The Zellofant cometh

After a couple of false starts, today was the day the Zellofant came. We spent the best part of six hours together, so I got to know it very well. What is it? A great big masher for Zellulosefaser-Dämmstoff, or cellulose fiber insulation, also known as minced up newspaper. It's an environmentally-friendly material that also happens to be a pretty good thermal and sound insulator. In our case, it has been used to insulate the roof, by blowing it in between the rafters which have been covered with, well, an envelope of brown paper.

The Zellofant.

Bales of cellulose insulation.

The Zellofant feeding.

During the course of the day, 141 bales of compressed cellulose insulation, each weighing 14kg were fed to the Zellofant, which promptly spat them though a hose to the professional up in the roof. By cutting into the paper envelope, he was able to blow in the cellulose insulation, resulting in  200mm thick layer of insulation between the rafters. That, combined with the wood fibre sheets that lie on top of the rafters means our roof is pretty well insulated*.

There's 1974kg of cellulose behind that paper membrane!

This was the last major component of the roof. The rest is just internal finishing (well, we don't fancy looking at brown paper forever), but that can come later. Probably a lot later!


*If you're a interested, the wood fibre boards have a K (thermal conductivity) value of 0.044 W/(m·K) and are 35mm thick, while the cellulose has a K value of 0.04 and is 200mm thick, meaning we should have a total U value of 0.17 for the roof surfaces (if I've understood the formulae correctly!).

Rising tide

Our shiny new concrete floor in the cellar was finished a couple of weeks ago. I'd been meaning to take some photos, but not under the circumstances I found tonight. For the past three days we've had rain for the first time in over a month, following the driest November since 1920. While doing a quick inspection tonight, I found that there is water rising around the walls of the cellar, getting over the damp proof membrane, and coming out onto the surface. Not good!

Photo is a little poor, as auto-focus doesn't like the dark.

I'm hoping this is temporary, as there is a rainwater down-pipe on the other side of this wall that is not fully connected. I'm hoping this is contributing, and not that the lower level of the new floor has somehow gone below a water table we were as yet unaware of. It is over a metre below ground level at this point, so it could well be, and the fact there is now hardcore, topped by a membrane and then 15cm of concrete might just be fording water up the wall more than before, when it was just clay and stones. Frankly, I'm worried, as this just cannot be good for the foundations or the walls.

Small pools of water at foot of wall, coming over damp/proof membrane.

 In the same cellar, towards the front, one of the walls is completely wet, not just damp, even a metre up. It's possible that a broken gutter on the adjoining barn is splashing onto the outside wall and it is coming through and down, rather than from the ground, but it's a lot of damp.

East gable, south end, and a big patch of wet wall.

See? Wet, not just damp.

Meanwhile, this is the first real rain test the finished roof has had. The inside is still not finished with paper and laths for the insulation, so we can see the back of the fascia boards, insulation boards and everything still. Which is good, as it can be seen that just below the small downpipe from each of the dormers, there is water somehow getting under the tiles and flowing down the inside of the fascia boards. Definitely localised to each of the four downpipes. From the outside, it can be seen that water has come out from under the eaves. I'm pretty sure that at least this is fixable, but not sure if it's a problem with the flashing or the tiles, or splashback from the main gutter (unlikely). Tomorrow, I'll ask for the tiles to be removed to we can see where it's coming in. This definitely has to be fixed before cellulose insulation is blown in in the next couple of weeks!

Water coming down under the tiles, and over the fascia board.

Really don't need these issues now.

Roof complete!

It took a while, more because of our bad timing conflicting with other jobs, but big thanks to Lutz, Holger, Andi and the others for building us a fine new roof! We're really happy with how it looks. The final bits were done last week, with the last three roof windows going into the back on Friday.

The gang in action.

I can't resist a before shot!

All done.

At the back, we have a total of five roof windows. We'd originally planned eight, but I think this is a better balance between cost and light.

Beautiful!

The roof windows are relatively small, to minimise having to cut roof beams, but due to fire regulations, we had to have at least one large one that is specced as an emergency exit: the one on the top right.

The escape route.

Our own works continued on Saturday, with the help of friend and neighbour, Jörg, with some incredibly boring, but physically taxing cleanup work. We reckoned it's better than a gym. Basically, we've had piles of clay lying around the house from where we removed the wattle and daub between some of the timber frames, and the ceilings in the top floor. It's remarkable how much stuff they used, and how strong clay and straw can be. We had to get this out, so we ordered a container and spent 8 hours shovelling stuff around, Jörg passing buckets to me out on the scaffolding, then dumping it down (we couldn't get a disposal chute). Making hay while the sun shines, we took out another wattle and daub wall, just for good measure, and tomorrow, I'll open up two new doors through similar walls, while we have the container, as we're only allowed put clay and earth in it.

About 1/5 of what had to go

You could almost eat off the floor. Almost.

A hot, extremely dusty day, but I think we were well-rewarded:

Half covered

It's been a slow couple of weeks on the house. Lutz and crew came back last Friday to put half the roof tiles on, and Holgar put in two of the five roof windows the day before. The rest goes on next Monday and Tuesday, but there's been some leaking on the dormers since some new insulation panels went on last week, and I'd like to fix that first.

Nevertheless, the back of the house looks great!

Looking smart! Two roof windows go in on the left next week.

Two of the roof windows on the west side.

The building protection agency had "recommended" that we go with these particular tiles, and that particular colour. I was happy with the tiles, but initially would have preferred copper red tather than natural tone, but I think it looks well. I can't rsist one more before and after comparison!

Way before!

We've been tapping away at reducing the insides to a raw condition, and last Saturday (between family events) I took a couple of hours to repeat the job I did on the east attic tip, this time on the west half. Here's what it was like before, with the top photo taken when the roof was partially open, and the true scope of filth was clear to see. The next shows a slightly clearer scene.

From underneath, staves could be seen holding up clay plaster. Today, we found out that these staves could be a couple of hundred years old, but more of that in a few weeks.Same procedure as last time, meaning the apex is open, and we can consider whether we leave it completely open or make a half floor for storage.

And now this mess has to be cleaned up. We have small piles of old clay plaster all over the place now, waiting for us to get a proper chute to drop it down into a trailer. The staves will be kept, and perhaps reused in other parts of the house (or other smaller projects). My previous thoughts of using them as firewood have been somewhat tempered after today.

A couple of hours each evening after work this week has also meant that all the old electric cables are now removed, and the house it feeling ready for putting stuff in, rather than taking it away. Almost. Still so many decisions to be made...

Roof almost complete

I have to say, Lutz, the carpenter/roofer and his team work like demons. They start at 7am and work till 5pm, at least, and in the past two days I've been away, the back of the house has been transformed. The roof is now watertight, apart from the gable dormer, and is ready for tiles which will come in about 2 weeks. A new roof frame has been built for the gable dormer, and it looks great. The roof windows need to be put in, but that'll just be a matter of cutting holes in the insulation boards. Speaking of which, these boards were a change from the original plan, and I'm pretty happy with the suggestion from Lutz. 35mm thick, wood-based insulation boards which are breathable, give an initial layer of insulation and sound-proofing, and they are environmentally friendly. They'll eventually be backed up with cellulose insulation to keep us snug.

Back of the house, September 1st, 2011

The view of the future bathroom inside the gable dormer.

Up at the apex.

There are a couple of open points that we didn't know were open points relating to the use of these insulation boards on the sides of the dormers on the front of the house, but a decision is needed soon, as this is delaying the gutter guy. I think I like the idea of using these boards there too (the gable dormer at the back has 55mm thick boards on the sides), but it means doubling up on some work that was already done. I'll have to make an executive decision.

Meanwhile, last Saturday I took the rest of the plasterboard ceiling down in the expanded kitchen. That was pretty dusty, with layers of clay dust from the original ceiling, and all sorts of grain lying  above the boards and, in one corner, an old rodent toilet with piles of shit and a little skeleton. The ceiling above is mostly original, with clay-covered laths between oak beams. In the foreground of the picture below, it can be seen that some of these were replaced in the 70s. Most impressive, is the 6-metre-long beam spanning the entire width of the kitchen, finally fully exposed. A new post has to go back in the middle, as otherwise the house would likely sink in on itself.

Kitchen ceiling, September 1, 2011.

The plan here is to leave the oak beams exposed and plaster between them. The newer ones can be completely covered, as they are modern tat. We'll see how far we get.

This weekend, it's going to be a big cleanup operation with three people coming to help. My "brother-in-law", his friend, and a neighbour I have never met, but who offered to help. Plan is to remove all the remaining dry lining and clear all the piles I've accumulated since early this year onto a trailer for proper disposal. Well, that and some food and beers for the helpers!

Building it up again

Once the wall came down, something had to put back. Although it'd be nice to have such a wide view out to the back, it'd present certain structural challenges, as a gable dormer has to be built over the gap.

The hole on Tuesday

The hole on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the guys built up a new wall, leaving a gap for a wide door frame. Above this is a reinforced concrete lintel which was poured on-site (you can see the boards holding it together above. They also enlarged the window which was above the sink, which was more or less like a letter box (a better view is below). Here's a quick before and after to see the full transformation:

Before.

After.

I guess the lintel needs a little time to cure before they continue building the facade of the new gable dormer, as they didn't turn up today. Still, there's lots more to be done!

Meanwhile, Lutz the roofer and his crew added some finishing details to the dormers on the front of the house, prepped the back and sealed it all up, as we're expecting a lot of rain tomorrow. He's away to another job for a week, which is just as well, as there's a dependency on the brick-layers to complete the gable wall before the new roof surfaces can be built.

Nice finishing touches on the dormers.

Ready for the rain.

The plans for the back have changed slightly in terms of roof window positioning and numbers (well, one less), so this is what we have to look forward to.

We've also changed some ideas for how this new room (the bathroom) will look, having decided to have this open all the way to the apex instead of a slightly raised ceiling. This might save some cash, as we'd leave some supporting beams floating across the room instead of the major job of moving them, but that's another story, and a few weeks away.

I'm still having nightmares about the whole building collapsing in a heap. :)

The roof after one week

The roofer was stressed as he thinks things are going too slow, but to me, he and his colleagues worked their asses off, and quite a lot was done in one week. It can't be easy dealing with an old house like this, where nothing is straight!

The plan

Having said that, there is a dependancy on the bricklayers for some of the roof work on the back of the house, and they only return from holiday next week (assuming they turn up), so I can feel myself getting stressed soon enough if they don't rebuild that wall.

But back to the front of the roof: Monday, they removed all the tiles as previously posted. I was away for three days, so coming back there was a world of a difference. Timbers have been added to the sides of the roof beams to provide an even surface on both the inside and out. On top of these timbers, a 35mm thick layer insulation board was added (made of wood fibre), on top of which counter lathes and lathes are to be laid. They also had to cut through a few of the beams to make way for the shed dormers (Schleppgauben), and finished building the frames for these. What more can I say? Let the pictures tell the story.

Sunday

Monday

  Being away mid-week, I missed a lot :)

Friday

And close of business, Friday

Under the covers

  I'm pretty happy so far, and great to see a part of the plan in physical form.

Roof work begins

Der Lutz (who also happens to be a neighbour) began working on the roof today. Miserable weather for it, but they got most of the front roof off today. It's slow, as we decided to keep as many of the old tiles as we can to use on the far side of the barn, which could do with some replacements. We have about 1,000 on pallets now, so we told them to just junk the rest of them, so tomorrow should go quicker.

It's strange looking at the roof structure from the outside, with the floors in the attic held up by a skeletal structure. Some substantial timbers involved, but it still looks a bit flimsy. No beam along the apex seems weird.

Tile rescue production line in action.

 It's even better from the inside. Compare to previous shots from the first and second attic levels.

The 2nd attic level, west, open to the elements

And closed again. Gives a nice view of the structural elements.

The Spitzboden on the west side. Lots to clean up.

I think I preferred it dark...

The guys also removed the cladding from the east gable, exposing the half-timbered construction we knew was hiding behind it. It's really hard to make out from this angle and all the scaffolding in the way, so I'll do some climbing at the weekend to try and get a better view.

No smoke without a... chimney.

Another day, another bit of destruction. The two builders, Werner and Wally (nickname, and not sure how you spell it here), arrived this afternoon, despite supposed to being on holiday, to take the top off one of our chimneys. Top blokes, and clearly make a great team (although perhaps a little like the Odd Couple). This chimney will be removed all the way down, but just the top needed to be taken off today in preparation for the roofing work which begins next Monday. They even re-tiled the hole where the chimney was, so you'd hardly know there was ever one there! They did warn us not to hang around the back of the house too much though, just in case.

Before (or rather during).

After (when the sun came out).

In the Dachspitze, right at the top, before.

In the Dachspitze, after.

Next level down, let's call it 3rd floor, before.

And after.

And still a long way down. Cleaner than expected!

In the meantime, after removing the ceiling plasterboards in the slaughter room (I really need to stop calling it that, as it was formerly a bakehouse) to be sure there wasn't any water damage after last Friday's torrent, I'm wondering what they'll do when rebuilding the back wall. This is the wall that was an internal wall till the bathroom was knocked down, and it really needs to be rebuilt as we'll have a new placement for a door and window in this wall. The beams from the floor above span between the wall and an original, large oak beam (must be 7 metres long, spanning two rooms). Either they prop the whole lot up while rebuilding the wall, or we have to take the floor above out and reinstate it later. I'd almost prefer this, as it might give more scope to use lighter, modern material, and tank it better as the bathroom will go above.

Relatively new beams and boards, above which is concrete.