Hey friends,

🧱 Blocking Off The Window

The lower part of the window didn't open so there was no access to the screws that hold the frame in place. Weirdly the bits that hold the glass in place (I've forgotten the name of them) are on the outside of our windows - not ideal from a security perspective! I used my glazing knife with a hammer to ease them out and the glass came away allowing me to unscrew the frame.

Then I knocked off the pebbledash surround and with Joe's help from the inside, pulled the window free of the opening.

Next I mixed up a mortar of 3 parts building sand to 1 part cement with a dash of plasticiser. Once mixed I added water until the consistency was right. Any of you that have done this by hand will know the strain on the wrist - it's painful to type right now - so once I was out of building sand I resorted to pre-mixed mortar which sped things up a fair bit.

As I've got a stash of bricks at the end of the garden I used them but if I didn't I'd have opted for aerated blocks as the finish on either side won't be seen...eventually. You can cut these with a wood saw but I had to use a bolster to cut the bricks - not so exact.

Fortunately there weren't too many to cut as two whole bricks fitted the gap - as long as I gave them a generous mortar gap.

I didn't knock out any bricks from the side and instead used long screws into the sides to tie the new blocks in. They're not critical though.

Our walls are of the solid kind so there's was no cavity to deal with. To tie the inside to the outside I laid some layers with bricks going perpendicular.

My mantra on bricklaying is that it's not difficult to DIY a well made, strong wall but it is tricky to do it at speed and get a good well pointed finish. I rushed this a bit but it didn't turn out too badly, especially from the outside which is the side I worked from most.

I won't bother pebbledashing it. It's on the side of the house and in a few years all the pebbledash will need to come off anyway when we extend.

Inside will be of course be plastered.

Prior to the blocking off I had removed the plasterboard from the other side of the stud wall. To make less of a mess, I used the reciprocating saw to cut around the studwork to get the plasterboard off in large pieces.

I've also removed the door to the bedroom. The new one will go in almost exactly the same space which is a bit annoying but had to be done so I can re-build the new one to support the joists.

Tasks to follow:

• build new wall
• remove old wall
• move all the pipework and cables (much bigger job than I thought)
• plasterboard bedroom side of new wall
• add acoustic insulation in floor of bedroom
• get plasterer in
• paint
• shelving
• wire up downlights
• skirting
• get radiator back on.
• carpet.

Geez.

🔥 Wood Burner

For new readers, back in the spring I set up a log store at the rear of the garage and filled it to season over summer.

The sensible thing would have been to sort the stove installation out then and there but instead I went into full bathroom mode and put it off. I thought I was smart though because I reached out to a reputable installer on the hottest day of the year thinking surely they can't be that busy. It turned out that everyone is more organised than me and it was 2 months before he could come out to even look at the job, which happened on Monday. And it's going to be another 3 months before he can actually install it.

This is the fireplace and my first question to him is why is it so big at nearly 2m across?

He thought that there were likely two fires: the one you can see and one to the right of it opening out into our kitchen behind, which used to be the living room. If true, the latter might be a good place to store logs before burning and get them extra dry in the warmth of the house.

My next question was what kW stove to go for. Should we get one for the size of the room as it is or one for when we extend to the rear? He said he rarely specs stoves for the size of the room and instead focuses on how close you sit to it, which seems sensible - no point sitting there sweating just to heat up the a far off corner.

He reckoned a 5kW stove would be about right which also wouldn't require a vent (5kW being the limit). The caveat to that is if you have a very airtight house, which we don't but might eventually. Something to ponder on.

He then gave me all the regs including the spacing around the stove and depth of hearth. I'll know what's possible once I've opened it up. If the quote is decent I'll get it booked in readying will be my last job of the year. He's got a plaster/renderer that works for him so I don't have to worry about that bit. I will need someone in to cap the gas off though.

I'm open to tips or anything you think I should know about. As a one-off project I've decided not to go too deep into research on flues etc, I'd rather leave that to the expert but everything to do with the fireplace surround is on me.

👋

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