end of the week

Its Friday and what could go wrong? Nothing, just set backs! 1 the toilet would not go back to the wall as the soil hole was at a 45 degree angle and too far off the wall so the cistern had to be battened off the wall. the pipework had to all be connected so the toilet was usable.  The whole heating system had to be purged ready to work if the weather stayed poorly. Why? because we are on annual shut down next week,yippeeee well trying to be! The toilet installed and working with soft closure seat, tiles grouted, pipework sorted for new rad (new valves etc), unit cut to suit pipes, tools thrown out of room as getting in the way ooops forgot owners in the house (joking). Cut and installed window sill, so all in all a good days work. Now where's my holiday pay?

on the tiles today

On my knees and twisted up like a whicker chair trying to tile this floor.It was so cramped you could not swing a mouse by its tail let along a cat. Small rooms seem to take longer than the larger ones. The floor ran up hill and to the left then levelled out half way down. Great if you want a skateboard arena!

Laid the tiles and fitted units and picked up materials. Went over the flint wall we have got to do in July with the client too.
Now that's a tidy bit of cutting with a grinder if I do say so myself!

day? just plastered then

There it is on day three all plastered out and ready for the fitting and fixtures. Well after the floor gets tiled, the pipework is sorted, everything gets assembled etc. The plasterer took just over half a day and 1 and a half bags of finish to do everything in the room. For a man in his sixties he knocks the spots off a leopard.

thanks for the flint walling

here we have a short email for the walling from the client and the best bit about the cheque! Happy Happy Happy days for all of us!

day three and all is well

Well its day three over! the plasterer did his magic and transformed the room from a patchwork quilt of plasterboard and tape into a shiny smooth sheets of silk. Well something like that! the room got tidied up and santitaryware was unpacked and started to be assembled. The floor has a twist in it like an Alfred Hitchcock movie so self leveller went down.
Tiles away tomorrow!
Two more small jobs picked up today! one a garden clearance and the other repairs to a roof and timber treatment for rot and infestation of creepy crawlies.
Pictures will follow tomorrow as forgot to take them today, too busy to play David Bailey

day two at the ranch

Today went slower than expected as the walls have horrible fibre board on them and trying to find a fixing behind them to screw into to hold the over board of plaster board tested my patience today. Why levels and tape measures seem to of been left in work vans in the seventies defies my logic. The owners dog dived for freedom and was found on his way to the next village covered in mud. Endless puzzles to sort out via email on site which became a problem when covered in dot and dab (board adhesive).  Still not ready for the plasterer tomorrow but high hopes and optimism will get us there.
tea any one!? that's a builders favourite phrase.

New works signed and sealed

works to seal/secure a brick shed
the greenhouse, window and joinery is next on the agenda
clearing a large garden of debris and buildings
the roof job got agreed today for sept so
waiting for paperwork to complete a 18m wall, shed base, fence posts and a pathway
these are to look forward to as new works come in.
we have several roofs to price for along with another wall, bathroom extension, the ongoing project and works to a vw beach buggy (thats another story)

Day one completed

here we go on day one and its a go go go!

A room full of mess and stripped of that lovely pink suite!

end of the day

there we have it after the first day! chaos and an empty room!

Free to a new home

Here we have a retro cloakroom suite which is free to a new home and its in a lovely pastel pink. You don't see many of these now days and its free!

new week, new day, new job

 Today saw us start the cloakroom renovation. Clients had already stripped the tiles from the walls leaving us to the rest. After securing materials and stripping the room out all seemed to be going too well, after all its monday! The removal of the horrible fibre board from some walls uncovered an old doorway to the old stables.As usual extras came up whilst renovations are underway, nothing major though so good news for the clients.

The tops are on and heres the proof

The post office

the starting point

one foot in the door

up and round the bend

when will i grow up

thats the back done

It’s been a week of back and forth with the rain and sun beating down. The final piece of flint was laid and the tops went on. The clients are over the moon and so are we as it’s onto the next job and invoice time. With so many comments on nice the wall looks we are proud to put our name on it, even local builders pulled up to comment directly and indirectly to the owners of the Post office. Which incidentally used to be a forge and has been sold to a film crew? The tops were the choice of the client as were the pillar caps, this did bring about remarks from a neighbour but it’s not his wall. All in all a great job to do considering that the flint was more irregular than my starting times (joking) and it has lead onto another wall of a similar construction approx. 18m long. So there’s another story in the telling.

the neighbours

We did have a couple of days lost due to the weather and another because i had spent all day going round the bend and in the last couple of hours caught the wall with the wheel barrow and knocked a piece of flint out which proceeded to cause the rest to slump. This was solely heart breaking as i tapped it back into place to watch more pieces move out of shape and proceed to fall onto the floor. Slump was not the word used, the thing with flint is you can only lay so much at a time due to it not being porous and allowing the mortar to dry at a reasonable rate. Bricks suck the water out and the mortar goes off (dries) and then you can point them up (joint them). Flint however sits there being held in place by selective positioning and the suction of the mortar until it dries. Using lime also does not help as the lime enables the mix to stay live (usable) for longer? The benefit of using lime as this was the material used in the good old days and when mixed as a 5:1:1 mix it creates the strength and looks required trying and recreating an old looking wall.

round the bend in the inside

toothed out

all fillings completed

the easy part of going round the bend

the front teeth

the bend before the collapse

coming along nicely

visit to the dentists

dentures fitted

final bend

Braces still in place

stand back to look at the front

The tops are on

It’s been a week of back and forth with the rain and sun beating down. The final piece of flint was laid and the tops went on. The clients are over the moon and so are we as it’s onto the next job and invoice time. With so many comments on nice the wall looks we are proud to put our name on it, even local builders pulled up to comment directly and indirectly to the owners of the Post office. Which incidentally used to be a forge and has been sold to a film crew? The tops were the choice of the client as were the pillar caps, this did bring about remarks from a neighbour but it’s not his wall. All in all a great job to do considering that the flint was more irregular my starting times (joking) and it has lead onto another wall of a similar construction approx. 18m long. So there’s another story in the telling.
We did have a couple of days lost due to the weather and another because i had spent all day going round the bend and in the last couple of hours caught the wall with the wheel barrow and knocked a piece of flint out which proceeded to cause the rest to slump. This was solely heart breaking as i tapped it back into place to watch more pieces move out of shape and proceed to fall onto the floor. Slump was not the word used, the thing with flint is you can only lay so much at a time due to it not being porous and allowing the mortar to dry at a reasonable rate. Bricks suck the water out and the mortar goes off (dries) and then you can point them up (joint them). Flint however sits there being held in place by selective positioning and the suction of the mortar until it dries. Using lime also does not help as the lime enables the mix to stay live (usable) for longer? The benefit of using lime as this was the material used in the good old days and when mixed as a 5:1:1 mix it creates the strength and looks required trying and recreating an old looking wall.
NO PICTURES AS BLACKBERRY REFUSES TO SPEAK TO PC AT THE MOMENT ! TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU

The tops are on

It’s been a week of back and forth with the rain and sun beating down. The final piece of flint was laid and the tops went on. The clients are over the moon and so are we as it’s onto the next job and invoice time. With so many comments on nice the wall looks we are proud to put our name on it, even local builders pulled up to comment directly and indirectly to the owners of the Post office. Which incidentally used to be a forge and has been sold to a film crew? The tops were the choice of the client as were the pillar caps, this did bring about remarks from a neighbour but it’s not his wall. All in all a great job to do considering that the flint was more irregular my starting times (joking) and it has lead onto another wall of a similar construction approx. 18m long. So there’s another story in the telling.
We did have a couple of days lost due to the weather and another because i had spent all day going round the bend and in the last couple of hours caught the wall with the wheel barrow and knocked a piece of flint out which proceeded to cause the rest to slump. This was solely heart breaking as i tapped it back into place to watch more pieces move out of shape and proceed to fall onto the floor. Slump was not the word used, the thing with flint is you can only lay so much at a time due to it not being porous and allowing the mortar to dry at a reasonable rate. Bricks suck the water out and the mortar goes off (dries) and then you can point them up (joint them). Flint however sits there being held in place by selective positioning and the suction of the mortar until it dries. Using lime also does not help as the lime enables the mix to stay live (usable) for longer? The benefit of using lime as this was the material used in the good old days and when mixed as a 5:1:1 mix it creates the strength and looks required trying and recreating an old looking wall.

DELL what a service!

After having the laptop go for swimming lessons and leaving us in a muddle, we contacted several well known local computer companies who told us to bin the laptop and start again!? Even the Halifax insurance company were as useful as a chocolate tea pot.
So on the recomedation of "Cliford Kendle" IT manager www.compassit.co.uk we contacted DELL. What a surprise that was, they could not be more helpful and even tried to fix it over the phone. Swim shorts in the bin there was no way the laptop was doing the breast stroke again! So via courier the laptop went off for a vacation (up to 10 days we were told) this was the thursday and with the weekend over i expected the full 10 days to elapse with tales of wo. Not true, the laptop was back in my possesion for the wednesday in full working condition minus its speedos and hat! Thats great service for "FREE"!

NEW!! the website is going to get an exciting new face lift!

Thanks for all the constructive comments about the website. it has inspired us to change the layout and spring clean the home page. The format will be easier to use and the pictures more to easier to see. Its really exciting for us and the potential client. More news to follow! We are going to stick with the red, white and black colour scheme but gentle shades? maybe!

good morning! We have gone round the bend

Well the wall has finally gone round the bend and the pictures will be up tonight its been a mixture of long days and some extra hours in the evenings too. The weather has been sun and rain so on returning home its been food and bed to wait for the cockerels to start up the next day. The tiles go on the top and the final bit of flint goes in today, so picture galore later.

who says no work gets done when its raining?

Well looks like the blog is working and letting people see the work we do as its helped S1 Buildersltd pick up two lots of work today. One a large flint and brick wall and the other a custom wood greenhouse, fitting a wooden window and bespoke joinery to a period property.
So there are things to look out for next month.
After the wall its a cloakroom/bathroom and a garage/lean to roof.
Large roof to do later this year also on top of all the other estimates we have signed up.
No pictures today as unless you want dull grey skies uploaded there is nothing to show. so its good night from us

its raining but not pouring

Well the day slips away as paperwork is shuffled from desk to desk and bills opened and piled up until the end of the month. The rain stops play today as the showers would wash the front of the flint with a 5:1:1 mix and leave piles of mess everywhere, with the pointing up being a nightmare. Still not to worry first day off this year due to the weather.

The S1 VW van

You forget this- s1 buildersltd

S1 buildersltd rear seat for bella

This is the S1 Buildersltd non work van. Bella loves the rear seat as its lovely!

is it a plane, is it a bird? no its our camper van locator

Finding your parked camper van in the middle of a field with 50,000 other vw enthusiasts is like winning the lottery. So you set a marker to see from afar. This is ours until we notice another one flying in the air. if you see this at a show come over and say hello

the start of the flint-stones

There always has to be a starting point at bedrock so heres where the flint-stones started.

this wall is driving me round the bend!

 Thursday and Friday saw us finishing the first post, bending the brickwork to suit, building a curve out of cut blocks and trying to make a good job out of the flint supplied by the client. looks like the flint came out of a field after a tractor had ploughed it. the sun had been relentless which brought out all manner of strange beetles and flies. some biting and others just being annoying! we also experienced an attempted fraud by two Asian people, trying to use a credit card to deceive the post office staff for euros. life on the front line for us builders!

ever seen a walls teeth?

Here is the main building which we have toothed the brickwork so we can tie the pillar into it. why bother? well you can just screw and fix or put a wall starter up against the house but we think its lazy and does not look good. the reasons being if the abutment joint is in cement it will crack and if its done in a flexible compound (mainly silicone)  it looks like sponge bobs pants! so a bit more time and the two will tie together nicely making it look like it was always there after its weathered.
the bricks were a very close match too.
well done team!
looking at the invoice today lbc commons are dearer than ibstocks now and the lbc's are rubbish!

this wall is driving me round the bend!

well i never

wow after 3 hours of line tests and complaints i now get 1.13 mbps strange that! but onto more important matters the news and progresss reports, to follow

talk talk????????

no posts as talk talk are providing me with 0.13 mbps so its difficult to do anything when i can actually get a connection. so its not me being lazy at updating. lots of pictures to follow and news on the wall when i can get/keep a signal. Who knows of a decent broadband and phone provider??? please post on the blog!

If men are from mars and women are from venus. What are these?

Certainly every gardeners best friend after the rain. But what are they? Lilac with orange spots and an appetite for aphids! Simple!!!
The larvae of Ladybugs.
Came across a plant today with around fifty on it.

Lots of pencils in the making

 Here you have a lot of new lead installed by our good selves. The sun never hardly shined until the lead was beaten using hot air guns, then it came out in glorious form when fitting the bathroom.

ever get the feeling your being watched?

Not content with our left overs from dinner these horses stood over us like big brother!Even tried to tell us how to do the job. now that's taking the apple.

post office wall update

what a great start to the day! ran 4.24 miles with the dog before work then headed to the PO to start on the wall. after filling between the laid blocks we backfilled the trench to allow works to commence. seems it was muggy first thing NO flies to contend with (so far). armed with a second wheel barrow what else could we want? last nights lottery numbers!
corners racked up and away we go!

well sort of like that. not my favourite block to lay (7N) as when you get to waist height they don't feel too heavy then above waste they tend to get awkward and after several near misses falling into and over the new wall i was glad to lay the last block. Bricks laid ready for the panels to be started friday weather permitting. so all  in all a good day.

adding pages to the blog and moving onto the next generation of builders

you may of noticed things have changed on the site or not! i am adding pages and sorting the blog out so there is more to look at and more available info on us and the work we do. it just seems a great way to update the portfolio without continually updating the website and folder we carry around. Moving into the new generation of builders. so be patient with the untidy look at the moment as i have to read the documentation blogger provides to do these tasks. early bed tonight then!

great to drive but also great to snuggle up too

VW camper cushions! cant get enough of driving them so bought the cushions to make the couch a vw experience too.

when all else fails snuggle up to a vw cushion

love driving them so why not snuggle up to them on the couch?

back to work

Well after a great weekend away with the family its great to be back and at work and covered in lime, not!
 started the wall today after setting the levels and working out the gauge. its going to look great and in a prime spot being in the middle of the village and opposite the church. The war over the muck consistency ends tomorrow as Craig will lay bricks with his slop and I will lay blocks with my perfect mix from separate barrows. never got to look at the other work that i had pencilled in as ran out of time. later in the week. Dreaded laptop was collected and still looking like a set of speedos are in order. pictures of the wall progress will be tomorrow night.

relaxing day today?

started well and finished well! dug out and concreted the footings for the wall and piers. steel in and bricks choose to match the house. delivery for next week then immediate start, which leaves us a weekend to soak the little bit of sun that's left before the rain. priced up work, looked at work and ordered materials

stepped footings and steel for the posts

the original post office in north creake on its side

Travis perkins agreed to change the faulty plywood that fell apart "as a good will gesture" but the customer would have to foot the bill. i doubt this will happen so court action against them is looming?? Such a shame for the end user that the big companies leave them to have to resort to these decisions.