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Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Sleepout #7: Getting it finished

I’ve been terribly distracted over the last few months with some difficult personal issues that have taken my attention away from the garden (or at least keeping my blog up to date). Anyway, I was determined to finish off what I started last summer when I built the sleepout. It has been in a semi-finished state for months while I waited for the summer to roll around again.
One of the more pressing jobs I had planned this summer was to finish off the deck as it’s been a bit of a safety hazard.







I’m pleased to have finally got it finished, but it’s a shame it took so long because as you can see, the part I did first (last summer) has already discoloured compared to the bit I just finished. This is also one of the drawbacks of being surrounded by trees.

Another important job that needed doing was to brace all the sub-floor foundation posts...


The fact that it wasn’t braced properly was bugging me all winter especially when I was lying in bed and my wife got up and was walking around on the deck or inside the sleepout. It's really amazing what a difference the bracing makes. Now when she walks around, I’m barely aware of it.

Next, I need to get some underfloor insulation organised before winter. It gets pretty cold in the sleepout at night from June-Sept even though it’s well insulated in the walls and ceiling.

Read part 8 in this series here.




8 comments:

  1. Finished at last. You've done a great job of it Dave.

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    1. Thanks Tony, Finishing's not always my best skill. There are dozens of half finished jobs in my garden. But finishing off is where the real satisfaction is so I should really work at finishing a few.

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  2. Looks great from where I am sitting because I am using a laptop. ;)

    Dave, my Kiwi brother- By any chance those plans come with beach front property? I am saying this to you because after the 1000 years when we are all "perfect in Jehovah's eyes", I may need it to have an office to dispatch from; since I will be hopefully restoring sailboats.
    My first and only sailboat would be called. "Hello Tomorrow".

    hey Tony or Dave. Was I making any sense because mum at about 7:05pm EST gave me a sleeping pill to help shut down my mind since I have a hard time sleeping... g'night blokes

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    1. You're sounding pretty lucid to me Jonno and "Hello Tomorrow" sound likes a great name for a boat. Actually my sleepout is only metres from where the tide comes in. We've been getting a few 'king' tides in the mornings lately. Unfortunatley, it's not exactly a beach I look out onto from the front door of the sleepout, but mangroves. I believe it was quite 'beachy' several decades ago — before the land reclaimation in our area caused it all to silt up. I'd be happy if it was restored to it's original beauty. This would then be a great little spot to launch from. Maybe one day I'll do a post about the mangroves.

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    2. Didn't realise you were close to the water.

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    3. Yes, I'm tempted to cut a path through the mangroves so I can launch a kayak. If I could do it, I might be able to paddle out to deeper water and catch a fish for breakfast.

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  3. This is a professional job you have done with the sleepout. I am looking to undertake a similar project and am curious to know how much it cost in materials minus posts and decking (if you don;t mind me asking). Thanks. Mark

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  4. I didn't keep an accurate account of costs but I reckon about $10K

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