Porch - more slow progress

Because of the weather I have not been able to get out much this week. We did go to B&Q and buy the window furniture for the porch (why is it called furniture please someone?). I managed to get it all fitted without too much grief - much to my surprise. I had expected to have problems getting the latch pins in the right places but with care it all worked.

Before any observant people tell me that the latches are the wrong way round... I know that, you know that but the wife wanted them this way so please tell her!

I also managed to get a little more plastering done, enough to finish the bag I was given from Freecycle and enough to get me ready  to put a 'one coat' on the ceiling... well half of it anyway.

When the plastering is done then it will be time to consider some painting, but plater drips make painting a little time wasting just yet.

Lean-To (Project X)

Last year I constructed the lean-to on the shed from the remnants of the destroyed polytunnel. Sadly the materials were still not really up to the job so it's time to try again with better materials.

Yesterday I removed the old lean-to, cleared the area, found the new one was actually two feet larger rather than the one foot I had thought, produced a levelish base of sorts and started construction.

Today I finished the construction by adding more cross struts and finishing the roof and sank some ground anchors (it's a very windy site). I am reusing the door from the old one and the roof is finished from materials reclaimed from the old one as well.

Next, and probably the trickiest, is to work out how to get the polythene sheeting to fit the taller and wider tunnel than we had planned when we started. Still I'm always up for a challenge!

Project X

 Project X is my plan to build a full scale working model of a nuclear reactor...  But first I am building the lean-to greenhouse that will grow tomatoes (and stuff) from the waste heat (or from the sun if I never complete the full scope of Project X). I plan of testing the greenhouse part, extensively, by first running it a few seasons against the side of the shed on the allotment.

So today Dylan, my ever faithful helper, and I set about constructing it. Made entirely from reclaimed wood I had already sawn it into approximate lengths and regular widths and it was time to do the detail. Dylan watched on and consulted on Health and Safety and throughout the day I incurred not one single cut to my hands - that is almost a first so my thanks to Dylan for his help with that.

I Still found I was short of quite a few pieces as I modified the design as I felt the strengths and weaknesses of the design. I have a couple of pieces left to cut and then to paint the whole thing with wood preserver before labelling all the parts, dismantling and taking to the allotment for assembly in it's next location. I am planning of cutting polythene sheet to fit each side and use a further wooden strip over each edge to secure the polythene in place. I shall also be sinking bars into the ground at each of the corners and, using coachbolts, bolt the corners to the ground against wind - of which we get a lot!

Porch's Progress

In bits and pieces the porch has advanced. It starts to look complete but is anything but!

In spring the outside will need rendering - no thoughts yet on the actual finish it will get though. I have never done rendering before so the actual finish may not be what I had planned on doing anyway!

Painting of the woodwork is needed - both inside and out, but because I am using recycled windows there is putty to replace, paint to scrape and primer to apply, so it won't be a quick and easy job.

But window catches and latches would be nice! at the moment they are all fixed shut. The next job I need to do though is to plasterboard the inside to start to add a nicer finish inside. Then, of course, window sills need to be made. Both of these I have been given the materials for already so Thank You Freegle!

At last - A Window Sill!

Progress this week has been a couple of smallish steps but ones that feel like giant leaps.

The first was the addition of the roof. It was very cold when I came to do it and I had to keep re-attaching my fingers as they fell off. Not really good to be applying bitumen products at that temperature but got out the trusty heat gun and in just a couple of seconds the flashing tape was soft and sticky. I has rained a few times since it went on and so far not signs of any leaks so I am hopeful I have done a reasonable job.

The other step completed this week was the addition of window sills. Again cut from reclaimed timber and cut and shaped on the saw table I was pleased that at the end the job was better than I expected, although not as good as I dreamed it would be. They stand proud from the wall to make space for rendering but they really make the woodwork start to feel like window frames instead of a wooden roof support.

Next step is to start to add the windows, but not today as it was just a mite too wet.

The porch keeps on moving along...

After a couple of pretty intense days of activity the porch now 'feels like a room'. There still a long way to go but my cold and the rain has driven me inside today.

Next step is the roof... but what with Granddad needing an operation on this week as well as other social issues it now looks like roof time will be next week - weather permitting.

Bringing the porch up to date...

It is that time of year when frosts come.... we all know that but while the mortar in brick and block laying hardens it must not fall below 4 degrees centigrade - up to a couple of days or more - so naturally the walls have waited until the forecast gave us a few good (and reliable)  overnight temperatures. And rather than build all 4 layers of blocks in one go (a practice that would put a lot of pressure on the first layer) I set about building the walls in 2 visits. Those 28 blocks I was given turned out to be 31 and by buying just 4 more I managed to finish both the footings and the walls.

So far so good - now for the expensive bit - the woodwork. We always new this would be pricey abut when freecycle struck again I couldn't believe my luck! Somebody was offering old roofing joists - up to 200 of them. Sadly they were very oversubscribed but I managed to end up with 6 - each between 10 and 14 feet in length. There were six but this photo shows most of them cut into pieces and only the current offcuts left.

But after that has hit this

and you have taken away this

You end up with stuff ready to be cut into usable lengths.

Now I feel like real progress is being made!

A porch for all seasons...

Since Dylan came to stay we have been wanting a porch over the back door... somewhere to kick off muddy boots, hang up wet coats and towel down a muddy dog.  We got quotes from builders and what we found most disappointing was not the the cost but that they wanted to put up something they wanted, not something we wanted. Undaunted we moved with  the idea that we would "do it ourselves".

Hang on, that should be "The Mole" would do it himself. This would certainly work out cheaper but it would put the choice of materials, size and time scale into our own control... no waiting for builders to not turn up to do what they wanted.

Problem is that I have never even helped on a project like this, let alone done one! It was time for the internet.

I set out looking for helpful sites to show the process, methods and pitfalls and found some very excellent ones out there.

So we told Granddad and he suggested he had some windows and a door we could use. That would certainly save money, but starting in the middle of the walls didn't seem like anything I'd read about on the internet!

We looked anyway and started to agree on the actual floor size because of the windows and I suppose that was a logical start after all.

As keen 'freecyclers' we keep an eye out for anything that could really be helpful and were delighted when someone, less than a quarter of a mile away, had 28 concrete blocks going a begging. Not for long though because they were soon stacked neatly on the garden and "the game was afoot"!

Hiring a concrete mixer - for 1 day only - and having purchased the sand and ballast in several car journeys ahead of the day I set about constructing 'the slab' while my helper watched in frustration that I wouldn't allow him to help. However he does seem to approve now.

And so I returned

Having seen what the wind had done to the polytunnel I returned - armed with 'stuff' to shore it up and protect it against future wind. When I got there it wasn't as repairable as I remembered. I took the cover off to show the extent of the damage to to the metal frame.









I decided the best approach was to remove the frame, dismantling it with care, and using the cover to protect all the 'stuff' from blowing around, then come away and develop a PLAN.










Before I left I put a stake in and tied our Christmas tree to it as the wind was preventing it getting a root hold.

I returned having concocted a PLAN - a brilliant PLAN - Baldrick would be envious - Take it out altogether!
But I also dismantled the compost bins that had been left - this was already on the future GRAND MASTER PLAN but I brought it forward as I wanted to build a 'bin' to retain the 'stuff' against the wind. Theft is not a problem but the wind can carry stuff for ages. Sheds etc. are left unlocked but with nothing of value - for value read things like power tools - and there is a store of tools that people can borrow from if they find themselves wanting at some point. We had set lettuce and radish in the tunnel and this is now under fleece in the middle of the area. I have added half a dozen early cabbage that we had already growing ready for planting, planted some onions that Granddad had spare and some garlic. I have re-dug all the ground spoiled by the tunnel and dug the ground the tunnel was on as well as starting a new plot and I can truly start to say that the allotment is now MINE!!