Tag Archives: building projects

Rondavel Extension Part 3: The Footings

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OK, the holes have been dug, the stones have been burned and shattered…and burned again, we must be ready to start building now!

Breakfast meeting

Breakfast meeting

Adding cement on top of sand

Adding cement on top of sand

The mixing starts

The mixing starts

and really gets going!

and really gets going!

Manual cement mixing

Manual cement mixing

Gravel is added on top

Gravel is added on top of the sand/cement

Until it looks like this

Until it looks like this with gravel covering the sand/cement mix

Just add water

then just add water, and …

Garikai tips the first barrow load of concrete

Garikai tips the first barrow load of concrete

Now we are really moving

Now we are really moving

Easy does it now

Easy does it now

A good days work for Mr Farai

A good days work for Mr Farai

The concrete mixer had a good day too

The concrete mixer had a good day too

Tadpole Part 7: The Before & The After

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Here are some ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots – so we can see how far we’ve come since 1st April 2014!

 

At the beginning –  a burnt out shell of a building

A burnt out roofless structure

A burnt out roofless structure

 

and suddenly ..

The tadpole building

The tadpole building

 

 

Walls go up and extend the original rondavel

Walls go up and extend the original rondavel

Looks better now

Looks better now

 

looking south

looking south

 

at sunset now

at sunset now

 

the original doorway

the original doorway

and now its an interior doorway!

and now its an interior doorway!

And again from the inside – the original door and window to its left.

that original doorway from the inside

that original doorway from the inside

 

our masonry stove - faced in soap stone

our masonry stove – faced in soap stone

Remember the saga of the stairs:

Mr Willard infront of the eventual stairs

Mr Willard infront of the eventual stairs

 

Well we got there in the end!

stairs - unfinished

stairs – unfinished

Finished stairs

Finished stairs

 

Looking down those stairs

Looking down those stairs

And finally the school room up those stairs

 

Montessori school room upstairs in Tadpole

Our Montessori school room upstairs in Tadpole

 

The Scottish play in our school library

The Scottish play in our school library

 

Rondavel extension Part 2: The foundation trenches

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After burning some of the granite rock out of the way we start digging. How hard can it be after all?

Mr Tongai & Mr Didymus in the easy trench

Mr Didymus & Mr Tongai in the easy trench

 

Edmore getting that earth out

Edmore getting that earth out

and then signing off for the day

and then signing off for the day

Well up here what you see on top is not what is lurking underneath – more rocks.

OK more burning was to come. The rocks are all under ground too

OK more burning was to come. The rocks are all under ground too!

 

after burning - well nearly after

after burning – well nearly after

 

Somethings still alight in there

Somethings still alight in there

And it is a building site with a pretty good view too.

It slowly goes down

It slowly goes down in size

 

We have to dig round out to burn it. Lots of digging

We have to dig round out to burn it. Lots of digging

 

smaller now!

smaller now!

 

Temporary retaining wall

Temporary retaining wall

 

The men who bring the sand and gravel take a look

The men who bring the sand and gravel take a look at progress

 

If this tree was to fall down...

If this tree was to fall down…

 

 

Mr Garikai does the job first

Mr Garikai does the job first

 

and shows us how its done

and shows us how its done

 

He's getting good at this

He’s getting good at this

 

The site is ready

The site is ready

 

Measuring for the footings

Measuring for the footings

Tadpole Part 6: The Stairs

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Well the stairs were a bit of a mission in of themselves. To start with they had to follow the curve of the rondavel, plus I had the fine idea to make them wider at the bottom than the top. So what yours truly didn’t realise is that making a single laminated plank a) angle up, then b) curve while angled, and yes c) follow a decreasing arc not a constant curve (the stairs being wider at the bottom) is not straightforward! So the carpenters had to do their best job yet.

Mr Willard infront of the eventual stairs

Mr Willard infront of the eventual stairs

 

Below you can see the laminated plank that was contorted into part of a decreasing 3D spiral

Mr Willard planing

Mr Willard planing

 

Is this really going to work?

Is this really going to work?

 

The Nyakameme brothers do their thing

The Nyakameme brothers do their thing

 

and they make it work!

and they make it work!

 

Mr Willard chiseling

Mr Willard chiseling

 

 

the helical stairs take shape

The helical stairs take shape

 

Bannisters go on

Bannisters go on

 

Edmore at work

Edmore at work

 

Bannisters at dusk

Bannisters at dusk

 

 

Tadpole Part 5: Planks and Paint

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Next the pine floors go down, the windows, doors, and passages are framed in seligna (i.e. eucalyptus or ‘gum trees’). Interior brick walls are plastered with Rhinoset and some interior  paint colors tried out.

 

Mr Willard making shelving

Mr Willard making shelving

You folks in Visp, Switzerland, will know where the idea for the floor to ceiling windows (well almost if you are kid height) came from!

Final floor boards

Final floor boards

Looking back toward stairs

Looking back toward stairs

Mr Farai enjoys plastering in Rhinoset

Mr Farai enjoys plastering in Rhinoset

 

Rhinoset drying

Rhinoset drying!

Looking better already

Looking better already

 

Mr Rafael - chief painter

Mr Rafael – chief painter

 

Luke finishing off upstairs

Luke finishing off upstairs

Moon shot from the southern hemisphere

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Dramatic pictures are emerging of a new space mission apparently targeted at the moon. At the secret high-altitude launch site our cameras have exclusive access to the new rocket system as it is being developed.

The lunch site has been chosen so that the rocket is carefully aimed at the moon from lift off onwards.
Aiming at the moon

Aiming at the moon

Here we see the all important nose cone developing against a backdrop of distant peaks and troughs
Nose cone

Nose cone

As engineering continues to work on last minute adjustments to the crew capsule …
Engineering in the Main Cabin

Engineering in the Main Cabin

… the crew takes a moment to relax on the newly built launch tower during the rigorous training and selection procedures Happy crew on the launch tower

Happy crew on the launch tower

We are told that moon juice will be collected via this retractable arm – now being re-programmed for low gravity cheese. The amount of R.AN.DEE (Ranting All Night & Day Endlessly) that has gone into this new exploration system is sure to excite fellow space-fans – it is clearly in-excess of anything seen before in such a mission.
Retractable arm

Retractable arm

The crew decide they want to see where they are going so aerodynamic potholes are added to the cabin
Portholes to aid navigation in space

Portholes to aid navigation in space

An early morning test firing of the rockets leaves no doubt as to the tremendous cheese-melting thrust the newly developed power system will generate
Cheese melting thrust

Cheese melting thrust

Now all we need to know is whose shirts they will wear….