Week 8 - The rain has to stop at some point... right?

Ok this is starting to drive me crazy... when will the rain stop? This is actually the first June I have spent in the country as I am usually in the states for a few month each year and I do not like it!

All I need is a week of sun to dry out the roof so I can seal it. Obviously thats to much to ask even though we are in the Caribbean. The new roof is holding up well though its just around the edges that I have some filtration but the sealant will stop all that when it is applied.

Beams all up!

So the rain has thrown a spanner in the works for a few of the jobs I had planned last week but not to worry, I had the guys start roughing in the electrics. Basically I spray painted where I want to outlets to be and they have dug in to the walls, its a dusty and horrible job but it needs to be done.

View from the ground floor

Last week I said that I had hoped to get the floor completed and I am almost there, just a few of the edges and over the stairs that need to be covered over. Getting the beams all aligned was a tough job as I have 13 on each side of the main house, I had to use the hydraulic jack from my car to raise them from underneath then the guys would set them in place.

Upstairs common room

One of the problems I had was there was a big concrete beam at head height when you walked up the stairs... not a great location. It was not a supporting beam so I took that out which was not an easy job. 

The floor boards went up pretty fast actually and it is such a good feeling to be able to walk on the floor when just 4 weeks ago I had bare walls with no roof or floor. I still have the second layer to go on but that should not take long at all.

Soon to be completed bedrooms

Some of the other little jobs I have been working on was the back pool house - I added a concrete step and used one the old Caoba beams from the roof as a pillar to support the roof that was put on.

Recycling the old floor beams

We have also put the frame up for the little roof section on the back part of the house, which wont take long either. The hardest decision is to decide where all the rain water will run. My garden is on a slope and at the moment the water just pours into the house... not ideal. So I will install a waste pipe going from the roof out on to the street. It is a big run but has to be done. Although I have decided to leave the plumbing as one of my last jobs. I will concentrate on the electrics at present. 

Small section of the rear roof being replaced

In order to save money due to my very tight budget I have decided to put in the electrics. I know a lot of people will say thats not wise but I have all the plans so know the size of the wires and I will get a qualified electrician in to join it all up at the main service panel and test it all. There is a lot of work ahead to get the electrics in but I am hoping to have the upstairs completed in the next week or so.

Roughing in the electrics

So until next week.