# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  Craig and Kate's Renovation and Extension

## CraigandKate

About time to put this up, basically I am sick of Kate saying the shed is bigger than the house, so I am making the house bigger! 
Basically our current house is a 11sq 2 bedroom weatherboard cottage, it has been renovated ~10 years or so ago so is reasonably nice however the layout is pretty terrible and its really just a glorified tent insulation wise. 
So the mandate of the renovation/extension is to open up the living areas and add a couple of extra bedrooms, I will be owner building and trying to do as much as possible myself. We have been through all the design stages including town planning for a easement reduction and are basically ready to get started! Anyway here are some pics of the plans.. 
Front View:  
Rear View:

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## wozzzzza

this makes my shed build look like a little kids toy play shed.

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## commodorenut

So when the house is done, can you have a bigger shed? 
I like the raked ceiling over the rear deck.  Will keep it nice & cool too.

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## phild01

Yep, that deck roof ...  :2thumbsup: .

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## PlatypusGardens

> our current house is a 11sq 2 bedroom weatherboard cottage,

  11m2?   :Confused:

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## CraigandKate

Haha you don't know the pain I went through with the bloody civil engineer to get that roof to work! But hope it looks as good as I imagine, bit of steel in there to keep it up. 
Hmmm interesting point commodorenut, I may suggest that, although we are running out of land.. 
11 squares = 102 m2 PG, sorry should stick with metric instead of those stupid units!

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## PlatypusGardens

> 11 squares = 102 m2 PG, sorry should stick with metric instead of those stupid units!

  
Ah, ok.
I thought it was a typo and a "0" missing somewhere    :Smilie:

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## ringtail

What was the drama with the roof ? Seems pretty conventional to me.

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## phild01

> 11 squares = 102 m2 PG, sorry should stick with metric instead of those stupid units!

  Squares are good and easy to understand... stupid metric system :Wink: .

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## Moondog55

You're gunna need a bigger shed

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## CraigandKate

> What was the drama with the roof ? Seems pretty conventional to me.

  Bigger shed seems pretty unanimous.. 
You would think so, but apparently the engineer had all sorts of issues with the uplift, the first iteration had beams going everywhere!

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## toooldforthis

i like that the front is still cottage-y 
which way is North?

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## CraigandKate

> i like that the front is still cottage-y 
> which way is North?

  Driveway side is the Northside, so deck faces East.

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## toooldforthis

> Driveway side is the Northside, so deck faces East.

  looking good then  :2thumbsup:

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## Moondog55

I'm just jealous because I still don't have a "Shed" with a capital *"S"*

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## CraigandKate

Opinions please, thinking about instead of using weatherboards on the south side I will just use some cement sheeting of some description (Masters has some cheap Easylap at the moment) cost wise it will likely save a couple of hundred dollars and obviously be a fair bit easier and faster to install (saves me about 250 lineal metres of weatherboard sanding..) but Kate is worried it will look half finished (even though its 1m from the fence and barely anyone will see it) any thoughts?

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## Moondog55

I'd say go with the saving money. Why WB and not Colorbond steel?

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## Armers

That actually doesn't look too bad, certainly easier to maintain in the long run.

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## OBBob

What's in the picture is quite carefully finished... if you want that finish your need to be careful about the detail. I think it looks good though.

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## Cecile

> south side I will just use some cement sheeting of some description

  We put zincalume vertically on the parts of the house that aren't visible from the street, the rest is colorbond.  It looks amazing, and there's *no maintenance.*   Not sure how it compares pricewise to your discounted stuff from Masters.

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## Optimus

Don't use colourbond, will look terrible mixed in with weatherboards

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## Moondog55

> Don't use colourbond, will look terrible mixed in with weatherboards

  Not sure I agree there; it's all a matter of subjective appreciation. Difference in cladding can be used to differentiate between old and new to good effect

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## CraigandKate

Thanks all for the input, colourbond wall cladding I do like but not for this style house I don't think. Just went out to Masters and picked up the easylap, just under $30 per sheet for 3000x900x8.5 sheets, 18 will take care of the south wall and hopefully I can get a decent finish reasonably easily.  
PS placated Kate by saying I can just put weatherboards over the top if her OCD can't handle one wall being different lol

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## CraigandKate

Quick update on the weekend festivities, it's my favourite bit  :Wink:  undressing! Started from the bottom, structurally she is looking pretty good underneath couple of spots of old termite damage that need replacing but seems like the re-stumping done by the previous owner is good (figured that because the floor is so level). 
 50 year old hardwood is strong stuff was pulling the nails straight through the treated pine barge boards instead of out of the endgrain of the joists! 
Also filled a 4m3 skip..

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## SlowMick

still love the garage.  :2thumbsup:  
looks like there is a whole mess of bricks in that skip.

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## CraigandKate

Not so many brick's in the skip but a fair amount of concrete, timber and sand. Getting pretty sick of digging lol but not too much more to go. 
Had the gas meter moved yesterday and have just decided on a truss supplier so have a meeting with them on Friday to get some final frame and load bearing location information so I can do the last 2-3 stump holes then its all on for hole clearing and setting it all in concrete.  
Few pics of the new gasline running in and the 150mm stormwater hooked up to the infiltration pit, sorry about the mess hopefully will have it all backfilled and grass back growing ASAP.

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## Moondog55

At least you didn't have to resort to explosives to dig the holes.

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## CraigandKate

Update time: 
Been busy organizing materials for the christmas break, hopefully have everything to get it the end of wall frames... 
Also had some guys in to quote removing the asbestos from the sunroom/laundry roof and ended up getting them to take the whole thing and the chimney, price was very good once I factored in the bin's I would of had to get. That meant that the laundry relocation to the shed had to happen (it was in progress anyway). Stump holes are finalized and cleaned up for inspection this week and fabricated half my steelwork to just sneak it into the last run of galvanizing before xmas. 
Anyway everyone is only here for the pics:             
Managed to tidy the shed!  
And found this old coke bottle digging..

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## phild01

> Anyway everyone is only here for the pics:

   :Yes:  
...and the ol bottles :Smilie:

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## PlatypusGardens

That red esky looks like it could fall and hurt someone

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## ringtail

What's the go with the steel post/s ? Are they going in ground ?

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## Cecile

Did you keep the bricks for paving, or were they taken away?  Our "deconstructed chimney" rests in a neat pile in our back yard.

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## PlatypusGardens

> What's the go with the steel post/s ? Are they going in ground ?

  
Ah yes and plastic clamps for welding......works ok as long as they're not too close to the weld.   :Fisch:

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## CraigandKate

Haha hadn't even noticed that esky, I think it looks worse in the photo than it is, hasn't fallen on me yet.. and plastic clamps were just holding it steady while I had the other end cantilevered for welding, otherwise they wouldn't be looking so good! 
Nah didn't want to keep them for paving, guys took them away, 
Yeah hot dip gal steel columns to go into the ground from 89x89x4.9 SHS as specified by the engineer, see my highly technical drawing below for their locations. Cranked 150pfc on the deck fascia and 180 pfc over the window and cantilevered out supporting some of the deck roof rafters, also happens to support a girder truss.

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## toooldforthis

> Been busy organizing materials for the christmas break, hopefully have everything to get it the end of wall frames...

  looking good 
you don't mind if I just sit back with a few beers while you get on with it?

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## ringtail

> Yeah hot dip gal steel columns to go into the ground from 89x89x4.9 SHS as specified by the engineer, see my highly technical drawing below for their locations. Cranked 150pfc on the deck fascia and 180 pfc over the window and cantilevered out supporting some of the deck roof rafters, also happens to support a girder truss.

  Cool. Don't forget to drill the drain holes in the base and top plates for the dipping. They hate it when people forget and charge accordingly to drill. Your weld looks a touch cold to me. Try this technique. Works great.  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4

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## PlatypusGardens

> Your weld looks a touch cold to me. Try this technique. Works great.  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4

  noooooo.....his plastic clamp will melt   :Shock:

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## ringtail

None of my plastic clamps have the yellow feet anymore.  :Biggrin:  One step closer to the bin where they belong. Plastic clamps, pfffft.

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## CraigandKate

> Cool. Don't forget to drill the drain holes in the base and top plates for the dipping. They hate it when people forget and charge accordingly to drill. Your weld looks a touch cold to me. Try this technique. Works great.  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4

  Yeah on it left the top open on these because they are in the wall and drilled 4 x 13mm holes in the bottom for drainage, I do usually weave weld but will give that little circle work a try next time thanks! I was struggling getting enough heat in don't usually weld 10mm stuff with the lincoln 180C and I think that the little magnetic earth clamp was not giving me the best earth might grab a proper clamp before I do the rest.

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## ringtail

You could always do 2 or 3 passes. The second pass will run nicely due to the heat already in the metal. Most engineers only spec a 6 mm fillet anyway so a good hot single pass will do it. Can always try fluxcore for added heat  :Biggrin:  but your machine should do it easy with solid wire. Max out the volts.

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## PlatypusGardens

> fluxcore

   :Sssh:     

> Max out the volts.

   :What he said:  
Gotta get lots of heat in to it.   :Cool:

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## Armers

> Your weld looks a touch cold to me. Try this technique. Works great.

  How do you know it was a "Cold" weld?

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## ringtail

> How do you know it was a "Cold" weld?

  Experience.  
The weld starts from the right and you can see how fat it is which is too much wire feed or not enough volts and a little bit of slow travel speed. You can also see that the weld is rolled over on the bottom toe and hasn't bitten into the column. One also has to back fill the crater at the finish of the weld simply by running the weld pool back and hovering for a second. I'm not suggesting it's not fit for purpose though. The video I linked will solve most issues provided the machine is set properly. Set it hot. One can always dial it back but hotter is much better on structural stuff.

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## CraigandKate

From metal onto wood! Big delivery today, all the subfloor and wall materials along with the F7 cypress for the deck frame.. Busy Christmas ahead, working on my excuses to get out of family gatherings as quickly as possible..

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## ringtail

Ooooh, a delivery of YT. Must be going to rain  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:

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## Cecile

> Ooooh, a delivery of YT. Must be going to rain

   :Rofl:

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## CraigandKate

> Ooooh, a delivery of YT. Must be going to rain

  Funnily enough it not only rained it hailed.. that Melbourne summer hey? Quick run down to mitre 10 for some builders plastic was required.. 
Officially done with work until the 16th of January so time to get into some stumps and framing! Just need the damn inspector to turn up, he stood me up this afternoon! Better turn up tomorrow because I have started lining up my concrete pour crew for next Wednesday..   
PS Gal is back!   
.

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## ringtail

Cool. Hmmm, open post holes ? = rain  :Biggrin:   Booked concrete = epic rain  :Biggrin:  :Tongue:

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## OBBob

> Cool. Hmmm, open post holes ? = rain   Booked concrete = epic rain

  Even the inspector can summon rain. I dug 60 stump holes and booked the inspector but then had to fly to WA unexpectedly for work. Watching the forecast it looked bad, so I called him and said 'I can't get away from work, can you jump the fence and tick them off'. He did, then it poured the next day and I spent the following weekend digging the mud out of them with an ice-cream container.  
Good luck.   :Biggrin:

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## PlatypusGardens

Ha.
Reminds me of that time I had the digger in to excavate for a retaining wall.....
about a 1M drop where the wall was to go. 
It started raining that afternoon and continued to do so for 5 weeks straight. 
We literally did not have a rain free day for 5 weeks.
It'd get down to light drizzle at best.  
Still, where the job was it was super heavy clay, so nothing moved or caved in, luckily.

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## Godzilla73

Same here, half the roof peeled off under a tarp for 3 weeks waiting for a clear day to do trusses, fascia and extra tie downs for the new Colorbond roof. Nothing but strong winds and rain, 2 clear days roof goes on now waiting for rain so we can enjoy the sound on the new roof.  
Same with my 2500 ltr water tank on the garage, hooked it up and it took 4 months to fill. If I'd gotten on to it 6 weeks earlier it would have filled in 2 days.

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## CraigandKate

So Melbourne weather hey? Went from working in 38 degrees on Xmas day to working in the rain yesterday! 
Making some good progress now though, halfway into getting my concrete stumps laid out into my every expanding stump holes (Active kelpie plus delicate sand holes is not a good mix, ok maybe my big feet occasionally too). 
28 down and 28 to go, then steel posts and deck stirrups, have the crew lined up to wheelbarrow concrete Friday morning so have to get it all done! 6:30am is not too early to start up the nailgun right?

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## jimfish

Are you planning on filling the holes with concrete?
All the concrete stumps we've installed have just had a 200mm pad underneath and then back filled with soil.

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## joynz

Hi Craig 
I notice you are using Bio PCM on one of the walls.  
Just wondering if this level / type of insulation was a requirement to meet the energy rating?

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## CraigandKate

Yeah jimfish, they are not getting filled to the top though. My standard footing that has been specified by the engineer is 500mm diameter 300mm deep, so hanging the posts 150mm-200mm from the bottom of the hole and then will fill to 300mm deep. Really loose sand here, not sure it would work with only backfill holding the stump in place, in clay I can see that being no problem though. I am working to this diagram from my engineer.    
Hey Joynz yeah I am using some Bio PCM in some select areas of the house, not a requirement for energy rating at all I just came across it and really like the idea, especially being a 100% lightweight construction home it will give us some thermal mass to work with. I plan on putting it in the ceiling (under the bulk insulation) around the wood fire area and also am lining a bit of a coolstore/pantry with it in the laundry as we do buy a bit of bulk food and it will help keep it at a consistent temperate therefore extending shelf life.

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## ringtail

Buggers me how you guys get away with such wussy post holes. Our letter boxes have more concrete around them  :Biggrin:  . 1800 x450 minimum for the house I'm working on atm.

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## Optimus

> Buggers me how you guys get away with such wussy post holes. Our letter boxes have more concrete around them  . 1800 x450 minimum for the house I'm working on atm.

  He's on sand ringtail, obviously the soil (sand) doesn't change the deeper you go, hence the 500 diameter  
1800 deep holes? Is it clay? 
I just worked on one in northcote (melbourne) and had to go down 2 meters

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## ringtail

Yep clay but still, uplift is everywhere regardless of soil type and although that's not as important as bearing capacity it's still highly significant.

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## CraigandKate

Haha remember our Melbourne weather may be 4 seasons in one day, but that doesn't usually include cyclones! There is some 600x600 by 500mm deep foundations in select locations under girder truss's etc and its a stump house so I have 56 of these (plus the existing ones which is 50 odd) so that is probably around 16 ton of concrete! Adds up quickly..

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## ringtail

You guys are apparently going to get smashed today by weather. Some of those low pressure systems down there are easily cyclone strength but don't get naming rights because they didn't form in tropical waters. Even decent storms can produce 160 kmh winds amd then the tornadoes. Build for the worst and hope for the best. You only get one shot at doing the foundations.

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## droog

> You only get one shot at doing the foundations.

  Optimus may disagree on that one.

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## Optimus

> Optimus may disagree on that one.

  Hahaha keeps me in a job

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## phild01

> Hahaha keeps me in a job

  ..wouldn't want to crawl under this one!

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## PlatypusGardens

> Our letter boxes have more concrete around them  . 1800 x450 minimum.

   

> I just worked on one in northcote (melbourne) and had to go down 2 meters

  
The mind boggles at the size of these letterboxes   :Rofl5:

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## r3nov8or

> The mind boggles at the size of these letterboxes

   They are Bugs Bunny's letter boxes

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## SilentButDeadly

> You guys are apparently going to get smashed today by weather. Some of those low pressure systems down there are easily cyclone strength but don't get naming rights because they didn't form in tropical waters. Even decent storms can produce 160 kmh winds amd then the tornadoes. Build for the worst and hope for the best. You only get one shot at doing the foundations.

  The last storm we had managed tornado like winds through the nearby town. Mostly old weatherboard places with stumps probably no more than 600 down when they were built probably mid last century. 30 places with roof damage and 20 of those with partial or total loss...none of them lifted even partially out of the ground. No doubt some of them racked a bit without their rooves but their seemingly paltry foundations were fine! 
Uplift is a thing, no doubt. But so is evidence based engineering. And I would suggest that the latter is far rarer.

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## ringtail

Same up here Silent. Most post war houses are on concrete stumps ( real ones, not those used down south) not more than 600 in the ground. Heaps of them rack but most just move a lot due to the clay. I can't remember the last one I've seen storm damaged yet brand new homes loose their roofs with un-nerving regularity up here. It seems gravity and hardwood handpitched roofs trumps trusses and triple grips. Come the apocolypse I'll chain myself to my carport posts. 100x100x6, 2mt embedded in a 2.5 x 450 hole  :Biggrin:

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## CraigandKate

Updates and Questions! 
After some serious Melbourne weather, I got almost all the stumps pored, went pretty well only a couple of stumps needing a bit of adjustment to get it all level. 
Question is, the joists in the existing house are checked out so when I am joining up the new joists I need to check them also to sit on the existing bearers. They will also need some leveling up once the roof is off so I was planning on checking out all the joists so the top of old and new match, then packing the stumps so the whole lot is level. 
However a builder friend today suggested to leave the new joists full height then just laminate a new bearer on the inside to lift up the old joists to match? The advantage of this is it takes out any bow that is present in some of the bearers anyway. 
Any thoughts on which is the better way to do it?               
About 20 minutes later.. Water gone! Got to love sand!

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## OBBob

All that rain was your fault!?   :Tongue:

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## Optimus

Oh all that lvl and water....

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## CraigandKate

> All that rain was your fault!?

  I ordered it so my holes were pre-moistened for the concrete, I just had a bit of a typo and put down 50mm instead of 5mm..

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## Godzilla73

> Oh all that lvl and water....

  The bigger names in LVL like Smartframe and Dindas have a coating to repel water for a few months. Mine were fine for the few weeks they were exposed to the weather.

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## dazzler

> Question is, the joists in the existing house are checked out so when I am joining up the new joists I need to check them also to sit on the existing bearers.

  Ah checked out plates.  I still do those when I build wall frames as thats how i was taught.  I remember my uncle had a circular saw with a dado set the correct width.  Never let me touch it as the bloody thing was crazy bad to use. 
Good work BTW!

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## OBBob

> The bigger names in LVL like Smartframe and Dindas have a coating to repel water for a few months. Mine were fine for the few weeks they were exposed to the weather.

  They're also often H3 treated now too.

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## ringtail

> Oh all that lvl and water....

  A common misconception. H3 LVL's are totally fine with water.

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## CraigandKate

Some updates, joists are 90% there, plumber in tomorrow to rough in the new ensuite and bathroom.

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## OBBob

What's the bearer / joist that sticks out on its own?

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## CraigandKate

> What's the bearer / joist that sticks out on its own?

  Front deck/entry fills inbetween that and the driveway, will sit lower than the house so will build it like a separate deck on stirrups.

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## OBBob

> Front deck/entry fills inbetween that and the driveway, will sit lower than the house so will build it like a separate deck on stirrups.

  Looks good. Worst bit (getting out of the ground) is our the way then!

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## sol381

> A common misconception. H3 LVL's are totally fine with water.

  Just be careful with that.. My timber supplier told me about a year ago that ANY external lvls must be primed AND have Rubber protectordeck on top.. If not, no warranty.Seeing as this will be under a house  they should be fine tho. An open deck is a different matter.

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## ringtail

Oh totally.  The prep specs are quite clear from the manufacturer. I believe all exterior timber regardless of type but particularly pine products should be primed (oil based) and painted

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## Godzilla73

Looking good, good feeling to get it out of the ground.

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## sol381

> Oh totally.  The prep specs are quite clear from the manufacturer. I believe all exterior timber regardless of type but particularly pine products should be primed (oil based) and painted

  Doesnt hurt.. good job for wifey to do.

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## ringtail

Bwahaha. Brave man.  :Biggrin:

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## sol381

well i wouldnt TELL her to do it.. although mine loves painting.. All i have to do is the cut in between wall and ceiling and she does the rest.. good deal i reckon. Im amazed there arent a lot more female painters.

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## ringtail

She's a keeper mate. Most just choose the colour  :Biggrin:

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## sol381

she does that too.. I have zero say in that.  Now all i need is for her to screw the rest of the roof off.

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## commodorenut

I must have scored OK - my wife does all the cutting in as I roll.  Only thing she won't cut is the cornice - but I find that much easier than the skirts & arcs.

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## OBBob

> ... Im amazed there arent a lot more female painters.

  Some businesses have been built up around that and have done very well.   http://www.womenatwork.com.au

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## sol381

Great to see.. one trade that isnt too hard on the body, unless your moving 16ft trestles around a house.

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## ringtail

> she does that too.. I have zero say in that.  Now all i need is for her to screw the rest of the roof off.

  She ok with heights ? Get her a pair of volleys and crack on  :Biggrin:

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## sol381

unfortunatley not. she freaks out climbing a 3ft step ladder. maybe ill find a new apprentice to do it.

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## ringtail

Too right. Summer and roofing has apprentice written all over it

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## sol381

I`ll drink to that. Im getting to the point that most jobs have apprentice written on them.

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## PlatypusGardens

> I`ll drink to that.

  
Jeez, a bit early innit?
And people hassle me for [s]cracking a beer[/s] brewing a coffee at 10:30 on a weekend.....

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## sol381

10.30s a bit late.. i didnt say alcohol.. i just got my second coffee. get your mind out of the bottle shop mate... :Biggrin:

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## PlatypusGardens

Ahum 
Coffee.
yes of course    :Unsure:

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## sol381

I understood what you meant .

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## PlatypusGardens

Post edited above

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## sol381

:Rofl:

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## ringtail

> I`ll drink to that. Im getting to the point that most jobs have apprentice written on them.

  Yes indeed. Kick back, have a coffee and watch someone else get a taste of reality

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## commodorenut

> Too right. Summer and roofing has apprentice written all over it

   When I was 18, I laboured on Saturdays & some weekdays (depending on commitments) for a roof & gutter mate of my dad, who only does colorbond.  He was contracted to a builder at an estate where the covenents demanded colorbond, and it was all fairly steep pitches too - to look "old" and compliment the nearby historic town.  He had a stack of places to do - working 12 hour days, 6 days/week over summer.  He offered me a "day rate" for a whole day Saturday, which was more than I made in a week when I worked full time after uni, as well as a bonus for each place we finished (fully - all flashing & gutters completed too). 
I feared that I'd be up there on the roof getting burnt to a crisp, and nearly backed out, but he said it was too dangerous for a new guy - regardless of how agile I was, and I would be on the ground passing up sheets that his apprentice would cut, as well as moving more "stock" from the pile out the front to where we were working.  Suited me fine, as the estate was all large blocks, and a lot of the mature trees were avoided in the earthworks, so we'd find a shady spot for a quick rest between sheets. 
He soon worked out I was a gun with angles & the pneumatic shears - far quicker, and with far less waste than the apprentice, so he'd simply call out measurements of the next sheet and the angle direction (if required) while he was screwing down the current one, and I'd have it cut & the apprentice would be passing it up on the roof beside him ready to go as soon as the last screw was in the current sheet. 
I got asked by one of the builders if I was indentured - not from a workcover/worksafe issue, but because he was amazed at how quick we were getting the roof done, and how accurate my cuts were.  There was a war of words between my Dad's mate & him after that, as he wanted to take me on as a labourer doing framing with him. 
Thinking back now, I quite enjoyed it, but it's a young guy's game.

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## sol381

thats the plan.. organizing materials and telling people what to do sounds like more fun. Need to buy some acreage and potter around there.

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## sol381

> When I was 18, I laboured on Saturdays & some weekdays (depending on commitments) for a roof & gutter mate of my dad, who only does colorbond.  He was contracted to a builder at an estate where the covenents demanded colorbond, and it was all fairly steep pitches too - to look "old" and compliment the nearby historic town.  He had a stack of places to do - working 12 hour days, 6 days/week over summer.  He offered me a "day rate" for a whole day Saturday, which was more than I made in a week when I worked full time after uni, as well as a bonus for each place we finished (fully - all flashing & gutters completed too). 
> I feared that I'd be up there on the roof getting burnt to a crisp, and nearly backed out, but he said it was too dangerous for a new guy - regardless of how agile I was, and I would be on the ground passing up sheets that his apprentice would cut, as well as moving more "stock" from the pile out the front to where we were working.  Suited me fine, as the estate was all large blocks, and a lot of the mature trees were avoided in the earthworks, so we'd find a shady spot for a quick rest between sheets. 
> He soon worked out I was a gun with angles & the pneumatic shears - far quicker, and with far less waste than the apprentice, so he'd simply call out measurements of the next sheet and the angle direction (if required) while he was screwing down the current one, and I'd have it cut & the apprentice would be passing it up on the roof beside him ready to go as soon as the last screw was in the current sheet. 
> I got asked by one of the builders if I was indentured - not from a workcover/worksafe issue, but because he was amazed at how quick we were getting the roof done, and how accurate my cuts were.  There was a war of words between my Dad's mate & him after that, as he wanted to take me on as a labourer doing framing with him. 
> Thinking back now, I quite enjoyed it, but it's a young guy's game.

  Just had a roof go on at a job im working at and 2 guys were about 40 but there was an old timer about 60..he loved it..too much sun fried his brain i think. But was good to see he still liked his work.. Some 20yo would have given it away after 10 minutes. was stinking hot.

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## ringtail

> thats the plan.. organizing materials and telling people what to do sounds like more fun. Need to buy some acreage and potter around there.

  Yep. Even that has it's challenges. Just had to fork out $770 for 1 tyre for the backhoe. The grass never stops growing. Always something to do. Unpaid work, hmmmmm. Then again, no people to deal with.

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## sol381

That last sentence is the clincher. $770.. jeez,, need to grow some rubber trees.

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## ringtail

$600 + gst for the tyre. $90+ for the tube. $10 for the new valve core retainer. Oh well, back in action now. Less than useless with 3 wheels so it had to be done

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## sol381

fair enough.. some things you cant do without.

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## PlatypusGardens

> fair enough.. some things you cant do without.

  
....like beer....or coffee

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## sol381

indeed but one before 10 and the other one after.  Cant remember the order tho.

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## ringtail

10 am somewhere  :Biggrin:  . At least the new tyre has levelled up the front bucket. It's bent somewhere and buggered if I can find where. Nothing remotely level to park it on and measure so one new tyre and 1 baldy does the job, for now.

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## CraigandKate

Coffee until 2pm beer after then, well that's my rule anyway! 
Bit more progress, plumber has been and roughed in the bathroom, ensuite and stormwater. Still has to come back and do the kitchen and laundry but that's at the other end and right near the sewer outlet so we will organize that later. 
Waiting for the inspection of the subfloor then I can insulate and put down the yellow tongue. For the insulation I am going to use foil between the joists, folded in and stapled then some earthwool between the sarking and yellow tongue, should help with the heat loss through the floor and also keep the sound down when walking.

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## SlowMick

Look at all that straight flat lovely timber.  i get jealous after working with 40 year old hard wood. looks great.  :2thumbsup:

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## sol381

best invention ever that lvl.

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## ringtail

:2thumbsup:

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## sol381

Imagine doing that in hardwood. 100 x 50 will be anywhere from 95-110mm.. twisted , cupped , warped,very hard to screw or even nail, weighs a ton. no thanks.  got a lot of respect for old timers who had no air or power tools.

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## OBBob

> Imagine doing that in hardwood. 100 x 50 will be anywhere from 95-110mm.. twisted , cupped , warped,very hard to screw or even nail, weighs a ton. no thanks.  got a lot of respect for old timers who had no air or power tools.

  It's ok if it's not too old. My last extension I did all the subfloor in hardwood because I hadn't discovered LVL.

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## PlatypusGardens

lvl is ok.  
lol is more fun

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## sol381

most hardwood is rubbish these days. moisture content is way too high and just not fun to work with due to what i said about sizing. always nice to find new easier ways of building huh.

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## sol381

> lvl is ok.  
> lol is more fun

  
isnt lvl..laughing very loud.

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## PlatypusGardens

Dunno, but lol looks like a person drowning   :Rofl5:

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## sol381

indeed.

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## SlowMick

> Imagine doing that in hardwood. 100 x 50 will be anywhere from 95-110mm.. twisted , cupped , warped,very hard to screw or even nail, weighs a ton. no thanks.  got a lot of respect for old timers who had no air or power tools.

  much respect for the guys who did it all "the hard way".

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## OBBob

> much respect for the guys who did it all "the hard way".

  Not just the frame... Imagine hand nailing all the lath for the plaster.  :eek:

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## Optimus

Handsaws and redgum stumps are 2 things that should just not go together

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## David.Elliott

FIL was a carpenter from the old school. When I whinged about hand cutting timber he used to tell me to STFU. He used to hand cut jarrah for roof framing, as a youngster. 
He did admit it was quite a bit greener when they got it, as distinct from 40 years later sitting in a roof... 
And then there was the coping saw for the jarrah skirts...

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## ringtail

Ironbark was kept dripping wet up here. Watered and covered with hessian daily. Hard times.

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## CraigandKate

Been pretty slack with the updates, but it's been a bit busy around here! 
Covered up all the beautiful straight LVL's with yellow tongue, after first putting insulation between all the joists:         
Then the rain came!

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## CraigandKate

Then it was wall frame time:

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## r3nov8or

Coming along nicely

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## wozzzzza

whats this part sticking out?? doesn't look like anything holding it up?? step on it and it will break off???

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## phild01

I assumed it is a step that will be supported by a concrete pour later on!

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## ChocDog

Looking good 
TCR

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## CraigandKate

Stirrups and concrete went in after that picture to hold up the step, you can just see them in the photo just below it, right at the end of the build the driveway will also be re-done to come right up to the step. 
Got stuck into the back section after that, had a bit of a problem with this, somehow ended up with the bearer out of square by about 80mm, was able to correct it easily enough by overhanging the joist slightly but a bit annoyed at myself, you can see in the pic directly below where the joists overhang on the left side.

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## Moondog55

Looking good so far

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## johnstonfencing

Looks great! 
A question regarding your chimney back near the start of this thread. 
You mentioned that you had the asbestos removal guys take it away. Is this because of the possibility of asbestos used in the mortar in the past? 
If you don't mind can I ask what was the rough price to have a chimney removed?
We have a similar era of house and looking to remove a chimney in the near future. 
Cheers 
Craig

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## SlowMick

it's very cool to see the old house get swallowed by the new one. love your work.  :2thumbsup:

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## CraigandKate

> Looks great! 
> A question regarding your chimney back near the start of this thread. 
> You mentioned that you had the asbestos removal guys take it away. Is this because of the possibility of asbestos used in the mortar in the past? 
> If you don't mind can I ask what was the rough price to have a chimney removed?
> We have a similar era of house and looking to remove a chimney in the near future. 
> Cheers 
> Craig

  Yeah the blokes that removed it were from Accurate Demolition, I had to get the asbestos removed from the roof of the little laundry/sunroom extension and just out of curiosity I asked also for a price for them to dismantle/remove the whole extension plus chimney, think it was just over $2k all up and since the other asbestos quotes I had were ~$700 mark for just the extension roof - plus the bins I would of needed to do the rest myself I just got it done. No asbestos in the chimney as far as I am aware.

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## CraigandKate

Bracing is all done, now easter is all about wrapping it up and battening out for the weatherboards. 
Using kingspan permishield 6.5mm perforated foil wrap and 25x40mm hardwood battens that I picked up as a pack for a bargain price. 
Thinking hard on how to flash around the windows though, between the thicker foil wrap and the battens its actually a bit tricky.

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## pharmaboy2

You have planned for the battens to go over the wrap, yeah? 
i think you asked that question a year or so ago, I went with reveals on the outside, drained cavity but with an above window flashing behind wrap under battens that went out beyond cladding.

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## CraigandKate

Yeah planned for battens over the wrap, my reveals are level with the outside of the aluminium but there is a drainage track around which would end up in the cavity so will likely use that and also have a drained cavity. 
The one thing I hadn't really realized until I started putting it up was how much thicker and more difficult the permishield is to work around the openings so just thinking about how to change my method on that to make it easier and neater.

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## johnstonfencing

> Yeah the blokes that removed it were from Accurate Demolition, I had to get the asbestos removed from the roof of the little laundry/sunroom extension and just out of curiosity I asked also for a price for them to dismantle/remove the whole extension plus chimney, think it was just over $2k all up and since the other asbestos quotes I had were ~$700 mark for just the extension roof - plus the bins I would of needed to do the rest myself I just got it done. No asbestos in the chimney as far as I am aware.

  Thanks for the info, I'll look them up. 
Cheers

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## CraigandKate

So made some good progress on the weekend, not quite as much as I hoped but never do lol! 
House is all wrapped and ready to go, also officially plaster camping now, all external weatherboards gone with the exception of the gable ends.  
Trusses all lined up to arrive Friday and team of chippies coming to put them all up Anzac week, then the roofer the week after so action stations! 
Should of taken some more pics but ran out of light tonight so just a couple of snaps during the progress this weekend.

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## Moondog55

Keep those scraps to one side when you have finished. The RFL+foam makes a great under-cot shield for camping in cold weather and good sun reflectors for the windshield etc

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## CraigandKate

> Keep those scraps to one side when you have finished. The RFL+foam makes a great under-cot shield for camping in cold weather and good sun reflectors for the windshield etc

  Yeah I have stashed the big ones, was thinking I might put them in the eaves also especially on the north and west sides. 
However "Fluffy" the long haired kelpie we were dog sitting decided some were a great play toy though and shredded a couple!

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## CraigandKate

Ok update time, in between 60 hour 6 day working weeks I have been coordinating a bit of work, trusses all arrived and had a team of chippies come in and put them up. Pretty tricky roof but has come up really well. Weekend of tidying up this week and hopefully roof on either next week or the week after, will try get another post up also with some detail on how my funky flyover roof has come together over the deck at the back.

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## CraigandKate

Whoops

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## Moondog55

Look at all that lovely firewood. 
Where is the BBQ and woodshed going?

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## CraigandKate

Firewood is all being chopped up and stored for the new freestanding wood heater. 
In the meantime roof is all up and the crazy rear pitched wing over my currently unbuilt deck is looking good!

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## SlowMick

looks awesome sir.  must be nice to come from a long day at work and see progress.  :2thumbsup:

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## CraigandKate

Big milestone.. Roof!

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## sol381

Just in time too by the look of those clouds.

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## ChocDog

Place is looking great guys. Nice dog!

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## OBBob

Nice. Could have concerts on that back deck!

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## CraigandKate

Haha that's our neighbors dog! Ours in the neurotic black and tan kelpie running like mad somewhere.. 
Hmm OB never thought of it like that, but you are right! Have this dream one day I can tie it into the carport and have it all joined together.. best I finish the house first though..

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## CraigandKate

Well need to do a update but bloody photobucket have changed all their permissions and basically want me to pay $400 per year in order to allow 3rd party viewing of pics in forums, which is not going to happen. 
Will try work out another option and rebuild the pics in this thread as I have time.

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## r3nov8or

Simple option is to upload them directly here. May need to resize them though

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## Moondog55

Photobucket is a con just load them here into the forum
Not worth paying PB anything, basically a scam IMO

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## phild01

It is far better to upload here. Images deleted from one those storage providers wont be available for our future reference.

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## CraigandKate

Yeah the uploader here is actually ok, the photobucket thing is just a habit from other forums that it was the only option and I have the app on my phone so can upload them direct then copy the link in easily. 
I will work on it.

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## CraigandKate

Sorry been a bit busy and slack on the updates lately! It has been progressing and I will try and catch up on the updates. 
With the roof on, next stage was to clear out the un-necessary internal walls and old horsehair plaster (gee that stuff is heavy and tough) to open up the floorplan

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## SlowMick

Looking good.  Is the chainsaw your surplus wall removal tool of choice?

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## ChocDog

You guys must be getting excited by now, looks like it's all coming together well!
===================

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## CraigandKate

Sledgehammer after strategic sabre saw work was the demo tool of choice! Along with the occasional swinging off the bottom cord to kick a wall over.. 
Chainsaw was there to chop into firewood. 
Getting further along here much further than the updates since I have been so slack but am trying to keep the timeline running. 
Recap: 
- Roof on and all weathertight
- Walls are wrapped but no windows in yet
- Still running one bathroom/shower (our old ensuite)
- Working on getting 2/3rds of the house all sorted for plaster, then will get the main bathroom running so I can demolish the old ensuite 
Some pics of the inside preps for plaster, the windows going in and how the battens for weatherboards are looking:

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## Moondog55

Looking forward to the long term critique of the Aircell too

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## JB1

Doh, pity the old photos have gone. 
Can you let me know if there was any special method required to install the air cell? 
I'm looking to install it too. 
Also price per roll and where did you get it from? 
=

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## CraigandKate

Yeah I hope it has been worthwhile, I actually wonder if the sound deadening may be a bigger gain than the temperature insulation. The battens were all screwed in with 65mm decking screws through the ply brace and into studs but it does not compress completely obviously so apart from the screws and the windows I effectively have a outer shell that is isolated from the inside framework of the house if that makes any sense. 
It's going to be hard to measure any difference in any case. 
Yeah the pics going down are a PITA, not a fan of the bloody forum uploader either it is so clunky and slow to upload pics. If a mod can unlock editing on all my old posts I will try find time to go back and update it all a bit at a time? 
Pricewise insulation, 1350mm x 22.25m rolls were $321 each, i have used 6, with tape and delivery it was just over $2k for the whole house and I don't have much left. I did use a bit to line all the roof window tunnels also though. 
Anyway, my sparky mate got all the roughing in done and then it was the itchy job of insulation everywhere, earthwool r2.7 in all the external walls and r2.5 in the internal! Wrapped the roof window tunnels in the insulbreak and taped it all up then bulk on the inside.

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## Bros

> Yeah the pics going down are a PITA, not a fan of the bloody forum uploader either it is so clunky and slow to upload pics. If a mod can unlock editing on all my old posts I will try find time to go back and update it all a bit at a

  I bet you are not a fan of Photobucket either. There is nothing wrong with the uploaded it is just the file size hasn't kept up with the times. Recently I sent the site owners a method to fix this but as yet I haven't got an answer.

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## JB1

$11sqm isnt too bad. 
Mind letting me know where you got it from? 
Does the air cell require the battens or can it be used as standard wall wrap? 
=

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## CraigandKate

It's there already JB you just missed it, pricewise insulation, they deliver pretty promptly also (2 days I think). 
Yeah Bros not a fan of photobucket but struggling with the uploader, have to reduce the pic size and upload each one individually which is painful. Could you please open up all my posts in this thread to edit?

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## Bros

> Could you please open up all my posts in this thread to edit?

   Sorry but that is above my pay level and as far as I can see no one can it as the software won't allow this to happen.

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## r3nov8or

> ... upload each one individually which is painful. ...

   if you ’Go Advanced', further down you can 'Manage Attachments' and add many photos at once

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## CraigandKate

Rightio small catch up then on pics since it doesn't look like it is recoverable, back from the start!

----------


## CraigandKate



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## ChocDog

That's a bit bigger than before! What size was it and is now? 
Looking good 
=================

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## CraigandKate

Yep mate, twice the size it was, 110sqm to 220sqm (including alfresco) 
Some more catch up pictures, roof on!

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## CraigandKate

And plaster in! Square set cornices all around, roof laser levelled/battened and villa in the bathrooms. 
Kitchen area  
2nd Living area  
Triple skylights over Island Bench  
Plaster team  
Front door (Main living/dining and kitchen left of shot)  
Bathroom Skylight

----------


## CraigandKate

A lick of paint on the 2-3-4th bedrooms and starting to get the main bathroom up and running.

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## JB1

Looking good. 
Freestanding bath near the toilet? 
What are you going to do with flyscreens for the casement windows? 
====

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## SlowMick

Looking very nice.  your internal doors are cool.  thanks for posting the plans up - it helped a lot figuring out the bathroom pictures.  Going to be a very flash house when done (i was impressed with your garage).

----------


## CraigandKate

Yeah freestanding bath, all in now pics below, just a cheapie from Highgrove bathrooms but I really like it. Simple and easy to clean, fits flush to the wall so no gaps. 
The casements all have hinged inwards flyscreens, they are just not installed atm for painting, I will get some pics up once some are in.

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## phild01

Like the bath :2thumbsup:

----------


## r3nov8or

Measuring tape or flowers? Yep, measuring tape.

----------


## CraigandKate

It's my new good clean tape measure too, so pretty! Better than flowers.. 
So with the new bathroom up and running it was finally time to demolish the old one and therefore finish off the Laundry toilet and master bedrooms ready for plaster.

----------


## Cecile

The bath looks like it's totally flat on the bottom so easy to stand in.

----------


## ChocDog

Great progress guys.  
====

----------


## CraigandKate

Geez been a bit slack with the updates! 
Ok so got my master, ensuite, toilet and laundry all plastered/villa, waterproofed and tiled the ensuite/toilet/laundry and was able to start on the 14mm engineered spotted gum flooring. 
The other thing I managed, was to cut the tendon on my right hand with a tenon saw checking out some of the flooring (yes tendon with a tenon saw haha) although at 1pm on new years eve with a whole stack of glue setting on the floor it was not so funny, and that was before I discovered the tendon cut and thought it was just a inconvenient trip to the docs for a couple of stitches.

----------


## CraigandKate

*** Side Project *** 
Just for fun, I sail 18ft catamarans and our national titles were in Perth this year over Australia day week, so we got a caravan chassis and a truck body joined it all together and put 6 boats inside then me and a mate drove across, raced for a week and drove back. Didn't get much done on the house in January..

----------


## Bros

> 

  Ouch!

----------


## Bros

> 

   Got the aerodynamics of a house brick but functional, Ill bet the fuel consumption would something to write home about especially if you had a head wind on the Nullabour.

----------


## Moondog55

Do you build your own boats too?

----------


## SlowMick

wow - you've certainly had a big start to the year. :2thumbsup:

----------

