Filling it up

With the power conduits all in and set now comes the time to fill all the deep holes that are in the walls around the place, more of these are from where bits of the old kitchen have been removed in the past.

More Power!!!

Today more of the conduit went into the kitchen to take the power for the wall sockets, under cupboard lights and ventilator fan.

With the infilling complete, we could then finish the concreting of the lower patio. This was a marathon session finishing off, both the sections along the edge, and the section at the bottom of the steps.

This completes the major section of the lower patio, enabling access to the front of the house without breaking ankles on the rough surface. Once we can get the new steps built, access to these lower rooms will be much easier.

Patching up

Following on from all the work of chipping out the spaces for all the power boxes now comes the task of putting everything back in.

First the power feeds for the fridge and the worktops

Then just a little cement in the back of the holes on the end wall, the holes ended up a little to deep due to the rocks and other rubbish that is used to make the holes.

And the light switch by the back door just needed a little plaster.

Back down on the lower patio, with a little help from Sheila and family we have got the ramp level filled and ready to take the final segment of the patio area.

Little boxes

With the walls clean and stable, it’s time to start filling in the holes.

First thing to go in are the power distribution boxes that will take all the power connections from the sockets.

Then the sockets for the fridge and work surface.

And the light switch by the window.

It’s a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it

Yep it was a dirty job, the walls in the kitchen we covered with layers of old whitewash an dirt and soot. Before we could do any more work it all had to come off. So with the entrance through to the rest of the house tapped off with plastic and duct tape it was time to put on the dust masks and get on with the job.

The end wall was the hardest as the soot and grease from the fire was burnt on, but once you got through it it came off.

We discovered that underneath the white was some red coloured paint which had been made to match the real terracotta tiles which originally were below it.

With the rest of the room cleared we then applied a mix of PVA glue and water to stabilise the surface.

Chiselling it

Back in side after a week or so working on the lower patio it’s time to get moving on the kitchen.

Looking towards the end wall we have chiselled out the sockets and conduit runs in the wall ready for sockets, under cupboard lighting and the extractor.

April Fool

April Fool, well not really as they don’t have that over here, they have something similar on Dec 27th, But that another story.

Sadly all we got up to today was pouring more concrete. Just another section complete on the lower patio.

Slightly weird shape to this one at it tapers in at the end to fit the wall.

That's now most of it complete, just the edges and a bit at the far end by the steps to complete.

Also planted out some of the veg for the summer that we brought at the weekend, First up courgettes and cucumbers.

Then Peppers.

And finish off with tomatoes and lettuce.

Bit’s and Pieces

A while ago we put some concrete in on the upper gardens to build a wall to stop the soil from disappearing over the edge. Today we installed more blocks to go with ones we had fitted a few days ago.

The remainder of the cement was used to neaten up the edging of the lower patio, before we lay the next slab.

The view from the roof shows where the next slab has to go in.

All in all it’s just another slab on the floor….

Another day and time to pour another slab of concrete. Not to difficult this time just move the frame and pour, Seem to have got this down to a fine art now.

The view from the steps end.

And looking back the other way.

A slab on the wild side

Having got a complete slab of concrete on one side of the lower patio, it time to start on the other side. So we moved the frame into position and then shifted several barrow loads of gravel down from the top. After a rest for several hours and lunch it was time to star the concrete pour, the second in 24 hours! It took a while longer for this one as it is a large area and quite thick, and it slopes up to meet the ramp at the end. But once done gives a nice feeling.

A slab on the side

That's it we’ve done it now.

Yep we have a complete concrete slab at the front of the house, Ok I spoke to soon, it’s not complete, complete but one side is now finished.

OK it doesn’t go completely to the steps, but there are a few things that need doing before we can get that far.

This is the next bit at the bottom of the ramp.

There’s no power in my kitchen, what me gona do

I’m going to fit some power that’s what I gona do (Apologies to UB40).

Yes finally we are starting to work on the kitchen again, the first job is to get the conduit runs and sockets into the wall, this is not made easy by the fact that these walls are made of concrete that was poured around rocks. So every time you chisel a hole in the wall there is a dirty great rock just where you want the socket to go.

Here is the sockets for the fridge and worktop, with the holes for the distribution boxes down below (they will be behind the fridge when done)

And a different view showing the socket at the other end of the worktop. The big black patch is where the original barbeque pit was, all this soot has to be cleaned off the walls sometime which is going to be a messy job.

Making base

Now before we can lay the next section there’s just one more thing to do. We need a little more soil just to bring the level up just a few inches.

With that and the manhole done we can pour the next section of the lower patio.

Where are we getting the soil? We are digging out a section on the next level down which will be the foundation for a wall that will go in, in the future to make the path down better.

In the garden things are doing we have harvested the Broccoli and will get a few more bits of them soon, the Cauliflowers are coming soon and we shall eat them starting this week. the first lot of Onions are maturing nicely, along with the Beetroot.

A second crop of Onions has gone in.

And we are trying and experiment this year Garlic… not that we expect a vampire apocalypse soon.

The first crop of potatoes has come out and in there place are the Beans, Peas, and later Maize.

And the second crop of potatoes is just beginning to pop up. One big problem this year is that we have had a very dry winter, almost no rainfall, so we have had to water the crops manually.

Down the man hole

Before we can put the next section of the lower patio we have to do a couple of jobs, the first on is just a quick manhole to connect a few conduit runs together, unfortunately as the manhole cover was smaller than any of the ones we had used before we had to build a new former first and then cement it in.

and dig a channel through to inside the house. What are these conduits for, we aren't sure at present, but they go to various points in the garden for possible power feeds for pumps and watering control that may happen in the future and it’s better they go in now before the concrete is laid.

Twist and pour

Now we have finished a few tasks which needed the cement mixer at the top of the garden we could shift it and the gravel down to the bottom and continue with the lower patio. With the machine down at the lower level it meant that we could just turn the machine over an pour out the cement into the prepared area.

So that's about a 6th of the main area of the lower patio.

And on to the kitchen

After what seems like an age we are  finally in a position where we can start work again on the kitchen. The first thing we need to get sorted is all the power feeds and first we have to chisel out the hole for the distribution box.

The final bit

A long time ago (in a galaxy far far away…) we were building the walls around the outside kitchen and patio. On bit for one reason or another never got done.

So finally after two years we got back to it, first we had to sort out the former and the steel work. The pour the cement.

To save having to run up and down with buckets full of cement we used our rope slide technique to bring down the loaded buckets. 

A New Web Site

We have just finished and released the website for the following holiday cottage

Casa del Riachuelo

Holiday cottage Casa del Riachuelo, Garafia, La Palma, Canary Islands, a holiday cottage in the north of the islands ideal as a centre for relaxing holidays

Description

In the region of Garafia the canarian people make there living working the land, rearing goats, or tending vines to produce the award winning local wines.
Nestled between the vineyards and the forest you will find the holiday cottage Casa del Riachuelo, named after the ancient spring which used to flow nearby.
Casa del Riachuelo is a single storey self-catering cottage completely restored in the traditional Canarian style.

Email: riachuelo@casaslapalma.es

Website: http://riachuelo.casaslapalma.es