Will we make it?

We have set a deadline for our builder that we want to be in by the weekend of 21 March. Thats in only 10 days time! The roof STILL isn't up, and there is progress every day, but reporting on a little bit of plastering here and a bit of painting there is simply not as exciting as the big stuff!

I don't really like full-on thematic decor, but i love these morroccan tiles we are setting into the sement of our stoep.

week 8: half way?

Its week 8 now and we have only one floor to go, which means we are pretty much on schedule. Although I am told that once the 'wetwork' is done, the finishing takes quite some time.



They were plastering the ceiling, and Shafiq's cool glasses got all sement splattered.





To make a long and sad story short, the bathroom is 23 cm smaller than it should be, which is quite a disaster in an already small space. But what a nice view from my bath!

Building Blues

Yip, I’ve definitely had the building blues this week. It started so well, with the deck taking only one day to stack. But then the engineer didn’t approve the builders' beam construction, the wall went up skew, the bathroom is 23 cm smaller than on the plans and I’m still unhappy about the light the stoep lintels is cutting off from the dining room. Boo-hoo.


On the good news front I have found and ordered the sliding folding door, and the doorframe with fanlight I wanted all along.
And on Friday evening we sat on our new stoep and after a Southern Comfort and Ginger ale it all seemed OK again. Till Monday anyway...

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.

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!

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