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Small Scale Engineering offers you the following services:

Engineering, fitting & turning on once-off and short run pieces
All types of welding including bespoke, metal furniture manufacture
Prototype manufacture
Home maintenance, restoration, repairs and renovations
General handyman

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Small Scale Engineering is also building a house out of shipping containers. Follow the project on our blog:

The Latest From the Container House Project

- How Safe is EPS?
  22nd Sep 2021InteriorA few weeks ago, we posted our most controversial article yet! We were surprised at how many people thought that our decision to use expanded polystyrene (aka EPS) boards for our ceilings was a bad idea – especially our US readers on Reddit. (Thanks for the concern!) It brought up some questions; mainly, how safe is EPS? From the comments received on Reddit, I believe it’s illegal to use EPS in home construction in the United States of America. If you live in a country where it is illegal to use EPS, then we suggest you obey the regulations in your area and to not use it. In South Africa, we have many other socio-economic issues to consider. Anything that can provide the local people a reasonably safe and affordable building material is welcomed with open arms. Generally, suburban residential areas in South Africa have houses built from bricks. Many people, however, are in low income areas of South Africa. According to the internet, 14% of the population live in informal settlements (that’s over 8 million people!). Home owners in these areas build their homes using whatever materials they have found. Adequate housing in South Africa is a huge (and unfair) issue, and my guess is this why our regulations might be a little more lenient than those in other, more developed countries. Soweto in 2009 (Wikipedia) How Safe is EPS? The Controversy Surprisingly, the readers’ reasons as to why we shouldn’t use EPS ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. Some of our readers were worried that the polystyrene boards would absorb water and grow mould. Others believe it to be a huge fire hazard. (These two issues would cancel each other out; as if they were to absorb a lot of water they wouldn’t catch fire, and if they combust that easily, we wouldn’t have to worry about too much moisture). Are either of these an issue? How safe is EPS? Moisture I must admit, I’ve spent several weeks trying to understand the concerns about moisture absorbtion in our polystyrene ceiling boards. I know in some countries people worry about “black mould”. Possibly, this is the source of the concern. We live in Africa, where the summers are hot and everything dries out. Even in winter with our Mediterranean climate in the Western Cape, we have sunshiney days where everything can dry. We don’t rely on central heating and usually our windows are open, whatever the weather. I do not know of anyone who has ever had a problem with black mould. It’s not something that ever comes in up in conversation. Even if it were an issue where we live, EPS is mould-resistant. EPS has no nutritional value, so nothing will grow on it. If we do see mould on the ceiling, we can be assured that its growing on dirt, and not on the EPS. We don’t throw our half-cooked spaghetti against our ceilings (does anyone?); we’re not expecting any problems. When I was growing up, we used polystyrene kick-boards during our primary school swimming lessons. A moisture-absorbant material would not make a good floatation device. Fire! To be honest, our readers’ concerns on the danger of fire is something I could totally understand. The idea of being trapped in a burning building has scared me since childhood. We have taken every reasonable precaution we can against fire while building our container house. We have also ensured that there are multiple exits from each section, should a fire break out. In fact, to my African eyes, the idea of living in a wooden house with piped-in gas, is the one that seems dangerous! I am sure that these houses have many safety features I am totally unaware of. In South Africa, no one has a smoke alarm in their house. I wouldn’t even know off-hand where to buy one if I wanted one. If we can understand the fire concerns, why were we not worried about using polystyrene as our ceiling boards? Local South African manufacturers sell many EPS products specifically to be used in the home and office. There are several brands of ceiling board that have moulded expanded polystyrene to make them more appealing to the home and office owner. Also, the majority of local cornice is EPS. It’s cheap, and lightweight (and therefore easy to install). How Safe is EPS? EPS in Europe I found an extremely interesting pdf article on the internet regarding the use of EPS products in Europe and its behaviour with fire. According to this article EPS can be used in European buildings, but the authorities prefer it to be covered by another material (eg concrete). However, they did bring out some very interesting thoughts: People are concerned that EPS is a fire hazard but don’t give a second thought to using other very flammable materials such as wood (knotty pine ceilings were popular at one stage and combust very nicely).EPS is 96-98% air, so there’s actually very little to burnIf set alight, EPS generally gives off less toxins than many natural alternatives (such as wood)It’s surprisingly difficult to keep EPS burning, and if it is on fire, then the rest of your house is on fire too. It’s too late in any case. Our Experience We actually already had proof of this last point. You may recall our article on cleaning out two of the containers we received for this project. The previous owners had turned them into office spaces (or something) and sometime before we received them, vandals had set them alight. When we received the two containers, no one had cleaned them out and they were still full of soot, charcoal, and the remants of anything that had been in the interior before the fires. The fitters had used EPS as insulation. We had to remove many pieces of broken sheets of polystyrene. They were covered in soot, but much of it seemed untouched by the flames. But we did our own burn tests anyway. Our goal was to see what happened if we subjected the EPS to a direct flame. We also wanted to see if there was any difference between the EPS specifically sold as ceiling boards and cornice, and the standard 40mm sheets we used for our ceilings. Unofficial EPS Burn Test You’ll see in the video above, that we subjected each of our samples to a few seconds of flame. On removal of the flame, you’ll note that the EPS self-extinguished almost immediately. In fact, the piece that took the longest to self-extinguish was the piece specifically sold as a ceiling board for offices – was this possibly because it was covered in a thin film of plastic to make it “prettier”? How Safe is EPS? Our Conclusion In conclusion we believe there are more dangerous materials we could use for our ceilings (knotty pine being one of them). It would be unpleasant to stand under a polystyrene ceiling in the case of fire. However, if our ceilings catch fire, we can almost gaurantee that our carpets, curtains and other soft furnishings will also be burning. Hopefully we would have already made our escape....
- Project Art Calendar 2022
  1st Sep 2021LifestyleThis post about Project Art Calendar 2022 is a little different to our normal ones. But it is something quite exciting! I know you’ll enjoy reading about this little side quest. Over the last few months, I’ve been working on this project with five of my friends. We have all been hard at work producing some original art pieces for an art calendar for the year 2022. “What’s this got to do with the container house project?” you might ask. We’re going to have a copy or two hanging up in the container house and you have an opportunity to hang one up in your house too! I think that’s pretty awesome. Not only that, but the very same fingers that type up these posts for you to read, has also worked on Project Art Calendar 2022. In any case, who wouldn’t want a calendar with twelve unique art pieces, produced by six women artists living in the Western Cape of South Africa? Art Calendar 2022 Options We realize that shipping anything from South Africa to the rest of the world costs quite a lot of money. This is especially true as we have some issues with our postal (mail) service. Posting calendars out the country is not currently an option. Therefore, if you’re reading this from anywhere in the world from outside South Africa, we’ve made a digital copy available for you to print out at home yourself. Plus we have a distributor covering print copies for New Zealand and Australia if you live in either of those countries. If you live in South Africa, and want to support this project, we highly recommend purchasing the printed version. It’ll save you having to print it out yourself. We’ve also taken care in choosing the paper, which was especially chosen for being nice to write on, as well as being from a sustainable source. The calendar is bound with a large diameter wire binding which allows you to easily flip the pages. Buying this version helps support another small business in South Africa. Either way, buying any version of the calendar, whether printed or digital, you help support several artists. After 2022, you can then use your favourite art prints for other decor purposes. Here are the links if you wish to purchase some calendars immediately. If you want to find out more about the artists, read on. Purchase the A4 size printed copy of the Art Calendar 2022 (recommended for people living in South Africa).Shop A4 digital copy of the Art Calendar 2022Shop letter size digital copy of the Art Calendar 2022New Zealand and Australia; please contact us or leave a comment below, so that we can put you in touch with our distributor in New Zealand (printed copy). Meet the Artists A Few Words From Eva M. Adams-Hart I have recently started painting again after a fifteen-ish year break. My initial formal art exposure was during my high school curriculum. I then went on to study Jewellery Design and Manufacturing at Ruth Prowse School of Art. During this time I became involved with puppetry, building small puppets, to 3m tall puppets, whilst being part of eMzantsi Carnival. At this time along with being part of eMzantsi’s core float building/decor team, I was also a member of Cape Town Carnival’s float building/fabrication and costume department. In addition I have been part of an intercultural schools program running art projects at schools based in previously disadvantaged communities, working with kids and adults, and promoting art from recycling. During this time I hosted numerous creative facilitation workshops and facilitated upcycle workshops in the Northern Cape and abroad. I also love the theatre and have been privileged enough to work backstage and as head of the costume department for an international production. Since lockdown (Covid19) in 2020, I have started painting and exploring my personal creativity again. I have travelled six of the seven continents of the world, built a beautiful house from scratch; and all of this after the doctors told my parents I would not live past the age of seven years old. Life has been an interesting journey, and I look forward to many more adventures. Thank you for the opportunity to share my art with you. A Few Words From Donna Constant I have always enjoyed expressing myself though arts and crafts. I studied Art and Textile Design through the High School that I attended in the Western Cape. After finishing school I started my own business in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, in the Craft Market, where I designed and sold hand painted fabrics and homeware to local and international clients. At that time I also took on commissions for restaurants, curio shops and interior decorators in and around the Western Cape and Garden Route of South Africa. Some of my most popular fabric designs included guinea fowl, elephants, florals, and various themes focusing on the natural beauty around the Western Cape and South Africa. After my daughter was born, I focused on my family (which now includes two daughters). I have extended my creative path to social media management, and often work alongside designers from various locations around the world, from printers to clothing manufacturers, as a Virtual Assistant. I am always looking for a new craft medium or project to enjoy in my spare time. I take inspiration from the flora and fauna from the Western Cape and try to express the life and character of these through my art. A Few Words From Flook (Lindy Du Toit) I think I was born with a pencil in my hand. For as long as I can remember I have been drawing. As a child, I drew on anything I could find and used to save all my pocket money just to buy pencils and paper.I studied art at school and later attended evening classes for figure drawing at the Cape Technical College in Cape Town whilst studying for my secretarial diploma. In 1999 I enrolled with INTEC College for their Recreational Art Course. I received my Diploma in January 2003. I have studied under renowned artists Louis Audie, and Annette de la Porte and have participated in many exhibitions and festivals over the years. A number of my paintings hang in homes around the world and my originals can be found in the USA, Denmark, and Japan.I work in most mediums including watercolour (my first love), pastels, oils and acrylics. However, my lifelong affair with pencils is ongoing. I will never stop sketching with them. There is nothing nicer than using good quality pencils and paper. Find more of my art on the South African Artists’ Website. A Few Words From Kerrythe Mahaffey I’m a dabbler. A drifter. Multi-faceted chameleon. A Jacqueline of all trades and a mistress of none (but I prefer the second half of that quote – “though oftentimes better than master (mistress) of one”). Some of these aspects of myself have been the bane of my existence but I am learning to work with them and just keep going. Resistance is futile! I find that art helps with this. When I’m in art-making mode my mind is most at peace. I can “just be” and enjoy the present. And be surprised with at least an interesting something-or-other at the end of it. While letting myself “just be”, I allow the art to “just be” too rather than having a specific idea in mind before I set out. I enjoy allowing the process to reveal where I should be going and just get lost in creating with no expectations. Sometimes I am more pleased than other times with the results, but as one of my favourite artists, Danny Gregory, once said – “the drawing turned out to just be the ticket to the experience… I could just turn the page when I was done and leave the drawing behind like an old banana peel.” And that, my friends is my life. A series of experiments resulting in countless old, discarded banana peels! May you enjoy the ones in this calendar! A Few Words From Alessia Stokes Drawing and other forms of art have always been a passion of mine. Some of my best childhood memories are of when I was drawing. Apart from a high school education, of which art was my favourite subject, I am self-taught. Colour and pattern really speak to me and nature has a strong influence in my artworks. In early 2019, I started a small company, Clementine Creations. My strengths lie in drawing, but I dabble in watercolour, oil pastel and acrylic. I have done a few commissions and am always open to collaborating on a custom piece. A Few Words From Ashley Wilkinson I don’t think I need too much of an introduction to the readers of this blog. Many of my family members (from both sides of the tree) are talented when it comes to art and music. I am always in awe of what my relatives can produce, from photo-realistic drawings, bright and colourful acrylic paintings, to musical competence on the violin, flute, trombone, piano, and other musical instruments. This has been both a blessing and a curse, as on one hand I know I must have some talent somewhere in me too, but on the other hand I have to resist the urge to compare myself to my talented family. I did attend various child-orientated art lessons when I was younger, which I very much enjoyed. However, my high school years were more geared towards the sciences due to my circumstances at the time. Over the last few years, I haven’t had too much opportunity to develop my own talents in regards to art or music, but am working on changing that. It’s never too late, right? Happy Shopping! All six of us artists are very pleased with the results of our labour, and hope you will enjoy our calendar too. If you don’t feel like scrolling back up to the links for the shop, please click here, (and happy shopping). We all thank you for taking the time to read this post, and supporting us artists....
- Reclaimed Wood Skirting Boards
  25th Aug 2021DIY / InteriorIs there any reason why you can’t make reclaimed wood skirting boards (aka baseboards) for the rooms in your house? Do your skirting boards have to look like you would traditionally expect them to look? We don’t think so, which is why we made our own out of some reclaimed wood. What’s the Purpose of Skirting Boards Anyway? The main purpose of skirting boards is to protect your walls from damage. Vacuum cleaners, brooms and shoes can easily scuff and damage walls. Skirting boards are more resilient to damage. It is also easier to clean or repaint (as necessary) skirting boards, than it is to clean, repair plaster and/or paint walls. Skirting boards give a nice transition between your flooring choice and wall, hiding the edges of your flooring. New lengths of skirting boards purchased from your local hardware store are surprising expensive (as they should be if the wood is from a sustainable source). But nothing is stopping us from using reclaimed wood, so that’s exactly what we did. How do we turn this into a skirting board? Where Did We Get the Wood? A few years ago Small Scale Engineering did some maintenance on an older house. The house had a veranda. Previouslly, builders had covered the eves in this section of the roof with slats of wood. Over the years, rain water had damaged the fascia and some sections of these slats. During SSE’s maintenance, the decision was made to remove the slats altogether, as they were also attracting insects and birds’ nests. We discarded the very rotten pieces but retained as much of the wood that had been used for the slats as we could. When we removed the decades of layers of paint, we revealed that the original builders had used Oregon pine. We’ve slowly been using up the slats of wood (all in varying lengths depending on rot), but to date, reclaiming them for use as skirting boards might be one of the more exciting things we’ve done with them. We made lots of sawdust by planing the old slats The Process of Reclaiming The Wood A planer made short work of removing the old paint and revealing the good wood hidden underneath. In some sections where there was a depression in the wood, the paint ran a bit deeper. Planing this away revealed older coats of paint so occasionally we got streaks of paint along the wood. Kevin left it like that – as he says, people pay good money for the look. We don’t have too many patches of old paint, so in one or two areas, it’s a nice hidden surprise for anyone who takes the time to notice our skirting boards. Hand sanding action shot After planing the wood, we sanded down the strips of wood to until they were smooth. We did this by hand. As the hand-sanding is quite hard work, we did not do everything at once, but completed a few strips at a time. After sanding, Kevin oiled the wood with linseed oil. Kevin chose this method over varnish mostly because it is quick. The only real disadvantage to using linseed oil over varnish is that the oil might transfer to clothes as they brush past (plus linseed oil soaked cloths have a tendency to spontaneously combust). Oil transfer isn’t too much of a problem for skirting boards. We used linseed oil to oil the “skirting boards” Once the oil had soaked in sufficiently, Kevin measured and cut the wood to the correct length and installed them as skirting boards. Yes, our reclaimed wood skirting boards don’t quite look like standard skirting boards. However, they are serving their purpose in protecting the walls and making a nice transition between flooring and wall. Additionally, we got to reuse something that many would otherwise consider rubbish. We are pleased with the results. Skirting board installed, with a little surprise....
- Polystyrene for Ceilings
  18th Aug 2021InteriorThere are products out there that use polystyrene for ceilings, but they are usually coated with something, or moulded to look less like polystyrene. But what about using plain sheets of polystyrene? Well, we’re trying it out. Kevin has been busy cladding the interior of the fifth container that sits on top of Cindy’s north container. The long term plan for this container will be guest rooms, or additional study space (work from home), or for whatever else we need space. The short term plan is somewhere for Kevin and I to live while we spend a bit more time perfecting our east container. Cutting the polystyrene cornice It’s taken a bit of thought, because we need to finish it so that we can use it as our private living space (probably for a couple of years). But in time, we also need to be able to easily convert it into guest rooms. Our plan was always to use cupboards as room dividers. We’ll be leaving out some of the cupboards for now, so that we can use the gaps as narrow doorways. When it’s time to convert, all we have to do is slip in the additional cupboards and/or shelves to divide the space. But this post is about using polystyrene for ceilings. A lightweight product that is a good insulator (and it can be recycled using orange peels). Polystyrene for Ceilings We visited a local polystyrene supplier to discuss ceiling options and were offered some slightly damaged, 40mm thick, sheets of polystyrene. Polystyrene is good for insulation, but the best bit is that they were going for such a bargain. We had to snap them up. Better we use them for unusual ceilings than they go to the dump. We were really pleased with our find and excited to start with our experiment. The Process Kevin is fitting these ceilings a little differently to how we have done it in previous areas. We glued on the cornice first! Did you expect that? Cornice is not usually up before the ceiling The idea is that once the cornice is up, we can just slide in the sheets of polystyrene. We will be using some T-pieces such that you find used for office ceilings to help support the edges. We ran a test on one end of this container as we had a T-piece left over from previous installations. It worked so well! The cornice is also polystyrene so Kevin was quickly able to glue them in place with paintable silicon (caulking). He did add a few chipboard screws as a precaution. We then slid in a sheet of the polystyrene. Afterwards we stood back and admired our handiwork. The polystyrene sheets and T-pieces slid in easily Once we have the rest of the ceiling boards up, after buying some more T-piece lengths, we might paint the boards to give them a little bit of protection from damage and make it look a little less like polystyrene sheets, but it might not really be necessary. So far, I’m very happy with our bargain ceiling. It was very much worth the experiment. The space is coming along nicely. We have started on some of the painting work. We have a couple of barely used, second-hand carpets that we can use for flooring, so we’ll soon be trying our hand at fitted carpets. A couple more cupboards and we will be able to move in! It helps to be tall...
- Review: Bright’s DIY Cupboard Kit
  28th Jul 2021DIY / ReviewsFirstly, I should note that this is not a sponsored post. Bright’s Hardware did not ask us to review their Bright’s DIY Cupboard kit and we have not received compensation for posting this article. However, we believe the designers thought this kit out well and it is selling at a good price. We wanted you to know about it. Cupboards are a necessity in any house and if you don’t have enough in yours, you know too well how true this is. Cupboards can be surprisingly expensive. Because of the nature of the Container House Project, we do keep an eye on the specials each of the hardware stores are running. This is how we came across Bright’s DIY Cupboard kit. This is an excellent little kit for someone who needs cupboard space and doesn’t want to spend too much money. We bought a few kits ourselves because Bright’s Hardware were running a special. We knew that the cost of the kit would barely cover the melamine we would need to make a similar cupboard, never mind the time spent on designing it, having the wood cut and edged, the hardware to assemble, etc. I was quite excited to receive the kit and I was eager to start on the assembly, to see exactly how the kit worked. Partially assembled cupboard catching the afternoon sun Requirements: We found the kit to be very well thought-out, especially as the only tools required for assembly are a screwdriver and a hammer. That’s it. The instructions also suggest you find a clear, flat area on which to do the work (ie, a floor). The cupboard is not too big, which makes it easier for the average person to assemble. Cupboards can get big, heavy and unwieldy surprisingly quickly. It would be helpful to have a buddy help with assembly to hold things in place and pass hardware and tools. Included hardware (hanging rail & brackets are also included in the kit) Bright’s DIY Cupboard Kit Almost everything you need to build the cubpoard is included in the kit. The kit includes the hardware, hinges, shelf pins, hanging rail, etc. The kit does not supply your tools (which are minimal) and door handles (which are a very personal choice). All the boards have been pre-cut and pre-drilled and the panels clip together with a cam lock system that negates the need for chipboard screws. The backing board (hardboard) is the only part that you will need to nail in place (with panel pins). But what about the instructions? the instructions are two pages of smallish text. I asked Kevin if he thought the average person would be able to understand them and he said yes. The assembler would need some understanding of technical ideas, but it should be easy enough for the majority of people to fit together. What more could you want? Already designed, precut and pre-drilled; everything is there. Someone had even taken the time to make sure that the side panels were marked where you would attach the hanging rail brackets. Quality: Kevin was happy enough with the quality. He was expecting the cheapest of hardware, but was very pleased to note that an acceptable quality of hinge was included, of a type he would ordinarily buy himself. The clothes rail was standard as were the shelf pins and cam lock hardware. Kevin gives it a thumbs up on the quality of components. This is the cam lock system that helps you quickly assemble the cupboard Could It Be Better? Well, yes, and no. For example, most cupboards out there these days have hardboard backing, as do these kits. Kevin prefers to put in melamine at the back of his cupboards. This improves the strength (and therefore lifespan), but does increase the cost. For a DIY cupboard kit, this is very well-designed, easily assembled, and is perfectly suitable for most situations. We are very happy with the product. Don’t be surprised to see us using this product in several areas of our house. We only note that the shelves fitted better in the “hanging” side of the cupboard then they did in the shelf side, so we swapped the two sides around. It really does not make any difference to us as to what side is shelves and what side is for hanging clothes, and it does not affect the structural integrity of the cupboard either. As mentioned before, even budget cupboards can look better with good door handles and correctly fitted doors. If you buy one of these kits, you might be interested in our previous article on hanging cupboard doors. One set of doors left to hang on the second cupboard...
- Repainting a Wine Half-Barrel Table
  21st Jul 2021DIY / Lifestyle / Yard & GardenKevin and I recently took a bit of a holiday and spent a week and a half socially distancing at self-catering holiday accommodation. If you’ve been wondering why we were so quiet, it’s because we were enjoying breath-taking views in the Vanrhynsdorp and Elgin areas of South Africa (road trip!). When we got back from our break, Kevin got straight back to work on electrics for the next section of the container house project. I decided to rather ease myself back into the work and helped Cindy repaint a wine half-barrel table. Beautiful mountain road near Villiersdorp, Western Cape, South Africa What’s The Table For? The wine half-barrel table is a nice little addition to Cindy’s patio area. Of course, if we were to actually “restore” it we would have had to replace some of the wood. The elements have affected the barrel. We really don’t think think that it is worth all that trouble, so we made a quick afternoon project out of it. Maybe not this “rustic”. Let’s repaint! The nicest thing about the patio area during this time of year (winter, Southern Hemisphere) is that it gets a lot of sunshine. There’s nothing better than sitting out there and thawing out your toes while drinking some hot coffee. Therefore, the table is a fabulous and useful addition. (Shout out to my sister who originally owned the table). A bonus on this project, is that the table can be easily replicated if you’re looking for a different table idea. In the Cape Town area it’s not too difficult to find wine half-barrels. Repainting We didn’t spend much time on the barrel itself. There’s not too much to tell you about the repainting process. We used sandpaper to sand off the loose paint and crumbly sections of wood. After that we masked off the barrel rings. We did not repaint the rings; we left them as is. Cindy and I painted the barrel inside and out using a turpentine based paint. We left the paint to dry for a few days before cleaning the glass and popping it in. If you’re looking to make a wine half-barrel table like this, you might want to know what the glass sits on. On the inside of the barrel four flat, metal pins are driven into the wooden slats. The glass sits on that. Those plastic stoppers that you add to the inside of cupboards to stop the doors banging when they close are perfect for protecting the glass from the metal pins. Nice sunny coffee spot It looks quite different from the day we installed the sliding door!...
- Completing The Interior Concrete Floor
  23rd Jun 2021Interior / Main Structure and RoofWe had a fabulous weekend, thanks to a very special team of friends and family. We managed to finish pouring the interior concrete floor. The weather even played along and we had a warm and sunny day in which to finish the work. Work Site Challenges Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, pouring concrete has been a bit more challenging for our friends than it would have been otherwise. We feel it is necessary to keep strict Covid protocols in place, which means our concrete team members are all shoveling stones and operating the concrete mixer (in the sun) while wearing their masks. On the other hand, this is probably an added protection for them, because wearing masks means they’re also protected from the cement dust. A batch of concrete! Keeping everyone hydrated and well-fed is another challenge. Not only do we have to have a small team running around with fruit juice and water, and preparing meals, but utensils have to be well washed between rounds. We poured the interior in three stages over three different social distancing concrete party weekends, several weeks apart. Now that the work is finished our friends are pros at their designated tasks. The last run ran extremely smoothly and we finished ahead of our expected schedule. Louis smoothing out the wet concrete with a pole that he’s using like a giant rolling pin. There’s someone on the other end too. Floating Challenges After each concrete pouring session, the floating of the concrete needed to be completed. I will be honest; this has filled me with dread every time I thought about it. For our last concrete pouring day, Louis and Kevin got up at 3am to start work before the concrete cured too hard. Kevin worked for ten hours solid and Louis for twelve, polishing the semi-hard concrete floor. It is back-breaking work. Hiring a Power Float This time around we hired a petrol powered floating machine known as a power float. We were not able to do so for the last few sections as we did smaller blocks. A concrete block cannot be too big as it risks cracking (which is one reason why we’ve been doing it in sections). The power float doesn’t do too well with edges and as we had several smaller blocks, rather than one large block, we had too many edges. For this last section, we did a big block in the middle. In order to prevent it from cracking, Kevin will grind in the breaks later with a large angle grinder. The power float was a life-saver. It was a bit difficult to control as it has a mind of its own and it took a few minutes to work out what all the levers did. Kevin used his full weight and his muscles to keep it under control, but we reduced the floating down from 12 hours (unbearable) to about 2 and a half (very manageable). The power float had the majority of the work done within one hour and the last hour and a half was spent on tidying up the edges. 10/10 would recommend. Louis tells me that on big building sites, only the big, burly guys get to operate the power floats. We can understand why. Early Sunday morning power floating. The reflective strips on Kevin’s work pants make me laugh. Floor Finish? That’s a huge tick on our task list: We have completed the concrete floor in the interior! Now we have to start considering the finish. Will it be tiles? Perhaps, it will it be an epoxy resin coating over the concrete? Will it be something else completely? We have yet to decide. Once again, a huge thank-you to our friends and family whose support means the world to us. You guys are the best! Making paving slabs with left over concrete...
- Progress Report On Work Completed
  16th Jun 2021Interior / Yard & GardenIt was difficult choosing a topic for today’s blog post. We’ve been working on a few small things, but nothing really worth dedicating to a full blog post. Therefore, in the end, I decided on a progress report. It showcases a few of the smaller items we have been working on, but are as of yet incomplete. Not So 90s Bathroom Progress on guest bathroom Kevin has started the tiling in our guest bathroom that was originally going to be a 1990s styled bathroom (and now probably is not). We have a problem in one of the other bathrooms that we finished in that the expansion and contraction of the container has cracked the tiles where the fibre-cement boards join underneath the tiles. Some of the tiles in the guest bathroom are a lot harder than the tiles in the other bathroom. Kevin is concerned that if these tiles crack with expansion/contraction, the result might be a lot more spectacular than the hairline fractures to be found in the first set of tiles. (A bit disappointing but glitches are to be expected in an experiment of this magnitude). Kevin is ruminating on that problem before he continues with the tiling. In the meantime, we bought a bath. It’s bigger than the size we originally catered for, so Louis made some adjustments to the plumbing. Guest Room Doors & Windows Doors cut into “guest suite” shipping container I mentioned in a previous article that Kevin and I will be moving into the top container that we designated as guest rooms. We’ll be there until our ‘wing’ is complete. Kevin has installed the last of the doors and windows. The cladding on the North side is complete. We just have to add the trim. Now that the doors and windows are in, we can begin the interior cladding. We have bought chipboard (US particle board) for this. Working together, we managed to maneuver the large boards up in preparation for cladding. Much of our personal items (such as curtains, kitchenware, etc) that are still in boxes were stored up there, so we spent some time pulling all the boxes down out of storage, going through them, and finding a new spot to stack them. Deck A start on our deck The end plan is for Kevin and myself to have our bedroom on top of our personal container (east). Because of this, we decided to put a deck up above the south container’s stoep (South African for veranda). Cindy’s sliding door opens up onto a small stoep which will be a wonderful spot for morning coffee. We wanted to put a roof of some kind to protect it (and her!) from the elements. The deck leading out from our bedroom killed both proverbial birds at once. Kevin has started working on this. He is using a thick sheet of fibre-cement board under our deck floor (finish still to be decided). Kevin has put in extra wooden support beams between the steel. We used a product called Powafix Carbolineum to protect the wood from rot and insects. We will be able to use the wooden beams to fit PVC ceiling boards. It is going to look smart once completed. I can just imagine it set out with a little table and chairs and a few pot plants. Water Storage Making progress on our water storage solution We wanted to have our gutters and water tanks installed by this winter. It hasn’t quite happened so we’ve been watching our rain drain away. However, we have begun with prep work on this too. We bought two huge water tanks. As our ground is full of clay that tends to get a bit squishy when it has been raining, we need a secure place to put them before we can start using them. We’ve started building a base for the tanks. Not quite complete, but as they say, “well begun is half done”. All these small things add up and it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to see progress and to tick things off our list....
- Beginning a Succulent Garden
  2nd Jun 2021Yard & GardenDespite looming deadlines and a tonne of work to complete, we just had to take a break from concrete pouring, setting up of workshops, making staircases, etc etc. It got to the point where we just had to do something totally different. What better way then a day or two in the sun (or rain), working on a succulent garden? Gwen has been planning on a succulent garden since we moved to the site. She has been collecting off-cuts wherever she can and propogating plants. Now, we have quite a nice collection of succulents for our garden. We have enough to make a little rockery in the driest corner of our yard. Gwen’s plan in the end is to have a little area where we can sit and enjoy the plants. Some of the plants you might find in our succulent garden Cape Town’s Best Kept Secret Of course, there’s always room for one more plant, and we have always wanted lots of fruit trees. Gwen wanted an appropriate tree for the succulent garden for a bit of shade. Sandown Wholesale Nursery was having a sale on aloes. Kevin and Gwen went to have a look and came back with a few aloes, a few more really awesome succulents to supplement the ones Gwen had propagated, and a couple more fruit trees. They bought some more olive trees for our tiny olive grove. The olive grove is situated behind the succulent garden. They also bought an orange tree and a lime tree. Sandown Wholesale Nursery planting the fever tree Sandown Wholesale Nursery gave us deal that could not be refused. They offered us a thorn tree for the garden and included delivery and planting (we just had to dig a hole for it). So, Gwen got her tree – a “fever tree”. It looks a lot like an acacia to me but it doesn’t drop thorns the way acacias do (so I’ve been told). The fever tree is quite popular in the Cape area. If you’re living in the Cape Town area, and are looking to buy plants, Sandown Wholesale Nursery should be your first stop. Alan is extremely passionate about his plants and they have a large variety. If the name didn’t give it away, prices are wholesale and therefore a little cheaper. Visits to the nursery are by appointment only. Some more plants we intend to plant in our succulent garden...
- Collecting Staircase Parts
  19th May 2021Prep WorkWe’re going up! In preparation for working on the fifth container, we have been collecting staircase parts. Our plan going forward is to get the guest room container clad and livable. This will give Kevin and myself somewhere to stay until we find the time to complete our east container. Our container is going to take some time still, and it’s quicker and easier for us to get the guest section done; very little electricity is required and no plumbing. As you might probably recall, we put a fifth container on top of the north container. The main reason we did this was so that our roof would have an excellent slope to one side in order to catch rain water. The other reason was so that we could have stay-over guests, especially as we live a bit out of town and it might make it easier for friends and family who want to visit. None of us will have space for stay-over guests in our private areas, so this was a good solution. Collection of planks for the staircase Of course, this means that we need to get the rest of the concrete poured in the central area, and install a staircase so we can get up to the top container easily. At the moment, we are using this container for storage and is accessed using a ladder. Kevin has built the landing, so all we need is the staircase parts and some banisters. (Here’s an interesting diagram of all the parts that make up a staircase) Staircase Parts In Progress A few years ago, SSE had a job to construct a staircase up to a mezzanine level in a factory. The client cancelled the job just after work began, so we have the very first pieces of the staircase already. We’ve been storing it for months and finally, it’s getting to the point where we can soon install it. It’s very unfinished, but it’s an excellent start. Start of our staircase sitting atop a container After much deliberation on what to do for the actual treads, Kevin and Louis decided on hardwood. Due to the pandemic and various other reasons, steel has been in short supply over the last few months, so we decided to cut the amount of steel required for the staircase as we did not know what the future would hold. We purchased some pink beech and blackwood from ITM and came up with a two-tone design. Here’s the sample tread that Kevin whipped together a few weeks ago. Imagining our staircase I’m keen to see how this turns out. Kevin has lots of plans and he’s not sharing them with us. It’ll be as much a surprise for you as it will be for me, when the staircase is completed! Nice and chunky...

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