PPP

pinno

Quick update. Having to re-finance the inside works so it's partially on hold bar some tinkering in anticipation of the plasterers some time in Autumn.
However, work still goes on and mainly in the garden which has proved convenient and will enhance the grounds.

First up, what do you do with a load of left over stone? Make a dyke. All my own work. Not exceptional, but i'm happy with it and it filled a gap where the Ivy had killed 4 Hawthorne bushes. I salvaged one bush. You can see it in one of the pics:

pinno

I had to re-do the pond and another opportunity to blend it in with the stonework I had done previously, to create a flow.
It was a lot of work: The old pond liner was leaking. The liner would flex if you had to empty it or if there was ice. So in a middle of the night moment, I came up with the solution. Where there was natural creases and undulations in the liner, it was vulnerable.

1st up, I removed all the old stonework and removed the liner.
2nd, reinforced the edge to provide a sturdy base to insert the liner.
3rd, and this is the brainwave: I filled the hole with 3 large cans of expanding foam. This was much better then pumping concrete in. I then put a thick 250dup membrane straight over the top of the foam immediately and then the liner on top.
4th. Filled the pond with water straight away after making sure it was as level as I could so that the liner would press in all the right directions and of course, it keeps the sides straight ready for the stonework.

FFWD, 3 days to allow the whole thing to settle and complete the stonework and in the process, sandwich the membrane between the liner and the stones. This has the added benefit of allowing the water level to be as near as dammit to the top of the stones.
FWIW and if you're interested, I put in an overflow (obscured by a stone on the left front corner) and there is a clay brick aquifer that runs off the garage roof and down with a mesh to catch debris and a 'sluice' which consists of a brick which is 2" below the surface of the other bricks to catch the smaller debris. This negates the use of any pumps and tops up the pond with water that doesn't need treatment.

You can see the old coal bunker on the left. I didn't know what to do with it until a friend had a bright idea to build a BBQ. I will demolish the wall on the right and create one with a lid to keep all neat and tidy and not exposed to the elements.

team47b

Nice dyke, nice bush. POIDH oh wait...

You're doin' a great job with that garden, just need the goalposts for the toots footy pitch

pinno

Back at it.

I decided that the woodburner in the kitchen needed to be moved back as it was jutting out and not in keeping with trying to push things back and opening the place up.
It was originally free standing to maximise the heat but now the insulation has been done, there's no need.

First, some excavation:



...bit of a tidy and some framework to repair the gap. Notice the stone on the right. It;s immovable and structural so having to go around that without compromising the look:



Built the first wall and the left hand side of the fireplace. Cleaned up the excess cement with a wire brush dizzy attachment to give it an aged feel. I think it works well:

pinno

Now, the missing link. The underside of the fireplace is very rough and I elected to make a ceiling board for it. It will have to be fitted before the arch which I will make and can be 'adjusted' with an angle grinder.
First a bit of plasterboard:



A trim:



2 inches wider than the flue so that I can cement the flue in and insulate it form the plasterboard.
Cut a piece of weld mesh for strength:



Then some cement:



Tidy it up. Taper the edges so that it fits (3.5cm's - not a lot of room).

pinno

Now the arch.
I will add 2 or 3 layers of ply to the framework so that it starts flush with the top:





I'll build it once I got the 'ceiling' in and next week. All fun.

team47b

Nice perpends

Brickwork looks like it has been there a while, good job!

Now for the segmental...

pinno

Do I tinker with the arch so that I achieve symmetry (top brick central to the arch) or just go with how the cookie crumbles?

team47b

Center first brick...or tapered arch bricks so that your mortar lines remain parallel not tapered...

pinno

Centered first brick as above.

Finished the fireplace (almost). Skimmed the back wall. Drilled holes for pipework. Cleaned most of the brick of cement residue/excess, re-assembled wood burner in it's new top flue format, pointed underneath (1st part of a 2 or 3 step process).
Tiling and sizing next week. Need to get some PTFE tape and re-do rear cast iron to brass coupling - can't solder (bollox).

Now, the wood burner will be offset to the flue aperture and will take a bit of scratching heads to sort in a reasonably aesthetic way. Might just pop a sleeve over the top of the gubbins (odd angles - 2" forward, 1" back. Any suggestions welcome. Looks like it will be an offset pipe but they are expensive expensive. Might go see engineery walla friend.

Don't worry, it's not a funny coloured brick end in the arch, it's dry and it caught the flash. I washed the brick dust off the rest of it, hence the darker grey's but it will all look like the bottom half when dry.



That's not the mantle piece, it's just a plank to get a level and was used to make the cement flat. Same joint depth (roughly), in keeping with the rest of it.

Garry H

You have two hammers!

pinno

Garry H wrote:

You have two hammers!

2 large claw hammers, a small claw hammer, a sledgehammer, a 4lb hammer and an SDS drill. I'm getting good at the demolition bit.

Garry H

It's the only tool I can use

pinno

It's a start.

(You mean you used one to fix the toilet seat?)

Garry H

Pinno wrote:

It's a start.

(You mean you used one to fix the toilet seat?)

No, I didn't need any tools for that.

I also have two drills.

pinno

Two drills?! You're a dark horse.

Garry H

Pinno wrote:

Two drills?! You're a dark horse.

Yup. A De Walt one and a smaller "JCB" one that my father in law bought me for xmas and I use as a driver. I also have several saws, two axes a strimmer and a lawnmower.

pinno

The De Walt is good. I love my De Walt. It does De job.

Garry H

Pinno wrote:

The De Walt is good. I love my De Walt. It does De job.

It is a fine piece of kit. The JCB one is also surprisingly good. It is also yellow.

pinno

***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT*** ***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT*** ***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT***

How did the cat get up the gable end?
Shorty thinks she''s going to see the baby sitter when I go get the OH. That's why she's staying awake.

Garry H

Pinno wrote:

***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT*** ***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT*** ***THREAD CROSSOVER ALERT***

How did the cat get up the gable end?
Shorty thinks she''s going to see the baby sitter when I go get the OH. That's why she's staying awake.

Fark knows. Wifey had to climb on to the log shelter (which i built using the De Walt) to get her down. She's just sprinted through the house with a large shopping bag in her mouth (The cat, not the wife)

Garry H

You leaving the kids in the house to go and pick up Mrs P?

pinno

Garry H wrote:

You leaving the kids in the house to go and pick up Mrs P?

Yep. When she calls and the baby sitter turns up.

team47b

Pinno wrote:

Centered first brick as above.

Finished the fireplace (almost). Skimmed the back wall. Drilled holes for pipework. Cleaned most of the brick of cement residue/excess, re-assembled wood burner in it's new top flue format, pointed underneath (1st part of a 2 or 3 step process).
Tiling and sizing next week. Need to get some PTFE tape and re-do rear cast iron to brass coupling - can't solder (bollox).

Now, the wood burner will be offset to the flue aperture and will take a bit of scratching heads to sort in a reasonably aesthetic way. Might just pop a sleeve over the top of the gubbins (odd angles - 2" forward, 1" back. Any suggestions welcome. Looks like it will be an offset pipe but they are expensive expensive. Might go see engineery walla friend.

Don't worry, it's not a funny coloured brick end in the arch, it's dry and it caught the flash. I washed the brick dust off the rest of it, hence the darker grey's but it will all look like the bottom half when dry.



That's not the mantle piece, it's just a plank to get a level and was used to make the cement flat. Same joint depth (roughly), in keeping with the rest of it.

Fair dinkum!

pinno

Done a hell of a lot of framing and plaster boarding, which doesn't lend itself to great pics but if you really really want some, i'll see what I can do.

Woodburner is fitted (and it's leaking a little). Only on two front Yorkshire fittings :roll: But nothing that rjsterry can't help me sort.

Mantlepiece is a chunk of European oak. Untouched as yet.



Next up (after the fix) will be a chimney breast in the living room to compliment the inset wood burner. Oh, and a glass and wood ballustrade upstairs.

It's all fun (more than being a tax accountant).

pinno

Just an update. Refurbished garage which meant moving the greenhouse pane by pane, pointing the back wall, re-roofing and filling in general holes to sort leaks/water ingress, re-wiring and new lighting.

Had to do it ahead of time as the trees had been taken out and the logs would have sat in water plus I did not want to move the stack twice.







...and various shots of the house plaster boarded before the plasterers come in. Yippee.

pinno

seanoconn

I was hoping to move in before the summer, could you pull your finger out please. :roll:

hopkinb

That's a fcukton of logs. Is that just to take the edge off the summer chill up there?

pinno

hopkinb wrote:

That's a fcukton of logs. Is that just to take the edge off the summer chill up there?

3 feet deep and just under 8 feet high. 4 trees came out. I hand split the lot bar a few very large rounds. That axe/chopping thread in CS a while back made me chortle. Got rid of the excess and kept a few people sweet who now owe me.
I could have probably added another 3 feet upwards but ran out of space. I have a stack in the kitchen for when I work indoors.