Ready For the Next Level, More Mistakes Found

After a furious three days, I am now ready for the next level.

I eventually managed to fill up the sides with 30 cubic metres of gravel. I've got a tiny bit left that is still out the front - but it will not be in the way of any trucks delivering timber. It is sure tiring work. I noticeably slow down as I got through the day - there are limits to my personal drive. I suppose it would help if I stopped for lunch and drank more water - but it all takes valuable time.

I did a basic tidy up of the site and I took a load of rubbish out to the tip. It contained some concrete cow pads that I said I would take to the concrete recyclers. It was a good idea as the council run tip only charged me $25 instead of $45 for the load.

If I have time on Monday I will sweep out the garage and try to get rid of some of the water from the bathroom.

I've finished leveling the blockwork - those guys were so dodgy. I used this non shrink grout to do the topping. The reason being is that you can lay it 10mm thin and being non shrink, it should not become drummy or develop any cracks. You can't really lay that thinness using normal concrete as initialy and over time it will just break up. It looks good to run your eye across the top - it looks pretty much perfectly level within a couple of millimetres. I troweled the top smooth and flat, but the sides are a bit crazy. You will not see them, so that is fine.

I discovered a new problem, one of the internal walls is out of plumb - around 5cm difference between the top and bottom. It is in the stairwell so I don't know whether it will be noticeable. To be honest, if I had noticed, I would not have paid them until it had been fixed up. Lessoned learnt I suppose. You don't want to mess with me when I get stroppy! Fortunately it does not present a structural problem. Unfortunately I don't have the time to take it apart and get it relaid.

On a different tangent, not that I am a fan of the big corp, but Bunnings employees seem to have more product knowlege than other hardware shops. The other hardware shops just seem to know about things they sell, but in bunnings it can be "yeah I know what you are talking about" or "we use to sell it, but.." where as the others tend to look at me blankly -looking confused. I guess there is an inherit conflict of interest between someone that owns a store and is the sales person. Foremost they want ot sell, where as in Bunnings they are not on commission and are just focused on giving good service.

Questions, Belt, Blockwork and Grout

The first couple of times that people have come up to me and asked me what I am building, I thought how quaint, how friendly and fair enough and I said "a house". Now it is getting a bit of a worry - what do people think I am building - I mean come on, what are the options - an airport?

I got so fed up today with continuously pulling up my pants so I could move properly without my pants getting caught on my thighs and I made the move and drilled another hole in my belt. Liz (my wife) is worried that I might start loosing too much weight.

The blockworker came yesterday and "fixed" up the blocks. To make them straight (within 10mm) he had to really noticably offset the blocks. Oh well at least the problem is confined to the corner. To my absolute annoyance, the guy told me he knew that there was a problem when they were laying the blocks and told someone and yet no one elected to tell me - I suspect the worse. And to think that when I initially complained about it, the boss man said someone must of lent on it. I just lost some trust in trades people.

I took a laser level over the blockwork and I found that the difference between the minimun and max is 50mm. I'm using expensive non-shrink grout to level off the blocks - apparently the min thickness is 10mm. I formed it up using planks of pine lined with foam. I laser level the planks and then screed off them. The foam creates a tight joint between the pine and the blocks. I tried using F clamps to hold the pieces of pine against the block wall - I found my 12" G clamps work much better. I mixed the mortar in my wheel barrow using a garden hoe - much easier than a shovel - something I learnt from the blockworker who came yesterday and asked me to mix up some mud for him.

I don't understand these blockworkers - I mean the concretor (who recommended them) knows what sort of job they did and the carpenter (who was recommended by a blockworker) also knows.

I have kind of finished the backfill - there are however some significant low spots to fill. A total of 30 cubic metres or 42 tons of gravel.

I also got a spinter yesterday and I tried to remove it using a toothpick - not a good idea - all it did was just drive it in. I ended up gouging it out with a sharp knife.