Da daah! Screed is finished!!

Woo hoo!! We've finished all the screed.  That's all we seem to have done for the last few weeks, so we're quite pleased to have finished it all.  We got quite a rhythm going with Bob doing the mixing and me laying and levelling it and managed to keep time with each other quite well.  Each room took most of a day (the kitchen is bigger so we did that in two halves) so by the end of the day Bob's shoulders and back ached from shovelling and barrowing and I just ached . . . . everywhere!  I could hardly walk.  I reckon though if we did this for a living and were doing it all the time, we'd get used to it.  I didn't feel anywhere near as bad the last couple of times and recovered much quicker too. 

That also means that all the underfloor heating is now in - and we've tested all the cables and they still work which is quite a relief!  We now have to leave it alone for 6-8 weeks while the screed dries out and hardens thoroughly and naturally - apparently switching the underfloor heating on to dry it quickly doesn't do it much good (tempting though it may be).  The electrician is coming to do the first fix in about three weeks, so we couldn't actually switch it on yet even if we wanted to.

Also installed in the screed is the gas pipe for the hob.  As there is no gas in the village we will have to use bottled LPG, so we will have gas hob and electric oven.  We actually went and chose the cooker yesterday which I thought was really exciting - not sure Bob was quite so excited somehow.  Back to the pipe - I have been a bit paranoid about forgetting to put the pipe in, hence the sign on the cardboard box which has been getting in our way for the last few weeks.   Now you might think it'd be hard to forget something like that, but far worse has been known believe me!  When the builder was here digging the trenches for the extension, we bought a reel of blue pipe to connect the mains water under the foundations and planned to run the mains electric under the foundations to the meter box.  All week we were moving that roll of blue pipe out of the way, stepping over it and around it.  I expect you can guess what I'm about to say.  At the end of the week the builder finished laying the foundations (thick concrete under blocks and bricks) and we had had a tidy up and were standing surveying the week's progress Bob suddenly said, in a very calm voice, 'We haven't put the water or electric under the foundations' .  We just couldn't believe what we'd done, how could we all have forgotten such a major thing and how the hell were we going to put it right?!  Speechless is what we were.  Speechless is also what the builder was when we rang him.  The water pipe has to be well underground so it doesn't freeze, so we couldn't just take a couple of blocks out and run it through which is what we did with the electric. 

We did eventually get that water pipe in, but it was rather traumatic and at one point we were both sat on the edge of the hole just about ready to cry.   To cut a long story (yep it took us all day) short, Bob dug a hole in the floor, solid rock under that bit of foundation, we drilled with Dad's SDS drill as far as that would go, hired a huge drill with a 15" drill bit and a bit to extend that so we could get through the whole 30".  Leaning down into the bottom of the trench (so at arms length) drilled with the big bit as far as it would go, undo the bit (while it's still under the wall - awkward), attach the extension piece then re-attach the drill (very awkward) then drill further (no room to push easily, so me sat at one side of the trench pulling on the drill with my feet and Bob pushing from the other).  We got it to within 2" and it just would not go any further, so managed to pull it all out taking it apart as we went (very awkward) and whacked a great big metal rod through the hole and that broke through to the other side.  'Yeah!' we thought . . . . . metal rod completely stuck in the hole, so another half hour trying to free that.  Finally managed it, but thought we should just put the drill through to make the hole round and clean it up.  Drilled through re-assembling as we went (very awkward), but managed it.  'Yeah' we thought  . . . . now, the man in the hire shop said the couplings on these drills are designed to be awkward to undo (we had certainly found that out by now) on purpose . . . . so how did it undo itself in the middle of the hole as we pulled it out leaving the drill bit stuck under the foundation and not visible from either end?!!!!!  This is the point where we were ready to cry.  Anyway, we eventually managed to tap the bit through from one side enough to attach the drill using finger tips and get it out.  Sorry, that didn't really cut the long story short!  So, you can now understand my paranoia about not forgetting pipes!

Two eggs . . . .now only two chickens

Yes, sad news I'm afraid.  Our Sid gave up on her happy life yesterday.  As always when you  think back you could say she wasn't quite her usual mischievous self the last few days and  I had asked Molly a couple of times what she'd done with Sid because they were always bumbling around together but yesterday Sid was pottering by herself while Molly and Elvis explored and inspected our work.  But not really anything obvious to worry about.  Then Bob went to shut them in the run while we went for a walk round the block and he had to coax Sid from under the trailer and when she got to the run she had a sort of fit and her comb turned blue and that was the end of that!

She was still being mischievous even after she died though!  When the other two died, they went stiff as boards really quickly.  Sid stayed floppy for ages though.  We had few minutes looking at her and saying 'Ahh, poor Sid', then Bob went and dug a hole and I carried her down to it and put her in the hole thinking it strange that she was still floppy and warm.  Then when it came time to cover her up we both had the horrible thought that perhaps she wasn't actually dead!  What if we buried her and she was still alive?  Of course she was dead, but there was just that niggle.  So, we took her back out again and laid her down and went for our walk.  When we got back she had gone stiff and we both felt a bit silly . . . . . she's a little monkey!

I think we'll probably miss Sid more than the others.  Right from day one she has always been a real character, always the one to try things first, get into mischief or sticky situations and just so funny with it.  Not long after we got them, Sid was being quite nasty to Molly so we shut her in the workshop so she could have a quiet think and mend her ways.  After about 10 minutes we went to let her out.  We couldn't find her anywhere.  We could just hear soft little chicken noises.  We looked behind the bandsaw, under the bench, in all the boxes, everywhere.  Then I looked up, and there she was, just about as high up as she could get in the roof.  Stuck!  I really don't know how she got up there and she really didn't know how she was going to get down!  We wanted her to find her own way down as part of her personal development programme, but in the end we had to put a piece of wood as a ramp from where she is in the picture to the beam and she walked down that, but she wouldn't jump down onto the bench.  So I held up piece of wood and she climbed onto that and I lowered her down onto the bench (like a chicken stairlift!) and finally she found her way down from there.  What a palaver!

Another time she went missing completely.  Laura, Bob and I looked for her for about an hour and a half in the pouring rain.  All the way up the lane, down the track, all over the woods either side, in all the barns, the house, the caravan, under cars and trailers . . . .everywhere at least four times, calling out to her, but no sign at all.  Just about to give up, we were all standing in the wriggly barn wondering what to do and thinking about foxes when an upturned washing up bowl moved along the floor.  Yep, there she was.  The bowl had been propped up against a box and she'd obviously knocked it down on top of herself.  Then I guess because it was dark under there, she must have gone to sleep which is why she didn't answer when we called.  She looked quite indignant as she stalked away wondering why we were laughing at her!

Yep, we'll miss her!

Floor screed

Well, I'm afraid laying screed doesn't seem to get any quicker.  The good news is that I don't ache quite so much as I did after laying it - still can't really walk properly, but not quite so bad!  We did the floor in the oak bedroom and it took just as long as the first lot - it was smoother though so that's good.  We then did the second layer in the padded cell.  Did I explain that the end barn had to be tanked because it is built into the hillside, so the walls are covered in dimpled white plastic attached by red plastic 'buttons', so it does look like a padded cell.  I'm on the lookout for a straight jacket now!

Yesterday we did the screed in what will be the lounge . . . . it took absolutely ages and it was dark before we'd cleared away!  I have to admit that one of the main problems was that the concrete we'd laid was not very level which makes it awkward to level the screed.  Then the piece of wood I was using to level off had was bowed and followed the dip in the floor so the first strip of screed followed that dip and it took me ages to work out why I couldn't get the next strip to level with it, and then a while to sort it out.  Then just as we'd done that, Elvis came to have  a look!   I got up to shoo her out but she doubled back behind me and left her mark on my lovely smooth screed!   Aaarghh!  I was not best pleased, but really it was quite funny.

So, today we had 4 tonnes of sand delivered and another 28 bags of cement and all the time we were unloading it I kept thinking 'oh no, we are going to have to mix, shovel and lay all this!' .  We had to move some of the sand because it was completely blocking the bridleway so we got shovels and started but after about 5 shovelfuls each we just looked at each other and shook our heads.  We were just so tired after yesterday, it was really hard work.  We did clear enough space for a horse to get through though.  We have also had a bit of a tidy up and cleared the stone extension - that's our next floor to do.  Now that the floor is hard in the oak bedroom we have put everything in there (on pallets so the floor can continue to dry out).  I don't think we will be doing then next lot of screed until Monday, so hopefully we'll feel a bit more energetic by then!

Two eggs!!

Yes, we had TWO eggs yesterday!  Quite an event.  Elvis has been laying a lovely brown egg every day without fail . . . . . . and Molly continues to claim it as her own, hanging around until Elvis leaves the nest box and then settling herself onto it as though she'd done all the hard work!  A couple of days ago someone laid an egg behind the wheelie bin which then got eaten by the others!  But yesterday whoever it was laid the egg in the hen house.

Back to just one egg again today though, so perhaps it was just too much effort.  Or perhaps it was such a surprise after all this time that the shock put them off the idea?  Anyway, the extra egg has been duly turned into a quiche to take to Ben and his girlfriend Lucy when we visit them tomorrow in their new home.

Nice timber cladding

We finally finished the chestnut cladding with some extra timber we collected yesterday.  Freshly sawn it looks lovely and bright and clean, so I'm happy with that bit and so could take a photo!  This side was really fiddly to do.  Because it butts up to the stone wall, we had to cut the end of each board to fit in and around each stone.  We bought a tile profiler - the gadget that you hold against the wall and push the pins across until they touch all the ins and outs then use that to draw round onto your tiles or, in this case, wood.  We did buy two because you are supposed to be able to join them together which would have been really handy.  Having read the extensive instructions (all one and a half lines) about a hundred times and fiddled for an hour, we couldn't see how to join them at all so had to make do with a single one.  We drew the profile onto card - much easier to keep offering the end of a Stella box up to the wall than a 10ft plank - then when we were happy translated it onto the wood.  This whole process is very time-consuming (made worse by having to walk all the way round the building and back up the path each time any sawing needed doing - so much easier if you could just saw the wood right next to, and on the same level, as the building you are working on!  Guess it keeps us fit!).  It was worth it though as there is quite a snug fit between the two buildings (and some squirty foam from the inside sould seal any gaps).

We have laid the first lot of underfloor heating - quite exciting, it feels warmer in there already!  Only joking, it's not connected to anything!  Dad was able to lend a hand which was useful as we hadn't a clue what we were doing and he has, having had a similar system in their house for quite a few years.  This is a bit of a leap of faith - electric underfloor heating seems to be quite rare as most people have pipes filled with hot water heated by gas or ground/air source heat pumps.  We don't have enough of the right sort of ground for ground source (or the right sort of money for a borehole for groundsource) and all our extensive research into airsource just threw up problems.  This system will run overnight on cheap electricity, so shouldn't be too expensive to run.  I don't know anyone who monitors so closely the energy consumption of their house as Dad and I can't imagine he would be so happy with it as he is if it wasn't economical and so I'm putting my faith in him!  No pressure there then Dad!

On Tuesday we helped some neighbours put in their staircase.  They are doing the same as us and living in a caravan while they renovate an old cottage and barns, but are further on than us.  Again this was a job I thought we'd finish by lunchtime, but we were still at it at teatime and nowhere near finished.  The stairs turn two corners, have six newel posts and had to fit in a tight space, so it was really awkward.  The upstairs floorboards were also in and overlength which made for a fair amount of fiddling around before we could start.  The staight bit of stairs were ready assembled, but all the rest had to be assembled in situ.  A right jigsaw it was too with several pieces all having to go in at the same time - good job there were five of us!  When  we drove past yesterday, there was smoke coming from their chimney for the first time . . . . . not fair!  They've got their woodburner in and working!

So, tomorrow we are laying screed again.  This time on top of the underfloor heating in the oak frame room.  Let's hope it's a bit quicker than the first lot . . . . . . I'm not saying we might finish by lunchtime again though!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, yesterday was my birthday and so as a special treat I was allowed to lay the screed on one of the floors!  It was actually my idea not Bob's - he's not that much of a slave driver!  I didn't think it'd take quite as long as it did though - I thought we'd be done by lunchtime and could have the rest of the day off!  Ha, ha!!  By the time we had done all the bits and bobs it was nearly lunchtime.  Once again, this was a learning experience and so took longer than it probably should.  As far as I can tell though, it looks pretty smooth and level which will make laying the floorboards or tiles much easier, so probably worth spending a bit of time to get it right.  Next one should be quicker . . . . I hope. 

We finished at about 5.30pm just as our friends arrived, so a chaotic clear up and guided tour for them then a bit of a relax and a beer in the caravan opening presents and cards.  Then off to the pub in the next village for a much needed and very tasty meal followed by a few glasses of wine back here in the caravan.  Their van-bedroom looked quite snug and comfortable and apparently they slept really well.  They had a 'lugga-loo' in the van too, but we persuaded them to save that for when they were desparate!

We have done about two-thirds of the chestnut cladding, but have now run out of timber.  Hopefully we can get some more on Monday to finish off.  Just had a look and I haven't actually taken any photos of it yet.  Strange?  I think it might be because I was a little disappointed that the wood had gone a bit mouldy from being stacked in the wet.  Kicking ourselves for not thinking about it - we could even have stacked it in the house and kept it nice and dry.  So, instead of it being beautiful glowing wood, it looks a bit manky.  We're hoping it won't look so bad once it's dried out, but in any case longer term once it has greyed a bit you won't notice it.  What a shame - but I will take a photo, promise!

I've broken two finger nails!

Can you believe it, all this building work and I don't think I've broken a nail (and they're actually quite long for a builder!), then I break two in one day!  One was picking up a pencil from the toolbox and the other tucking in a throw on the setee!!!

Well, in between the weather, we've got all the layers except the chestnut cladding on the oak-frame bit including first-fix electrics.  It actually looks a bit like a real room in there - that's if you close one eye, squint, look in the right direction and ignore the chickens.  At the moment, the outside is covered in black plastic which is just as well because it rained so much last night that we had a moat all around the extension when we got up.  Bob has always said he'd like a moat and drawbridge, but I don't think he actually meant here!  The next couple of day's forecast looks OK so hopefully we will be able to put the waterproof breather membrane on, then battens and then get on with the cladding.  The membrane is really bright Simpsons yellow, so that'll look nice won't it?  It'll be an incentive to cover it quickly with the chestnut. 

I left a message for future renovators under the plywood exterior.  Funny, no-one can imagine the house they're living in and especially one they're building or renovating ever falling down, but I guess the people who built this cottage and those who lived in it for nearly 200 years could imagine it in the state it was when we bought it.  So, this message is just in case that ever happens again.  We would have been so excited to find a note or something from someone who'd worked on the house years ago.

We did some useful shopping and research during the monsoons this week and have bought some slate floor tiles for the bathroom (reduced), seen some tiles (also reduced) for behind the cooker, found a bath we quite like (half price) and also some lights for in the kitchen (can't remember if they were reduced or not).  We've also booked the plumber and electrician for mid-November which gives us quite a challenge.  Before they can get on, we will have to lay all the underfloor heating, screed all the floors and put up most of the studwork (partition walls and on the outside walls which have to be insulated).  At least none of that is weather dependent (nice to be able to mix the screed without having to stand out in the rain though), so we should just be able to get on with it.

We've just heard from some friends from where we used to live to say they are touring Wales for a few days and are calling here on Friday.  That's my birthday, so good excuse to go out for something to eat and a few beers.  They have a passion wagon (well, a van with a bed in the back) so, if they can find anywhere level to park, they can stay the night - or they could always kip in the caravan.  Mum and Dad are also coming for a few days from Sunday.  After staying for a week in horrible, freezing, foggy weather the first winter we were here, they now opt for bargain breaks at the local Travel Lodge!  One day we may actually be able to accommodate people comfortably which will be so nice.

Something to make you smile - yesterday our new neighbour from down the lane walked past with her dog on a lead and pushing a pushchair.  Didn't know she had a baby.  She doesn't - one of their three dogs, an alsation, only has three legs and has arthritis in two of the remaining ones . . . . . so she takes it for a walk in a pushchair!