Weekending 25th November
The main task this week is to fit new galvanised guttering and finish the state roof:
- Water Drainage - I took the opportunity to discover where the guttering drainage ran to and found it went along the outside and then through the middle of the barn into the front and into the main road drain. But the left side did not drain into the system, but out into the front garden of Grange Grise and the system I had installed there.
- Barn New Guttering - Having removed the old plastic guttering, we fitted the new Zinc Guttering to the rear of the Barn and this time had the down pipes both sides rather the just the right side.
- Garden Room Guttering - We also installed the new Zinc Guttering on the Garden Room and drainage system to avoid flooding at the back.
- Interior Ceiling Supports - Having ordered some more Chevrons, I also installed the ceiling supports in the Garden Room and Utility. They follow the room slope in the front section to the central support beam and then across to the rear wall, to allow a void into which the electric and plumbing feeds can be located to both down and upstairs.
Weekending 18th November
The main task this week is to prepare for the new galvanised guttering being installed next:
- Removal of Plastic Guttering - The removal itself on the barn was straight forward, but the old plastic supports were screwed to metal support on each roof truss and these were rusted, so difficult to remove and needed to be cut off.
- Water Drainage - I have been very concerned about the drainage and well the underground pipe ran to. I eventually confirmed that the main down-pipe drain, near the new Garden Room ran under the barn floor and out into the main road drain. However, I was confused at the end to the barn drain that did not seem to run off under the floor, but down into the Grange garden, which has been adding to the flooding we had seen. I took up and exposed the main drain and discover when this was installed they had blocked flow from the end of barn drain, so installed a new pipe to ensure this also ran under the barn.
- Garden Room Ceiling Supports - I work out how to run the plasterboard ceiling supports using the central roof support to follow the stop into the middle of the room, about 2.5m high and installed the support at 600mm centres. Once the electrics and pluming pipes are run I will go straight across to create the flat ceiling and hide the services.
- Herb Wall Levelled - I picked out some larger stones from the pile we still have and used to level the Herb Wall and also planted 30 Box Plants that will created edging. I found these in Carrefour for 50 cent each, which is a good buy!
Weekending 11th November
This is a tidy up week with a number of small tasks to tidy various things up:
- Cedar Glue Sealant - I mixed wood glue with dust from the cedar cutting to use as a waterproof sealant and tested it on the top of the door frame. It was successful so will now plan to do the sides on a dry day
- Window Tarp - As the new windows will not be delivered until early 2019, I secured a tarpaulin on the outside of the support structure to make the room water proof and will do the same to the doorway before I depart.
- Bedroom Chimney - In the main front bedroom when the fireplace and most of the flue has been removed, I create a frame for the plasterboard and will now insulate and apply the boarding.
- Herb Patch - I built up the stone wall to the west side and levelled the soil to create what will be a slightly raised bed and future herb patch. My neighbour, Jacques was impressed and pleased with the work so far, resulting in another gift of 4 fresh eggs!
- Bathroom Sanitary-ware - made a visit to Leroy Merlin in Limoges and ordered the main items, picked up most but a few will be available next week. The staff could not have been more helpful and even spoke a little English which was useful.
- Positioned both Loo's and pleased that the waste pipes are well positioned
- Positioned the Shower Tray and again the waste pipe is good and means that it will run between two ceiling beams
- The Bath Tub will fit well in the space and end walls I have created. Should allow the use of LUX ELEMENTS board to add strength and support as well as tiling. I attempted to assemble and fit the feet, but discover that 3 are damaged and need to be replaced!
- I decided on the need for some extra supports needed in the wall framing for the taps and shower rail, so that is now on the list for this week.
Weekending 4th November
This week the task is to finish the Cedar Cladding on the East Side of the Garden Room and undertake the Wall Channelling for the new electrics.
The weather turned cold, windy and at long last we had some rain, so over the weekend and early week I undertook some garden tidy up tasks.
Having had the weekend to reflect and think about to to secure the edging section I was pleased with how the work progressed and as here, I secure 100mm wide cedar panels to the door opening and to overlap the cladding frame work. The nails are all hidden and this will provide an edge for the new door frame to butt against.
I have also added panels to the front window frame, but need to get another panel to complete the job next year and fill the gaps.
Plasterboard Framing - Wednesday 31st October
Made a start on the framing for plasterboard and started with the pillar by the front door where we need to run cable for the kitchen light switches and porch cover light. This should also enable a socket cable to be run to the bottom.
I was also wondering how to deal with the back door wall and the plasterboard as there was an issue with the bottom 200 mm Blocks and the 185 mm roof support beams, but this was resolved with the addition of some chevrons I had. I also drilled through to the downstairs loo void, above the waste pipe for an electric cable to run for a socket and to allow a radiator to be position on the barn wall.
Garden Wall Creation - Friday 2nd November
On Thursday and today I moved all the accumulated stone from the rear door and used some of this to create the low wall to create some demarcation between the garden and the courtyard.
