Littlefella's Cubby

Dave and I spent most of yesterday working on the cubby. The photos are (1) first stage, November 05 - frame and floor completed (2) and (3) second stage, March 06 - roof and 2 walls completed. There are plans for the other long side to be filled in, and for the front to have a door. For now we're out of the right sized roofing iron. The remaining sheets are too small and would need lots of cutting and fiddling about.

Because we were working with 100-year-old recycled (from the old cottage) hardwood, every hole had to be pre-drilled. We'd already cut the roof battens to the correct length, so they were the easy first step. I had some sisalation left over from insulating under the house, so we thumbtacked it onto the battens. The roofing iron is the same stuff as on the walls - 100-year-old rusty recycled tin (from the old cottage, of course) - so we scrubbed around the old nail holes with methylated spirits and siliconed them up, before putting the sheets on the roof.

While Dave was plugging away, it occurred to me that the back wall with its overhang (weather protection) would be the perfect spot for a window. I unearthed two window panes that I paid $2 for at an auction a couple of years ago that had been earmarked to make a coldframe. The pane in better condition has been left for the (possibly mythical) coldframe. The one that could really do with a fresh application of putty has been used. We screwed it straight onto the framing, so it doesn't open, but I figured that if we'd hinged it at the top and the kids were less than gentle with it, it wouldn't last long.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the bits we've done are going to be exactly weatherproof. I'd guess that if we got a big storm from the southwest (which would hit the outside of the filled-in corner) that there'd be water coming in under the roof and between some joins. But hey, it is a CUBBY after all!