Our project - pictures

[Nemesis]

Well I'm afraid I haven't made it for a long time, but I can assure you it was very good indeed.

Wine is now so cheap (well the stuff I drink is) and readily available it seems not worth the effort, but maybe I will give it a try again this year. I have one of those Vigo press thingies...

 

[Fizzer]

We're close to actually getting the house (I think)

I can't believe I really thought we were almost there back in April!

We finally moved in on Friday and we're exhausted. The heating had been turned off for some time so the house was initially cold, dank and very uninviting.

Anyhoo, we've turned the heating on to get some life back in to the building and bought a dehumidifier which is extracting about 5-6 litres a day so far. When we first switched it on it was reading 85% RH at 21 degrees now it's at 70% at 24 degrees and still going strong. Not sure what a 'sensible' RH reading is though...

I guess the biggest difference is that the musty smell is dying down and the place feels more comfortable.

We've got some builders to look at removing our downstairs walls and getting an oak beam in place. I'm trying to get some groundworks people to call me back to get a price for a french drain at the back. Still may do it ourselves if the prices comes in v high.

Our application to get connected to the gas main has been submitted, I said I would dig the trench for it to save a few pennys. Not something I've ever had to do before but how hard can a long, thin hole be eh?

I guess the important thing is that we love the house, not just a bit, it's actually making us feel great just living here. Went for a long walk around the village last night too, beautiful!

 

[Nemesis]

Wonderful news!

When we first moved here (in one of the hottest of summers) and switched on the heating (which had been installed 13 years previously but never been used fully as the joints leaked and needed nipping up...) the windows ran with condensation for weeks on end.

But great that you feel at home and happy - best of luck with it all.

 

[Fizzer]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I spent ages trying to figure out why the night storage heaters weren't working on Friday. checked the fuse board, traced the wires, checked the switches and settings, all to no avail.

When I asked my electrician friend if he could take a look he replied 'they are night storage heaters aren't they?'

Told you I was knackered

 

[skier-hughes]

Not something I've ever had to do before but how hard can a long, thin hole be eh?

Excellent news.

When we bought our house we hoped to be in by Dec 1st, then Christmas, then the new year made it on March 4th two years ago now.

As for digging a long thin trench....... I tried that and gave up after about 20m. Our ground is about 15" soil and then heavy clay. So many tree roots - I didn't know they could get so big - and bricks and stones. My 20m took three days of digging on and off. I got a digger man in at £25 an hour to do the rest, 3 hours for 60m and he came back when we laid the new water main, but at 450m I wasn't going to do that by hand

Graham

 

[Nemesis]

It took us two whole years...

 

[charlie-ia]

congratulations! im really pleased for you, we pick our keys up on monday, so i was wondering what had happened to your house. thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[David Dyer]

65% RH at 20 degrees equates to around 14% moisture content in softwood, well below the level for problems with rot.