November 2009
Time flies....again !
I seem to have spent most of my days building but at least I have something to show for it. The workshop is almost finished, just the profile sheet roof and wall cladding to do. At least it is dry (ish) inside and is a useful place to work. The decking solves the problem of wading through mud and I can get out of the car and unload the back without getting muddy. There is now a new room that joins the living mobile and framing workshop. Many problems trying to get this section watertight but it is not too bad now. Inside I have installed a wood burning stove which produces hot air to heat both buildings. Works quite well but the weather has not been too bad so far. I seem to spend a lot of time in there with the fire door open. Very relaxing.
The plumbing is an experiment to collect some of the flue heat to warm the water tank. Only real problem is the amount of wood I am getting through. Still getting used to the stove but on the other hand I need to heat a large, poorly insulated area so something has to give. Of course you can cut this lot with an axe but one of these is much better !! Actually I found that using an axe or wedges plays havoc with my right shoulder. I have a problem with the joint that won't go away. So I guess it was a good excuse to get the machine. Next project is to create a heat store so I can move away from gas to provide my hot water. A large red calor gas bottle costs around £75 and the last one went for 66 days. Very expensive.
Work has been fairly thin on the ground but I will not be fully ready until the start of next season so not been advertising. Also the continuing closure of the Mission in Kinlochbervie has snookered my plans for a local outlet for my notebooks etc. Maybe next year. The picture framing workshop is also coming on well but many things still to do. However (when it is warm) it is a good workspace.
June 2009
Time flies.... So winter is long forgotten and I took full advantage of the first rays of warm sun to sit outside an sunbathe. A rare occasion up here and there is only a short window when you can do that without being bitten. Speaking of which I had my first midge bite on 22 May so that is a worry. The workshop is turning into a proper working space but it was a lot of effort to shift everything from the gallery. Thankfully the 100 sheets of glass survived and the mountboard was also undamaged. I hate to think how much weight has been added to the mobile and extra support blocks are in place under the frame. Biggest problem is that the whole roof lifts up when the weather is bad. Now have temporary straps in place but need to add an over roof before next winter. Just something else to do...
I have had a bit of work since moving up to the croft but as expected life is very much quieter. Swings and roundabouts as I no longer have to pay rent etc so running costs are very low. Hope to have some sort of central log burner installed to heat workshop and mobile. The mobile home and framing workshop are still works in progress. Just realised that I did not post any pics so here are a few to get on with.
Site preparation, another few hundred tons of gravel to be shifted.
Negotiating the tight bend.
38' x 12' Luxury !
Not used to this level of comfort.
Connecting power, phone, satellite & soil pipe.
Start of the woodworking & storage shed.
Green building is the new framing workshop.
I decided that the house needed a more convenient access door so I just hacked a hole in the side of the house. Luckily the weather forecast was accurate for a few days.
New door.
February 2009
Well not the greatest month so far. Had to cancel xmas with the family due to illness so ended up going south about 2 weeks ago. Good to catch up with friends & family but wintery weather puts a damper on things. Thought I was being clever by buying extra Indian takeaways from Pipasha in Cambridge (best in the area if you need a recommendation) but managed to leave them behind. No doubt they will not last long..... Made it back to Rhuvoult ok and my concerns that the pipes had burst were unfounded. Unfortunately the pipes in the mobile were totally frozen and, as they are routed under the house, would stay that way until the weather improved. In preparation I fitted new pipework inside the mobile but ran out of fixings.
Went to Inverness the following day, set off at 1000 and arrived at 1730.... Had a minor detour off the road on a steep hill in poor conditions and ended up with a wheel on the wrong side of the crash barrier. Mutter mutter.... Eventually recovered by a local garage who straightened out a few bits and I was on my way again. That night at 0005hrs precisely the water came back on. All would have been well had I not left a tap fully open. Flooded the bathroom, hall and part of the bedroom. Quite a feat in a mobile home. More muttering.... Continued the new plumbing next day and discovered that the gas water heater had not survived being frozen.
Another dash to Edderton (3 hour round trip) to get a new heater. Running out of mutters at this point. The good news is that all is working now. Unfortunately I have no excuse to use a friends power shower and am back to the feeble one in the mobile. Oh well. So I am now back to the state I was a few weeks ago but little to show apart from a reduced bank balance. The new workshop is taking shape, all the inside has been gutted and a new insulated floor laid. Just about to construct benches and storage so I can move stuff in soon. Will post pics when finished. Not much more to report - thankfully....
January 2009
That is my first full year in the gallery completed and I have been looking at just how I fared financially. Not too bad considering we had a lousy tourist season, the credit crunch is having an effect and this festive season was not all that festive in terms of turnover. In anticipation of an even worse year ahead I have decided to cut my losses and move from the gallery up to the croft. This has several benefits such as more space, my own display area, reduced overheads and proper working room for photographic portrait work. So I am fitting out another old mobile home and turning it into my new workshop.
The extra space will be a blessing but there will be a lot of work to replace the floor, insulate etc. Some good news though as I have been getting other work (scanning, printing etc) so this will help offset the downturn in framing. I am chasing other ideas so we will see what happens. Life in the mobile has been interesting, especially when we get 80mph winds. Sleepless nights and my fingers are crossed everything stays together so I can get the new roof on in the summer.
Fuel consumption (electric) is far less this year than when I was in the house. At least the mobile has some insulation and the bit I have added does make a difference. Still need to look at wood burner (probably outdoor) to get bills down even more. Not much else going on at the moment so more next month