May 2019 – Back to Work!

May 2019 – Back to Work!

Freddie here to guide you through this month’s progress. Well, I say ‘this’ month, but this is really a whistle stop tour through three months of work and I must apologise that there are rather a lot of photos in this posting. We decided in March and April it was not appropriate in the circumstances to publish anything more than a minimum, although the text was accompanied each time by some light-hearted humour.

However, whilst work on the house did slow down considerably in March and April due to the Covid-19 lockdown, it never completely stopped and there was a single trade working in most weeks. So, perhaps surprisingly, there is a fair amount to report.

Exterior Progress

Final Windows and Doors

The long-waited arrival of the outstanding external doors and windows finally happened   in the middle of March, so these were able to be installed just before official lockdown.

 

 

Ground Source Heating

You may remember from Layla’s post last month that three enormous trenches were dug towards the end of April, in preparation for ‘Energy My Way’ to lay 600 metres length of ground source heating pipes. Since then we were fascinated with how they looked from the first floor. Anyone would think that Mr Rod was trying to build a golf course!

Christophe and his team returned this month to continue the work, starting with the manifold.

They then had to feed the pipes from the manifold at the far end of the field into the house. (That job was very difficult indeed, and they even had to enlist the help of Mr Rod and some of the other builders.)

The system was then pressure-tested before back filling……………..

…………..and the system was then pressure-tested again to ensure there were no leaks. Fortunately, there were none.

‘Energy My Way’ are due to return in early June to complete the plumbing and commission the controls.

A rude awakening and the black ‘Periscope’

Moses, Layla and I have discovered a most entertaining pastime, much to Mr Rod and SWhoMBO’s consternation. For security purposes, Mr Rod has set up a movement detector in the driveway. SWhoMBO was a little annoyed that, whilst other tunes or signals are purported to be available, for some reason the system currently only works in one of two modes – playing “Oh dear, what can the matter be”, or “Off”. And I can attest that it does grate when you have heard it more than a dozen times in one day!

So, the game is that the three felines wait until Mr Rod and SWhoMBO are in a very deep sleep, usually identified by loud and persistent snoring (from whom is classified knowledge I am not prepared to divulge) and then one of us leaves the cottage to creep up the driveway and set off the tune. To those of us remaining within the house, the satisfaction from hearing the dreadful ‘music’, followed by humans stirring and ‘discussing’ who might be approaching at 2.30am and then arguing about who should be the one on this occasion to ‘repel all boarders’, is so intense that it is almost delicious.

It was after one of these early morning morning sorties, following which I took a well-earned nap in the hedges, when I was on my way back up the drive.  To my utter amazement, I spotted what could only be a large black periscope sticking up above the roof line. I think I could be forgiven for wondering whether Mr Rod was trying to re-enact his time in Her Majesty’s senior service?

But, I was wrong!

Interior Progress

‘Greening’ plus final external doors and windows

Before any plaster board could be applied, every surface of the house having contact with the outside had first to be covered in green plastic to help with insulation and before the pressure test was undertaken.

Oak Cleaning – First Floor

You will recall that the ever-cheerful Sholto started to clean the vast area of oak beams just before Easter, and in the April posting we showed a number of ‘before’ photos.

Oak Cleaning – Ground Floor

Pressure Test

To confirm the energy-efficiency of the house, a pressure test had to be conducted in order to measure how quickly the air escaped. Prior to that, every joint linking to an outside wall was carefully sealed. The building was pressurised by blowing air through the fan on the back door and measuring how quickly/slowly the pressure equalised over 20 minutes. The expected result is based on the volume of the building. In order to ‘pass’ the test, Hazels had to get a reading of ’10’ or better.

Mr Rod was delighted the house scored an excellent 7.9. Because the pressure test (unusually) had been carried out before the plaster boarding was completed, this means that the finished house should be even more energy efficient.

‘Wrapping’ The Beams

The three of us were smugly pleased with how good the oak beams looked after their cleaning. So, I was somewhat perplexed to enter the house to find it looking as though the builders were in the throes of wrapping Christmas presents – there was so much paper and tape everywhere.

But, it seems I had jumped to the wrong conclusions yet again. (I am beginning see why Layla accuses me of being first rate at hunting but not much else!) The beam cleaner says he achieves a much result if he cleans before the plastering is done. But, having been beautifully cleaned, the beams must then be protected. Hence the reason for wrapping.

Plaster Boarding

Mr Rod was very concerned that further work on the interior would have to cease until plaster board became available to source again – production had all but ceased for nearly two months during lockdown. However, fortune smiled on him once more and 220 boards and a large amount of equipment was delivered in the final week of May.   Happily, Michael/Tonic and Phil were able to start work upstairs after all.

May Post Bag

Perhaps not surprisingly for the time of year, the postbag has been full of references to flowers. The colours have been especially vibrant, but maybe we have all taken more time ‘to stand and stare’.

Almost as soon as the April posting was published the West Wickham Wanderers sent a lovely message saying they had really enjoyed the text and all the photos, although the Trump jokes were particularly amusing. (There is another for you this month – Ed.)

Nearly, but not quite, as quick was Guildford Girl who was most appreciative of “the jokes, cartoons, pictures and definitions, and hopefully there will be more next month?”      (I don’t think you will be disappointed! – Ed)

The Ockham Observers sent SWhoMBO this message “On May 1st the French like to give gifts of lily of the valley to friends to wish the recipient happiness and good luck for the coming year. It dates back to 1560 when Charles IV received some and liked them so much, the following year he started the tradition. With social distancing and being discouraged from making inessential car journeys, this is the only way we can send you some with good wishes for a happy ending to the current year!” accompanied by this photo of some beautiful lilies of the valley in their garden:

The Graeco-Czech Gang have shared these two photos from Greece.

On 4th May Mikal’s Mate wrote from Helsinki: “We are here in a totally different zone regarding the amount and size of new green leaves on the trees  Did you know that we have a specific word for these first green leaves? In Finnish ‘hiirenkorva’ which means ‘the ear of a mouse’. We can say ‘Birches are mouse-earing already’!”

These next two photos are from a little closer to home:

Fantasy Flat Friend sent these from her early morning ambles around London:

Putney Playmate continues to hone her considerable artistic skills and (in between working on a commission for SWhoMBO) amuses her friends with craft pieces, drawings and doodles – such as this:

Feline Musings

We do not usually have much time for canines, but we make a very special exception on this occasion for Billy Fi-Vans the black Labrador. Following a vicious attack by another dog at the beginning of May, he has been very poorly for most of the month, with his wounds requiring considerable attention from the Noel Fitzpatrick veterinary team. And clearly humanoids have a most strange approach when dealing with sick animals.

Whilst I have a reasonable relationship generally with my fellow house-cats, brother and sister do have a bit of habit of ganging up on me. So, when they are both in this sort of mood (below), I try my very best to avoid them.

However, on other occasions, we cooperate very nicely.

Then – we were all more than a little bemused to see that Mr Rod has planted even more sunflower plants, this time in front of the delightful blue container.

Lockdown Humour

I expect you will have noticed that the original non-stop torrent of lockdown humour (from the darkly comic, through the absurdly hilarious, to the downright ridiculous) has slowed to just a mere trickle in recent weeks. However, there have definitely been a few this month that were worth saving and sharing with you all.

Sign Off

Well, that’s all for now (and we have to say there really was a lot of ‘all’ – Layla and Moses). At the end of June we hope to bring you news of further progress inside the house: plaster boarding, plastering, and electrics.

Before I go, I just wanted to share with you another of our more satisfying pastimes – it provides great entertainment for us and is a source of sleeplessness and extreme annoyance to Mr Rod and SWhoMBO!