Building Surf
This is a great thread, rammed earth is mint, quite a bit of it in WA, can look so nice with jarrah or other timber window surrounds.
I'm hopeless at this kind of thing, but can do labourer and let my young one direct, cut and install properly.
That Furneaux book looks great, a boat trip AW to visit all 100 islands? Oh wow. Got sent into Flinders and Cape Barren for work, was given hire car so did as much exploring as could after work, it's quite unique and you can get also a great view in the winter sun from Mt Waterhouse in N Tassie as well... Got the Rainforest Plants of Tasmania and Alpine Wildflowers of Tasmania booklets on the desk at present.
@VJ , how’s your health going ? Have you managed to dodge the covid waves ?
AlfredWallace wrote:AndyM wrote:What a beautiful looking book, even at first glance.
Reminds me of a book here on my shelf.AndyM. Hi fella, hope all is good with you.
On the cover is the very rare Lily in the Asphodelaceae family, Bulbine semibarbata, it’s only on some of those islands.
Books, I love them, looks like you do also, plethora of info and experiences.
My book was not expensive and it was actually produced in 2001.
I grabbed it as soon as I saw it, a small group of like minded folk visited all of the one hundred islands of the Furneaux Group.
I’ve an interest in everything, in particular, locally, the land bridge that connected us with Tassie 18-25,000 years ago, especially with regard to species distribution on Tassie today, many east coast mainland plants are found in Northern Tassie as a result of the connection.
Alas, as I’m from a fishing and boat building family, our forebears ploughed those areas in Bass Strait and they have piqued my interest.
When I get my settlement from our house sale, I’m considering getting a boat and visiting all 100 islands to do a current bird and plant list. I mentioned garyg1412 because he’s visited a few of those islands and I know he’d be a bit interested. All aboard. AWYour book looks fascinating also, update me of its contents please, I’m interested for sure.
All good here AW, a new job and a new chapter at the moment so lots of learning, which is something to be valued.
"I’m considering getting a boat and visiting all 100 islands"
Now in my opinion, that's an epic and worthy ambition - camping gear and fishing gear and spending time on remote and empty beaches.
Paradise.
Regarding that Atlas of Remote Islands, it sounds like you've got one coming your way so I don't want to spoil any surprises, but here's an example of the well-written prose accompanying each site.
Hope it's easy enough to read.
AlfredWallace wrote:velocityjohnno wrote:That Furneaux book looks great, a boat trip AW to visit all 100 islands? Oh wow. Got sent into Flinders and Cape Barren for work, was given hire car so did as much exploring as could after work, it's quite unique and you can get also a great view in the winter sun from Mt Waterhouse in N Tassie as well... Got the Rainforest Plants of Tasmania and Alpine Wildflowers of Tasmania booklets on the desk at present.
VelocityJohnno. You have had a great life with the different geographical locations your employment has taken you to. Most would envy.
There’s something about all the Bass Strait islands from the Hunter Group in the West to the Furneaux Group in the east, many places to visit and explore. I gotta do it before I become compost. AW
Make sure you do! We've been really hobbit-like in the last 15 years with getting kids through high school but I can feel the (self funded this time) wanderlust returning... That job was 1 in a million chance and I looked at the internally advertised position for 2 weeks dreaming (it was along the lines of 'got a 4x4? want to work remote?) - and I did - so took it back to the Ms and she said 'when do we leave?'... Best work decision ever, my salary tripled and we were our own bosses, homeschooled the kids as we went. When I came back I'd done over 1000 sites, in the remotest of places, and I knew my field and was competent... After that it was adventures up on the mines and flat stick until I got sick.
The work on Flinders took me up to Killecrankie and NE River (I think that's the name) and I thought it was much like NE Tas, which I loved.
Supafreak wrote:@VJ , how’s your health going ? Have you managed to dodge the covid waves ?
Hi Supa how you going? Been a challenging year, tore the supra spinatus in early Feb and honestly it's the first actual surfing injury I've had in 33 years of surfing. Got pitched upside down on a 4ft wave and landed badly wrenching the right arm. Was tough on the way back and did my head in, but I'm out there now. Going back to little waves and learners spots as I have recovered has been cathartic. Also a few things going on about getting older, not out of the woods yet but will know by end of year, so it's a medical year. Yes I've dodged the covid so far, we will see how it finishes. Generally I don't interact out in the community too much these days, prefer to listen to nature, go for a surf (I will talk to the crew in the water, this is nice) and just build things. Thanks to all of you on these forums, it's social and I appreciate it and I get to be happy for you with all the incredible stuff you achieve. AW and Indo's work is brilliant - I'm working to much much smaller scales these days, fractions of a millimetre... This year has been solving the composites problem - I want to lay glass but sniff nothing, and with help from OH&S suppliers & young carpenter have achieved this with an internal workspace box which works really well. Have begun to lay own glass, CAD and CNC I already know so a year of prototyping my own fins start to finish awaits which I'm frothing for. Have also worked out how to CAD old steamships from vintage plans and I can carve them out now in precise scales, the hulls are complex and I have this nearly nailed (always wanted to be a naval architect...), what a joy it is to see the lines take form in physical reality after a century of being vanished, and with a shaper's eye some of the lines they drew back then were sexy as, great water flow, I will do Rawalpindi one day Supa...
inspiring stuff, gents, (the wanderlust returns fer sure @vj.. while the previous gen go on cruises, most of us now getting to the end of doing-the-do dream of doing what @AW dreams up.. empty nest? if my kids are half the humans I think they are, they'll get a real kick out of the dusty poscards heading their way over the next decade - hope they send me some too).
@VJ , good to read you’re battling on . Surfing injuries suck as we age . That lifestyle you had earlier sounds amazing .
How is Indo Supa? That move seems legendary, some great waves there, and I've read your posts and loved the surf pics. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and get a pic hosting account somewhere. Also, main medical condition is being managed well, that's really good here.
Staff at work used to have my field pics as screensavers... That lifestyle was awesome, very free for the kids, my Ms was great and would have the homeschool done in 1/2 day while I was on site, then we could explore the other half. If my work was busy we put heads down, if I'd worked ahead of schedule we took time off as a family and living in each area for more time than tourists generally stay (or further off beaten path) you get to discover more things to do.
True B6, we've had only a couple of empty nest times so far and it was fun! Most recent run over Nullarbor returning mum's old Holden wagon saw snacks and drinks out the back tailgate watching the sunset at the Eucla cliffs, that felt a bit more deluxe than a cruise, it was so good!
I think I'd like to be productive until the end, as well. Which is a bit weird as most seem to want to do less as they age? That's a discussion in itself.
@VJ , how’s indo you ask , I’m loving it .Just had a 2 hour surf at the wreck . Overhead on the sets but was onshore and wobbly from the wind which was strong early morning. Had a bit of a gap from the wind between 10 & 11 . Best thing was there were only 3 of us out . I reckon the east coast would be going off , I will be over there on Monday for a week , swell on the way so should be pumping . Can’t see myself returning to oz any time soon, making the most of the year’s that I can still surf . Hope you have a surfing summer .
and what's @stunet building in there.. ?
he's hiiiding something from the rest of us..
Whats Stuart Building in there .....
https://www.swellnet.com/comment/310521
~ The Ten Year Balsa Build ~
kinda hoping he's tangled up in wires in the shed,
trying to nut out some early-aussie DIY surf history.
Here's a few pics of things iv'e been working on of late.
Main bathroom, did everything myself including the vanity, the basin is solid stone from Bali weighs a lot, feature wall is left over black butt from floor, where tiles and timber mets is a little niche shelve, just need my plumber to fit it all off and paint. (shower is hard to get decent pics of)
Also almost finished the laundry again just need's plumbing finished and painting plus cupboard doors. Bench top is solid mixed hardwood, probably should have done a full length bench top with space for front loader for resale value, but missus hates front loaders, so i did a water fall edge to make it look a bit more modern.
Yeah probably should have also just placed switches higher instead of in amongst tiling, wasn't thinking.
Used these tiles for splash back and a feature wall in shower, has a bamboo feel.
Use black points? None the less it all looks great!
Nice Indo, blackbutt is a beautiful timber.
Re-did my bathroom and went for camphor vanities and blackbutt cabinet.
This was my very first tiling effort and especially considering how it started out, I was pleased enough with the end result.
Hardest bit was getting the old adhesive off the walls - it wasn't cement-based, it was like a sticky glue.
The stuff smeared with a diamond tipped grinder wheel, you couldn't scrape it off and chemicals didn't work.
Got there in the end though.
It was worth the weeks showering out under the hose on the driveway, weirding out the neighbours :)
Nice transformation, would have been fun getting all those tiles off.
AndyM wrote:Nice Indo, blackbutt is a beautiful timber.
Re-did my bathroom and went for camphor vanities and blackbutt cabinet.
This was my very first tiling effort and especially considering how it started out, I was pleased enough with the end result.
Hardest bit was getting the old adhesive off the walls - it wasn't cement-based, it was like a sticky glue.
The stuff smeared with a diamond tipped grinder wheel, you couldn't scrape it off and chemicals didn't work.
Got there in the end though.
It was worth the weeks showering out under the hose on the driveway, weirding out the neighbours :)
Niiiiice AndyM.
Continually hounds Indo about having 'milk in his coffee', but all of a sudden Mr Passive Aggressive is a good guy, and want's to share his 'blackbutt' timber and doesn't see the irony.
Joker. No substance and, from my own observations, a willing participant of Australia;s nanny state.
No wonder Seeds idolises you.
Lennos pub tonight?
I have the capacity to let things go.
What about you?
Let me guess, my bathroom is an expression of toxic masculinity :)
AlfredWallace wrote:indo-dreaming wrote:Here's a few pics of things iv'e been working on of late.
Main bathroom, did everything myself including the vanity, the basin is solid stone from Bali weighs a lot, feature wall is left over black butt from floor, where tiles and timber mets is a little niche shelve, just need my plumber to fit it all off and paint. (shower is hard to get decent pics of)
Also almost finished the laundry again just need's plumbing finished and painting plus cupboard doors. Bench top is solid mixed hardwood, probably should have done a full length bench top with space for front loader for resale value, but missus hates front loaders, so i did a water fall edge to make it look a bit more modern.
Yeah probably should have also just placed switches higher instead of in amongst tiling, wasn't thinking.
Used these tiles for splash back and a feature wall in shower, has a bamboo feel.
Indo . All looks great, undeniable grain of Black Butt, how good is black or charcoal colours with Australian hardwood.
I agree with Seeds, Matt or gloss black PowerPoints would look great.Your white cupboard carcasses. Are they from IKEA ? Keep posting, thanks, hoping to get more folk posting their work, and keep up the good work.AW
Yeah i was thinking of putting in black power points.
The cabinet's are kaboodle one's from Bunnings, i think they would be a little better quality than IKEA.
To answer your other question, i will fix the flooring to wall with a secret nailer, it puts a long staple in on the edge of the tongue, so you dont see the staple as the next board hides it, the only area's you cant do this way on the walls is the very bottom of the first board and then a couple towards the ceiling, so i just use a fixing gun for those area's and fill with a timber putty.
Here's a video of one in action, although when doing flooring you are really suppose to trowel out a flooring glue not just liquid nails like they are doing, the flooring glue isnt cheap either just the glue cost me 1K to do a 80m2 room.
AndyM wrote:I have the capacity to let things go.
What about you?
Let me guess, my bathroom is an expression of toxic masculinity :)
Hmm. I reckon your bathroom actually looks epic.
But a casual reminder that no one is immune to criticism of past comments, like you continually hound Indo from a comment years ago.
Happy to let things go.
And for the benefit of this good thread, a fijian mate of mine constructed two halves of a snapped board into a very comfortable chair overlooking the surf. Have pics but can't be farked sharing them.
If Indo and I clash on a politics thread, that's a different story.
Right now, I appreciate blackbutt bench tops.
And I love that "imperfection" to the right of the mirror in Indo's bathroom, it's so typical for that timber and gives so much life and character.
I've got some blackbutt in the garage ready to box in a pipe in my toilet, it's going to look great.
That's the go @AndyM.
Good stuff.
Good work, gentlemen. Truly.
Might post some pics of the house I built another day, too busy forecasting tricky thunderstorms this evening. I will say that tiling can be oddly satisfying, having never done it before.
All the best on your reno endeavours.
AndyM wrote:I have the capacity to let things go.
I agree im sure me and Andy and me and SR (even me and AW) will be back at each others throats again in the future, it could be tomorrow it could be weeks or months from now.
But sometimes you just have to let things go and leave things at the door of the thread, like this thread, it isn't a thread for conflict or politics.
Personally i also try not to get into a mindset of seeing everyone i disagree with as some type of enemy, i dont need to see them as buddy buddy's either, but seeing everyone you disagree with as some type of enemy, where your forever trying to wear them down in some imaginary war is kind of pointless, and more likely to affect yourself negatively rather than the person you disagree with
Of course there is odd exceptions where it's not really possible no matter how much you try to be civil with someone.
My 2 cents worth :D
"I’ve got a Bostitch secret nailer, great tool, I laid my hardwood floor with it. You apply UltraSet which is a large sausage unit caulking compound which is very sticky, forms strong bonds but is very flexible as timber floors expand and contract across the varying seasons"
..one of may fave passages from your surprisingly erotic DIY book, 'Hard to Hold: Wood in the Right Place', @AW.
@AW
Okay interesting about Ikea cabinets.
This is the first time ive used the Kaboddle ones, i did my kitchen years ago but did it with the Masters ones when they were closing down, so got them very cheap.
indo-dreaming wrote:AndyM wrote:I have the capacity to let things go.
I agree im sure me and Andy and me and SR (even me and AW) will be back at each others throats again in the future, it could be tomorrow it could be weeks or months from now.
But sometimes you just have to let things go and leave things at the door of the thread, like this thread, it isn't a thread for conflict or politics.
Personally i also try not to get into a mindset of seeing everyone i disagree with as some type of enemy, i dont need to see them as buddy buddy's either, but seeing everyone you disagree with as some type of enemy, where your forever trying to wear them down in some imaginary war is kind of pointless, and more likely to affect yourself negatively rather than the person you disagree with
Of course there is odd exceptions where it's not really possible no matter how much you try to be civil with someone.
My 2 cents worth :D
Good call @indo.
AlfredWallace wrote:More self indulgence.
Here’s a deck and roofed pergola I built for a mates 50th in Autumn 2024.
Half the deck sub-frame is fixed to an existing concrete slab, the other half, standard deck construction.
First photo, I always use concrete stumps, termites hate them, see in the hole is a brick so that the stump is bedded on a pad, prevents it from being drilled into the subsoil when people repeatedly go on and off the deck.
By law I have to also spray a Termiticide all over the soil and the sub floor timber frame.
Sure you've got the required amount of clearance under the bearers there AW? ;-0
AlfredWallace wrote:Came up a treat
Lovely AW.
Love the dogs AW haha, they look stoked with the new deck.
It’s about time. Whether you are a ‘tradie’ or just a ‘weekend warrior’, us surfers like to think we can build stuff. So let it rip, let’s talk about anything to do with construction, be it, carpentry, timber, steel, painting, building, roofing, plumbing, drainage, paving, concreting, decks, pergolas, gazebos, retaining walls ( timber & masonry ), bricklaying, sheds, carports, garages, landscape construction, balconies, steps & stairs, skateboard ramps and half-pipes, cupboards, kitchens, bench tops and just about anything else your hands and brains can put together.