Wednesday 8th June 2022 - Ceiling Boarding Complete
Having arrived yesterday and given the gardens a grass cut and tidy, I was ready to start the work this morning and the first thing on the task list was to completed the Insulated Plaster boarding of the down stairs rooms.
I completed the West Side in the morning and East Side after. Cut all the light holes and space for the cable runs, then screwed all to the ceiling with the retainer washes.
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| West Side Outer Back Wall |
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| East Side East Section |
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| East Side Internal Wall |
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| Oak Base Support |
Having completed the ceilings, I fixed the Oak Base to the Stairs, having reduced the size and added oak to the front. I will finish with some tile grout tomorrow.
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| Beam Cutaway |
I also cut away some of the beam directly above the stair steps to give more headroom above the first few steps. I also found an old piece of iron, with two holes already made so that I can screw to the beam and provided added strength to the beam in the stair well, once I have installed the bannister posts and rails and oak surround that I have ordered from Leroy Merlin and should be delivered this week.
Thursday 9th June 2022 - Downstairs Tile Grouting
As planned, I got the grouting completed today and around the Oak Stair Base. Just enough grout now left to finish some of the edging tiles once I have them all cut to size.
I have been waiting for this to come in stock and discover the had this morning at the Chateauroux Store, so ordered at 6:02 and the order was delivered the 60km to me at 9:30am today.
What excellent service.
Friday 10th June 2022 - Skirting and Door Frame
Easy tasks today and got all the Skirting cut and in position downstairs and upstairs as planned.
Then attended to the Main Door Frame, planed the left side of the door below the middle section to establish a level vertically to measure off for an 81cm opening for the new door frame to fit into. I used a wooden stick cut to 81 to mark up the right side of the door and used my chain saw to cut about 1-2cm away from the old oak.
Also cut and positioned the new Oak Board the Stair Well. Needs a little more adjustment and cutting, but that is for next week now.
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| East Side Skirting |
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| West Side Skirting |
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| Stair Well Boarding |
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| Right Side Door |
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| Left Side Door |
Once the new Doors are installed, by the end June we will be on the final stretch!
Saturday 11th June 2022 - Stair Beam Support
Hadn't intended to do any work today, but last night I had an idea how to fix and hide the metal beam support for the last beam of the Stair Well. I secured it to the front side of the beam and removed the strip of ceiling insulation board and screw through for here. I then reapplied the board to neatly obscure the iron support and bolts through to the oak beam.
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| looking up |
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| Iron Support Applied |
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| Iron Support Hidden |
So now the Iron Support is is at the top and does not come below the cut out of the Oak Beam and when the Insulated PB is applied only the bottom edge is seen.
Now I need to secure the Oak Fascia to the beams on the well side, but easier done than said as the nails bend. So I will need to drill a very small hole for each through the new oak.
MONDAY 13th JUNE 2022 - Ceiling Board Fillers
Not much to show for the days work, but good progress. I have allocated 2 days to fill in the Plaster Board gaps and bits and should do it all, so that later this week I can tape and plaster the joins.
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| Back Door Ceiling Board |
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| East Side Beam 1 |
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| East Side Beam 2 |
Having used Expanded Foam to fill most of the ceiling boarding gaps and pressed the filler home when dry to touch it will provide a good base to apply the plaster filling later this week. I added wool insulation to the gaps above the main beam supporting the East Side Floor Beams and then cut lengths of plaster board to hide the gaps both sides.
I also used a piece of the plasterboard above the back French Door frame to hide the wool insulation I had applied earlier and was waiting until I found the spare bits of PB.
So tomorrow I can continue to fill the little sections that need Insulation Board and Foam Filler, before the temperature goes above 30 the rest of the week!
TUESDAY 14th JUNE 2022 - Plater Boarding Bits
Today was finishing the little bits of Plaster and Insulation Boarding, in preparation for the filling that would be needed. I used up most of the plasterboard left overs and bits of insulation board to fill the missing sections.
I also mixed a strong smooth concrete to build up the missing and rotten bottom of the main door ahead of the new doors being installed next week and tidied the front that I had cut into.
WEDNESDAY 15th JUNE 2022 - Boarding Filling
Mixed a 7kg of the Boarding Adhesive this morning and was lucky to get through the task of filling some of the gaps this morning and the temperature rose to 29c by noon, heading towards 32c today! it was just going off by the time I finished and I ended up doing more than expected at one point during the morning.
Off to get some corner beading this afternoon and hopefully the Oak Posts will arrive tomorrow, if the can find me this time!
THURSDAY 16th JUNE 2022 - Clean Up and small jobs
It was too hot today to start the final filling tasks and mix the adhesive, so I fixed the plaster board Edge Beading to the door way corners and clean some marks from the walls and floors.
Levelled the upstairs floor edge that hangs over the void in front of the rear French Doors and will finish this off with from Oak Strip later.
The Oak Posts for the stair well balustrade arrive and rough cut them to size, to make easier to handle. They need cleaning before use, so will need to get the plane and sander out before using.
END OF VISIT WORK!
Just had confirmation that Adams are coming of Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd to install the new Doors and Windows, so I have decided to change my return crossing to late evening on 23rd rather then midday and this should give me the ability see and signoff the total installation. SO, I will stop any more work and focus on clean up and emptying La Studio in preparation.
FRIDAY 17TH JUNE 2022- Tidy Up!
Did dome tidy up job and remove everything from La Studio preparation for the door to be installed. However, could resist fixing the Skirting Board to the walls down and upstairs. As well as grouting the cut tile bits I fixed yesterday.
Also, decided to give the door/frames a coat of the Bedec Barn Paint and will do the same to the window frames before they arrive on Tuesday, and sealed the upstairs rear flooring by the back door, where i will fix an oak trim to tidy up.
A local friend removed a pile of stone at the back and left smaller stones that I have removed into a large garden sack for storage, whilst I dig a trench for the new Guttering run off of the front and back runs and down to the front where there is already a trench under the barn floor into the main road drainage.
This will be a summer tasks and I now plan to use the small stones as a part of a patio area at the back.
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| East Skirting |
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| West Skirting |
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| Main Door Frame Painter |
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| Rear Door Frame Painted |
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| Rear Stone Cleared |
SUNDAY 19TH JUNE - Frames Painted
Before it became too hot at 32c today, I decided to finish painting the frames, or at least 2 coat before the Doors and Windows are installed. It starts to look different with just a single coat and will be transformed by the time I leave. I will clear the wooden Lathes that I removed from both upper floor s and onto which a bed of soil was placed, been trying to think how I could use the wood, rather than as fire starters! I have 2 bags of 1cu3 of the soil in the barn to use on the lawns.
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| Back View |
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| East View |
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| Front View |
MONDAY 20th JUNE 2020- Odd Jobs
Thunderstorm hit last night with rain, a welcome event! So, cooler today and just did a few minor jobs:
So firstly, I mixed some concrete and laid a base in front of where the new Low Window will be installed to create a firm Cill to protect against the rain.
Still need to mix some smooth concrete to fix the post edges here, where the wood has rotten.
I then found a thin length of Oak and cut to size and secure it to the edge of the upstairs floor where is crosses the back door void.
Then in preparation for sorting the rear patio and a trench for the guttering water drainage, I cleared the wooden lathe pile away and will need to remove the too large bits of rubble, once levelled.
WEDNESDAY 21st JUNE 2022- Door and Windows Installed
Work at La Studio has really finished for the June Visit now, with all the Doors and Windows delivered and installed by SAS Adams this morning.
Whilst the two guys got on with their work I was at hand but did some clean up tasks outside. I removed rubbish from what will be the rear patio, repaid the collapsed stone wall by the Laurel and importantly, removed most of the moss from the roof which was helped by the rain again last night.
Really pleased with the inside and exterior transformation now that installation is complete, with only minor adjustments and I have been left with lots of surround trim to finish off.
Here below are some Outside and Inside pics of the finished impact:
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| Front View |
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| Rear Patio Area |
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| Main Door Interior |
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| French Doors Interior |
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| Front Window Interior |
Here is a short video tour of
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