The crushed-stone pathways across the Courtyard were completed, following the good progress yesterday, despite some wet weather at the start of the day.
Most of the flow control units finally arrived – except for the concrete headwall which allegedly got damaged during transfer to the delivery vehicle so a replacement is expected tomorrow.
Western end of the rainwater attenuation pond – where the concrete headwall will be located. The black polythene cylinder is the housing for the 30mm orifice plate that will restrict the outflow from the pond.
Things are pretty wet at the bottom of the pond – believed to be as much due to the high water table as recent rainfall that’s unable to infiltrate the ground. The plan is to connect up the outfall from the pond first, before the inlet, since quite a head of water will have built up in the underground pipework that (currently) has nowhere to drain to. The bottom of the polythene chambers will need bedding in concrete so much of the water will need to be pumped / bailed out in the morning – hoping the holes don’t immediately refill. Fortunately there’s no rain forecast overnight or all day tomorrow.
Another day of groundworks: mostly the rainwater attenuation pond, which has been taken as far as it can be until its flow control inlets and outlets are delivered – then a bit of tidying-up in the Courtyard.
Rainwater attenuation pond completed as far as it can be for now, until the concrete headwall (for the far end) and the ‘swale inlet’ (for the end nearest the camera) are delivered
The subsoil around the site is hard red clay in some places but a more sandy / gravelly material elsewhere, even just a few metres away. Purely by chance the attenuation pond seems to have a gravelly base, which means much of the rainwater should percolate through the bottom – as long as that remains above the water table.
The piles of soil to the left of the pond will be used to level-up other areas of the site, with perhaps one or two more lorry-loads of muck-away.
As expected, the joiners started work today – fitting the door frames to the two door openings in the blockwork then starting to form the wooden partition between the Workshop and the ‘Plant Room’.
Basic structure of the wooden partition wall separating the Workshop from the Plant Room beyond
The ‘Plant Room’ will house:
The inverter and batteries for the solar PV system
The MVHR ventilation unit
The computer network equipment
The alarm system control unit
The electrical consumer unit (already installed) – although there’s a ‘satellite’ electrical panel in the Garage
The main reason for locating these in an area partitioned-off from the Workshop is for a bit of extra security (there will be a lock on the door) but mostly to keep dust away, enabling a smoke detector (rather than a heat detector) to be installed.
Installation of the wooden partition wall is deliberately being done after the ceiling had received its plaster skim coat, meaning the partition could be moved or removed completely with only minor remedial works to the floor and ceiling.
