End of the line

Monday 16 December 2013

*Stop Press*  Jonathan stops after first course  (of bales, that is).

Another full-on day.  The weather is being incredibly kind to us, we can't waste a moment.  We've decided to invite interested friends and willing workers to participate in a Bale Raising Day on Thursday.  That gives us three days to learn what we need to know, and to get prepared for an influx.  We don't know how many people will come, it's a busy time of year for everyone, but hey - even just another couple of people would be a great help.

So on Monday, we built an end frame for where the bale wall will stop, at least for the moment, then completed the course all the way round.

 Our super new mitre saw from the UK - now, maybe, we'll be able to cut some straight joints.  Dave was waiting for this saw before the long end frame was made, but when it arrived it seemed to be missing a crucial little part - which magically appeared this morning embedded in the polystyrene packaging.

 At work, making the frame

 

 Putting it into position.  Jonathan volunteered for the high-rise jobs, very good of him ...

 ... even the really tricky left-handed screwing to the wood frame.

 Then the last few bales of the first course went into position - Dave and I feeling pretty good about that

 And Jonathan - justifiably proud of his major contribution

 Just time for a bit of experimenting with making cut straw for plaster as quickly as possible - this is a strimmer in a big metal bin - it creates clouds of dust and tends to shred rather than cut the straw, but it is quick.

In the evening, Jonathan and I had a quiet family supper at a little Italian in Nidri, and neither of us stopped after the first course ... !

Clau-straw-phobic

Sunday 15 December 2013

We were reluctant to waste any of Jonathan's valuable help, so our day of rest again didn't happen, as we kept going with the first course of bales, perfecting the splitting technique, and more importantly measuring the short-bale gap appropriately.  It turns out best if one knocks off about 7-8 centimetres of the gap width from the part-bale, then it goes into the space without distorting.  Any remaining gap can then be stuffed with loose straw.

Well!  Have you ever felt that the walls were closing in around you?  It's very strange having even one bale height of wall around the music room.  The house is going to feel very dark at first after our all round panoramic walls.

 Inside, the wall has doubled in height!

 Outside, the bales look very sharp and neat, even at the corner., but the wall below has been spattered with clay slip.  We found that painting them in situ was too messy, so we shifted to a slip-painting station.  When we were really efficient we did four bales and let them dry while we had a tea-break.

 Dave at work at the painting station

By the end of the day, we had completed the circuit of the music room, as far as the door.  I wrapped the built bales in tarps before remembering to take the photo, but was far too tired to take them off again for a photo call.

Christmas Party

Saturday 14 December - Evening

I had asked the band to put on a gig while Jonathan was here, so after an extremely busy day's building, we took ourselves down to the yacht club for party night!  Phew!

Although Jonathan was mostly interested in taking pics with his new camera - even finding himself behind the bar just to get the perfect shot.  Unfortunately, our internet here is so slow that Jono's super-dooper photos will take all evening to upload, and I don't have the time to wait for them (sorry Jono!)

Bales Away!

Saturday 14 December 2013

Ten to three in the afternoon, and we were all fired up, so the first bale was tried out for size.  To increase fire retardency and improve render adhesion we are coating each bale with a thin layer of clay slip.  This makes it a very messy process.  We coated the bottom and back of the bale, then lifted it into position.

 Jono and Dave considering the logistics (I think)

 Putting slip on the bottom and side

 Voila! In position, number one bale !!!

 Me, acting as a bale 'persuader' to make it sit down hard over the spikes

 Dave doing the fiddly job of tying off the holding strings

 Bale two swiftly followed, and then bale three, but into the corner we needed our first part-bale which involves a whole new experimental process - bale splitting.  Jono and Dave seem to have had some fun getting this done.  Unfortunately, we got the size a bit wrong (all a learning exercise!) and the part-bale sprang out of its twine.  No time to try again today, more tomorrow.

Two separate part-bales, both tied with twine, not a quick process, but unavoidable for smaller spaces.

What a Day!

Saturday 14 December 2013

The day it all came together - much to our surprise.  First though, we had to get that pesky upstairs window box fitted into the window.  All the others had just slotted right in, so why did this one have to cause so much trouble?  Three fittings before it would go in, and then down again for gluing before the final fix.

 They were looking pretty cheerful at this point, before the first lift ...

I wasn't allowed to take photos again after this - we were up and down like yoyos, me inside with the drill at the ready, but it took two more sessions with the jigsaw and plane to make it fit under the rafter and up against the olive wood corner.

 Then Pete turned up and volunteered to make cut straw for the external plaster (render) that we're going to need as soon as the wall is up.  It's a slow process, with a knife and a cutting board, we might have to find a way to speed it up.

 Jonathan got on with fixing screws and tying string so that the bales can be secured individually to the wood frame.

While I tackled the stapling - with the new stapler - of the blue netting.

And all of a sudden, we were ready to lay the first bale ...

Gone Fishing

Friday 13th December 2013

About now we agreed that Jonathan could have a bit of a holiday while he was here, so he and Dave and Pete went sailing (and unproductively fishing) for the day, leaving me happily pottering about the house, doing the remaining jobs.

 The final upstairs window box constructed

 This is a stack of offcuts standing up against the bales - making happy chirping noises ...

 ... as the chicken had made a nest in a dark corner, busily pulling straws out of the bales to make a cosy place (she wasn't too thrilled by the flash photography)

 Then I painted wood preservative on the four frames and the door lintel that were already installed, as well as the uninstalled one - it having suddenly occurred to me that this would be easier done at ground level, before fitting!

 And the final job, cutting strips of blue netting to line the wood frame for eventual internal plastering of the bales

 Then I met up with the boys and we went to a traditional taverna up the mountain, with a roaring olive log fire and had chunks of meat off the spit - a good way to complete a December day's sailing (and building)

Dave looking like a happy bunny after a proper day off and lots of food.

More boxes

Thurs 12 December

The door frame - just visible behind the music room east window in the foreground, and two more window boxes constructed - the big kitchen window and a smaller pantry window on the ground floor - only the real challenge - the studio window upstairs - left to do.

Jonathan started work stapling strips of blue netting to the wood frame, to assist the eventual internal plaster to tie into the frame.  But after five minutes of experiencing our overworked stapler, which has a success rate of about one in four, he decided it was more productive going to Lefkas to buy another one than be driven mad by that one.

In the evening, we went to the Yacht Club for the quiz, at which we came joint first.  We were asked to supply one team member for a mystery tie-breaker, so we nominated Jonathan.  It turned out to be a game of table tennis, first to five points.  He won 5-2.  Hurrah!  We won 20 euros split between our five team members!

Raising the stakes

Weds 11 December 2013

The following morning, while I waited for the boys to wake up, I moved the last 10 rocks to outline the proposed Winter Garden - this spot stays in the sun all day, when it shines, so it will eventually be walled round with a little fireplace for sitting out on cold but sunny days.  Future dreams ...

Then I started to construct the new scaffolding tower, brought out from the UK.  It's very clever - lightweight but strong - it is part of our wildly generous wedding pressie from cousin Judith - ever so very many thanks, Judith - the scaffolding's lovely

Dave appeared and helped put up the next section.  It has another section again, so it goes up to about 5 metres in all, but we don't need all that just yet.

Jono surfaced a little later, and was happy to raise the stakes - shaping and installing bale impalers on the base frame.  'Just call me Vlad' he said.

Working on round the building

 

while Dave and I went on constructing window boxes.  

Overjoyed to have another job getting done at the same time.

 

Jonathan Arrives

Tues 10 December 2013

Sara's brother Jonathan, being in a period of leave between jobs came to stay for a week, arriving on Tuesday afternoon.  He thinks he came for a holiday, but we had other plans.  First of all we relieved him of a large pile of tea bags - essential building site supplies, then took him out for a meal.  Afterwards he thought we might just go for a little drink before bed.

At the Devine Bar, Jonathan made the mistake of assuming the table tennis table was reasonably robust.  A mistake, as it turned out.  He sat on the corner.

 

But everyone seemed okay about it, though we may have to keep a low profile for a while.  Here are Sue, Jonathan and Andy and Heather Devine.

 

Little boxes

Tuesday 10 December 2013

On to the second window box.  They're taking longer than expected.  We've only got a small jigsaw to cut the plywood with, so that's not able to be done with industrial speed and efficiency - but mostly the cuts have only got a little wobble - and it won't matter once the bales are around them. 

Then we put the pieces together, anxiously lining up the edges so that they fit snugly.  They are heavy when made, so we want them to go in first time.

This is the second box seen through the first one, facing east to the sea.  This photo isn't sophisticated enough, but the boxes line up perfectly on a mountain peak away on the mainland.  Very pretty!

Here it is, the second box, in position.  The next challenge is the door frame to its left.