Week Forty Seven – of Sewage Screed and Garages

Serious progress this week as things start to come together.
They're getting on with finishing  the screeding, with the garage, and we've had the sewage treatment plant installed and connected up. How do you install a sewage treatment?

First you dig a seriously big hole

Then you go get your sewage treatment plant

And stick it in the hole. Simple, huh?

down

down

down

Oh, and don’t forget to tidy up afterwards

They gave us a key and showed us how to take the lid off.
I can’t see me doing that very often, can can you?

The plant, which has all sorts of Environment Agency and EU accreditations and certificates, discharges into the stream. Apparently modern sewage treatment plants are so efficient that you can drink the stuff that comes out. But I can’t see me doing that very often either, can you? Would have to be pretty thirsty I guess.

Temporary facility - its days are numbered, but until it's all connected up we have to carry on up the karzee.

Back to reality. Garage walls – still going up, going up

and plant room walls going up, going up

The walls are now high enough to put the steel in place

The timber on the top of the wall is called a wall plate and it's there to fix the roof rafters to. Just like in the barn. For me a wall plate is a 6 inch by 6 inch by 12 foot long piece of oak held up by oak posts and studwork. Not a 4 by 2 piece of softwood fixed to a blockwork wall. Whatever next?

The screed on the ground floor underfloor heating pipes is being barrowed in. Cheaper than hiring a pump but slower. And since time is money ... there's not a lot in it.

and more screed

Main area ground floor screeded – looks great doesn’t it. But you can’t walk on till it has gone off

The sitting room floor before screeding

and after screeding

One of the days this week there was frost on the heap of the sand used to make up the screed. Ice crystals in the screed are bad news because if you went ahead and layed it you'd end up with voids where the ice thaws out. So that day was a write off. Frustrating as we're trying to hurry things along.

We've started looking for a garage door supplier in the area. As usual we don't have a clue what we want. Wood or steel? Up and over or side hung. Plain panels or vertical boarded. Decisions decisions. And who will we get to supply and/or install them? We need to sort it out now as the garage will be ready soon and it takes time to order and deliver a set of doors.

And finally