Maiden Voyage

Yesterday's blog covered the delivery and launching of 'Charlie Mo'  We returned to Aynho Wharf this morning to find our boat still tied up where we had left it, and most importantly still afloat with no water where it shouldn't be!  We unpacked some of our 'stuff' and an hour later we set off northwards towards Cropredy.  It is easier to access both sides of the boat from a lock, so we stopped for a short while at a lock to put all the roof furniture in place.  With a further short stop in Banbury, the voyage 'home' took around 6 hours, The drive to the wharf in the morning took about 30 minutes and that was during the Banbury rush hour.   The Oxford Canal is the second busiest canal in the country, only being beaten by the Llangollen Canal.  Throughout the entire voyage we only saw 3 boats on the move, largely due to the fact that it is February, but also locks are closed for maintenance north of Cropredy and south on the Thames.
The log book now has its first entry:  total miles: 10.85, total locks: 8
The ubiquitous time-lapse is at the end.

Aynho Wharf just before setting off

Underway

The first lock

Roof furniture and cratch cover fitted

One of the proud owners

Another lock filling

Celebratory Tesco sandwich and a glass (small for the driver) bubbly

 Timelapse: 10.85 miles and 8 locks in a little under 3 minutes

Low Flying Boat

This blog is about the building of our new home in Cropredy.  The village and the plot were chosen because of the Oxford Canal and this gave us the opportunity to own a narrowboat to use in our retirement.  This entry does not cover progress on the house, but does address the delivery of our long-awaited narrowboat.

Our plan was to take delivery of the boat further north nearer the boat-builders, and cruise down to Cropredy, but we are right in the middle of all the winter maintenance stoppages which means that our bit of the canal system is cut off from everywhere else until mid/late March.  We ended up having the boat delivered by low-loader to a canal wharf about 10 miles south of Cropredy.

The transport company were very good at keeping us informed and we arrived at Aynho Wharf a few minutes before the 'first lorry' arrived.  This lorry was a small flat-bed and had a very small crane on-board.  For a while, we were a bit concerned, but it was shortly followed by a much, much larger crane.  The first lorry was only delivering the steel pads that the main crane's outriggers rest on.

Crane with wheels off the ground

After a few minutes the boat arrived on its transport.  It was carefully reversed down the access road and driven forward next to the crane.

First visit to the pub!

Ready for the lift

Strops were fixed around the boat and the lift began.  If was all over in just a few minutes!

Starting the swing

Gently does it!

Nearly there

Just a little more

Floating is a good sign!

One of the boat-builders experts had driven down with the boat and set about setting everything up and giving us a run through of all the controls.  We now have lots of equipment manuals and leaflets to read!

The saloon and bathroon

The Galley

The Saloon and Galley

The Bedroom

Since it was dark when we finished, we left the boat at the wharf.  We will return tomorrow and take the boat on its maiden voyage to Cropredy. . . . . . . . watch this space.

Of course, we just had to set up the timelapse camera to record the 'launch'!

Chocolate Surprise

You know how it is: nothing happens for some time, and then everything comes along at once.  Today was such a day.  We turned our backs for a few hours to check the location where the boat is to be 'put in' and to have a meeting with the architects and when we get back the ground floor is a very different place.

Following the installation of the underfloor heating upstairs last week, our builder has finished the jigsaw of insulation pieces for the ground floor sub-floor.  Today was the day that the Underfloor Heating Team were going to come and fit all the pipework and manifolds for the 4 zones of heating downstairs.  They turned up on time and because it is much, much easier to staple the pipes to the insulation boards, rather than fixing to the joist in the ceiling for the upstairs last week, they were done in a few hours.

Making the jigsaw pieces fit

Brief timelapse of the Heating Pipe Installation

The next step is to put the screed down to a depth of 75mm to bring the floor up to, well, floor level!  It was hoped that this would take place on Friday, but because the underfloor pipes were fitted so quickly, our site manager got on the phone and secured it for this afternoon.  By the time we got back to Cropredy, pumping was well underway and we got a quick glimpse of the heating pipes before they were covered.  So we now have a floor which currently looks and feels rather like liquid chocolate, but apparently by tomorrow it will have set hard enough to walk on.

Liquid chocolate by hose, and a brief view of the underfloor heating pipes

Smoothing out

'Tripods' show the required level

Cables, Pipes and Low-loaders

We still haven't got our Welsh Slate, so the roof, and therefore most of the brickwork cannot be started yet.  The contractor has managed to shave a couple of weeks of the lead time for the slates which means that they should arrive early next month.  In the meantime, work has focused on 'first fix electrics' and the 'renewables'.

First fix electrics involves putting in all the cabling and 'back boxes' prior to the sealing up of the walls with plasterboard and then a plaster skim followed by paint.  Once the plasterboard is up, it is very difficult to neatly add any more cables, so it has been important to try and get this right.  This means that we have tried to work out where we are likely to put furniture and fixed appliances and position power sockets in the most appropriate locations.  It isn't just the power sockets either, we have had to consider phone sockets, sockets for PC networks, TV and satellite aerials, heating controls, and the burglar alarm.  Consequently, we have over a mile of mains cable and probably not much less for other wiring!

One of the many 'Cable Corners'

'Renewables' seems to be the phrase to describe the collective heating/solar panels/heat pump systems.  It appears that the days of having a boiler and a few radiators, perhaps even with individual thermostats is over.  These days heating systems are far more complicated.  Our central heating will be based on underfloor heating pipes so we don't have radiators but we do have 'zones' which are made up of one or more rooms.  We have 9 zones, with each being controlled by a separate thermostat and provides heating water through 'manifolds' and 'actuators'.  So much cabling is involved that the heating system has 2 'wiring centres': one upstairs and one downstairs.

Upstairs Manifold

We don't have a boiler either: our heat comes from an 'Air source heat pump'.  This clever bit of kit works like a refrigerator but in reverse.  It takes heat out of the outside air (whatever its temperature) and adds it to our heating water.  We have no gas supply in the village and most other energy sources are considerably more expensive.  The air source heat pump takes energy from the atmosphere (hence 'renewable'), and for every unit of electricity put into it, 4 units-worth of heat are generated, making it as cheap as, or cheaper than gas.
To complicate things further, the house has photo-voltaic panels (solar panels to you and I) which generate power when the sun is around.  This is used within the house and when there is an excess, it is fed back to the national grid for which we receive a small credit.
All of this sounds fairly complicated which is why we are using a specialist company to do it.  At the end of the installation we are given a certificate which entitles us to an energy rebate from the government for the next few years.  I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end!
This week, the 'Renewables' company fitted the upstairs underfloor heating pipes.  This is based on (very) long runs of coated aluminium pipe fixed underneath the first floor.  Clearly, this has to be done before the ground floor ceiling is put in!

Before

During

After

The timelapse video below was taken over a day and a bit and shows a view of the lounge-diner ceiling from the study.

The next stage is to put the pipes into the ground floor (together with another manifold etc).  This is scheduled for next week, but only after our contractor has put down the sub-floor insulation.  The pipes are stapled to this and then the whole ground floor is 'screed' to create our finished ground floor.

Our other project is the boat.  We have just come back from a visit to the boat-builder where we have finally settled on an achievable delivery date which we can all believe in!  This is set for 20th February.  Due to the large number of winter stoppages on the canals in this area for maintenance work, we are sadly not able to bring the boat by water to its new home.  We would need to wait until nearly April for all the closures to be lifted.  Therefore, it is coming by road on a low-loader!  Because the roads around our village are so narrow the transport company will not deliver it to Cropredy.  Instead it is being to a small village south of Banbury with slightly less narrow roads.  It will be 'dropped in' at Aynho Wharf, and we will sail it north through Banbury to Cropredy.
The boat is almost finished.  There are a few things left to finish off inside, but outside is just about done.

Final coat on the roof

Sign-writing Complete

One of the proud owners

...and a small advert

In order to prevent damage from the other construction activities, one of the last things to be included is the flooring.  This has been delivered and will be fitted this weekend.

Flooring ready to go!

Also, added very late on for the same reason are all the cupboard doors and cabin doors.  The carpenter has taken two days to create them, and he was just finishing them off whilst we were there.  We are very impressed with the quality of all the carpentry on the boat. 

Cupboard doors being sanded

So, we will return to the boat builder on Monday 19th just to check that everything is as it should be before they deliver it to Aynho on the 20th.  Expect more photos then!!!

Gales and Water

This week we had really strong gales on Wednesday night, and we wondered how the windowless house had coped.  The next day, it was clear that we had suffered no real damage, although some of the plastic covering the windows had been ripped, a barrier had fallen over, and a few pieces of rogue polystyrene were found where they shouldn't be.  All was tidied up and electrical cabling laying continued with gusto.

A typical 'Cable Corner'

Now that the decision has been made that we need to use Welsh slate,our contractor has set about sourcing some.  The best delivery time we can get is 8 weeks, so that is going to cause us another delay.  It is worth noting however, that most sources of Welsh slate were quoting 16 and 20 weeks!  Anyway, they are now on order, so the clock is ticking.

Last summer, we paid Thames Water to connect us up to the water main and sewage system.  Eventually, they agreed a date (this week) and arranged for a temporary road closure for the lane from Tuesday to Friday.  They turned up on Wednesday but then went away again complaining that they weren't allowed to work with 3 metres of scaffolding (the water main is about 2.7 metres from the scaffolding).  Apparently this is a precaution in case any of the scaffolding poles could slip into the trench they were going to dig.  The fact that the scaffolding poles are firmly fixed to ground level which lies below the depth of the trench they were planning to dig seemed to make no difference.  Whatever happened to common sense?

The mark shows the 3 metre 'Exclusion Zone'

At our suggestion, the connection point was moved down the lane by about 2 metres which took it way outside the 'exclusion zone' and meant that our contractor would have to dig a small trench to meet their trench.  Of course, this minor change in the connection point meant that the whole job 'had to go back to planning' at Thames Water.  To give TW their due, they did replan fairly quickly and turned up (to everyone's surprise) on Friday morning.  Fortunately our contractor had already dug his part of the trench so TW got on with digging their portion (our contractor is not allowed to dig into the highway).

So the trench was dug, an additional and unknown pipe was successfully avoided, and the water main exposed.  The connection is normally done under pressure using a clever bit of kit.  This avoids the need to turn the water off for the other properties in the lane.  However, when the pipe was drilled, it turned out to be made of cast iron and had worn away to such an extent that a normal connection could not be made.  Another TW official was sent for and duly arrived.  He sanctioned the use of an additional support collar around the connection.  This was added, and the finally connection made.  In recent years, the lane has had two burst water mains nearby, and the worn pipe is probably the explanation for these.  I suppose we can expect more in the future!

With the water connection finally made, TW departed, leaving the trench in the road!  Apparently another team will come and refill the trench and make good.  That may happen on Saturday, but it may be Monday before they turn up.  In the meantime, the lane remains closed, although it is possible for a car to squeeze around.  Strictly speaking, the road closure is only valid until the end of Friday, but apparently the contractors used by Thames Water are one of the few companies that have the authority to extend this without having to seek agreement from Oxfordshire County Council.

So that's the water connected, and we can stop using a hosepipe from our generous and tolerant neighbour next door.  However, we still are not connected to the sewage system, even though we paid Thames Water for this at a similar time.  We are dealing with different divisions with TW for supply and sewage and they rarely seem to talk to each other, so despite our (and our contractor's) best efforts, the sewage connection will be the subject of a future road closure, probably(!) some time in March.  When challenged, TW state that it is their policy never to mix supply and waste work to avoid any possibility of cross contamination.  This is understandable, but we had hoped that a little bit of joined up thinking may mean that the two half-day connection exercises could be conducted within the same 4-day road closure.  We do know that the foul water drain runs down the other side of the lane and it is well away from the scaffolding 'exclusion zone' so when TW do eventually turn up to connect our waste, we should have fewer problems - fingers crossed!

'Our' trench dug, Thames water starting theirs

..with a little mechanical muscle!

Joined-up trenches 

Ready for the connection

Connection made - with meter and 'unknown pipe'

Postscript (Saturday):  We have just checked and TW did come and fill in this morning!

Another bit of patchwork complete!

Finally, regarding the boat, we have had no further news so we assume that it is progressing well, and should be delivered on 6th Feb.  We are however planning to go and visit the boatbuilder next week to check on how it is going.  More fingers crossed!

Sparks is flying!

It has been a long time since the last post.  This is partly due to Christmas, partly due to the new year, but mainly due to the lack of progress.  We have been waiting for a series of design decisions to be made and drawn up.  In particular, the key decision has been the approval of the slates for the roof.  For a SIPS construction house like this, there will be a small amount of flex when all the tiles are placed on the roof, and this means that the external brickwork should not start until the slates are on.  Whilst local planning department had approved the use of welsh slate, we were pushing for grade 'A' Spanish natural slate which allegedly performs better and looks just the same.  Yesterday, the local council made it clear that they would not accept the Spanish (significantly cheaper!) alternative in the conservation area, unless another (potentially unsuccessful) planning application was made with the associated 8 week delay.  So the decision is made: we are going for the more expensive Welsh slate.

The slate that got away!

Despite the house not having its outer brick skin, or roof slates, it is effectively water-tight albeit a tad draughty.  This means that the first fix activities can begin, and this week our electrician ('Sparks'), has started work and he is really flying along.  It does mean that you need to be careful walking around the house as there is a risk of strangulation by rogue cabling.

Just a few of the many cables

One corner of a bedroom

The plumber also started work today, connecting the pipework for the upstairs bathrooms.  Access to upstairs is via a temporary staircase largely made up of scaffolding.  It is very steep, and with only 9 steps, the gap between each step is very high.

Temporary staircase

You have been warned

 We have also a 'Chippy' on site who is busy finishing the internal walls, putting up plasterboard, and fitting the velux windows in the roof.  Yesterday, the upstairs bathrooms were very dark.  Today, they were filled with light as the velux windows were fitted and the sun came out to celebrate!

Velux: Before

Velux: After

On the boat front, we paid a visit to our boatbuilder earlier this week.  He has made significant progress, but realistically-speaking, it won't be finished, and have its sign-writing completed until the end of the month.  The delivery date was therefore set at the 6th Feb - fingers crossed!  Due to all the winter stoppages on the canals for maintenance and repair work, and in particular the stoppage just north of here, this means that we will have to have the boat transported all the way from Liverpool down to Aynho, a village south of Banbury, and sail the boat back north to Cropredy.  The next job is to book the low-loader.

The sharp end

The blunt end

Shower being fitted

Bedroom Storage (the doors are fitted last)