In lieu of green and other colours

The 3 x 3 meter courtyard with its double glazed reinforced glass roof could do with some lovely plants and a climber that could conceivably even flower in summer. To achieve this, we created a planter, reinforced it with a concrete bottom and waterproofed it so that we can rest assured we don't get any complaints of damp walls from neighbours. All we need to do now is to cap the retainer wall with a specially carved topping and fill it with soil, making sure the bed is filled with stones so that water does not clog the soil. Automatic watering is also planned.

Insulated walls

After making sure all roofs were well insulated, we also wanted to insulate the walls of the room on top as they are the ones that get most sun. The room's ample height already insures the hot air stays at the top and does not affect the quality of life below, so further insulation can only make it more comfortable. All apertures to the outside will have double glazing and some will also have louvered shutters on the outside.



The wall insulation is placed underneath the metal structure that holds the plaster boards. The amount of space that has been taken for the layers needed is well worth it when one considers the savings in energy consumption in the long run.

I've got you hooked

My mother in law gave me a book by Suzanna Clarke for my birthday last June. "A House in Fez" is about building a house in Morocco and, in many ways, I have greatly empathised with the misadventures that Clarke finds herself in when dealing with decorators. She writes how a carpenter worked on her house for one day and then left to continue on somebody else's, making it difficult for Suzanna to get another to continue the work, thus making sure he had as many jobs assured as possible. I sympathize in that my tiler laid one terrace last Monday and disappeared into thin air.

The importance of being earnest

When most of your enthusiasm has been anaesthetized by the never ending challenges thrown at you, the only thing that keeps you going is the fact you've told all your friends about your project already. The prospect of going back empty handed is enough to keep you earnest.

Twice a day, every day I visit the site. Why twice? Because it's worth it. Issues need to be nipped in the bud. A day can be a long enough time to incur extra time. Some things might seem pretty obvious but a worker can't know what's in your mind. The water pipe leading down to the tap on the roof needed to be embedded in the wall. The workers had embedded the horizontal part but had left the vertical part showing. It seemed like a pretty obvious thing to me but not to them.


before

after

It was only after the old balustrades were taken out and replaced by new ones of the same design (the old ones were beyond saving) was it evident that we would need to replace both the base plinth and the top coping as well. While we're at it, perhaps we should take out the stone steps and replace the soil underneath for a stronger support. And the budget keeps on stretching!


balustrades don't look quite right

A silver roof

One early morning
I climb up the stairs
to taste the dew.

The roof has turned silver.
A magic offering bestow the stars,
sprinkled generously
on our home.


Heat reflecting aluminium paint applied to roof. So 70's Disco, isn't it?