25 June - next door's wall
Well, since we completed on the plot we have had very little rain indeed (which has been a help for the jobs I've had to do) and with this week forecast to be exceptionally hot - high 20s - the greens of the Clwydians are beginning to turn into browns as they last did in our first summer here - 2006.
I had put aside the first three days of this week to start the job of lowering the Britlands' front wall as dictated by the planning permission - it's all to do with sightlines for drivers on a tricky bend. It will certainly make it safer when vehicles are leaving our new double-width splayed entrance. The wall is castellated limestone, typical of the area, so to maintain the castellation and reduce the height of the wall by about 800mm is not a trivial task. I have a lot of stone to remove, move and store.
It was so hot by 9 this morning that I was sure I would only work half a day. Things started badly, as the 'repaired' wheeelbarrow wheel that I got out of the Land Rover on arrival was flat, and the spare tube I had with me turned out to have a split in it. So I came home to put in yet another spare tube, and also put the second wheelbarrow in the Land Rover as back-up. This last move was a good one, as when I got back to Gellifor I found that I had left the repaired wheel in the barn. Doh!
The first stone came off the wall with a chisel and lump hammer, but it must have been loose as thereafter I had to use the generator and the SDS hammer drill with the chisel bit. Hard work on the arms, and plenty of weight of stones to move. In about three hours I had removed the top course as far round the bend as necessary, laying the stones neatly on the chippings at the entrance to our site so that they can go back in the same order when the wall has been lowered. And as expected I had had enough, but was please that when I got home Liz didn't think I looked broken. Much more demolition remains to be done, and then there's the matter of rebuilding it.
On the way home I stopped by the Llandyrnog roundabout, where over recent weeks a guy has been building a very impressive boundary wall. I asked him about his mortar mix, and he assured me that a weak cement mix is fine for stone, unless it's sandstone, when lime is necessary. So that will make my job easier. I'll use a 1:6 cement:sharp sand mix, and the colour will suit the limestone.
Tomorrow will start with a visit to Adrian the architect. Unfortunately the topographic survey revealed that the dimensions on the northern boundary differ from the OS specification that Adrian has been working from, so the plan needs to be changed. Looks like the living room and master bedroom will have to be narrower to fit into the part of the plot that juts out into the field.
Then I'll do a short shift, and in the afternoon we'll have a trip to Shrewsbury to deliver the Motomed exercise bike which I've sold on Ebay - we'll have a meal out to make a day trip of it.
I had put aside the first three days of this week to start the job of lowering the Britlands' front wall as dictated by the planning permission - it's all to do with sightlines for drivers on a tricky bend. It will certainly make it safer when vehicles are leaving our new double-width splayed entrance. The wall is castellated limestone, typical of the area, so to maintain the castellation and reduce the height of the wall by about 800mm is not a trivial task. I have a lot of stone to remove, move and store.
It was so hot by 9 this morning that I was sure I would only work half a day. Things started badly, as the 'repaired' wheeelbarrow wheel that I got out of the Land Rover on arrival was flat, and the spare tube I had with me turned out to have a split in it. So I came home to put in yet another spare tube, and also put the second wheelbarrow in the Land Rover as back-up. This last move was a good one, as when I got back to Gellifor I found that I had left the repaired wheel in the barn. Doh!
The first stone came off the wall with a chisel and lump hammer, but it must have been loose as thereafter I had to use the generator and the SDS hammer drill with the chisel bit. Hard work on the arms, and plenty of weight of stones to move. In about three hours I had removed the top course as far round the bend as necessary, laying the stones neatly on the chippings at the entrance to our site so that they can go back in the same order when the wall has been lowered. And as expected I had had enough, but was please that when I got home Liz didn't think I looked broken. Much more demolition remains to be done, and then there's the matter of rebuilding it.
On the way home I stopped by the Llandyrnog roundabout, where over recent weeks a guy has been building a very impressive boundary wall. I asked him about his mortar mix, and he assured me that a weak cement mix is fine for stone, unless it's sandstone, when lime is necessary. So that will make my job easier. I'll use a 1:6 cement:sharp sand mix, and the colour will suit the limestone.
Tomorrow will start with a visit to Adrian the architect. Unfortunately the topographic survey revealed that the dimensions on the northern boundary differ from the OS specification that Adrian has been working from, so the plan needs to be changed. Looks like the living room and master bedroom will have to be narrower to fit into the part of the plot that juts out into the field.
Then I'll do a short shift, and in the afternoon we'll have a trip to Shrewsbury to deliver the Motomed exercise bike which I've sold on Ebay - we'll have a meal out to make a day trip of it.
oh my. That is looking like a big deal.
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