Turks in various stages of construction. The foundation frame, decks (not shown), sub-floor framing and 4 or 5 door jambs have been fitted. One Turk is a different colour as required by the resource consent for Mt Vanguard.

Next build day

Sunday 22nd March 
(changed to Sunday – weather looks bad on Saturday)
9:00am The Hangar, 182 Arthur’s Point (note slightly later start time)

We need to get the Turks to a stage where the spray foam insulation can be applied.  I anticipate we will get 90% of this completed by lunchtime (assuming 12+ people).

Progress

The arrival of the tanks brought home the reality of Turk building. Last Saturday (14th March) 25 people made the tanks useless at holding water but started their illustrious journey to being Turks.

Overall we are about 1 week behind where I would like to be. This is not for lack of enthusiastic people but more because of delays with the tanks. The bottleneck from here is getting the spray insulation applied. I have yet to confirm a date but I am hoping for the next 2 weeks.

An unanticipated challenge has been the tank manufacturer changing their mould, meaning the new tanks are 40mm wider than those previously used. The impact of this was that the CNC-cut floor was too small. Fortunately the situation has been rescued and the floor re-cut with the requirement for only 7 additional sheets of plywood.

I am confident we can still make the ANZAC weekend install dates (assuming bureaucracy doesn’t get in the way as mentioned in the last newsletter #15), however next weekend’s “big build” activities might need to be postponed a week since there is not much more to do until the insulation is applied.

Revised task list
Below is a revised task list from newsletter #14. I have removed completed tasks. Items with *** next to them need to be completed on Sunday in preparation for the application of insulation.

Framing / assembly

  •     *** Fit vertical batons
  •     *** Fit ceiling edging
  •     *** Fit floor
  •     Assemble bench
  •     Assemble door/window using epoxy resin

Edging, sanding, painting

  •     *** Polyurethane floor
  •     Sand and tidy door/window assembly, seal with epoxy resin
  •     Paint outer surfaces of door/window with Lustacryl paint

Unusual / critical

  •     Cut guttering pipe to length, then in half
  •     Tension guttering half round onto tanks and plastic weld
  •     *** Fit window jamb
  •     *** Cut and plastic weld central ceiling location plate
  •     *** Position ceiling octagon and plastic weld 6 location tags (per Turk)
  •     *** Plastic weld 12 (per Turk) intermediate ceiling support tags
  •     Fit window panes to door and window, router rebate as necessary
  •     Glaze, pin and silicone seal window panes in place
  •     Cut door, window shades and supports from waste plastic
  •     Cut plastic supports for window and door shades
  •     Attach supports then door and window shades

Fabric / sewing

  •     Sew mattress covers
  •     Cut mattress foam
  •     Fit mattress foam in covers and hand sew closed
  •     Prepare fabric ceiling circle

Another big thank you
People involved in the build weekends have been working with many unusually shaped pieces of plywood – many are curious as to how it will all fit together!

Coronet Woodware are great supporters of the project and have allowed us to use their CNC cutting machine at no cost. Anton Schmitz, a club member, has been diligently changing my designs into cut plans. With over 100 sheets of plywood, and 800 pieces this is no small task!

Viruses (is there anything else to talk about)

As long as people follow the recommended behavior of washing hands, staying away if you are unwell, not shaking hands and definitely not kissing then things will be OK.
We are mostly working outside in well ventilated areas so the work activity is less serious than in an office, gym or school.

Insurance
The club has taken out a policy with Vero providing $5 million of Indemnity and $1 million of statutory insurance. We are pleased that the policy includes volunteers and has a $500 excess and costs the club $1300 per year. Because the club both owns assets and works with other people’s assets (buildings, equipment, helicopters etc) it is important we recognise things could go wrong and other people’s equipment could get damaged.

Many thanks to Adam and Mark at Marsh Insurance for doing a great pro-bono job negotiating this policy.

Cheers
Erik Bradshaw
027 241 8571
admin@mountainturk.nz
20 March 2020