Spring in the air!
I do believe that spring may now have sprung, as well as the Red Kites putting on beautiful Arial displays as they prepare to nest; we have now got Wagtails down across Janes field. They are a regular spring visitor who come by to nest, although I have no idea where they go for their Winter holidays they are a welcome sign of the Spring progressing.
We’ve managed to complete lots of small jobs on Redwood Retreat this week, the most significant being getting the interior lining and insulation in place in the Hafod dome. According to “the book” this should have gone in before the silver foil lining and tent cover went on the outside. I ignored this as I was concerned that the weather would get in and spoil the finish before the dome was weather tight.
The lining weighs 40 Kilos or so, so I fixed a small pulley to the apex of the dome and raised the peak of the lining up to the roof level. We had to have 2 or 3 goes at this as the seamstress who made the lining had not identified the “peak point” in any way so we just had to guess until we found the correct spot to affix the rope. Once lifted into place it was actually quite straight forward to attach the lining to the inside of the frame as the eyelets were correctly positioned and the fabric soon stretched into place.
Prior to hanging the lining I had been able to finish fitting the outer tent fabric around the doors so now I have to do the same with the new lining on the inside. To finish the lining I also have to cut some holes in it, one hole for the solar powered extractor fan and a couple more for the passive air vents. Finally I need to make a large opening for the wood stove chimney and fit a fire proof “flashing” which is all prepared in the work shop.
The bathroom building is now finished externally with glass in the windows, felt on the roof and bargeboards and the access deck having hand rails fitted. We also now have some decking around to the side of the dome where the outdoor shower will be as well as a picnic table for al fresco dinning in the summer. Muffin inspected every thing and commented that the table needed leveling up!
Still lots more to do with the strip wood floor to go down shortly inside, after that we can start the fit out and install the wood burner and kitchen. Our sitting room is currently crammed with bed and bedding and ancillary furniture so as soon as the floor goes down a lot of this stuff can start to be set out in the dome and the Hafod will sstart to come to life.
Solar PV 43.3Kw
Wind Turbine 37.35Kw
Power Created on site 80.65KW
To round of the weeks work I gave the quad bike a wash to remove the winters mud, singing to myself the "magic bus" by the Who it's the final track on The Who live at Leeds; a classic in my humble opinion.
