I have learned another new word: sisalation. This is a reflective insulating foil that has been put underneath the roofing sheets. It is a lamination of aluminium foil with a backing of paper, cloth, or fibreglass. In any case, it looks shiny and very “bling”! And yes, our roof is on! Well, most of it anyway.
The “warehouse” on the street is finally starting to look like a house. We have opted for chromadek because it is cost effective, lighter, modern, easy to transport and install. Oh, and my husband loves the colour (dove grey).
Despite the wide roof overhang (600mm), the house is so tall that the roof looks a bit out of proportion. I guess it will look a bit better once the eaves are enclosed. On the topic of overhangs (I’m not sure if there is a technical term for overhang), the further the roof hangs over the edge of the wall, the more shade cover there is on the windows in summer, adding to cooling. In the winter, the angle of the sun’s rays is more oblique, allowing light and warmth into the windows. Indeed, my hubby just reported that when he was on site at midday today, the northern windows were all still in shade.
This brings me to my next point: windows. The glass dude was on site this week to measure all the windows. After measuring about three of them he gave up. With a grin he said: “This is LSF. All your angles are exactly 90°, and your window sizes are perfect.” (Thanks Nardi). We did have a few corrections such as a stack door to the upstairs balcony rather than a sliding door, and an external glass door out of the kitchen. The windows have now been ordered, and we await delivery in one week – goodie!
The finishing touches of the plumbing are happening too. A waterproof film has been painted onto the bathroom floors on top of the MgO boards, and all the sewage pipes are now in place. Tiaan also went shopping for all our plumbing fittings, and we are pretty happy with the rectangular countertop basins and shiny taps that we have chosen.
There was another exciting delivery this week: bags, and bags and bags of another shiny, bling, pseudo-treasure …vermiculite. It looks a bit like gold chips, weighs as much as polystyrene, and tastes like, well, we’ll have to ask our 1-year old who was supplementing her diet. The vermiculite is for the insulating screed to go on the floor slab, but I will report on that when it is installed.
I think it is time to organise a roof wetting. Please bring out the braai tongs!
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