risking some more tradesmen

[plasticpigeon]

If I get some enough stuff done on the kitchen this weekend, another set of plasterers should be coming in next week to finish off the plastering and to lay a limecrete floor after the last lot let me down (which I am happy about now as these latest guys are a bit more confidence inspiring). I have no 1st hand recommendations for them, and know nothing about them other than from their website, but the business is about 2 miles from my house and they seem to know a lot about lime plastering. Wish me luck!!!!

 

[mattice]

I may be seeking a recommendation if they turn out OK, I'm in your neck of the woods, good luck!

 

[plasticpigeon]

What general area are you in Mattice? It seems that there are a number of restoration tradespeople in the more rural counties around Birmingham, but very few in the West Midlands which is a shame, as there are still a lot of wonderful, mainly Victorian places around where I live. I shall definitely let you know how these guys get on.

 

[skier-hughes]

Who are they?

 

[Zebra]

Good luck pigeon! I'll say a prayer to the Goddess of lime plastering for you!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, good luck to you! It seems so unfair that it's a postcode lottery, but that's how it seems.

We're having problems ourselves getting Lincs drillers for the borehole, the confidence-inspiring companies all seem to be down south! I'm torn between using someone who knows what drilling here is like, or importing someone with a decent looking website.

I can't bear using companies who don't have a really impressive website - it always seems to end in tears.

 

[Keith Bowman]

Oh, good luck to you! It seems so unfair that it's a postcode lottery, but that's how it seems.

We're having problems ourselves getting Lincs drillers for the borehole, the confidence-inspiring companies all seem to be down south! I'm torn between using someone who knows what drilling here is like, or importing someone with a decent looking website.

I can't bear using companies who don't have a really impressive website - it always seems to end in tears.

I think I might have mentioned them before but WB and AD Morgan of Presteigne seem to fit the bill on websites at least

. Sorry, the link didn't work its http://www.wbadmorgan.co.uk/

 

[Flyfisher]

All this new-fangled, high-technology well drilling is not really in the spirit of PPUK is it?

Here's a more traditional way to dig a well: :wink:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3gVpNflVE

 

[DJH]

Lot of work for a dry well. Is that it FF or is there more to come like water?? :? :?

There's a few things you should look out for when having a well drilled. You need to keep it handy enough to the house for connection to the electricity supply and yet far enough away from any drains that might be passing nearby which could fail in the future and anywhere where animals are likely to defecate or gather as in a field for instance. Cattle are drawn to concrete areas and as you would need to have at least one meter of concrete surrounding the well (discharging water away from the cap or cover) in that situation they are going to come and stand around it believe me!! A strong fence will help.

Make sure that they allow to line the top of the well with steel liners (pipes) well down below any loose ground they encounter drilling until they hit rock. After that they'll use plastic liners with the bottom ones having an insert of perforated pipe similar to percolated drainage coiled pipe. This helps keep back stones etc from getting near the submersible pump, if that's what you're having. It's also good if the bottom lengths of liner have vertical slots cut in them over their length o allow water to pass through so that the well always has water in it and can keep up with demand.

From experience it's a good idea to have another non-return valve fitted above ground near the pressure vessel in case or when something goes wrong with the one on the pump. This can occur if a stone or grit gets caught in the valve or if the ground water has a low PH and metal parts of the valve disintegrate over time. Have a pump with a good rating fitted, 1 1/2 horsepower (or whatever it's called nowadays) or similar and a suitably sized pressure vessel for your needs.

Most importantly they should tell you the optimum delivery you can expect from the well and when they've finished let it run to waste for three or four days to flush debris and silt out.

But more importantly, get it fully tested for bacteria, PH and other contaminants such as iron, manganese and other nasties. You'll then know how to go about treating it if you have too. I've come across many instances where people have believed that their well water was pure and healthy... :shock:

Those are my thoughts and experience for what they're worth.

Doug

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks so much for the pointers Doug- very helpful. I am another one who believed my well water was pure and healthy until it was tested! I'm afraid the whole thing has given me a very poor opinion of the power of e coli - namby-pamby ridiculous puffed-up bacteria - it doesn't scare me as I drank it in great quantity and never came to any harm - and apparently the dangerous strain of e coli as well. With great reluctance we forked out the £500 for filtration and now enjoy exactly the same health but with an extra chore of de clogging the filtration system thrown in. However although I consider myself immune to bacterial infection I did not want to poison my guests so I suppose it was worth it. Pity the well dries every year.

Loved the vid FF- amazing to see one dug traditionally.

Keith - love the look of the company you linked to, that's exactly the kind of website that fills me with confidence - I will ring them. Thanks.

Very sorry plastic - please do update about the limecrete floor and the plastering xx

 

[mattice]

North Worcestershire, 10 miles past the end of Birmingham suburbia! Good luck!

I'm working my way through trades people, I've found a good boiler man, chimney sweep, electrician and carpenter. Sympathetic and skilled builders/craftsmen are hard to get interested in jobs smaller than a few k even out in Worcestershire. The number of large old building renovations around here at the moment probably explains why!

 

[Alex]

I know how you feel Plasticpigeon, we should be sat here now looking at our lovely new hardwood windows, the first 2 were being fitted the week before last Christmas. Yes you have guessed it, we still have the attractive UPVC ones in and if it wasn't for Feltwell's suggestion of stuffing loft insulation down the sides of them, we would have gone through last winter with a 2inch gap down the side of each from where the cement render was drilled off/out. We have now given up with supporting the local small companies as we have been let down too many times and 4 days ago we went to a larger company, with a lovely website (Joce), who have done a lot of work for historic buildings and ordinary period homes. They weren't the cheapest but having seen some of their work, even my 23 year old daughter was impressed by a church door they made, we have decided on them. So while they make our first 6 windows, I will sit and wait for the quotes to arrive as promised 3 weeks ago from the smaller companies/local joiners etc, who havent even bothered to come and measure up yet.

Mattice, if I was going to do anything with lime/limecrete, I would phone Ty Mawr Lime and ask them if they could recommend someone in your area. They seem to know everybody and have always had the time to help or advice us. When we were going to have someone in to replaster our cottage, Nigel was able to reel a list of limeplasterers off, in the end we learnt to do it ourselves.

Alex

 

[88v8]

Mattice, if I was going to do anything with lime/limecrete, I would phone Ty Mawr Lime and ask them if they could recommend someone in your area.

Exactly what I did. The put me onto a Welsh builder, who reliably came all the way from Abergavenny, his stone-masons came from Brecon which is more than 70 miles each way. They came when they said they would, and turned up every day until done.
http://www.brownstoneconstruction.co.uk/index.html#1
Abergavenny probably a bit out of range for you, but Ty Mawr would be good reference point.

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

Well I'm delighted to say that the chap who finished off skimming the walls of my kitchen in lime, put in the ceiling and layed the limecrete floor was very good. Zebra's prayer to the goddess of lime plastering must have been successful!!! He is now off to Luckington manor in Wiltshire to repair some render and replaster some walls after a fire there. He said the render is the weirdest thing he has ever seen, as it is a sort of pebbledash where the lumps are not pebbles but are chunks of lime!!!! If anyone needs a lime plasterer in the midlands PM me and I can send you his details.

 

[mattice]

Fantastic news. I may well be in touch in the New Year, thanks for the update.

 

[JoceAndChris]

How wonderful! Great progress and so pleased you found someone good.

 

[Zebra]

Oh good pp, glad you found some good people. Isn't it nice when that happens.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Nice plastering.