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We knew those pumpkins in the garden would have a role!
Well, it has been another few days of really good progress - the filling and sanding on the remaining part, the main sitting/dining room, has been completed ... with David working with his patent broomstick method!
Well, it has been another few days of really good progress - the filling and sanding on the remaining part, the main sitting/dining room, has been completed ... with David working with his patent broomstick method!
We have now completed the all the 'second-coat' painting in the lobby/larder area ... but it's not exactly exciting to past in photographs of white walls ... pristine and beauteous as they are!
More to the point has been the work on laying the wooden flooring, ready for the tiling. The main problem has been the uneven concrete flooring - which needs to be made as level as possible. We have found some of the story behind why the floor is the way it is - apparently the concreting was supposed to be done over two days, but the concrete was delivered (we reckon about 80 tonnes - it is @ 140 square metres) not just on 'Day 1' but all in the morning ... so, a 'team' of six people worked furiously to get it laid as evenly as possible (it was also mid-summer, so very hot) - but, inevitably, it ended up a bit 'wonky' at the far end ... the end we're working on. Anyway, the solution is to lay battens every 70 cms or so, of varying heights, so that any variation in the concrete flooring is compensated for:
More to the point has been the work on laying the wooden flooring, ready for the tiling. The main problem has been the uneven concrete flooring - which needs to be made as level as possible. We have found some of the story behind why the floor is the way it is - apparently the concreting was supposed to be done over two days, but the concrete was delivered (we reckon about 80 tonnes - it is @ 140 square metres) not just on 'Day 1' but all in the morning ... so, a 'team' of six people worked furiously to get it laid as evenly as possible (it was also mid-summer, so very hot) - but, inevitably, it ended up a bit 'wonky' at the far end ... the end we're working on. Anyway, the solution is to lay battens every 70 cms or so, of varying heights, so that any variation in the concrete flooring is compensated for:
The battens are screwed to the floor and the extra-thick (to allow for extra loads that wheelchairs might bring) flooring panels are laid, and then not only are the panels screwed to the battens, but holes are drilled and filled with PVU foam and this sets rigid and secures the panel from moving:
David has to cut the panels to a variety of shapes, using a circular saw with laser-guided cut-lines:
There are some areas of the floor where the irregularity is too great to compensate with the use of battens - so, these have to chipped out (not quite as easy as it sounds, as it is reinforced concrete) and then screeded over to a smooth and even level and butted up to the laid wooden panels, so the tiling has an overall level surface:
By late this afternoon (Sunday) the wooden flooring and all but one small area of the concrete screeding has been completed across all the living/dining room - a terrific amount of progress. Work will then start on laying the wooden flooring in the lobby and larder area. This will enable work to start on the finishing coats of paint on the beams and ceiling in the sitting/dining room - what fun!
But this has been a very good week - excellent progress. Outside the weather has been beautiful ... cloudless Autumn skies, with temperatures in the mid-20's:
But this has been a very good week - excellent progress. Outside the weather has been beautiful ... cloudless Autumn skies, with temperatures in the mid-20's:
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