Yesterday and today till 4 PM we worked on the roof. It was a hard job to get the roofpanels with isolation on top of the container. Happy we got help of our brother in law.
In the mean time the old tree is showing he/she feels comfortable so far.
Weekend now. Tomorrow I will do my homework for a course we are doing and maybe some small things to prepare for next week.
Find the pictures of the last two days.
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
Learning by doing and practice makes the master.
Welding is going better and better. And yes, I want to be honest, at first I had to do some welds three times. After cleaning them with a steel brush I did not accept the result. With a grinder took the weld out and tried again. Today, welding the balcony of the veranda I started for the first time to like welding. Nearly everything going smooth now.
The steel construction for the sandwich roof this afternoon was ready. After welding and grinding it got an oxid primer (Captain Mark brand) and an emulsion top layer. Phatsamon did a great job today working in very high temperatures. Not scared of working on a step ladder or on the roof.
Tomorrow we will fix the mounting slats and hope to screw the roof panels.
I also got the official paper I am allowed to work / build our own house. Necessary to show if we get any check by officials.
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
Swindle for us is the right word.
Our truck already is for one and a half week in the 'hospital'. We are updated nearly every day and it worked out the American Expat who sold the truck to us did many quick and 'dirty' repairs to make the car attractive to sell.
As we shared on this blog already the truck did not start anymore. It seemed the cooling system was totally damaged and the radiator full of mud. Two of the cylinders of the diesel engine were broken. The engine was brought to a specialized factory to check and fix again. An x-ray of the engine showed some repair was made with cement. The top cover broken and not to repair anymore. Many cheap spare parts to keep it running for a short while were used for repair and from the outside you could not see that. A list of things that are wrong and need to be changed.
In the mean time we have to order construction material delivery and the bill for repair is getting higher and higher...
Indeed a set-back and it gives us a very bad feeling of a guy and his Thai wife we really trusted...
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
Step by step the steel structure is growing for the sandwich roof. It's too hot to work hard and we have the time. In the mean time Phatsamon is taking care of the garden, cooking, doing the laundry and visit her mom. Often she is of great help with all construction work. Happy she is not able to work in Bangkok because of a virus there ;).
This morning we discovered during outside breakfast one of the trees on our land is flourishing. It looks like flowers but actually it are new branches with fresh leafs. There are many berries and many birds come to eat them. If I come closer with my camera they are gone. The time will come that we are used to each other for sure.
This evening for the first time we had dinner on the veranda. A great place to be and Kadhow, in the evening, his most favorite cooler place acting as a security guard ;).
More and more we have the idea to live in a nice way at our private camping place, not being a camping at all. Still working on the first stage. Next step will be the creation of the Labyrinth after the site office / living space is totally finished.
By the way, the repair of the truck will taken another three to four days. Today a new set of cylinders and other spare parts arrived.
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
And some bad luck, as everybody knows, is also part of a building process.
The last couple of days we had four of them.
It started with Phatsamon who by coincidence put her mobile phone in a bucket with marram grass and forgot to take it out watering it. Happy she discovered just in time so it did not break down totally. It could be dried and repaired in the city in a couple of hours.
The next day our basic water well pump only delivered a tiny little bit water instead of the regular huge amount. The engineer who installed the pump was 300 km away from us in a different province and could not come immediately. He first needed a heath certificate from a hospital so he could cross the border of our province in relation to the present virus crisis.
Yesterday two engineers came to fix and we were happy it worked out the connection pipe between the pump and the riser broke at a depth of nearly 60 meters. They changed the parts as a guarantee. We only had to pay for the petrol of their car and offered them a good tip for driving more than three hours to help us.
I use my Makita battery driven electric screwdriver a lot. It has two gears. One of the gears broke down so I only can drill at low speed. Will see how to deal with that but I think I can.
Last but not least two days ago our truck did not start. Carlien, my daughter who is a car mechanic in Australia, did do her best to help me out on Skype but I could not fix it. Also Phatsamon's brother in law came to give a helping hand with cables to have more power to start. The electric system seemed to be working well but... no start of the engine.
We called a nearby garage and the truck had to go to 'the hospital'. They came to pick it up and bring it to their workplace.
It appeared many things were wrong. The former owner only did some small maintenance to sell it (I really hate second hand to be honest). The cooling system did not function and the radiator was broken. No cooling liquid inside and at a test all brown water came out mixed with oil. Not good. Also the garage discovered one of the cylinders and an engine-pump was broken. Several times they called us to show us what they discovered and to offer us options how to repair. We want it to be good again in the right way and with the official spare parts. The parts are ordered now and we have to wait for delivery and fix. It will take some days. Happy we have enough construction materials so we can go on with our process.
What have been learned is that worrying, complaining and whining does not help anything and only consumes energy and ruins your day. So we are still happy building.
We have to give the process time and, sometimes with a little creativity, everything will be fine again. It does not only make yourself, but also your love-ones and environment sick so better not to start with it.
In the mean time our chameleon showed up to keep an eye on all what was happening on our site. And in the evening, after we came back from the restaurant where we had dinner, a black friend (scorpion) was walking on the main dirt road in the forest protecting our gate. We put it in the forest again after thanking for the protection.
It's very hot at the moment so we have to slow down our activities a bit. No problem. No schedule ;).
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
Yesterday we could fix the fiber cement floor planks of the veranda. Also the beginning of the balcony is there.
Phatsamon planted special marram grass around the pond. Just to try to stop the erosion. Not sure if we are still on time with that. It will not be a problem because the pond need to get its natural form.
During breakfast this morning our chameleon was spying us again. After he (or she?) saw we discovered him already he showed up again as a kind of model.
In the air we discovered an Eagle. A wonderful bird. Sorry I do not have my special camera here but I am sure also in the future this animal will show up and I will have some great pictures of it. Enough to eat in the fields. Hope he will keep the chameleon alive ;)
Today we keep some rest and I will work on another teacher training I am doing.
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
It's just and only two and a half weeks ago the old tree was re-planted.
Every day we have to give special attention, sometimes special root-grow and fertilizer. Early this morning, after heavy tropical rain yesterday afternoon and last night this wonderful tree showed his natural power and will to survive and to show its beauty even more.
Nature is beautiful!
Frans Captijn
e-mail: pyramidhousethailand@gmail.com
