October/November 2007
There's been quite a gap in postings here
The project has got to that terminal sort of slow down phase with all sorts of odd leftover bits to be done.
We are out of the old end of the house with the decorators at work there.
The heating and communications systems all seem to be working OK.
First some outside views
View from the West across the fields
And from the South East - note no greenhouse!
I have done these next two to show the grass to the best advantage - its still getting established - a No Go area for now.
This is from the entrance to the paddock.
The digger levelling off the upper lawn, this is about 60 feet in diameter and will have a gentle grass slope down to the intermediate level.
The green house had to move to allow the landscaping plans to happen.
A bit of rope, a seven ton digger and three good men and away it went.
In its new resting place in the paddock. It is standing on some of the old railway sleepers and has the makings of a floor using the old concrete slabs from the patio. More re-cycling!!
Since it was moved I have shifted two trailer loads of glass down there and glazed the sunny side.
Quite a few panes got broken so for now a tarpaulin is fixed over the North side. The water pipe from the garage is also installed and it even has running water!!
Meanwhile inside the conservatory has had its roof and gable reglazed and is promising to be a very useable room. The old floor was cracked in a couple of places and there was an awkward gap in the tiles. Staring at it for a week or three prompted the obvious solution and here it is as the floor was overlaid with new tiles to match the rest of the living area.
A slightly worrying problem is the effect of the work on the courtyard on rain runoff. Three weeks ago we had some heavy sustained rain and garage got a shade flooded.
Since then a drain gully has been laid along the front of the garage doors and so far it seems to be working.
I think a nerve-wracking test with a few barrels of water cascading down the drive is needed.
I got up early to watch the last two Grands Prix of the Formula One season and the dawn sky from the new living area was great.
This was taken at 06:54 (BST) on the 7th of October. Venus is on the right and it shows how we just missed the occultation of Regulus (the point of light at the left end of the Moon's arc). I haven't yet seen any reports but from 20 miles or so South of here the starlight would have blinked on and off as it passed "behind" the Moon's hills and mountains. In retrospect it might have been a more impressive sight than McLaren yet again trashing Lewis Hamilton's championship opportunity, but the full effect would only have been visible along a very narrow band - less than a kilometre I think.
Final thoughts are on the GSHP.
The big white beast seems to be working away happily and the paddock has not yet iced over.
While the weather has admittedly been quite mild, the house has been staying quite warm and it is clear we now have a level of insulation quite unlike the old days. The pump has generally been running for around three hours a day with two of those being for house heating and one for hot water. I have installed a clock which cuts the living area set temperature by 5 degrees at night which should pay for itself pretty quickly.