Preparations for the next step, finishing touch and climate change (?)

The stairs, painting work and the yoga/meditation sala are ready to use. Our four girls, as the picture shows, love to join me in the morning during my exercises. They have a great high view. 

Some painting work upstairs, and placing a top cover have to be done but can wait for a while. 

The temperatures here are extreme for the time of the year. 37 degrees C and up in the afternoon. Painting the steelwork early in the morning was, with 32 degrees, actually not a good job but I wanted to finish it. 

Some finishing touch needed to be done:

- Painting (top-coating) the steel of the sala.

- The steel structure of the stairs connected with the two carrying columns now is 'packed' in concrete for even more strength and protection against any rust in the future. The concrete got a special primer to start tiling.

- The 'legs' of the stairs connected with the top of the entrance floor got a double seal against rust. First a top cover of roof sealing material on the underside. After that filled up with a special bathroom tile joint filler.  

- I installed a big ceiling fan and on the east side two bamboo curtains for more comfort during exercise (cooling and protection against the morning sun).

Also we started with the preparation for the next step in our process. 

This week:

- We got two trucks of sand. 

- We needed to do surveying to get the right place of the new foundation on our land in relation to Thai building regulations (distance neighbor and private buildings). 

- We ordered 5 sheets of wire-mesh to make the double reinforcement for the concrete floor of the carport/cat room. It's already waiting to be picked up. 

- We ordered 480 (40 x 40 cm) pavement tiles to place around the house to create a walk around possibility and to be the floor for the 'Thai' outdoor kitchen and laundry place. 

Some explanation: The Thai cook outside. Using lots of chilies, garlic, fish-oil, herbs and all other type of things for their dishes, and stir-frying most types of food, on a gas burner. A household western hood is not able to get rid of the smells and smoke coming from preparation of this food. So better to keep these fumes outside. Happy, soon, to have a double kitchen.

- We ordered 72 concrete curbs and cement (will be delivered Sunday March 1) because too heavy for our own truck (and my back).

Yesterday our digging friend came to help us again the whole day. With his machine he did the preparations for the foundation of the carport/cat room. He prepared the soil and filled up sand to start with the pavement. Last but not least he did some landscaping. 

Really a lot of work we did do together and all in these extreme high temperatures for the year. Yesterday evening we slept very well. 

Just after being finished with the 'digging-jobs', it suddenly started to rain. For two days now. Our dogs welcomed the rain (and the sand to play) with a dance. Again extreme weather because this type of heavy rains here normally arrive around June. 

Climate change? I am sure nature is suffering with how we, people around this world, deal with her. Climate goals??? Not a single country problem but a worldwide problem. Stop talking about it but, shoulder on shoulder and without corruption just do it (just my idea) to give next generations some future. 

We have a lot of work to do again the coming period. We hope, now with high temperatures and high humidity as in the rainy season, we stay healthy to deal with it. Slow, slow...

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com

Outdoor stairs installed, ready to start with a next (in between) job to do.

After around six weeks the outdoor staircase is installed. Only some minor things need to be done (third topcoating of the steps and floor of the yoga/meditation sala and topcoating of the steelwork/balconies of the sala). 

So, we are ready for the next (in between) job to do. 

Unexpected and in between the process of constructing the stairs we got inspection, by 5 police officers of Thai Immigration, of my retirement visa, our pyramids, the TED's, and other buildings, our activities, (building)permits, land-paper, marriage certificate, house books, etc., . Happy we arranged all, advised by a Thai lawyer six year ago, in the correct way by Thai law. Everything worked out to be OK. 

This staircase installation really took attention. Now it's finally finished. The idea, the drawings, the calculation, the thick construction steel, the cutting, welding, grinding, puttying, polishing, painting (special anti-rust primer and two special top-coatings), the cutting, painting and installation of the cement floor planks, the time, all the effort, etc., shows the results. Exactly as it was in my mind and all the steps (nearly on the millimeter) the same measurements.

Before I started, I thought about skipping the original plan and make a much easier staircase. Now I am happy I stuck to the original plan. A creative, kind of art, solid and strong staircase that shows a different type (Western-Style) house. 

Time will learn how these stairs will deal with the change of the seasons, the high temperatures and the rains.

Several things I learned again.

# Although it's called winter here, the last week we already had to deal with temperatures around 38 degrees C / 100 F in the afternoons in the shadow. Not a great temperature to work with especially because we did not get the time to get used to these, for this time of the year, already extreme temperatures. 

People ask us why not paint in the late evening/night? This has to do with the lamp/torch light that attracts mosquitos. The other thing is the humidity level. So the best times are to paint early in the morning between around 8 am and 11 am and late afternoon, after 4 pm till around 5.30 pm. 

# The special primer and top coating paint I used need special Thinner. Also necessary with the high temperatures because the paint dries to quick and it's nearly not possible to paint with a paintbrush or roller. 

I never heard and never learned before there are many different (special) types of Thinner. So the first time I used 'regular' thinner, I needed to clean and start over again. 

# Although I knew already, I had to face that paint colors shown on the paint can and/or  color range, only give you an indication of the color. Depending on the basis material you paint, the light, wet/dry situation, there can be a lot of difference. 

I tried some green color, that seemed nearly the same as the color of the ceramic rooftiles we used. It worked out to look terrible. Find a picture of a try out. 

So I changed that color into orange/brown, connecting with the color of our masonry.

Find an impression of how we made and installed the outdoor stairs. 

Our dogs, this afternoon, except for Cupid, did not feel totally happy and safe to walk up but this will come. I installed a small 'entrance gate' of the sala to keep them in if they are with me/us for yoga.

The next, in between, job will be creating a carport/cat-room for our four cats. The cat-room area will be partly a separate and roof-covered room with two doors and a connection to an open air cage with a protection against the entrance of snakes and birds of prey. 

For today, finished with this job and time for a cool (Ice-cold) beer just before my 6 weeks next alcohol break. 

Frans & Phatsamon

email:   pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com