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A couple of little projects to keep me busy.


Bullbasket

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Some of you may know that I had a bit of a disagreement with the weather back in November, and then again in January. We returned from our annual pilgrimage to Telford, only to find that part of the barn wall had collapsed in high winds, and demolished our swimming pool. Then in January, we were hit by a tornado (yes, it happens now and again here in France), and the damage that it did to the barn roof, meant that repairs were out of the question. So it has been partially demolished, removing the entire roof, one wall (wooden) and part of the stone wall that fell down. We’re in the process of putting a new, sloping roof on it, so that we can keep our ageing caravan in it. My original intention was to then construct a large shed under the rest of it and make it into a hobby room for myself, but that plan has fallen by the wayside. The shed will still be built, but it will be used for all of the junk that is currently cluttering up the garage.

So apart from finishing off my current IDF Sherman, I won't be starting any new builds for a while.

This is what we started with (yes, I know. It was already in a dilapidated state).

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This is after all of the preliminary work.

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Now things are starting to get done. Red line shows where the roof line will be.

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First back plate bolted to the back wall using chemical cement. First upright in place and beam installed from wall to upright and bolted together.

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Second upright concreted into the ground, and second beam installed between uprights and bolted together ( and it was a beggar to lift the beam up some step ladders and put in place…..on my own).

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Next job is to shift all of that rubble/junk on the left of the photo.

But I still wanted a new hobby room, so I’m going to be converting this into one, (I'll explain the Manitou in a minute.

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It’s what we refer to as the small barn (there used to be a large barn, but because the roof was unstable, it too had to go). When completed, it should give me an area approximately 3mx5m, which is more than I have at the moment. As it has houses attached on two sides it should help with insulation. Hopefully, it will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. If anyone’s interested, I’ll keep you updated with the progress.

 

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And this is the reason that the Manitou is there. The commune were replacing the roofs of the adjoining commune houses and decided that they would do our barn at the same time......for free!! That saved a few thousand euros . (I wonder if they would do our house as well).

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So these are what I'll be working on for a while. The only modelling time will be if the weather is too bad for me to work outside. SWMBO can't wait for me to move out there as she has her eye on my current hobby room.

 

John.                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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John @Bullbasket 'course we're interested! Nice to know there are still some nice neighbours about too!

Couple of things that you might want to think on, with the 'architectural salvage' (rubble / junk!), it may be worth keeping any whole tiles and any blocks of dressed stone, they could be used again? With your new 'small' barn, insulate it inside and insulate the blazes out of the walls that adjoin the house, as they appear to be substantial! 

Having a degree of experience with 'thick' stone walls (thin ones being at least a metre thick) as you already know they hold the cold and also the heat, should hate to think of you come winter looking summat like Oleg the snowman!

Nice to see your having fun!!!

Paul

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55 minutes ago, PhoenixII said:

Couple of things that you might want to think on, with the 'architectural salvage' (rubble / junk!),

Thanks for the advice Paul. Yes, there are a load of old, hand made tiles in the pile that are going to be put aside, as we have a small building, which used to be a goat shed, when this place was a farm, which we now use as a log shed. The roof has never been "pristine", and after the tornado, it's in a very sorry state, so hopefully next year, that'll be another project.. But the tiles which came off of the barn, or hangar as the French refer to it as it was open one end, will be dumped as they are rubbish.

The stone is now piled up in the garden and will probably stay there until required.

You're right about the walls. When we were able to go back to the UK, if it was in the winter, on our return, the heating would have to go on non stop for at least 12 hours, to get some heat into the place. But once warm, it stayed that way. The walls are fairly modest, being just half a metre thick, but I learned many years ago that you have to stuff as much insulation in as possible. 

Anyway, the first job, once the roofers have finished, and my friend returns from his short break at the seaside, will be to fit a new window into the front, as there is very little natural light getting in. Oh, and remove those flipping hydrangeas.

 

John.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi John,  whilst its possibly not what you'd really want to spend all your free time doing what a great project, chance for a bit of 1/1 must be easier on the eyes than 1/48!

Again no need to make stowage from milliput, green stuff or anything else that comes to hand!

 

Good luck, not that you'll need it as it appears alls in good hands!

 

Could just be me but there's something pleasing to the eye about a nicely done roof....

(Perhaps I need to get out more.....)

 

Atb

Darryl 

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  • 4 months later...
10 minutes ago, Ed Russell said:

I suppose he spent ages looking through all the "Work in Progress" threads and wondered why he couldn't find it.😀

No, just here in the Chat threads. For some reason, until Mike did his detective work, it wouldn't appear.

 

John.

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Well, after a rather long break away from this job, I made a start on the floor, ably assisted be a friend of mine. It’s a mud floor, so sheets of plastic were laid down first, to form a vapour barrier. Then a timber frame was laid on top of it, leveled and fixed to the two walls. All nice and square and level, so next job will be to lay some insulation between the framework.

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One thing that I hate is being cold, so this room is going to be well insulted. I’ve got a couple of rolls of 100mm insulation that will be cut to size and fitted in between the framework.

Hopefully, sometime next week, I’ll be off to the big DIY store and buy a load of OSB boards for the floor. Oh, and a new window.

 

John.

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4 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

No, just here in the Chat threads. For some reason, until Mike did his detective work, it wouldn't appear.

 

John.

Magic! 🧙‍♂️

4 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

so this room is going to be well insulted.

Keep it family friendly though!  Questioning its parentage on a no profanity forum could get you in trouble :wicked:

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8 minutes ago, Mike said:

Magic! 🧙‍♂️

Keep it family friendly though!  Questioning its parentage on a no profanity forum could get you in trouble :wicked:

That flipping keyboard! Unless I hit the letter A dead centre, it doesn't type. So, no, there'll be no insults flying around, but it will be well insulated. (Note to self; Proof read what you've typed before posting).

 

John.

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38 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

Unless I hit the letter A dead centre, it doesn't type.

I'm having similar issues with my CTRL key right now, after replacing a few of the mechanical switches twice, so I think it's time for a new keyboard soon :shrug:

 

I knew what you meant, but couldn't resist low-hanging fruit like that ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update on where the big build is at the moment. Insulation down, followed by 19mm floor boards.

 

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Made a start on erecting the steel work for the stud walls. They use this stuff a lot over here as if there was a fire, at least wooden stud work wouldn’t add to it.

Finally, the insulation for the back wall is going up and being held in place by some duck tape.

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On Wednesday, the new window is going in.

As it’s now Sunday, I’m going to give it a rest for today and get some badly needed bench time in.

 

John.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Steel work almost finished. Just a couple more bits to add, and then it’s onto the ceiling. Side wall insulated.

Door frame fixed in place. Although this is an interior door, it’s solid oak and cost just over 100euros. Quite pleased with that.

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Window now in place. It’s allowed a lot more light in, as can be seen in the previous photo.

Things have moved on quite a bit since, hence no modelling being done. More updates when I get the time.

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John.

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  • 1 month later...

Things are moving along nicely now. All of the plaster boarding has now been completed, walls and ceiling. A friend of mine has done the plastering of the joints on the ceiling and walls. I’m unable to do them myself, due to vertigo.

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The vent seen in the corner is the connection to the outside for my spray booth, and on the floor is the 2.5 cable for the sockets

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Once all the rubbing down of the plaster is done, it’ll be time for some paint, then laminate flooring and some lighting, (which I bought on Friday, and it got soaked bringing it home due to the damned rain that wasn’t forecast!).

Thanks for looking.

 

John.

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