Week 23:  5th October - Challenging Times

A problem is merely a challenge to be overcome.

The roof is progressing.  John (the roofer) is still delighted with the Tapco tiles.

The roof is not a straightforward layout, to say the least but it is looking fabulous.

You may well wonder why there is a sheet of plywood in the middle of the south-eastern roof; this is going to be a non-opening roof light into our bedroom.  The window was ordered 980 mm wide and 550 mm high; this is a standard size in a portrait orientation, but sadly not in landscape, so when the package (which had been sitting in a warehouse in Yeovil for weeks, waiting for us to be ready for it) was opened, the error was discovered.
A new window has been ordered, (we can't just turn the first window around as it would not drain properly) but there is a lead time of 15-20 working days before delivery.  This is causing us some stress, as until the window is fitted the roof tiles can't be finished, and until the roof tiles are finished we can't install the solar panels.  The solar system has to be commissioned by the end of the year as on January 1st the 'buy back' tariff (where you can sell unused electricity back to the government) goes down from 12p to 1p per unit; this is clearly one deadline we are most anxious not to miss.

However, this has all paled into insignificance with the 'excitement' of today.
The windows, as you have no doubt seen from the previous post, were installed two weeks ago.  Cheaper, plastic windows are delivered with a protective covering (rather like the film on a computer screen), ours came in all their naked glory.  Given that we still have to render the rear and garage walls and fit stone cladding on the side and front walls, after consulting EcoHaus, we were advised not to use even a low tack tape on the aluminium frame, but to protect the windows with 'Peel Gard'.  Peel Gard is like a very thick paint, applied to the window frame with a roller; it looks like a light blue paint but dries to a clear, rubber-like film which then simply peels off (a bit like PVA glue).  David and I took advantage of the glorious weather last week and duly applied this product according to the instructions; it was a very dull and time-consuming job but we felt very pleased with ourselves, knowing the windows and doors were protected.

Yesterday and today, the Rain Gods have danced a very merry dance, and the Peel Gard (where it was unprotected from the rain) simply turned light blue again, disintegrated and has made the most horrendous mess everywhere.  Here you can clearly see where the top part of the window was sheltered and this patch has peeled off perfectly, but lower down a small deposit remains on the frame (which we can't rub too violently as we don't want to damage the frame) and we are currently seeking advice from the provider.

Week 21:  Week beginning 21st September

The windows arrived today.  They have come all the way from the Internorm factory in Austria; the UK agent is EcoHaus in Stroud.  They have a special triple gasket system on the frame, are triple glazed and are made of timber/aluminium.  They have a thermal insulation value of 0.74W/m2K and a sound insulation value of 35dB.  They are spruce on the inside and anthracite grey on the outside.

Being Austrian, they are tilt and turn, opening inwards either at the top or at the side.  

Some of the panels are fixed.  The next job is to cover them up again to protect them whilst the walls are finished off.  Although it looks in the photograph as though they have Georgian feature bars, they are plain glass - what you can see is just the reflection of the scaffolding.

The front door and fixed side panel

The dining area (sliding door with fixed side panel) and
the lounge (left hand panel opens like a door and goes back 180 degrees against the other panel).

Also today, SSE fitted the electricity meter; this may seem like pretty standard but mentally it is quite a big move forward.

And finally, more progress has been made on the roof this week.

The Caselle garage and Workshop (still awaiting the ridge tiles).

Bedroom 4 and the roof over the main part of the house.

Week 20: 14th September

 

The roof is starting to be finished.

Our roofer, John, is highly experienced but this is the first time he has worked with Tapco slates.  He (and therefore we) is highly delighted with the tiles and tells us that the roof will never come off.  There are vertical battens on the lower layer and horizontal battens very close together, on the top layer.  The nail gun is on overdrive.

 

Tapco is made from resin bonded, crushed virgin limestone and has the random texture and edges of natural slate.  The slates have a 40 year warranty and excellent weathering characteristics.  They are lightweight but very strong and can be walked on (which will be useful when working on the solar tiles).  Most importantly, they are particularly suited to shallow pitched roofs (they actually go down to 14 degrees although the pitch of our roof is only 20 degrees).  They look pretty authentic and are even allowed in conservation areas. 

 

 



Week 18 (week beginning 1st September)

Slightly premature arrival of the rainwater harvesting tank.
This will eventually be located under the hobbies room 'driveway'.

Completion of the Caselle Garage/Hobbies Room SIPs build.
Farewell and huge thanks to Phil, Ben and Minty who have worked very long days
to compensate for delays, in all weather conditions.
Thank you also to all the neighbours for the disruptions - they should be down to a minimum from now on.

Completion of the covering of the waterproof membrane.

David making some minor amendments to the window in the garage
(with the hobbies room across the garden in the background).

The Video

Here is the timelapse video (3 photographs were taken every 10 minutes).

Before you panic - it only lasts 1 minute 11 seconds before repeating itself. (we are working on refining it).

Sorry it is a bit grainy but we (that is the royal 'we'  of course, as anyone who knows the level of Vicki's IT skills will appreciate) had to make it lower quality so that it was small enough to publish.

Week 17: Thursday 27th August

 

Old LIttletonians, Barbara and David Elsmore, just happen to live in the house which backs onto Caselle and have sent us this photograph.

The windows you can see are  bedrooms 3 & 4 and also the rooflights to the dining area.

Week 17:  Wednesday 26th August

After a very wet week (Monday evening was spent mostly holding a hair dryer over 3 pairs of builders' boots to prevent them from getting Foot Rot), we are now almost water tight.

Tuesday morning (25th August)
Roof over our bedroom with roof light and dormer window at the front.

The interior of our bedroom.

  Tuesday was spent preparing the rest of the roof panels for Wednesday.

The crane is quite big for a little cul-de-sac!

Vicki went into Sainsbury's to buy a bunch of flowers and bottle of wine for each of the neighbours who have been so accommodating when they have been blocked in.  When she explained to the lady at the checkout that we were having some building work done and this was a 'thank you' to the neighbours, the checkout lady asked if we were 'the crane'.  It seems that it is visible across the town.

Wednesday was very busy with the completion of the roof on both the house and the double garage.

The final delivery - the garage for Caselle and David's workshop has arrived.