Sun Terrace

I've been a bit lazy lately in keeping up with the website but fortunately I have had my camera in my tool bag to prove I've not been as lazy with my woodworking.

This is a small sun terrace I built for a client earlier this season, it's approximately 4m x 6m and tiled to match the house roof and adds a pleasant indoor/outdoor room to the house.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of design, making and building of this project and was both pleased and a little sad when the job was finished as it had been such a pleasant piece of work through the whole start to finish process, which very pleasantly concluded in an summer evening dinner with good company, faire and wine. (I think all jobs should be concluded this way !).

To start with the customer knew exactly what she required and provided me with a comprehensive diagram which is a real help as sometimes it can be difficult to "second guess' a customers ideas or percieved requirements, but not in this case !.

We discussed the finished look and requirements of the structure and after getting some other opinions and prices I was given the go ahead with a finish date that allowed plenty of time for set-backs and potential weather problems, so far so good.

I cut the uprights and braces at my workshop shaping a gentle curve onto the braces with my bandsaw. Everything else was carried out by hand, ie all cuts and joints.

I tested all joints and even the pegs were tried out and all sanding was completed before I moved the project to site.

I purchased 2 new Stanley hardpoint saws for the work, a fine finish and roughcut and never resorted to use any power tools for cutting.

It was nice to revert to the old fashioned way, 'by hand' and mark out each component rather than setting up the table saw for cutting in an industrial manner, ie with use of stop fences etc.

I must admit that I did use a belt sander to clean up with, I think without this tool I'd still be on the job if I were sanding by hand !, so not entirely back to the middle ages.

 Then it was over to the site to begin the build.

I set out concrete foundation pillars for each upright and used galvanised fixing plates held in place with threaded bar which was buried 60cm into the foundation, 4 for each leg.

Next I fixed the wall plate to the house with heavy duty masonary bolts and quick setting hardened glue.

Being a one man show I used scaffolding and clamps to hold the uprights in position.

 

Actually, I did have assistance, my wife Jan popped over to see how things were progressing and got roped in, so it's a one man one woman show occasionally.

Here she is setting in the cross-member and lining up the brace joints, I must have been doing something much more important....

 

 

 All the timbers in place with just a little trimming and tidying here and there.

I fixed all the trusses in with birds mouth cuts top and bottom and large screws in either side, on the top edge where they would not be seen.

All ready now for volige (planking), and then tiles.

 

After the volige I set out the bottom tiles and bedded them into a cement mix.

These are a local tile called canal tiles and some are hand made and consequently a variety of sizes, they are held together by a crochet wire and once bedded into cement they are a fixed feature. 

 

 

I sponged off the mortar to give a nice smooth finish to the ends. Using a wet sponge helps to ensure the mortar gets into all the tiny edges presented by the tiles

The final task is to lay the tiles and hey presto, one finished sun terrace.