Cloak n douche… Jan 2017

This whole roof has to come off and a new one go on, this means getting all walls and doorways where they need to be before this can happen so queue new cloakroom and bathroom..

It will be situated within the right hand half  of this covered section so some walls are needed

A closer view

roof removed and one of the doorways cut through

Mapping out in blue, Doorway to cloak room on left, shower in front right corner, sink to rear right corner, toilet between the two, wall will seperate cloak and bathroom, two doorways have to be cut through stone walls, both in upper left corner

tidied, old concrete broken up and taken away and footings dug

then filled

onto block work, re-bar in corner

old fashioned way, oak lintel for doorway, this will be exposed chance the reason for use.

certainly not how the pros would do it but for me it made it easier to mark roof line accurately, front dressing in to support canal tiles with decorative piece to finish end

blocks to hold them in place while cement sets

new roofing boards up and canal tiles laid on top to see how they sit and to determine protrusion for copper gutter brackets

love the look, can’t wait to get copper gutter up

in this one you can see where the purlins poke out with there decorative ends

in the meantime my wife and i lay out how we’d like the faux stone

we’re going to have a faux oak corner beam on the outside so i need a foot stone for it to sit on, cut this from one of our stones

 

 

bedded on some concrete (not weight bearing so not that important other than getting height right)

bit harder is cutting the faux beam from a real oak beam

chainsaw and new blade does the trick mind, leaves a good size beam i can still use to 🙂

faux stones on and rendered joints

looks a bit at odds with original stone but when I’ve pointed the other stonework it should blend in nicely

needs a door!

stiles

header

shaped, tenons cut

ready to go together

extra ledges for window

rebated for boards

in my element

happy

Getting Medieval… March 2016

 

A first, which I always like but this time i need to design as well, Gill normal hands me an idea or picture to work to, this time I need to use colour coordination, textures and different materials as well as actually build it…

My bathroom, what on earth do i want? through our travels and stays what has made me stop, think & smile?  what would I like to sit there in the bath and look at, what would I find interesting? Oak is a given I guess but I like dark moody colours, I don’t like bright sanitary finishes, I like themed things, haunted houses, old castles, dimly lit Spas with low lit candles burning..

so I plump for a sort of medievil theme, not so much planned exactly what I want to do but I know the colours I’d like the tiles to be and I want them half way up the wall, the rest of the wall I’ll look for some kind of paint effect that’ll blend with the tiles, no thought given to bath or shower tray other than I want them big so i can move around and that they can take two people 🙂

the bath and tray had to go in a bit quick so we had a bathroom for last year, looking back I should have gone dark grey, but i didn’t have that foresight then unfortunately and installed white, hey ho, a small hick up thats not spoilt things too much.

the first pics I have are where we left off last year when it was already a temporary install so no images of the electric underfloor heating going in or the floor tiles so we start with me continuing with the tiles that weren’t finished last year…

first up is a bath panel, tiles are a mottled rusty brown with a sort of leathery texture

in place, have added some border colour tiles to the edges

grouted in and bath edging seals added round

wall tiles going on, shower enclosure to right, wall tiles then step down after the screen

tiling of walls finished and edging to top added

walls painted with a two colour leathery finish, hanging outside light from beam and torch like lights by sink area

anti limescale screen

some med oak cornice added to corners where walls meet ceiling, cut out beam to take hanging bracket for Sonos speaker

Bracket made, upside down speaker will plug in neatly to socket so no wires on show

some rather tasty oak ledged and braced doors, hinges sourced in a very unusual shop locally, shower mixer and door handles tie in nicely

awesome mirror i found on recent trip to UK

then I’d like a really different vanity unit so i penned this for a drawbridge look

so get busy with the jet wash again after delving into the wood pile once more, i don’t want this to be planed in any way though as i want all the uneven surface, this means an age with a sander to remove the original saw marks

you can see the original saw marks on this piece, they’re deep 😦
jig saw and 10 blades later & I have the scallop for the top half

sanded, love the split and the uneven surface

oversize foot added to bottom like the table i made earlier

arm added to the top, this will carry the chain that’ll support the sink

I BOUGHT A PIECE OF OAK! sacrilege 😮  🙂   I needed such a large thick piece for it to work properly, i had no choice, hoping the colour won’t be too far off when finished

jig saw to rough shape then I used the electric plane to bevel the edge to the desired angle

then sanded to within an inch of its life

then find a suitable top shelf, yum! find a bit of Burr oak! not bothered about missing knots 🙂

rebate out the top of the main leg to take top shelf and profile to meet round edge of shelf

perfik!

getting really excited by the way its coming together, found some old rusty chain at a local hardware store, it has twisted links as well, no idea why but think they look better. hooks to carry chain on end of arms but I’m not sure about these, certainly nice enough for something else if not used.

all laid out; both legs, top & bottom shelves, feet and the arms that’ll take the chain.

rebate the legs to take main shelf for sink

cut out main shelf

and slide leg in

a really nice fit, super strong and leaves a very clean joint

x 2

add the feet

now it can stand on its own two feet 😀

I can’t resist balancing the arms in place and adding the shelf to see what it look s like

then I have a brainwave with regard to attaching chain in a way thats a little less twee and more drawbridge.

if i mortise the arms from underneath and then drill a hole through side to side I can just poke a link up and the put a wooden peg through to hold it, far more basic and in keeping, at the same time I add some mortises on the top of the arms for tongues and pegs where i’ll attach them to the legs

at the other end of the chain where it meets the main shelf I just drill a hole all the way through the shelf and then peg the chain underneath

routered a 45º angle to edge of hole as well to finish it

works a treat, tongue and peg added to top of arm to cover bolts that anchor arm to leg, the rusty chain and old oak are a fine combo, i can see this making another appearance somewhere in the barn 😉

in place but not treated with anything.

I’m so so happy with it, its exactly what I wanted, trouble is.. the sink I got for it I don’t think does it justice shave sent it back and I have ordered a glass one thats hand painted in fiery colours that match the border tiles, finger crossed it works, if not then I’ll send that one back to.

with its finish on, set against the door, lights mirror it really is something I can lie there in the bath, look at and smile in the years to come (if i get the sink right that is)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 2016 – Half way…

Sunrise at Ma Chaleur is a beautifull thing no matter how many times you see it..

July 2015 was the last Post re the project when we just managed to get a temporary apartment finished for us to live in whilst we welcomed the sesasons guests.

6 months later and another sucesfull season completed with some well needed rest to boot we are ready to move onto finishing phase 3, we are in fact past the half way point now and it feels good to be on the down hill section as this should help our joints & bones which are now 5 years older than when we started.

We inted to put the finishing touches to the studio side of our barn (yet to name) before we tackle the main roof of the barn, also the garden area as this gets most use through the sunny days of summer (hopefully)

so, knock up another tub..

turn this pile of Cedar

getting old hand at this now, should have it down to a tee by now as this is our third install, the best for last? Maybe 🙂 the flteration and heating systems have all been replaced this winter with far superior items which should mean far less maintenance and daily intervention to check levels and temperatures so looking forward to a more hands off afair for next season.

and put it here, this is how we had it for last year, we stepped straight out of the living room into tub, was quite nice for a temporary measure

to the right we need to build a wall so in with some footings

then build away, quite like doing walls now, just as well really seeing as there are a few to come.

top half will be glazed, panels the other side are just a temporary cover, this wall will house a water feature wall to add to the tranquility of the tub.

I incorporated some supports for the decking beams (old concrete pylons) whilst I was there, the now sit awaiting the joists

the pump, filter and heating system will sit the other side of the wall to make it is quiet as possible.

said joists going in (not spaced to 400 centres yet)

need to get an idea of what is happening with the water feature so i can lay joists correctly so on with my thinking cap as we want to keep the water pipe as invisible as possible.

incorporating a copper pipe within the new window cill thats yet to be fitted seems the best option

5 m  I can just about get away with in the estate car, just need to fettle it slightly…

Tia will sleep in here no matter what i load the car with!

she likes a drive once in a while to

first off give it a weather either side, some nice tongues to slide either side of beams, then I can peg them in place for the ‘Barn’ look

turn over and rebate in a piece of copper pipe

add some lead flashing for the water to fall down

right way up, like this

cill in place with the feed running down the back side of the wall

round the other side (tub side) i’ll tuck the tiles up underneath lead flashing and trim the lead, copper pipe will be drilled progressively  to produce just the right amount of water so as not to be too noisy, you can just about see it above the flashing

pretty discreet so far

some more lead flashing for the water to run over and into catch pond

time for some tiling

bit of sealer on wall for adhesive to bond to

et voila

lead trimmed and pipe just visible enough to be able to drill when the time is right

masked up for rendering

rendered

one catch pond made

and attached

then lined with rubber pond liner with overflow pipe installed that’ll feed the ‘Rills’ that’ll run through the lower decking area

 

now i can start covering it all up with some decking…

round the tub first

cut out to front is where the water will drop into the Rill channel at the start of its journey..

starting to come together, the 3 rectangular sections to the bottom of photo will separate the bedroom and lounging area of the decking, the latter will be where the fire pit and sofas will go, some lighting and planting will go in these three areas but there will be two walk ways for access.

will be a lovely way to wake in the morning, everything is operated wirelessly inc. music. with doors left open of a summer eve, waking to  the water, music and lighting coming on 15 mins after sunrise should be sublime..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurr! July 2015

 

Well we made it! but only just & it was all such a blur, 6 week stretch & each being a 70 hour week, before which I was informed by the doc that I was suffering Chronic fatigue and that I needed to back off 😦 if only!

I trusted in my years of health & fitness training to get me through and physical it did, my emotional state and nerves on the other hand are going to take same time to heal I think, I need to bond with the place again and realise what beauty it holds and how much therapy it offers to all that experience it, i guess its my time to be healed by the place….

I didn’t get many photos i’m afraid of the glass units I put in above the doors, the joint and taping of plasterboards, painting and decorating, tiling bathroom floor or under floor heating.

Last images I got were of the plasterboard going up, fosse going in and the landscaping thereafter and some of the HW tank and plumbing, so here they are for now.

concrete floor going down for the tank area, drainage for overflow on tank and future bathroom to, all the pipes come through an old window from studio section of barn ready to connect up.

insulation and damp proof

 

 

concrete made and poured

 

 

tank in along with custom 3 phase timer and manifold for future requirements

 

fosse being dug in

 

and then hit bed rock 😦  so have to drill loads of 25mm holes at different intervals so JCB can penetrate and its 38º I had no idea how I was going to get past this feeling the way I did if I’m honest

 

 

I got as low as I could but I had to raise the earth round the fosse at the end as there was no way of going deeper without a breaker on the JCB and we had NO time so levelled off with sand

 

scarfed in to the system for Ma Chaleur

 

 

and then run back toward new fosse, kept turf fresh as i went to help make a quick recovery for the scarred grass

 

all connected up, pipe running back from front edge is vent pipe

 

 

landscaped, seeded and watering, decorative stone will sit on top of the fosse as grass is a pain to maintain

 

boarding ceiling and more insulation as i go, much easier to put up there at the same time

 

 

air extraction unit in distance all plumbed in as well

AC unit in at same time as boarding, along with LightWave relays for remote operation so we can turn on heater or AC when out and about

 

more boarding and Lightwave relays for the underfloor heating, also thermostat for floor heating (going electric due to Tesla Batteries)

the board bending worked well and the joint & taping blended great to leave it looking purposeful

 

main bedroom, temp. kitch and bathroom all boarded

 

no pics from here on in, bathroom is still in progress but operational, we used interlocking gym matting for the main bedroom which was a life saver and LOVELY to walk on, but it is sooo cool, quiet and has fantastic views we don’t mind finishing bits while we’re in.

I honestly didn’t think we would love it as much as we do, we have the option to move into one our two luxury gites when the season ends but right now we’re really not bothered as we’re enjoying it so much, yet to do the outside area but give me 4 weeks and we’ll be there, the sunrise each morning is stunning, as the heat of the day hits we’re completely shaded by the huge terrace roof that hangs over, perfect!

 

 

 

need to get some light fittings up 😀

 

need BIG rest now but unsure I’ll get it, we’ll see…

Old meets New May 2015

continuing with the ‘studio’ flat as its become affectionately known……

remaining stud walls are up, noggins have been put in but pic was taken before that

 

now i have a roof line to work to i can get on with the rear entrance sliding doors, to go in this opening

 

need to reduce the opening slightly and also get a bit creative with the beam work to tie things in

when i collect the 14ft wide bi-folds I had to cut the frames in half to get them in the car 😀  not as bad as it sounds as i already had ideas on what i was going to be doing and having the frames in half didn’t matter too much.

reason being.. we want as much glass as possible and no great big lintels supporting the doors, the standard frame for the doors is quite slight so nowhere near strong enough to support itself, my idea is to hang it from the big diagonal beam via some 22mm threaded rod, at the frame end this rod will be welded to a 100mm thick steel plate rebated into the top of the frame, the other end simply bolted straight through the beam, like this:

top of frame as is

 

rebated out to take 80mm x 190mm plate (one burnt out router now :()

 

plate inserted, screwed one side and bolted the other (every 500mm)

 

bolts sit in channel on other side which is meant for profiled aluminium so need to rebate the nuts

 

slides in and covers things nicely

 

one nut strategically welded into place

 

now its all ready but i need to put a cross beam in back at opening first, held in place and marked, i use straps allot when working with beams

 

in place (top right) and 22mm threaded bar killed through beam, frame in place and adjusted to level

 

now a tricky bit, need to cover this bar and also make it look authentic

found a great beam that I saved from the Piggery I knocked down earlier, beautiful crack all the way through it

detached from its brethren and cut to size, I start to whittle it 😀  channel it to take the threaded bar and also rebate the top and bottom so it slots over the door frame and cover where i had to cut it in half

old mortise won’t be seen as it’ll be covered by double glazed unit

 

in place, covers bar and tongues drop over frame to cover join  a treat, looks nice in the flesh to

 

doors in, waiting for double glazed units now, looks a bit messy at the moment but the cladding that’ll come down from the top should smarten things nicely

 

 

Homeless April 2015

 

 

 

 

 

everyone has a place to stay except us 😀   I have 2 months to get this ready for our summer…..

 

need some walls to go up but this vent pipe for the loos needed finishing, now routed where it should be and all air tight hopefully!

 

 

first wall up needs to be timber stud to support the lowered ceiling plus its the most awkward as the wall its masking is all over the place, no movement as such, it was just built that way!  once this wall is up I can use it to squared up all the other walls

floor plate down first

which brings me to the doorway where i’ve got to bend the plasterboard to meet the oak lintel that I left protruding for this very reason

 

wall up and battens bend in to doorway, wetted plasterboard should work, we’ll see….

 

onto heat reflector for roof

dropping the ceiling in as I go

which leads me to the rafters for the other side, beams cut through ceiling at this point to leave them exposed

 

 

2am start sees me finish that bit, starting to feel a little more cozy

metal stud wall down the other wall, need some holes filling first, 18″ thick of polystyrene and expanding foam, it was all waterproofed from the other side

 

back wall of the two bathrooms, the lowest point of floor in relation to outside so took a precautionary measure and ran some damp membrane up the wall

 

getting excited seeing such big changes and so quickly (i’m sure that’ll be halted soon enough)

 

floor plates down for bathroom walls, notice how ‘her’ bathroom on left is ‘slightly’ larger than ‘his’ on right (of course!)

 

will I make it? what will be there for us to move into in 2 months? god knows!!  🙂

Electrifying…. March 2015

the 3rd building to receive electric from the new underground wiring, I say new but I laid it 3yrs ago now!

The studio flat part of our barn  now has electric that doesn’t turn the lights off when you start up the circular saw 😀

has to be routed from the far end of the barn mind, a 30m journey through 2ft thick stone walls, you can be there for hours getting through these if your path is not choosen wisely, I’m not very wise 😦

starts in here, think chickens were kept in here as there were perches everywhere along with ankle deep shite, wood all ripped out and burnt (hence the picture above) and shite shovelled to one side

 

this will eventually be our utility room, far wall will come down to connect to other stone room next door, should leave a 7m x 3m utility, plenty.

 

gained cut to length

 

 

other side, sounds simple eh, took nearly 2 hrs to get through it where i needed the hole

 

cheating here and going through the window above

 

box on wall in the studio

 

 

box cover slides neatly into other box to create an adjustable depth cover, handy seeing as wall projection is a grey area at the mo

 

a day for our sparky getting it through ‘et voila’  wasting no time in overloading things 😀

 

Getting laid…. March 2015

Back to ‘Our Barn’

All the bags lined up for laying the new floor, pallet of cement lifted into area & insulation piled to left.

On your own you have to work efficiently & comfortably, laying a slab this size manually is quite tough labour on your own, so comfort is important “get yourself comfortable” were the words of my Dad, these always ring through my head when i start something big or different, wise words to 🙂

start at the far end and work my way back toward the mixer, this area also carries the kitchen and bathroom so lots of consideration needed for waste routes, but this is only a temporary kitchen (on left) so needs to be undone in a years time to make way for the second bathroom, pipes etc will have to be blanked off at that point and the bathroom wasted uncovered, basically i’m planning for kitchen and bathroom in the same room, a challenge 🙂

for now – bathroom that is staying a bathroom to the right and the temp. kitch to the left, wall down the middle dividing the two windows

sand down first

then the damp proof membrane

insulation will flatten as I lay it

seal where all pipes come through

100mm Insulation

Run an expansion batten round the perimeter at finished level, helps me draw the concrete perfectly when I’m laying, pinches the membrane in place as well

construct some boxes to take all the different wastes that need it, this one takes the kitchen sink, appliances and the one heading for centre of floor is for the ‘future’ bath.

all of them done and the layout mapped out to be sure

reinforcing mesh and pipe to centre wall for basins, i lift the mesh as i poor, plastic expansion strips every 2m section, all levelled and straight to give me another draw line for when laying

sure up the expansion strips and boxes the night before so as sure they don’t move

mix n Pooouuurrr and repeat over 3 days until 14tons of product disappear into a nice flat flush floor ready for tiling

almost forgot the floor sockets for bedroom! cables will be pulled through trunking later.

 

all done, 20 tonnes and I’m glad to see the back of it to be honest.

 

next up is insulation to underside of roof and then the dropped ceiling but sun is out and that means outside work on Mon Coeur to get her ready for the upcoming season, Flu attacked us both this week so some solar charging of ones batteries is in order…

2nd verse Feb 2015

early Febuary always sees the arrival of the guy that collects scrap metal, why febuary i don’t know but i’ve been collecting a pile all year and there’s an area in our barn that needs clearing ready for the renovation, so i get myself up there and get all the old drums and wire down, obviously  left over from where the farmer used to re-fuel and store his fencing gear, i need some more wood for winter fuel right now to so deconstructing the wooden area will give me all i need, dowsed in diesel it should burn well i reckon 😀

 

tidy little pile to add to the existing not in shot (dog not included) be nice to get it all cleared

little clearer, now i can get some fuel for heating and expose the area where our kitchen will be 🙂

 

Having repaired the roof to the garage earlier on in Jan I finally got round to sweeping out all the crap collected from the years we’ve been using it as a wood shed, dusty work!

now I can get our car in out of the rain in a proper stone built garage, not many of those around!

as for the ‘Second Verse’…

A facelift for the second of the barns that face Ma Chaleur, bit different in as far as we have no render to remove but this was the last of the buildings to be built, stone built but they decided to use the more yellow stone seen locally at Beamont du Perigord, not quite as attractive to our eye but some prefer its warmer hue.

the main problem with this building is its size and the fact they didn’t use dressed stone for the corners or oak beams for lintels 😦 so we’ll need to be creative, more ‘cover things up’ rather than ‘uncover things’

plan:

1) move drain pipe

2) cut out bricked up window and install new window

3) new window on left

4) oak planks to cover lintels & whitewash

5) render corner stones with matching colour render

6) paint doors and windows

JCB is back in action after new part fitted so straight to work for her as my working platform to remove drain pipe

re-routed to side

next up/out is the blocked up window

its outa here!!

now fill it back in with a window, its pretty big, 8′ x 6′, should let some nice natural daylight into the workshop to

get in there!  I will add some horizontal bars for extra support and aesthetics

 

 

bars added and a lick of paint, did the door above whilst there

 

over to the other side whilst in window mode and getting glass cut & once uncovered the original window is not in that bad condition apart from glass missing, so i clean things up ready for glass, nice to keep original where we can + its cheaper 🙂

 

 

 

the Oak planks needed to create the ‘Faux’ lintels means a visit to our local sawmill as the largest doorway is 5m wide and it needs to be 12″ deep to cover the concrete, I spy a pile with minutes of arrival that looks like it’ll do the job

 

 

 

 

10 minutes later they’re loaded, not bad for an estate, 5m loaded up on the dash works a treat

back in the workshop i’m genuinely excited by the shapes I’ve got to work with, having lived with looking at an ugly barn for so long, the thought of getting these up there to look at is quite motivating… there’s some lovely shapes to use

 

wanted to crack on & forgot to take ‘in action’ shots of beam facias going up, the only solution for the concrete blocks on the corners was to individual render then, very time consuming but happy with the result, anyway, here it is, the new view of the two barns..

 

the gym with a nice sunset and skeletal plum trees

 

 

 

 

the BIG barn, some flower mangers and some hanging baskets should really set it off

 

 

 

 

the individual blocks rendered up

 

 

 

and the two as they sit together, much better and quite proud after years of looking at old ramshackled buildings

 

 

 

Room with a view.. Jan 2015

well i was going to use her for my next job, to be fair I use her for most of my jobs 🙂 its my right hand man (girl) but unfortunately the January blues have got to her and she’s had a breakdown 😦

 

Its been almost two years since the last breakdown when the UJ on the propshaft to the hydraulic pump snapped destroying an intercooler in the process, so we’ve not done too bad, it gets used pretty often, not hard work but quite regular so i don’t begrudge some effort to put things right.

This time I lost steering, felt like a spline has been on the way out for a while leaving me with sloppy steering, true enough the spline at the lower end of the steering column has rounded off so a bit of a strip down is in order, wheel off (the easy bit)

next up all the cowling and instruments

got this great present for christmas, ‘landmine’ torch, each of the prongs is a magnet which gives you loads of different angles for projection when its clinging to something metal

absolutely perfect for this area i need to shed some light on, the offending Universal Joint at the bottom

removed, you can see the rounded off section

now she’s out of action until the new part arrives, JCB parts here are not on every street corner…

So what was to be a challenge ‘with’ the JCB is now going to be a slightly larger challenge without, so back to medieval ways of doing things; block n tackle, winches and levers, it’ll make me think of the guys that built it originally I guess 😀

I’ve got to add some support beams in this opening, mainly for aesthetics but also they’ll provide additional support and reduce the opening to suit the standard size bi-fold doors

firstly I remove the softwood face beam that seems to be doing nothing as far as i can see (hoping) and reveal the oak beam behind

ladders are my help for the day..

see it clearer in this pic

some ropes either end tethered, i then lower each end a bit at a time, its not that heavy being softwood but i’m getting some rope practice for the main event

revealing the oak beam, needs  a clean but looks like it’ll come up good

need to cut back some of the roof overhang to make it flush ready for the Bardage (cladding)

so out with the sabre saw, brick bit for the cement boards

and the change the bit to cut off all the joist ends, voila, flush!

next up in preparation for the new oak posts, i need to cut the wall back to let it slot in next to the other oak post

threw in an extra support as the joist is only sitting on an inch of its end, and its supporting allot of weight in the roof, you take more precautions when nobody is around

nice straight line but shy of where the beam will sit so that i can expand foam the gap

1 x 4m long beam of 9″ square oak, about 160kg, the bigger of the two needed so tackling this one whilst its early enough in the day that I feel up to it

the trailer helps, its a great platform to cut it to length on + I can manoeuvre it into position easier

a selection of straps, ropes and a 1t block n tackle, guide rope attached to quad, as it raises I can let the quad backward to line up properly.

bit by bit I get there

I cut it a little too long deliberately (honest) so i could cut the joist for a neat tight fit, i’ve notched out the joist in this pic, bit blurry as camera was feeling up (bit cold!)

strap to harness and the bang away with a big hammer, very neanderthal, just up my street 😀  attached to the top is block to absorb the impact of the sledge hammer, up and down the ladder hitting top and bottom but by bit

all in, needs a clean but fits well

onto the other side, this ones much smaller so can be man handled, last bit of cutting via bow saw.

intended location, the area between these two posts i intend to render and is much easier to get to before the post goes up so I decide to render first, so I put corner beading on all the necasary edges.

 

rendered and post plonked in there, it has some fantastic graining and weathered surface, it’ll look good sand blasted later on..

 

 

well thats another week down, somewhat hampered by the breakage of the JCB, a job that would have taken half the time with the olde girl in tow, hey ho, it was nice to get inventive in a way they had to many years ago, part arrives today so oily fingers at the w/e.

didn’t change the result and that’s the main thing, decking comes to top side of bricks so we get a constant flow from inside > outside, it’ll be a complete glass rear the view from our bedroom is really quite nice, looking forward watching the animals come to life in the morning 🙂 I’ll wait till Spring to post the view.