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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2015 19:29:22 GMT
K2, I'm sure you ought to give tutorials on thread and post construction with emphasis on photo selection, inclusion and ordering. Yours I've looked at are in a class of their own. I'd sign up for classes straight away.
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Post by breeze on Jun 8, 2015 1:11:03 GMT
Very impressive, Mark. Nice choice of colors. I had no idea the pool would be so beautiful, but then it's always hard to visualize something while it's under construction.
Nice table, too. Looks like you're a jack of all trades.
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Post by lola on Jun 8, 2015 4:23:22 GMT
Wow. que milagro.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 8, 2015 7:22:19 GMT
breeze, certainly a jack of all trades and even more certainly a master of none.
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Post by lola on Jun 8, 2015 17:01:06 GMT
I hope you realize you have a lot to answer for, making some of us feel discontented with spouses who fail to provide us with a tiled castle in Spain.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 8, 2015 18:26:41 GMT
There's plenty of spare ruins around.
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Post by lola on Jun 9, 2015 2:11:45 GMT
True; however, the supply of people who can turn them into palaces is quite limited.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2015 6:30:53 GMT
Well, it just so happens that with our place virtually finished......
Update - yesterday at lunch time the workers left. I knew it would be their last day of work on the house so I thanked them profusely, gave them their alcoholic rewards and bid them farewell. It's strange to get up this morning and after so long not hear them clattering about when they arrive later. Sometime probably in August we are going to throw a bit of a party for the builder and is workers and family as a further thank you.
What arrived though was the electrician with the solar panels, batteries, control box and inverter for the pool. But, as these things are, what didn't arrive was the frame to put the panels on. This is made by someone else. So the electrician dropped off his stuff and said he'll come back when he knows the frame is done. Whenever that will be. I still need him to finish off a couple of jobs he started some time back as well, like the electrics in a further outhouse.
I was stung twice by wasps yesterday and had a fright with a metre or more long snake hissing at me as I passed by its resting place. The stings I put vinegar on, which helped a lot and the snake I blasted with a hosepipe to clear it off.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 9, 2015 7:21:21 GMT
It looks magnificent Mark! Now I can see the different water levels. I always thought it was one of those 'infinity' pools with the water right to the top. I love the big wide step which could be handy for toddlers to splash about on. One day maybe......grandchildren When I saw your photo of my tiles I thought, 'How tasteful'.... Here they are, photographed in my guest loo. The dark band on the top is copper but we never bother to bring up the gold shine.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2015 11:05:53 GMT
They seem to look familiar those tiles do. I'm sure we have about the exact same somewhere. Not the copper strip though. That's an idea I'd not thought of and it looks good.
Pool - errr..... well...... it is an infinity pool. Or at least it will be when it is filled up. Maybe I forgot to mention in the last few posts as to why it isn't at the top. The grills around the outside that will catch the water are connected to a pipe that goes down one level to where the pump and filter stuff will be housed. Whereas the drain from the pool in the bottom and the input pipes, also in the bottom, are capped off with a valve, the pipe for the grills isn't. So the plumber, who will return one day I hope, asked that the pool not be filled all the way. When it is done I'll rattle off another couple of photos with the water at its proper level.
The idea with it has always been that when you are swimming or floating you have the view of the countryside, and not one that is half blocked by the side of the pool.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 9, 2015 12:51:56 GMT
You made that furniture? Wow.......
I feel totally inadequate.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 9, 2015 12:55:13 GMT
Except in the cactus raising arena!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 9, 2015 13:04:02 GMT
Mrs Cactus would far rather I made furniture.
My father was a very able woodworker but I had no skills in that area whatsoever. I can hang wallpaper though.......
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Post by Kimby on Jun 9, 2015 13:38:25 GMT
We can't all be skilled craftsmen. Some of us have to BUY the creations of those creative types so they can eat.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 9, 2015 17:25:40 GMT
Oh I'm so glad I got it right about the pool! I had the copper strip put in because it was a lovely gold but soon went dark. I also have it embedded around little square tiles separating the larger ones on the floor. The wall tiles are called 'Old Jerusalem' and cost far more than the entire floor area we tiled through the dining, kitchen and passage, although the walls cover a very small area with a separate coat/wellies room.
I do admire your craftmanship Mark! I was wondering about the snake. Please try and photo the next one so if it ever gets lucky and bites one of you, the Doc will know what to do. We have Puffaders which are deadly but in your case I am curious to know about the snakes in Spain. Sorry about the wasps. You are so darn lucky not to go into shock from the venom.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2015 17:29:51 GMT
I take your compliments with pleasure, but hanging wallpaper and looking after plants are something I can only dream about. This used to be the front of my workshop - It now looks like this. The window grill and the pool railing still need painting - This used to be the front wall - It now looks like this - Both are somewhat better.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 9, 2015 17:36:37 GMT
Bloody marvelous. Comparing the last two photos, they must have knocked out some brickwork to put in those fancy 'air bricks'?? In years to come with lovely vegetation it is going to be a wonderful property to come home to.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2015 18:27:47 GMT
In essence, we had the front wall built, then changed our minds when we saw what it was like from the inside.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2015 19:42:51 GMT
It's starting to look like a palace.
Not to spoil the mood, but have you ever wondered about if you had just bought one of those zillions of fancy houses that were built before the real estate crash and which they are now practically giving away?
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Post by mich64 on Jun 9, 2015 20:14:25 GMT
Very impressed with so many aspects of your renovation Mark!
Being able to construct your own furniture must be very rewarding. I like hand crafted furniture because I can get anything made for the sizes I want. My brother-in-law is just finishing up the cupboard doors for our condo kitchen. If we were not so fortunate to have him we would have had to buy and would not have been able to find anything that fit so we would have had to tear out all the cabinets and start over which can be very expensive.
I also like that you will host a party once you are all settled. Cheers!
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2015 20:40:57 GMT
k2, it was a thought. Right when we were setting out we considered whether we wanted a new build or a ruin to do up. There are countless new(er) houses, especially down near the coast, that were built and even maybe lived in for a year or two. Then the crash happened and they couldn't be sold. But.... we are also aware of the problems surrounding many houses that have now been deemed to have been illegally built. And are to be knocked down or substantially altered to fit in with the plans.
We wanted to play safe (or as safe as we could) by buying a semi-ruin that is established in all the registrations and paperwork for many decades. As long as we didn't go over the footprint we felt there would be no comebacks. The look of the house, i.e. big, rectangular and white has not mainly changed and the pool area is built where there was an old attached side building that did form part of the footprint anyway.
We felt there was more of a risk buying something quite new than old. Though if I bite the bullet and actually tot up all we've spent we probably could have bought two new ones anyway. I'd rather keep myself in the dark.
Thanks mich for your comments.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 10, 2015 17:35:18 GMT
Yes Mark, It always seems very expensive to build at any time rather than buy but the years have taught us to be patient and sell when the market is on the rise. We have built 6 houses in the city when housing was at a shortage and it seems it has never ever been anything other than that over 30 odd years. We did have a flutter when the government wanted to move the headquarters to Ulundi a very far away isolated place in Zululand, but in the end they choose our city so houses shot up dramatically as the 'officials' sought out prestige and other housing. I think your house on the international market will draw immediate attention.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 11, 2015 4:02:54 GMT
As if he'll ever sell it, with all the love, sweat and tears they've put into it!
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 6:24:19 GMT
The only way we'd sell it would involve serious health problems or death. Bear in mind that Mrs M is quite a lot younger than me and as I'd be late 70's by the time she retired and the house needs quite a lot of day to day looking after, then it could be at that time we might decide to get something less physical. However, she is convinced that me doing all this stuff will make me live longer. I've said that for me it will just seem so.
The electrician turned up yesterday. We have nicknames for most of the workers. This one is called Shrek. He came with a mate of his to start erecting the frame for the solar panels for the pool. Amateur hour it was. I could do better myself. Never mind it was a two man job and Shrek disappeared after half an hour leaving me to help out the other bloke who I saw struggling to hold and do stuff by himself. Plus, and this is what really pisses me off, they come unprepared and have to borrow loads of my tools to do the job. Drill, extension cable, hammer, chisel, step ladders, grips, spanners, pencil, paper........ they brought a trowel, a bucket and a bag of cement. Plus a special tool for measuring angles (the panels have an optimum angle to be set at). That was it.
The main reasons for me helping out were a) the bloke by himself was getting the angles wrong where he was attaching the brackets to the wall and b) both of them together couldn't do basic maths and logical thinking. They tried three times to work out the problem and I eventually lost patience and had to do it for them. This was the problem -
You have three solar panels that are to be laid end to end lengthwise and butt up to each other and will sit in a frame that encompasses the whole length. Each panel is, say 1.50m long so the frame is 4.50m long. This has to be secured to a wall using brackets that are evenly spaced. The first bracket sits 25cm in from one end of the frame, the last bracket sits 25cm in from the other end. There are five brackets in total. What is the spacing between them. i.e. what is the distance between one bracket and the next. Answer - a) 0.75m b) 1.2m c) 1.0m d) Let's just eyeball it. e) Can't do it anyway as we don't have enough tools and will have to borrow some. f) Lets keep making gouges in this nice new wall until we get it looking about right because we don't have a pencil. g) If we look amateur enough maybe Mark will step in and work it out it for us.
Note: ignore d, e, f, and g because that is what happened. They should be here again this morning sometime to finish it off because it took that long to set it out they ran out of time. There's nothing like thinking the job through beforehand and being prepared. And they were nothing like it.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 11, 2015 8:00:53 GMT
Hopefully they will pay you for your time.......
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 11:03:46 GMT
They were supposed to be back again this morning at 9am. But so far (12:30) they haven't turned up. What did turn up though was the plumbers with a large overflow tank (3000 litres) for the pool. But..... of course it wouldn't fit through the doors that are before the pump house. It would fit through the pump house doors as they are double metal garage type doors. But getting it to that point was the problem. So, much scratching of head until the big boss of the builders turned up. He is a problem solver. That's why he's the boss.
He knows now that if he comes up with a plan he has to run it by me first to see if I ok it. This is mainly with knowing our relationship over the years and because there have been a couple of times I've come up with a better solution than he has. I said ok, mainly because I'd also thought it was the only way to do it. It entailed lifting the tank up two levels on the outside wall, dropping it (not literally) then down one level into the dirty yard off which are the doors to the pump house. The new brackets for the solar panels were a problem that nobody though of as they were sticking out the wall blocking the descent. I could see they were in the way. Then, after is was pointed out, they could as well.
So I whipped out a couple of spanners and the step ladder and dismantled the two needed. Nods of approval all round then they deftly lifted and dropped and then slid it home. I was going to tell them that the paint of the pool railing was still wet that they had to lift it over (just done it that morning), but after they gouged into the outside wall twice quite deeply on the way up, I kept my mouth shut. The plumber and his mate weren't too happy about the paint on their clothes (we call him Mr Happy anyway) and I made it even worse when I showed him the guttering he'd put up was tilted the wrong way making water flow over the end rather than down the down pipe.
The plumber and his mate had a bit of a discussion, made a list and then shot off again. Hold on a minute............ Yep, as I write this they've come back AND the electrician (Shrek) and his mate have also turned up. It's chaos out there. But.... Shrek has just shot off again leaving the mate....... I wonder if it'll ever get finished.
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Post by lola on Jun 11, 2015 11:30:26 GMT
Reminding them of little details such as water tending to flow downhill.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 11, 2015 12:57:05 GMT
Mick, they couldn't afford me. lola, the point was it was wobbly when they first put it up but asked the builder men to make the surface of the wall a little better so they could secure the end bracket properly. The builder men did later and told the plumber it had been done. He then didn't bother doing it properly and moved on to other things. So I needed to remind them. The builders have always gone back to finish off a detail or two and I've hardly ever needed to point anything out to them. They just get on with it. The plumber and electrician leave the details and are just bothered about 'the big job', thus leaving loose ends. The electrician did some switches about three years ago and three times I've now reminded him that one is the wrong way up and he needs to swap it round. It is still yet to be done and he probably thinks I've forgotten. But I haven't. Another example is the lights in my workshop. He couldn't be bothered to get a step ladder to make them a decent height (on the wall) but just reached up to where he could. Fortunately, again, I was here and spotted him. He knew they were wrong but still carried on out of laziness. The main builder and his men I have had little problem with. It's his subcontractors. I've also just started, and ended, a conversation between the plumber and the electrician's mate as the plumber wanted to put the 3000 litre water tank in a certain place but I could see then the electrician couldn't get at the wiring and switches for when he does his bit. So, for anyone who is interested – this is a view of the Patio Sucio, the dirty yard. Obvious is the pool to the right, then there is the courtyard to the left. I’m standing on the patio over the shed where all the main electrics are and hot water. The house is to the left. You can see the main entrance door out to the track. You can also see the rather gummed up guttering and the pool railing to the top of the photo. The overflow tank couldn’t come through the door so it had to be man handled from the track, up and over the railing to the pool patio. The dropped to the floor of the dirty yard and shoved in through the doors – Also you can see the start of the frame to support the solar panels on the right wall. The wall is chased out, the end of the bracket put in and plastered into place. It works fine until the worker chisels all the way through the wall to the other side – He then wants to cover the hole with plaster, as you can see in the first photo. However, this isn’t the stuff that is a covering on the wall, ‘cemento blanco’ is. So at some time he needs to sort that out with a different product than plaster. Another view from the entrance to the pump house. To the left is the corridor shed which is underneath a walkway at the side of the pool. He’s still using my step ladders and still didn’t turn up with a hammer and chisel – Inside the corridor shed, linking the battery house at the end to the pump house, will be the electrics, batteries and control box, connected to the independent solar panels, to run the pool pump (exciting photo this) – Then we come to the pump house. The filter which will be full of sand (not yet in its proper position to the left of the pump) – Then the rough set up as they are measuring out and piping it up. To the left is the outside wall, to the right is the wall between this and the corridor shed. You can just about make out the pump, one horsepower, about 760 Watts to run it all. The wattage can be handled easily by the house system, but when it is on the house can only have about 1500 more Watts in use before it trips out the breakers which protect the solar system and house batteries. Bear in mind my daughter has a 2000 Watt hair dryer (which I keep hiding) and you can see the problem. So the pool system is to be completely separate - They’ve all nipped off for lunch so the excitement will continue later.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 11, 2015 13:02:40 GMT
The closer you get to the finish line, the further it recedes into the distance. Or so it seems.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 11, 2015 13:20:18 GMT
As the song says "it all makes work for the working man to do" (Mossie would recognise this).
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