Plumbing

Well I've finally found the time to make a start on the plumbing. The boiler is on the wall with the 'Gas saver' unit mounted above it and some of the pipework is done. I still have quite a bit of pipework to do and the small storage tank that completes the 'Alpha Flowsmart 25' package needs to be fitted http://www.alpha-innovation.co.uk/products/FlowSmart/FlowSmart/991603208 . Got two additional expansion vessels to fit to the 'Flowsmart' set up too, and that kitchen tower unit is getting really cramped! It will all fit but maybe not as neatly as I had hoped! Great piece of kit, the 'Alpha flowsmart'. It's a combination boiler, gas saver & small thermal store all combined. The gas saver basically preheats the mains water using waste heat from the flue gases and 'stores' the salvaged heat in the thermal store before it sends the pre-heated mains to the boiler. It can save you approx 50% on your hot water gas consumption annually. But more important than the gas saving is the hot water delivery - 18 litres a minute maintained for 40 minutes, meaning you can run two showers simultaneously on a combination boiler!
The Bathroom is now pretty much first fixed too, got the pipes & lever isolation valves in to the Thermostatic diverter, and two sets disappearing under the floor - one set of hot & cold valves will be connected to the pipes for the shower in the en-suite which will enable that shower to be shut down individually should it develop a fault in the future. Ok, you will have to take the bath panel off to get to them but that's better than having them on show or having a removable access panel in the wall of the hall! The other set will isolate the feeds to the basins & loos although these will all have additional service valves fitted just below each termination point.
Gotta sort out some work related stuff tomorrow and then go to work on Friday so can't do anymore until the weekend. Think my Lady is down for the weekend so I have an apprentice, (tea duty, tidying/cleaning, food prep & passing tools)!! However a female on site may slow progress.....
I passed the Unvented Hot water Storage Systems course last week and am now waiting on my BPEC registration card to come through. Good news that was as it opened the door to the Solar Thermal course which I'm booked on for the end of next week. Watch this space, Eco warrior Bill will have new strings in his bow soon... Hopefully I'll have somewhere to live at some point before 2011 too!

Workload!!

Well it looks like progress at the bungalow may well slow down for a little bit. I'm in the throws of pricing some work at two renovation properties in Westerham, one to have a kitchen, bathroom & new oil boiler. The other some bathroom works, alter a load of plumbing and install a megaflo which I'm not certified to do so I'm booked on the BPEC unvented hot water storage systems course for Friday. Once I've got this certificate I can apply for the BPEC solar thermal installer course which is government funded (saving me £315+vat). We like the sound of that! Then I'll be qualified to install Solar thermal systems which is the direction I'd really like my plumbing career to go in anyway - really interested in the renewable energy side of things.
Also got a 5 bedroom new build house in Addington that I've been asked to plumb - think there's a heat pump to go in there too so possibly an excuse for another training course! And there's a few other smaller jobs in the pipeline (pardon the pun) and a job I priced a year ago has now been offered although It'll need re-pricing now...
Then there's the on-going refurbishment of my Mum's house.... I've got another bathroom to do there, an Alpha flow smart system, new soil pipes, drainage works and the separate loo to renew. I think I need a clone!
Still, it beats watching daytime telly....

Kitchen progress

Been at it in the kitchen again today! Another step closer to actually finishing...
Put the door on the washing machine, the door on the 200mm pull out unit and made a false base and back for the gap between the W/M and pan drawer unit to convert it into usable space.
Still got to fit the plinths correctly (they're just resting in position for pictures), connect fridge & freezer doors to the unit doors, adjust all doors to make gaps uniform & level, and fit the soft closers. I think I'll end up rubbing the worktops back a bit and putting a few more coats of oil on them once the splashbacks are done. I'm not sure what to do there, originally thought of tiling but I'm now considering doing them in glass. I'll need to look into it... Still need to seal around hob, silicone along back edge of worktops, cut & fit shelf in sink unit, seal wall units and end panels to walls and ...... I'm sure I'll find something that needs doing!

Bits

Well the film crew have been and filmed an unfinished project. I'm a bit gutted about that as I would much rather have shown them a completed job. But, looking back through all my photos I've done a huge amount of work in a relatively short space of time, especially considering that I've still had to go to work and was delayed by 11 weeks due to the window company's poor performance.
Anyway if I get this in the right order there should be pictures of...the toilet! Just to show it was cleaned of all it's dust for the cameras.
The new fuse board, meter tails and Earth. The electrics are now all complete. Every circuit is working and I am in possession of the certificates from the Spark. Literally from the meter onwards is all brand new to meet the 17th edition electrical regs. I believe the Spark will be notifying building control in due course too...
The bath is now in situ although it has to be taken out again as I need to run a load of pipes along the wall behind it before it gets fixed in it's final location. Hopefully towards the end of this coming week I'll find the time for that.
And finally the front door - now in black gloss with the new chrome furniture. Will need another coat but for now it looks much tidier than it did and it has a better resistance to the damp getting in.

Front door

This is now in primer/undercoat and ready for glossing. Going to be finished in Black. Have bought & fitted a new chrome letterbox to complement the new chrome locks.

En-suite

Now all first fixed on the plumbing in here too. Wall all closed up with insulation, plasterboard and hardibacker. Shower connections ready for when tiling finished....

Bathroom

Moving forward in here too. Wall now all closed up with Insulation, plasterboard and Hardibacker. Soon be time to start tiling.

Paint finishes,

Both bedrooms done in 'Dawn Mist' durable acrylic matt emulsion. Sockets & switch plates all scrubbed clean & fitted level!
Living room in 'Parchment' durable acrylic matt which I'll use the leftover in the Hall. Again switches & sockets all scrubbed & screwed back to wall with the aid of a spirit level...

KItchen

A few more of the progress in the kitchen. Still a few finishing bits to do in here but the sink, washing machine and dishwasher are now all plumbed. It's also now been painted in it's final colour (soft primrose?) so I'll take some pictures to put on soon.

Moving forward

Had a few days at the bungy this week. New consumer unit (fuse board) is now installed and testing done - all circuits live and working even the sockets & lighting in the garage. Certificates will be with me early next week all being well. EDF are coming next Wednesday to connect the meter tails into the meter (Electrician not allowed to touch meter) and connect the new Earth wire into the recently installed (by EDF) PME earth which is much safer than the old earth rod.

Worktops have had their fifth coat of Tung oil which has meant I can start fitting the appliances. The new double built under oven is fitted & working. Gas hob fitted - electric ignition sparks, but not connected to gas yet. Sink is in & tap fitted - not plumbed yet, hopefully over the weekend. I've also put the dishwasher and washing machine in but not plumbed yet and cupboard door still to go on W/M - need to buy a special cutter for the hinge holes. Oh and the fridge/freezer is working and loaded with beer. Just need to connect the cupboard doors to the appliance doors. Again hopefully over the weekend.

Thermostatic diverter valve is fitted in the bathroom wall with pipes protruding. I can now insulate, plasterboard and hardibacker that wall in order to allow the bath to be fitted. Great piece of kit that is, will run the shower or fill the bath from the overflow, thermostatically controlled so as no chance of a scalding accident. Have also put the pipes in the en-suite wall ready to take the shower and protruding through the floor into the sub-floor void ready for connection to feed pipes. Again this wall is now ready for insulation, and cladding with Hardibacker. Was hoping to find the time over the weekend for this too but I suspect I'm being optimistic - I am but one man!

Homes under the Hammer film crew are due in on Friday the 13th so I need to get as much done as possible. It's not going to be finished but it has changed by a huge amount which will just have to be good enough....

New doors

Here's the new internal doors. Went for clear pine (no knots) with satin nickel furniture and stainless steel ball bearing hinges. All internal doors have key locks on them, bathroom & en-suite with thumb-turn privacy locks.
The kitchen one has two glazed panels to try to pull some light from the kitchen into the hall.

Externals

The new sun room roof - took the old corrugated plastic off and replaced it with a 6m long sheet of twinwall polycarbonate. Gets really hot in there now.
And the Fascias & soffits have had the guttering taken down, sanded back, filled, sanded, undercoat and two top coats of black gloss.

Kitchen

Here's a few piccies of the kitchen from a few weeks back. The oak worktops are now on and have had four coats of Tung oil - one more to go before I can start to fit the appliances! I'll take some recent pictures to post during the week as I've managed to set the rest of the week aside solely for the bungalow.