View to a kill

Here is our new view from our new stoep...



...and the rib and block system that has made it possible.



It was a rough day at the building site juggling job responsibilities and some minor and major problems with plumbing logistics and engineering. Not much progress today, hope tomorrow will be better.

All plastered and nowhere to go

The blocks for the slab has arrived. Monday they start packing and Tuesday we'll have our first floor. God willing. Insha'Allah.



Cecile feeling out her new store room. Cozy fit.

Portraits from a building site

These guys are very excited about these portraits. They all want a copy. Shafiq is playing it cool.

Shown in order of importance.



Shafiq



Joe



Rasta



Cannot remember his name (damn)



Isaack

My, what lovely window sills we have!

I never knew one could be proud of windowsills, but i am! The plastering is looking great, and the best news ever is that the rib and block system has arrived from the fine folks at Bobcrete. So from Monday it will be full steam ahead!

Week 5: plastering and (holding thumbs) a roof

The first of the three levels we are building is now up to roof height. We are waiting (and waiting...) for Bobcrete to deliver the rib and block system, so in the meantime the guys are starting to plaster the walls. (Actually the electricity is meant to go into the walls before they plaster, but the electrician is in Riversdale for the week... ) In the meantime im still chasing down that elusive sliding folding door from the company who has been liquidated. All in a days work i suppose... More about our bathroom fittings soon!

My substitute for gin & tonic

Southern Comfort. It's refreshing. It's bold. It's the drink to make you forget the skew walls and to rinse the cement from your mouth. After a hard day at the building site there's nothing like it.

Innie Kaap noem ons dit "Suidelike Gemak".

Recipe:
Generous dollop of SC
Top up with ginger ale
Add some ice
...and Obama's your uncle.

Progress Report: Affirmative!

Things are finally happening. The bitching about the foundations has stopped. Walls are going up at lightning speed and the builders are looking cheerful again. Very possibly because they don't have to lug wheelbarrows of rubble around. Next challenge will be the slab. The pressure is on Bobcrete to deliver drawings and material, like, yesterday.

Owner Building: The New Frontier

Ruan with the 'bible'


Me inspecting the trenches at the frontline....



And this is our housemate Charity.

Week 4: Drain Pain

After last weeks demolition we are finally ready to start building again!... but have of course encountered a few speed bumps. Firstly we have discovered that in real life the sewage drain isn't even close to where it is meant to be on the plans (the blue block is where its meant to be, the yellow one where it actually is.) And of course this is right in front of the door. So we had to get the plumber in to advise us. Turns out it would be very costly to move the drain, but we can lower it and hopefully cover it with some paving stones.

And then of course the engineers that the builder had contracted to do the decking (floor slabs) had never done the drawings, so now we are racing against time to try to get someone who can do the drawings and deliver the rib and block system on time (next week).

And lastly, the only guys who make the folding doors in the size we want it are being liquidated. At this stage they are still taking orders, so on the one hand i feel i should put in an order quickly, and on the other hand i'm not so sure that my deposit wont disappear in the murky depths of liquidation... sigh

Excavation in progress

As the house sits on the slopes of Devil's Peak huge sandstone boulders are plenty. Joe and Rasta takes turns to break up what the builders call a "mamba".



Isaac bringing back the wheelbarrow after dumping it's contents across the road. The narrow alleys make access difficult and the building process more labour intensive.

The doors of perception

As I sit here I can hear the 'thud, thud, thud' of the builders hammering out the few pieces of concrete foundation that's left. The last few days have just been about rubble removal. All done via 2 wheelbarrows through the service alleys to the back of the house. Then dumped on unused municipal ground across the road and taken away by truck.



In between wheelbarrow loads 3 of the workmen posed for a pic in front of the house next door. Left (not sure what his name is), center (Joe) and right (Rasta - minus his dreads - too hot at the moment).

week 3: demolition!

wow, our bathroom has been all these colours!