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!