Another busy week. Loads happened. Updates one at a time then folks.
So, João our stonemason, finishes fixing up the outside walls, a week or so after tearing half of them down so we could get drain pipes out, that one day will be linked to our guttering. As the ground around the house was filled with holes anyway we just dug them all a bit deeper. It became a bomb site in a few hours. An old fig tree that had grown into the very wall and never actually produced edible figs had to go, and with it went a few meters of wall. Its roots were huge and extended right down to the road. Reminded strangely of the kind of hole that tank shells made in fine old walls in Sarajevo, we decided to exploit this opportunity and lay all the pipes and cables that were ever needed to go underground. Oh, and we dug a massive 3m pit for a grey-water soak away pit (for bath and shower water only). Few pics as we went along:
So, João our stonemason, finishes fixing up the outside walls, a week or so after tearing half of them down so we could get drain pipes out, that one day will be linked to our guttering. As the ground around the house was filled with holes anyway we just dug them all a bit deeper. It became a bomb site in a few hours. An old fig tree that had grown into the very wall and never actually produced edible figs had to go, and with it went a few meters of wall. Its roots were huge and extended right down to the road. Reminded strangely of the kind of hole that tank shells made in fine old walls in Sarajevo, we decided to exploit this opportunity and lay all the pipes and cables that were ever needed to go underground. Oh, and we dug a massive 3m pit for a grey-water soak away pit (for bath and shower water only). Few pics as we went along:
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| Step one: remove that fig.. watch out for that biogas tube ... |
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| pipe chaos |
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| before and after, kind of. Bit to the left remains to be done, when we save up enough pennies.. |
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| In the old days by hand and a huge amount of people and time. Now.. mighty claws save all that |
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| lower pipe potential outlet to future village sewerage (maybe for grey water, presuming septic biogas works well, we wouldn't want to send any of that out. I mean WHY? |
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| Joao playing with another way of pointing. It was voted out in the end.. |
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| Pointing is, in a way, the hardest part (João says). We use hydraulic lime with medium sand and a bit of local earth for colour. It take hours to wash the edges of each stone post-pointing. |
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| Finishing touches... |
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| Another 50m or so of bearing wall to go:( Loads of it leaning outwards like this. Bit dodgy, needs to be done, one day. |
2 comments:
How an electric underfloor heating system works, plus more on pricing, installation and pros and cons of underfloor heating.Weigh up the benefits and drawbacks of installing an underfloor heating system in your home.
I know it's been a year and three months now, but I just want to say that you guys did a wonderful job in renovating your place. Congratulations! I've noticed that there are some parts that need some work. I'm curious to find out how it went. I'm also planning to do a major renovation on my place, and I hope the outcome will be as good as yours.
Lashawn Gore
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