Odds and Ends

One of the problems we have is that we have a large number of different jobs on the go at once so sometimes we end up doing half a dozen different jobs in one day, and today was one of those days.

First to tackle was some more blocks on the lower steps area.

On the back of the steps is going to be a little cupboard which will house the grey water valves and other stuff.

Next  just a little trim of the concrete under the window in the dining room so that we can put on some tiles to make a nice window sill. This is something we overlooked when we built the window in the first place.

Then just a few more bits of rendering on the vent hut

And there all jobs done for today.

Renderware

To finish off the vent hut we just need to put a small coat of render on to provide a good surface to paint and blend into the existing surface.

And with the left over render we can finish off one small area at the front of the house which just needed a little to smooth everything off.

 

with this little but of filling the front is now ready for painting.

Back of the house starting to look good.

Foam Party

The normal way round here to stick the top layer of tiles on is to use expanding foam. So after yesterdays abortive attempt due to a failed can of  foam we had a drive out to get another one.

Once the foam had dried we can cut back the excess and render the outside.

On the tiles

with the cement fully dry after a few days, it’s time to tackle the tiles. Laying a bed of cement on which you lay the bottom layer of tiles. It’s a bit of an art to get right as you have to remember that the lowest row of tiles actually goes on the opposite way round to the rest of the tiles.

At present the top row of tiles are just laid on and not stuck down as the can of foam we had was completely solid  and wouldn’t work.

And it was getting dark with possible rain so time to call it a day.

Uncovered

After the few days to dry comes the crucial step of removing the frame work, and exposing the concrete. If the concrete is stuck to firmly to the wood then it could pull away and ruin the finish of the wall.

Thankfully this didn’t happen and we are left with a nice clean pour.

The tiles are just stacked on top for now, unfortunately we haven’t got enough of the reclaimed tiles so we are going to have to use new ones on this hut.

Frame Up

Time to put the top on the vent hut. This entails first building a wooden frame round the out side and inside of the top of the vent hut, this is sloped of the inside to take the racilliones which will provide the base for the roof.

Embedded in the back of the wall will be two pipes which will provide an exhaust, and also an inlet for the air.

Once the frame work is complete it’s time to pour the concrete, once the concrete is up to a level the racilliones need to go on.

And that’s that, just time for a long shot to give some idea of how it would look.

Block up

Just a few blocks added here and there today.

First a few blocks go on to form the wall of the vent hut.

The another couple go on to bring the steps up a little, now this is ready to make the base of the small recess in the back of the steps which will house the valves for the watering.

A better photo of the wall that I mentioned earlier.

Venting

One of the little jobs that had to be completed before the painting of the walls could continue was what we call the “vent hut”. On the roof we have always had this little  square block and underneath was a circular hole which we believed was for a heater before the hole was made in the wall to connect the kitchen and the rest of the house.  Our intention is to use this to make a ventilation system to help keep the house cool in the summer.

Helen through the hole.

once the cover was removed from the top and with a board placed below it was time to insert the pipes that will handle the air extraction, the water feed up to the solar hot water heater that will be fitted one day, and control and power cables.

Then we built a wooden frame to make the base.

Fill with concrete and job is done for today. But there was time just to finish off a few little other jobs, like prepare the wall of the bathroom ready for the render. The blue is a mesh which is fixed on the wall to help the render stick and not crack.