Our new Velux windows
The view from one of the Velux windows
A bit of Anglian Water stupidity - how we have to label our garden tap~
The good news first - we now have two Velux roof windows as can be seen from the photo above. Whilst we were in Devon, Pete & Lee Brooks fitted them and received the building inspector's approval before refitting the plasterboard. What a difference this makes - the once gloomy roof space is now light and airy and we can see out over the hedgerow to the south west towards Tyne Hill Farm and the Sharpenhoe Clappers (the end of the Pegsdon Hills which form the very tail of the Chilterns). I spent most of Thursday afternoon making good and filling cracks/gaps in the plasterboard and on Friday morning ordered a 60 metre roll of Glasstex which is a woven glass fibre material with a random texture not unlike the sort of finish given by hessian. The major benefit of using this is that we don't have to plaster the room as the Glasstex covers up imperfections and can be painted. Not only that but it has much better fire protection qualities than almost any other wall covering. With the Glasstex ordered I set about cutting and fitting some oak strips to delineate between the existing plaster and the uncovered plasterboard in the guest room. This will provide a useful point from which to start hanging the wall covering.
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Still in the attic room I spent some time filling up gaps in the floor so that the we stand a reasonable chance of passing the air pressure test. I've found that using expanding foam (although something akin to a Quatermass experiment) is excellent although I've yet to judge just how much to apply as it expands, and expands, and expands...... Other areas, for example where the floor to wall gaps were not to wide, have now been silicon sealed.
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And so to the less good news. Having ordered a roll of 25mm black water pipe to replace the blue that was deemed in breach of the rules by Anglian Water, I cut and stuck adhesive tape bearing the legend "RECLAIMED WATER" every 6 inches down 12 metres of the pipe. I also had to chisel out the screed which I had previously laid where the water pipes appear in the utility floor so that our plumber could fit the nicely labelled black pipe. I also made a backing panel for the label for the outside tap which Anglian Water told me had to state "NOT DRINKING WATER". Pleased with completing these tasks, although rather irritated that the screed had to be removed again, I contacted the sprinkler company to check on the progress of the promised quote to supply a suitable booster pump that would give the required pressure and flow. "It will be sent out tonight" said the helpful young lady. Sure enough an email arrived and I scanned the options listed for the preferred one with the booster pump that would be sited in the utility room and seemed the simplest (if not the cheapest). However, it now appeared that this option was not as simple as had been suggested as it now stated that 32mm pipe was required from the rainwater harvesting tank, not the 25mm that was in place now (and was also the diameter of the new black pipe I had ordered and labelled). The problem we now have is that my plumber (the elusive Darren) is not sure if we can fit a 32mm pipe into the conduit from the garage to the house. This saga just goes on and on and is not made any easier by the fact that the sprinkler company take three days to respond to questions and seem unable to supply all the facts when they do respond. Looks like another 'phone call on Monday to try and resolve this one.
And so to the less good news. Having ordered a roll of 25mm black water pipe to replace the blue that was deemed in breach of the rules by Anglian Water, I cut and stuck adhesive tape bearing the legend "RECLAIMED WATER" every 6 inches down 12 metres of the pipe. I also had to chisel out the screed which I had previously laid where the water pipes appear in the utility floor so that our plumber could fit the nicely labelled black pipe. I also made a backing panel for the label for the outside tap which Anglian Water told me had to state "NOT DRINKING WATER". Pleased with completing these tasks, although rather irritated that the screed had to be removed again, I contacted the sprinkler company to check on the progress of the promised quote to supply a suitable booster pump that would give the required pressure and flow. "It will be sent out tonight" said the helpful young lady. Sure enough an email arrived and I scanned the options listed for the preferred one with the booster pump that would be sited in the utility room and seemed the simplest (if not the cheapest). However, it now appeared that this option was not as simple as had been suggested as it now stated that 32mm pipe was required from the rainwater harvesting tank, not the 25mm that was in place now (and was also the diameter of the new black pipe I had ordered and labelled). The problem we now have is that my plumber (the elusive Darren) is not sure if we can fit a 32mm pipe into the conduit from the garage to the house. This saga just goes on and on and is not made any easier by the fact that the sprinkler company take three days to respond to questions and seem unable to supply all the facts when they do respond. Looks like another 'phone call on Monday to try and resolve this one.
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I've decided that there's a great opportunity in producing "NOT..." signs, since almost everything in life should not be used for something or other. How about a "NOT FOOD" sign? The opportunities for this are endless. Signs could be posted on so many things - the front gate, the lawn, ones partner. Or even a "NOT A SEAT" sign to be placed on flowers, barbed wire, the barbecue, and so on. Hmmm - have to think about this a bit more.
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Having decided on a wood burning stove (Danish - what else?) we had to make a decision about the hearth on which it would stand. Due to the shape of the fireplace with its rounded corners, we knew that standard options would not fit. Our choice seemed to be glass, a stone slab of some sort, or tiles. In the end we opted for a dark riven tile, so I bought enough to cover the required area. Due to the rounded fireplace corners and the fact that I wanted a semi-circular front to the hearth we have to get the tiles cut accordingly. This will be done by a firm that uses very high pressure water jets to cut the tiles. I had an aluminium dashboard cut for my manic three wheeler by this guy and the results are quite amazing - really clean cuts to any shape you like. Despite being told how it works I still don't understand how water can cut as it does.
Having decided on a wood burning stove (Danish - what else?) we had to make a decision about the hearth on which it would stand. Due to the shape of the fireplace with its rounded corners, we knew that standard options would not fit. Our choice seemed to be glass, a stone slab of some sort, or tiles. In the end we opted for a dark riven tile, so I bought enough to cover the required area. Due to the rounded fireplace corners and the fact that I wanted a semi-circular front to the hearth we have to get the tiles cut accordingly. This will be done by a firm that uses very high pressure water jets to cut the tiles. I had an aluminium dashboard cut for my manic three wheeler by this guy and the results are quite amazing - really clean cuts to any shape you like. Despite being told how it works I still don't understand how water can cut as it does.
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More progress on the attic room today (Sunday) with all the plasterboard joints caulked and the first length of tongued and grooved board cut for the narrow apex of the ceiling.
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Jan & Rog
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