The Kaya Project (building a new workshop)

[kibi]

Right, tea break is over, time to get back to work.

So, today I used this:-



To make this:-



Which is needed to accommodate this:-



The above is a Vent-Axia heat recovery ventilator. With no windows and the door likely to be shut tight throughout the winter months, ventilation is required. Vent-Axia claim an efficiency of 87% heat recovery on this unit. This is a 24V model with two speeds. High speed kicks in when the built-in humidity sensor detects an excess of 60% humidity. De-humidification is a by-product of it's heat recovery process.

Here I am in the process of wiring up the electrical outlets. There are 11 double outlets around the perimeter of the workshop. You can never have too many outlets and I have never quite figured out the point of single outlets. They are all wired back to the board in a ring main configuration via a 16A, 30mA RCBO. Plenty of power.



The board is looking a lot better now. I have a light switch on the right and on the left is the SMPS for the ventilator.



The worktops are now even more of a mess, but this because I have had to sweep and clean the floor in preparation for the next stage.



Some of you may notice that the ventilator is mounted at a bit of an angle, this is to allow the condensate to run outside of the building for obvious reasons.
I shall return with progress of the next stage sooner rather than later. We have been taking advantage of the good weather lately and have lit multiple fires on which to cook meat

[SeanB]

Hopefully the Braai was not American style, with burnt meat. I hear there is boerie shop in London, run by an ex SA guy. Apparently makes a good one.

[kibi]

Hopefully the Braai was not American style, with burnt meat. I hear there is boerie shop in London, run by an ex SA guy. Apparently makes a good one.

No, we braai correctly. Steak must not be on the fire any longer than 2 minutes per side, then it must rest for 5 minutes. Boerie is hit and miss. There used to be a butcher down the road from me run by Fazel from Cape Town ek se. He made good stuff.

Now on to todays work. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked because I was instructed to install a curtain rail and some blinds. 

I've put down 6mm sheets of XPS insulation.



Then the underfloor heating mat has been rolled out on top. There is 5 metres of mat with an output of 700W.



That's all for today, hopefully I'll get the flooring down tomorrow.

[SeanB]

That is one 5 star jondolo you are building there!

[kibi]

Ja, for sure. You could even sleep in it in winter time
Flooring is down now and the worktops have been completed. Now I just have to sort out some overhead cupboards and then the machines can move in.

[SeanB]

Nice storage boxes that you are using there, mine are mostly marked Clover and Dairybelle. All you need to do now is charge rent and let it out.........

[kibi]

Over the last couple of days I have managed to complete the flooring. That was a bit of a nuisance because I finished all the packs of flooring and needed one more board to complete the job.  Luckily my local Wickes had a smashed up pack in stock for £3.
I have then knocked together some shelving from yet more ruined furniture boards. It was lucky that my Bosch blade finally arrived - ebay  . I bought a cheap blade in the meantime which managed to do one cut and then on the second cut sparks started flying off of it!!! That blade is now resting nicely in the bin. The Bosch blade made a nice job of the worktops which have also been completed.
Lastly, I have moved my little machines in and bolted them down. They are only babies, nothing like Robrenz' machines, but they get stuff done well enough for me.



I now have to get on with getting the data cabling run down.

[kibi]

I have got the cabling in today. I have the internet in the workshop!! In fact, I am making this post from the workshop over my new singlemode fibre link

Anyway, enough of that. I used 50 continuous metres of 25mm crush resistant flexible copex. Now because it is one continuous length it posed a challenge to get the cables down it. One would use a cobra, but I didn't have access to one, so I came up with a plan.
Very specialist tools are involved here.

You need one of these:


One of these:


and errr... one of these these:


Yes, that is a tampon which I have modified with a bit of tape to maintain it's structural integrity. The tampon will be the mouse. You tie the tampon string to the ball of string. Then you connect the other end of the copex to the vacuum cleaner and switch it on.


The vacuum cleaner end was in my workshop and the open end was lying on my driveway. The copex make a loud screeching sound probably caused by the air rushing past the ridges in it. When I got to my driveway the postman was standing there with a very concerned look on his face
I offered the tampon up to the open end of the copex and wham, it shot up the tube faster than Usain Bolt. Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, when you buy a ball of string, it is not necessarily one complete length. As the string shot down the copex the loose and went hurtling down too with much string remaining on the ball.
No big deal, the tampon and string were waiting for me at the other end and I just tied the loose ends together and it went well on the second attempt.


I pulled one CAT5e cable down first and then with that pulled 1x Singlemode fibre cable, 1x alarm cable and 2x CAT5e cables as spares for whatever happens in the future. I had room for another two CAT5e's, but I only had two boxes of cable on me.


So, there you have it, all up and running.


There are still lots of odd jobs to do before I am completely finished. Once I have improved the security on the workshop, I'll move all my electronics stuff in.
I'll keep this thread updated as and when any major improvements take place.

[SeanB]

A tip for next time is that you do not need the tampon. The twine will go through with just the suction from the vacuum alone. I have done this using a pipe, a length of string and an air compressor, using a t piece to feed the air in and the string in the other side, the flow after you have pushed in a metre or so will pull the rest along with it.

[kibi]

Oh cool. Thanks for that, i'll remember for next time. I never thought that just the string would work.

[SeanB]

The guys blowing fibre use this method, a lot less stress on the fibre when blowing it as against blowing it with a parachute pulling on the end.

[MJLorton]

Aaah....but the tampon method put a big smile on my face!!!

Thanks for all the updates and brilliant posts Warwick....and SeanB.

Cheers,
Martin.

[kibi]

I have been pottering about in the workshop getting a few things done. My desk is in, which is nice. I just have to get things organised and in place.

Now, the insulation is performing very well indeed.
The nights have got a bit chillier these days. One night it was 12ºC outside. The temperature inside was 19ºC, great. However, I was inside for about an hour doing a few odds and ends and the temperature rose to 20.7ºC. The heating was switched off, just my body heat was enough to raise the room temperature. I left the light on and went to have my tea. After an hour I returned and the temperature had dropped to 20.1ºC. After that, I was inside for another hour and the temperature went up to 21.4ºC. Bear in mind also that the door has not yet been insulated, so I'll expect even better results when that has been done.
I am impressed with that insulation. It will work well in the winter time.

I will post more photo's when I have got a bit of order inside.

[kibi]

OK, it's been a while since my last update. I've had to get on with other stuff before it gets too cold, like clearing all the rubbish from the project and performing a major service on the car amongst other things.
Things have been happening and the inside of the workshop is now pretty much complete. I have put up more shelves (no such thing as too many shelves), cobbled together a computer and done some general sorting. I found a faulty (bad caps) 24" monitor on ebay for £20. I have repaired it and I'm happy with it. I just need some decent speakers, those crappy ones are driving me mad. Mmmm, I detect a new project coming over the horizon.
I have insulated the door now, so the heating only needs to be switched on for 20 minutes to get up to 20ºC and then the heat output from the computer (80-100W) will keep it up. In fact it will increase. I'm very pleased with the insulation.

So, I thought I'd upload a little 360º photo gallery.

[SeanB]

Nice change........... When can I move in?


Found a passport last night, from some poor Zimbabwean. Luckily it has a Horror Affairs visa in it showing his employer. Will call them on Monday and see if he still works there, and if he still needs it. Lot of visa stamps in it, he has been all over..........