And on the fourth day…

This week: Bottom of the heap; A construction fail; Another day – some more engineering problems; And on the fourth day…..;

Autumn is here in Dol. Leaves on some of my deciduous trees are taking on their autumnal hues. There is even the “smell” of autumn in the air, early in the morning.

I have only a few trees which develop the deep, rich colours of Autumn.

I can’t quite define what autumn smells like, but it has its own scent.

In recent years I have planted several varrieties of plum because they seem to like the growing conditions I have around my home.

Because I have the old spring fruiting Myrobalan plums, I purchased autumn fruiting “damson” plums. So far they seem to be doing well (fingers crossed!).

In the courtyard my Shropshire Prune Damson, planted in 2021 has had its first proper crop.

This is originally a Mediterranean species from the South of France. They were moved around Europe by the Romans after they were discovered growing in Damascus.

The flesh is firm and juicy, with a slightly astringent taste. ‘Damson’ is an English word , originally from the Latin “damascenum”, however the variety of small Autumn plum is known across Europe by different names, like the German ‘Kriechenpflaume’.

Despite the summer heat and the low precipitation, some Prunus varieties seem to grow well in Dol. I also planted a Prunus domestica “Imperial” in the Top Orchard in 2022. This year it has had its first fruit.

These are “clingstone” varieties, the opposite of the big “freestone” plums like the Victoria and whilst the Shropshire Prune Damson is around more the size of a Victoria, once you cut it open you can tell the difference.

I have enough Shropshire Prunes to make a “plum crumble”. Whereas the actual number of the smaller Imperials’ are only around a dozen. However, it takes a few years for young trees to really get into their stride when fruiting.

We have had some very welcome rain this week. I am not sure it will be enough to save my olives though. They resemble green raisins.

On Thursday afternoon I was watching on Blitzortung the progress of a thunderstorm across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. The edge of it clipped Otok Hvar in the evening. I’m pleased to say that my newly completed roof passed its first rain test.

The rainfall radar showed some serious pulses of heavy rain, however they passed to the south. Nonethelesss my rain gauge still recorded a welcome 12 mm of precipitation.

Then early on Friday morning the second storm came through. This storm delivered 10 mm of rain per m², so all in all 22 mm or 22 litres per square metre. This means I have not needed to irrigate since.

Getting up with the storm on Friday, there was that lovely fresh smell called “petrichor” that is released when rain falls on dry soil and releases oils into the air that have been exuded by plants.

Again, that is such an autumnal scent after our long, hot and dry summer weather…

The sun is still very warm though.

The bottom of the heap

I was woken early but not very bright by one of the felines on Monday. He desperately wanted to show me the BIG King Rat he had caught and had deposited on the patio. It was very dead thank goodness.

The grey light of dawn was showing and the pines on the hill behind my home were dark smudges against a lightening sky.

It seemed sensible to get up and do some work on the computer, as I was fully awake so more sleep would have been difficult.

After watering the plants and having some breakfast I was in Stari Grad at 8am to buy the timber I needed for the roof and also some hardware fittings to attach the beams to the wall.

I purchased the wood from Volat, six 4 metre lengths. I had the yard to myself and chose the best of a poor bunch.

Their stock has been run down for the summer – building work will atart again on the island in October – so there was not much to choose from.

I moved half a dozen warped and twisted lengths out of the way. Getting to the bottom two rows of the pile I selected six lengths, which I loaded onto the roof rack on my car.

However I had no luck with the fittings though. Again I suspect they are low on stock because it is the summer.

There was no point in trying the other builder’s merchant in the town because they have closed for the summer, so I went to Jelsa.

BEPO didn’t have what I needed either so on the way home I was thinking about how I could overcome the issue.

It would be a 60 km round trip to go to Grad Hvar, again with the probability that they didn’t have what I needed. So I decided to just do what I could with what I had.

It does make me understand why the standard of workmanship here is so poor, because tradesmen have to make do with what they can get, not what they actually want or need.

A construction fail

With the first beam in position at the wall, I then started to line it up at the other end. I have developed a cantilever system to hold the “free” end of the beam in place.

Being more than double the size of the previous timbers, I made larger hangers to take the size and weight of the new beams.

It was only after I fixed it, that I realised that this new beam was twisted as well.

On the ground the twist was barely perceptible, however once suspended it was obvious and it was going to affect how I attached the roofing panels.

I looked at the rest of the beams. Four were near enough perfect for rought cut wood – this is grade B or C and not PSE!

One also had a twist at one end, however I had over ordered and purchased to make sure I had enough, so I was not too worried.

The beam was unfixed and removed and a replacement installed, this time without a twist.

Another day – some more engineering problems

When I put the long level across the roof, there were a couple of gaps. This is because nothing about my home is square.

Obtuse angles to the casual observer are fine, because they add character to my home. However they are a severe impediment when trying to do a top class building job!

I solved the gap problem with some packing, however when I began to fix the next beam in place, it was 40 cm short. Another obtuse angle issue…

Some more innovation was called for. I made an extension piece and used some M8 threaded bar, cut to size, to hold the two pieces together.

I needed several clamps to hold everything together while I tightened up the bolts.

Finally with all the beams in place and checked with the level, I fixed the first roofing sheets.

As I expected, few of the previous holes lined up. However I had catered for that with some building sealant and adhesive. I made plugs for each of the wrong holes.

As it was already tea time, I decided to pack up and start again the following morning when I was fresh.

Even starting early the following day and working after the heat of the day had subsided, it was still taking me more than an hour to fit and fix each piece of roofing sheet.

However by 19:00 on Wednesday I had all the large sheets in place with just a single piece to cut, so I quit while I was ahead!

And on the fourth day…. I eventually rested

But not until the roof was finished!

I had been watching the weather forecast all week. The forecast had been showing that from early afternoon on Thursday, rain and thunder was going to be possible, with rain probable from 18:00, so I needed to get the job finished.

As soon as I had finished the irrigation, I was on with the roof.

The first job was to cut a section of roof.

The size of the roof area had not changed, but the geometry had. So although I was putting the same sheets of corrugated roofing back in the same place, they were not exactly where I had removed them from.

I was left with the final corner, which included three small open areas,. However I only had two pieces of roofing sheet left over.

I quickly realised that although the sizes were different, if I cut one of the pieces, I would have all the three pieces, of the right size, which I needed.

Cutting corrugated polycarbonate is not the easiest of jobs. This is especially because when it has been exposed to the elements for five years, it can become brittle.

With my B&D Workmate in the courtyard, I secured the sheet I needed to cut with pieces of wooden lat and adjustable clamps. I had marked on it with a Permanent Marker where the cut was needed.

Then it was out with my oscillating cutter. Once set to the slowest speed and with a half moon blade with teeth for cutting plastic, I slowly cut along the line.

Some minutes later I had the two pieces of roofing which were needed to complete the job.

Because I am using just three wooden beams with no intermediary lengths, these last sections could only be fixed to wood at one end.

To prevent the pieces lifting in wind, I used some marine construction adhesive, generously applied to the ridges of the overlaid sections. These were then pressed down to spread the adhesive, to hold the “free floating” ends.

This worked extremely well because the adhesive was quick drying and the pieces were secured to a wooden beam at the opposite side / end.

By lunch time the roof was complete. All I needed to do was wait for the rain. However I need not have worried. Because when the rain arrived, the roof did exactly what I expected and there were no leaks.

So on the afternoon of the fourth day, I rested…. NCG