Chimney

 

 For several years now our chimney has been crumbling. It was in a state when we moved in and one of the first things we did was have it re-rendered. This did not cure the water ingress which made a persistent damp patch on the spare bedroom wall upstairs, and within a few years the new render started falling off. Water was getting behind it, freezing, expanding and by last winter some chunks were falling off that were big enough to break tiles or kill the neighbour's cats/children so I thought we better do something...

 First thing was to recruit some labour. Luckily my brother likes demolishing stuff so he didn't take much persuading. He even carried on stoically after I bashed his finger with a club hammer.

A few of days of bashing, sweating, swearing and winching got us to this stage where we could see into the loft.

Having friends like Richard who lend you a winch comes in very handy. The entire chimney was winched to the ground without any major disasters.

 Just about ready to start rebuilding. The left flue comes from the lounge which is the only active fireplace. It has a stainless steel flue liner which has been temporarily removed because it was very in the way.

A section of wall plate was added and extensions were screwed to the rafters.

 Rich came and helped with the felt and battening and tiling as I think he figured it was easier than having me constantly pestering him for advice.

If the Victorians had stainless steel insulated twinwall flue I'm sure they would have used it. So much quicker and easier than laying hundreds of bricks. The base is screwed to the rafters and cemented in after attaching to the reinstated flue liner.

And there we are, job done! Thanks Niels and Rich.

Led Astray

Last night round at Naughty Richard's house. That's Jock in the foreground, he knows every song by AC/DC. I managed, somehow, to escape without a hangover.

Outdoors Again

Bit behind with my blogging again. I was working for a while on a Star Wars calendar, but have also been busy in the garden. I built a new compost bin because the old one was in the way of the chicken run I'm going to build.

It is made partly from bits salvaged from the old one, and partly from mesh that I've been meaning to take down for ages, as it was both in the way and an eyesore. I was busy with my angle grinder lots. It just needs a lid now.

In order to build the chicken run, I first needed to widen the path. For this, I had to clean up loads more bricks. I hate cleaning bricks.

Here's the first fence post for the chicken run. Also, you can see I'm edging the path with some nice stones properly set into mortar. One day I'll think of a less labour-intensive way to do something.

Mixing enough mortar to do this bit made me just about the dustiest, hottest, sweatiest dude this side of the Orion Nebula.

All the dog could do was bask in the sunshine. J9 and AJ are away for a few days so I thought I'd better post my progress each day so they can see I'm not slacking and being led astray by that naughty Richard.

This is he.

More AJ's room

Back to Arne's room. The ceiling in here was 9mm plasterboard (should be 12mm). The joins were full of some sort of filler which hadn't been smoothed down (should have been taped prior to skimming with plaster). It hadn't been skimmed, but had been painted with textured paint which had almost completely failed to disguise the crimes just outlined.

What's this "Heath Robinson" style contraption?

A plaster board hoist! That's what!

Going up......

We're screwing new 12mm boards up over the old ceiling. We drew lines first where all the joists run, so we'd know where to put the screws. Rich looks like he's amazed they haven't fallen down. Or maybe he's just had an idea?

The whole ceiling is up. The holes are where the downlighters will go. Rich was meant to be skimming it today but he's not very well. Unusually, his ailment is not a hangover. Get well soon.

Legend

We've been trial fitting some of the furniture and sanitaryware. Richard, who must by now have a near god-like status in the minds of anyone following this blog, will surely be elevated to legendary when you realize he's made the two oak washstands with his own gnarly hands.

Here's the small one for the shower room.....

.....and the big one for the bathroom.

And the throne for when the queen pops round.

Animal grace

Watching Richard plastering is like watching Swan Lake with pink slop.

Sun pipe

Holding it delicately at arms length with his hat pulled tightly down over his eyes to protect him from the blinding light transmitted through the sun pipe from the roof, Richard thinks, "Now what do I do, I can't see a blooming thing...."

Headache

I'm certain there will be more than one headache to endure on this project, but none so acute as Richard's when he employs his tried and tested technique for making a hole in the roof. He just picks his spot and stands up quickly. You have to admit it's effective.

The reason for the head-banging? We're having a skylight.

Eyes and teeth

More toothing out for Richard as he prepares to block up another hideous window...

whilst I got on with making an eye socket for one of two circular windows which will make the outside of the building look like it has a face. Maybe I'll get Richard to build a nose out of bricks.

Now you know what the bricks are for.

The two existing windows are to become non-existing. To this end, Richard is filling the orifice with my nice clean bricks. I've been cleaning up more today. I'm off to Boots in a minute for some more hand cream.

After lunch Richard got serious and put up his scaffold tower.

Toothing out

I never liked this window. By the end of the day, it will be wall. Richard is toothing out the brickwork so that when we block it up it will meld seamlessly with the rest of the wall and be nice and strong. Probably a good idea to replace the lintel while we're about it.

Today

Here he is! The main man!! The dude is back!!!

I feel good now. Rich is my bestest bestest friend and I can see him every day. The fact that I have to pay him to spend time with me says less about me being a sad git and more about him being willing to do anything for money. Here he is just about to make the waste outlet for the shower tray. There was a lot of dust today, and my bogeys are totally black. I didn't want to gross anyone out by posting a picture.... I was tempted though. Oh, and Pat and Bri, great to see you are checking in, hope you are both well!

One for Richard

Richard not only lends us his tools so we can continue the good work on the studio (so he can get out of doing the good work himself, yes, I know!) but also lent us his roof box so we could go on holiday. Also, I suspect, to get rid of us for a while so we wouldn't be hassling him about doing any more good work.

Cable runs

Sparky was back this morning running all the cables from inside the airing cupboard under the floorboards to the fuse box. That's not him below, its Richard ramming his drill hard into his groin. I think he likes the vibrations.

Unfortunately there was no hidden jewelry under the floorboards.

All wall (apart from the light)

Here, Richard is plastering the side wall, or the back wall, depending on your point of view.

And this was the magnificent sight awaiting me when I returned from Arne's tag rugby match. The back wall with a coat of hardwall plaster on it. I think this is definitely the back wall, now that I come to think of it, so the other one must be the side wall. But whatever, if I'm brutally honest with myself, anyone who was whipped up into a frenzy of excitement and anticipation by my earlier post might be a tad disappointed with a couple of pictures of bog-ordinary walls.....

......But Holy guacamole! What's this? Only the shower room light, that's all! Sparky has been back in action! Oh my God!! I don't think I can take any more, I have to go and lie down!!!!

Little Richard

From this angle Richard looks really titchy. He's not though, he's about 6'4" so he can reach really high with his plastering trowel. He's got a new one now as the studio has seen off his trusty old one. So that's 1 hammer drill, 1 trowel, 1 pump spray, 1 cement mixer drive belt, its like a tool graveyard around here!

Love shack receiving some trowel-style love action too.

Cyborg recharge

Yesterday's action continued with more plastering. Richard sent this cybernetic replica of himself to do the work while he sat at home watching DVDs. I took this photo while it was recharging itself from the mains via it's groinal socket. You can see the plastering arm is twitching.

Action!

A man and his trowel in perfect harmony.

Rendering

Did you ever see anyone looking more miserable?

Wall is looking mighty fine though. And Richard wasn't nearly as miserable as he looked, at least before he ripped his trousers....

Back to work!

At last! Some visible progress. Richard is back with a vengeance, keen and enthusiastic as ever, which is not saying much. I helped him lots today but I'm not in the photos as I took them.We plasterboarded all the sloping ceiling with the skylight and most of the end stud wall. I stuffed all the rockwool (glassfibre insulation) into the wall as I'm the junior member of the team, and it is a disgusting job.
I will be in the bath shortly, washing all that horrible prickly itchy dusty stuff out of every crevice. Hopefully another post on Wednesday as I'm off to Kent tomorrow.