APRIL: Balcony: Ovaeda paving system started but we had to wait another 2 weeks due to roof membrane edges needing sealing and non-stop rain.
Plasterboard delivered…early in 2025 we ordered all the remaining plasterboard required so that we could claim the VAT and avoid rising costs. The guys at Tamar agreed to store it and deliver as needed. Unfortunately, the deteriorating hips meant we didn’t need it as quickly as hoped and then twat trump decides to attack Iran and increase global prices of everything – including plasterboard. So we had to take urgent delivery of the 300 sheets before the cost rise. Thanks to Neville and Tracy we managed to get them all moved into the dry in a day – before the damp hit.
You don’t want to park t there! Schoolboy error – lifting a heavy pallet of slabs over the abyss at the back of the house – to the side of the digger – so the inevitable happened. At least the resurrection – c/o South West Crane Hire again – entertained the neighbours. The we had to fix the engine – pushing oil out of one cylinder. Luckily she started fine and remarkably the only damage was some broken glass, 2 slabs and a bent bit of bodywork. VERY lucky!
Sewage treatment plant sorted…1st annual service revealed a problem with the oxygen level and that the tank needed emptying – already! The experts came out, reset bits and moved bobs and it’s looking promising. We will find out at the next service next year.
Bungalow fully demolished…having installed enough of the balcony paving to store the furniture that was in the garden, we finally finished flattening the last third of the bungalow. Nice to see the hills in the distance and the oak tree in all its glory. Just got to remove the green shed now.
MAY:
More electrics done…Jo B continues with more sockets in the kitchen and downstairs.
Stone crushing…much debate about recycling the blockwork and concrete – eventually the volume made recycling the best option. Anything less than 50 tons just doesn’t stack up. Now we wait until a crusher is available.
Meanwhile, balcony tiling nearly finished (just waiting for additional slabs for bridge to arrive) and cladding started:
JUNE:
Not much progress in June due to trying to sort out the detail of the cladding around the windows initially then finding out the cladding has to be stained and protected (8 separate coats) before installation and losing a week due to the heatwave. That heatwave forced us to invest in air conditioning to help the MVHR keep the room temperature down and redesigning the cladding to accommodate solar blinds to prevent the heat gain from the kitchen and living room windows – even though the main glazing faces north east it gets enough of the morning sun to heat up the concrete slab – which then retains the 30 degree plus temperature overnight – even with doors and windows open. So, July will be spent cutting the cladding so we have straight and parallel edges, staining it with black tea (3 coats), then ferrous sulphate (vinegar with wire wool dissolved in it) 2 coats, then a bicarbonate of soda wash then 2 coats of Osmo UV protection. Maybe then, eventually, we can get on with cladding the kitchen wall.
Stone crushing update. The supplier of the crusher is a ‘tool’ and doesn’t want to do the work! Our neighbour, BIG Dick suggested we use the hardcore instead of gravel to raise the ground level around the house. As it’s about 18″ of fill it makes a lot of sense and gave me the excuse (and funds) to buy a proper FOFF hydraulic breaker for the digger. HUFFHRRGH.