So finally managed to update the blog. Seems like nothing happened , but a bit of progress still.
Now just have to get this monstrosity past Building Control . Challenging task but I will manage. As always. I can tell I will not become a Groundworker in this life . Or the next.
http://tintabernacle.blogspot.com/2020/05/rc-beam-or-ringbeam-preparation.html
Here are some entertaining pics from this :
Above ground shuttering takes a bit of timbe
Buildhub member @NSS is doing a cycle marathon in his bedroom (OK, that's an exaggeration; it's in his shed ... maybe) to raise some money for a favoured cause during lockdown.
I have my own slightly mad cycling project, amongst several others.
I tried to get a local forum going a few years ago, which went exactly nowhere. So I’m trying again with an FB group whilst there are about 5x as many cyclists around ... many going up and down my lane. In adjacent areas great thin
An auspicious crane day as a Red Kite flies in front of our crane as it is installing the Timber Frame for Plot 1 ?
Its been a while as life has been really hectic and keeping up with things on site have meant little time for the blog. This one is exciting and the video shows the MBC Timber Frame for Plot 1 (our son Joe's house) from start to finish. We have cut this to be chronological and cut out the days MBC were not on site so the build looks continuous.
The build seq
Why is it so hard to get planning approval? Such a simple thing is mired in bureaucracy, pettiness (at least perceived), personal interpretations of the planning policy (e.g. the definition of disproportionate to the existing building) and, in some cases, pure incompetence!
One such example was from Southern Water who said they couldn't approve the proposal with a sewage treatment plant and we had to apply for connection to an existing sewage system. err....the nearest sewer is about
Sad I know, but really excited for my bargain MVHR unit to turn up today. Given it a quick test, and all is OK, will be a while before I get everything else sorted out, but hoping to have it all installed before the winter comes this year.
Don't think it was too bad for £420, and I had £25 in vouchers to use from Nectar points!
Its getting installed in a cupboard in the new dining room, and then all the pipe work and manifolds will be in the loft space of the
These are two Gresham lectures by the Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer.
Gresham Lectures are free lectures in London, funded by a legacy from Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579).
The first was on the centenary of the Spanish Flu epidemic, looking at the history of pandemics.
The second is on COVID-19 Coronavirus.
Once we'd exchanged on the bungalow we knew that completion would happen and so we didn't waste any time in interviewing and hiring an architect. We got 3 different architects to come round to see us (it was supposed to be 4 but the 4th didn't seem to be interested as after I phoned and left a message with details as to what we wanted I got a voicemail back saying he'd received a message about an extension or something rather than the complete demolition and self-build we're doing! it goes witho
A long time ago (about 15 years) in a county not so far away I met and married my wife. Soon after we had a couple of kids and started thinking about our future.
When I was a teenager my parents moved us abroad and built their own house and I think that sowed the seed for me as it seems that I've always wanted to build my own house and would sit down and watch Grand Designs back in the day and be drawn to the idea of it all.
So about 10 years ago we decided that we wante
Following on from the plastering work we did a quick stock take. Our plan was to be back on our narrow boat for the summer but with the current problems that was out of the question. We didn’t have materials to start flooring or fit bathrooms or kitchen and there was little hope of getting them. After a bit of head scratching and phoning around we found we could get fencing material and paint. We also had a few other jobs on the list that we could tackle, commissioning the water harvesting syste
Its been a few weeks since the last post but for us its not been a quiet time - we hear from friends who now watch daytime TV at a very leisurely pace - if only!!!! As we are at a point where we have a few days breathing space this is the first of several posts to catch up with ourselves.
After the scaffold went up round the outside of the build in preparation for the timber frame the next step was to lay the concrete floors as a 'lid' to the basement and sub floor and a ceiling to t
It’s coming up to a couple of months since I last posted.
With the upstairs now a contractor-free zone, we soon had many Ikea flat pack kits to construct for the kids bedrooms.
Our joiner fitted the utility worktop and units in February and we have since been applying oil to both this and the kitchen worktops.
The last bit we needed done to be able to get the house hab
I posted this video of a "Distributed Bolero" by the l'Orchestre national de France to the COVID Thread, and it seems to be worth posting here, especially as there is an established method of making these videos.
Here's one from a couple of years ago:
And here is a short tutorial (2 minutes):
And a longer tutorial - 40 minutes:
And a place where you can find a template for Garag
As per the last post - we live in interesting times and its not getting any easier! The only real upside is that the weather has improved finally. We had the scaffolders in last week and they have built round three sides to roof level and it looks HUGE as it surrounds both houses in one continuous run. It doesn't look it but it is in fact the houses will have the same roof height as the old bungalow (fractionally lower in fact) - we did suggest to the planners that since we have 2 and 3 story
We had always heard that self build was not only exciting but difficult and stressful, and it was living up to its reputation as we worked through all the issues of foundations and sub structure to get ready for the Timber Frame. There was a hiccup in the Beam and Block floor supply that pushed the schedule out a week but it was all looking good for B&B on the 27th March and MBC Timber Frame on the 6th April. This was a really tight but achievable schedule, and the Internorm with windows on
I was due to be writing about the happy day when my SIPS kit arrived on the Island, but instead I find that I have closed up the site and reduced outgoings as much as possible because the SIPS team can't be accomodated and fed on the Island given current restrictions, and travelling the length of the country is hardly sensible conduct at this stage.
Just so there is something to see from the site, here is the beam and block floor going in. Close to 1000 blocks and 68 beams plac
Following the screw pile install this week we had the steel framework installed. Lovely job. Only 1 issue where 1 beam which is below current ground level was blocked by a large concrete slab that we didn't expect - solution was to fit it about 50mm higher than the rest which will be fine if we cover in concrete.
Now that's in, we can order the beam and block. Just waiting on SE to confirm a slight change to that. So probably 2-3 weeks until the area is ready for storage etc but gre
Well it’s been an exhausting and rewarding three weeks. The plastering work started on the 25th February and finished today the 18th March. Keeping ahead of Shaun our plasterer has been a real challenge and has meant we have not had a day off. Our internal doors arrived from Germany intact which was a welcome diversion, we've stored them safely in the garage until we get the painting done.
The heat and humidity that goes with plastering has been interesting to say the least in
Friday was a near perfect day for concrete pouring. A little cold at first, but by the time the concrete lorries arrived it was warming up nicely.
The pile caps are all tied together nicely.
The first lorry arrives. Disapointingly they didn't pump the concrete because of equipment availability. One of the snags of living on an island! The concrete was poured into the dumper, then the digger used to bucket it in to the beam.
Half the long run done. Plenty of "wat
