My empire of dirt...
- Thread starter Chizel - Founding Father
- Start date
This ain't no average pvc guttering, it marley!!!In NL we wouldn’t even put upvc guttering on a shed, let alone a house
Been around for ever and lasts decades if looked after.. you can lean ladders against it an according to one old advert , a full grown man can hang offa it!
I've never tested that but as I'm not full grown, it wouldn't be a proper test!!!
I looked at metal, I've a mate that sells it. He has it on his house and said he wouldn't bother with it again..
One day I might paint what we have to match the cladding. Not sure though so no rush...
Didn’t they do it in black?
At twice the price of white! I have the correct color paint sitting here and it's only a few hours work to paint it. I'm just not sure if I want to. Neither is b so we will live with it for a bit then decide. Got plenty of other stuff to get on with!!!
Groot gelijk, apart volk die brabanders ( no google translate will not translate that for you correctlyCloggies, you can't teach them
)
Galvanised , zinc and copper are the correct choices
Not on my budget they ain't!Galvanised , zinc and copper are the correct choices
Summit about Dutch rabbits!Groot gelijk, apart volk die brabanders ( no google translate will not translate that for you correctly
Not sure, litterally its folk from Brabant are special people!Groot gelijk, apart volk die brabanders ( no google translate will not translate that for you correctly
So could mean that they're very 'special peeps' pc version or 'feckin eejits' non pc
Attachments
Up nice and early this morning.. bout 9.30 ish... went for coffee then got into painting the garage roof.. as mentioned earlier, it looked like shit but doesn't leaks it can stay for a while yet.
Why light grey? I hear you ask.. coz it was free!!! Probably look better matching the cladding but I don't mind it. B thinks it looks smart.
On close inspection it's pretty rough but it looks tidy and is sound..
Anyhu, 3 hours later and it's had 2 coats. Job jobbed...
Why light grey? I hear you ask.. coz it was free!!! Probably look better matching the cladding but I don't mind it. B thinks it looks smart.
On close inspection it's pretty rough but it looks tidy and is sound..
Anyhu, 3 hours later and it's had 2 coats. Job jobbed...
So painting done, I had to duck to the pub for a cheeky pint...
B stayed home and started moving stuff out to the garage.. I would have felt bad about her doing the graft while I had a beer at the pub, but given she stayed in bed whilst I painted the shed roof and didn't get up till nearly lunch time, I didn't.. feel bad that is..
Anyhu, she's done good. Another hour or 2 and she should be nearly done!
B stayed home and started moving stuff out to the garage.. I would have felt bad about her doing the graft while I had a beer at the pub, but given she stayed in bed whilst I painted the shed roof and didn't get up till nearly lunch time, I didn't.. feel bad that is..
Anyhu, she's done good. Another hour or 2 and she should be nearly done!
Equality
Well the emptying of the front room took b a Lil longer than expected but she got it done in the end!
The ply I ordered and paid for week before last finally arrived and I picked that up Wednesday. That is now stored in the lean to so no hammock space !!!
I'm all set to start pulling the floor up in the front room but wanted to do a Lil job out side this weekend.
That was cut the deck back on an angle so there is enough room to get the trailer out back. Even with it cut back it's way to tight to tow it round there but it can be pushed back there for storage.
Anyhu I started cutting the deck back, whilst having a look at some stuff I noticed the waste pipe to the kitchen sink has come apart meaning all the waste water has just been running under the house for God knows how long!!! Can't smell it from anywhere which surprises me coz when ya head is down there, it fucken stinks!!!!
To access said pipe I needed to remove more of the deck. Not a big deal as we had talked about doing just that any way. That section of deck doesn't get used so much and would probably be better at a lower level to create a step and be Same hieght as the back door step. Gunna cut it back to the corner of the house.
So I started on that.. didn't get real far as it was 1 o'clock by then and the pool comp started at my local at 2. I needn't have bothered with the pool comp, played like shit and lost both my games. I did draw 2 of the top players mind...
Anyhu, ya can get a car out back now and I'll finish up tomorrow...
The ply I ordered and paid for week before last finally arrived and I picked that up Wednesday. That is now stored in the lean to so no hammock space !!!
I'm all set to start pulling the floor up in the front room but wanted to do a Lil job out side this weekend.
That was cut the deck back on an angle so there is enough room to get the trailer out back. Even with it cut back it's way to tight to tow it round there but it can be pushed back there for storage.
Anyhu I started cutting the deck back, whilst having a look at some stuff I noticed the waste pipe to the kitchen sink has come apart meaning all the waste water has just been running under the house for God knows how long!!! Can't smell it from anywhere which surprises me coz when ya head is down there, it fucken stinks!!!!
To access said pipe I needed to remove more of the deck. Not a big deal as we had talked about doing just that any way. That section of deck doesn't get used so much and would probably be better at a lower level to create a step and be Same hieght as the back door step. Gunna cut it back to the corner of the house.
So I started on that.. didn't get real far as it was 1 o'clock by then and the pool comp started at my local at 2. I needn't have bothered with the pool comp, played like shit and lost both my games. I did draw 2 of the top players mind...
Anyhu, ya can get a car out back now and I'll finish up tomorrow...
Attachments
So got the deck cut back and the pipe fixed.. that was fun! Had a torn air bed that was gunna go to the tip so I laid that out to lay on while repairing the pipe.
Fuck it stunk in there! All was going OK till the stinky water made its way onto the air bed. Next thing I was covered in putrid water...did a temporary fix ( as I needed a few fittings) Then before I got under there again I dug out about a 3rd of a cube of rotten soil and lay polythene in there.
The "plumber" or who ever installed the waste had ran it with a fall but when they got to one of the bearers, they bent it under it instead of going over it. This created a low point, which over time led to it blocking.
My guess is the last owner took to the sink with a plunger and this burst the elbow offa the pipe. The owner would have been none the wiser..
Anyhu, all fixed now and after blasting it all through with the jet wash and striping a d cleaning the u bend, she drains sweet..
I had some credit at the garden center so I grabbed half a cube of top soil and filled in the hole I'd dug and put a few inches over the area where the deck was to tidy things up.
The balance I used to fill one of the many hollows in the yard..
Today I finally started ripping up floors!
Done some more indepth surveying with the Laser and am now a Lil worried!!!!
Anyhu, some pics of stuff!
Fuck it stunk in there! All was going OK till the stinky water made its way onto the air bed. Next thing I was covered in putrid water...did a temporary fix ( as I needed a few fittings) Then before I got under there again I dug out about a 3rd of a cube of rotten soil and lay polythene in there.
The "plumber" or who ever installed the waste had ran it with a fall but when they got to one of the bearers, they bent it under it instead of going over it. This created a low point, which over time led to it blocking.
My guess is the last owner took to the sink with a plunger and this burst the elbow offa the pipe. The owner would have been none the wiser..
Anyhu, all fixed now and after blasting it all through with the jet wash and striping a d cleaning the u bend, she drains sweet..
I had some credit at the garden center so I grabbed half a cube of top soil and filled in the hole I'd dug and put a few inches over the area where the deck was to tidy things up.
The balance I used to fill one of the many hollows in the yard..
Today I finally started ripping up floors!
Done some more indepth surveying with the Laser and am now a Lil worried!!!!
Anyhu, some pics of stuff!
It'll be great when it's done.
While the floors are up it might be worth shuttering around the timber supports and pouring concrete pads. I guess the laser shows some have sunk.
Thats the main idea for taking the floors up.
The house was built on hardwood tree stumps , as was the fashion 95 odd years ago!!
The house is all over the shop due to some of em sinking and some rotting out.
On inspection today I found that they appear to had been dug into the ground about 400mm. 3 of the 6 I got access to today are just floating as the below ground part is completely gone!!! Most of the piles around the exterior perimeter of the house ( the easiest to access) have been replaced and concreted in and as this is where the majority of the weight bears, it's the only reason the house is still standing!
When ya walk in the front room, the fridge 15 feet away wobbles!!!
So the intention is to level the house out, replace piles and concret them in, put a polythene membrane over the soil to prevent damp and insulate between joist before laying new treated ply flooring.
Sounds simple enough!
Few problems though!! We are living in the place so need to do an area at a time which ain't ideal!
We have fuck all funds left, also not ideal, and the house has taken many years to get to its very uneven state and I can't see it just popping flat as I jack up certain sections.
In some places the floor wants to be raised 60 mm and 6 feet away it don't want raising at all, can't see it bending like that so compromises will have to be made!
In some places the floor wants bringing up but the ceiling don't by the same amount .
It's an old girl so I'm not expecting nor will we ever achieve perfection.
I just want it as good as possible and future proofed.
In a ideal world we would lift the house by about 600mm but that is way beyond our budget.
I built my big timber workshop the same way using timber supports. I wasn't planning on staying here so I knew they would be ok for a few years. Five years down the line I've decided to stay so I will be going through the same process soon.
Not really how it's done over here..Do they have concrete rounds for you to place the wooden supports on ?
The norm is to dig a hole, size and depth dictated buy a structural engineer, depending on ground conditions, hight of building, wind zones etc..
We don't have to get a engineer report as we are replacing less than 50% of the piles so will use a generic detail.
Probably something like 450 deep and 400 x 400 wide (I'll seek advice on this) Then the pile ( 125x125 h5 treated timber) goes in the hole 100 mm above the bottom.
This is then filled with concrete and z nails and brackets used to secure pile to the bearers.
In most cases diagonal braces would run between the piles at specific locations but our place is not high enough for this to be possible.
This method ensures the house is anchored to the ground and won't blow away, float away in a flood or fall over in earthquake!
Maybe.... the foot print of the concrete ensures the house won't sink. Maybe!
Other methods of fondations are available obviously but this is probably the most common one for timber builds. That said there is alot being built on concrete slabs these days...
Over they last few weeks I've pulled up a few more boards, packed the house in a few places, laid the ply in the bedroom in temporary and planted one pile!
Not a great deal of progress.
Work and other activities have got in the way..
Did a full day yesterday, but that don't look like much either!!
The dinning area floor seemed to be getting more uneven and wobbly so pulled up a section to have a look.
The pile beneath the spongeist bit of floor has sunk and there is a 50 mm gap tween that and the bearer.
Guess there was a load of weight in that area for some time ( probably fat Guinnesss sitting at the dinner table) the that weight got removed There is only 2 large nails through the bearers into each pile and most so far have rusted out, with the weight move and pile no longer fixed to bearer, I guess the bearer flattened out some creating this gap?...
Anyhu, ended up cutting an 8 x 4 section of flooring up, denailing joists, clearing, packing and laying ply in..
Hard to believe that's a days work but it was.
The amount of crap under there is amazing!!
Some from when it was built, some slid under there deliberately over the years( lengths of timber and pipe) Some wind blown and some I just don't fucken know how it would have got there!
So much broken glass..
So start by removing all the visible glass and putting aside, then paper, plastic, metal ect, then rake and sort some more , then load all the loose dirt in bucket and carry out, then scrape soil down till nice and clean and flat..
In the 8 x 4 area ( or 2.88m2) I probably took out 30 20ltr buckets of crap and soil along with shit loads of soil..
A few pics now as although there is loads more to say, all these words get boring..
Not a great deal of progress.
Work and other activities have got in the way..
Did a full day yesterday, but that don't look like much either!!
The dinning area floor seemed to be getting more uneven and wobbly so pulled up a section to have a look.
The pile beneath the spongeist bit of floor has sunk and there is a 50 mm gap tween that and the bearer.
Guess there was a load of weight in that area for some time ( probably fat Guinnesss sitting at the dinner table) the that weight got removed There is only 2 large nails through the bearers into each pile and most so far have rusted out, with the weight move and pile no longer fixed to bearer, I guess the bearer flattened out some creating this gap?...
Anyhu, ended up cutting an 8 x 4 section of flooring up, denailing joists, clearing, packing and laying ply in..
Hard to believe that's a days work but it was.
The amount of crap under there is amazing!!
Some from when it was built, some slid under there deliberately over the years( lengths of timber and pipe) Some wind blown and some I just don't fucken know how it would have got there!
So much broken glass..
So start by removing all the visible glass and putting aside, then paper, plastic, metal ect, then rake and sort some more , then load all the loose dirt in bucket and carry out, then scrape soil down till nice and clean and flat..
In the 8 x 4 area ( or 2.88m2) I probably took out 30 20ltr buckets of crap and soil along with shit loads of soil..
A few pics now as although there is loads more to say, all these words get boring..
In the pic of the hole I dug for the pile, you can see I've gone 900 deep. This is anchor pile, the bulk will only go down 450.
Where that pile is I jacked that corner up 15 mm to match the highest point in the house.
Gunna fix that pile to bearer with ss plates ( that I picked up yesterday) before I lift the next section along as that needs raising 23mm and I could see the bearer lifting of that new pile rather than bending if not fixed.
In other pics you can see some of the crap I had to take out. Those were taken after alot was removed as I forgot to get snapping!
That bucket of glass is from that 8 x 4 area.
Shame most I broken as there was some cool bottles there.
We are getting a nice collection of little bottles and jars though!
Gunna do a few hours this morning but b's bro is driving up and also there is street racing in whangarei today!!!
Cars not bikes but still worth a look...
Where that pile is I jacked that corner up 15 mm to match the highest point in the house.
Gunna fix that pile to bearer with ss plates ( that I picked up yesterday) before I lift the next section along as that needs raising 23mm and I could see the bearer lifting of that new pile rather than bending if not fixed.
In other pics you can see some of the crap I had to take out. Those were taken after alot was removed as I forgot to get snapping!
That bucket of glass is from that 8 x 4 area.
Shame most I broken as there was some cool bottles there.
We are getting a nice collection of little bottles and jars though!
Gunna do a few hours this morning but b's bro is driving up and also there is street racing in whangarei today!!!
Cars not bikes but still worth a look...
Also when removing floor we unfortunately discovered it riddled with woodworm.
We were hoping on reusing but no dice. Fortunately for some reason no bearers or joist so far seem to be affected.
I have treatment and will be treating EVERYTHING as I go!!!
We were hoping on reusing but no dice. Fortunately for some reason no bearers or joist so far seem to be affected.
I have treatment and will be treating EVERYTHING as I go!!!
Do you also insulate chiz?
Yes mate, picked up about a 1/3 of it the other day. Not enough space to store the lot!
Basically get floors up, clear out, replace rotten joists/bearers, repile, borer treatment, put membrane down then fit insulation and fix ply down permanently..
Some pics of other stuff as I wander around the garden waiting for my back to warm up. Very sore this morning...
Insulation, bottles and jars, builders mix stores, new foundation piles, an ever growing burn pile, an ever growing crap pile and the hammock space taken over by materials...
Insulation, bottles and jars, builders mix stores, new foundation piles, an ever growing burn pile, an ever growing crap pile and the hammock space taken over by materials...
