Saturday 4th April 2015 / 11:58
Blockwork. What can I say? You really need to get the ‘muck’ just right, otherwise you’ll give yourself a hard time!
5 Bathroom 4
Sunday 15th March 2015 / 15:16
These are the wall tiles.
5 Bathroom 3
Saturday 8th November 2014 / 18:52
More battens to support Versapanel and panel for shower head bracket to screw into.
Steel 2
Thursday 9th February 2012 / 22:06
Padstone for steel #2 to right of fire place. Other end bolts to steel #1. A very non-invasive installation, I thought.
4 Bathroom
Sunday 9 February 2014 / 11:14
After 8 minutes the old bath is mostly smashed into much more portable bits.
Stud walls
Sunday 10th February 2013 / 19:12
All plaster board up.
Stud work
Monday 31st December 2012 / 12:55
Building the stud work around the bathroom, including the curved corner.
Internal work 2
Thursday 16th December 2011
During today part of the kitchen ceiling has been removed in preparation for the insertion of one of the steel beams. It’s amazing what a difference a ceiling makes to the temperature of a room. It’s freezing in here now.
4 Central heating
Friday 25th October 2013 / 12:10
I’ve decided to replace all the old central heating pipes. They are a combination of copper and steel and just steel with rust. Most of today will be spent getting the floor up.
5 Central heating
Sunday 27th October 2013 / 11:39
New pipes gradually replace old (hall).
6 Central heating
Sunday 27th October 2013 / 11:40
New connection (bed 3 return)
Plumbing
Wednesday 24th October 2012 / 21:38
I’ve just finished working on these new pipes which will supply hot and cold water to the kitchen. They link into the old pipes for now which will eventually be replaced when I work out how it’s all going to be. I do like to include plenty of stop cocks.
Health and safety
Bar the horrible light polluting flood light at the back of the house, I’ve managed to get around outside in pitch darkness for nearly thirteen years without incident. However, trenches, part built walls and wooden stakes present quite a hazzard in the dark so I’ve installed this light which comes on when you get near it. There’s no chance of any light pollution with this one because it’s got an energy saving light bulb in it. It saves energy because, after it’s managed to get itself going, hardly any light comes out. Still, it’s enough to stop me falling down a trench and banging my swede.
Rain water drainage 1
Saturday, 2 October 2010 / 10:33
Not much has happened over the past two weeks, just the odd day when a little more brick work has appeared and this Thursday the pipes for the rain water drainage were laid in position. Yesterday was a day of rain which means that the water table has risen: it’s only about a foot below the surface, so the pipes are sitting in water.
In the foreground you can see part of the existing pipe which runs down to the ditch at the end of the garden. This is where some of the water from the house currently drains. Unfortunately it’s about 250 mm higher than than the new pipe so one off my tasks is to install a new pipe which starts at the right level and comes out in the ditch. I’ll replace the old clay pipe with some new plastic piping. The advantage of the plastic piping is that, due to the pipe being more slippery, you can have less fall and roots don’t get into the joints and fill up the pipe.
Rain water drainage 2
Saturday, 2 October 2010 / 10:36
William and Ben have worked out where the down pipes are going to go and the tee pieces are positioned accordingly. This one will be in the internal corner where the conservatory meets the house. This means we avoid having it on the external corner of the conservatory which will be most seen.
Rain water drainage 3
Saturday, 2 October 2010 / 10:37
Another down pipe receiver. This down pipe will take the water from the existing South West side of the house as well as some of the new part. The existing one which can be seen nearby goes into a pipe which goes off under the drive and into a pipe which seems to go down the boundary, but I think it’s partially blocked.
Satellite pic – before
This is the Google Earth satellite picture of the house and garden before any work started. I’d guess this was taken in the early Spring of 2010 and, judging by the angle of the shadows, at around 2.30 in the afternoon. The trees are coming into blossom and the shadows are fairly long. The boat is in the front garden (went in about June, I think). The Land Rover is in the drive next to the house where it was worked on for years.
5 Floor tiling
Saturday, 6 September 2014 / 1557
More tiles laid.
Foundations 23
Foundations 24
Tuesday, 7 September 2010 / 18:32
Most of the first course of trench blocks has been laid. Wooden stakes and various bits of metal have been hammered into the ground so that the top of each one is level with the existing damp course level.
The new walls must conform to the latest standard which means that there must be 50 mm of insulation and 50 mm of air gap in the cavity, so they’re 50 mm thicker than the existing walls, making them 300 mm thick.