A Mixed Bag

Greetings all. Attached you will see the latest photos showing the project. For the most part they are self explanatory. The outside walls of the two wing buildings have been put up as have most of the breezeway walls. Almost all the lintels over the porch doors have been replaced with the thicker timber.

Behind the scenes the electrician has begun work on the wiring plan and the location of the airconditioning units both interior and exterior. Due to the narrower rooms in the wing buildings some modifications have had to be made to the bathroom (shower & countertop) and closet & drawer dimensions. The width of the showers has been reduced from 36" to 30". This leaves a 5' x 7' area for the smaller bathrooms, closets of 5' x 2' and a drawer and shelf unit of 5' x 2'. The storage areas rise to above head height. We are almost certainly going with the Pirana septic system but I am still waiting on some information from Vicente before a final decision is made.

With regards to the roof we are still waiting for delivery of the beams, most of which I am assured by Vicente are now on the island and for the slats to finish drying. These are on sight and Vicente says we should give them another two weeks to season.

Plans for the grounds are also in progress and I hope to get our hedge planted fairly soon. Willis' wall by the way has completely dissapeared and Jenny our neighbour is doing quite a lot of work in her garden too which will also benefit us. I have also made a preliminary selection of other plants that will be suitable for our sight. Our major constraint here is the exposure to the wind, salt air and potential salt water damage in big storms. A final decision on plants and landscaping will depend on cost and I am waiting for a quote at the moment from the lady who runs the local botanical garden.

This second group of photographs show the progress on the right and left han buildings. The black is the tar paper which has yet to be covered by wood. Again the new thicker lintels are visible at the front of the buildings.

Part of a series of pictures showing the walls being added to the frames. In the top left picture one can see the tar paper from the inside. In the picture below the new thicker lintels are visible on the middle building from which the concertina doors will hang. The same size lintel is being placed in all of the bedrooms at the front for doors leading onto the porches.