Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Framing marching along













With the steel portal frame now in place, the hardwood framing is going up at a more rapid rate.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Crane excitement



Rob's crane truck Lofty (in foreground) is not lofty enough to reach across two back yards, to the building site. A huge crane was hired to lift the steel portal frame components from a nearby vacant block - a shorter distance than from the street.

Preparation for portal frame


Scaffolding is up and all other framing is on hold until the steel portal frame to support the southern end of the house is craned in place.
"Batten screw technology" (Rob's term) will ensure rock solid framing

The scaffold tower gives an idea of the views from the main bedroom (about 1.5m lower than the panorama below.

Monday, January 5, 2009

The new year














Despite plenty of rain over the Christmas break, the site is intact and work has resumed early this morning. Thermal mass block walls for the living areas are starting and next week, the steel portal frame will be craned in, enabling the upper floor framing to start.




Main level deck framing is in place with recycled hardwood joists. All steelwork is hot-dip galvanised for longevity, despite the additional cost.