And the news is...
The wind has kept on blowing, as I'm sure we have all seen, with various hurricanes dotting the Atlantic. Never fear, all this time the roof frame is seasoning out on the field, and eventually this is beneficial.
For anyone wanting to track the weather anywhere on the planet (including a forecast) then www.windy.com is a fantastic site. It is updated live by satellite and sensors around the globe, so is a real scientific instrument... and fascinating.
Further works have continued within the property, although I'm sure the builders will be more than happy to get a roof over their head as soon as they can.
A surprise to me came in the photo of work on the stairs: In order to save money the idea of lights at the side of the stairs was dropped. However, the latest photos show that power and fittings have been chased into the wall. This will be attractive, and of course is a good safety point. Initially, the idea was to have one LED on each step, but this arrangement shown is perfectly acceptable, and pleasing.
So, there are four evenly spaced recessed lights up the stairway. A sensor at top and bottom will switch these on automatically when triggered. I have the sensors in hand. No wiring will be required for this automation as it will be controlled over Wi-Fi. Super pleased with this.
Other electrics have been started on too: Upstairs the electrician has started to fit power to the mezzanine - quite a lot is required as this is the studio space, so there's lots to plug in. Originally, the power was to be supplied behind the desk, floor mounted - but this would mean drilling and routing through the structural concrete slab, and therefore would have weakened it. Not a lot of point paying for a massive concrete reinforcement if it is made weak by altering it... so the decision was made to mount the sockets in the wall in a standard fashion. This is no problem, as all the studio kit is powered via surge protection multi-way towers anyway...
Two banks of 3 sockets will provide adequate power to the music studio. To the right is a switch with another socket above. I'm not quite sure how this is connected, but I'm sure I'll find out! At this stage, I'm pretty happy to go with 'whatever', as these guys build houses all the time, and know what works and what doesn't.
The mezzanine studio space looks awesome, and plenty of power is at the other side too as can be seen in the picture below. This is good, because there will be a TV up there with the Playstation 4 wired in. A proper man cave. Even room for a futon and a reclining chair. This means that the downstairs can remain really uncluttered, with all the 'toys', such as guitars, keyboards, games and computers located upstairs. Sweet.
The total mezzanine is looking good - about 50 square meters, most of which is useable. The actual studio area is about 32 square, so very comfortable. The rest of the area is taken with the walkway and space for a futon and storage.
Downstairs, the electrician had taken a look at my wall markings (green), laughed profusely in an Azorean accent, and repainted the locations in smart sharp blue.
This is to the right of the kitchen window, showing power sockets over the worktops, the power outlet for the oven and for the cooker hood.
Now. all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... and when a man's gotta eat, well.... bring on the sardines and sausages. My project manager managed to get this pic, but failed to tell me if he got chance for a sardine:
Apparently, the riddle of the wonky wheelbarrow is now sorted: it is used to prepare the BBQ. Note, not an inch of spare on the builder: Sardines and hard graft. This lunch is being prepared under cover, in the under-house garage space. I wish I could have joined them.
Meanwhile - off and on site, other stuff has been happening: The project manager got the plans from the kitchen builder so that the power sockets and switches can be accurately placed in relation to the cabinets... also measurements are being taken onsite on Monday; this ensures that the plan and the the real life measurements tally for the kitchen. Everything will be measured to the nearest millimetre.
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Meanwhile...
Much thought has gone into auxiliary heating to accompany the heat pump mentioned a couple of posts ago. This as much for visual appeal as well as providing warmth. Although the temperature rarely drops below 12 degrees celsius, that's cool enough to be uncomfortable even in a well insulated new build house.
The heat pump will adequately make the house comfortable and the new Samsung models are incredibly efficient and therefore reasonable to run.
As you know, my designs had been to include an electric 'real look fire', which is essentially a fan heater that looks pretty. The main advantage of this is that it is clean and hassle free. But...
But, as the project manager suggested, the feel and look of a woodturner is hard to beat. And thinking about it, the feel of radiant heat is something I think we all love, even if used as a treat, or just rarely, to warm up on the coldest of windy, rainy evenings.
So, as usual, I have taken sage advice from my local sources: Soren's spot had a woodturner in the corner that augmented his heat pump, and my project manager informed me that the running cost would be about 50 Euros to cover the winter season. Nice.
So the other day saw me researching woodturners online - just for style. It soon became apparent that woodturners are significantly cheaper in Spain and Portugal than in the UK. Well hell. there's a surprise.
So, the item will be sourced on the island (or from the mainland and shipped), based on the general criteria of suitability for the space, physical size and style. Here is an example of what I'm looking for...
Modern styling, reasonable size (too small will look a bit silly as it is situated on a large wall) and raised off the floor... this is the type of unit that will look good under the chimney.
I also saw this model, but I'm sure it is very expensive due to the fitting... but it's ideal. Perhaps the builders can build the fire into a similar housing made out of brick and block work?
I also thought about the requirements of a hearth area and backing behind the burner. This is not often shown in brochures, because they want to show the clean lines of their product in a contemporary setting. See the two pictures above...
So, it might be prudent to have black polished tiles under the unit to make cleaning easier, along with similar tiles behind the unit and flue, to stop any chance of dis-colouring to the wall from heat.
I don't think the tiles under the unit need to be raised (as in a fire-place), as this could be a trip hazard... so it's just a case of having strategically placed dark tiles for a few centimetres around the burner base, and tiles behind the unit.
A quick render showing the overall effect of the wood burner - chair popped in the corner, so you can imagine getting your feet toasty! I like the red tiles to the wall as this makes the stove really pop out.
A note here, the shelf below the TV would need to be stone or concrete, as flammable materials (wood or similar) would need to be 150cm minimum away from the case of the stove. The idea was to have it in stone anyway... so no problems. If not, a unit could be used.
After a quick word from Soren, he advises that the TV might get slightly cooked on the side nearest the stove. Oh no! So, with this in mind, I have done another render below, where the TV shelf has a little wall at either end, the one near the stove to protect the TV, and the one near the sliding window is just to make the feature nice:
Thanks for the advice Soren...
Next Up: - Power Point ...
