1. Site Diary Project
By Nicolas Salas
w1422770
BA Architecture
Site Diary 4ARC528
Project 1: Mahogany Flooring
Project 2: Victorian House Refurbishment
2. Index
Poject 1: Mahogany flooring & Process Pag 1
- Introduction. Pag 2
- Mahogany history. Pag 3
- Mahogany uses. Pag 4
- Owners. Pag 5
- Location. Pag 6
- Origen. Pag 7
- Schedule of work. Pag 8
- Plan of the house. Pag 9
- Protection and Cautions. Pag 10
- Protections. Pag 11
- Tools Instructions. Pag 12 - 15
- Stages. Pag 16 - 20
- Conclusion. Pag 21
Poject 2: Victorian house refurbishment Pag 22
- Introduction. Pag 23
- Location. Pag 24
- Owners. Pag 25
- Plan of the house. Pag 26
- Materials. Pag 27
- Schedule of work. Pag 28
- Protection and Cautions. Pag 29
- Stages. Pag 30 - 39
- Conclusion. Pag 40
4. Introduction
This Project is about the treatment of
Mahogany wood for flooring from reclaimed
origen as the pieces where used in the floor of
an old church. The wood came by truck in big
heavy containers. The owners does not have
any flooring at the moments and they are just
walking on top of a crude floor. Therefore, they
are planning to invest some money and time in
the restoring of mahogany wood and use it for
their flooring. Mahogany wood is very hard and
have high resistance to heavy traffic. It is used
mostly in yachts and boats, musical instruments,
furniture, floors, billiard and pool cues and
doors.
It is a £10,000 project but will be massively re-
duced to only £2,000 as the owner is doing it by
herself and a small team and buying machinery
such as Oval sanders from second hands. Therefore,
by not hiring anyone, she decreases the budge
spended in this project. The owners have spend
£1,300 just for 100m² of mahogany wood and its
transport. However, there are more expenses to be
made during the process.
5. Mahogany history
Mahogany was introduced
into Europe from the
Caribbean by the Spaniards.
Importation of 34,213 tons
of mahogany into England.
1600s
1720 - 1788
Due to the disminution of Ma-
hogany trees because deforest-
atiion, now there is one only
way to get it:
Reclaimed.
1920 - Present
6. Mahogany uses
Cost in 2015s
Dirty £15.00/m²
Clean £70.00/m²
Music Instruments Furniture
Doors
Boats & Yachts
7. The Owners
Maria Navarrete
(The Owner)
Maria is an
accountant who
owns a flat in the
middle of
London about 5
minutes from the
Barbican Center.
She is planning
to reduce costs
in this project by
doing
everything by
her team and not
hiring anyone.
Oliver
(Youngest son)
Oliver is the
youngest Maria’s
son and he is
studying to
become a
veterinary.
He is part of the
team and would
be helping during
the process.
Elena
(Oldest daughter)
Elenais the oldest
Maria’s daughter
and she is studying
to become a
Doctor.
She is part of the
team and would be
helping during the
process.
Nicolas Salas
(Architecture student)
Cost:
£10,000 = if Maria hires someone to do it; including all
the external expences such us storing, cleaning and
manipulating the wood until it is finally done.
~£2,000 = £1,300 mahogany wood + £500 in machinery,
tools and equitments.
9. Origen
100m²
18450s
Gothic Church
Arrival conditions
2015
The arrival condition of the wood is
very bad, worn and full of imperfections
and rubish.
It was used some kind of very hard resin
or glue in black; containing rest of
stones, dust, sewing needles and pins.
Probably from the nuns in the abbey.
Eventhough the flat is 100m², it
will be only laminated the 80%
of it as the Kitchen and Toilets
are continuously wet and are
already vinyl laminated.
School
100m²
10. Schedule of Work
Arrival
10/02/2015
Arrival of the
wood by
trucks in big
containers.
Organization of
the wood
panels in the
house.
Cleaning
12/02/2015
Sanding and
removal of the
black resin on the
botton part from
the previous use
done by hand.
[Lime and spatula]
Grinding
20/02/2015
Removal of
grains and
swarf created
or lefted by
the cleaning.
[Iron brush]
Sanding
27/02/2015
Sanding the bottom
of the wood with an
[Orbital machine]
with an 80 grit; this is
used to leave the
wood as crude ready
for the absortions
of oil.
There have been
done trials with
different thicknesses
of grit paper.
Edging
07/03/2015
Sanding the edges
with a [Circular
machine] to
remove blobs and
swarf so all the
edges will be
equal.
Oiling
Present Stage
Once the wood is
crude at the
bottom, it will be
oiled with [Teak oil]
to prevent water
absorption and
creating fungus.
It needs to have
6hrs of drying to be
removed from the
working table and
70hrs to be places in
the floor.
Gluing
They are glued to the
floor with adhesive
(glue elastic 1.5mm)
and the tiles are
placed in the
required pattern.
Tensioners are
placed so that the
glue will not move
the wood while it is
expanding.
15hrs of drying are
required and
placement process is
repeated every
meter to meter.
Sanding
Once it is placed all
over the floor. It
must be sanded with
[180 grit orbital
machine] to level the
ground about
0.5mm for take off
by grinding and
removing any swarf.
Resin
With a mixture of resin
and sawdust from the
wood itself it is to
cover the wounds in
between the panels.
With a spatula we
extend to fit well into
the gaps between
woods. Drying period
of 6hrs are requiered.
Sanding
Sanding with
an [Orbital
machine] of
240 grit to
remove any
extra resin
and make it
fine.
Oiling
We oil againg
with [Teak oil]
and allow 6hrs
of drying
process.
Sanding
It is sanded with
a [240 grit
manually] to
leave the surface
fine; and with
alcohol or
acetone soaked
rag to remove
dust or swarfs.
Varnishing
Now it is
varnished and
we allow
about 6hrs for
drying pro-
cess.
Sanding
The next day, it will
be polished with a
[Polishing wax
machine] to shine
and give a
crystallized effect.
Beaware the first
72 hours since the
floor still remains
fresh. You can walk
through but not
applying much
pressure.
Process plan
Visit to working site has been shedule for 4 days per week since the Arrival Stage.
11. Area covered by Flooring
Plan of the house
Living room
BED
SOFA TV
Kitchen
ToiletEntrance
Bed room
SOFA
SOFA
Bed room
Bed room
BED
BED
Toilet
12. Protections & Cautions
In case of:
Cut: In case of cuts, go imediately to wash your hands
and the cuted area. Inform the manager in charge and tell
what happened. Take action base on the level of injury. Wear
Protecting Gloves all the time.
Eye injury: In case of eye injury, go imediately to wash
your hands and apply clear water without rubbering the eye.
Inform the manager in charge and tell what happened. Take
action base on the level of injury. Wear protection Glases all
the time.
Bruise: In case of bruise, muscular or bone injury, go
imediately inform the manager in charge and tell what
happened. Take action base on the level of injury.
Breathing problem: In case of a difficulty in
breathing, tell the manager in charge what happend. Stop
work and go out site to get fresh air; drink water if needed.
Take action base on the level of injury. Wear Mask Protection
all the time.
Hearing problem: In case of a difficulty in hearing,
ear pain or headaches, tell the manager in charge what hap-
pend. Stop work and go out site to get fresh air. Go to the
doctor for a check up if the pain or hearing problem persist.
Take action base on the level of injury. Wear Hearing Protec-
tion all the time.
13. Protections
Glasses:
The hard plastic will protect your
eyes from any impact as the ma-
chines may project some swarfs from
the wood.
Breathing mask:
The filters would make the external
air full of harmful dust more cleaner
inside it. This would make the
breathing easier and more secure.
Hard or Rubber Gloves:
This gloves would help you to apply
a firm grip and it would protect your
hands in case of collition with the
machine or any harmful situation.
14. Bosh Pex 115 A: Oval Sanding Machine
Result after sanding
with Oval Machine
with a 120 grit.
Result after Grinding and
Cleaning process with a Lime
and Spatula by hand.
Cautions:
This machine is very
powerful and it can rotate
very fast.
It requieres Protecting
Gloves to protect hands
and Glasses in cases that
the sand paper breaks anor
any swarfs of wood flyis
away.
Use:
Grab it firmly from the
handle and do not apply
much pressure as the sand
paper could create pools.
Do circles and line motions
but keep always the hori-
zotal lebel as if the machine
or the grit works at an
angle; it will create pools.
DeWALT
120 Grit
BOSCH
120 Grit
15. Bosh PBS 7 A: Circular Sanding Machine
Cautions:
This machine is very
powerful and it can rotate
very fast.
It requieres Protecting
Gloves to protect hands
and Glasses in cases that
the sand paper breaks anor
any swarfs of wood flyis
away.
Use:
Grab it firmly the wood
piece and do not apply
much pressure as the sand
paper could create pools.
Do line motions back and
forwards and keep always
the horizotal lebel as if the
machine or the grit works
at an angle; it will create
pools.
DeWALT
80grit
80
Results after Edging
16. Tools: Spatula
Spatula
Cautions:
This tool is sharp and while
applying force could hurt if it
impacts in your hands or
body. Keep hands out the
way.
Use:
By keeping it parallel to the bottom
face of the wood panel; it will give a
nice uniform face.
However, if we use the sharp ends of
the spatula it will create unwanted
lines and marks on the wood.
After Cleaning Arrival condition
17. Tools: Lime & Metal Brush
Lime
Cautions:
This tool is a bit sharp and
while applying force could
hurt if it impacts in your
hands or body. Keep hands
out the way.
Use:
By keeping it parallel to the side face of the
wood panel; it will give a nice uniform face.
However, if the lime is at an angle it will
round the edge and therefore leaving a
gap in between panels.
Metal Brush
Cautions:
This tool has metal spikes
which could harm. Keep
hands out the way.
Use:
Move forwards and
backwards firmly to
remove any swarfs.
After Cleaning Arrival condition
18. Stage 1: Cleaning
Removal of the black resin with spatula .
After
Cleaning
Arrival
condition
Removal of grains and swarfs with Lime.
19. Stage 2: Grinding
Removal of the grains and swarfs left .
After this stage, there is only left the Edging and Sanding
beforeit is complitely clean, excepting the Top face; as it
will be done once it is all placed on the floor.
20. Stage 3: Sanding
After
Sanding
After CleaningAfter sanding we have all
the crude wood alive and
ready to be oiled.
We store the wood while at
this stage so we can repat
Stage 1 to 3. After we have
a mininum of 400 wood
panels we start to oil them.
Sanding of the bottom & sides faces.
21. Stage 5: Oiling
Sanding of the bottom & sides faces.
The oil gives the crude mahogany
wood a very fine and shiny look. It
brings a life all the nature texture, the
characteristic strips of mahogany
wood. Also, this is only the bottom
face; therefore, the top face will look
promising.
Layout
22. Cleaning
Of Course, there is not space for messines if
you are a good worker. Therefore, At the end of
everyday we clean up what we made dirty and
leave everything the most organized as we could.
23. Conclusion
By attending more than 4 weeks to the working
site and“making my hands dirty”, I have learn many
things of how to treat wood. In this project a have
seen and feel the delicate labour and process in which
you must be involve when treating with such a nobel
wood; even more if it is re-used.
The fact that this owner has re-use the mahogany
wood does not only makes her final spenses smaller
but it also makes this project a bit more ecological as
there is no need to cut more trees; infact you can not
find this wood in new conditions from many places as
the deforestation has its limits and its very highly cost.
At the current stage, I still working within the
team until the flooring is completed. The stage so far
is the“Oiling”where a layer of oil is covering the
bottom of the mahogany wood panels to prevent
water or any other liquid to penetrate into the wood.
We have clean so far around the 50% of the wood,
meaning that we have left another 40m² which still in
the arrival condition stage.
The next step is the“Gluing”which consist in
placing the wood panels in the floor at a choosen
pattern with glue. We have to allow about 15 hours
for the drying process.
This stage will not be easy either for the team and the
owner as we will have to remove all the furniture
inside the rooms to place the floor and later on place
them back with great careful to do not damage the
fresh floor.
25. Introduction
This Project is about the refurbishment of a
Victorian studio flat. The owner has decided to
rearrange the space by swapping the kitchen for
the livin room. There is a change on the flooring
as well, new partition wall, doors and new
wiring.
The wiring will cover the entire new
bedroom and kitchen area. Also, part of the main
corridor and toilet. The arangement of the WC
will be different as there was a bathtub and the
owner wants to put a shower to increase the
circulation space and have more freedom at the
time to move things arroun.
The idea is for a better use of the space by in-
creasing the privacy from circulation of the
public to the living room and kitchen; and leav-
ing private the bedroom, which before was livin-
groom and bedroom in the same area.
Once the project is finish, the owner is plan-
ning to rent it to gain some profit which hope-
fully will cover the entire refurbishment and an
extra income in a future.
My roll here is help the Electrician manager
with his labour. I will be making holes for switch
sockets, wiring the walls and connecting cables.
Also, helping in other labours to the carpenter
and the rest of the team.
28. Plan of the house
Living room &
Bed room
BED
SOFA
TV
Kitchen
Toilet
Entrance
Living room BED
SOFA
TV
Kitchen
Toilet
Entrance
Bed room
BOILER BOILER
Before After
ARCH
29. Materials: Wires
2.5mm Cable
4mm Cable 10mm Cable
The cable pack were coming
by 50m roll and we used 130m of
new wiring.
Swiches, plugs and
lamps.
[240V - 32-42Amps]
Cooker, hoven, general
cable and multi-wires
connections.
[240V - 100Amps]
Gerneral terminal of connec-
tions in the electricity box and
main supply from the National
Grid.
[240V - 200 -300Amps]
30. Schedule of Work
Start
22/03/2015
The Project is
getting ready
by removing
most of the
stuff away from
the house.
Flooring
25/03/2015
Previous floor is
getting out as new
flooring has been
choosen by the
owner.
Doors
31/03/2015
Covering of
the arch door
and start to
opening the
new cavity in
the wall for
the new door.
Toilet
04/04/2015
The entire floor of
the WC is getting out
and be replaced for a
new one. The bath-
tub is beign removed
and replaced for a
squared base shower
to save space.
Kitchen
09/04/2015
Removal of the
entire kitchen as it
will be placed now
in the living area.
Most of the equit-
ments went to the
bin as the owner is
planning to get
new ones.
Electricity
12/04/2015
Once everything is
out and the project
ready to be started,
me and the electrici-
ty manager Thomas,
will start to wire the
new bedroom and
kitchen area.
Plumber
16/04/2015
The plumber came
to do the new
toilet and shower
instalation.
Flooring
18/04/2015
Once it is all the
previous floor is
removed and the
new floor arrives
from the south of
Spain; the carpenter
would start to fit in
the new floor.
Electricity
21/04/2015
Most of the wires are
done by now; howev-
er, the electricity box is
to small to work with
and too messy. There-
fore, we have to make
it tied and organize.
Bedroom
26/04/2015
The bedroom
is moslty
completed
and there are
just few things
to do.
Painting
Present Stage
Starting the
painting in the
new bedroom
Toilet
WC need to be
instaled with the
shower. All the
tiling is nearly
done but need
some extra work.
Kitchen
The kitchen will
be installed as
soon as the
bedroom is
comleted and
the carpenter
has finish the
wood work for it.
Process plan
Visit to working site has been shedule for 3 days per week since the Arrival Stage.
31. Protections & Cautions
In case of:
Cut: In case of cuts, go imediately to wash your hands
and the cuted area. Inform the manager in charge and tell
what happened. Take action base on the level of injury. Wear
Protecting Gloves all the time.
Eye injury: In case of eye injury, go imediately to wash
your hands and apply clear water without rubbering the eye.
Inform the manager in charge and tell what happened. Take
action base on the level of injury. Wear protection Glases all
the time.
Bruise: In case of bruise, muscular or bone injury, go
imediately inform the manager in charge and tell what
happened. Take action base on the level of injury.
Breathing problem: In case of a difficulty in
breathing, tell the manager in charge what happend. Stop
work and go out site to get fresh air; drink water if needed.
Take action base on the level of injury. Wear Mask Protection
all the time.
Hearing problem: In case of a difficulty in hearing,
ear pain or headaches, tell the manager in charge what hap-
pend. Stop work and go out site to get fresh air. Go to the
doctor for a check up if the pain or hearing problem persist.
Take action base on the level of injury. Wear Hearing Protec-
tion all the time.
32. Electricity: Day 1
Arched door being cover
When we arrived the walls were on crude and all the pipes
visible. Original switches and sockets will be covered or
re-used with new wiring.
Here we started to
through the new wiring
33. Electricity: Day 2
New door to Livin
room & Kitchen New door to
Bedroom
Electricity box
Toilet condition
when we arrived
Flooring was
removed and
temporarily
covered by
panels so we
could walk
through it
More wiring done and holes to introduce
the sockes in.
34. Electricity: Day 3
Ceramic wall & Floor
Tile Adhesive Wall & Floor
Tile Grout
Powdered Wall
Tile Grout
Multi-finish
Pladur
Expanding foam Flanges & Screws
Concrete & Wood Flexible Floor Tile Adhesive
We need a few things so we when to the hardware
house and went for shopping.
35. Electricity: Day 4
As the Electricity box was quite
a mess, the Electrician manager,
Thomas teached me how to
rearranged in a more organized
way and explained to me
everything about it.
The owner decided to save some
of the original wires but he has no
plans to use them now but they
are just in case that in a future
they need a socket or switch.
36. Toilet: Day 5
Today, I spend my time in the tiling process.
Iñaki was showing my that writing on the wall doesn’t
have to be always a graffiti, he said.
“The layout drawed in the wall can sometimes be more
helpful than a very detailed drawing.“
The tiling are from the south of Spain too,
actually from Cadiz. Cadiz is very traditional in
painting tiles by hand and thefore, its fame.
Beautiful results and very good chooise from
the owner by using a contract between light
grey and the colourful tiles.
The floor still on its
bones, but it allows to
give new wiring and
check that everything is
fine.
37. Working area: Day 6
Our working table may not
be the most complex one,
but at least we keep it tidy
and organized.
The flooring is placed long
ago from now but it is not
finish. It needs sanding,
oiling... etc
However, the Paco, the
carpenter is doing a pretty
good job with the wood.
This is the view to the
“paradice garden”form
the new bedroom.
38. Kitchen area: Day 7
With help froma hammer and a chisel, I can create
a gap in the wall as a road for the cable to pass
through andbe hiden away. This could be covered
later with Easy filler.
39. Electricity: Day 8
Drilling holes through the timber
beams allow me to drive the wire
from the socket to the main elec-
tric box.
The Electricity box still very messy
but it is gaining shape.
40. Electricity: Day 9
Fitting the electric wiring for the new electric toilet. It uses a grinder
which crushes the waste so there the exit pipe no bigger than 4mm
by saving space as evrything can fit in the wall
The kitchen now
is fully wired and
all connections
are checked that
are working.
The cooker needs a
special switch which is
not only controlled by
a manual switch but
also, by a fuse; which in
case of a overpowered
it turns it off
immediatelly.
The arched
door is now
covered
with all the
wires safely
inside.
All the pipes which were visible at
the vigining now is covered and
the boiler would be soon as well.
41. Electricity: Day 10
Now the Electricity box is much organized with all the new wiring and the originals, as the owner
decided to not to remove them just in case for a use in the future.
We labeled each cage so it it easier to identify when there is a need to cut the lights off or repear it.
Electric meter
Cable splice in a
circular plastic cage.
Metal
cable
splice
Anti-burn Black paint to protect and
prevent the wood from any fire caused
by the wires.
42. Conclusion
By attending 2 weeks to the working site and
doing things by my self, I have learn things that are
not taught in books. I am very glad and lucky tha the
team was so friendly and the electrician manager
spend so much time with me teaching me.
The fact that the owner has decide to reclaime
the an old aging wood so there is no need to cut more
trees. Also, this would make this project a bit more
eco-friendly.
At the current stage, Thomas and me leave the
project site with a finish new wiring. The toilet still
a bit crude but the tiling are beautiful and are
showing a very fine results. The team is doing a
great job.
The walls are plastered and some of them painted
in white so the owner could paint it in a different
colour in a future.
