14.5 tog duvet (and the craic is good)

17 January 2014

Now that the plumber has been on site for more than a glancing look at the place (!), we can start to finalise the layout upstairs.  We now have pretty exact dimensions of the upstairs: the length and width of the room, as well as the wall height.

Several emails back and forth overnight, this time about moving the hot water tank downstairs into the shower room, thereby removing the large, person-sized eyesore from the toilet/bath area upstairs. It seems like a win-win to us. It also makes sense to make use of the very high ceiling in the shower room.

If the hot water tank goes, then the low privacy wall between toilet and bath upstairs can now be shifted and that frees up more space for the bath.

The electrician has fixed the power board in the only spot he could find that fulfils regulations - right next to the front door. A lovely welcome to any home. I guess we will soon forget about its ugly functional face. Maybe we could disguise it with feathers and glitter, or a trompe l'oeil bucolic scene?

A letter and photos in the inbox today. Tom says that Phil, Brian, Greg and he were all at the barn yesterday and there was 'a happy, productive atmosphere'. Only two things missing: G and me...
The photos show that the barn has been wrapped in its own winter duvet of thick insulation, and doesn't it look cosy?

From L to R - Phil, Brian and Gregg.

Brian enjoying the limelight as Phil takes a pic... before getting down to business with the pesky powerboard.

The shower room window with its oversized lintel.

The stairwell is coming along. 

The back corner where the yellow insulation is stacked is where the toilet will go, behind a low privacy wall.

Check out the A-frame.

Cosy toes.

Did someone mention winter? Bring it on.

'The days seem to fly by'

29 November 2013

A bumper crop of photos this week, as Tom and his team make good progress:

             "The view from the upstairs window is fantastic, the photos don’t do it justice ... It's been cold and crisp here all week, with low temperatures overnight. Its been very enjoyable  working on the barn, your planning is coming together nicely. The days seem to fly by."

When the builder is happy, and even he comments on the scenery, that has to be a good thing, right?

The kitchen window proved to be tricky and they lost a fair bit of stone work above the lintel. 

The lintel will be cleaned up later on.

The teeny shower room window with its oversized lintel :). It's centrally placed on the wall when you are inside, but because of the thickness of the stone walls, looks off-centre here.

Upstairs, work has begun on the French door overlooking the valley. We were sad to see the small existing window go, but in order to get a reasonable height on the door, we had to sacrifice it. The gable stonework will be replaced; it's not going to be a Grand Designs special, with an all-glass gable end. Sorry to disappoint, folks.

This morning in my inbox, more photos, taken yesterday morning and evening...

The cladding of the right hand wall is underway. The stairs will rise along this wall and turn just short of the central beam.

But don't take my word for it; come and see for yourself. Only not yet. The beds aren't made and I have to Hoover.

Big Daddy of a lintel

30 October 2013

Tom has admitted to losing sleep over the replacement of the rotten lintel over the main barn entry. It took weeks of cogitation and consultation with Phil, the carpenter and other builders but finally, he had a plan of action designed to avoid losing stonework as much as possible. He even went over to England to get hold of some equipment for strengthening the gable end.

In the meantime, they have been working on the upper floor joists.  And it looks as if head-height is not a problem.

Last week they began by supporting the gable end over the beam. It took them 4 days to get it ready.
And then the pictures speak for themselves.

Simply magnificent.

... and more knock-throughs

13 October 2013

The second knock-through is the French door that will one day lead out onto the terrace from the little living room.  And the third is the small window which currently commands a startling view of the corrugated wall of the neighbour's cabine (which we hope will one day be goooooone!).

It's perhaps a little difficult to see from the photos, but all the openings are bevelled so that they are larger  on the inside than on the outside, to increase light and to focus one's gaze on the outside. Look at the depth of those lintels!

There will be a small prize for the person who doesn't notice the glaringly obvious pipe that is ... in the wrong place. Thanks, Charles: 10 out of 10 for focus.

Knock-throughs

4 October 2013

A bumper crop of photos this week. The guys have been busy with the first of the knock-throughs - the downstairs french door on the gable end overlooking the valley.

I think the photos speak for themselves: it's quite a process!

In other news...the top of the wall overlooking the neighbour's property has been built up in readiness for the two windows and the outside oak cladding. It's hard to see in the photo below, but insulation is in place in readiness for the interior blockwork.

The seasoned oak lintels are to be seen lying about, waiting to be cut to size. Tom says they are extremely heavy. Good.

The heavy oak beams on the orange trestle outside in the weather (!) is the frame for the main barn opening. Looking suitably robust (as per our brief to the carpenter).



Next up is the replacement of the rotten lintel over the main barn opening. Drum roll, please.