Bob the Builder

Sawing up bits of wood and banging in nails has always been part of the male physic, and so when offered the chance to try my hand at building a shed for some friends I jumped at the opportunity. Rosie and Steve have recently moved down to Te Anau and purchased a piece of land at Patience Bay. It is a great spot with spectacular views of the lake, the Murchison and Kepler mountains and of course the snow covered Darrens. Along with cutting of weeds, planting of natives, and clearing of waterways, building a shed on the section was on the to do list. The actual design was a moving target, with about the only fixed requirement being 10 square meters to avoid a building consent.

I enjoyed surfing the web, making various sketches on the backs of envelopes, and visiting a nearby building site to sort out how to put it all together. With no power on site we only had a hand saw and hammer, along with a tape measure and level to keep us going in the right direction.

Ash turned up for a few days to help which really put the project into fast forward and so after 10 days we had a floor, four walls and a few roof rafters. Rosie and Steve now hope to have some cladding (coloursteel) on the walls come the new year. My final couple of days staying down there were spent on the water with an amazing day fishing up north arm, and then a mind blowing dive trip to Milford Sound, crystal clear water, cliffs dropping into the deep, crayfish and back coral!

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