Hagg Leys Farm

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First fix – still not ready

October 1, 2013 /

Well, there was a lot of work to be done in a short time, but the contractor was confident of getting it all done last week.  Unfortunately, it looks like we should be ready by tomorrow lunchtime – 2.5 days late.  As it happens, it shouldn’t cause too much of a problem.  While the plasterers are due to start tomorrow, I suspect that they will spend most of the day getting the plasterboard to where it needs to be – we have just brought it inside the house (out of any potential weather), but will leave it to the plasterers to carry it up the stairs!

This is the cabling for the lighting, network, power and telephone. It all comes back to a central point in a cupboard on the top of the cellar steps.

This is the cabling for the lighting, network, power and telephone. It all comes back to a central point in a cupboard on the top of the cellar steps.

This is a photo on the first floor. You can see the underfloor heating above the cables. Yellow cables are for light switches (Cat5e), black are co-ax for the TV/radio, purple are Cat6 network cables, white cables are for the alarm system and the grey round cables are for data/telephone. There are a lot of them!

This is a photo on the first floor. You can see the underfloor heating above the cables. Yellow cables are for light switches (Cat5e), black are co-ax for the TV/radio, purple are Cat6 network cables, white cables are for the alarm system and the grey round cables are for data/telephone. There are a lot of them!

Coursing out the reclaimed stone

October 1, 2013 /

The builders took a couple of hours this morning and coursed out all of the stone that was delivered yesterday.  “Coursing out” means sorting the stones into groups that are all the same height, i.e. stones that can be used to build a single course.

For each stone, you identify the front face and then measure it’s height with a tape measure.  For some reason, this is all done in inches.

This makes building with this sort of stone much quicker as the labourers aren’t hunting around searching for the right size stone.  It also means that you might not start a course of a particular size, if you can see that you don’t have enough stones.  You can get the stone yards to supply the stones already sorted and bagged according to their size.  However, many builders prefer to do it themselves.

It took the builders a couple of hours to course out all the stone that was delvered yesterday. It is sorted into piles according to the height of the stone (with it's front face forward).

It took the builders a couple of hours to course out all the stone that was delvered yesterday. It is sorted into piles according to the height of the stone (with it’s front face forward).

All the stones in these rows have a height of 7.5 inches. There is a clue on the brick in the background.

All the stones in these rows have a height of 7.5 inches. There is a clue on the brick in the background.

 

Getting ready for the plasterers

October 1, 2013 /
With the plasterers starting tomorrow, the materials arrived today ready for them to start. There are 120 boards on the right. This is about 80% of what will be needed - we will order the remainder once we know exactly how much more we need.

With the plasterers starting tomorrow, the materials arrived today ready for them to start. There are 120 boards on the right. This is about 80% of what will be needed – we will order the remainder once we know exactly how much more we need.

The insulated plasterboard is for the inside of the exterior walls (remember these are solid walls with no cavity) and for the first floor ceiling. The insulation in the yellow bags is for the inside of the partitions (for soundproofing) and in the ceiling on the ground floor (to ensure that the heat rises from the underfloor heating).

The insulated plasterboard is for the inside of the exterior walls (remember these are solid walls with no cavity) and for the first floor ceiling. The insulation in the yellow bags is for the inside of the partitions (for soundproofing) and in the ceiling on the ground floor (to ensure that the heat rises from the underfloor heating).

There are 50 bags of plaster here. With rain forecast for tomorrow, we can't leave it outside overnight.

There are 50 bags of plaster here. With rain forecast for tomorrow, we can’t leave it outside overnight.

The plasterers are due to start tomorrow and much of the materials that we have ordered for them turned up today.

Unloading them from the lorries wasn’t too much of a pain (it was all on palets), however, it had to be manhandled into the house – with 150 sheets of plasterboard and 50 bags of plaster, this takes time!

Still it is all indoors now ready for tomorrow.

 

First fix electrics – almost finished

September 30, 2013 /

The first fix electrics were due to be finished last Friday.  It looks as if the electrics will be finished tomorrow (Tuesday).  This is just as well since the plasterers start on Wednesday.  The plasterers will start by boarding and plastering the ceilings before moving onto the walls.

I have no idea how much cable we have used, but it seems like a lot!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

First fix electrics are due to finish tomorrow. Just as well since the plasterers are due on Wednesday.

First fix electrics are due to finish tomorrow. Just as well since the plasterers are due on Wednesday.

Progress on the extension

September 30, 2013 /

Work continues on the blockwork and there are probably 3-4 days left before we reach roof level.

The reclaimed stone that is going to be used for the exterior skin turned up right at the end of the day.  The first job will be to “course out” the stone  – sorting it according to the height of the stone.  Stones of the same height will be used to make up the courses with the larger stones at the bottom and the smaller stones at the top.

This is going to be time-consuming process.  In the meantime, the work will continue on the blockwork.  The other factor here is the weather – it is possible to put up the blockwork in the rain, but not the reclaimed stone (the rain can wash the mortar down the front of the stones).  The weather forecast for the rest of the week is “mixed”.

There are another 3-4 courses of blocks to go before we reach roof height. The reclaimed stone for the exterior skin arrived this evening - well the first batch anyway. The exterior wall is going to be a lot slower than the blockwork.

There are another 3-4 courses of blocks to go before we reach roof height. The reclaimed stone for the exterior skin arrived this evening – well the first batch anyway. The exterior wall is going to be a lot slower than the blockwork.

At this rate, we will have a large proportion of the blockwork completed before the end of the week.

At this rate, we will have a large proportion of the blockwork completed before the end of the week.

We can't go any further with the internal wall in the kitchen as the interior wall is made up of re-used stone that we have reclaimed during the demolition. The bi-folding doors are on order.

We can’t go any further with the internal wall in the kitchen as the interior wall is made up of re-used stone that we have reclaimed during the demolition. The bi-folding doors are on order.

70 square metres of reclaimed stone. This is the first of three loads. It will be used for the exterior wall on the extension.

70 square metres of reclaimed stone. This is the first of three loads. It will be used for the exterior wall on the extension.

These are one tonne bags that have more than a tonne in them. No prizes for guessing what happens!

These are one tonne bags that have more than a tonne in them. No prizes for guessing what happens!

Courtyard garden

September 30, 2013 /

We have made some good progress on the reclaimed stone wall in the courtyard.  We have being making the best of the recent fine weather – it is October next week and I can’t believe that this good weather is going to last.

There is still a lot to do!

The wall on the right was the product of a Saturday afternoon's work with the father in law. He coursed out all the stones.

We have spent a bit of time on the wall in the garden this weekend. It was really only two half days, but we made some good progress.

We have spent a bit of time on the wall in the garden this weekend. It was really only two half days, but we made some good progress.

Waxing the old oak timbers

September 29, 2013 /

With the plasterers due to start on Wednesday this week, I am trying to get a protective coat of liquid wax onto the old oak beams.  This means that if anything gets spilt on them, then it should simply wipe off. We sand blasted this oak beams when we cleaned the outside stone, so the timber is very absorbent and anything that gets spilt on them will be soaked up straight away.

I really wanted to keep the light colour of the sand blasted oak, but unfortunately everything that I looked at caused the oak to darken.  In the end, I have opted to use Osomo PolyX.  This seems to get some great reviews and will hopefully protect the timber.  It is expensive though and painting all of the timber is time consuming.  It looks as if the next two days are going to be spent painting!

I am using Osmo Polyx Hardwax oil to treat the oak timbers. It actually dries out a lighter colour, but it does protect the old timbers from stains (including plaster, water and paint). Putting a coat of liquid wax on the old oak beams.

This product seems to get rave reviews for protecting wood. Unfortunately, in our case, it does darken the wood down considerably. However, having tried a couple of alternative products, I think that whateve product we used would have darkened the wood. This isn't cheap (around £60 for a 2.5L tin), but it does go a long way.

This product seems to get rave reviews for protecting wood. Unfortunately, in our case, it does darken the wood down considerably. However, having tried a couple of alternative products, I think that whateve product we used would have darkened the wood. This isn’t cheap (around £60 for a 2.5L tin), but it does go a long way.

Reclaimed stone wall – revisited

September 27, 2013 /

When I looked at the photographs of yesterday’s work on the reclaimed stone wall, I realised that it wasn’t great – the courses were just to muddled up. 

There was no alternative other than to take it apart and redo it.  The sand and cement that I used to backbed the stones was still soft, so it didn’t take long to take it apart – just a quick tap with a hammer does the trick.  If I hadn’t rebuilt it, it would have bugged me for years.  It seemed a worthwhile investment of an hour or so to rebuilt that part.

The reason for the poorly built wall? A sprained ankle.  I fell over the previous evening coming out of the pub (not because of too much beer, but a pothole in the road – honest!) and sprained my ankle.  The next day I was hobbling around.  This meant that I didn’t stand back and look at the wall frequently enough while I was building it.  I only looked at it at the end of the day and probably only looked at it properly until I photographed it.  Then it was too late.

Looking at today’s photos, I am much happy.  It looks much better – not perfect, but better.

All in all, three days work - including an hour or so to redo half a dozen courses that I wasn't happy with.

All in all, three days work – including an hour or so to redo half a dozen courses that I wasn’t happy with.

Well, I looked at the photographs from yesterday and I really didn't like the part of the wall to camera right. There was no alternative but to take it down and redo it. It took an hour to take it down and rebuild it.

Well, I looked at the photographs from yesterday and I really didn’t like the part of the wall to camera right. There was no alternative but to take it down and redo it. It took an hour to take it down and rebuild it.

More blockwork

September 27, 2013 /

We are three days in and the blockwork in the new extension is already around shoulder height.  We are expecting the first load of reclaimed stone to arrive on Friday and in the between we have been concentrating on blockwork.  Blocks go up much quicker than stone!

For the past few weeks we have been able to wander around the extension without worrying about the walls.  Now, we can only walk around the extension by using the door openings.  This has taken a little while to get used to!

You can see the land drain in the bottom of the retaining wall as well as the damp proof course on the side of the extension. The manhole to camera right houses one of the three manifolds for the ground loops for the underfloor heating.

You can see the land drain in the bottom of the retaining wall as well as the damp proof course on the side of the extension. The manhole to camera right houses one of the three manifolds for the ground loops for the underfloor heating.

We are three days in and the blockwork is around shoulder height. It has already got to a point where we can only walk around the extension by using the door openings.

We are three days in and the blockwork is around shoulder height. It has already got to a point where we can only walk around the extension by using the door openings.

There is a damp proof course (the black plastic) around this part of the building as the ground level outside is above the floor level inside the extension.

There is a damp proof course (the black plastic) around this part of the building as the ground level outside is above the floor level inside the extension.

Light switches

September 26, 2013 /

With the first fix well under way, we are looking to finalise much of the sockets and switches that will be used as part of the second fix.

We have decided to use Schneider flat plate screwless switches and sockets throughout the house.  This product range has a full range which includes ethernet sockets, shaver sockets, etc.  These come in a variety of different finishes.  We have decided to used stainless steel with black inserts.  These match the window and door furniture that we have selected to use elsewhere.

The front of the switches and sockets can be removed while the rooms are being painted and simply pushed into place once the paint has dried.

The majority of the light switches will be modified Schneider two button switches.  The switches have been modified to use an RJ45 socket make them easy to connect to the Loxone lighting computer. Each of the buttons has an LED.  These come in a variety of colours.  We have decided to use ones with white LEDs.

This is a two way switch. It is from the screwless flat plate range from Schneider. The small circles at the top of each of the button are LEDs. They come in a variety of colours. We have decided to use white LEDs.

This is a two way switch. It is from the screwless flat plate range from Schneider. The small circles at the top of each of the button are LEDs. They come in a variety of colours. We have decided to use white LEDs.

The black socket at the top of the switch is an RJ45 socket. We will use CAT5e cable to connect these switches to the lighting computer (Loxone).

The black socket at the top of the switch is an RJ45 socket. We will use CAT5e cable to connect these switches to the lighting computer (Loxone).

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