Hagg Leys Farm

Author: stephen (Page 56 of 61)

New chain for the chainsaw

February 22, 2013 /

I have gotten into the habit of sharpening the chain on the chainsaw every time I fill it up with petrol.  However, on the last couple of occasions, the chain hasn’t stayed sharp for very long.  You can tell from the sawdust that it produces – it more resembles dust rather than the long wood chips that are normally produced with  a sharp chainsaw.  On the basis that it wasn’t holding it’s sharpness, I have bought a new chain.  I can fit it myself and a new one only cost £10 on eBay.

The last chain was installed back in November, so has lasted just over three months.  But it has had a lot of use (and not all on trees!).

Wow, just used it for the first time with the new chain.  What a difference!  I guess the chain dulls over time and you don’t notice how much worse the cutting power is as it happens slowly over a period of time.  I shouldn’t have persevered so long before changing it – much quicker and much safer to use.

4th shed removed

February 16, 2013 /

The last of the 4 sheds was demolished today.  All of them were of a similar design and having taken 4 of them apart, we are getting quite well-practiced at taking them apart.  Take all the glass and metal out of the shed. Take the ridge off the roof.  Take the roof off.  Then the sides of the shed dismantle.  Use a chainsaw to cut some of the panels in half, if they are too heavy.  Put all the wood on the bonfire, everything else goes in the skip. Today, it took just three hours to take this one down.

Once the shed was gone, we could get to the triangular piece of ground behind the shed – lots of old chicken wire and an old steel bath were waiting to greet us!  This little piece of land was dominated by holly and an old rotten alder tree.  We spent a good couple of hours clearing this area out, but by the end of the day, there was still more to do – probably another 2-3 hours work here to clear out the rest of the undergrowth and reveal what is left of the dry stone wall.  This part of the wall should (I say “should”) line up with the other part of the wall that I have been building in the orchard.  However, much of this wall was covered with brambles and undergrowth, so when I set up the original line of the wall, there was a little bit of guess-work going on.  Once all this undergrowth is cleared away we will be able to see the entire length of the wall and will be able to tell exactly how accurately lined up the new wall is!

The 4th and final shed bites the dust.

The 4th and final shed bites the dust.

With shed #4 dismantled, we can start on clearing out the rubbish from behind the shed.

With shed #4 dismantled, we can start on clearing out the rubbish from behind the shed.

We found various things behind the sheed including this old steel bath

We found various things behind the shed including this old steel bath

This little triangular patch of land is dominated by holly and an old rotten alder tree

This little triangular patch of land is dominated by holly and an old rotten alder tree

Now largely cleared out, but still some way to go. I had to sharpen the chainsaw twice during the day!

Now largely cleared out, but still some way to go. I had to sharpen the chainsaw twice during the day!

Stripping out – the upstairs in the smaller cottage

February 11, 2013 /

There was a stud partition on the end wall containing rockwool.  Since this end of the building faces onto the prevailing wind, I assume that there had had problems with either cold or damp (or both) penetrating this wall.  As soon as we stripped off the plasterboard, you could tell that it was damp.  Although the rockwool and the outer plasterboard were fine, the stone wall was damp to the touch.  Many years ago, it seems to have had a coat of black bitumen paint which had then been wall-papered over (many times).  There was even a football poster still pasted to the wall – Denis Law and Gordon Banks – looks like it is from the 1970’s.  It was damp, but still in one piece.

We took the last remnants of plasterboard over the main beams up stairs, we took the remaining ceilings down downstairs and then finally took up the chipboard floor upstairs.  It had been very poorly laid in the first place, but a plumber had then cut the boards to install central heating.  It was a complete mess.  It took longer than we thought to take it up, but less time that we thought to burn it on the bonfire!

Last job of the day was to remove as much of the pipework and wires for scrap and have a generally tidy up.

The stud work and the rockwool removed to reveail a rather damp end wall that had be painted (long ago) with black bitumen paint.

The stud work and the rockwool removed to reveal a rather damp end wall that had be painted (long ago) with black bitumen paint.

Football stars from the 1970s pasted to the wall behind the partition.

Football stars from the 1970s pasted to the wall behind the partition.

The floor has now be removed. Horrible tongue and groove chipboard that had been very badly treated by whoever put in the central heating.

The floor has now be removed. Horrible tongue and groove chipboard that had been very badly treated by whoever put in the central heating.

The wooden from the floor and the ceilings ends up on a bonfire at the end of the day.

The wooden from the floor and the ceilings ends up on a bonfire at the end of the day.

Shed #3 bites the dust

February 9, 2013 /

The weather today was ok.  No rain, no snow and just about 3 degrees Centigrade.  So it was time to start looking at removing the two sheds in the orchard.  The large shed behind the outbuildings needs to go as this is where the polytunnel is going to go.  This shed is twice the size as those that we removed previously, so we knew that it was going to be a bigger job than before.

This is the third one that we have taken down, so we have worked out the best approach.  Firstly, you need to remove all of the metal and glass before attempting to dismantle.  Next the ridge needs to be removed from the roof.  Often this is key to holding the two sides of the roof together.  Next each side of the roof is slid off and the asphalt is stripped off.  With the roof gone, it is straightforward to use a chainsaw to cut up the panels.  Originally, we had tried to un-bolt the panels, but this proved difficult as many of the bolts were very rusty.  The final stage is to tip up the base and cut it into pieces.

Metal, glass and asphalt goes in the skip.  The wood goes on the bonfire.

Shed #3: Just behind the outbuildings and the largest (20ft x 8ft) of all the sheds on the property

Shed #3: Just behind the outbuildings and the largest (20ft x 8ft) of all the sheds on the property

Steel toe caps. Well it is Valentine's day next week!

Steel toe caps. Well it is Valentine’s day next week!

With the roof removed, it is fairly easy to dismantle with the aid of a chainsaw. You need to be carefully not to hit any nails or other metal, but otherwise it is a simple job. Removing the asphalt from the roof is a little more time consuming.

With the roof removed, it is fairly easy to dismantle with the aid of a chainsaw. You need to be carefully not to hit any nails or other metal, but otherwise it is a simple job. Removing the asphalt from the roof is a little more time consuming.

Once the roof is removed the rest of the shed comes down fairly easily. The real problem is the size of the panels that makes them too heavy to carry and these need to but cut up into smaller pieces. Again, a chainsaw comes in handy!

Once the roof is removed the rest of the shed comes down fairly easily. The real problem is the size of the panels that makes them too heavy to carry and these need to but cut up into smaller pieces. Again, a chainsaw comes in handy!

It is starting to get dark, so it must be time to go to the pub. Once all the remnants of the shed have been removed, the base will need to be put on it's side and cut into pieces before it goes on the bonfire.

It is starting to get dark, so it must be time to go to the pub. Once all the remnants of the shed have been removed, the base will need to be put on it’s side and cut into pieces before it goes on the bonfire.

Stripping out – downstairs in the smaller cottage

February 4, 2013 /

Having started on the downstairs by removing the kitchen, the next job was to remove the fire place in the lounge.  The existing fireplace surround was built of stone and probably dates to the 1970’s.  This was quickly removed as was the gas fire itself.  The stone from the fireplace surround will be used in the dry stone wall in the orchard – as long as we don’t use the flat edges in the front face of the wall, we should get away using this stone. It would be a shame to throw it in the skip.

Once the gas fire was removed, it revealed an old cast iron back boiler that seems to have been used for heating the cottage and the hot water.  There was a circulation pump hidden to the side of the fire. I think this was disused once the central heating was installed.    All of this was fairly easily removed.  The rest of the fireplace seemed to be packed with a mixture of engineering bricks and rubble.  This was all mixed up with a fair amount of soot!  However, once it was all removed the fireplace is very clean and you can see right up to the sky through the chimney pot.

The fireplace surround is made up of solid stone – two large pillars with a large stone beam across the top.

The original 1970's gas fireplace

The original 1970’s gas fireplace

Gas fire now gone to reveal the old cast iron back boiler

Gas fire now gone to reveal the old cast iron back boiler

Fireplace cleaned out. There are a couple of spots of water in the hearth where the rain has come in via the chimney pot

Fireplace cleaned out. There are a couple of spots of water in the hearth where the rain has come in via the chimney pot

Stripping out – the kitchen

February 4, 2013 /

This weekend we turned our attentions to the downstairs.  The kitchen was first to be removed, including all of the tiles (which were floor to ceiling).  Once the main stop cock was exposed, we removed the pipe and installed a stand pipe – at least we now have water in the property – even if it is in a bucket!  The stop cock in this cottage controls the water to the cottage next door, so we haven’t had any water for the past couple of weeks.  The boiler was fairly easily removed as is this hooked onto the wall.  The gas to the property is now turned off and the gas pipe coming into the cottage has been capped off.  The last job in the kitchen was to take down the ceiling (revealing some bright yellow ceiling joists).

The kitchen units were a mixture of old and new units and went on a bonfire.  Too expensive to use up valuable “skip space” and there is surprisingly little ash left. The wall tiles were ceiling to floor and a hideous 1970’s patterned tile.  These had been painted over in cream with random red and blue tiles mixed in.  This wasn’t much of an improvement!

All of the pipework was removed and the wiring also came out without too much trouble.  So all in all, this is pretty much stripped bare.

The kitchen as it was

The kitchen as it was

Halfway to removing the kitchen

Halfway to removing the kitchen

Sink and boiler now gone

Sink and boiler now gone

The kitchen ceiling now removed to reveal brigh yellow joists

The kitchen ceiling now removed to reveal bright yellow joists

More stripping out

February 4, 2013 /
Shower - the disabled seat went via Freecycle

Shower – the disabled seat went via Freecycle

We have spent the past couple of weekends stripping out one of the cottages.  The upstairs is now pretty much done in the smaller of the two cottages.  The bathroom was the only thing left upstairs and that was removed last weekend.  The bathroom had a disabled shower  and we were pleased that we managed to find the shower seat a new home.  This went very quickly via Freecycle (www.freecycle.net) as did a spare double bed and mattress.  I can see us using this as a method for getting rid of a lot of surplus stuff.

The flooring upstairs is tongue and groove chipboard and is in a terrible state – it hadn’t been laid very well in the first place and then a plumber seems to have hacked it about when installing the central heating.  I have a funny feeling that this is going to need to be taken up and replaced. However, we need to finish off removing everything upstairs before removing the flooring.

The bathroom itself had a built-in shower tray and once this was removed, there was a hole in the floor.  The shower appears to have leaked over time and the chipboard had rotted.  The wall tiles were not too much of a challenge and came off fairly easily – mostly a whole tile at a time.  Once the floor has been taken up, we will remove all of the pipework.

Existing bathroom - shower to picture right

Existing bathroom – shower to picture right

Just the bathroom now left upstairs

Just the bathroom now left upstairs

The bathroom now gone - partition removed. Shower, toilet and basin in the skip.

The bathroom now gone – partition removed. Shower, toilet and basin in the skip.

Weather

January 23, 2013 /

Well, the weather this week hasn’t really eased up.  We had a large dump of snow on Sunday night – probably around 6 inches – and we have had high pressure (stable) weather since then.  So there is still a lot of snow on the ground.  The good news is that rain is forecast for the weekend.  Did I just say good news? A couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believe that I was looking forward to rain at the weekend.  However, on this occasion, it means the end of the snow!

In the snow….

January 22, 2013 /

This is a lovely location to live (which must explain why we bought the property!), but somehow the snow makes it just look that little more special!  Looks a bit like a Christmas card.

January snow

January snow

Snow (and stripping out)

January 21, 2013 /

Snow hit the UK last weekend and we got our fair share here in West Yorkshire.  Combined with the cold conditions, it effectively ruled out any dry stone walling this weekend – with snow on the ground you would have had to have found the stones in the first place!

Snow stops play on the dry stone walling

Snow stops play on the dry stone walling

With planning permission granted a couple of weeks ago,  our attention turned to stripping out the smaller of the two cottages.  We started upstairs.  Removing all the partition walls, central heating, electrics (all the sockets and lights), carpets and then finally pulling down the old ceiling. In old properties, the wiring can be a nightmare and the labels on the fuse box can often bear very little resemblance to what they really control.  The safest approach is to turn the electric off all together and make sure that you double-check that the wiring isn’t live (using an electrician’s screwdriver) before removing it.  Since the electric is now turned off, the central heating no long works.  This is just as well as it give using the opportunity to drain the system and remove the upstairs radiators.

All of the plasterboard and carpets went into the skip.  However, we separated out all the wood that is now forming part of a large bonfire where we burnt the sheds from a week or so ago.  With the cost of skips being so expensive, you only want to throw away material that you can’t dispose of otherwise.  Timber can be burnt and old stone can be used as hardcore with the foundations of the new extension are built.

The only thing left upstairs is the bathroom and we will remove that next weekend.  Some of the ceiling also need to come down too as we didn’t have time to complete pulling down all of the ceiling.  This is a difficult and awkward job as you inevitably end up with your hands above your head for large periods of time.  It is one of those jobs that will take longer than you think.  We will see!

Plasterboard removed from one side of the partition showing the wooden stud work

Plasterboard removed from one side of the partition showing the wooden stud work

Both sides of the plasterboard removed, next job to remove the stud work

Both sides of the plasterboard removed, next job to remove the stud work

Stud work gone revealing quite a large space

Stud work gone revealing quite a large space

Another shot from inside the stripped out upstairs

Another shot from inside the stripped out upstairs

Once the ceiling was removed, pine cladding was revealed. This forms the floor in the loft space and would have been the original ceiling i the farmhouse.

Once the ceiling was removed, pine cladding was revealed. This forms the floor in the loft space and would have been the original ceiling i the farmhouse.

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