Bits n bobs

Sally helping me train for the local sprint triathlon

Sally doing the Milkshake Dance

UFH manifold is hidden behind panel

Zinc frame

Pretty much the finished item less some landscaping

Electricity, Paint & Flames

The big news from the barn this week is that we have electricity connected to the main fuse board in the house rather than the temporary one that was in the garage. The electrical work in the house isn't finished yet, we still need to install light fittings but some of the plug sockets are working so I can listen to Radio 6 on the digital radio while i paint.

Western Power installing the electricity

Nutshell Super Eco Emulsion splatters and drips

The fire, thermal store and solar thermal collector have now been commissioned. So far the system seems fantastic. The collector is typically 30 degrees in the morning and the tank sits at around 45 degrees. When the sun comes round to shine on the collector its temperature jumps up to above 50 degrees, even at this time of year. The water pump only kicks in when the collector is +6 degrees hotter than the water storage tank. If we want even more hot water we can light the fire which can then provide up to 7kw of heat to the thermal store and 3kw to the room. Eventually when the electrics are all done the underfloor heating will be commissioned and then the hot water in the store will be able to be pumped around radiators upstairs and through the underfloor heating downstairs.

Fire + hot water = Bath + ( :

Goings on in the Garden

We are yet to sow grass in the garden the main reasons for this I suppose would be time, timing and docks and nettles. It is right up there high on our to-do list, we're nearly ready to pounce on it. Sally has done an amazing job planting out seedlings with the help of Louise and Crumpet her Collie. The raised beds are full of compost and we're planting out seedlings as they become strong enough. The hedge that was removed in the garden has now been wood chipped and we're going to use it to create paths between the raised beds. Any remaining wood will be burnt in the house or used to make a fire that we hope to get hot enough to burn the dock weeds that we've dug up so far. We get our greenhouse fairly shortly too.

Seedlings

Careful with that rake

Beans and wind-breaks in the background

1st plants in the ground

Nearly Finished!!

We've made lots of progress since I last blogged and now we have just a few key jobs that are outstanding plus lots of little bits and pieces before we're completely finished.

Major jobs left to do include: -
- Electrics and light fittings
- Transfer power supply from the garage to the barn (3 weeks tbc)
- Fix glazing to stairs and Juliet balcony (3 weeks)
- Commission stove & solar collector
- Painting

The exciting developments since my last blog include, stairs being fitted, kitchen installed, stove fitted, zinc oriel window surround installed, flooring laid upstairs and downstairs, bathrooms nearly finished. It's probably easier to look at the photos to see...

Stairs
We're fitting the stairs with a cupboard underneath that will act as a cold store. Instead of spindles we've stretched the budget to afford reinforced glass. This allows light to reach upstairs and makes the gallery area more of an interesting feature

Installation

The original stone wall

Larder / cold store

Glazing will be used instead of spindles

Kitchen
The kitchen lounge and dining room are completely open plan, we've tried to keep the kitchen fairly neutral so that it doesn't overtake the entire room.

Carcass going in

Tiles, floor and worktops added

Doors, induction range and hood installed

Just need to add shelves!

Stove
The stove is the heart of the house providing domestic hot water when the sun isn't shining and heat during the winter. We were worried about the size of the stove in relation to the room size but we're fairly happy now it's in position. Our lounge is still relatively small so we need to be careful about the size of any furniture we buy.

Really heavy, it took 4 people to lift

Stove in position, flue fitted and water pipes connected

South-east facing = passive solar gain

Freshly cut weeds

Now that the garden has been landscaped we're trying to work out the best way to manage our garden. We inherited a garden full of nettles and docks which were scraped back and dumped in a pile while the major landscaping works were carried out. Next the topsoil  (aka docks and the nettles) that had been set aside was spread back across the whole area and trampled down by a large digger. We've been back through the garden to try and weed it as much as possible but there is probably a few tons of weeds and seeds still in the soil.  We want to remain organic but we're also in a rush to get grass seed sown in time for the summer. It's either sow grass seed now and deal with the weeds later (either with chemicals or by digging up the lawn) or wait for more weeds to appear and leave the grass until the last minute.

On a more productive note we have sown veggies and they are starting to shoot already. Compost arrives on Thursday to fill the raised beds that were made from the original rafters in the barn. The hedge is cut and ready for chipping giving us mulch and material for creating paths. With the strong easterly winds we've been having we also want to create a wind break for the raised beds and get a greenhouse for Sally to stretch her green fingers in.

Steps down the bank to the raised beds

Testing out the old granite roller

Bluebells by the stream