Roofing – Cooinda's Nest

North east view of the kitchen and front door, with timber slats and building paper in place

Slat my shack up

Posted on September 30, 2020October 3, 2020 by oneflewovercooindasnest in Renovation La Shacka

The shack has slowly been morphing into its new shape over the past few weeks. Matty has been busy putting up the timber frame and installing windows.

We were very conscious of the timber used for the framing as the site is prone to termite infestation, a problem we discovered whilst stripping the shack down. As such, all timber framing has been done with H3 grade timbers which are treated for moisture and insect resistance.

The windows and main door arrived about two weeks ago, and Matty has installed them into position already. These beautiful windows match the ones in the Nest, and are simply gorgeous. Being a hardwood timber frame, these will be oiled in early November so that they get weathered first.

The new section of the shack, i.e. the sleeping nook and bathroom/toilet now has a roof over it also. The bathroom is noticeably larger and will include a laundry section as well.

Matty has already started to wrap the external walls with building paper and timber slats so that the cladding can be installed. We’re getting a good sense of the amount of space and light available in this new design. Fingers crossed the external cladding will not disappoint!

North view of kitchen window and front door

North east view of the kitchen and front door, with timber slats and building paper in place

Eastern view of the kitchen and lounge, with timber slats and building paper in place

Bathroom, bedroom 3, lounge and kitchen windows on southern and eastern walls

Bathroom and bedroom 3 windows on southern wall

Bathroom and bedrooms 1 & 2 windows on southern and western walls

Inside view of lounge and kitchen area

Front wall view

Bedroom 3 and bathroom/toilet now has a roof

Bedroom 1 with window in place

Bedroom 2 with one side of the wall covered in building paper

Bedroom 3 with timber framing and roof

Toilet and laundry area with window and roof

Battens, cables and bales

Posted on February 18, 2017August 13, 2020 by oneflewovercooindasnest in The Nest

It is nearly time for the house’s most distinguishing feature to be delivered. Matty and I went to inspect the bales this morning, and they are mighty fine. I ain’t any bale connoisseur but these bales definitely looked like they could be the muscles of our house (the render will be the skin, the frames are the bones….important to get these anatomical details correct :D :D). Each of these wheat straw bales measure 965mm(W) x 450mm(D) x 375mm(H), making the walls quite thick and insulated. 350 of these bad bales will be delivered next week, and the remaining 100 a fortnight after.

Ben the strawbale man giving the lowdown to Matty

300ish strawbales!

Last week we completed putting up all the roof battens, and Jules (the sparky) spent a day with Matty roughing in (installing) all the electrical cable wiring through the house. These had to be done prior to bale insertion as some of the cabling will need to go through the straw. Now all that remains is to set up the straps and ply in the bottom boxing so that the bales can be tensioned down once in place.

Electrical wiring in the kitchen floor

Electrical wiring and roof battens in the bathroom

Electrical wiring and roof battens in the main area

Electrical cabling and roof battens in the bedrooms

This post is short and sweet, but the next one will commemorate the walls going in, another milestone for the build!

A roof over our heads

Posted on February 5, 2017August 13, 2020 by oneflewovercooindasnest in The Nest

The last day of January marked another milestone on Cooinda, the roof sheets were put up! Three days later, Matty secured the flashing around the edges as well.

Tim, the plumber assisted Matty on the day. As the skillion roof is on a 6 degree single pitch, the gutter will only be on the south side of the house, where eventually a downpipe will feed a 10,000 litre rainwater tank. We then started work on the roof battens this weekend; this is the timber on the inside portion of the roof that holds up the ceiling plaster as well as the roof insulation bats.

Tim getting into it

Half way mark

13 metres of sheet haven

It’s hard yakka getting the sheets up

Nearly there

Missing the flashing

Roof sheets with flashing around the edges

Alongside the roof extravaganza, I managed to finish varnishing the remaining 3 large windows of the house, thus completing the first coat of varnish for all 10 windows. The second coat will be done once the windows are in the house.

The last window to be varnished

First coat of varnish done

It feels a little strange albeit the excitement; the house has become more grounded, more ‘real’ since the roof went up. There is a sense of security that was previously missing, and I find it hard to put into words how much a roof makes a difference. They don’t say “at least I have a roof over my head” for no reason.

It is Matty’s birthday next week, so we are off camping to a spot west of the Grampians for the weekend. Once back, we will be organising a delivery date for the straw bales… the adventure continues :)

The first quarter

Posted on January 23, 2017August 11, 2020 by oneflewovercooindasnest in The Nest

And so we are close to our first quarter since the slab pour; 3 months, oh how you’ve whizzed by! We’re on the precipice of the roof inauguration (yes, I used that word with intent).

Last weekend we had hired help from our local Benny Boy, a quirky character who we buy firewood from during the colder months. He has the strength that I lack, and he lacks the fear of heights that I have, so it worked out for the better :D He helped Matty put up the smart roof joists (as opposed to the intellectually challenged type). In case you were wondering (like I was)… smart joists refer to a brand name of laminated timber that are light and strong compared to “normal” (aka stupid) joists :D Am I getting down with the building lingo or what?!?!

The smart joists run parallel to each other with a 900 mm gap, and run down the length of the house (north to south). These then are accompanied with purlins that run across the width of the house (east to west) again with a parallel 900 mm gap. Next on the to-do list are the fascia boards that circumambulate (oooooh I use big words, I must be smart, SMRT!) the entire roof board and provide support for the gutter.

We have only just mounted the first fascia board on the north-east side of the house, the others are intended to be done within the next week, along with all the electrical wiring and cabling that run through the roof. Tim (the plumber) is scheduled in to help Matty put the roof sheets up, and tick off all the plumbing related requirements just after Australia Day.

Straya day long weekend will be long indeed! Can’t complain though, walking through the house now with just the roof joists and purlins up made us get goosebumps, let’s see what the roof sheets going up does to our emotions…