Lots of rain and a charity mountain bike ride. 4C4C ( 4 coasts for charity)

We had a dry week for putting the roof on at Grizebeck and that's been about it,apart from the odd
half dry day,tough times and i cant remember a summer like it .

At Grizebeck the old flat roof was stripped to make way for the new pitched slate roof, it was essential we had a dry week as without the use of a canopy it would have been Nye on impossible.
but we did it,with the the new peak built and roof timbers on and felted in for last Friday we felt a great sense of achievement,well done lads.
The roof can now be slated in and would expect this to be complete by mid November.sand stone ridges will be sourced to match in with the existing and should finish the roof off nicely.
Rob our stone mason has i think done a fine job on the chimney and internal fire place.
Windows and doors will also be arriving soon so things are coming together .
First fix plumbing and electrics will also soon be underway so we will keep you posted.

Coniston is now ready for first fix plumbing, the underfloor heating is in and complete with a screeded topping now in place ,our plasterers have all but completed the external roughcast with smooth rendered plinths and with most of the scaffolding removed we now can start to see the fruits of our labour.
Top water drainage and soil pipes can now be installed externally and our joiner Sam Clarke is busy installing the slated canopy to the front elevation and this should enhance the building tremendously from an aesthetics point of view.
Plastering of the inside should get underway within 2 weeks so exciting times for the properties owner.

Finally work aside i am training for the Coast to Coast mountain bike route which we intend to complete within four days next June ,West to East then come back to the West coast via the C2C
road route .
The trip has another dimension to it though. we have called it the 4C4C four coasts for charity. we intend to motor cycle from Lands End to St Bees do the C2C both ways then return to our Motor Cycles and complete our journey to John o Groats via the west coast for summer \solstice.
Quite a trip and if anyone is interested in taking part or donating to my chosen Charity's then please call me.
I will also be working 1 weekend in every month from now until we leave.( all proceeds to charity ) so if you can help please call 07831299053.
This blog site will also show content of the training program and pictures when we are out and about so watch this space.

 Robs Chimney stack complete with the lead tray.

 We invested in a pan site mixer earlier in the year and can be used ether with our telehandler or tractor and is a fantastic piece of kit and can be used for the mixing of site concrete or mixing of floor screeds,the beauty of it is that if it is used with the telehandler we can mix at our own speed ,no waste in materials as we mix what we want when we want it and also the mixed product can be laid with minimal manual handling saving time and money.

 As  you can see from the above picture with very precise machine handling this underfloor heating screed was mixed on site then sent through the patio doorway into the building and laid with minimal effort.

My daughter and i enjoying a well earned hot chocolate break next to Coniston lake.

Thanks again for viewing my blog.
see you soon.

Stephen

Mill Gate,Grizebeck,Coniston and the Little grey Fergey.

Its been a productive month again despite the weather.
Mill Gate garage/boiler house is finally coming  out of the ground despite only working on the project with the lads nights and weekends. The weather will take a turn for the worst soon re frost and cold days so we need to push on with it and get a roof on ASAP.
Much of the work carried out so far is under ground and will never be seen with reinforced foundations and walls.
The back retainer consists of 3@ 100mm skins of Dense concrete block with 2 cavities,the rear cavity contains the 16mm bent bar with a 393 mesh laced into it , this when complete with be filled with C35 concrete poured in 450mm layers. this makes for a very strong retaining wall.In front of that we build another 100mm skin of dense concrete block,again with a cavity and will contain ridged insulation to form a warm and dry wall. a lot of work but we only want to do it the once.
The nice thing is much of the material excavated from the building foot print has been used to form sub floors and other construction detail so our Green foot print and impact on the environment is i think quiet good.

Grizebeck now has a roof and looking good with much of the stone facing complete,the new Burlington slate laid in diminishing courses is also going on nicely,the rear elevation of the extension has a very long drag with a very small change of pitch part way up,this makes for a very aesthetically pleasing roof .
The customer quiet wisely has opted for a very traditional looking roof light but with modern features including double glazing.and should complement the old farm house very well,a sun pipe will also be installed to the rear of the house to shed light on the very dark passageway to the older part of the house. alleviating the need for switching lights on in that area during the day thus conserving energy.
Bi fold doors will also be a big feature to the ground floor conservatory giving light and a taste of the outdoors from the kitchen area.

Coniston is looking great, this week should see the completion of the roof.a new chimney stack has also being complete this week by myself, a code 5 lead tray through the entire stack at roof level should alleviate any future damp problems with a nice slate detail to the top forming a drip and will help to shed water from the chimney stack.
Hardwood windows and doors also arrived on Thursday and by Friday all had been installed by our quality site joinery Sam Clarke.
Timber ceilings and partition walls also went in this week so we are now ready for the electrician and plumbers first fix and rough casting to the outside in the next few weeks  (weather permitting)

Finally my brother Mike and I completed a charity Tractor run in aid of The Rosemere cancer care unit in Preston and st Marys hospice in Ulverston ALL DONATIONS WELCOME 07831299053 .
mike took the John Deere site tractor with both his kids on board and i took my 1953 Grey Ferguson
only receiving a new clutch 12 hrs previous. the run went very well but not without a few dramas . I developed a major fuel leak just 30 minutes from the off so out can the solder iron and a small piece of plastic tubing saved the day and held for the gruelling 5hr drive through some fantastic lanes and scenery.

thank you for viewing my biog. i hope you enjoy them and if you feel i could make some improvements your comments would be much appreciated.

Bye for now.

Stephen G

Twin peaks.

Its ironic both the Coniston house and the Grizebeck extension are at the same stage requiring a roof.
Grizbeck is moving along nicely ,the first floor joists went in 2 weeks ago quickly followed by the blockwork to take the roof, padstones are in place both on the existing stone walls and new blockwork in readiness for the steel purlins. once these go on then the timbers for the roof can follow.
Rob and Adam or stone Maisons are busy facing up the new block walls to the extension with stone reclaimed from the old building and using Burlington blue Quoin stones dressed at the exposed edges so No sawn faces are seen,it takes a little longer but gives more of a natural look. Green oak window and door heads are in place with  dressed stone tabling detail above all the oak linels to deflect the harsh weather.
New Burlington blue slate will be used on the roof of the  extension and will follow through to the old part of the farm house with the same blue slate laid in diminishing courses keeping true to the properties  charm and character.
internally the original ground floor kitchen fireplace has been replicated using dimensions and photos  and the reclaimed oak mantel will also be reset in position.

The Coniston house is also now up to roof level and our blacksmith Tony Sanders has prepped all the steel including a cranked beam to support the ridge .
Sam Clarke our joiner will start on the roof timbers at the end of the week and we can then get felted in before the weather takes a turn for worst (.if that's possible ) i cant remember a summer like this one, lets hope the winter is dry and mild.
Slate cills have also been cut and placed by our skilled hand Mike, so windows and doors can now be measured.and we should take delivery of those in approximately 3 weeks.
In all both jobs considering the weather are going well.
Next week i hope to bring you some news and progress of the garage and boiler house at Mill Gate with all excavations for the foundations now complete and reinforcement for the rear garage retaining wall now in place.

Thank you for looking and have a great week.

Stephen G

Summer gone in a Flash ( Flood)

I have to say the weather is driving us mad. it makes our job very very difficult for ground works but the boys are doing well ,very rarely do they complain and the jobs are progressing well.
Grizebeck has turned a corner with most of the drainage now in including  steel work with mesh and bent bar in place and concrete going in.
Block work to the retainer and extension will start tomorrow and finally feel like we are getting somewhere.
(most of the work to date has been hidden, underpinning,drainage and foundation work)
Now all the infrastructure is in place we hope to progress quickly to roof level .

Mill gate is finally moving forward again with final excavations for the garage taking place in readiness for the reinforced garage retaining wall.
Again we can get the reinforced garage retaining wall in and move to the easier block wall construction.

The Coniston site has also come on well, despite the weather we are finally out of the very wet conditions and above ground floor level and going up.The floors went in very quickly with the use of the
telehandler to lift the T beams in place,it make for a speedy and sound floor construction.
The new bridge also got a good testing with the flash floods, the river rose 3 6"' in just 2 hrs of heavy rain . It stood the test well ,and when the river level finally dropped 100kg plus boulders from up stream had moved a considerable distance. During the flood there was thunder but it was difficult at first to distinguish between boulder movement and thunder. quite amazing

Holker and a new team member.

I am beginning to think we have had our summer early in the year. its gone quiet cold and we are back to difficult building conditions again ,with the return of the rain ,sites are very quickly turning to mud .and making the job quiet challenging.
Grizebeck is coming along nicely with the underpinning to the existing structure almost complete and new foul and surface water drains now in place.
Much of the extension foundations are now complete and ready for steel and concrete and this will be the focus of our attention next week.
The coniston site finally saw the removal of spoil from site allowing the delivery of concrete and blocks to site on Monday with block work due to start Tuesday weather permitting.
The Grange site is now underway with the two good hands Pete and Andy,they know there stuff when it comes to steel reinforcement work with almost 170 different bent bar numbers its not for the faint hearted.
Progress at Mill Gate has slowed a little as we attended Holker show on Thursday Friday and Saturday with Roots of Nature our family business.
Run from home. its a great combination of very old tree roots,mostly oak sourced from our land, combined with metal work to make garden water features , garden and internal sculptures.

A week last Sunday was the start of 4 long days constructing the Holker stand, it worked well combining the new business and also it gave us a chance to show off a little of our building skills too, As the stand combined slate tiling and feature stone work with two roots of nature water features.The Iris and Osprey.
The iris and osprey in particular caused quiet a stur and well received at the show.
We are working closely with a Lancaster based blacksmith and hope to produce many more features with a great deal of input and ideas from future customers . the idea is simple.
You can visit Mill gate by appointment , choose a root from our large stock area and we can suggest
ways to enhance the root with metal work or stone,to create your unique garden feature / indoor feature.Visit  www.rootsofnature.co.uk or speak to Gia on 01229 861183
Finally we are delighted to welcome Sam to our team, he is a young and enthusiastic guy and prepared to take on the challenge of working for both Stephen Grindrod ltd and Roots of Nature.

PS I wish i could invent the rain sensitive Solar panel, think i would be very wealthy

Have a great week.

Stephen G

pup and pebble



Sam the pup

The week got off to a great start with plenty to do, the under pinning at Grizebeck  got well under way.
Wednesday saw the removal of the Pebble in the wall !! not exactly! weighing in at nearly 3.5 tons
the Manitou was put to the test with experienced hand Mike at the controls the pebble was set to one side.
This freed up another section of wall for excavation and underpinning with much of the old masonry foundations now exposed its become clear the extent of under pinning that needs to be done.
Reducing the exterior ground level will certainly help with future water ingress in wet periods, its hoped that by the end of next week much of the excavation work will be done leaving us clear to complete the underpinning and start surface and foul drains in readiness for the integral retaining wall and house foundations .

The Coniston site moved forward with near completion of excavations for the building .
even in this dry spell and relief drains now in place water on site is still a problem with the presence of rock close by ,until we get out of the ground its a battle. a challenging site with little room until excavation spoil is removed makes for interesting work.

The Ambleside property is now near completion and looking good, when our clients asked for a feature wall in the bath room in natural stone my first reaction was it cant be done without the introduction of a steel support beam to the floor, requiring a lot of stripping back and expense
we came up with the idea of a cladded wall ,in natural stone . each piece of slate cut to the required thickness and then clad to the wall like a tile, the results where very pleasing.
we also introduced ventilation to the bathroom via the feature wall with tiered slates and boxing to the rear with a remote extractor.
Small details like heat pads to the back of the wall mirror ensures very little mirror condensation and a clear view.
Flush  fit metal roof windows where also added at the clients request giving a nice clean roof line and crisp finish to the interior, a new gable full length window over looking the fells also makes for a feeling of space and light Its turned out a nice job and a pleasure to work on with huge attention to detail which we are not shy of.

Hope we all had a good jubilee celebration and God save our Queen, long may she reign.