OJW ends 2012 in true SA style

Lekker braai in Grabouw

Wishing you, Helen and Nick, and your families many many fun, love and laughter filled years in your beautiful new home.

Happy Holidays and we wish you all the best for 2013.

From Simon and Zoe, Mike, Reuben, Tauriq, Even, Eric and Don.

And we're getting closer to moving in ...

Raymond and Gavin have been very busy making the fitted cupboards in our main bedroom.  Made from 34mm treated pine, with farm hinges they are just the job, nice and rough and with a flavour that we definitely like for Orca House.  The pressure was on because the fitted carpet was waiting to be fitted. We thought we might paint them, but actually have decided we like them the colour they are, complete with red markings from the timber yard.

The kitchen was fitted today by Sybaris of Knysna.  Its lovely, pine farmhouse cupboards, with a double butler's sink, a snazzy stone draining board,  thick oak tops.  There's a gap where the Esse woodburning stove will go (it's only coming in January 2013).  Note the row of tiny tiles made by Cindy - she'll make some more and I'll fix them in as a splash-back.  Homemade curtain to be made and fitted below the sink.

View of kitchen windows, with green corner glass.  Bea and Nicky playing on the deck outside. Here you can see Cindy's gorgeous tiles much better.

Irritating how electricians always like their wall sockets to take centre stage.

Nick's fireplace (with acknowledgement to Count Rumford),  is coming on well. I've made a start at sticking on the tile surround, I've stuck in the "Shipwreck" tile and basically it'll take me a few weeks to get the waxy patina on the raw concrete the way I want it.  Watch this space.

Don't my collection of Rumanian pots look good on the railway-sleeper mantlepiece.

A cupboard full of joy.

And here they are dancing in the upstairs bathroom.  We're so thrilled with Orca House we danced too - Gangnam Style.  Some more furniture will be coming in on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, and we'll keep on updating the blog.

Today (Friday 14th) the plumber was the last to leave at 2.30pm.  Then Nick and I had our first afternoon zizz. It was so peaceful, we slept for a good couple of hours, and woke to our very first totally unexpected visitors, who were so enthusiastic and said that

they will be approaching Overberg Joinery Works for an exact replica of our house, only in Cape Town ! 

Tidying Up at Orca - 10 - 14th December 2012

Here are some video snippets from this last week (10th - 14th December 2012). I have to admit that I had no idea that we'd made this video, we thought we were taking 'stills'.  

First you see Stanley and Steven laying the Marley tile in the upstairs bathroom.  It's a very large bathroom, bathed in the afternoon sunshine, with views over the ocean and to the North the indigenous hillside forest.  It's going to be doubling up as my studio space, where I'll paint more pictures of lounging dogs.

The next snippet shows our chippie-team, Raymond and Gavin - a more congenial couple of chippies couldn't be imagined. They have built our wonderful farmhouse style fitted cupboards in our bedroom just beautifully.  Nick's terrified at having so much space for clothes (he only has one shelf full of clothes).

Then you see various shots of the fitted carpet being put in upstairs.  It'll get pretty well covered up by our  persian carpets and kelims, and is really just a cosy background for them.

A good shot of myself cleaning windows. Phew, what a vile job.  Marius the painter kept bringing a different couple of women to do this loathesome task each day, and I had to keep on teaching them how to do it.  The job was made pretty impossible because each pane of glass had been siliconed into position inside and out, and the silicone had dried hard onto every pane of glass.  Thank God that's over now. 

Carpets going into the coldish bedrooms on the West side of the house. Then a shot of one of the team cutting the carpet on our new oak wood floor - Simon and Nick will be horrified to see that the chap doesn't bother with a protective sheet, just cuts away quite happily.... !

Lovely shots of the collection of hanging light fittings...most of these come from Nick - he has collected them all his life but never hung them up.  Now at last, he's got the perfect venue for them all - isn't life odd and wonderful.

Then some shots of the paving that's happening outside.  Lovely half-bricks interspersed with rounded pebbles.

25 Weeks Later....

Well, we have sort of reached the end of the Rebuilding of Orca House, and what a journey it has been.  Simon has gone home to Zoe and the dogs and now we are just getting Marius and his team to touch up various bits of paintwork until Thursday, when the carpet people, the bed people, the fridge people and Sybaris - the kitchen people will be delivering our orders.  Mark Rupert has already delivered our widened Victorian brass bed, and will be installing the metal railings this coming week.

Gavin and Raymond will be building our only built-in wardrobe too.

The triumph and the climax of the entire build was epitomised for us in the hoisting of the piano, and in Kevin's small but brilliant recital of Debussy and Rachmaninov. Yesterday after the last of the workmen had left the site I meditatively cleaned the keys of the Bechstein and played for a couple of hours myself.

Next year some serious gardening is going to take place.  And some serious relaxing back into retirement.  Phew, what an exercise it has been, what fun, and what a thrilling home/love nest we have built.  Let the next stage begin.

Roly, seen finishing off the hearth of the fireplace that Nick built.  Cindy has made a beautiful ceramic tile which will be stuck into the shape above the opening.  Steve-the-Chimney still needs to come and add on some more chimney pipes, and put on the metal yachting stays to keep it in place.

The piano arrives in Orca House.  Now it's going to be blanketed up, and hoisted 3m onto the upper level.

Tying the ropes and slings onto the winch.

Up she goes.

Simon (without gloves) pulling the winch, Gavin above him on the topmost ladder, trying to keep the chain from slipping off. 

About half-way...

Just abit further...

The winch looks so good here, that we've bought it from the Hire Company, and it will stay in situ there, adding to the barn flavour.

And then came Kevin's short recital, which you can see on another post here.  And even though we were all exhausted, we decided to have dinner in Orca House for the first time, and we did it in a fair amount of style too.

Kevin made the Cream of Cauliflower soup, served with truffle olive oil,

...followed by Casserole of Chicken, leek & mushrooms served on a bed of rice.

A bowl of Pru's fresh, ripe peaches.  Then coffee served with Christmas Stollen. In between courses we watched the stars come out, the phosphorescence in the waves sparkled for us, and we got a little idea of how magical our future in this graceful home is going to be. 

The first of many musical entertainments at Orca

It's not often that I have to move my piano, in fact it's only the second time in 21 years.  And who could have guessed that Kevin Volans would be staying with us on this terrifying occasion, since he only visits us about once-a-year, living as he does in Ireland and Spain.   I'm quite certain that my little Bechstein sent him word that he must must must arrive, to oversee this manoevre, and to be the first to perform in our new lovely home on the beach.

So once Simon and his trusty team had hoisted it carefully to the upper level, Kevin was there to set the scene.  Bless you Simon, and bless you Kevin.  What a luck for Nicky and I, and how auspicious is this!

(continue to watch this space, I'm just having a bit of difficulty loading the video, sorry)

Hoisting the Piano

What an exciting and nerve-wracking moment, to move the piano from Baviaanshoek up to Orca House.  It will be the very first piece of furniture to be installed, and that is because I only know one other person apart from Simon, whom I could so completely trust to hoist my beloved and irreplaceable Bechstein (circa 1914) up to the top level of Orca House.  What a moment - when you move your piano, then you know that you're deadly serious about something!

The Grand Lady in the Dunes





Orca House nestles comfortably amongst the shrubby dunes, face lift nearly complete. 

Oak Floors Complete

 

The floors are in and look beautiful. 

Laid, sanded and sealed by Team OJW, nice job lads!

Dormer Windows

Dormer windows complete, with Iroko timber trim and details.

South Face

South face exterior cladding complete

"Nick's Fireplace" part 2

Fire in the hole!

Even better smoke up the chimney!!

Man and fire, that connection to our ancient roots can never be denied.

North End

North end gable, red wood cladding and circular window being installed.

Steel Shoes

The south deck has been raised by 400mm by custom made steel 'shoes'.

Wide plank oak floor

Oak floor installed in the main ground floor area.

Hints of Amber

Entrance doors and kitchen windows being glazed.

''Nick's Fireplace"

Nick's promising fireplace

Circular window

South elevation

South end circular oak gable window made by Kiwi Craig and installed by OJW.

Ship-shape ship-lap

North gable-end view

Painted red wood shiplap has been used to clad parts of the building.

Finishing Stages

Finishing touches to the four dormer windows

Cladding to the bathroom wall

Reclaimed detail

Plaster detail to reclaimed air vent

Beautifully selected reclaimed items like this circular air vent cover have added character and soul to Orca House.

Raising the South Deck

Wide plank oak flooring going down

 

Electrical second fix being installed

Big site clean

After a hard weeks work of 12 hour days we had a friday morning site clean all ready for another weeks progress.

Orca House, a view from Nick's Bench

Gable ends complete.
Orca awaits external horizontal local red wood cladding and circular window supplied by Kiwi Craig and installed by OJW.

Perfect symetry

A view into Nick and Helen's upstairs master bed room, showing the mezzanine floors installed.

Ready to receive solid oak floor

Treated bearers installed to the ground floor central area, and east wing lower bedroom floors.
Nick and Helen chose solid oak end machined T&G wide plank flooring supplied and delivered by ITM of the Stand, Cape Town, stacked and climatising, ready for installation.
Lower level, right hand corner, Nick's famous fire place can be seen.

Mezzanine walkways

Mezzanine platforms to north and south elevations connecting east and west wings.
Exterior decking complete over kitchen window.

Kia Ora Joinery

French doors to the north elevation made by local joinery wizard, Kiwi Craig, of Kia Ora Joinery

Monday 5 November

Keith heads home and Sharp Chisels and The OJW Team head up to Plett to relieve him...

Sometimes, just nice to step back and remember !!



The day we started on site





And how things are looking now !!





The  most amazing thing is how the house talks to us as it presents elements that we work through. I think we have had a bit of a slump in progress, but with working on some of the finishes internally, and particularly with the roof going, on the  whole thing  is starting to take on its own personality, or that of its owners !! This is such a unique project.  We've never tackled one this way and so far, I'm happy that it's working. Keith