House build

[Colin Grigson]

I'm being a bit fussy. You really need to get them to replace the small washers on the roof member joints with 50x50 square ones.

I’m unsure what that would achieve, it may not look like it but the studding is M14 - 22mm nuts, and the round ‘washers’ are 57.5mm diameter giving a surface area of just over 2,500mm2 (I think) , 50mm x 50mm square would give a similar area so unless there’s another advantage I’ll not risk their wrath and trust they know what they’re doing …
Thank you for taking such an interest that you notice these things - I hadn’t given those parts a thought

 

[slowmotion]

I’m unsure what that would achieve, it may not look like it but the studding is M14 - 22mm nuts, and the round ‘washers’ are 57.5mm diameter giving a surface area of just over 2,500mm2 (I think) , 50mm x 50mm square would give a similar area so unless there’s another advantage I’ll not risk their wrath and trust they know what they’re doing …
Thank you for taking such an interest that you notice these things - I hadn’t given those parts a thought

I apologise. From the photo I thought they were no bigger than 25mm diameter.

 

[Colin Grigson]

I apologise. From the photo I thought they were no bigger than 25mm diameter.

Nothing to apologise for - I’m pleased you noticed something potentially bad and it gave me an excuse to get the vernier callipers up there - much to the amusement of the builders who were no doubt wondering to what degree of accuracy they have to work in future if everything will be measured so precisely . The photos are deceptive and those beams are more than 3m up so it all looks smaller than actual - I too was surprised

 

[slowmotion]

Nothing to apologise for - I’m pleased you noticed something potentially bad and it gave me an excuse to get the vernier callipers up there - much to the amusement of the builders who were no doubt wondering to what degree of accuracy they have to work in future if everything will be measured so precisely . The photos are deceptive and those beams are more than 3m up so it all looks smaller than actual - I too was surprised

I spent a fair bit of my early twenties with my nose in an extremely well-thumbed copy of Ozelton and Baird's "Timber Designers' Manual" . It gave me a bit of an obsession about timber structures so I'm afraid you'll have to make allowances for me!

 

[Slick]

No lead, but there is a coated alloy channel being fitted that does the same job.
The builders, roofers etc … could all do with a better understanding of H & S but I’m banging my head against the wall suggesting so …. this the way they work here - unfortunately

Yeah, I hear you. It wasn't that long ago we all worked like that here as well. I've worked with guys like that before, really difficult to get them to do it any other way.

Build looks spot on though.

 

[Colin Grigson]

Another productive week - roof tiles are starting to go on, gutters are fixed etc .... . The roof timbers are on the shed too. The builders have started forming the walls upstairs so we can really see what the bedrooms and bathrooms are like ‘in the flesh’ instead of drawings. We’re waiting for 2 x roof supporting steels to be made that will be built into 2 of the bedroom walls, once the steels are in we can finish all the walls upstairs … feels like we’re getting somewhere now .

 

[alicat]

That's a solid outbuilding.

I like how the internal walls are breeze blocks rather than plasterboard.

 

[JhnBssll]

Your build has nearly overtaken mine now

 

[Colin Grigson]

We have a roof .. 99% done just in time for Christmas / New Year shutdown. That should keep the worst of the weather at bay until windows and external doors go in. We still don’t have any stairs which is concerning - it’s a fiddly, time consuming job shuttering a concrete staircase and not as lucrative as other aspects of the build - most of the ‘first-fix’ chippies approached have been ‘far too busy’ once they know it’s stairs … we’ll get there eventually

 

[JhnBssll]

Looking great Colin, bet you're pleased with progress! How long are you expecting second fix to take once you're watertight?

 

[Colin Grigson]

Looking great Colin, bet you're pleased with progress! How long are you expecting second fix to take once you're watertight?

Thank you John …. ‘how long are we expecting’ - that’s a leading question , it will depend on when the money or ‘will to live’ runs out . Seriously, it would be great if we’re in there for next Christmas but it won’t matter if we’re not

 

[Colin Grigson]

The builders finished the internal walls upstairs today too after the steel fabricators fitted their roof supports. They don’t look much in the photos but they’re 100 x 100mm with walls 10mm thick - very heavy and hopefully up to the job. There were supposed to be 150x 150mm wooden posts supporting the roof at those two points but the posts projected beyond the wall line (the bricks are 12cm) and would have looked odd halfway along a wall - with the steel insulated and plastered it will be level and flat in the wall … if you understand what I mean

 

[ColinJ]

Is that door lintel strong enough? It could be just that photo, but it looks like it is sagging!

 

[Colin Grigson]

Is that door lintel strong enough? It could be just that photo, but it looks like it is sagging!

Thanks Colin, I hope it’s just the photo - they are pre-cast steel reinforced concrete lintels encased in kilned clay against condensation and in that application it’s only holding up 3 courses of hollow block ... I’ve noticed my phone camera does distort pictures …. cheap American crap

 

[Colin Grigson]

Finally we have some progress with the stairs. Lots more steel on top of the beautiful shuttering the carpenters knocked up, and more concrete to come tomorrow if it’s not below freezing - a temperate +3’C is forecast so we should be OK. One of the builders was telling me that he worked in Moscow for a year building roads and they pour concrete there even if it’s -25’C with no problems … it should be warmer than that here .
This is where we are today, I’ll update as and when.