Where you been fatlip?

I've been pretty quiet here and in the whole comic scene (i barely participate in the life scene) why?

Because i've been building a deck.

Our house is on a slope (it drops about thirty metres from our front to back) so very little of it was really usable so the plan was always to build a large deck out the back for entertaining and living and such.

It started in August 2007 when we got a draftman mate to make my sketches into reality. The idea was the draftsman would draw it up, we'd pass it one to an engineer and then get the council to approve it.


Anyway a year later it was approved.

(I had about 200 photos that i lost when my phone shit itself so i've just some that Em took)

So we demolished the old one and started digging holes.

But the first hole i did dig hit a water pipe so we got a professional to do it. (We only hired one trademan for the whole job to do the holes he did 9 holes in the time it took me to do 1 - yay for mates)

We filled the holes with 6 cubic meters of concrete (that enough to fill an average toilet floor to ceiling)

I believe the concrete guy hated me because he'd keep filling my wheelbarrow more and more until i spilled a load and then decided that was my limit (and would add some more just in case)

Then the steel was delivered.

All 4 tonnes - that had to be carried down the drive to the back of the house (essentially down 3 flights of stairs).

So with the help with some mates from my construction/demolition/trades' assistant days we put the main beams in.

Barry asking me "Does this look straight?" whilst i used to reply 'Why do i give a fuck?" I cared now.


It took 4 guys to carry those beams and i think we all were shortened by 3 inches due to the weight.

Then the bearers went in.

Father in Law Dave was a big hand.


And the rafters.

All this underside structure required about 200 nuts and bolts, with all the holes needing to be drilled twice (pilot hole and then main hole). It was at this point where Wally (Nick) came and redid all my shitty welds so Em could sleep at night.


And then a relax (i spent a day making the black brackets as well).

And down went the timber


The size of the deck is about 75-80 square metres (bigger than my first unit) and required about 400-500 lengths of wood and 4500 screws (again the screws had to be predrilled to prevent splitting.)

You can see the hole in my tshirt that i created whilst grinding some steel - i only noticed it when i smelt the jumper i was wearing on fire)

saturday="chesty" bonds"
sunday="Sunburnt"

Adelaide comiker/art curator/metal band singer/man about town Benzin helped at this stage was awesome. I wish everyone worked for comics.

and the almost finished product




Still to do

• Put the roof on
• Build two sets of stairs
• Complete the trim

So that's why i've been so silent the last 6 months.