Garage in northern Norway

[wazzza]

A nice acquisition!

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Thanks. I am looking forward to use it! I still have my old boss` welder here so I can use it until I get 3-phase power to the garage..

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: i hear you about the dark making you tired. it gets dark here at about 4PM and i'm having issues staying awake until 9PM and i get up at 3am now wide awake. it doesn't get light until 7am so i have no idea how you do it with 24/7 darkness. some guys have the blue lights next to their workbench, desks and living rooms that they say seems to help if that's an option for you.

WOW that carport is looking AWESOME. WELL DONE!!

thanks for showing me the other option for a floor mount even though that one looks like it's on a trailer. i bet you could use yours to straighten a frame or some other heavy duty piece in the future so post up pictures if you do.

just curious how hard it is for you to get 3 phase power to a residential home's garage/shop and how expensive? i doubt a rotary or VFD will work on that big welder, but you might check out threads in the electrical section of GJ and if you don't find your answer start a thread and maybe somebody knows your answers.

looks like you are doing plenty of WOODWORKING on the carport and nicely done i might add. some of the members posting over on the WOODWORKING 101 thread are not wood butchers like i am so stop on over and show a few of your projects like that stairway to your basement or ask questions cause we need more good members like you on that thread.

cheers

 

[wazzza]

I hear you on the sleeping issues.. I dont have any problems sleeping, but I have problems staying awake..

The floor mount i postes is probably from a trailer yes. I could not find any better pictures in a hurry, but I have seen similar here on GJ.

I already have 3-phase power to my house but my fusepanel only use 2 phases.. From back in the day this house was powered through cables hung from poles and they only provided 2 phases. When the powercompany/line owner changed their transformators in this area (probably 10 years ago) they dug down new cables and supplied 3 phases to all the houses.. I order to utilize the last phase I need a new meter and new main switchboard.. After I am done with the bathroom I will tear down one other bathroom and turn it into "technical room" were I will install a brand new switchboard and then I can provide 3 phases to the garage as well..

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: with all you have going on i bet you are tired and the cold and dark doesn't help i'm sure.

great plan for the 3 phase and you are lucky you have it available. i can hardly wait to see what you can build once you have 3 phase tools with your skills.

cheers and hope you get your energy level up to get you through a tough winter.

take plenty of pictures of your bath and home remodel to and post them when you have time cause most of us are DIY guys that love that sort of stuff. also in case you run into a problem just ask and I (we) will try to help.

 

[wazzza]

The storm "Urd" blew through the oil field right after christmas.. Winds blew at 75 knots/86 mph. A colleague filmed some of the waves as they hit our platform.. Its 30 meters ~ 100ft from the sea up to the lowest deck. The waves were about 20-25 meters high... Last night a couple of big waves hit us and tore up some of the grating on the lowest deck.. Its obvious we are in the storm season.

 

[E12-535iTurbo]

Damn that would have made me nervous. Are helicopters still flying people in and out? Those will have a bumpy ride as well. Hovering the platform at landing and take-off should be something special.

 

[four.cycle]

wazzza, what latitude are you at there in that video?

 

[wazzza]

Helicopters stop flying at 60 knots due to the safety of the helipad-crew. Flying in those winds are not a problem. The helicopters can handle it without problems..

I have no idea what latitude we are at, but we are located 130km west of Bergen, south-western Norway.

 

[Bob Heine]

wazzza, what latitude are you at there in that video?

Looks like about 60* N or 1350 miles north of Tacoma, WA. Right around the northern border of British Columbia and southern border of the Yukon Territory. Of course the warm(?) North Atlantic Current (extension of the Gulf Stream) warms the seas off Norway a bit.

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZA: while i've seen a few pictures and maybe a video of the inside of your work area on the platform and several pictures of the outside the weather is an entirely different BALLGAME. i love sitting on the beach and watching huge waves roll in (maybe not a Tsunami though) and sitting on a platform out in the middle might have my stomach more than a bit queezy.

you not having issues with flying in 60+ MPH winds is amazing. you must have a an IRON GUT and a STRONG MIND. WELL DONE!!

post up more pictures of your work if you are able to or more views of your country cause going to Norway is still on my BUCKET LIST cause i'm 100% Norwegian. i actually could sort of read the comments on the video cause that's sort of how the great grandparents spoke English cause it was their grandparents that came over from Norway in the 1800's. i couldn't find a non related 100% Norwegian to marry so had to find a part Irish girl cause i thought she'd make cute kids. on my new thread where i'm making a chair for my handicapped daughter is a picture of 3 of our 5 kids in case you might want to visit that thread and make a comment. link in my sig line.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and hope 2017 is even better than 2016 was for you.

BOB: funny out of all the places in the world to pick you picked Tacoma that is maybe 20 miles from where i'm sitting now. i think the boarder of Mexico and San Diego is about 1300 miles south and it would be a entirely different drive if i wanted to go 1300 miles north to Wazzza's platform wouldn't it? might need a 007 jet boat??

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: how are you doing? you mentioned winter storms and then you didn't post for the month so hopefully you are ok. are you?

cheers

 

[wazzza]

WAZZZA: how are you doing? you mentioned winter storms and then you didn't post for the month so hopefully you are ok. are you?

cheers

Hi, I am doing fine, just busy and not much garage activity to show.. The garage is currently converted to woodshop as I am renovating and extending the bathroom..

I am extending the bathroom to the old stairs-room and renovating it with heated floors, downlights, floor-tiles, extra insulation in outer walls, new interior etc.. To my luck there was no waterdamage to the old bathroom, despite showering directly onto the old walls with no proper sealer for 45 years.

I am using a plumbingsystem called JRG Sanipex. I dont know if you have it in the states.. All pipes are run through conduits that leads to my soon to be technical room, so if pipe bursts or a fitting starts leaking, the leakage will run inside the conduit to the technical room and not damage the inside of the wall.

Here are a few videos I found about the system..

Latest status is I am almost finished insulating. I am waiting for the new floor drain to arrive so that I can start with the sewer-plumbing and laying out floor heat.

Layout

New planned layout. Its a tiny bathroom, only 4,6 sq/metres.

Old stairs location

Garbage to the dump.

New floors were the stairs used to be.

Taped out location of interior

New sanipex water manifolds

 

[rixtrix1]

A very interesting plumbing system. The leak containment feature is quite unique; I suppose it would be beneficial in an apartment building to prevent damage to adjoining units. The tubing looks like an improvement for the PEX tubing becoming standard here in America. I like the flexible conduit for the electrical, too.

What is the purpose of the dark material fastened so securely at the bottom of the walls?

 

[wazzza]

A very interesting plumbing system. The leak containment feature is quite unique; I suppose it would be beneficial in an apartment building to prevent damage to adjoining units. The tubing looks like an improvement for the PEX tubing becoming standard here in America. I like the flexible conduit for the electrical, too.

What is the purpose of the dark material fastened so securely at the bottom of the walls?

Hi, thanks for the reply. I really like the system. It is theoretically possible to change the inner tube without opening the walls up. A good feature if you screw up and shoot a nail through the tube...

The dark material is a "litex TB Board". I dont know if you have it in the US? It is 100% non-organic and does not twist or bend in any way if exposed to moisture. It will also not contain moisture and will not rot. At first i used normal plywood, but i changed it to litex after beeing told the risks of plywood twisting and might crack the tiles..

The bathroom is almost done now.. Basically only interior stuff left..

New window

15mm OSB on the wall were the sink will be mounted..

Rebar

Rebar is grounded

500 kgs self levelling concrete with fiberglass fibres for extra strenght.

heattracing is zip-tied to the rebar

My father came and helped me mix the concrete. We used two buckets so things went quite quick. We used a little less water than normal in order to be able to grade the floor towards the drain.. This is off course to route any water to the drain..

The entire floor is coated with sealer and all corners, pipeholes and angles are reinforced with a rubber grommet.

The entire floor membrane is reinforced with fibre-fabric. This is to ensure the minimum thickness is obtained.

Tiles are in

The membrane is extened up past the wall-plates.. The plates are 100% watertight and can be used without any membrane behind. They are expensive but they are less work than membrane, tiles etc..

 

[ajohno]

Fantastic job wazzza.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Fantastic job wazzza.

As above..

 

[red]

wazzza did you use sealer on the grout?
Was or is the grout cement based or epoxy?

Thanks for sharing.
Your craftsmanship is superb and attention to detail amazing!

 

[wazzza]

Thanks for those kind words!

@RED, When you say grout, do you mean the grey stuff between the floortiles? Im sorry I am not familiar with all the english buildingterms.. If that is what you mean it is cement based.. I am a bit worried that it will wash out over time, especially were the shower is. My father used epoxy when he renovated theirs bathroom. He said it was a PITA to clean off when applying it..

 

[rixtrix1]

Looks good!

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[rmalkow2]

Looks very good!

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: i agree with your DAD that the epoxy grout (or cement as you call it) is a pain in the rear. i bet your grout (cement between the tiles) will last years and if it's similar to ours here in the USA you'll need to put a sealer on it after it dries which is about 48 or 72 hours. pay attention to small cracks in the grout and either redo or repair as necessary.

YOUR BATHROOM LOOKS AWESOME!!


how's the dirt mover that's doubling as a fork lift doing after a long winter? i love that little trailer you repaired too and you are very handy.

keep up the great work and keep posting pictures of your projects or maybe just a few more of NORWAY as you have time to.

cheers

 

[red]

Thanks for those kind words!

@RED, When you say grout, do you mean the grey stuff between the floortiles? Im sorry I am not familiar with all the english buildingterms.. If that is what you mean it is cement based.. I am a bit worried that it will wash out over time, especially were the shower is. My father used epoxy when he renovated theirs bathroom. He said it was a PITA to clean off when applying it..

Yes that is what we call the material used between the tiles. Sorry your English is so good I forget that it's not your native language.

Not sure how long ago your dad used epoxy, but they've come along way in recent years. I've been using Laticrete Spectra LOCK PRO (http://www.stonetooling.com/Laticrete-SpectraLOCK-PRO-Grout-Part-A-B-C-p/95-10206c.htm )
Not difficult at all but I break the batches down by half or thirds and work fast. There's tricks to clean up like micro fiber towels and a tablespoon of vinegar in the clean up water. And a second set of hands help too.

If cement based grout has been used for centuries. Don't worry about wash out. Biggest advantage to epoxy is stain resistance. So seal your grout and you'll be good to go.

 

[wazzza]

I think I must look into the sealerpart. I have not heard about anyone who seals the grout around here...

the excevator is dooing good.. I must take it into the garage and get it ready for the season. It has a mysterious hydraulic oil leak somewere that I cant figure out... Its not too bad, but its enought to make a small puddle if its parked for longer periods..

I finally cleaned the garage today. For the last 4 months the garage has been occupied with garbage, buildingmaterials, sawdust and saws for the bathrroomproject. Its unbelieveable how much garbage and cardboard that accumulates! I had to take two trips to the city dump..

With the garage cleaned I changed the rear brakepads on my girls Toyota Rav4 and changed to summertires on the dodge.. We still have plenty of snow, but the roads are dry.

Winter buisness

The mess

My very own iceberg

The weather is finally hot enough to take a coffeebreak on the front porch

 

[wazzza]

Some of you have asked for more scenery-pictures from my area. These last couple of days have been just beautiful weather with sun, 4-5 degrees C and little wind.. I took some pictures from our small harbour just across the road from my house.. We still have plenty of snow and frost at night so the snow takes a long time to melt.. I still dont have a boat, but I have bought a bay in the harbour so hopefully during the summer I will buy one..

My house with the red roof

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: i'm not sure you ever sleep or slow down, but happy as always to see your progress and SCENERY pictures.

so you are a part time (or maybe full time) tow truck driver when you are not working on the platform?

the water pictures look great and remember the happiest 2 days of a boat owner are the day they buy it and the day they sell it. have you heard the initials for BOAT stand for (Bring Out Another Thousand) as in dollars and if you have a boat bigger than 40 foot that changes a bit to bring out another Ten Thousand dollars.

what kind of fish are in the water to catch and eat or will your boating be more for water skiing and site seeing?

looks like a great day in Norway even though a bit cold looking with all that snow still around everywhere.

cheers and thanks again for taking me (us) to your part of the world. here's a picture of my view from my living room last week.

 

[red]

It's beautiful up there.

Not sure if I could handle that kind of cold anymore. When I was a kid, I'd be out of the house on the frozen lake at first light and skate until we couldn't see the puck any more. Of course one of the older kids would build a fire, which came in handy when the winds would pick up.

Do they remove the docks for the winter? With the winter ice, it's hard to imagine that they would survive the winter. Can't imagine how much a boat would cost up there, knowing how expensive everyday necessaries are already.

 

[ajohno]

Wazzza, absolutely stunning photos. Thanks for sharing and taking the time to share. I would like to see more when you can.

 

[wazzza]

@Drivesitfar; I work part-time as a towtruckdriver. We have had some pretty challenging recoveries this winter! I have not heard about those initials for a BOAT before, but it is somewhat similiar to ours (directly translated to english) "2 foot sickness". You always want a bit larger boat. My plan for the boat is just fishingtrips. Due to the normal cold weather I would really like some kind of windscreen and roof to get some shelter. The dream boat is something like this:

https://www.finn.no/boat/forsale/ad.html?finnkode=95374221 It costs 400`NOK wich is 48000 USD. Its way to pricey for me so something smaller and cheaper will have to do. In my area with get cod, pollock, haddock, Norwegian catfish, flounder, herring. We have other also, but they are the one I can think of right now..

@Red; That sounds like good way to grow up! This is saltwater so id does not freeze in winter so thats no problem.. There is a bay not far from here that actually freezes in winter were its popular to icefish..

@ajohno; Thank you. I will try to take more photos when I have the camera with me..

My girlfriend took this picture of me a few day ago when I "helped the spring" to get rid of the snow..

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: that boat you posted a picture of might put a dent in your tool and house remodeling funds, but it looks like it might be fun for many years. you do work hard so you can play hard and have some nice toys so you have my vote to buy something a little nicer than a row boat.

if you are able to without getting in trouble and have time a few of those challenging tow truck rescue pictures would be great. BTW (by the way) that tow truck you drive is like nothing we get to see around here very often.

cheers and hope you are having fun with your snowblower this weekend.

 

[JoniH]

Damn that's a beautiful scenery..

 

[wazzza]

@drivesitfar

We still have not found a boat yet, but hopefully we will.. The last bit of snow is just about to melt.. Not a day to early.

@JoniH

Thank you!

Finally some garage activity.. Since the excevator broke down last fall, I was not able to finish all the digging around the carport before the ground froze. Today I have made last finish on the area upwards of the carport.. Because of the low height of the roof on the carport lots of snow accumulated around the gutters and I was afraid that they would get damaged..

I lowered the terrain and have tried to smooth the surface using tilt bucket.. I might need some god soil for the grass. I found a rock way to large for the excevator to handle so it will just have to stay there..

I got a present from my father in law. A petrolfueled burner. Made in Sweden. I have seen these before, but never one that runs of petrol.. I have no idea how old it is, but he found it at their cabin and we think it was used to prep (tare) old wooden skies...

 

[madoc1]

your place is looking good. i am with you on that boat you showed. even has two steering helms (wheels).

jim

 

[drivesitfar]

Wazzza: that rock doesn't look like it's in too bad of a spot

or maybe you need to buy a bigger excavator instead of a boat.

you're pretty handy with the excavator and just curious if you did put in top soil and grass is your growing season long enough to grow a decent grass lawn?

your carport turned out to be a great addition to your garage. WELL DONE!!

 

[gasman23]

Helicopters stop flying at 60 knots due to the safety of the helipad-crew. Flying in those winds are not a problem. The helicopters can handle it without problems..

I have no idea what latitude we are at, but we are located 130km west of Bergen, south-western Norway.

I also work offshore, in the southern North Sea, about 50 miles off the Dutch coast.
Last week we had some rough weather, not very common for June.
52 knot wind, with gusts to 62 knots.
And the helicopters were still flying, I was already on the platform but some guys arrived that day.
They were complaining about the rough flight

Just wanted to chime in here and say how much I'm enjoying this thread! Great build, in a wonderful location. Wazzza, you could post half build pictures and half scenery pictures here, and I would be happy.

I agree, more scenery pictures

Also, I think this is the first build we've seen here north of the Arctic Circle. And you weren't kidding when you said northern Norway - you are way above the Arctic Circle! We've seen builds here from Fairbanks, AK and Iceland, but neither of those are nearly as far north as you are.

It`s actually kind of funny that the latitude where wazzza lives is higher than pretty much every place in Alaska.
And despite its name Iceland is completely outside the Arctic Circle (except for a small island)

I am heading home in only a few days, cant wait to get home.. I play this video every time I head home

I just watched the video, you guys have an escalator on the rig ?
I should suggest that to my OIM

There are two cranes on each of the rigs, except "Delta" were there is only one. In total we have 7 deck-cranes like this. This new one is the first of its kind and is all electrical with electrical motors directly on the winches, electrical brakes and no hydraulic mess or a noisy Caterpillar diesel running in the back. It will be a whole new world for the craneoperators.

The platform where I work at the moment is built in 1977, the crane has a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel engine.
That thing makes an incredibly loud noise.

 

[madoc1]

i was just reading that the i think was the brent delta platform was being dismantedled. was that your's?

jim

 

[wazzza]

your place is looking good. i am with you on that boat you showed. even has two steering helms (wheels).

jim

Thank you! That boat would be the dream...

Wazzza: that rock doesn't look like it's in too bad of a spot

or maybe you need to buy a bigger excavator instead of a boat.

you're pretty handy with the excavator and just curious if you did put in top soil and grass is your growing season long enough to grow a decent grass lawn?

your carport turned out to be a great addition to your garage. WELL DONE!!

I was barely able to shake the rock so it will have to stay there. It will look better when I get better topsoil on and som grass seeds. The carport is great, but I wish I made it a bit larger (off course). I can barely back my trailer through due to the low height at the end.. I have not hit the roof yet, but I am sure I will some day..

I also work offshore, in the southern North Sea, about 50 miles off the Dutch coast.
Last week we had some rough weather, not very common for June.
52 knot wind, with gusts to 62 knots.
And the helicopters were still flying, I was already on the platform but some guys arrived that day.
They were complaining about the rough flight
I agree, more scenery pictures It`s actually kind of funny that the latitude where wazzza lives is higher than pretty much every place in Alaska.
And despite its name Iceland is completely outside the Arctic Circle (except for a small island)
I just watched the video, you guys have an escalator on the rig ?
I should suggest that to my OIM
The platform where I work at the moment is built in 1977, the crane has a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel engine.
That thing makes an incredibly loud noise.

Hi

That much wind is not normal in summer here either, but thats nothing compared to winter... Its nice to live up north. The sun is only "away" for 30 minutes at night now, but its still bright as day all night long..

I see that you are from the Netherlands. We are currently building a new platform there wich will be hooked up to the platform were I work now.

I would love to work on those old cranes! Our oldest crane had a massive V12 caterpillar. A lot of growling and whining! The new cranes are all electric so they make virtually no noise at all. Yes, we have an escalator. I belive it is the only platform in Norway that has one

i was just reading that the i think was the brent delta platform was being dismantedled. was that your's?

jim

Hi, No, the Brent field is British. It is located very close to the Norwegian "Statfjord"-field. I remember we could see the Brent platforms from Statfjord A.

 

[Bib Overalls]

A personal boat is nothing more than a hole in the water surrounded by wood or metal into which you throw copious amounts of money.

A lawyer I know says that "If it flies, floats, or #$%&s it is cheaper to rent when you need it rather than own it and occasionally use it."

As for that big rock I suggest you use this

.

 

[gasman23]

i was just reading that the i think was the brent delta platform was being dismantedled. was that your's?

jim

Great video of that dismantling job

The lift was executed with the Pioneering Spirit vessel from Allseas.
Although it is officially a Swiss company (Switzerland is landlocked, the sea is at least 100 miles away ), Allseas has a Dutch owner and most of the (engineering) staff is from the Netherlands

 

[drivesitfar]

WAZZZA: how was your summer? did you buy a boat or still shopping for a good one?

anything new happening at the house or garage or have you been working both jobs all summer making money to pay for stuff?

 

[wazzza]

WAZZZA: how was your summer? did you buy a boat or still shopping for a good one?

anything new happening at the house or garage or have you been working both jobs all summer making money to pay for stuff?

Hi, long time since my last post. A lot have been going on, but not much garage-related so I have not bothered posting anything.

I dont remember if I have mentioned but we had a major sewer damage in our basement around easter. The sewerpipe from our house was blocked so "everything " came out of the floordrain the laundryroom.. Not fun to clean up... We had a company over who cleaned the pipe with a high pressure nozzle and unblocked it. Afterwards they videoinspected it though an inspectionhatch in a different room in the basement. Unfortunatly they forgot to secure the hatch afterwards and sewer from the upstairs toilet and shower came out of this hatch for a few days before we noticed water and smell in the basement.. Sewer had now lekaed through the floors and walls to 3 other rooms, luckilly none of these rooms were renovated.

This was now a case for ours and theirs insurance so they tore out everything from the damaged rooms, chemically cleaned everything else and we got a compentastion for rebuilding the rooms. The videosinspections shoved that the pipes were collapsed and needed to be replaced. Since this was an insurancecase I got a local contractor (the same who delivered gravel for my garage) to do the job.

Unfortunatly the pipe was also collapsed under the house, so this summers project has been to tear out basically the entire basement and hammer out the concrete floor in order to replace the pipe. This was not covered by my insurance, so I did this job myself along with my dad who has been helping me with the new pipe.

We are also adding new piping for a new laundryroom and new bathroom, so there has been a lot of extra hammering and digging.

We are also adding new waterlines to the different rooms along with plenty of electrical conduits for future upgrades.. My girlfriend (and I) am so looking forward to having the basement back in order...