April.. getting closer...

The roof!

Putting the roof on is no joke.

The trickiest part was the A-frame. No-one building this house has ever put a roof on before in person - so things got complicated!

First we had to get the roof truss poles up, joined, and re-bared into the main ridge pole.

Darryl, Wayne and team got the A-frame poles bolted in good and tight....

.....And then Darryl saw the light......

.....and realized that the A-frame structure was all wrong. 

They had to take it all apart (no walk in the park - ''re-bar sticks like S@£t on a nappy'' quote / unquote)

 and build it all again to get the correct slope into the 'valleys.'

The A-frame is finally taking shape on the third attempt.

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Now, work began on the garage roof.

First the roof truss poles,

... then the furrings.

 (A plank that is hammered on top of the  truss poles to give it a flat, even surface....

....Then we got a team of roofing professionals to put on the purlins and fascia boards.

(2 long weekends in between as well as copious amounts of much needed rain delayed the work....)

The purlins on the garage roof are ready for the laying of sisalation and isotherm (the insulation) and the Kingklip 700. (the roofing sheets.)

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Meanwhile, some of the guys were working the planks through the rip saw and plainer - machining,  cutting and varnishing them into floor board planking. 

 

Darryl began the walkway outside the front doors. 

First he built a box framework...

Then he layed down the home-made planks, fastening them with 10 X 50 stainless steel screws..

The planks of blue-gum are incredibly solid and hard giving the walkway a sturdy feel. 

John painting the side of the house...  

We needed to get the growing pile of plank off-cuts out of the house (a fire hazard)... so together with Stephan, I made a wood pile site away from the house and began to stock pile wood for the many braai's we'll have to have in the future.

A lovely crisp Autumn morning dawns on our STILL unfinished roof!

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