Feb - March 2019 Project Work

Week Ending 10th February 2019

Rear Wall Render Removal

When I removed the upper render of the rear wall I lacked the confidence to do it properly, so left a section around the back door 'just in case' and whilst it was successful, I remand cautious about doing more.  Nevertheless, today I attempted and succeeded in doing so. 

Full Removal

Original Removal

I have learnt that knowing the material you work with is essential and realise that the old resin like render stuck firmly to the stonework, which was the original concern. The key was to attempt to remove the old render on the flat stone face surface , where the adhesion is less and then the majority of the very hard, deep render can be removed with minimal work. Using a pneumatic hammer chisel is essential and has again proved to be a good buyl.  SUCCESS!  so now I can apply new mortar render to the rear wall of the new Garden Room showing the original stone all to good effect. 

Wall Channelling
In anticipation and hope that Frappat arrives, as promised to start the first fit Electrics and Plumbing I completed the Wall Channelling for the new electric cables down and upstairs where there in no new partitioning.

I purchased a TITAN TTB293WCH 150MM 1700W WALL CHASe from Screwfix and it proved great value for the money, once I fathomed how to assemble the dual blades.  Now, it certainly made the job quicker, easier and produced a good result BUT it was hard work to apply the level of pressure to keep the blades flat to the wall and maintain the upwards movement.

I adjusted the settings to give a 30mm wide and 30mm deep, which should be enough bury the sheathed cable.  I plan to apply plasterboard to all the walls to get a good finish.

Opposite are a few snaps of some channels created,  Using a hammer chisel it was easy to remove the wall between the parallel channels, although I have a little work to tidy up some areas to ensure a 30mm depth.








Cedar Cladding Finishing

When I did the Cedar Cladding in the summer I needed another 10mmx2.5m length for the end section on the back to butt up to the cladding on the East Door Side. 

Having secured this length I fixed to the rear and the join with the other length by the window frame is obscured by the guttering downpipe. I cut off the east side to create a reasonably neat finish.  Once I find my small rasp plane I will finish off!





Week Ending 3rd March 2019
Over the last few weeks I completed a number of small tasks and preparation. I was expecting the Plumbing and Electrics to be done, but this was not the case, so I live in hope of Frappat arriving next week before I return to the UK.
These are some of the tasks completed;

• Shower Base Levelled using the Bostik Rageag P3 Fibre.  It sloped from level to -30mm across the 70cm base, so it was important this was level. 
• Utility Step Levelled - The step through the rear wall from the Kitchen into the Utility Room was left rough when we knocked through  and having the levelling compound gave me the opportunity to level the 1/2sqm area and it have worked out well.

I discovered that you must seal all gaps at edges and in floor boards, as the liquid nature of the compound will find a way through otherwise.

It has also convinced me that the task of levelling the Garden Room and Salon Floors is too much for me to make a success and i will be getting professional help in doing so.

However, as I had a bag of compound left I also levelled the bathroom floor that sloped 2/3 cm from the back wall to the door.  This went well and a good finish was achieved.

Week Ending 10th March 2019
During the final week of this visit, I undertook some small jobs and a tidy up, including a cleaning job to get rid of the dust the wall channelling created. In addition the following key tasks:

• Rendering Low Garden Room Wall as the weather was dry and to make it easier than attempting after the windows are installed, I decided to render the low Garden Room Wall.  Using the VPI Enduni mix is very satisfying and produced a good result. The picture below is before the application has completely dried and in the summer I will use the BEDEC Extra Flex Masonry Paint on all the rear walls to blend in, once I have applied a smooth render to the back wall above the Garden Room.
  
  

• Landing Stairs Partitioning having remove the old wall I applied an oak beam across the wall to let light from te back windows onto the Stairs as well as the new Landing.  I partitioned both sides above and below the horizontal oak beam and have some oak trim to fix on the stairs side in the void to tidy up the look.