Build Diary 3
This past week was a bit like enjoying the calm before the storm. We know the hard work is about to start, but we’re not quite ready to dig in and get our hands dirty just yet.
Most of the floor panels have now been made by our local metal fabricator around the corner and we’re just waiting for him to polish and paint them. But before we can start putting them into place, we need to do some shopping for essentials: A drill, screws, a tarp (to protect the panels from the rain once they’re onsite), some thin plywood (so we can temporarily walk on the floor panels) and a few other bits and pieces.
GRC (compressed cement) boards
Local building material supplier in Denpasar
On Tuesday, we went to Denpasar, where we were able to source and negotiate a great deal for the 30 odd GRC boards that will go onto the steel panels to form the floors of the house. We also started looking for roofing sheets but were unable to track down exactly what we had in mind. There is always next time! The temperatures are also really hot at the moment, especially on days without rain, so we were quite happy to call it a day and head back to the pool.
A small local workshop on the outskirts of Gianyar is producing our floor panels.
On the weekend we didn’t really have much on and so decided to go check out the town of Gianyar, about a 20 minute ride from Ubud. This is also where half our floor panels are being manufactured and so it was interesting to go and have a look! It’s certainly a little different from a Western style workshop, but the guys who work here have just the same skills and definitely know what they’re doing. Sometimes you just have to have a little trust that everything will be alright.
On Sunday (of all days) we also decided to take matters in our own hand and started to straighten up our retaining wall, which separates our block of land from the neighbouring rice terrace. This job was meant to be done and paid for by our landlord, however he didn’t seem to remember this conversation from earlier in the year (convenient!) and we didn’t feel like arguing in front of all the other people present, so we just went to the local hardware to buy a couple of shovels and are now doing it ourselves… Probably won’t hurt to do a bit of manual labour and build up those muscles! Plus the looks of the local workers is absolutely priceless watching two foreigners dig in the dirt.
To wrap things up, everything is on track and we can’t wait to get stuck into it as of next week! Stay tuned for the next update.
Anna & Sean