We had a site meeting today:
Site Meeting
Here are some photographs taken today. We met with two potential swimming pool contractors and Bernard also met with a security consultant to discuss the possibility of installing a roll-down security shutter that will be used to ‘lock off’ the upstairs part of the house at night. Keeping the upstairs area of a home locked off from the downstairs at night has become something of a norm in this country. This is why many new houses now have an upstairs ‘pyjama lounge’ which is basically a tv/family room where a family can gather late at night even if the rest of the house is ‘alarmed.’ As I write this, I realise it might sound a bit extreme to some people, but this sort of thinking comes completely naturally to us now.
But for now, this is how things looked on site this morning:
Street view taken at an angle through a neighbour’s electric fencing.
In the photo above you can see that there is still a lot of activity happening on the roof. The roof sheeting was delivered this morning. This was much sooner than we expected but our metal workers’ union, NUMSA, started a major strike yesterday. The roofing people, with whom we’re very impressed, actually had the foresight to deliver the sheeting today as they suspect there will be huge interruptions to their schedule soon. It’s unusual for contractors like this to be so proactive.
We think these guys are great.
Kathlego Trusses – Thinking Ahead.
I think it’s been a while since I mentioned the roof. We have chosen to have an iron roof – traditionally used for farm houses in the past – and have selected a dark grey called Dolphin Grey. The lighter shades of grey looked almost white in our bright sunshine. All the colours we considered vary a lot depending on how light strikes them at any given time. I’m looking forward to hearing our summer rains beating on these sheets.
Roof Sheeting being stored.
The stairs are occupying my thoughts quite a bit:
The Staircase taken from the front door.
We wanted the sense of space given by positioning the stairs this way; ie with the lower half flight away from the front door. It means that the higher flight is ‘free floating’ in that it will need bannisters on both sides. I’m giving this a lot of thought at the moment along with how I’m going to ‘furnish’ the area below the stairs. For a while I wondered if my daughter’s baby grand piano would fit but I think it will be a bit cramped. Until the floors are in and the painting done, it is proving to be quite challenging for me to envisage just how this space will work.
Second flight of stairs.
The upper flight of stairs opens directly onto the landing/pyjama lounge which faces out over the park. The walls which you can see in place now are at a height demanded by safety and security laws. I am still debating lowering them and putting a railing across their top or a glass panel. It is behind these walls that a security shutter will be lowered at night.
“Archive” photo of stairs from another angle.
It much easier now to get an idea of what the covered patio is going to be like. It is a lovely big space and I think we’ll probably use it more than the indoor living area. In the picture below you can see a ‘square’ marked off in the ceiling. This is where a skylight will eventually be installed.
Bernard was funny when we saw the arched openings for the first time. ‘They look good’, he said, ‘I don’t usually do arches…’ ‘Then why did you agree to have them here??’ ‘Because the house needed them.’ – his response… And I think he’s right. The house did need them and I think they frame the view rather well.
Patio Arches
In the elevation which I am posting again below, you can see the design of the patio quite clearly. It is satisfying to see it taking form now.
The North Elevation is now becoming a reality.
Below is a picture of a ‘contemporary farm house’ under an iron roof similar to the one we’ll be having.
Contemporary Farmhouse with iron roof from which I drew some inspiration.
home-in-the-making 
How do the stairs stay up? Looks like a lot of concrete just hanging in mid-air?!
That is a question I would need to get the engineer to answer!
I think you should go for all glass at the top of the stairs if possible. This would allow all the light from the double volume entrance to be shared in the pyjama lounge. It would no doubt also make the upstairs landing feel more spacious.
That is the way we’re thinking at the moment. Will do a post on different options we’ve looked at soon.
Are the concrete stairs going to be covered? I love the look of them. Your patio looks so grand. The arches are beautiful.
We rarely lock our doors when we leave the house so the security system is a bit shocking. But wonderful to know you will be snug as a bug when it’s bed time.
It is looking so good….. 🙂
Wow. Security will warrant a post all to itself, I think. It is an integral part of home-building here. The floors and the stairs will all be wooden. So the concrete stairs will be ‘cladded’ in wood. The laundry and scullery areas will be tiled but the main kitchen will be wood. The upstairs bathrooms will be tiled and the bedrooms, carpeted.
Covered patios, that are almost like open-sided rooms, are very popular in South Africa because of our mostly very temperate climate. We spend a lot of time out there. Even in winter in Johannesburg, it’s often mild enough to have lunch outdoors and in the summer we often have all our meals on the patio. We don’t have the little bugs (midges??) here that you get in the US. We don’t need any screen doors at all.