We have just forfeited one bottle of scotch and a thousand bucks – thanks to the municipality! We are still awaiting municipal approval of our plans, and have been told that only one signature stands in our way, but we are beginning to suspect that someone is stalling for a bribe… hmmm. Anyway, the reason for our forfeiture is that in our great inexperience and enthusiasm, we were convinced that we would be moving in at the end of July, and some of our more level-headed friends were pretty sure that their booze and money would be safe despite the bet.
It is true that Light Steel Frame (LSF) building is quicker, particularly in winter on the highveld. With our summer thunderstorms, every man holding a steel pole becomes a lightening conductor, so all steel frame construction is halted at the hint of a storm. If you are planning a build in summer, you should therefore add a couple of extra weeks to your planning! The faster construction time is owing to the forward planning required and the pre-assembled walls that arrive on site.
However, not all is lost – our site set-up has progressed! Specifically, we had the lawn mowed! Well most of it was mowed. Considering that the grass was as high as an elephant’s eye, the person mowing the lawn had difficulty finding the boundary markers and mowed a bit skew. Let’s hope he mowed enough to satisfy Tiaan when he sets up the foundation points tomorrow.
The positioning of the house is pretty important. Obviously one wants to maximise garden space as per the plans, but in the southern hemisphere, the optimal angle for sunshine is for the house to face just a few degrees west of north. We are looking forward to a warm, bright house so we want our position to be very precise.
On a sad note, the tree planted on the pavement is right in the middle of our proposed new driveway. We briefly considered moving the driveway, but the fleeting impulse evaporated as soon as we saw dollar signs, so the tree will have to go. Pity, as it was already giving a smudge of shade, but we have a vision of fever trees along the pavement, so it would have been lonely on it’s own anyway.
Until next week!
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