Month: July 2007

From the back of the barn, along one side of the 'garden' (the enclosed area to the back of the barn) runs a mortared stone built wall. This wall butted up to the rear wall of the barn and so needed to be removed or rebuilt to avoid damp problems. Additionally, an entrance to that side of the barn is a must to allow the shortest route between the yard where we park cars and the back door to the barn. So, a broken chisel and a few pints of sweat later, the concrete cap was off the wall, the…

Seems to me that the negativity around the recent 'British Monsoons' is getting out of hand. If you've been flooded out, then fair enough, but for those of us lucky enough to live on high ground, let's stop moaning! So in my attempt to redress the balance here are my reasons for embracing the rainy weather. A least we're not moaning that it's too hot as we would be if the sun was out. The garden is happy... it's too wet to cut the grass and there is no need to water the plants (hooray!) They can't enforce a hose-pipe…

I've had a few concerns about the foundations of the barn, specifically how much of the soil that has built up around the walls we will be able to clear to install new drains and discourage damp without exposing the foundations. With pick and spade I sunk a trench to see what was what (or at least take a guess). The barn is built on a slope, with the walls at the top of the slope being shorter than those at the foot of the slope and with a horizontally level roof line. Digging down, I found what I take…

I've been at the barn for a few days, digging holes, hitting things with hammers & lugging things around with a wheelbarrow - my builder competency level is somewhere around that of navvy. The most constructive of my efforts has been in putting walls up on a previously opened sided barn using corrugated galvanised sheets. The barn had three open sides, with one wall and the roof already built from galvanised sheets. Therefore, the most obvious way to build the remaining walls was to use the same material. I've left the front open as we'll reuse some of the barn…

The younger sibling of the ground source heat pump (GSHP), the air source heat pump (ASHP) is an exciting development in heating technology. They operate on the same principles as the under-ground alternative, but draw thermal energy from the air rather than underground - air at ambient temperatures is passed over a finned heat exchanger and heat energy extracted into the evaporator of the heat pump. ASHP's release up to four times more heat energy than they consume in powering their various components and so offer an energy efficient, sustainable heating solution. They are best coupled with well insulated, energy…

We have a few fruit trees just behind the barn. I ate the sole surviving plum the other night, so can't share that with anyone, however, there are still some lovely young pears growing. Anyone have any idea what variety they may be? All assistance in pear identification will be gratefully received! Click on the image for a bigger picture [may take some time to load as it's quite a big image].

Déjà vu I seem to have been here before! With detailed plans and a bill of quantities all worked out, quotes from builders are the latest task to appear on the horizon. So off I go again working my list through wrong numbers, unreturned calls, incorrect messages, retirees, long backlogs and lack of tradesmen. Do I give the impression that this isn't my favourite part of the game? So, I've got one builder quoting so far; wish me luck with the rest.