Author: stephen (Page 48 of 61)

The builders have arrived

May 28, 2013 / stephen

Work started first thing this morning and there is already progress being made. The skip that we had removed last week, has now re-appeared, but this time being paid for the builders.

Scaffolding has started to be erected at the rear of the property, but it will be the end of the week before it is complete. This is in preparation for removing the roof. This should happen next week.

We also had a visit from the engineer from Northern Power Grid. He is looking into the feasibility of providing us with 3 phase electricity for the ground source heat pump. We would also like to re-route the existing single phase supply so that it is not attached the front of the property. It would appear (at least from today’s conversation) that both requests are pretty straightforward. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

I an going to be down in London over the next few days, so it will be Friday before I get to see the house again. I am really looking forward to seeing how much progress they manage to make for the rest of the week.

Day one and the scaffolding has already started to be erected. The roof comes off next week.

Day one and some real progress. Also lots and lots of rain. For once, the weather was great over the Bank holiday but then terrible during the week. Time for me to catch up on some paperwork indoors.

Dry stone walling: Day 24

May 28, 2013 / stephen

We had three great weather days in a row – and over a Bank holiday too! We have now completed 25.5m of wall in the orchard with only another 22m to go to!

Dry stone wall in the orchard

May 26, 2013 / stephen

I guess we must be approaching the half-way mark with the dry stone wall in the orchard. Must be time for a photo. Here’s a (slightly messy) panorama of the progress so far.

This is the current extent of the rebuilt dry stone wall in the orchard at the end of day 23.

Dry stone walling: Day 22 & 23

May 26, 2013 / stephen

Well, the weather over the Bank Holiday weekend has been great so far. With any luck we will end up with 3 good days on the trot. Difficult to believe when Friday’s weather was so cold and wet.

With most of the work done inside of the cottages and the builders due to start next week, our attention has turned back to the dry stone wall in the orchard. It is a real pleasure to work outdoors in such fine weather. With two of us working on it together, we have made significant progress in the last couple of days.

The wall at the start of day 23.

End of day 23. The wall closest to us has just foundation stones, the next section is about 50cms high, the next section is complete but without coping stones and the wall furthest away has coping stones.

Removing the gas meters and gas supply

May 23, 2013 / stephen

There are two gas meters attached to the front of the property – one for number 10, the other for number 8. These need to be removed before the outside of the property can be sand blasted, furthermore the gas supply needs to be cut off entirely if the concrete at the front of the building is going to be removed.

Both of the gas supplies are turned off at the meter and the gas pipe is capped off inside the building (just in case someone opens up the meter box and turns the gas back on). British Gas supply gas to number 10, EDF are the supplier for number 8. A quick call to British Gas a month or so ago sorted out removing the meter – due to happen on 17th June. EDF work in a different way and asked for a local gas fitter to remove the meter and for us to then ring them and they will come and collect it. So far so go.

Capping off the gas supply to the property isn’t quite so simple, although it should only mean digging a hole in the drive (and not the main road). I was told that Transco are responsible for this, but this is not the case. You need to contact your local gas transporter. To find out who this is ring 0870 160 0229 and provide your postcode or have a look at this map.

A quick call to Northern Gas Networks (0845 057 0605) got the ball rolling and I got a call back later in the afternoon to say that the planners had had a look at the maps and the estimated cost would be around £800 and could probably be completed in about 8 weeks time. More expensive and more time. Hopefully, this is not going to hold up any of the building work.

There is a separate charge for reconnecting the gas later on. This can take 10-12 weeks so needs to be planned well in advance.

Clearing out the cottages

May 22, 2013 / stephen

HD9 Construction, the Phase 1 builders, have started to arrive. Some materials and a cement mixer are now stacked in the rear field.

The final bit of fencing has been removed from the rear garden. There was some old corrugated steel sheets leaning up against the fence, but that went to the scrapyard yesterday.

The gas log fire was removed yesterday as well. Although it uses a stainless steel flue, it would appear that the chimney was not swept before the gas fire was fitted. As a result, I got covered in soot when I removed the fire. I had a bit of a “sense of humour failure”. We will put the fire on Ebay in due course. It is better than putting it in the skip.

Later in the day, I went to see our neighbour to let her know that the building work is going to start next week. Top tip – look in the mirror after you have been removing a gas fire – it was covered in soot and I only realised when I got home at the end of the day. Goodness what our neighbour thought!

Dovre 500 gas log fire. It needs a bit of a clean before it goes on Ebay, but it has to be better than putting it in the skip.

Preparing for the builders…..

May 20, 2013 / stephen

With any luck, the builders are due to start next week, so this week it is all about getting ready and finishing off those last-minute jobs. And there are a lot of them!

First job today is to collect up all the scrap and take it to the scrapyard. I had been waiting to take down the porch so that we can add the lead to the haul. With the porch having been demolished this weekend, it is time to go to the scrap yard. Our haul today came to £125. Of which, £30 was the lead flashing from the porch roof.

The temporary orange fencing is becuase some of the corrugated steel sheets are longer than the pickup – even with the tailgate down.

The porch

May 19, 2013 / stephen

Ever since we have owned the property, we have wanted to get rid of the porch. It is a later (much later) addition and has never really fitted in with the rest of the property – white uPVC windows and Welsh slate on the roof doesn’t really help. We have resisted demolishing it until now as it will make the site look like a building site, but with the builders due to start next week, it is time for it to go!

The first job is to remove the gutters and the rainwater pipes to allow access to the roof. Then it is time for the plaster board inside the porch to be removed together with the polystyrene slabs of insulation inside the roof space.

The most difficult job is to remove the slates off the roof. The slates are pretty green and slippery, so climbing on the roof isn’t a great idea. So we removed the slates from the edge of the roof while standing on a set of ladders, then it was a case of climbing on the roof and working from right to left removing the slates as we go while standing on the battens. The slates were pretty damaged and with a small roof like this, there is little point in trying to save them – you might end up with a dozen or so good slates.

With the slates removed, the battens and the felt come off next. Then the underlying timbers are removed.

The double glazed units were a little more of a challenge since they were screwed together before the glass was put in. This means to take it apart requires removing the glass units first. Alternatively, you can prize the units apart and use an angle grinder to cut through the retaining screws.

Here’s the porch before being removed. The dates that we found on the double glazed units when demolitioning it stated that they were manufactured in 1999. I suspect that these were a later addition so this porch has been here for a while. I don’t really understand the two bricks at the base of the retaining wall (next to the steps).

The inside of the porch with the plasterboard ceiling removed. Various bits of polystrene had been put into the roof space to insulate it (in a bit of a half hearted sort of way).

Apparently, it isn’t fair to let an 80 year old climb on the roof. Oh well, I guess, I’ll have to do it. Jo’s dad looks on.

The slates, felt and timber removed. The lead flashing is still attached to the main wall. This will be removed to go to the scrapyard next week.

Slates, felt and timbers have now been removed from the roof of the porch leaving just the double glazed units.

Just the small retaining wall left with the rendering on the inside of the porch. This will get removed before the property is sand blasted.

Update on the tender process

May 18, 2013 / stephen

We have let the contract to the Phase 1 build to HD9 Construction – a local construction company based in Shepley. HD9 Construction have completed a number of projects similar to ours, so they were a good choice for us. More information on HD9 Construction and their projects will be found here.

With any luck the building work will commence before the end of the month which means that the Phase 1 build should complete at the end of July. Exciting times!

Rain and manhole covers

May 16, 2013 / stephen

Yesterday was a terrible day, weatherwise. It rained for most of the day – according to my weather station around 10% of the rainfall that has fallen this year so far, fell yesterday. It stopped (briefly) around 2pm. This gave me an opportunity to pick up some exterior plywood to make up new covers for the manholes on the septic tank.

The existing manholes covers were made of wood and pretty rotten. The one manhole cover protects a drop of around 11ft! This is where the water from the septic target drains into the bottom field. The hole is made up of reinforced concrete rings, but there aren’t any leg irons (metal foot hoops used for climbing out), so if you fell in, it would be difficult to get out. The new covers are made of 18mm exterior ply, so should last a bit longer than the existing covers. A coat of primer and gloss paint will also help.

Given the state of the existing wooden manhole covers, I have put some temporary fencing around the area.

This is the final tank in the system and this is where the waste water drains away into the bottom field. It is around 11ft deep!