Week 4, Day 1:

• Starting to remove the remaining soil inside the foundations, down to the level required for the over-site concrete below the void under the ground floor beams.
  • Actually a bit lower in some places, where the remaining soil columns would not be stable – especially in wet weather.
• Installing the “slinky” pipes for the GSHP in the prepared trenches and starting to prepare the 50mm diameter pipework tails back to the house.
• Another 20 tonne delivery of sand, ready for covering over the GSHP collector pipes later in the week,
• In addition, I spent some time on Sunday clearing the remainder of the rubble from the concrete slab of the old cow shed.

Week 4, Day 1

Now that British Summer Time has ended this snapshot at 17:00 GMT, about 10 minutes after sunset, is close to the limit of what the camera is able to capture. It will soon be necessary to use the 16:00 shots as the “end of day” records.

Northern GSHP trench with “slinky” collector pipe installed on sand bedding

Southern GSHP trench with “slinky” collector pipe installed on sand bedding

Close up of 32mm GSHP “slinky” collector pipe

Fully cleared concrete slab of old cow shed, from south-east corner

Week 3, Day 5:

• Good progress demolishing the remaining few walls of the old barn and cow shed and clearing the rubble from the concrete slab of the cow shed ready for using that to store building materials.
  • These are out of shot to the right of the overview photo – see separate photo below.
• Compacting the hardcore covering the parking area.
• Digging a trial hole at the south-west corner of the house to check the feasibility of using a soak-away there to take the rainwater from the house roof.
  • Doesn’t look very promising – there was hard red clay at the bottom of the hole and a bucket of water poured in at the end of Friday was still there on Saturday morning (although it was raining).
• Completing the smoothing-out of the sand at the bottom of the GSHP collector trenches.

Week 3, Day 5

Partially cleared concrete slab of old cow shed, from northern end

Test hole for soakaway

Northern GSHP trench ready for installation of collector pipework

Southern GSHP trench ready for installation of collector pipework