June 29, 2008
· Filed under Eco tips · Tagged freecycle, waste reduction
This weekend we’ve been freecycling. Freecycle is a brilliant idea – it’s an online network of groups dedicated to keeping useful stuff out of landfill. It began in Arizona in 2003 and spread quickly – there are now groups in 75 countries representing millions of members. It’s called Freecycle because it’s free – no money ever changes hands. The way it works is that you subscribe to a group in your local area – go to http://www.freecycle.org/ to find your nearest group – and then you can either offer things you don’t need or look for things you do need.
Before we moved, we used it to offload toys and bikes the kids had grown out of and stuff we found in the attic or shed that’s perfectly good but never used. Trust us, someone out there has a use for it. We’ve been amazed at the number of responses to our posts. You can then browse through the responses and choose who gets first dibs. Usually they come and collect it too (though we’ve occasionally met people half way) and you get to meet new, like-minded, people and everyone comes away with that warm fuzzy feeling that you’ve done A Good Deed.
So we offered our topsoil and leftover hardcore rather than put it in a skip and sure enough, they came. We offered it to three people initially but they left barely a dent in our enormous pile. We widened the offer to all who responded and we’re hoping it will all be gone within the next few days. If you’re in the Perth area, bring a spade and a barrow and it’s yours! Warm, fuzzy feeling optional.
June 27, 2008
· Filed under State of our house · Tagged joiners, weatherproof
This is our kitchen after the deluge. Kids have stated preference for indoor paddling pool rather than fitted kitchen. Donald began the mopping up process today. There’s a floor down there somewhere.
The building site was unusually quiet as our joiner is away on holiday for a few days. He had promised to have the sarking board on over the roof joists and the roofing membrane (to make it weathertight) before he left. As we ran over schedule, we’ve clashed with their next job so they’ve been dividing their time between the two, with neither progressing very fast. So our roof currently looks like this… half roof, half tent. Feels like we’re at Glastonbury. Roll on the summer.
June 26, 2008
· Filed under State of our house · Tagged leaks
… from the bathroom ceiling. The problem is that the rain won’t actually stop as the slater removes the slates from the old roof to make way for the new joists. The waterproof membrane is now in place, just in time for the sun to come out. You’ve got to love Scottish weather : )
June 24, 2008
· Filed under State of our house · Tagged materials, relief, roofing quotes
…says the joiner, the wooden floors are certified by the manufacturer to be structurally sound for up to 30 days in water (Caber Floor P5, fact fans). So as long as the flood doesn’t arrive we’ll be ok. The roof joists are going up today and tomorrow there will be a waterproof membrane on top of these so we needn’t worry about the rain any longer. Phew.
We are finally getting some quotes back from roofers to put the slates on. Some of the figures are a bit scary but there is enough variation between them to give us room for negotiation. We have found a number of roofing firms who would not even deign to quote for us. One laughed and said it couldn’t possibly be done this year! Admittedly, given the short notice we will be paying a higher price than if we had them lined up months ago but this is another one of those ‘live and learn’ things – trust no one, especially tradesmen.
June 23, 2008
· Filed under State of our house · Tagged rain damage, tradesmen
This is what happens to your timber frame after 24 hours of torrential rain. Despite the tarpaulin, the floors are sodden – as are our spirits. Kids are quite enthusiastic about having swimming pools rather than bedrooms but we’re worried that the floors may have to be redone. Waiting for joiners to turn up (they’re late today!) to survey the damage. At best, it will have to dry out but we’ll need a lot of sunshine to dry up all that rain and the forecast isn’t great.
Of course, if we’d had a roof this wouldn’t have happened but we’ve been let down by the roofer. Or rather, the roofer that the joiner said he had lined up has let him down (long story). So it’s back to the drawing board, getting quotes from local roofers. At least, getting them to come out and rub their chins then waiting a week before chasing them to think about maybe bothering their arse to come up with a figure. Anyone know any good roofers??? Sorely tempted to fly some in from Poland and hang the carbon footprint!
June 20, 2008
· Filed under State of our house
We appear to be having some technical difficulties. No sooner had we improved the contrast of the text when our funky header started to look a bit, well, green. We’re working on it and will hopefully resolve it soon. Also, we’re hoping to improve the photos – they are just thumbnails at the moment but we’ll continue to fiddle about until we have this blog thing licked.
June 18, 2008
· Filed under State of our house · Tagged extension blog, timber frame
If we were more organised and less busy, this first post would have been in April, with a ‘before’ picture of the house, followed by regular blow-by-blow posts of the build with words and pictures. But we’re not, so it isn’t! This is the state of our house on 18th June 2008 – two months since the project started. We have a skeleton of the extension with floors and (one layer of) walls. One of the big advantages of timber frames is the speed of upward progress, which has been a joy to witness after so many weeks of digging down and messing about with pipes and foundations.
Now that we’ve finally got the blog live, we aim to make regular posts on our progress, the issues and problems we encounter and the choices we make. We’d also love to hear your comments. Words of encouragement won’t go amiss if spirits start to flag either! Steamy debates are also encouraged.
