[Jim]

Hello fellow Mac lovers


Past week or so i have been trying to get on top of the "too do list" for this year, and yes i know it's June…… I have been waiting for the cooler months to tackle it, well thats my excuse to the wife and i am sticking with it

Anyway I will try and post up some pic's of what we have been up to with some explanations and maybe a few laughs on the way ( my screw up )


SORRY PICTURES HAVE BEEN DELETED FOR OTHER POSTS



The above pics are the before and after shots of a small retaining wall which we finally finished. Now the first screw up was here, if you notice the left of the finished pic you will see a tap and an irrigation line that was meant for the garden beds.
I forgot to extend the irrigation line underneath the pavers for the beds. The only way to fix it is to rip up the pavers, thats so not going to happen.

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The above pictures I think don't give it much justice to what we actually did due to the fact the pictures were taken on the painting side of things, we dropped the roof out of the room and re set it again with new plasterboard and cornices due to so many doggy fixes it was looking like a button pillow.
We stripped the varnish off the window robes etc and brought it back to smooth timber then painted it, I had to cut the carpet around the skirting boards to get into them, its getting ditched anyway, pink fricken carpet or the way the wife's says Salmon either way, it's going.
The last pic is my garage with the doors for the room just painted and waiting for me to add the new hardware.

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The final two pics are of my ute, I had to use screen grabs to get to post as it is was recorded on my phone when happened.

I will set the picture on the day, down at bunnings for the hardware for the doors and some odds and ends, left bunnings feeling pretty chuffed with what we got done at home, I leave the bunnings driveway 20 meters down the road waiting to turn right then Bang.
I got a driver that drifted in my waiting to turn right lane coming from the other direction and ploughed straight into my 5 month old ute He was texting the frickrn moron, thanks for small mercies thou, the air bag didn't go off and I am told that in ute s if the bag goes off you end up with a broken nose and broken thumbs.

SORRY PICTURES HAVE BEEN DELETED FOR OTHER POSTS

Anyway the ute s in the panel shop and i am told that should be right to go next Thursday or Friday, as for the renovation my 4 weeks estimate to finish is now up to maybe 8 weeks…. I hope i haven't bored you guys out…… just letting you know what been up to of late.


Cheers

[Ken Gracey]

Ahh I take back what i said Jim, it was a Hi Lux, that is just as easy to see as my Ranger, anyway.. the reno's look great, the wife said when you are bored, are back yard could do with the Jim touch, and she doesn't mind waiting 6 months, she says thats about 10 years faster than me

[Stubzee]

Jim i am in awe my friend, i couldn't even contemplate an exercise like the one you have undertaken. In no time flat a major disaster would occur.
Home renovations is just another thing that i am not good at.
Sorry to hear about the Ute.
Gordon

[klytia]

Hi Jim, good to see your up & running again. Your very house proud, great job on the laying & retaining wall looks the ducks nuts.

The inside looked great too, and you have carpet in your shed???? You big softy, did you have your slippers on when you painted on the carpet? I can see the work there, it's a mammoth task and you make it look so neat, me i would have crap everywhere.

Ute, mate that's like you've had a skippy bounce of it, bloody scratch, too much carpet & slippers, you need to harden up, like chopper! That kind, you know!

Mick

[arcanedevice]

Well done Jim.

Looking at the photos, my wife had been asking me for a few months to do a similar size area but instead of pavers it was lawn. I commend you for the effort even with the mistakes, because it ended up costing me $4K after she got the local landscaper to come in while I was away on a work trip. So glad that the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 are rumoured to be some time away, because that'll help me recover some of the funds...

Mind you, he (and you!) did a much better job than I ever would have!

[klytia]

Here's one of my many projects, I must take some lessons from Jim, his attention to detail is far greater than mine....

Killed tree down the paddock, dragged it up with the tractor and let it dry for 6 months, then cut logs in 1/2, moved them into the shed and then cut mortice in the 1/2 logs and tenon in the posts to accept the squares....
First picture shows the cut log



This shows the chainsaw marks in the log, i purposefully left them in the logs for effect



This shows more detail, I also made the stainless steel bolts by cutting & welding continuous threaded rod (just welded a nut onto the end and cut to length) see saw marks, these were planed down to remove most of them (it also shows 40mm in pencil, gives an idea of scale)



Posts in the ground (grouted with 100 Mpa construction grout) one coat of stain on the longatudinal logs



This is the left hand side of the gate duplicate of the above



And the finished right hand side with solid brass numbers and grout beveled edge

[Jim]

Ken Gracey, on 02 June 2011 - 08:49 AM, said:

Ahh I take back what i said Jim, it was a Hi Lux, that is just as easy to see as my Ranger, anyway.. the reno's look great, the wife said when you are bored, are back yard could do with the Jim touch, and she doesn't mind waiting 6 months, she says thats about 10 years faster than me

Mate I know, fricken white ute, ya cant get anymore obvious in traffic as that, even had the lights on. Cheers for the complement from yourself and your lady on the reno's just got to get a few plants for the garden bed which I will leave till after winter.
As for the inside 1 room down 3 to go I just gotta keep motivated, one thing I can bank on with the misses is, know matter how fast or slow I get the jobs knocked of the to do list, it always gets updated, its like ground hog day.

Shouldn't say that really, she's one of the good ones that a very rare to find in life, more than a wife she's my best mate.

Cheers again Ken.

Stubzee, on 02 June 2011 - 02:39 PM, said:

Jim i am in awe my friend, i couldn't even contemplate an exercise like the one you have undertaken. In no time flat a major disaster would occur.
Home renovations is just another thing that i am not good at.
Sorry to hear about the Ute.
Gordon

Hello Gordon

Its funny you know, mate you should see it from my side of the fence, when I look at your skill set with a camera and its results, now thats talent if a camera ends up in my hands Gordon and hasn't got a auto function, forget it, I am screwed.

Cheers

klytia, on 02 June 2011 - 06:09 PM, said:

Hi Jim, good to see your up & running again. Your very house proud, great job on the laying & retaining wall looks the ducks nuts.

The inside looked great too, and you have carpet in your shed???? You big softy, did you have your slippers on when you painted on the carpet? I can see the work there, it's a mammoth task and you make it look so neat, me i would have crap everywhere.

Ute, mate that's like you've had a skippy bounce of it, bloody scratch, too much carpet & slippers, you need to harden up, like chopper! That kind, you know!

Mick

Up and running just and is temporally for the moment, curtains and blinds are still not up yet and the room I am in faces the neighbours bedroom and she enjoys having her blinds open, believe me, there is no Katy Perry to be seen here.

Yeah you got it one Mick, house proud I am, it's not biggest house in comparison to others in the street and it falls short of what my ego would have brought at the time, thankfully common sense prevailed.

slippers, your close, however i am known thou to go for the Hue Hefner look some nights i recon the slippers will set the ambiance, I will let you know how it goes.
As for the ute, I was saying the similar to Ken on a previous post, she's a banged up jalopy, no matter how much they fix it, it will take awhile to shake it off suppose, thats just me, but I recon it probably hurt the resale price when I am done with it.

Anyway Mick, thank you for the complements and the BUMP to post up, I didn't think anyone would be interested.

cheers

arcanedevice, on 02 June 2011 - 06:45 PM, said:

Well done Jim.

Looking at the photos, my wife had been asking me for a few months to do a similar size area but instead of pavers it was lawn. I commend you for the effort even with the mistakes, because it ended up costing me $4K after she got the local landscaper to come in while I was away on a work trip. So glad that the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 are rumoured to be some time away, because that'll help me recover some of the funds...

Mind you, he (and you!) did a much better job than I ever would have!

Had plenty of failed attempts, what i would have given for a laser level at the time, the trick is in the concrete bed you lay, get your heights, cut your half bricks and the rest goes together like lego.

I am a lawn man to honest, when we brought here we were in the full tilt of water restrictions, kind of got a bit of hard time off the locals, I mean I wasn't doing anything wrong and stayed within the allocated times with watering, but dam, no one gave a crap about lawns.
So anyway, got it looking picture perfect, mind you back then I would sit outside the front with the deck chair, ipod one hand, hose in the other( my way of relaxing) within 10min I would start to count the rangers flying by to catch me watering out of times.

Kind of got the message that local council was on speed dial on a few of my neighbours phones at the time. However its all good now and what do know, the street looks like the rollings hills of Wales, its that green. Gotta love the Jones's.

Cheers

[klytia]

Jim where we are we are soley reliable on our tank water, nothing to stop you from putting a tank in to do the garden, heavens forbid you might even like to drink the stuff, we do. When we do drink "Town water" its noticeable in taste and smell.......funny that......Mick :)BTW If it was me putting the tank in I would bury it 1/2 way into the ground

[Jim]

klytia, on 03 June 2011 - 10:20 AM, said:

Jim where we are we are soley reliable on our tank water, nothing to stop you from putting a tank in to do the garden, heavens forbid you might even like to drink the stuff, we do. When we do drink "Town water" its noticeable in taste and smell.......funny that......Mick :)BTW If it was me putting the tank in I would bury it 1/2 way into the ground

Something will have to be done soon, my last water bill was $550 and its only going to go up from what I hear from the latest news about state Government, If I put one in I would go the full tilt, it would be totally underground purely for cosmetics side of things, I am only sitting on 580square meters, so space is a luxury that I wouldn't want to compromise with a tank.

Drinking water from the tank, did it plenty of times when we lived in Emerald, like 20 years ago, we use to spend weekends in the gem fields on a mates lot specking, I love Sydney but there is no chance I would consider drinking run off from the roof or any other device to capture water from rain down here no mater how many filters it goes through, Its putrid, you should see the brown black toxic mornings of smog we have down here, it's getting bad, coming through the heads into the harbour it's disgusting and suffocating, you don't realise when your in it, but man it gets bad somedays.

Later if we look at the tank it will be for my lawn only, will have to drag out title for the land and check out the easements, should be all right thou, either that, or I have heard that for just under $3000 they can drill a for bore water line and have it set up beside garden mains taps, not to sure thou but I cant imagine State government would allow for non metered taps irrespective of the water source, surly be have to be cheaper than pulling it from the mains.


BTW your acreage looks sweet, nice job of the fence line, timber gives it a bit of character, see you are a dab hand with a chainsaw as well, anyway….. Good job Mick, hopefully the sea change goes smooth. BTW how long to go before you move? or are you kicking back in the new pad now?

[media-sorcerer]

damn,im working on a wooden sculpture at the moment,but i cant post pics cos of upload limit exceeded,maybe i can do a link to flikr? ill come back n post a few so you folks may have a look if it behooves you to do so,great thread,i like! blessings to all here too,hope everyone is well and happy too,ps jim and tractor man howdy from me by the sea!.regs david.

[klytia]

Come on Dave, Let's see what you've been up to or I will generate some more projects to keep the thread alive.....



Mick

[Jim]

Hey Guys

Just an update on the referb I am doing, carpets were to go in a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately not happening yet, ten years of water hammering and the brass lines finally gave way in the en suite and flooded the walk in robe, I have been jerking around with this for the past week or so.

Picture's are from the inside of the walk in robe wall which is the opposite wall of the on suite, I am replacing brass lines with HP flex water line, I am not the best at brazing and paying a plumber to come in at $180 per hour to fix it is not going to happen on my shift.
It probably would be quicker thou, thankfully we have a main bathroom so I can afford to take my time to get it right.

Anyway the lines are in, next week or so will cut plaster board to fix the wall and replace skirting boards, repaint and all should be sweet and ready for carpet ( fingers crossed)





excuse the picture quality, taken with 3GS and is not the best.

[Ken Gracey]

You are indeed a handy man Jim, what can i say

[Islandhead]

Good luck with the repair work Jim, I would also baulk at $180 an hour. Go for it

[Jim]

Ken Gracey, on 28 June 2011 - 09:15 AM, said:

You are indeed a handy man Jim, what can i say

Islandhead, on 28 June 2011 - 09:46 AM, said:

Good luck with the repair work Jim, I would also baulk at $180 an hour. Go for it

Cheers fellas

Man I cant seem to catch a break a lately, get one thing done another pops up, I am having a severe case of Murphy's law at the moment.

Anyway not going to winge in here, its all good, however I am looking forward to being fricken finished with all of it and cruise the rest of the year, the wife's " To Do List" has been carved up and the quota met for the rest of the year

[klytia]

Jim, on 28 June 2011 - 06:23 AM, said:

Hey Guys

Just an update on the referb I am doing, carpets were to go in a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately not happening yet, ten years of water hammering and the brass lines finally gave way in the en suite and flooded the walk in robe, I have been jerking around with this for the past week or so.

Picture's are from the inside of the walk in robe wall which is the opposite wall of the on suite, I am replacing brass lines with HP flex water line, I am not the best at brazing and paying a plumber to come in at $180 per hour to fix it is not going to happen on my shift.
It probably would be quicker thou, thankfully we have a main bathroom so I can afford to take my time to get it right.

Anyway the lines are in, next week or so will cut plaster board to fix the wall and replace skirting boards, repaint and all should be sweet and ready for carpet ( fingers crossed)

IMG_0033.JPG

IMG_0039.JPG

excuse the picture quality, taken with 3GS and is not the best.

What a job, one thing Jim just to show you (and the others), also not showing off here but just trying to show how easy brazing copper pipe is.

What i needed was a duplicate fuel system for our boat, copper pipe was the chosen material for the ease of working with, the below picture shows the board i made the system up on, the copper pipe was really easy to cut, and braze using low heat and a pre fluxed brazing rod. There were some that i used the flux in a separate container and added the flux as i brazed the joints, this was crap as evident (look for copper oxide) in the pictures, the fluxed rods cost a bit more but the braze flowed freely around the joint.

WORK IN PROGRESS





FINISHED AND INSTALLED IN THE BILGE




So Jim don't think its all that daunting, you & i are very much alike, cannot stand to part with cash if you can tackle a project yourself....BTW i put 21 metres of copper pipe into this job doing both main and auxiliary tanks fuel in and returns. Also of note here i must add that after i did this job a fuel distributor told me i shouldn't have used copper pipe, it should have been stainless steel......well it's still working

Ken might like to add to that....something about the fuel eating the copper pipe, it's bloody diesel.....like oil????

Working with Stainless steel is a totally different baby....

Mick

[Ken Gracey]

YOU USED COPPER WITH DIESEL....

O MY, maybe next time you should spend a buck, and save yourself a small fortune, in the future

[klytia]

Ken Gracey, on 28 June 2011 - 08:41 PM, said:

YOU USED COPPER WITH DIESEL....

O MY, maybe next time you should spend a buck, and save yourself a small fortune, in the future

Well your welcome to come on up again and change it all over to Stainless steel, what's wrong with copper anyway, i've seen it on heaps of diesel engines....

[Dave Bullard]

You guys all put me to shame. At the mo I'm doing nothing but getting August Macworld and Touch 2 ready for the printers, getting my head around our latest acquisition, looking at all my unread emails (sorry, Mick!), etc, etc ... in the office and at home at nights and weekends. Boy, busy.

But I did get around to fixing a paling fence at our place last weekend. It's behind a screen on our side, and I hadn't realised it was falling down until it was long gone. Bloody neighbour won't lift a finger to fix anything himself – his place is a dump.

Cheers
Dave

[klytia]

Ok here is another one.....

This is the roof section of the bird aviary i was building in my re-furbished shed before we moved. I manged to build the roof, all from scratch, just made a scale drawing of what i wanted and made it. So being one of those projects that was near completion when we sold I thought i might as well just take it with us. Problem, is it going to fit in the postage stamp 883 m² ?
I thought about this for over a week and was just about to tell the bloke who purchased our acreage he could have it when i thought "bugger it" i built the bloody thing so i am going to take it.

So now look how big the roof section is, I made it to just fit out the door of the shed.......

This is the "mini orb" roofing iron i intend to use...



Yours truly, you can see the bottom section to here, its made the same as the top plate, so when i pour the concrete slab this will sit neatly on top of the concrete. There is also a double door which is partly made as well....



And how i transported it up to our new home today well half of it



If your wondering how it all screws together in the middle i made two hexagonal blocks that are glued and screwed together, this formed the hex that the frames are screwed onto! Clever i know but i couldn't think of any other way to do it, no doubt some builder bloke will tell me some day you can buy the bit!

Mick