Man Cave Mk2

[b33fy]

Busy week working on the roof. Long story short.. nearly there, some more fiddly bits and the gable ladders on one side then onto the sarking. A Scottish thing, sarking, basically planking on the roof instead of batterns and then felted and slates nailed directly to it. Hopefully start it on Monday. Welsh slate also turning up next week. Got a roofer on board, local guy who specialises in old buildings and slate so should do a nice job. Hoping he can start a week Monday. Will have to wait till early next year for the zinc roofer to do his bit, then the slate can be finished.

Over 5000 slate being used and it’s down to James and I to hole and dress the slate. Gonna be a cheap xmas with slate place mats and coasters for presents. (Sorry to spoil the surprise James )

Should be watertight in the next couple of weeks so looking forward to that.

[Wingco]

That does look very nice Mike, you ,must be happy the way its going ?

[DJ.]

It looks very impressive Mike, a lot of hard work, as you say it's always good to get water tight and start on the dry jobs.

[b33fy]

Thanks both. Pleased we got this far, has proved quite challenging at times, with lots of learning. Maybe could have done it cheaper and simpler but wouldn’t have done the building justice. There’s a few gatehouses dotted about with flat roof, lean to type extensions and they look awful.

It’s pretty hard work at times Duncan, though the upside of doing it ourselves mean we can afford a better finish and higher quality fixtures and fittings. Though if Grand designs were crunching the numbers we’d be certified with lunacy!

[DJ.]

Yes, Kevin McCloud is like Eeyore prowling around looking at costs. There is no satisfaction to be had doing a poor quality job, and if you plan to live there, corners cut can prove more costly in the long term.

[b33fy]

A brief update of current state of play. Had to down tools last Friday and head back south as swmbo was taken ill. Thankfully she was out of hospital by the time I got there and is now on the mend.

Replaced an ill fitting boiler flue while I was there as the latest service engineer had condemned it. Only been like it 6 years and the other engineers didn’t seem to have an issue with it.

Some urgent maintenance was required on the Yeti for which I am most grateful to Jay for. As it was very short notice and a fair amount of work! Back in Kelso tonight, ready to crack on tomorrow.

Latest progress shot as of last Friday below.

[DJ.]

Sorry to hear your wife was unwell Mike. It never rains but it pours!

[b33fy]

Sorry to hear your wife was unwell Mike. It never rains but it pours!

Thanks Duncan, all good now, suspected kidney stones. I’d been saving up the jobs on the car ready for a visit down south, nearly left it too late with it almost undrivable

The boiler flue was another thing that had needed attention for a while. When it was installed the fitter used the old flue hole to the outside which meant it didn’t quite line up as well as it should. Not unsafe but a jobsworth anal retentive service engineer could be awkward about it. We drew the short straw at the last service and anal retentive rocked up. Had to bash the old one out so after one new flue and a flap wheel to enlarge the hole, jobs a good’un

Nearly done the sarking on one side so the roofer can crack on Monday. Still got a lot of work to do on the roof to get it finished. We also need to hole and sort the slate into thick, medium and thin piles. We’re cutting some into bullets as an ode to the original roof on the lodge. Mind you if there’s a lot of waste, they’ll be going on the roof as is.