Big box of light

[bjd]

Is the soil just outside really close to the ceiling of your new room? I have a hard time telling whether it's right up close to your ceiling, or whether it's quite far down.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, all!

Mark, I would not expect any less from you!

The contractor did something very clever today. Yesterday evening it was discovered that a channel inside one of the installed roof panels has a long streak of dirt inside it. There didn't seem to be any way of removing it, so I proposed that it be swapped with the remaining unused panel if possible, even though this would be extra work. (as yet unused panel is slated for part two of this project) Instead, Guillermo attached a tiny nozzle to the air compressor and blew all the offending dark matter out. I'm impressed and happy.

Mar 23, 2021 7:13:50 GMT bjd said:

Is the soil just outside really close to the ceiling of your new room? I have a hard time telling whether it's right up close to your ceiling, or whether it's quite far down.

Bjd, the soil area is quite far down.
I can see how the pictures fool the eye. I should have gotten a better picture of the original wall, but will try to use what I have to show the sequence.

These two pictures show the original wall that closed the back of that patio. It is what is faced from the kitchen door.
Look closely & you'll see that the wall was not closed between the top of it and the overhanging roof materials.
This wall was straight across originally ~



Now, in this picture you see that the original wall has been built up.
You can see where the old open iron work has been covered and the glass blocks incorporated.
The wall is still straight across.
Look closely at the bottom right corner & you can see a bit of where the kitchen wall meets its ceiling.
This shows that room is of a standard height & you can see the original patio wall was of approximately the same height.


It's not immediately obvious in this picture, but if you note the amount of wall now existing above each glass block,
you can see that the wall has been slanted upward until it ends just below the burglar bars on the arched window.
From that window I took the picture showing the new roof with the dirt & the palm tree on the other side of the wall.

[bixaorellana]

I took these pictures tonight. Everything still looks pretty raw and grungy, but the room is very near completion. I want to go ahead and show these ugly pictures so the big reveal of the finished product will be that much more dramatic.

The old kitchen door has finally been moved. Looking into the annex from the kitchen ~



Standing with my back against the new door looking toward the dining room window. No more burglar bars!
Note that is a 6' (2 meter) tall ladder in the picture, giving an idea of the ceiling height ~



The old door in its new setting, along with an unfinished screen door ~



A picture of something that is not there -- the gas tank, which has been moved outside ~



Hard to feature it from this photo, but in the daytime there is a wonderful North African feel to this space ~

I realized tonight that the door in its previous location had been bothering me ever since I moved in here. It always sort of gave me the creeps. With the door in the new location, that whole enclosed space somehow feels friendly and the new door location feels naturally correct.

[bjd]

They have certainly done a good job. Are the two taps in the corner for your washing machine?

What colour are they going to paint the metalwork around the door?

[tod2]

Oh Bixa, I just found this renovation now! How could I have missed it all these weeks...
I'm sure you would not have undertaken this renovation at your expense if you were not confident, or had some kind of paperwork, showing that you can occupy the premises until such time as you give notice to your Landlord that you are leaving.
When we started our business and were expanding, our landlord gave us permission to renovate the next door building at our expense, and move into it at an extremely low rental. This way he let us recoup the money for the alterations over a period of years. I hope you are in a similar position so that it is not only the landlord who scores.

[cheerypeabrain]

Its shaping up nicely. I absolutely love that big wall with the glass bricks in at the top.

[casimira]

It's coming along beautifully!!! I know you are thrilled about this as am I.

One thing I need to ask is regarding the burglar bars. Are they absolutely necessary? Those windows would be so much nicer without them.
When we had our last renovation done several years ago, one of the very first things we had done was to have all the burglar bars removed. Every single window had them and they made me feel and also appeared that we were imprisoned.
What a huge difference it made!
(I realize it's not your property so I suppose it would be your landlady's call).

[kerouac2]

It looks excellent, but even if it didn't, the extra living space is something that we all crave. When I managed to annex my attic, it changed my world. I can't wait to see the finished product.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks so much, all of you!

Bjd, yes -- the taps are for the washing machine. You can see it was never a great spot for it, especially in relation to the dining room window, but there simply is nowhere else to put it now. At least the gas tank has been moved outside, so at least the washer will be closer to the wall.
The metalwork will be white -- a huge improvement, right?

Tod, the landlords have assured me that I need not worry about being bounced out of here and I have chosen to believe them.

Cheery, thank you because that was my touch & I'm proud of it. I'll give the contractor credit, though, for advising on what would be the perfect number & spacing for them.

Casimira, are you talking about the burglar bars in the new room? All of them are gone now except for that little piece above where the door was before. I'm talking to the landlady now about that, as I want it gone, too. As far as the rest of the house, I want burglar bars on it. As a matter of fact, I'll be re-using the one that was on the dining room window in one of the front porch arches, & adding a door/burglar bar combination to the other arch.

Thanks, Kerouac. What I want is what you achieved beautifully with your attic annex -- something that looks as though it is integral to the overall plan, as opposed to "why is this stuck on?" This kitchen annex will not look quite as integrated to the house as your attic annex does, but I feel it already elevates the mood and general aspect.

[mich64]

What a change this will be for you! I do not think I understood the full scope of how big a change this was going to be. Can not wait for the final reveal!

[casimira]

I am referring to the ones that are on the second story.
Is there a high crime rate there or do you want them for other security reasons such as when you are travelling? I would think that the dogs would be security enough.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Mich! I had to go out there & be firm today as they were sort of drifting and it's past time for this to be over.

Casimira, there are break-ins in Oaxaca. The dogs are a certain amount of deterrent, but that can backfire. For one thing, they're in the house all night. For another, anyone watching the house knows there are dogs here, so when I'm away & the dogs are boarded it sort of announces that the house is vacant. But most important, the burglar bars on the second story are original to the house & I don't feel it would be appropriate to even ask to remove them, not to mention that they make me feel more secure.

[casimira]

I completely understand. There is no worse feeling than have one's home violated/broken into. It has happened to us 2 or 3 times in the 35 years we have been here and it still gets to me. That's why we put up the wrought iron fence in the front.

[questa]

Bixa, you never cease to amaze me.How you can look at a 3 dimensional collection of walls and pipes and doors and windows and "see" what to do to fix it. Then to put it onto a 2 dimensional plan and explain it to your builders and supervise them. Finally to come out with the finished product, modified as needed, and it looks so good!
It must give you a great sense of achievement and delight. It has been fun watching it grow.

[bixaorellana]

Questa, that is an awfully kind thing to say! Really, the fact that the big wall was already in place and that the patio butted up to a property line kind of dictated the dimensions. The builder changed the slant of the roof so that there would be no rain run off on to any property not belonging to my landlords, thus the upward slant to the 2nd story window. That was an unanticipated innovation that I really appreciate. The wall is also deliberately slanted on one side to accommodate the cistern on the other side.

The floor was installed yesterday evening, but is awaiting the grouting. The builder told me that it would be okay to walk on the floor this morning. When I got up today & gazed into that new space, all I could think of was how much I would love to go sit out there & drink my coffee.

Today I sanded all the slopped-on plaster off the dining room window, which mean all the ugly paper is now gone & the light can stream into the dining room. Hope I can do The Unveiling tomorrow!

[tod2]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product Bixa! Can we have a loud drum-roll as well?!

[kerouac2]

I can't make it to the ribbon cutting ceremony this time.

[onlyMark]

Mar 16, 2021 6:58:16 GMT onlyMark said:

so there has to be some way to seal the join between the roof panel and the wall(s), maybe an overlap/overhang or the end of the panel on a lip or.....

A portent?

[tod2]

Bixa I showed Mr.Tod your photos. The only thing he remarked on was that the fall allowed may not be sufficient for heavy rain causing some of the water to build up and run backwards. Obviously to fix something like that is major so hopefully more sealant will do the job.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Mark & Tod.

To others reading this: I reported in a different thread that there was a heavy rain night before last and that the roof on the new room leaked, thus the comments from Mark & Tod.

Tomorrow will mark the one month anniversary of the start of this project -- a project which was projected to take a week and a half. That is the reason for the lack of update pictures and text -- no pictures because the whole thing has caused me to lose the enthusiasm needed to happily document the last stages and no text because that would consist of nothing but violent cursing.

Anyway, I am at this very minute waiting for the guy(s) to show up to reseal the roof. I do realize that I owe everyone a denouement to this saga and will supply it. That will include not only pictures of the finished room, but also of the giant cistern which was installed.

[tod2]

Thanks for the explanation Bixa. I was checking a few times to see if the Big Reveal had happened., And I am so sorry that the workmanship is not up to standard. I hope your Landlord is behind you swearing and cursing at the situation. I'm sure it will be resolved successfully.

[onlyMark]

Apr 7, 2021 13:31:12 GMT bixaorellana said:

the giant cistern

Big enough to make a chapel out of it? Bixa's Cistern Cha....

[bixaorellana]

You laugh, but the cistern saga would make you get religion. I'll regale you all with that since everyone is currently deprived of any sort of pictures or meaningful update.

The cistern (aka tinaco, or roof cistern), which is a really, really big round thing -- @60+ inches / 150+ cm and over 2 meters tall -- was delivered & kept in the landlord's garage next door to my house. The plan was to hoist the tinaco up and over the roof, as there was no way to pass it from that garage to the space destined for it -- a base built atop the existing open cistern (OP, 4th photo). In that photo you will note a spiral staircase, just one of the many obstructions to bringing it from the garage directly back to its ultimate destination. The staircase figures heavily in this tale of woe.

The concrete base was built over the existing open cistern. Said base had to set for @three days to dry before the tinaco could be put on top of it.

A day after the base was built one of the three project workers had to leave abruptly because of an emergency at his home. That of course only left two guys, the contractor & a helper.
Mind you, there was plenty of stuff to be done while waiting for the concrete to dry, such as finally, finally finishing off the new room, as I had demanded and begged for many times. But no.

I went off to the market and returned to see the contractor standing on the edge of my neighbor's roof. He was holding a heavy rope which was tied around the tinaco. The tinaco was dangling over the neighbor's wall, only slightly stabilized by the worker's upheld hands as he stood on a wooden ladder placed against the wall.

I hustled down the street, calling out to G. to lower the tinaco to the ground and I would run to the market and find some men to hire to help him. Because of my shock on beholding the idiot tableau, it had not occurred to me to wonder why the #@%^&* they had decided to move it at that particular completely pointless time.

There was a man leaning against a van across the street. He called out that he would help and directed the contractor to get a couple of pieces of wood to place under the tinaco when directed. Then the nice man, the helper, and I all hoisted the tinaco as the contractor hauled on the rope. The pieces of wood helped get it up on the roof without mishap.

Okay, now the tinaco was on the neighbor's roof, the base was still drying, and the third worker was still absent. None of this really mattered, since there was other work to be done, not to mention that the tinaco would have been perfectly fine still biding its time in the garage. But there remained a further chapter to this particular bit of fuck-uppery.

I went off with the landlords to pick up some materials. As we drive back up to the house we see the contractor's truck with the giant tinaco in its bed. Huh??! There was also a bunch of guys we'd never seen before on the street & up on the neighbor's roof.

It transpired that this was a brand new replacement tinaco. And why was that? Not content with narrowly averting disaster by hoisting the tinaco up to the roof for no particular reason and with inadequate manpower, the contractor had decided to lower it into position on the base using only himself and the one worker. As they dragged it over the sharp edge of the top of the spiral staircase, they tore a big hole into the tinaco. The contractor had to go off and buy another tinaco and to round up more workers in order to hoist the new tinaco up onto the neighbor's roof, then up to my second story roof from where it would finally be lowered into position.

That replacement tinaco is now in place, all plumbed with a pump and everything. That is good. But in the process of fooling around with the water heater, trying to get it into a position from which it could be lit through the medieval hatch in the new room, the water heater ceased to function. This is undoubtedly due to some moodiness on the heater's part and nothing to do with anything the contractor did.

Anyway, the roof is being resealed even as I type and I relentlessly nagged the contractor yesterday explaining to him why it was imperative that he address the non-workingness of the water heater.

I fervently hope that the next update will be a final update.

[onlyMark]

Wonderful. Gives me faith that humans will always be humans and not machines with logic and planning. I mean, why make it easy when it is easier to make it hard? It's probably one of those "It seemed a good idea at the time" events.
Oh dear.
And people will say, at least you've now got it in and you've a story or two to pass the time.
What a palaver.

I expect in a few days a specialist will come and strip the heater down to replace the bit they've broken.

[kerouac2]

I'm waiting for the extra weight of the new tinaco to suddenly make a ceiling collapse and flood your house.

[tod2]

Oh no Kerouac- lets not expect the worst. All I can add is that the workmen are fly-by-night self educated in the building business as are so many in South Africa. When you find a reliable good one you crease his palm with paper big time. Oh Bixa - may the Force be With You!

[cheerypeabrain]

Good grief! Nothing is straight forward is it? Fingers, toes and eyes crossed. It wil be fine..

[lugg]

Apr 7, 2021 16:43:57 GMT cheerypeabrain said:

Good grif! Nothing is straight forward is it? Fingers, toes and eyes crossed. It wil be fine..

What Cheery said - - I cannot say it any better other than to second it.

[kerouac2]

And it is all being fixed as we post this.

[bixaorellana]

I'll just get a post in to finish off this page so the photos will start on a new page.

Yes, even as you all were posting the contractor & the main helper were out their sealing the roof and messing with the water heater. They called me out to show me that yes, indeed there was gas passing through the gas pipe. They had taken off the hose that passes from the rigid copper pipe to the water heater, in the process filling the room with gas. It's a good thing I had not given in to the impulse to start smoking again that these work persons have provoked in me over the last month, or I could have innocently strolled in there with a lit cigarette and blown us to kingdom come.

I suggested they put the hose back on to see if gas was passing through. (why was I even there, much less suggesting the obvious?) Contractor again tried to tell me that it wasn't going to work anyway because the thermostat was broken. I again pointed out that the thermostat was not broken because this water heater has no thermostat. It's as simple as it gets -- light the pilot, turn on the flame, wait 15 to 20 minutes and then turn off flame before water boils into vapor. Again I said that I'd been lighting the thing for the past seven years and that it had been working right up until the time they moved it.

I was then called back to be shown that everything was reattached and to be informed that it was fine.
This is a real conversation -- I swear I'm not making it up ~

Me: So you tested it?

Him: What? How?

Me: Did you light it?

Him. Light it?

Me: Yes. Did you try to light the water heater?

Him: Light it? No!

Me: Don't you have to light it to see if it works?

Him: You want me to light the water heater?

Me: Yes! Light it!

They got it lit, then we turned it off so I could have a crack at it. In an attempt to gather the shreds of his dignity, the contractor spelled out how to light the water heater . I forgave him because, after all, he's just a man. (Tammy Wynette, 1968)