Today we have had Paul the roofer and Steve the plumber here. Luckily, it has been a sunny day and so the side they were working on was relatively warm - I did say relatively, it was still flipping chilly, but at one point Paul was actually too hot!
They spent most of the time sorting out the frame on the roof for the solar panels. Unfortunately, because the roof is quite short (down its slope), the panels have to go at the top of the roof so they had to take some of the ridge tiles off, so they could get the top couple of slates off, so they could put in the flashing pieces for the pipes to go through the roof. When we did the roof, we managed to find some old, clay 'hogsback' ridge tiles which were a really good match for the originals at the slavage yard and, luckily, they had exactly the right number. This of course means we have no spares, so the pressure was on a bit for Paul to get them off without breaking them. He managed it, but we had really done too good a job of sticking them down so it did take a long time. It was not very nice seeing someone rip up our hard work, and, having been so careful about everything, seeing things put back differently. We were waiting for some clever method of re-attaching slates in the middle of a roof (normally, the nails are covered by the slate above which stops water getting in), but the magic method is silicone or 'Pink Grip'! Bit of a disappointment, but I guess you can't see it once done. Don't get me wrong, he didn't bodge anything, it is just builders' ways which are, by necessity, different to ours.
Another niggle, and one we will definitely have to do something about, is the rubber seal on the flashing for the pipes. It's bright orange! I don't know if they do them in grey or black for on a slate roof, but we have orange. They actually look like comedy plastic boobs sat on the roof! Anyone old enough to have watched Kenny Everet will know exactly what I mean. I did spend yesterday afternoon carefully crafting a piece of lead to go over the top to hide it, but it's actually the bottom you see most, so that's no good. Think we'll have to find some paint that you can put on rubber and do that.
On another subject, this morning we woke up to no water for the first time. Not bad going I suppose. So, no shower, teeth cleaning, cuppa or anything and only one flush between us! All we had was the water from my hot water bottle which was still quite nice and warm for a quick wash and also meant the chickens could have a drink. The weak point in our water system is the outside tap which is near the mains and the junction for caravan water. Although it is insulated, it is a bit vulnerable and I guess with prolonged -10 temperatures the freeze travels further and further down until last night it reached the caravan branch. So, half an hour warming pipes with a hairdryer and hot air gun did the trick - just what you need before breakfast! We have made sure it is defrosted now though so that tonight the freeze will have to start all over again and hopefully won't get as far as the caravan bit. Might put a jug of water in the fridge tonight though for teeth cleaning, etc. I know that sounds silly, but I think the fridge is probably warmer at 4 degrees than the caravan at night!
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