskin and create an airflow passage up behind the Cemintel. But this has to be level, because the bottom rail into which the Cemintel sits must be level. A check with a dumpy showed that the slab had a 16mm variation from its highest to lowest point. So both flashing and bottom rail had to be set to a level all round which allowed for this. Remember, I am building this to a precision builders wouldn't bother with and couldn't justify. I want it just right, not near enough.

Next, all the frames have to be checked for square and plumb, which we had done to a good level, now it had to be just right though, all the way to the top of the highest levels - remember, no trusses. Then we had to calculate where was the best place to make the joins and where we needed to add any additional stud pieces. Plus I needed to design a flashing for around the windows and have it made. Then and only then could we start placing the boards. It isn't an easy process when you are not familiar with it and the house/windows are not designed for it.

So here is the first wall going on.



And finished.....


The vertical joins get filled with a silastic-like sealer coloured to match the finish so the joins will be barely visible.

Very happy with the look.

Applying the Cemintel is very slow work, particularly when you want to get it just right.Given I am retired I am happy to spend the time to achieve that, on the other hand I am really looking forward to getting into the granny flat.Plus I am draining my cash reserves quickly - oh well, I never had an actual budget or requirement to finish at a certain time, so it will cost what it costs and take what it takes.

After all, what else would I be doing? Sitting around in the sun with a cuppa looking at the beautiful view? Travelling the world? What fun would that be?

Here is the another view of that sideof the Granny Flat.



Here is a view of the opposite side, now completed too.


This side faces the house, so I have limited any window to the small bathroom one. The tank, gas water heater and other services will eventually be hidden behind some shrubs - this area between the two houses will be a parking area for guests.

Great progress, looks great too! We have Cemintel Territory cladding on our build also (vertical installation in dark colour) on the outer and inner walls of our balcony and even with 2 professionals doing it it’s taking ages, so worth it though to get it right.

Good luck with rest of build, setting looks beautiful:)

Thanks for the comments gillybean.

Are your pros experienced with Cemintel? I was hoping we would speed up a bit more once we got a bit more experienced/skilled with it, but speed is not improving as much as hoped. Still, it is looking very good.

gillybean - do you have a blog for your build I can have a look at. Or would you be willing to post a pic or two of your Cemintel install. I would be keen to have a look. I have not been able to find a full house clad in it in this area either, only some insets etc to have a look at.

Yeah our guys have done quite a few installs, it’s just the way it is if you want it to look perfect I’d guess.

We actually had our builders advisory team come up from the surf coast Vic. as they were looking at a different method to install it. Anyway about 7-8 blokes discussed it, made us feel important haha, and at this stage we couldn’t be happier (not that we know too much about it as not a lot of places here use it.

I haven’t a blog or anything, I’ll get a photo of the cladding for you shortly but 👍🏻

.

I’ll direct message you with pic

Thanks gillybean, look forward to it and your blog too.

Cemintel hasn't been used much for houses here, but I found the Cemintel people to be helpful and interested in my project (perhaps thinking I was somewhat "brave" for taking it on myself!). Also locals have found it quite interesting too.

Cheers and hope all is going well with your build.

Have seen the photos. Looks fantastic - very stylish indeed.

Was your build designed for Cemintel, or was it "made to fit" after the event? Mine was the latter which made for more challnges in how to fit it to the frame and set it into the windows etc, none of which were designed to fit to it. Lots and lots of head scratching, drawings, calls to Cemintel and a couple of informed sources and then getting some adjustments made on the fly.

If I was to do it again ............

Nope, stop that!! This is definitely my last house!!

Thanks yes we love it.

Our design wasn’t specifically done around Cemintel, I don’t think any design would be. I’d think it wouldn’t matter what product you’d use, they just make it fit????

We chose it as we wanted a good contrast between the render colour of the Hebel and also to add some texture rather than more Hebel painted different. We’ve achieved that we think.

It looks very good because you have achieved both that textural and colour difference.

There are several design elements that you can make ready to fit the Cemintel at the design stage such as windows and doors and to minimise cutting etc. However, some of those may not work with the look you want to achieve eg position of doors and windows. Frames could be designed with studs or blocks in the right place, rather than having to spend more time later planning for and fitting them. So mostly, you make it fit after the event. Mind you, using it on an inset area like yours is much simpler than doing a whole house with various angles and corners.

It is also a matter of money. I am working to a budget so have used standard windows and sliging doors, which don't actually fit the Cemintel process. Plus the skillion roof which makes the corners trickier - it would have been easier to fit the metal corner trims, but they don't look anywhere as good.

These are the things that take time to sort. But what is life without a challenge. Even a builder experienced with Cemintel would not find my build straighforward or do it to my standard. It would take too much time to be viable cost wise.

Oh dear, where does the time go?

Meanwhile, the building continues, albeit at a slower pace than I would like.

The Cemintel cladding has been finished except for the sealing of vertical joints. That can wait for a spare in between moment. It looks just wonderful. This is the clerestory window area of the Grann Flat, above the al fresco/carport roof.



And the overall view from the NW. BTW, the investment in the scaffold has been well worth it. The platform height is at 3.8m when fully erected and with handrails, just below the level where a scaffold ticket is required.



And from the opposite side.


Very happy with how it looks and the quality of the product, but it has been very time consuming to put on. Oh well, I always said this build was not set to a schedule, but........

So with the outside complete, it is time for a biti of a site cleanup. Then to start on the gyprocking.

So as the last job on the outside was completing, the gyprock was ordered and duly arrived, to be plonked undercover in the carport. Next, a big cleanup inside which had become a bit of a dumping ground for, well, stuff.

Unfortunately, as we checked the inside walls, some of them were out of plumb and true. This was a result of the delays at the start where the frames sat around for a while. Some of them are quite tall which magnified the issues. And I was not so experienced on erecting them so they didn't get trued as well as they could for the Granny Flat - the house was better though. I always said that the GF was my crash test dummy.

Here's Steve working on some truing.



So we spent some time correcting that using the laser, plumb and string lines etc. With some planing and application of many many spacers, we again had a level surface to gyprock onto. Also, some of the windows were put in by th eroof build team and were not particularly straight and true. It took quite a while to get there though as I am very fussy.

Once that was done, the insulation could go in. I am using initially Bradford Soundguard R2.5 in all walls, external and internal. I got it at a very good price so it is worth using the sound insulating version throughout. Towards the later part of the job when I ran out of that, I got a batch of Knauff Earthwool Soundguard so the GF was completed with that. Not itchy at all, but it is a bit harder to cut. And I had to do lots of cutting as almost none of the studs are stand widths apart.





The kitchen is taking shape now and it is starting to fell like a house. It seems we have turned into the home straight.