Finishing the fiddly bits

31 Jan 2019

On Thursday we were off to Lefkas to arrange with Spiros, a land surveyor, to get our territory registered, which took most of the day.  The last boards for the gaps between the mezzanine joists are cut and varnished, and all but two were fitted by the end of the day.

 Several of the boards involve tricky bending and stretching to fit a drill into the gaps.  Here's Dave  teetering over the fridge ...

 ... and fitting the boards for the foot of the stairs.

While I did the ones that involved clambering over the tool benches.  The wood looks very new and blonde compared to the rich gold of the older pieces, but it should season in. 

Next tasks

Monday 28 January 2019

We started work on the under-mezzanine ceiling.  First job is to board the gaps between the mezzanine joists, so that we can measure ceiling boards for length.  We had the wood for most of these, so while waiting for our delivery of plywood panels and batons we could get on.

 One job that's been waiting a long time - drawing the line on the floor where tiles will meet wood flooring.  It's not very clear in the photo, but there's a straight line and a slight bow to echo the line of the stove and the mezzanine above.

 The delivery arrives, in a break in the weather.  Floor space disappears again!

A couple of boards up in the kitchen, over the main beam, between the joists (directly over the dog's head).  The rest are being varnished.

Rain and more rain

24 - 27 Jan 2019

 We drove back from Ioannina in the electric Leaf, after charging up to full at the only fast charger, about 120 km away.  So we arrived with around 50% charge.  Then we went to Lefkada to place a wood order, and we were down to 30%, with wall-to-wall rain forecast for the next 10 days.  This is when the off-grid electric car idea becomes a little stressful.  In time, we hope to have a wind turbine, which would supplement our solar power very usefully.  We also hope to arrange access to our own charger, which would make it easier to stop/start charging with bright spells during the day.  Meanwhile, we wait for brief bursts of sunshine and dash out to plug in the car, eking out a few percentage points each time.

Despite the weather, having been away, there are outdoor housekeeping jobs to do. We're running short of stove starter logs - cypress and pear are our main softwoods, so during a brief spell of not-too rainy weather we scoured the land for seasoned branches to cut to length.

 Barrow loads of damp branches to chainsaw into slim logs

 Stacked up in our now-cluttered solarium.  Also know as log drying facility, cardboard for mulching the garden storage, and excess chair dumping ground.  Space is at a premium.

 Another bit of Ikea furniture - a potting cupboard and shelves.  Currently holding the Moringa pods for drying, and subsequently, the stripped seeds.  Hopefully they'll dry out and eventually germinate.

The seed shelves, and at bottom right, a bucket of worm castings - our first worm bin harvest.  Excellent soil, but very rich, so will need diluting with ordinary soil for seedlings.

Sudden adventure

19-20 January 2019

When your little brother turns 50, you know you are not as young as you were!  It was great to be there, and to meet up with family and Jonathan's best friends.  Too much champagne and lots of good food and good company.

 The unusual suspects: Richie, Sarah, Jono and Sarah's friend

 Richie, me and Dave, gently sloping, with Sarah's incredible balloon decorations behind us

 The next day, the actual birthday, at a favourite restaurant, Jono and Sarah

 Richie

 Mike, Mum and Nick, who came up for the day

More of the same

A week later, the mushroom box we gave Jonathan for a pressie, sprouting like crazy

Taking a break

16 - 22 Jan 2019

So we were pottering along with the work in the pantry when I received a text message, from my sister-in-law, asking if we would consider being surprise guests at my brother's 50th birthday.  Not a chance! was our first response.  But sitting in the pantry lashing on whitewash, I started to think, 'why not?'

The end result was that we asked a friend to come and mind the dog, then we drove to Ioannina, stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport, who were happy to let us charge the car, flew to Athens and on to Heathrow the next day, and whoops! there we were.

 R&R courtesy of Liana's reflexology, very wonderful, even if it is a squeeze finding a place for a bed among the chaos.  Liana agreed to come to stay to mind the dog, cats and chickens while we were away.

 The tidy-up: everything back in the pantry, the living room cleared for Liana, and a bed installed as she preferred to stay downstairs with the animals.  Also our new Ikea chairs, a sudden decision to get some decent back support.

 As clean and tidy as we can make it!

 The pantry re-installed.  I still need to spend time measuring and fitting with proper shelves and hooks, and arrange everything properly.  But this will do for now.

Woodwork, stuffing and painting

7 - 17 January 2019

The plaster in the pantry is starting to go off, enough to get on with the rest of the work in there.  We want to insulate all round the room to try to keep it cool all year round.  Part of the room is under the stairs, which is a tricky area to board and stuff.  Also, I'm trying to use up all the offcuts and remnants from the ceiling work, instead of buying new, to clear space and use less resources, so it will be rather a jigsaw.

 Dave cuts a new catflap in the solarium - quite an exciting gothic arch shape, due to the difficulty of working at ankle height when you don't bend too easy.  The cats now have to manage two 'one-way' doors, which should keep random cats out (as they haven't had the necessary practice).

 Some of the pantry wall jigsaw pieces measured, cut, sanded and painted

 Batons and stuffing installed

 Our message to the future, in the event of the house being deconstructed (by hand) at any time

 Boards installed, both in two bits, patched up with filler

 Using old pillows to insulate between the stairs 

 The boarding under the stairs is made up of the offcuts from several ceiling boards, all of which were cut at slight angles to fit the ceiling spaces.  So nothing lines up.  More filler, and surface batons to cover up - which will be handy for hanging hooks from, anyway.

 We finally manage to get the right number of joining pieces for Dave to feed the extractor tube out of the window.  Now we can use the cooker hood!

 Outside, by the music room door.

 Whitewash goes on the pantry walls

 More jigsaw pieces - ceiling trims, edging trims, filler pieces for all the odd corners, and still the skirting boards to do.

Then bright white paint to reflect light in all the odd corners.

Winter is come

5 January 2019

The threatened cold weather has arrived.

 Snowy peaks on our own local mountains

 Snow falls outside the kitchen door

 Frost everywhere

 including the Moringa beds, where the young trees are looking very sad.  We're just hoping that the roots are staying warm enough to survive under their straw heaps 

 But inside the solarium, when the sun shines, we have 23 degrees, so we open the doors into the house to let the warm air in.  We fire up the stove in the evening, for about 5 hours, and that's our only heating, but   the house feels warm and cosy all day, and visitors are impressed.

 Angel meets ice for the first time - and is thrilled!

The long view - Goat Bottom dressed in white.

Bathroom Floor

4 - 5 January 2019

Well, we worked towards having the whole house floored by the end of 2018 - and didn't manage it.  But we did get the Entry floor done by the deadline (although it's not yet grouted), and then we asked Neil if he could do the bathroom.  It will be disruptive whenever it gets done, so best to do it at a quiet time of year.

 The hall outside the bathroom will also be done - so all the furniture from both rooms gets heaped into the poor music room.  All except this second fridge - given to us years ago as a beer fridge, but as we've given up beer (Dave's wheat intolerance makes it undrinkable for him) and we eat very little dairy and hardly any meat, there's not much use for a second fridge.  Neil said he can use it as a beer fridge, so we'll load it into the Punto and take it up to his place.

 The bathroom, nearly cleared of furniture

 Neil gets to work - piecing the terrracotta in to meet up with the blue stone slabs laid under the toilet, long ago when we thought that would be the floor surface in here.  This is not a big issue, the house is such a patchwork already.

 Moving on

 End of day one - bathroom done, and plank installed for access to loo, sink and shower.  We're going to have to be steady on our feet for a few weeks!

 Day two - making ready

 Half done

 and finished.  With blue masking tape to protect the wood edge.

 Second plank and curtain installed (the door had to come off), and boards to dissuade the dog from bouncing on the new tiles until they've had a chance to set.

I reckon if we stay off the tiles until the end of January, they should have set hard enough to grout.  The long setting time is due to our insistence on lime mortar rather than tile adhesive.  We want the  moisture balancing properties of lime to help manage humidity in the bathroom.