Chimney stack

Thursday 6 Nov 2014

George didn't come back after Tuesday, apparently the special flue we needed - double skin to protect against fire because of our wood frame - was taking some time to arrive.  Thursday dawned dark and moist and we had resigned ourselves to a huddled weekend, when George's pickup appeared ...

and in a race against impending storm clouds, George started fitting the flue

 Then Dave had a call from Pete, who had broken his wrist and needed taking to hospital, so he took off, leaving Paris and I with the plastering

 Oops, a hole in our roof - a bit scary!

 One of the more complicated batons-for-lathing constructs I've made: with two olive wood corners to manage and including a double electrical socket fitting.  I took the photo because it sort of reminded me of one of my Dad's paintings from the 60s

 Later that day - work all finished and Dave returned - time for the inaugural firing of the stove.  Hurrah!

My plinth has come

Tues & Weds 4 - 5 Nov 2014

Bad weather was forecast for Friday, and we didn't really expect to have the stove fitted before the weekend, but we pressed on with finishing the music room just in case.  Things started to look up when George, Spyros from Mamma Mia's brother, arrived to install firebricks on Dave's breezeblock base.

 Nice yellow firebricks: the eventual floor level will come up to the bottom of the yellow layer.

 Window furniture fitted - we haven't been able to find these casement openers anywhere locally so we have to order them from Screwfix - who deliver free in Europe for orders over £100

 Paris lathing and plastering the last open sections of the internal wall

 Dave and I hung tarpaulins to protect our new wall.  These are on long strings through ring-bolts, so they can be lowered and raised like hoisting sail.

 The last section of open bale - top centre - finally plastered over.  Music room damp but finished!

 Temporary bale sofa for admiring our work!

 With plaster still in the bucket and hours of daylight left, Paris and I moved upstairs and finished this bit of wall on the mezzanine landing (eventually to have bookcases and therefore known as 'the library',

and started on the top layer of the new wall in the studio

The aftermath

Monday 3 Nov 2014

A chance to mooch around happily, collecting up tools and gloves and still have a day of sunshine in hand. 

 This is the join between old and new, we were a little concerned how the corner would look, but it seems to be okay

Midway through the second bale raising day, I walked into the kitchen and heard water splashing out under the sink.  Panic.  Tap feeder pipe malfunction.  Dave turned off one of the little undersink taps he'd cleverly fitted - emergency over.  So on Monday he had to deconstruct the plumbing and find the faulty pipe.  Meanwhile we only have a hot water feed to the kitchen sink, but as the hot water isn't plumbed in, this is cold water anyway, so no problem.

East Wall Bale Plastering - Pt 2

Sunday 2 Nov 2014, after lunch

 Sudden realisation that we've forgotten about boxing in the rafter to make a good edge for the plaster.  Scrabbled around among the offcuts and miraculously found three pieces that just fit.  Rowan and Pete doing the daredevil fitting.

 Alan came back for day 2, he and Panos climbing bale scaffolding to work up the outside wall

 Meanwhile, Jasmine and Paris start high up on a bale tower and work down the inside wall, passing bales out through the window to Alan and Panos as they get lower

 On the mezzanine, Lucy and Jade plastering the studio east wall

 Tea break, about 4 ish.  Sue and Robbie had reappeared, to get the kitchen functioning again.  At one count, we had 12 people on day 2.

 Wall plastering in full flow: Panos and Alan discussing tactics?  Lucy emerged from inside to take a photo, Rowan plastering by bucket from a ladder, and Dave up the scaffolding making a smooth join between the old and new sections.  I had just finished my stint up the scaffolding, stuffing straw behind blue mesh to make a nice rounded corner.

 Nearly done, only the ladder able to reach the top sections.  Those of us left drew up chairs and sat with a glass of wine while watching Rowan use every last drop of plaster to put at least a smear over the whole surface.  Big round of applause for the unsung hero - Dave, who didn't stop making plaster mixes all afternoon.  With four plasterers inside and three outside, he had a job keeping them supplied.

This is taken the next morning.  I was too exhausted to remember to take an end of day 2 photo.

Huge thanks and applause to everyone who came to take part, every contribution is a wonderful gift xxx

East Wall Bale Plastering - Day 2, Pt 1

Sunday 2 Nov 2014

Quite a few people came back the next day, perhaps out of curiosity to see what happens next ...

 9 am - the new bale wall golden in the morning sun.  The area around the kitchen door - showing green because of the laths supporting plaster on the inside - can't be built yet because of problems with the foundations.  

 By noon, we have long laths down the bales, with twine threaded through to tie them back to the wood frame, and blue plastering mesh on most exposed wood.

 Debbie and Tom arrived to inspect the works, bringing baby Rebecca and 3 year old Amy who became the youngest person to help stuff straw in the walls (unfortunately not photographed).

 Then we started plastering - Lucy having a go at ground level - just lashing the stuff on by hand - with rubber gloves.  At this stage we just want a waterproof coating on all over.

 Panos, Lucy's boyfriend, was able to join us on Sunday, and threw himself enthusiastically into the operation

Then we stopped for lunch

East Wall Bale Raising - pt 3

Saturday 1 Nov 2014, after lunch

 Vitally important kitchen support team - Liz and Sue.  Sue got so muddy at the last bale raising that she refused to do any building this time, but took over management of the kitchen, for which we were really grateful

 Lin and Paris somehow making tea for eighteen people after lunch

 A moment of triumph - a successful 3 way split - making little filler bales for the tight spots under the eaves

 Dave's brother Pete sawing back a protruding bale

 Dave and Pete looking like those characters from Sesame Street!  

Only a tiny area left to fill at the apex.

 Four o'clock - all the bales in, time for a group photo of everyone still around.  Some of the early arrivals had left before this.  From left: Tina, Adi, Alan, Liz, Lin, Rowan, Dave, Paris, Robbie, me, Pete, Lucy, Sue.  Brilliant team!

 Rather later, as the barbeque gets going, a pic of the old and new bale walls and where they join

 Rowan and Paris had made lemon tart for dessert, complete with little house stencils!

Very much later, just us, Rowan and Paris left, all wrapped up against the evening chill

East Wall Bale Raising - pt 2

Saturday 1 Nov 2014, 11 am

 Bale splitting dream-team: Paris, Lucy and Tina, working flat out

 Our hive of activity

Me taking the photo, safe on the mezzanine, Rowan on the bales outside, hammering in stakes

 

 Alan, a surprise arrival who came with Tina and turned out to be a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm - tying bales to the wood frame

 The bale painters with Liz, another surprise arrival with Tina

 Pete, Rowan's Dad, treating the structure as a climbing frame to tie bales in where there isn't a handy mezzanine

 Someone else must've got hold of the camera - there's me in the foreground, watching Rowan and Dave stuffing bales in at the top level.  Dave only did that one - just to show he could.  Not comfortable at the top of a ladder.

And then it was 1 o'clock lunch time.  I had made leek and potato soup and Mad Robbie brought a big tureen of spicy bean soup, so there was enough for everyone.  At this point, we had 18 people in total.

East Wall Bale Raising - in pictures pt1

Saturday 1 Nov 2014

Dave and I were awake early and pressing on with the prep:

 Dave making a second bale needle for splitting the bales.  The wall to be done is full of small spaces around windows, so almost every bale will need to be adjusted for size.

 The protective clothing 'shop' in the music room - gloves, masks, goggles and overalls

 No-one here yet, just time to try out the first bale under the big kitchen window

 Our French neighbour, Marie-do arrived first, and asked 'is anyone else coming?'  Then the day took off.  First thing was to throw some bales out the window.

 Two teams were swiftly established - very European: 3 x UK, 1 x French and 2 x Dutch.  The group on the left are learning bale splitting from Paris, (who found it funny to be called 'Paree' by Marie-do!); Anya and Eva on the right took on the mucky job of painting bales in clay slip.

 Rowan started jamming cut bales into the walls as quickly as the splitters could split them

 Dave trimming a bale with the chainsaw - not very successfully, it was too damp due to the clay slip

Lin on the first floor, filling the box beam with stuffing - and it's still only 11 am.

Continued in next post ...