The Old Bakery's creaking old drains have made the blog on several occasions. They are antiquated and totally insufficient for the job in hand. All the sewer waste and most of the rainwater from the vast roof end up in a septic tank which is barely 1.5 cubic metres in size in my next doors garden. The 'fall' is all but non existent and the liquid then filters off into another neighbours garden where it seems to disperse into his vegetable plot. Whilst he grows the biggest Parsnips in the village you won't be able to tempt me to eat them!!
There are two exceptions to this drain system, firstly the waste from the cottage shower, sink, dishwasher and washing machine seem to disappear into a soak away meant just to handle rainwater. For a year this drain was not a problem, then one of our guest's little angels thought it would be a great game to 'post' stones from the gravel path into the holes of the grid above the drain and thus blocked the thing causing a flood of soapy water along the length of the said gravel path every time anyone had a shower. This drain, being a soak-away, had no inspection cover and appeared to go some 2 metres under the lawn.
The 2nd exception is the front yard drain which is also a soak-away but it has a massive square footage of roof rainwater gush into it along with the large yards own collection of rain water. A bilge pump sits in a containment area above the soak-away to pump the water to a water butt when it gets too full. However until today there seemed no place for the water to go to and I had fitted a small hosepipe to the tap at the base of the water butt to allow the full tank to empty in times of heavy rainfall thus preventing it from overflowing right back into the drain from which it had just been pumped from. Sadly the bilge pump had stopped working correctly (didn't switch itself off when all the water had been pumped out) and in heavy rain the garage was at a high risk of flooding.
TROUBLE BREWING
Over the last few weeks and with full bookings every night for 16 days in both the B&B and the cottage things started to go wrong. It started with blessed angel sticking the stones down the cottage soak-away, then the bilge pump not working then finally the nasty stench of sewerage backing up into my pipes and heading towards the kitchen!!!
The last straw was when at 2 o'clock in the morning, after being awoken by torrential rain, thunder & lightening, I found myself dressed only in my dressing gown, Wellington boots, a waterproof anorak and a baseball cap trying to use a farmers milk churn to catch the gushing water that was overflowing from the water butt in the front yard. I was then barely able to lift the churn to the street where I emptied it some 4-5 times in an effort to prevent the waters flooding into the garage where it would then have seeped into the guests living area of the cottage.
IT WAS CLEARLY TIME FOR ACTION.
The first issue to deal with was the backing up sewers and a quick Google search and a phone call produced a drainage specialist and a pump out truck. The guy pumped out our little septic tank and then it completely refilled again as all of the pipes leading to it poured in to the hole. Even though he had effectively emptied the tank twice he was gobsmacked at how little he had pumped out explaining to me that he had never done a 'pump out' where the quantity removed barely showed on his tanker measure. At the same time another guy was calculating how to organise our waste so our pipes could be connected to the mains sewers. I am awaiting this quote but I know it will be in the thousands of pounds not least because before any actual work is even started we have to pay £436 to the water authority for 'administration costs' then about £350 to North Norfolk Council just for the privilege of being allowed to make the connection!! We also have to pay £25 for an A4 map which shows where the sewer is even though we can see all the manhole covers as plain as day. I am sure the ground works will cost about £3k as they have to dig 3 metres down under the road surface to make the connection.We should be lucky though, I am told, because there appears to be no pavement services to breach which would stand a minimum of at least another £1,000 pounds. NO WONDER THE LAST RESIDENT DIDN'T BOTHER TO MAKE THE CONNECTION!
Then I tackled the cottage soak-away. Firstly I got my plumber to fit a flexible hose to one of the waste pipes coming out of the cottage and dropping it into a nearby manhole. This left the rain water pipe and the shower waste which was too low to be able to divert so I needed to try to alleviate the problem. My drain rod attachments would not fit into the small pipe so I tried using just the rods and I think after much shoving, bludgeoning and heaving I may have cleared the blockage.
Finally in between helping a neighbour with a serious leak from her central heating system I worked on the yard drains. After the dressing gown monsoon incident I was reviewing the whole pump, tank system when I realised that there was a second pipe at the back and this may have been an exit / overflow pipe. I followed it only to see it disappear right back under the cobbled yard. Following the angle that it entered the ground I was able to find the exit route to the street but if this was the same pipe it was blocked. Again I tried with my drain rods, no good just too wide. Then I went and got my old solid fuel chimney cleaning brushes (a small brush on the end of a 6' wire). Well... A very long story (2 hours) short I both managed to clear the blockage and fix the bilge pump and I may.... just may, have fixed the problem of the flooding yard. So now I am waiting for some heavy rain and of course after an entire summer of the stuff not a bloody sign of any!!
The plane connection? I hear you ask. Well we had just managed to win the war on our neighbours leaking central heating system and we were standing in the garden when this Spitfire flew towards us really low, circled the Windmill and flew off again, brilliant.
Thennnnnn, I had just finished fixing the yard pump when there was this low rumbling noise, I rushed to the roadside and straight down the centre of the street at no more than 6-7 hundred feet a Lancaster Bomber flew as if it was driving home along our road.... DOUBLE BRILLIANT!!!
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Monday 27 August 2012
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Onwards and ever forwards.....
A few weeks ago my blog spoke of the trials and tribulations of the Spotted Flycatchers that chose to grace our garden for some 6 weeks or so.You may remember that tragedy befell the family when one of their parents was taken by a bird of prey. The remaining parent struggling to find enough flies in the atrocious weather struggled to keep up with the chicks feeds and they left the nest prematurely trying to find food themselves. Eventually the last parent gave up on two of the chicks and after discussing with a bird rescue centre we took them to the centre to be hand reared.
Well the update is alas a sad one as eventually both chicks died. The Haven specialise in saving birds that have fallen from their nests and been abandoned by the parents. Indeed last year their survival success rate was 73% but it is not a science and they did their best with the Flycatchers (the Havens first ever) but after 2 weeks the birds died. It was a learning curve for the staff and I could tell that they were gutted but they were quite candid with me in that they could see, with hindsight, where they may have, perhaps, tried a different technique. They could only do their best and without them the chicks would not have stood a chance and would have been dead that evening. So thanks for trying.
Now back to our day to day business and the latest challenges at The Old Bakery......
When we moved into this place it was just beginning to show signs of its old age and we needed to get up and running as a business asap so we had to prioritise the work load. We did this by breaking the project into smaller phases:-
Phase ONE consisted of preparing the building for the B&B operation. It seemed the quickest route to bringing in an income. So all our efforts went into ensuring that all the guest facing areas were fully 'ated' that is... renovated, decorated and generally updated. This had to include the complete overhaul of the kitchen so we could meet the food hygiene standards too. Also the Garden required some work as this was to be an important selling point.
Phase TWO was a big job as we needed to convert a fairly derelict annex into a holiday cottage. It had crumbling plaster , walls falling apart, walls that needed to be removed and a major re-design of the bathroom and kitchen areas. Then the place had to have a full make over decoration wise and be set up as a fully equipped holiday cottage.
Phase THREE now looms ahead of us.... This involves turning a 2nd bedroom into another B&B room which is in itself another big task as an en-suite needs to be put into the room and the waste pipes connections will involve digging up a concrete floor and the Building Reg officers to inspect. Furthermore a whole extra tier of hot and cold water supplies need to be installed and several stud walls taken down to make the room bigger. The existing stud walls are made from chipboard and the Stud wall dividing the new B&B bedroom and the stairwell is only 2 inches thick so this will have to be made thicker, filled with foam soundproofing and the chipboard replaced with plasterboard then plastered.
Also to allow the door to be closer to the stairwell the landing at the top of the stairs needs to be raised.
Phase FOUR involves our area of the house and the creation of an extra room off the landing which will be our bathroom, because at present our facilities are pretty basic. This job involves further removal of existing chipboard stud work and the creation of a new stud wall and installation of a shower and bathroom furniture. We will also have a loft hatch and ladder fitted because at present it is impossible to gain access to our substantial loft and some cold water feeder tanks will have to be installed there. We are also hoping (depending on the budget) to replace the existing living room carpet which has to be 20 plus years old and has a lot of burn marks from the open fires. My perfect floor covering would be large flagstones with substantial chunky rugs dotted about but we may to have a new carpet fitted in the end. Whatever we do will be expensive as the room is at least 28 foot long, some 330 sqft of flooring. THEN the bedroom, the en-suite, the new bathroom, a small bedroom, the landing and the stairwell will all need decorating (including a lot of tiling). Clearly this too is a chunky size job.
As these two phases would really impact on our business we have decided to carry them both out in October and close down the B and B completely for that month. This is not that drastic as we are unlikely to get many guests in this twilight month. So I am waiting on the quotes at present, then IF we can afford it we shall start the work aiming to have it all done by November 1st. Ha, Ha!!
THEN....... When all of that is done I will have to start thinking about rubbing down and painting the wooden frames of all the windows..... We have 203 panes of glass and every frame around every pane, inside and out requires a coat of paint at the very least!!
5,369
Well the update is alas a sad one as eventually both chicks died. The Haven specialise in saving birds that have fallen from their nests and been abandoned by the parents. Indeed last year their survival success rate was 73% but it is not a science and they did their best with the Flycatchers (the Havens first ever) but after 2 weeks the birds died. It was a learning curve for the staff and I could tell that they were gutted but they were quite candid with me in that they could see, with hindsight, where they may have, perhaps, tried a different technique. They could only do their best and without them the chicks would not have stood a chance and would have been dead that evening. So thanks for trying.
Now back to our day to day business and the latest challenges at The Old Bakery......
When we moved into this place it was just beginning to show signs of its old age and we needed to get up and running as a business asap so we had to prioritise the work load. We did this by breaking the project into smaller phases:-
Phase ONE consisted of preparing the building for the B&B operation. It seemed the quickest route to bringing in an income. So all our efforts went into ensuring that all the guest facing areas were fully 'ated' that is... renovated, decorated and generally updated. This had to include the complete overhaul of the kitchen so we could meet the food hygiene standards too. Also the Garden required some work as this was to be an important selling point.
Phase TWO was a big job as we needed to convert a fairly derelict annex into a holiday cottage. It had crumbling plaster , walls falling apart, walls that needed to be removed and a major re-design of the bathroom and kitchen areas. Then the place had to have a full make over decoration wise and be set up as a fully equipped holiday cottage.
Phase THREE now looms ahead of us.... This involves turning a 2nd bedroom into another B&B room which is in itself another big task as an en-suite needs to be put into the room and the waste pipes connections will involve digging up a concrete floor and the Building Reg officers to inspect. Furthermore a whole extra tier of hot and cold water supplies need to be installed and several stud walls taken down to make the room bigger. The existing stud walls are made from chipboard and the Stud wall dividing the new B&B bedroom and the stairwell is only 2 inches thick so this will have to be made thicker, filled with foam soundproofing and the chipboard replaced with plasterboard then plastered.
Also to allow the door to be closer to the stairwell the landing at the top of the stairs needs to be raised.
Phase FOUR involves our area of the house and the creation of an extra room off the landing which will be our bathroom, because at present our facilities are pretty basic. This job involves further removal of existing chipboard stud work and the creation of a new stud wall and installation of a shower and bathroom furniture. We will also have a loft hatch and ladder fitted because at present it is impossible to gain access to our substantial loft and some cold water feeder tanks will have to be installed there. We are also hoping (depending on the budget) to replace the existing living room carpet which has to be 20 plus years old and has a lot of burn marks from the open fires. My perfect floor covering would be large flagstones with substantial chunky rugs dotted about but we may to have a new carpet fitted in the end. Whatever we do will be expensive as the room is at least 28 foot long, some 330 sqft of flooring. THEN the bedroom, the en-suite, the new bathroom, a small bedroom, the landing and the stairwell will all need decorating (including a lot of tiling). Clearly this too is a chunky size job.
As these two phases would really impact on our business we have decided to carry them both out in October and close down the B and B completely for that month. This is not that drastic as we are unlikely to get many guests in this twilight month. So I am waiting on the quotes at present, then IF we can afford it we shall start the work aiming to have it all done by November 1st. Ha, Ha!!
THEN....... When all of that is done I will have to start thinking about rubbing down and painting the wooden frames of all the windows..... We have 203 panes of glass and every frame around every pane, inside and out requires a coat of paint at the very least!!
5,369
Friday 3 August 2012
Hmm...this here song it ain't so bad The cutest little song you ever had And those of you who will not sing You must be playing with your own Ding-a-ling. Chuck Berry
Village life does not hold the same cut and thrust that we lived 24 - 7 down south and consequently when some nutter comes up with the idea that every person in every City, Town and Village (that's us) across the Country should ring a bell, any bell at 08:12hrs to announce the coming of the Olympics then that gives us much excitement. Once the people around here come to terms as to what exactly a City is then we manage to move on to the planning stage. A slip of paper drops through the rusty old letter box asking all to join in by meeting down at the war memorial with a bell, or bike bell or anything at all bell like. As we were about to make enough noise to wake the dead it felt wrong that we should be next to the war memorial.
There was an option to stand at your door and ring bells but as our door is directly underneath the guest accommodation it seemed a cruel awakening for our holiday makers. Then there was the family in the Cottage. Would they choose to participate and in so doing wake the B&B guests too?
There was no alternative I would have to explain to the B and B guess so they were forewarned and find a way to take the Family in the cottage down to the war memorial. I disappeared off to the garage to work on my own Ding a ling. Having salvaged a couple of bells that we had accrued over the years and despite lending my mother our best School hand bell, I created the best Ding a ling in town and I was keen to show everyone my Ding a ling.
There were two really sweet kids in the cottage and so we invited them all down to the War Memorial, with my Ding-a-ling to join in the cacophony that was due to kick off soon.
Then at twelve minutes past eight (a time I still do not understand although Alison says it is because they are in August in 2012 or 8 2012, a tenuous link at best. Yet if they had agreed to do it at 20:12hrs then it would have tied in with the opening ceremony AND ALL the volunteer Church Bell ringers who would have been on their way to work in the morning could have rung ALL the church bells. The guy that thought up the idea was apparently a 'performance Artist' so living off grants and without a clue as to how normal people live. I do love a good rant, honest, as any of my family will tell you... oh and don't ask me for my thoughts on the opening ceremony, apparently I am in the minority or so I'm told).
Of course you could gristle me groins by mentioning the 2012 logo and I could rant on as to why they even paid anyone to come up with such a naff (yes my children, I still use the word naff, which I understand is naff in its self) logo. ALL they had to do was have a competition and open it to the thousands of art students across the Country who would definitely have come up with something better. Every time I look at it I cringe as it just looks like the number 20 with a letter 'R' beneath it. I thought Sebastian Coe wanted the youth of Britain to be included and the prize would have been far cheaper than he paid the consultancy company that produced the twisted colon of a logo.
Then there is the Torch fiasco with 8,000 being produced. EIGHT THOUSAND! Why? So the bearers can keep one if they want to sell it on Ebay. Surely just being asked to run with the torch was reward enough and a nice photo to show the great grandkids of the future.
BUT NO . We have spent £4m on them when we could easily have got away with twenty torches at the most.
4 MILLION POUNDS, utter, utter madness. Imagine putting £1 million into Judo, Tennis, Rowing or shooting (where our guy had to go ask an Arab Sheik to fund him because we cut his funding), and how that would have made a tangible difference.
Any way, there we were all stood, at the war memorial, including our B and B guest. About 25 to 30 people some with bells some had their bikes (with bells) and some had lids oF pots and a wooden spoon and we had my Ding-a-ling. The signal to start was given and for three minutes there was an unexpected harmony in this strange collection of brick-a-brack metal make do instruments and my heart softened a little as the 5 year old girl and her 3 year old brother rung our bells with all their hearts. The Mum and Dad seemed to really love the fact that we had gone out of our way to include them in this maddness.It was mad and it made no sense at all, but oh what fun we had........
So here is a photo of Mike's Ding-a-ling...........
5,239
There was an option to stand at your door and ring bells but as our door is directly underneath the guest accommodation it seemed a cruel awakening for our holiday makers. Then there was the family in the Cottage. Would they choose to participate and in so doing wake the B&B guests too?
There was no alternative I would have to explain to the B and B guess so they were forewarned and find a way to take the Family in the cottage down to the war memorial. I disappeared off to the garage to work on my own Ding a ling. Having salvaged a couple of bells that we had accrued over the years and despite lending my mother our best School hand bell, I created the best Ding a ling in town and I was keen to show everyone my Ding a ling.
There were two really sweet kids in the cottage and so we invited them all down to the War Memorial, with my Ding-a-ling to join in the cacophony that was due to kick off soon.
Then at twelve minutes past eight (a time I still do not understand although Alison says it is because they are in August in 2012 or 8 2012, a tenuous link at best. Yet if they had agreed to do it at 20:12hrs then it would have tied in with the opening ceremony AND ALL the volunteer Church Bell ringers who would have been on their way to work in the morning could have rung ALL the church bells. The guy that thought up the idea was apparently a 'performance Artist' so living off grants and without a clue as to how normal people live. I do love a good rant, honest, as any of my family will tell you... oh and don't ask me for my thoughts on the opening ceremony, apparently I am in the minority or so I'm told).
Of course you could gristle me groins by mentioning the 2012 logo and I could rant on as to why they even paid anyone to come up with such a naff (yes my children, I still use the word naff, which I understand is naff in its self) logo. ALL they had to do was have a competition and open it to the thousands of art students across the Country who would definitely have come up with something better. Every time I look at it I cringe as it just looks like the number 20 with a letter 'R' beneath it. I thought Sebastian Coe wanted the youth of Britain to be included and the prize would have been far cheaper than he paid the consultancy company that produced the twisted colon of a logo.
Then there is the Torch fiasco with 8,000 being produced. EIGHT THOUSAND! Why? So the bearers can keep one if they want to sell it on Ebay. Surely just being asked to run with the torch was reward enough and a nice photo to show the great grandkids of the future.
BUT NO . We have spent £4m on them when we could easily have got away with twenty torches at the most.
4 MILLION POUNDS, utter, utter madness. Imagine putting £1 million into Judo, Tennis, Rowing or shooting (where our guy had to go ask an Arab Sheik to fund him because we cut his funding), and how that would have made a tangible difference.
Any way, there we were all stood, at the war memorial, including our B and B guest. About 25 to 30 people some with bells some had their bikes (with bells) and some had lids oF pots and a wooden spoon and we had my Ding-a-ling. The signal to start was given and for three minutes there was an unexpected harmony in this strange collection of brick-a-brack metal make do instruments and my heart softened a little as the 5 year old girl and her 3 year old brother rung our bells with all their hearts. The Mum and Dad seemed to really love the fact that we had gone out of our way to include them in this maddness.It was mad and it made no sense at all, but oh what fun we had........
So here is a photo of Mike's Ding-a-ling...........
Once I was climbing the garden wall,
I slipped and had a terrible fall
I fell so hard, I heard bells ring,
But held on to My ding-a-ling
I slipped and had a terrible fall
I fell so hard, I heard bells ring,
But held on to My ding-a-ling
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