Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 2

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 2

No contractors on-site today: the flooring team are leaving the self-levelling floor screed a bit longer to fully dry – though there’s some news on the availability of the replacement concrete headwall for the stormwater attenuation pond, which is due for delivery on Friday, so work is planned to start up again tomorrow.

In the meantime I’ve been progressing the rigid MVHR ductwork that was cut and dry-fitted recently. All the joints were sealed with the supplied (Soudaduct) duct sealant and then taped with the supplied aluminium tape. The sealant stays permanently flexible so isn’t a structural adhesive whereas the wide aluminium tape does add significant structural integrity – as well as being belt-and-braces for air tightness.

I’m going to commission the MVHR system before adding the insulation to the two ‘external’ ducts, which should be easy enough on the long straight runs but could be challenging on the bends.

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 1

Outbuildings: Week 37, Day 1

The main progress today was the preparation of the concrete floor in the Utility Room and Shower Room, ready for their commercial-grade vinyl flooring which will get a mop-friendly ‘coved’ skirting as might be seen in a healthcare setting. The concrete floor was mechanically scrubbed to remove any mineral deposits, then primed, then covered with a self-levelling screed to ensure that the wet-room shower drains properly.

The garage door installation team made a brief visit to re-attach one of the spring tension cables that had come loose from one of the doors.

I was half expecting the block paving team to be back to finish things up but it seems they had another job booked starting today. The actual block paving is down but there are some gaps between the blocks that need filling with grit (rather than sand, with it being permeable paving) – and then the boundary ring of Marshalls GrassGuard blocks need installing to help keep the main body of the blocks in place (the GrassGuard is twice as deep) and to provide a bit of extra turning space.

Block-paved area by the garage doors as at end of Sunday 16 November