Stained Glass Panels

I have always been fascinated by stained glass art.  I have already bought some stained glass lampshades.  My next project was a labour of love, 2 stained glass panels in the lounge.  I commissioned Helen Watson in New Zealand to design the 2 panels.  It arrived in Kuching in Jan 2011 after a few months in design and construction.

The first pic is the box, very well packed with MDF, polystyrene sheets and paper sheets. The 2nd pic is the 1st of the 2 panels.  This panel shows 3 birds. 2 wood pigeon and a fan tail.  There is some kiwi flora as well.  The bottom left showed part of an abstract cross for my wife.  Both panels have the cross.  The other panel has a pair of flying ducks on the top (representing the twins).  Altogether there are 7 birds for the 7 children. A very personal project.

Oh yes, I hope my wife is not reading this blog.  Its supposed to be a surprise!  When it is mounted, I am going to cover it up with plywood until it is ready to be unveiled.

Getting ready for driveway concrete and ground floor beams

The garage and back of driveway is ready for the concrete slab.  Rebars will go in after the piping are put in.  The raised beams for the ground floor is now being built and the raised slabs for the laundry and kitchen are also going up.  Note that the ground floor is raised 3 feet.  The Air Bricks have been handed to the contractor.  He will measure a box that will be sent into the beam so that the Air Brick can be placed in the gap when the beam is completed.  Note the workers.  They are mostly Indonesian (some from Sulawesi!) and they work hard ! Even after 6pm and on Saturdays as well.  It is a good idea whenever you visit the site, to bring some refreshment or lunch for the workers.  They are poorly paid and will appreciate treats.

,

Beams for concrete slabs done

The formwork has been removed.  The concrete slab for the driveway will go on top of this.  The 2nd pic shows building the formwork for the beams for the ground floor. Its raised 3 feet.

Foundation Completed, Starting on Beams

The foundation has been completed and it has cost me a bomb!  The piling required 60 feet of piles!  Hence the total costs for piling came up to more 60k!  This is certainly a wildcard and no contractor wants to commit themselves to a fixed cost.  Each pile require 3 poles !  The earth was certainly very soft and hence selection of land is important.


The next pic shows work ongoing work on the beams at ground level to support the driveway slabs. Apparently this is a council requirement these days.  You cant just lay concrete even if it re-inforced.