Windows
Windows Secured
01/10/15 20:06
Been a bit slow at putting progress up on the blog as Simon has been working me hard since the windows arrived. I have been too physically tired to write anything in the evenings.
After the dramatic progress of the framing and a building structure suddenly appearing the tempo has slowed again. Once the windows arrived from Nordan, earlier than the schedule by a few days, there has been lots of careful work making sure all the components fit together properly to allow the external weather proof sheathing to go on quickly and without modification.
Below are the windows arriving. We paid Caley timber a very reasonable fee of £50 to deliver the windows to our site on Skye. John the driver is great and was very careful bringing the windows off of the lorry and then on the forklift down the track to the site. The windows had been packed very well by Nordan so they arrived in good condition without any dents, scratches etc.
John was able to place the windows very close to the building. As it was just Simon and myself on site this helped a lot as we were able to slide the large double sliding door set into position before releasing it from the packing. Once out of the packing it became clear that the whole thing was quite heavy. It was at the limit of my strength. Simon is stronger than me but we were able together to lift the window on to stage heights until we only had to lift it the final 100mm into the door hole. Once in it was secured temporarily
I had to travel South the next day at around 1pm. This gave me time to help Simon get the other heavy item, a single full glazed external door unit, into place and temporarily secured.
Simon, while I was away was then able to deal with the smaller two long fixed windows and the small square opening bedroom window. Once in Simon offered up the milled Aluminium flashings, from Neptune in Glasgow, and had then to adjust the window positioning so that the flashings worked with the windows as drawn.
After the dramatic progress of the framing and a building structure suddenly appearing the tempo has slowed again. Once the windows arrived from Nordan, earlier than the schedule by a few days, there has been lots of careful work making sure all the components fit together properly to allow the external weather proof sheathing to go on quickly and without modification.
Below are the windows arriving. We paid Caley timber a very reasonable fee of £50 to deliver the windows to our site on Skye. John the driver is great and was very careful bringing the windows off of the lorry and then on the forklift down the track to the site. The windows had been packed very well by Nordan so they arrived in good condition without any dents, scratches etc.
John was able to place the windows very close to the building. As it was just Simon and myself on site this helped a lot as we were able to slide the large double sliding door set into position before releasing it from the packing. Once out of the packing it became clear that the whole thing was quite heavy. It was at the limit of my strength. Simon is stronger than me but we were able together to lift the window on to stage heights until we only had to lift it the final 100mm into the door hole. Once in it was secured temporarily
I had to travel South the next day at around 1pm. This gave me time to help Simon get the other heavy item, a single full glazed external door unit, into place and temporarily secured.
Simon, while I was away was then able to deal with the smaller two long fixed windows and the small square opening bedroom window. Once in Simon offered up the milled Aluminium flashings, from Neptune in Glasgow, and had then to adjust the window positioning so that the flashings worked with the windows as drawn.
Windows Have Landed
23/09/15 16:45
Kate phoned Caley Timber today, as we wanted to get an update on possible window delivery as we hadn't heard anything for a while. We were a bit worried Nordan may have been later with delivery than they said. Luckily as Kate phoned the windows were on their way to Skye and have since touched down at Caley's holding depot near Sligahan.
Ewan, again really helpful guy at Caley, gave Kate John, the drivers mobile and they have arranged for delivery on Tuesday morning, 29th September. Simon the joiner also rang, by chance, and it ties in well with his schedule so he will be on site with me to off load the windows at Fiscavaig ready for fitting.
Its rare that all comes together in one day like this. Hopefully the Autumn weather will be kind and it will allow us to get windows in, flashings on, final sheathing finish to roof and walls, so all wind and watertight in the next two to three weeks.
Ewan, again really helpful guy at Caley, gave Kate John, the drivers mobile and they have arranged for delivery on Tuesday morning, 29th September. Simon the joiner also rang, by chance, and it ties in well with his schedule so he will be on site with me to off load the windows at Fiscavaig ready for fitting.
Its rare that all comes together in one day like this. Hopefully the Autumn weather will be kind and it will allow us to get windows in, flashings on, final sheathing finish to roof and walls, so all wind and watertight in the next two to three weeks.
Waiting for Windows
06/09/15 17:32
Once the floor inside was complete we marked out and placed the sole plates for the internal walls. This allowed us to measure precisely for bathoom fittings, shower tray, compost toilet by Separett, called the Weekend but can be used all year round, sourced from the new supplier in the UK called Littlehouse. We have used compost loo's in all of our houses.
The waste is recycled with food waste in large composting bays. They compost down over a two year period and after this period can be used as fertiliser.
Everyone who has visited the Hen House, even when a little dubious about using a compost loo, come away with praise for its lack of smell and ease of use. The Separett models contain the waste in an internal container that is changed at regular intervals. They have an internal fan that takes any smells to an external vent. This can be powered either from the mains a battery or solar panel. The waste is contained within a compostable bag and put together with bag on the compost pile together with food waste and covered with straw.
They are waterless toilets so save a massive amount of water in use, plus you are not crazily mixing drinking water with human waste to make a smelly mix that then has to be dealt with by some other method.
Other elements of the build have also arrived on site. The external cladding is from Marley, called Eternit Profile 6. This is a corrugated material that is used on sheds and farm buildings. It is robust, cheap and tough. The flashings were fabricated by Neptune in Glasgow out of milled aluminium. I collected these on a trip through Glasgow and they just managed to fit in and on the car.
We have also collected the internal airtight membranes and tapes for walls and roof made by Siga in Switzerland/Germany. We used these on the Blackhouse. They are great products, easy to install even by one person and amazing at getting a very airtight structure.
The only other things required are stainless screws for the flashings the final screw fittings for the Marley, dektite silicone flashings for the light tube and chimney.
Once the windows arrive the external work fitting the windows, flashings and external sheathing will take approximately two weeks. We hope.
The waste is recycled with food waste in large composting bays. They compost down over a two year period and after this period can be used as fertiliser.
Everyone who has visited the Hen House, even when a little dubious about using a compost loo, come away with praise for its lack of smell and ease of use. The Separett models contain the waste in an internal container that is changed at regular intervals. They have an internal fan that takes any smells to an external vent. This can be powered either from the mains a battery or solar panel. The waste is contained within a compostable bag and put together with bag on the compost pile together with food waste and covered with straw.
They are waterless toilets so save a massive amount of water in use, plus you are not crazily mixing drinking water with human waste to make a smelly mix that then has to be dealt with by some other method.
Other elements of the build have also arrived on site. The external cladding is from Marley, called Eternit Profile 6. This is a corrugated material that is used on sheds and farm buildings. It is robust, cheap and tough. The flashings were fabricated by Neptune in Glasgow out of milled aluminium. I collected these on a trip through Glasgow and they just managed to fit in and on the car.
We have also collected the internal airtight membranes and tapes for walls and roof made by Siga in Switzerland/Germany. We used these on the Blackhouse. They are great products, easy to install even by one person and amazing at getting a very airtight structure.
The only other things required are stainless screws for the flashings the final screw fittings for the Marley, dektite silicone flashings for the light tube and chimney.
Once the windows arrive the external work fitting the windows, flashings and external sheathing will take approximately two weeks. We hope.