DAY 27 - When is a noggin not a noggin?

Tuesday 11th September, and the 'non noggins' finally go on.  The gutters & facia were meant to go on yesterday, but the noggins were not on so it's pushed it back a couple of days.  More timber had to be ordered.  Perhaps cause they used our treated timber as bracing instead of as noggins!  It seems that instead of cutting and attaching noggins between the end of each roof truss, it's easier to trim the ends off the trusses and attach a long length of timber across the whole lenght of the roof.  Guess it works just as well.

The noggins are requirement of our BAL (Bushfire Attack Level).  After the devastating bushfires in Victoria in 2009 the Building Code was amended to provide increased protection for homes in bushfire areas.  Each block of land is now assessed as to it's level of attack.  It depends on vegetation, elevation, wind, slope and others stuff.  The BAL levels are Low (basically nil), 12.5, 19, 29, 40 & FZ (flame zone - you don't want to live there!).  We're level 29 which is on the med/high side of the scale.  I've had someone suggest we're close to hell :)

Each BAL has different requirements for the building.  Ours includes toughened glass in the windows, stainless steel fly screens over all opening windows, noggins, roof sarking, roof ventilators, BAL approved doors (restrictions on glazing and door construction), merbau timber door frames (burns slower), stainless steel grates to all vents and weepholes (hope this keeps creepy crawlies out too), and a fire seal to the garage roller door.  What this really means is lots of $$$ we hadn't anticipated when we found the block and signed up for the house.

So basically I think we should be able to sit by our windows, eat popcorn and watch the bushfire go by ;)  Seriously though, we hope that it will all provide more protection from our home, but if there's a serious fire, we won't be staying to watch!

I'm not 100% sure what the noggins do though I have some theories. It provides a solid backing to the facia.  Maybe it melts in high heat?  If embers get into the gutters and catch dry leaves on fire, perhaps it makes it harder for it to spread into the roof? 

I just know it's the price of living in such beautiful bushy surrounds.

Now the frame is finished, the gutters & facia can go on and then the roof!  The roof tiles were delivered today - how exciting!
 

Looks lighter than I thought, but I don't mind it.  Hoping it will match well with the gutters.

All lined up, waiting to go on our roof :)

Sarking for our roof - a BAL requirement.  It will also provide added insulation.

Yet to find out what this bag of smelly sticky foam is for.

I asked the site supervisor what they do if they're almost finished leading up to Christmas.  Do they push ahead or shut down and finish in the new year.  He thinks, all going well (weather/supplies/trades) we may be in for Christmas?  It's too soon to know for sure...


171 days, but maybe sooner?