A struggle

Today has been a struggle, with bad instructions and confusion, but we've worked our way through.

Bekir starts on the roof

The first hole through for the support strap

Fixing extra supports in place

Strap bent and secured

The sun came out, still working on the roof

Drilling an extra hole

Fully secured in place

It started with fog and mist and I did suggest to the men that they not work on the boiler but Bekir wants to get things he's started finished so he went for it. They were focusing on getting the frame attached securely to the roof beams and this involved drilling holes through the roof planks and then bending the steel structural strap around a beam inside. I've got a lot of pictures of this but not much more to say. Thankfully the sun did come out during the morning and warmed everyone up. They completed this just after lunch and then our progress pretty much ground to a halt. We need to find a frost dump valve before we can fill any water into the system, and also needed to get some caulking for the plumbing joints, so they spent a fair amount of time in town trying to find these things. The caulking was ok but the frost protection valves, no joy. We then wasted a load of time trying to work out which way around the solar panels were supposed to go and settled, finally and right at the end of the day, on "it doesn't matter". It was too late by this time to actually start fitting them so that was the end of the day.

Just as the sparkler stopped sparkling

Just as I was starting to write this update Rosie called me from the patio as she had a sparkler; unfortunately I was just too slow with the camera and caught it just as it finished. Never mind.

So there it is; another day, though we aren't where I wanted to be at least progress is being made. Back tomorrow, thanks for reading.

A school day at the Old School

Today has been very much a learning experience for everyone; it's been pretty tough at times but progress has been made and we are getting there.

Breaking open the fitting box

Bekir and Halil work on assembling the frame

Here are the rest of our blocks

The second frame is nearly done

Bekir removing tiles

The men started the day thinking they'd be working on the floor but the forecast for today and tomorrow is expected to be dry so I suggested we make a start at least on the solar boilers. We carried one of the boxes of hardware up and began the process of assembling the framework however didn't realise we were following the wrong instructions and even had the wrong box - I've bought one solar boiler that has two solar panels and one that only has one so there were two different sets of fitments. Oh well, Angela spotted the mistake and after that the frames went together quickly. Mid morning the remaining blocks we had ordered for the walls also arrived and they have been unloaded as well. After lunch with all the frames in place Bekir went onto the roof to remove the tiles along the line of the beam we were considering using to secure to, more on that later.

Bekir carries the frame over to the other roof

He made it safely

Extra beams to secure it to

Tidying up at the end of the day

A short while later I was watching, and hiding a bit in fear, as Bekir lifted the frame over to the far roof section to measure and ensure we had everything in place with plenty of space. The wind was starting to pick up at this point and it was cold and not ideal really but they kept at it, and he got over safely thank goodness. I then had to leave them to it for a fair while during which time they realised that the original beam they had planned to use was not in the correct place so they have fitted some extra wooden supports inside the roof which will have the metal brace bent around. By the end of the day a lot of preparation had been done and tomorrow they'll start to actually fit the first of the boilers, which is actually the biggest one with two collectors and a large boiler attached. We do also need to get some more valves before we can actually start using them but the main thing for now is to get all the invasive work done before we plasterboard the entirety of the inside.

A sun set of sorts

I'll leave you with a picture of the sun starting to set - it's been so long since we saw any sun!

So there it is; an exciting day today. Here's to tomorrow, back then. Thanks for reading.

Starting to skim the floor

Today's update is going to be short not because not much happened, but because most of what happened was just all the same thing.

Bekir spreads out the wet wash

A scattering of cement dust onto the water

Making a level floor is not very easy up here

Look! BLUE SKY!! And (almost) sun

Cracking on with this new floor skim

First thing the men did a final little bit of insulation however I got no picture of that as I was busy. They then headed out to get more cement in Thomas and when they got back they cracked on with the jobs. The first task was to wash down the area they were going to do with water and sprinkle some cement dust onto the water, which was then mixed in with a brush. This served to both wet the underlying cement to improve adhesion, and also combined any dust into the first layer which will also help it all stick. Then it was all about Halil mixing cement and bringing it up in buckets while Bekir worked doubled over to lay the skim in the back storage area. It was hard work. Mid afternoon something really cool happened, though - the sun came out! I have missed the sun, it was great to go onto the balcony and not only see grey. Anyway, by the end of the day the right hand side of the storage had nearly been completed which is great. We do need to bear in mind that we're going to be doing this for the entire floor up here - it's going to take some time.

And there it is; thanks very much for reading. Back tomorrow.

A weekend, then back to it...

Well here we are again, rushing closer and closer to Christmas but still the men are here. First, however, the weekend.

Rosie with her Playdoh toy

Tidying the magnets on the fridge

This is our first egg

I did not take many pictures over the weekend though it was a fun one. Saturday there was time for play before Rosie and I headed into town to get some stuff including a big present for Angela. We decided to give it to her early so we could enjoy it and so the past couple of days we have begun watching The Hobbit on a brand new television. It is awesome. On Sunday I had a day at my desk but Angela and Rosie had a really fun day including clearing all Rosie's artwork off the fridge so it can be stored safely and making space for all the new drawings she will do. We also had a fried breakfast and this included our first ever egg from our chickens.

The second of our friend's freezers is shifted

It's very cramped working in under there

Halil rests from lobbing bricks

Sweeping as he works

Ending the day doing rock wool

This morning it was still overcast but at least not raining any more. The men were in on time and the first thing I had them do was to help shift the second freezer out of the back of Thomas and into the garage. After that they mixed more mortar up and Bekir got stuck into rendering onto the walls while Halil was both mixing and when not doing that, tidying and clearing. He has thrown all the bricks that were in the roof down onto the ground outside and then stacked them up. Bekir made great progress and by mid afternoon he had done all the way round the bay and also round the corner a bit. He ran out of cement at this point however as I had to go to town in Thomas I set them to working on the insulation rather than wasting time coming with me to get to the shop. A good thing too as I was out for ages.

Happy watching The Hobbit together

When I got home Rosie was already back. We sat and watched The Hobbit together, then had dinner, then after dinner finished the first film off. Christmas really is here!

So, there it is. Thanks for reading, we'll be back tomorrow.

Plastering and Christmas Lights

Today is a day of two halves. I'm late starting this so let's get to it.

A big pile of sand has been delivered

Let it burn

Starting to slap the mortar on the walls

Angela takes a stroll

Getting towards the end of the first mix

The men started the day trying to make use of our existing sand to make up the plaster/mortar however that sand was bought mixed with stones and it was really difficult for them to separate the stones out, what with all the rain that has made the sand very heavy and sticky, so we ordered some more sand which arrived very quickly. While waiting for that Bekir had another tidy around and lit another fire to get rid of it. It was quite stinky. Once the new sand had arrived they mixed a load of mortar up and then Bekir got to work in the restricted space, throwing the mortar onto the exterior wall to seal it prior to plastering. Thankfully the rain did stop today, however it didn't really brighten up that much and was miserable and grey all day. In the afternoon Angela went to collect Thomas with the men and also to do some stuff at our friends house to winterise their place so it was only a half day for the men anyway.

Gizmo and Tiny say hi to Rosie

Rosie watching the show

Rosie on my shoulders

Time to meet Santa again

As Angela was out I got to collect Rosie from school and when we got back the puppies from the farm were at the gate again. Rosie loves them and hopped out the car to say hello to Gizmo and Tiny. After that it was time for a little hobby then when Angela got back, much later than we'd expected, there was a huge rush to get back out the house and down to town in time for the lights show. It was pretty awesome with singers and dancers and Rosie saw some of her friends, sat on my shoulders for a bit, then met Santa and got a little gift. We left actually before the lights were turned on as Rosie was hungry and so were we - we had a nice dinner at the local fast food place which we do like then headed back in time for bed time for Rosie and me to write this update.

So there it is. Another weekend is upon us so back on Monday. Thanks for reading.

Two days in the roof

Two days in one to cover in this update as I went out last night with a friend and was back too late to want to write an update. Onwards.

Working out positioning

Trying to hoover all the dust (and failing)

Fitting wooden plugs into the wall

The junction box is ready

Cinder blocks for our walls

Sweeping the dust up

Dinner time

Yesterday started with more work on the electrics by Bekir while Halil worked on cleaning and tidying. The vacuum cleaner didn't really work as well as we wanted as the wide head didn't want to lift all the dirt but he stuck at it. They headed out mid day or so to get some more items for the electrics such as a junction box and some joint strips and they also ordered in a load of the wall blocks we are going to use for the dividers up there; these were delivered very quickly and I didn't even hear the truck drop them off so I missed the process but now they are stacked inside nicely. Upstairs Halil was continuing to sweep to remove as much dust as possible and it was a very dusty place indeed. All in all it was a good day and I went out (as I've said) to see my mate and had a lovely meal but was back much later than expected. Unfortunately it rained nearly all day, though it stopped for my walk home.

First block put in place for the wall

A gap for a door, and the corner

Bekir cutting a block to size

Fitting insulation (a horrible job)

Plasterboard in place

Mortar on the end wall

Today was another day of rain all day and I'm hoping the forecast for it to stop tomorrow is correct. The men were back to the roof this morning and first of all they started to lay out the bottom course of the blocks for the right hand wall of the corridor. We discussed doors and other spacings then they just got on with it. Once this first course was done I suggested that the insulation and plasterboard be done in the crawl space we are creating as it would become very difficult if the walls were fully up. The men agreed and swapped over to doing some insulation and plaster boarding. At the end of the day Halil made use of the left over mortar which they had planned to use to build the walls with, and slapped it onto the end wall which was a good way to save waste.

So there it is; thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow. Cheers.