Vegan DIY

[seitan]

this is the front of our place

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/seitan/MVC-230F.jpg

and this is the back

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/seitan/MVC-231F.jpg

its a mobile home (and for sale if anybody is interested!!). i wood claded the outside and built a couple of extentions. i loved doing it! id love to be in a position to build my own palce, out of timber, that would be f'ing awesome!

[Gorilla]

looks like a nice place, seitan. :)

[horselesspaul]

id love to be in a position to build my own palce, out of timber, that would be f'ing awesome!
If ever you are, I have detailed drawings and CAD files for two and three bed timber framed post and beam single storey houses of minor environmental impact.
This (http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/grand-designs/episode-guides/brighton-the-co-op-08-05-19_p_1.html) doesn't really convey how good they are to live in since it all of it was filmed before we had actually finished.

I like the vertical cladding on your home.

[Hemlock]

We've luckily got some cash left over from our house build and having a good size garden we're going to put up a summerhouse 14x10 feet in it.

I found a great site that sells woodburners for summerhouses, boats, caravans etc and we're going for the Louis Ranger so we can bake bread and cakes down there.The top acts as a hob and you can cook on it.

http://www.windysmithy.co.uk/html/woodburners.htm

In case anyone is interested we also found a fantastic summerhouse retailer that is very reasonably priced. With a bit of DIY insulation it will be an extra room for summer and winter. We're getting the Dorset:

http://www.acesheds.co.uk/product.php/33/dorset_summerhouse

[LGBunny]

Seitan - that looks lovererleey :)

[Est]

Very nice Seitan :)

Hemlock - thanks for the links! Forwarded to OH as we are looking for a decent shed and also a stove for what may eventually become a dining room if we get a move on... :)

[veganbikerboy]

Nice place Seitan:D

I have finally put some time aside to do a bit of work on the house this weekend, some of it will just be general stuff like fixing the curtain rail in bedroom:p

but I am just about to start the insulating experiment, so we will see how that goes, I have bought some paint to paint the harth where my Rayburn sits and I think I am going to paint the chimney breast in the living room where I had the lining installed (only about 2yrs ago:D)

although, its dry outside, i might take the bike out instead...........:D

[Hemlock]

This thread reminds me - must post some more pics. The downstairs loo is now in so we are about to dismantle the upstairs bathroom! This means a week of taking showers at the sports centre up the road. They said we can use their facilities for £2 a go - yay:D
Our woodburners have finally arrived in the store so we will not be freezing for much longer and thirdly ....... we got the £2000 grant for the eco conversion - whoop!!!!!!

[cobweb]

sounds good Hemlock, i would love to see pics of the work you're doing and of your garden.

those summer houses are quite well priced, aren't they?.

[Est]

Our woodburners have finally arrived in the store so we will not be freezing for much longer and thirdly ....... we got the £2000 grant for the eco conversion - whoop!!!!!!

Yay good news! :) OH is still umming and ahhing over the woodburners in the link you posted. We like them, but he was really keen on having one with glass in the door so he can see inside. Decisions, decisions...

[Hemlock]

Yay good news! :) OH is still umming and ahhing over the woodburners in the link you posted. We like them, but he was really keen on having one with glass in the door so he can see inside. Decisions, decisions...

We have got woodburners in the house with glass in (or will have next week). It's only the summerhouse that will have a non glass one because it's a bread oven designed for a summerhouse!
At this moment we have no bathroom, no kitchen, no heating and it was snowing yesterday
:eek:
I hope to God everything goes in soon - it could be 7-10 days. meanwhile we are using the showers at work and at the sports centre up the road. Thank goodness we have a downstairs loo now!

[Hemlock]

Dreadful DIY moment du jour:
I am at home today and there are 6 builders in the house finishing off. The urge to take a dump could no longer wait and the waste paper bin in our bedroom seriously wasn't an option!
I had to go downstairs and use the new loo with builders laughing and chatting just outside the door and outside the loo window at the back the whole time, then I couldn't flush the bastard, it took six goes and the loo smelt like someone had died in there thanks to jalapeno peppers! Then to my horror I realised the builders were working on the soil pipe outside - I fled to my room and now refuse to come out, I'm going to die in here - where's the rope!?:eek::eek::eek:

[Est]

Oh Hemlock :D :D

How embarassing, but still very funny!

[veganbikerboy]

haha thats brilliant:D

when i took my bathroom wall down, you could see the loo from the front door. I remember being sat on the loo when the postman delivered the mail, poor bloke had a shock:o:D

[veganbikerboy]

Took a long weekend this weekend to try and make some progress. I just read my post a couple of weeks back...that day i decided to take the bike out haha f*ck the diy:p

so far this weekend I have..

painted the bathroom (well most of it) two coats of emulsion.
put up my new mirror in bathroom
stained and put up two shelves in Bathroom
cleaned half of the floor in Bathroom (old quarry tiles) will be sealing them later.
filled broken brick & mortar and then painted the harth
put a concrete base in for my rayburn
*finished insulating one side of my loft (will do the other side tomorrow)
mowed the lawn (which took 3hrs because it was so long!)
and finally fixed the curtain rail in my bedroom:p

* the insulation experiment with the space blanket didnt work, bloody expensive experiment. I am at a bit of a loss what to do now? I managed to 'poke' the insulation down further than before so it will be an improvement, i think the only thing for it is to rip the ceilings out inside and insulate that way. one day, but got enough on my plate at the moment.

[Marrers]

Are you trying to insulate a small space with difficult access vbb? I'm sure I've heard of people using polystyrene beads or blowing shredded newspaper in with a special machine. Surely there much be some easier way than taking the ceiling down?

[veganbikerboy]

At the back of my house the roof comes down to first floor level, so there is a void about 100mm, when you go up the stairs you are about 100mm from outside! without any insulation, this makes the back half of my house very cold. I thought i could 'push' a thin space blanket (about an inch thick and equivalent to 250mm insulation). however there is a pinch point where it passes the supporting wall. So my plan was scuppered!

yeah, I had looked at using vermiculite pellets, but there are two issues i) completely filling the void will prevent air circulation which is important ii) its bloody expensive!!

The ceilings will need replacing eventually anyway, so the insulating will just have to wait.:rolleyes:

[Mr Flibble]

lots of good things happening at mine at the moment. Will post pictures in the not so distant future :)

[veganbikerboy]

should that statement be in the erogenous zone:p:D

[Marrers]

What about insulating by attaching something to the inside face of the ceiling in the meantime vbb? If it is only temporary it will get you through the winter in comfort. (Or would that reduce the head height too much?)

[veganbikerboy]

even I have to duck going up the stairs, as it is:D I have looked at some of the foil or polystyrene coverings and I must admit I am not convinced of the benefits compared to time/cost to install.

I supposed I could just put two inch insulating Plasterboard on the ceiling and ban tall people from visiting!!:)

[Marrers]

Or if it is a slope as I'm imagining you could do most of it but leave the bit where the headroom is limited? Better than nothing!

(In the 70's is was all the rage to glue a layer of polystyrene onto the walls. Our place was covered in it - don't know if it worked though.)

[veganbikerboy]

yeah they still sell it!! it has minimal insulating properties, but because its 'warm' to the touch it prevents condensation.

at the moment its colder in my house than it is outside, so i dont get condensation:D

[Mr Flibble]

One of my many current projects is making a high def home cinema & photography studio.

I've cleared out one of my cellar chambers that I think will be perfect for it. The ceiling height is good (2m), so I can get upto a 160" screen and it's fine for 6f2 people like me without ducking.

I've been laying a lighting circuit and doing various prep work. It has natural light (behind the blind I put in) when needed. I'll paint the celing/box the wiring and am looking at a black rubber floor. I'll leave the walls as they are as there's lots of nice arches and 150 y/o brick work. I shalln't try tanking due to cost, but the floor will make it warmer and walkable on without shoes. I won't leave any chair cushions in there and remove projector/speakers/photography equipment when not in use, but it'll be damp free enough to enjoy spending afternoons/evenings.

My current AV cabinet in my lounge is extremely conveniently located almost directly above where the projector will go, so I can use all my existing gear and not have to worry about storing it in a damp environment. When gas/water was put into the property they very inconsiderately ran the mains pipes straight across the room. It would cost a lot of money to have them re-routed, so they'll stay.

So far I've spent about £50 on wiring/lighting, £15 on a blind.

The floor will be £300 when I have the money in the new year, a 720p projector £400 (1080p is still £900+, i figure i'll upgrade if needs be in a few years when they are a sensible price) and a fixed screen £100-£200.

I've already got a drum of speaker cable, will for now move the speakers from upstairs down when i use them, so just need an IR extender & a few comfy chairs. I can make the lighting IR for about £25.

In time I can get better speakers, comfier chairs, some more exciting lighting (like floor embedded colour changing things) and perhaps some friends to sit in it with me?

A couple of pictures for anyone whose interested:

http://tmp.offline.org.uk/cinema/1.jpg

http://tmp.offline.org.uk/cinema/2.jpg

[Marrers]

What a lovely space! I've just ordered one of these colour changing lights (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-LivingColors-Colour-Changing-Control/dp/B000VI7K4K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1226321755&sr=8-3) - might be useful for temporary colour interest? You can always use it elsewhere when you get your nice floor embedded lights.