Hagg Leys Farm

Author: stephen (Page 20 of 61)

Removing the traces of the old conservatory

January 16, 2014 /

There was a white uPVC conservatory on the back of the building when we bought it.  There was a lead flashing along the edge of the roofline that had been cut into the original stonework.  Unfortunately, this left an upside down “V” cut into the stonework.  We had a go at pointing the grooves, but they were still very obvious.

We decided to replaced the marked stones with spare ones that we had sandblasted recently. By the time, these new stones have been pointed in, it will be hard to tell where these stones have been replaced.

Just the brick base of the conservatory remains. The outside wall had not been plastered, but plasterboard had been attached. This is a result as it is easily removed and should leave little trace.

Just the brick base of the conservatory remains, but you can see the outline of where the roof had been.

The new rear doors really do let a lot of light into the building. The second pair of doors will be installed on Friday.

The conservatory is now all gone, however, you can the marks left along the old roofline of the conservatory..

There was a uPVC conservatory on this part of the building and the lead flashing had been fitted into the stonework. Unfortunately, this had left an upside down "V" shape cut into the stone. We have replaced each of the stones with ones without the groove cut in them.

There was a uPVC conservatory on this part of the building and the lead flashing had been fitted into the stonework. Unfortunately, this had left an upside down “V” shape cut into the stone. We have replaced each of the stones with ones without the groove cut in them.

Spring has arrived early

January 16, 2014 /

It has been very mild (and wet) over the past month or so.

The result?  Some of the plants think that it is spring already!

Spring seems to have arrived early this year. Jo planted this last year after we had finished this section of dry stone wall.

Spring seems to have arrived early this year. Jo planted this last year after we had finished this section of dry stone wall.

First milestone with home automation

January 14, 2014 /

Yep, we managed to turn our first set of lights on today.  We have installed around 25 lighting circuits in the older part of the property and today we managed to use the Loxone kit to power up the lights.

It was right at the end of a long day, so we only had 10-15 minutes to try it out.  But we had 80% of the lighting circuits working in our first attempt!  We haven’t got any of the light switches installed, so we were using an iPad to wander around the building turning the different lights on and off.  I know it sounds trivial, but this is a major step forward!

Tomorrow we will try to get the rest of the lights working in this part of the building.

Ignore the ladder! This is a major milestone - the lights in Jo's office turned on via an iPad. We haven't installed any light switches yet, but the Loxone system allows us to turn the lights on in the old part of the building.

Ignore the ladder! This is a major milestone – the lights in Jo’s office turned on via an iPad. We haven’t installed any light switches yet, but the Loxone system allows us to turn the lights on in the old part of the building.

Second set of bi-folding doors fitted

January 14, 2014 /

We have two sets of bi-folding doors and they were met to be fitted before Christmas.  The first set were installed fine.  The second set unfortunately had been mis-measured and were 300mm too big.  There was no alternative, they needed to be re-made.  The mistake (fortunately) was down to the supplier and after a brief discussion they agreed to re-make the doors at their cost.

The re-made doors were installed (very successfully) today. It only took a couple of hours and we are really impressed with the results.  The front elevation of the new extension certainly looks a lot better!

Here's the opening in the master bedroom before the bifolding doors are installed. Ignore the fact that the back garden looks like a building site - the views are great.

Here’s the opening in the master bedroom before the bifolding doors are installed. Ignore the fact that the back garden looks like a building site – the views are great.

The builders are finishing off the pointing on this elevation of the extension while the frames for the bi-folding doors are being installed.

The builders are finishing off the pointing on this elevation of the extension while the frames for the bi-folding doors are being installed.

The bi-folding doors certainly improve the appearance of the front elevation of the new extension.

The bi-folding doors certainly improve the appearance of the front elevation of the new extension.

Carbon monoxide detectors

January 14, 2014 /

The building inspector came around yesterday and everything went well.  We have one more visit due.  This is when the building work is all finished. Usually before moving in.

On his way out, he mentioned that one of the things that they would check on final completion would be the carbon monoxide detectors.  Apparently, we need a carbon monoxide detector in every room where there is a solid fuel stove.  It can’t be a standalone one (those cheap battery operated units), but must be connected into the same circuit as the smoke detectors.

This is a bit of problem since some of the ceilings have now been plastered.  The electricians have had to cut a couple of holes in the ceiling to pull a new set of cables through.  It could have been worse – the rooms could have been decorated!

Progress with home automation

January 14, 2014 /

Well, we have the Loxone system installed.  There is power to the units in the older part of the building. This will be only half of the system as the other half will be installed in the plant room in the new extension.  But with this half of the system powered up, we can get the system configured.

The configuration was done over the weekend. The electrician has connected each of the lighting circuits to the Loxone system.  I then mapped all of the lighting circuits against the rooms in which there are installed.  The lighting circuits do not have any power to them and the light switches haven’t been installed.  However, we can use the interface on the iPad to turn the lighting circuits on and off.  Although there is no power to the circuits, you can hear the relays (the electronic switches) clicking on and off.

Using the interface on the iPad helps to confirm that the configuration is correct.  It also helps highlight any lighting circuits that haven’t been assigned to a room.

The next stage is to connect the light fittings and then we will be able to turn lights on and off using the iPad.  Then we can get the light switches installed.

Here are all of the rooms configured for the lights in the older part of the property. You can see there are two lighting circuits in Bedroom 2 (shown on the right) - beam spots and bedside lamps. These can be turned on and off using the web interface. The iPad interface is identical.

Here are all of the rooms configured for the lights in the older part of the property. You can see there are two lighting circuits in Bedroom 2 (shown on the right) – beam spots and bedside lamps. These can be turned on and off using the web interface. The iPad interface is identical.

First fix in the extension

January 14, 2014 /

The first fix plumbing and electrics are now complete in the new extension.  This means that we can start on the plastering in this part of the building.  While we haven’t quite finished in the older part of the property, we have gone as far as we can for the time being.  We need to install more of the metal work in the hallway so that the plaster boards can be fixed.  This system of metal work is something that is seen more in the retail industry (used by shop fitters in retail units) than in domestic properties.  However, it is a good way of both straightening up the walls as well as provide insulation (on a wall without a cavity).  We are using a system called GypLyner.

We had another pallet of plaster boards delivered yesterday.  One pallet = 72 sheets of plaster board.  I daresay that we will need more before we are finished.  We had another 50 bags of plaster delivered too.  It is amazing where all these materials go – they arrive in a massive pile, but then they just seem to disappear inside the building!

This is the GypLyner metal frame system. You can see the old (solid) wall behind. Insulated plasterboard is screwed to the metal framework. The plasterboard is then plastered. Here we are using plasterboard that has 50mm of insulation attached to the back.

This is the GypLyner metal frame system. You can see the old (solid) wall behind. Insulated plasterboard is screwed to the metal framework. The plasterboard is then plastered. Here we are using plasterboard that has 50mm of insulation attached to the back.

Balcony into the kitchen

January 13, 2014 /
All of the three openings have been created into the kitchen - the doorway from the hall, the internal window from the hall and the upper balcony from Jo's office.

All of the three openings have been created into the kitchen – the doorway from the hall, the internal window from the hall and the upper balcony from Jo’s office.

The first floor opening into the kitchen had been created.  We have now fixed the two pieces of oak in place that make up the balcony.  These have been made from spare pieces of oak that we had on site.  There are grooves in the oak top and bottom. This is to hold the toughened 10mm glass in place.  All of this wall will be boarded and plastered.  Only the two pieces of oak will be left showing.

 

Scaffolding has gone

January 9, 2014 /

Despite the mud and poor weather, we managed to get a large truck on site today to pick up the scaffolding.  We took this down before Christmas and we have been tripping over it ever since!  There was a lot of it and now that it has gone you can start to see a difference in the overall site.  It won’t be long and the back field will start looking like a field again!

We are now in the final stages of the outside work. There really is only pointing left to do. Today, the scaffolding was collected and this has cleaned up the site tremendously. We still have so cleaning up to do, but there was a awful lot of scaffolding piled up in the back field.

We are now in the final stages of the outside work. There really is only pointing left to do. Today, the scaffolding was collected and this has cleaned up the site tremendously. We still have so cleaning up to do, but there was a awful lot of scaffolding piled up in the back field.

Leak found in the underfloor

January 9, 2014 /

We have found the leak under the floor in one of the downstairs bathrooms.  This has entailed digging up some of the newly laid screed, but it is better to find it now than after the floor has been tiled.

The floor in one of the sownstairs bathrooms did not dry out over the Christmas period despite the underfloor heathing being on. We suspected that there might have been a leak in the underfloor pipework. This week we have had to dig out the area of floor screed to find the leak.

The floor in one of the sownstairs bathrooms did not dry out over the Christmas period despite the underfloor heathing being on. We suspected that there might have been a leak in the underfloor pipework. This week we have had to dig out the area of floor screed to find the leak.

The pressure in the underfloor heating had remained constant over the Christmas period, so we concluded that it was unlikely to be the cause of the leak. As soon as we turn off the water, the floor started to dry out. The leak had to be on one of the hot or cold feeds. Turns out it was the hot feed (the pipe on the left) to the hand basin. Both the T joint and a section of pipe were replaced.

The pressure in the underfloor heating had remained constant over the Christmas period, so we concluded that it was unlikely to be the cause of the leak. As soon as we turn off the water, the floor started to dry out. The leak had to be on one of the hot or cold feeds. Turns out it was the hot feed (the pipe on the left) to the hand basin. Both the T joint and a section of pipe were replaced.

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