Forever House #39

Saturday 30th November, 2013
I had good intentions to have everything packed up yesterday afternoon to drive away from home nice and early this morning. But, that didn't happen. I arrived at the Forever House around 3pm.

next window to go in when Dave comes back

I had a trailer load of stuff that I intended to bring too, but nothing in it is needed prior to Dave's next stint of work on the house. Last time I brought out a loaded trailer my four cylinder Honda struggled on the really steep hills. The trailer stayed at home waiting for either Jeff or Dave to tow it out in the next few weeks.

In the trailer are the remaining metal studs that Dave needs to complete the framing above the block wall. I got twenty five metres at the fourth place I tried in Lismore yesterday - that amount was a guesstimation on my part so it will be interesting to see if it lasts the distance. I also bought timber for Dave to build the surrounds around the second set of French doors and another smaller window in the block wall.
I went to my darling cousin Lolly's house to collect the French doors which she has very kindly been stripping and sanding for me over the past few months. These are also in the trailer, ready to be installed very soon. Exciting.

Bird light I made 30yrs ago - to be dismantled for windows

part of bird light in window for bathroom door,
before it blew down and broke...

Jeff was supposed to come out with me this weekend to continue the wiring for power and lighting throughout. But, unfortunately, he is too snowed under with work and had to stay behind. When I arrived it began to rain reasonably heavily. I didn't know whether I was happy or sad about that - couldn't dig dirt...maybe I would have to lay on the bed and read for the afternoon! But the shower didn't last long, and I had enough materials prepared from the last trip to mix up a couple of loads of mud and lay them. That means that a row tomorrow and another on Monday will see the bathroom and mudroom walls completed, ready for painting.


After laying the mud, I washed the mud of the ceiling where three walls are complete, ready for the ceiling's final coat of paint. The ceiling sheet was undercoated and given one top coat prior to going up. I brushed down the completed walls as far as I could to the 'scaffolding' which is still in situ (this constitutes layer upon layer of pallets, besser blocks, forty four gallon drums, planks, work horses and milk crates from the floor half way up the walls.) I mixed bond crete and water and sprayed the brushed down walls ready for painting. I'll have the scaffolding moved out by the end of Monday. And hopefully I'll have prepared and painted most of the mud room as well. The proof will be in Monday's photos before I leave.

Bird window being repaired.

second of three bird windows -
this and a matching one go above the large sliding doors

During the two weeks since my last visit (sounds like I am making my confession!) I've been working consistently on glasswork at home. I'm pulling apart a bird light I made thirty years ago when I lived in Redfern in the inner city of Sydney, when I started learning stained glass. I've separated the six panels into three lots of two - there is only one surviving tail (as you can see in this window); the other two birds are tail-less... I remove solder from the central join of each 'bird' to flatten them out (as best I can), and then I draw them onto the page and make a design around them. The one with the tail goes in the window in the external bathroom door. I got that window completed last Saturday and sat it up in various poses to take photos with the light behind. It was up against the open lounge room window so that I could enjoy it that evening when a gust of wind blew through and down it came. Shit Bugger and Damn.

One of two high-lights - so no need
to use clear glass - no view to see

So, instead of resting in front of the teev, I went back out to the verandah, and unsoldered the five broken pieces that night and cut the pieces to repair it the next day.
Out of solder, and over that window, I  got on with the other windows that will house the remaining two birds. These two windows are for highlights above the large sliding doors onto the verandah. I'm using up lots of the textured glass that has come out of various doors and windows that I'm working on. I'm hoping to have both of these windows ready for Dave when he gets to framing above the sliding doors.

Some time soon my other Currawinyan friend Phil will have completed resizing the four doors he has of mine, and will bring them out to hang. I'll take the stained glass panels out to fit in their respective doors. Paint and fifty metres of very fine quarter dowl to tack around each window pane are purchased and waiting on stand by. Nearly a thousand dollars was spend yesterday on material for the house. Yikes - there is still so much to buy...

Forever House #40

Sunday 1st December, 2013 (pinch and a punch for the first of the month)

- Before -
form work in situ 2005 - 2013

- After -
the arch lives independently!

Arch - featuring Leonie's niche (left)

Just sat down at the table - 7.42pm. My dinner is heating up. I had a late swim after 6pm - left the car running - didn't want to risk the starter motor playing silly buggers at this time of night and in a wet cossy. I came back from the river to the caravan and it was still light. So I headed back down to the house with a mosquito coil in my hand and a bee in my bonnet.

Today is a milestone for two reasons - and the second one is that between my swim and now, I've dismantled the arch form work that Andy built in, I'm guessing, 2005. It's down, and the mud arch stand self supported. It's fantastic! I have one last row of mud to go across the top of it tomorrow, but I couldn't see that row being the difference between it staying up or falling down. And, I couldn't wait. The time came.

I unscrewed a myriad of roofing screws with a shifting spanner, and normal screws with a very tiny phillips head screwdriver, from this very complex and strong structure. It came apart piece by piece initially, but then it required an electric drill which I don't have to unscrew some tricky screws. I made like a wolf, and huffed and puffed and pushed and shoved and levered and kicked, and eventually I blew that arch formwork down from under the mud arch. It feels like progress. No one will hit their head on that form work again. Anybody above about five foot seven had to duck under it which was a lesson learned more than once for me and many others (people wearing hats generally).

First painting - this day has been a long time coming

The other milestone reached today was that I started painting the bathroom walls white. First I did the final coat of ceiling paint, and then I started on the walls. I sprayed the walls with bond crete and water, and trialled some water based paint last visit. It seemed to work nicely so I bought a very large drum of semi gloss white paint. I started using a paint brush, but it was very hard to get a covering in all the nooks and crannies of the wall surface. I got the sponge from the sink and gave that a go. Much better. Very time and paint consuming. I thought I'd get the top half of three walls done today - but I only got the very top of the one done (after laying a row of mud on the other walls of course).

Final row of mud done for this corner of the house

scaffolding gone and top half painted

I hope to get the other two walls done tomorrow after mixing and laying the final row of mud on the two walls I've been working on. One of those is the arch wall. This shouldn't take too long - and then I'll spend my day painting. I'd really like to be able to remove the scaffolding from the bathroom and mudroom and clean them both out. I would feel like I'd achieved my goal if I got that far. 

Mini orb will go around this end for shower

OMG!

I've taken all kinds of measurements today so that I can be planning the next jobs. I'm out again in a fortnight and have the mud and bathrooms in my sights. Although I think I have decided that until I complete the mudding in the remainder of the house I'd be mad to paint and tile the mud room - it would just get filthy - so the bathroom will be completed to working order and will house the makeshift kitchen while I make a mess again in the second bedroom where the kitchen is now.

 I need to buy sandstone blocks to make the half wall (hob) in the shower recess on which the etched shower screen will be installed. I want to get mini orb to go around the three walls of the shower recess.While I'm buying sandstone blocks, I want to buy two that will act as steps for the split level in the house - one from the entry level and one from the main bedroom down into the open plan living area.


During the next two weeks at home, I'm aiming to complete all the windows containing parts of the bird light. And I may see how I go with a mirror for the bathroom. After all of those are done, I've got two sets of French doors, with a total of twenty eight panels between them. I'm giving each set a frame of textured colourless glass, with a central area of clear to see through. Not sure what features I will include - I do have another light I'm keen to dismantle - will see if that will work for these. If not I'll use the front door as inspiration - because these doors will be in the same room.