Hagg Leys Farm

Page 34 of 67

Topsoil and re-seeding

September 11, 2013 /

More of the top soil has gone down today.  One of our next jobs will be to re-seed this area.  The seed arrived today.

We are using grass seed that is specifically intended for reinstatement after groundworks.  I didn’t know there was such a thing, but you will find the description here. I only ordered online at the weekend and we should hopefully be in a position to re-seed part of the field this weekend (weather permitting).  It looks as if a 25kg of grass seed should be enough to re-seed all of the top field.  We need to get going as grass stops growing once the temperature drops below 5C.

We have re-layed a lot of the top soil on the area of the field that it is unlikely to get used over the next few months. Next step is to re-seed it. Hopefully, we will get around to it this weekend (weather permitting).

We have re-layed a lot of the top soil on the area of the field that it is unlikely to get used over the next few months. Next step is to re-seed it. Hopefully, we will get around to it this weekend (weather permitting).

With any luck, this 25kg bag of grass seed should be enough to reinstated the top field. We will see. I hope that we will be able to re-seed the field this week. This will give the grass half a chance of germinating before the winter sets in.

With any luck, this 25kg bag of grass seed should be enough to reinstated the top field. We will see. I hope that we will be able to re-seed the field this week. This will give the grass half a chance of germinating before the winter sets in.

Starting on the insulation

September 11, 2013 /

We need to install 50mm of insulation between the roof rafters.  This will then be covered with insulated plasterboard (67mm) that is finally plastered.  This will achieve a U value of around 0.2 which is pretty good for a property of this type.

The insulation arrives as 8ft x 4ft boards that need to be cut into strips.  These strips are then jammed in between the rafters.  The board is cut with an ordinary wood saw, but getting it to the right size can be a bit of a challenge as not all the rafters are parallel.  It is a fairly messy job and the bits of polysytrene seem to get everywhere (particularly my eyes).  However, I hope that we will have finished this job by the end of the weekend.

It has taken just less than a day to install the insulation in my study. We can reduce the cost of the plastering work by installing the insulation ourselves. It is relatively easy to do, but it is messy and time consuming.

It has taken just less than a day to install the insulation in my study. We can reduce the cost of the plastering work by installing the insulation ourselves. It is relatively easy to do, but it is messy and time consuming.

There is 50mm insulation to be installed between the rafters. This arrives as a 8ft x 4ft sheet that needs to be cut into strips. The strips need to be tight so that the insulation is held in place.

There is 50mm insulation to be installed between the rafters. This arrives as a 8ft x 4ft sheet that needs to be cut into strips. The strips need to be tight so that the insulation is held in place.

Cutting the insullation boards around the new partitions is a bit time consuming (and occasionally frustrating!).

Cutting the insullation boards around the new partitions is a bit time consuming (and occasionally frustrating!).

Re-laying the top soil

September 11, 2013 /

All of the ground loops for the ground source heat pump have been covered.  The ground loops were  pressurised to 1 bar when they were installed.  And there are still pressurised to 1 bar after the soil has been put back.  At least we know that none of the pipes have damaged while the soil has been reinstated.

We are going to re-lay the topsoil on those areas of the field away from the builder’s cabin and the house.  We can then re-seed this part of the field and it will have the opportunity to the grass to grow before the winter sets in.  I am guessing that we will reseed at least 1/3 of the field (around 450 sqm) in the next few days (weather permitting).

The view from the soil pile - we are relaying the top soil on the far part of the field.

The view from the soil pile – we are relaying the top soil on the far part of the field.

We are going to be putting the topsoil back down on the area of the field away from the builder's cabin and the house. We will relay the rest of the topsoil, once the building work is finished.

We are going to be putting the topsoil back down on the area of the field away from the builder’s cabin and the house. We will relay the rest of the topsoil, once the building work is finished.

The subsoil has been tracked in and levelled. There are 1000m of pipe under this particular patch of the field.

The subsoil has been tracked in and levelled. There are 1000m of pipe under this particular patch of the field.

My next task….insulation

September 10, 2013 /

The insulation in the roof consists of 50mm slabs of insulation between the rafters and the insulated plasterboard on top.  The plasterers weren’t very keen on fitting the insulated boards.  It has to be cut into strips and jammed in between the rafters.  It is a messy and time-consuming job.

So guess who gets to do it?

These are going to be my next project!

These are going to be my next project!

And the rest of them! 48 in total.

And the rest of them! 48 in total.

Porch details

September 10, 2013 /

We are slowly getting around to sorting out some of the finer details of the exterior of the property.  The 3D images below show the detail around the new porch and the sloping roof and post that protrudes to shelter callers from the weather.

Budget permitting, this will be built in oak so that it will match the roof details inside.

This 3D image shows the detail of the new porch. We haven't seen this detail before

This 3D image shows the detail of the new porch. We haven’t seen this detail before

Close up of the new porch detail showing the oak half truss and supporting post.

Close up of the new porch detail showing the oak half truss and supporting post.

Back filling the ground loops

September 9, 2013 /

We have spent most of today back filling the land after installing the ground loops last week.  We have installed 1800m of ground loops in the field adjacent to the house.  This has been a mammoth task since it has involved removing all of the topsoil and subsoil from this field, installing the pipes and then back filling the field.

Today, the last of the pipes were covered up.  Hopefully, we will not be seeing these again for a very long time.  The pipework has been pressurised while we have been backfilling. If any of the pipes get damaged, the pressure would drop immediately.  Fortunately, the pressure has remained exactly the same throughout.

I took some time lapse video of backfilling the field today.  You will find it here on YouTube.

We have made some serious progress today on reducing the size of the spoil heap. All of the subsoil is back down.

We have made some serious progress today on reducing the size of the spoil heap. All of the subsoil is back down.

This is probably the last we will see of the ground loops. Hopefully. Covered with light grey sand and then buried under the subsoil.

This is probably the last we will see of the ground loops. Hopefully. Covered with light grey sand and then buried under the subsoil.

The fire hydrant fairy has been!

September 8, 2013 /

Last month, I contacted the local fire service about a damaged fire hydrant sign. 

Well, today, I noticed that they have been out and installed a new sign.  Not exactly sure when this happened, but I think it must have been this week!

This appeared this week. 100 is the size of the water main in mm. 17 is the distance from this sign to the fire hydrant in meters. No idea what the bottom number is!

This appeared this week. 100 is the size of the water main in mm. 17 is the distance from this sign to the fire hydrant in meters. No idea what the bottom number is!

I have pulled up the cover, but it looks as if someone has put some plastic sheet under the cover.

I have pulled up the cover, but it looks as if someone has put some plastic sheet under the cover.

 

Telephone system

September 6, 2013 /

We are going to use the same cabling and sockets for the ethernet and telephone points.  This means that any ethernet outlet can be reconfigured as a telephone point and vice versa.  Since there are multiple ethernet connections in each room, this provides us with a lot of flexibility plus we won’t have to worry about those ugly telephone extension cables around the place.

We have a standard BT telephone line and master socket.  I have acquired a unit that will convert the incoming telephone line into 4 RJ-45 connections.  This is the standard connector for ethernet.

 All of the room sockets terminate in a patch panel, so it is a case of connecting the telephone line to the appropriate socket using a patch cable – rather line the old fashioned telephone exchanges you used to see on TV.

Once the telephone line is connected to the socket, it is a case of plugging in a short lead that converts the RJ-45 connection back into a standard BT plug (or an LJU socket to be more precise).  These are just a few pounds each.

In fact, the unit that I have bought is capable of converting two telephone lines into 4 ethernet connections each.  This means that if we ever get a second line (e.g. for business use) that this could be patched to any room in exactly the same way.

You will find the central unit is available from CyberSelect.  I did have a good look around and there aren’t many on the market.  They also supply the converter leads too.

Rain down the chimney

September 5, 2013 /

A couple of weekends ago a lot of rain fell on the Saturday during the day.  On the Sunday, we noticed that water had dripped into each of the three fireplaces.  Not down the internal metal flue, but down the chimney.  And into all three fireplaces.

The only place where rain could get in is down the side of the new chimney pots.  These were put only a couple of months ago.  We took a look at the pots today.  The sand and cement around the pots has cracked and is letting in water.  There are cracks in the mortar around all three pots.

Guess where the water is coming in?

Guess where the water is coming in?

It is pretty obvious what the problem is!

It is pretty obvious what the problem is!

Last 1000m of ground loops installed

September 5, 2013 /

The last 1km of ground loops were installed today for the ground source heat pump.  We thought we might have run out of space, but much to our surprise, it all fitted with a little bit of space to spare.  Phew. This was some welcome good news as we thought we might need to dig up even more land. 

Tomorrow, we can start filling it all back in!

All of the remaining 1000m of pipe have been installed today. We thought there might not have been enough room, but it all fitted in with a bit to spare.

All of the remaining 1000m of pipe have been installed today. We thought there might not have been enough room, but it all fitted in with a bit to spare.

The stones and bricks are just used to weigh the pipes down while being installed. The stones will be removed before being covered with sand.

The stones and bricks are just used to weigh the pipes down while being installed. The stones will be removed before being covered with sand.

This is the third of the three manholes which houses the last 600m of ground loops.

This is the third of the three manholes which houses the last 600m of ground loops.

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