The snow is snowing, and we finally have windows on our extension!
It’s not quite over yet though – the windows don’t have any glass in 
I think they look rather spiffing!
Yay. Windows.
Posted 06 Feb 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
Thanks BT
No picture today. No nothing, in fact. Thanks to BT.
If you try and telephone me today, or yesterday, the day before and god knows how many days from now, you will not succedd. Why? Is all thanks to BT.
As we plan to move into our renovated cottage very soon, I thought it sensible to contact the phone company and ask them to connect us up. All that needs to happen is for an engineer to pop along to our house and take a wire from the telegraph pole and connect it to a wire in our roof.
It all started so well, with the chap at the call centre handling things very well and seeming to understand my situation in a preternaturally human fashion. They would disconnect my existing phone contract on the same day that the engineers comes round to connect my new house. Simple!
Except we al know that that’s not what happened, don;t we? Of course, it’s mind-dumbingly obvious what happened – the engineers just did not turn up! No calls, no voicemail, no emails, no reason. its not as if they were on a tight schedule – I had been given the slot of 8am to 1pm. Nothing.
So, of course, the disconnection went ahead, without a corresponding connection.
So I call them up. After 2 and a half minutes of options I am told that their lines are closed at this time. Lines closed?!? Its the phone company?!?! You’d think they’d have someone to answer the phone!!!
So there’e now nothing I can do about it until Monday, when they’ll probably tell me that the engineer will next be in my area in July and that, no, they are unfortunately unable to reconnect my previous number. Sorry sir.
Bum.
Progress is sweet
Posted 01 Feb 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
Well, things are being done, and although the part of the cottage that you can see in this picture is still not finished, we might make an attempt to camp out there this weekend
We’ve had a breeze-block wall taken down and replaced with bricks, which is nice
We’ve had tiles laid on the kitchen floor, so that is coming together. 
And yesterday i took delivery of three and a half tonnes of gravel, so that’s all been laid out, which makes it look like a proper house, not just a building site!
Getting slated
Posted 22 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
Chugging along at the moment, with the slate being delivered (and unloaded by yours truly). It should be being laid this week, so yay
The slate is 60cm by 40cm. Lovely!
Carry on carrying on
Posted 13 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
Work is progressing, and the garden room now looks fantastic!
There haven;t been any pics for a couple of weeks, as i have been at home with my head down, looking for work. As a result I haven’t been round to the house before dark.
Last week we had a hiccup with external walls being questioned by all and sundry. Much talk later, it looks like its going to be sorted out. Unbelievable that this wasn’t picked up six months ago when the walls were built, but I guess thats the way it crumbles.
I have just spent forty minutes on the phone to BT arranging for the phone lines to be sorted out, so it looks like we are getting closer and closer to… the end!!!
Oh yes, and here’s where I put a nail through a water pipe :S
nil illegitimi carborundum
Posted 09 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
Blimey.
No photo for this one, as the news is not good.
Building Control have declared the walls that our previous builder made to be below minimum standard, so they need to be sorted out before they will give the thumbs up to the whole project. And I put a nail through a hot water pipe, meaning that aside from the plumber needing to come out again, we’ll need to get a ceiling replastered as well.
Oh well, onwards and upwards. All i need now is a job… anyone?
Air Source Heat Pump noise?
Posted 02 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
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Category diary
As we’ve basically been just tidying up, hoovering and putting floorboards into place today – and this does not equal a fascinating photograph – I thought I’d put up (an equally riveting) video of the air source heat pump working so that you can see how noisy it is.
This is a point of contention, as we had to submit a planning application for the pump, which includes a large fan, as local councils are not really sure what they are yet. Of course a bloke came round to put up a poster on the fence announcing the application, then helpfully went round to all our neighbours to tell them that he didn’t know what an ASHP was, but that we were having put a planning application in because it was very noisy – thanks, mate.
So three of our neighbours lodged objections. Three other neighbours, who know what an ASHP is, lodged recommendations. Four months and about fifty man hours later the application was accepted, on the condition that we erect a fence that uses noise-reducing material. This you can see in the video.
All in all, the fence does reduce the noise, but even when you’re standing right in front of it, it still makes less noise than the outlet from an oil-fired boiler, which is the norm for this part of the world.
Just keep saying to yourself: “The oil’s not running out, the oil’s not running out…”
Heat pump noise
Posted 02 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
Category Uncategorized
Category Uncategorized
Checking the noise levels of my Air Source Heat Pump fan. The fence has a noise-reducing material on it to Read More
Well hung
Posted 01 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
Category diary
Category diary
Sorry, couldn’t resist!
This last week I’ve been hanging doors and fences. Happy new year!
A roof at last
Posted 01 Jan 2012 — by cheersphilip
Category diary
Category diary
Yay. Felt roof now on and battened down to see off the ravages of winter. Lovely job.
We also attacked the garden with a proper digger and everything (sorry neighbours), which resulted in a completely different look for the house and has given us loads more space in the garden.
Treasure!