Superstructure
This page has been dedicated to Melinda and Xavier :o)
29 April 2008
After visiting the factory where our house was made and seeing it so many times, its a great thing to see the steel actually here, on our site! I have set up a camera to record the entire construction of the house using time lapse photography. A one off chance to capture it!
01 May 2008
Its no use having all that steel lying around ...its just getting in the way! So UP IT GOES!!!! Jimmy has a Superstructure!!! Lovely steel...To the top left is the kitchen window, below it is my bedroom, to the top right is the living room and below it the girls bedrooms....WOW- Its Huge!!!!
Jimmy is getting excited- serious progress :o)
Jimmy takes a break to be fed and watered by his beloved....after the excitement of the steel delivery..The chips are for me not the dog!
02 May 2008
Its time for action, a flurry of activity. The floor joists and underfloor insulation are going down on Monday 5th, by then we need to have the damp proof membrane fitted and it covered in a layer of concrete..... so first get the sand down and get it all whacked down with a big vibrating plate..its not a lawnmower you know! Floor joists have been delivered...unloaded by Jimmy !!! Then covered in poly to protect them from the dreaded rain, although it hasn't rained in Scotland for many years now :o)
03 May 2008
Prep done -concrete time...Jimmy calls on his friends for some free labour!!! As a minimum we need to get all bays done except the downstairs living room and the patio, these will be concrete floors, all others are timber suspended so they are the priority!
Jimmy Loves Free Labour!!!
By Lunchtime, we have the job done and more.. All rooms done that needed to be, the patio is also completed which only leaves the downstairs living room to go..this can be done at the builders leisure...so Sunday gives me time to do all the little jobs..touch up the steel where its been scratched etc...
06 May 2008
Its been a few days since the last update - its a very busy time... I-Joists have been installed and the under floor insulation added...150mm (or 6 inches for the oldies) of polystyrene added under the chipboard floor which comes tomorrow...along with the central steel section which will also be added. There's been lots of bits and pieces done that you can't see but we are almost ready for it to all really take off....ground floor walls up by the end of this week :o)
07 May 2008
Insulation now fitted, the floor goes down and the preparation to erect the central steel pillars is done. The floor has a laminated surface for weather protection..much better than the standard chipboard flooring. Steel up and walls up tomorrow!
08 May 2008
Okay steel did not go up as planned but maybe tomorrow...however walls are going up. Here we go SIPS Panels, we have walls ...these have gone up in 3 hours!
After the professionals leave....Jimmy is let loose with a Paselode and a box of nails!!!! Powertools !!!!!! Jimmy has just discovered expanding foam and its become his number 2 tool behind the Paselode!
So here it is, Jimmy's external walls....for those that don't get it..It's like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle of pre-insulated walls
09 May 2008
The steel goes up thanks to Bruce from SIPs ! Its been delayed three days now and was becoming an obstacle to progress!
So to help Bruce, Jimmy and my father in law Ian, build some walls !!! The following are Jimmy's walls...look how plumb and true they are! :o) The ground floor is now complete after Jimmy cleans out Bruce's supply of nails for the Paselode!
11 May 2008
My pretty building is hid by scaffolding! The pressure has been on to get the scaffolding erected over the weekend ready for Monday morning.
14 May 2008
Been away on business so updates have been slow but progress has been good. The upstairs joists are fitted, the floors down and I returned to find the upstairs walls going up! This hole is for a fish tank which will allow visitors coming in through the front door to see right through the glass and out to the view ahead! This opening is for a 2 metre wide tank!
Look..... panels to suit an upside down roof!
This is the view from the living room, looking through the dining room all the way to the kitchen...
The roof goes on tomorrow which is day 7 since the first wood appeared on-site! Jimmy is a happy man!
17 May 2008
Its not going too well right now, the roof has not gone on as planned due to access problems to the site. Its scheduled now for Monday but last night it rained and our supposed waterproof floor is not handling it very well.
The whole building is covered in tarpaulins but its like pushing water uphill...its still coming in all over the place. I arrived at 7.15am to see it raining inside the building.
Final part is my camera is dead :o( so no pictures until I get a new one! This weekend we need to dismantle and move our portable road for another type of crane. My plumber has started first fix and electrician starts today. I am pushing as hard as I possibly can.
The steel shoes that will support the timber onto the concrete for our canopy are away to Forfar Galvanising to be yup you guessed correctly .....Galvanised.
Its a great boost to have first fix started by my plumber and electrician...the whole house is being plumbed in plastic due to the horrific price of copper. Look lots of straight lines of plastic pipe. My plumber insists on a neat and tidy job so its exactly 65mm between each pipe clip...measured, fitted and clipped by Jimmy :o)
Electrician has also started...no roof on, but we are up and running....everything is clipped to the surface..just have to make sure I get them in the correct places first time!
18 May 2008
First fix continues with the plumber and electrician. The plumber is very shy and wishes no publicity as you can see!
Then the fun stops as the rain hits again....on our house with no roof...:o( The roof needs to go on tomorrow as we can't afford to have the floors wrecked....Fingers crossed for my crane driver!
Also the long awaited removal of the old transformer happens tomorrow.....It will be a very busy day!
Plumbing and electrics from the plan stuck to the wall...Try hard not to change anything!
19 March 2008
Its a big big day with lots of vehicles on the street, one of the neighbours is having his driveway surface renewed, SSE are at long last removing the infamous transformer 9 months after we requested its removal and a big blue crane arrives to put Jimmy's roof on!
First thing to go in is the big glulam beam with its steel plate. Its the first time I have seen it right way up!
Here comes a roof panel ! Followed by another and another...
Crane at work......
You have seen it from above and now below...
Emma (my daughter)...
John (SIPS Industries)
Bruce (SIPS Industries)
Wendy (my wife)
Jimmy- (as seen starring on Green Day's DVD )!
Sam (SIPS Industries)
Kenny (SIPS Industries).
These are the guys who have built my house in 8 working days! A wee glass of champagne to mark the occasion, the roof is on! I have a house!!!!
Without doubt the best SIPS crew...of course assisted by me which made their life so easy- they couldn't have done it without all the tea, coffee and ice creams!
22 May 2008
How fitting to finish off this page with a Happy Birthday wish. Its Ian's birthday today and we wish him a great day... it will be busy day as I have my windows coming so no rest ahead until the job is done...He's spent more time on site than any of us..lets have a wee review...from site clearance to the roof going on he hasn't missed anything! Thanks for all your help!
