Last Friday we finished the porch roof through our first effort at laying lead flashing. Those Youtube videos were brilliant and, as far as we can tell, have enabled us to create a sound roof. Smug photo follows:
Given that this is a fairly light news day, I will finish bringing you up to speed with other items.
Firstly, attached is a photo of the river at ‘we haven’t had heavy rain for a day or two’ level.
Secondly, we summarise progress made in weeks 11-17:
- We lifted further blocks and reached the point where we were happy to create temporary concrete slopes to mark an end of the excavations for this phase; and then we levelled an area on which we spread topsoil and grass seed to create a seating area outside the restaurant
- We continued to work on the rainwater drainage, most specifically at the rear of the bar where we still have a reservoir of water standing adjacent to the house that does not appear to have a suitable drain point, and I put in my first ever land drain, which was not difficult since a couple of weeks before hand I am not sure I realised such things existed!
- We emptied the bar (through Philly’s lacrosse team mates for the majority of the alcohol) and then completely dismantled the wooden bar feature to leave an empty, rather damp, shell of a room
- We fitted a tarpaulin to the turret roof on the bar, and removed all of the internal wood panelling on the walls and ceiling. We are still half expecting the rotten roof joists/rafters to fall through any day now
- We have replaced approximately one third of the white boundary fence to the front of the property, and created a mixed border in front of the house
- We lagged the hot water tank and large copper pipes after we received our first electricity bill, which was a monster of epic proportions
- Mike felled a rotten tree stump which had previously been used to support the electric lights festooning the front aspect
- And we located and cleared the septic tank. We are told that it is rather odorous each summer so will be replacing it as soon as we can find a supplier with a system that can cope with widely fluctuating loads
No wonder we feel a little weary! On Sunday we had some guests arriving on horseback but otherwise we are had a quiet weekend since this week we hope to strip and fit the flat roof over the bar – including replacing the joists/rafters over the bar turret. Only about 2 months before we hope to have the restaurant open, and just one or two things still to do…