carpenter, electrician and plumber all working in perfect harmony!!
So, rolling into week 9 sees things starting to come together – it is a fact in building in that so much work goes into what lies behind the scenes, that some times it seems for weeks that there is really no progress. Nothing could be further from the truth – in fact in this eco-build we will have gone over each of the external layers (walls, ceilings etc.), not once or twice as with a standard build, but rather we have added 6 layers – two layers of insulation, and airtightness layer, plasterboard, now we are at the stage of plastering and the final layer – decorating.
In order to achieve the clean lines the client desires the plasterer has been careful to "bond out" the plasterboard.
We have been careful to follow the eco-requests of the clients – more light, low energy consumption, natural products (as much as possible), but also to include all of the high end finishes that our clients would like. After all you don’t have to be a hair shirt wearing environmentalist, you can care about the world around us, reduce your carbon footprint and still enjoy a high quality of life, something that we at Bright Green Homes greatly agree with.
getting the heads of the windows level, and the window boards all at the same height takes time and effort but makes for a superior finish.
Our tiler – Mark – The London Tiler – www.thelondontiler.co.uk, spent a long weekend to get the en-suite and main bathroom tiled with our clients choice of tile. There were a few issues to iron out along the way – but we had designed the whole floor to have a fall in both rooms so that the wetroom effect really works.
the bathroom is now tiled, and the second fix plumbing all done early in the week
The tiles look great, and will be even more amazing when the lighting is fitted – its a bit hard to see at the moment with only site lights to see by. In fact these last two weeks have seen all of us work the weekends to get this job finished within 10 weeks (originally we estimated 12 weeks – so to come in ahead of time is pretty good going). But we are flying through at the moment
Plastering finished upstairs - we have had to hire some de-humidifiers (not overly eco!) in order to help the plaster dry out in time to be painted next week
We have got paint on all the ceilings and walls downstairs, with the exterior of the building already decorated – we are using natural paints as much as possible which have lots of benefits – not the least of which is there is no smell in the house – which makes everyone else happy too!!
Crying won't solve it Simon!! Just keep on trucking!
Hmmm, what else – well the boiler is now hung in the utility space with a new vertical flue through the pitch of the roof above the kitchen, as is the pipe work and expansion vessel for both the solar thermal system as well as the unvented cylinder. Our gas safe registered plumber has done a beautiful job in cramped conditions, Marcus from www.brightonheatingandplumbing.co.uk, and he even survived whacking his head on a valve, and having a spirit level fall on him too! Also the Solar installer Cleland from Eco Hi Solar – www.ecohisolar.co.uk – has worked in this tight space and we now have a utility room to be proud of. One thing is that they will never be able to hire a “tubby” plumber if anything ever needs fixing!
another van load of waste - www.greenvanhire.co.uk
So at the end of this week we have a ground floor that is almost complete (except for electrical second fix and a floor to lay) and a second floor that while not completely plastered is in a place where we can start decorating – just in time!! we now have ONE WEEK!! ARGGHHHH….. no I shouldn’t say that – we are confident that we will be ready for the family to move in next weekend, even Alex will be donning his painting clothes and getting stuck in (much to the amusement of the lads on site who reckon I wouldn’t know hard work if it came up and beat me). See you all next week – and we should be giving the great news that we are finished (bar a few odds and sods).
