Quick glimpses of the nearly finished house. Time to sit on the patio for 3 minutes

A short visit this afternoon to check our visitors had enough comforts to feel at home.
Hopefully, the view of the kitchen from the dining room has a glimpse of the new room, with the sun shining in.







Bath and shower rooms lent themselves to photos.

















Patio was doing its job - but where was the drink?

Next week, we hope to take more carefully considered photos so each room can be seen.

Finished! - almost

By dint of family working 16 hour days, and a massive last minute effort from all, the house was finished at 23.30 last night ready for the first visitors, who are involved with the Isle of Wight Festival -www.isleofwightfestival.com/

At the beginning of the day, the freestanding bath had a tower for taps but no taps or shower - completed by mid day, polished and gleaming by mid afternoon. The other 2 bath and shower rooms were already 'sorted', needing only mirrors to be put in place.

The furniture started arriving at 8.00 from our base here at the farm where we've been preparing some period furniture, collected over the last year. We've been polishing 1930s period mirrors, stripping varnish from old wooden pieces to replace with white stain - so we'll have some older pieces together with new sofas, beds and dining table and chairs. Older furniture, made of wood, and refurbished for today, gives back some character and has no plastic in it!
The kitchen is unapologetically modern, as new 'white goods' are so much more efficient on energy.
Heroic efforts were made on the cleaning - thank you Anne for working a 10 hour day!

The flooring is also a mixture of old and new - the old pine floorboards have been stripped and sealed - rescued from the dark border of stain which must have surrounded most carpets of the date. Ceramic tiles through out the kitchen and new sun lounge/living area, should be low on upkeep, needing little electricity but maybe some elbow power in pushing a mop.

By 19.00 hours we were making up beds for 8 - which takes plenty of energy ( who needs a gym subscription?); by 22.00 starting to fit low energy bulbs to all the side lights. Why are so many light fittings being produced which dont take low energy bulbs?
We've spent much time researching and checking, and still find some will only take a 60 watt equivalent, the 100 watt equivalent being quite a bit bigger.

By 23 .00 it was the final round up of tools and unused bits and pieces. Remembering to leave some lights on ( low energy, of course!) for our visitors to find their way in, we staggered home, where we ruefully realised we had taken no photos.
Our visitors leave early next week, so we'll return to finish.... the utility room, the garden, and find all the bits we missed.

Early June in surrounding fields and garden.

In the field behind the house, the wheat is in ear. It will be 6 or 7 weeks before it is ripe and ready for harvest.
As well as the everpresent pheasant cock, who roosts in the tree to the left of the photo, and who clearly has a harem rearing chicks in the field, there was also a lark up high and in good voice, and swallows swooping the insects.

In the loop of grass which will become the back lawn, there's a good variety of wild flowers - fumitory, shepherds purse, chickweed, buttercups with grasses such as hard brome and Yorkshire fog. All provide food and shelter for the insects which are so vital for the larks and swallows - which are so much more attractive than the noisy, flashy pheasant!

Cladding reaches halfway round outside; inside, rooms are emerging

The cladding now reaches across the back, wrapping around the extension and the old 'utility room' which was added in the sixties and which now houses the geothermal heat pump and large hot water tank.
The extra layer of insulation should keep the back rooms cool in the (hoped for) summer, and retain the heat throughout, in the winter. Visually, it ties the original 1931 structure to the 60's and this year's build.

Whilst work goes on, adding the cladding outside, inside, the plumbing in the bathrooms nears completion.

Rooms are being cleared after being decorated, and the stripped floorboards, now sealed, look very pleasing. As was the custom, only the outer edge of each room had been stained, but even so, there was plenty of dust.
One of the more startling features of the house is the pink fireplace, now cleaned and glowing against the pine floor. This room opens out onto the patio and will have a king sized bed. It's been an enjoyable challenge, looking for prints from the 1920s and 30s to complement the room. We have found a mirror of the period to hang over the fireplace - there wont be fire in the grate at any time as a hazard for the user of the mirror.

The geothermal system is commissioned; the grass is up; the cladding goes on

With the pipework for the geothermal system at least 3 metres underground at the front of the house, the rain and modest warmth is encouraging the grass seed - our embryonic lawn is appearing.


During the rain there has been much activity indoors - radiators connected, bathroom suites installed and plumbed, painting and decorating and construction of cupboards.
The electrician has been a constant presence, moving the complete wiring forward towards the last fix.

Outside, we've used recycled slabs and some locally made 'stones' for the patio and path around the house.
Today, in gaps in the drizzle, the next batch of battens have been fixed to the brickwork and blockwork at the back of the house, ready for the cladding - Hardiplank - which will add a layer of insulation as well as uniting old and new parts of the house.

A major step forward was the visit by the plumbing technician from 'Ice Energy' to commission the geothermal heat pump and check our plumbing.
Mid evening we went back to the house to find a gentle heat in the radiators and the heat pump sending out signals to say all was well and up to heat. So much more satisfying than having a smelly tank full of expensive oil. The earth steadily provides a constant heat, which we are able to pick up, extract and use to warm our house and water. If we could just find a way to generate enough electricity to run the pump so we were liberated from the National Grid....
By the end of tomorrow, all the heat pump and pipework will be enclosed in a cupboard, and should tick along nicely and silently.

Drive is sculpted and stone arrives

After more skilled work with the digger, loads of limestone and a heavy roller, we have a drive with a gentle gradient, a sweep round to deliver people to the front door and room to reverse and drive out forwards.
Although we have yet to embark on the paviers which will finish the job, we have a good drive which is user friendly.

The compressed limestone butts onto the old concrete - see photo.
More 'new meets old' - the old utility roof, now pitched, extends out to form a verandah, echoing the one along the front of the house.

The front bank is showing a fuzz of green as the grass seed germinates. It would be too much to hope for light, gentle rain at night to help it on its way.

Back after a blog break.

Much disappointment that the grass seed isn't up - sown over 2 weeks ago.

In the two weeks, lots has been achieved indoors - plastering upstairs, main bathroom tiled, cupboards built in and the painting started. The aim is to reuse original doors, removed when rooms were joined.

The flat-roofed sixties extension, with nothing to recommend it visually, now has a pitched roof which slopes down to a verandah which echoes the original. Not only will this room house the heat pump and hotwater tank, and act as utility room, but it now looks good too and restores the character. Slates next week, hopefully.

Shortly, decisions will have to be made about the drive. What was a steep and ugly concrete drive has been sculpted to make a 'kinder' and more attractive approach which swings across and back, but in what material?

We need some permeable material which will provide a weatherproof, car and people-friendly surface. Reusing paviers would be good, but no second hand cobbles are on offer. 'Grasscrete' (www.grasscrete.com) sounds good, with grass the overall look. There is also a patio area to make at the back of the house. Same material? The patio gets lots of sun, facing south. Would grasscrte dry out?

Another good day, sun shining, grass seed sown.

All the ground work is complete and the grass seed has been sown so as to be green for our first visitors in June.

Building inspector due tomorrow to sign off the extension and drainage works

Work has continued indoors with the new bedrooms and bathrooms prepared ready for plastering.

We will soon start decorating the ground floor rooms now that the plaster has dried out.

All the tiles are on site ready for the ground floor family bathroom.

The pressure is on

The two ground loops have successfully been put in place and tested.
The system was bled to ensure there was no air before being tested.
Each loop has been pressure tested up to 4 bar and sat at that pressure for 20 minutes, until we were sure the system was leak free. This is part of the formal procedure: paperwork recorded times and pressures and signed of.

Saturday morning after the pressure testing the digger driver was back at work to fill in the trenches. He then went on to do some grading and landscaping around the drive.

The second groundloop panel goes in

Fine weather made the difficult task of digging the three metre deep trench a bit easier.
The second trench went in parallel to the first and just over 3 metres away, with the same size panels going in.

The first sets of groundloop panels are installed

A long day resulted in the first set of pipe panels being safely inserted into the trench dug yesterday. Each is now 3 metres down with a bed of sand protecting the pipes from damage. Leaks are not required for at least 25 years. Pressure testing for leaks will begin tomorrow - final backfilling to follow.

The first trench is opened for the ground loop

The pipework for the geothermal system has to be 3 metres deep, and the top of it at least 1 metre below ground level, in order to extract the heat from the ground.

At that depth the soil is at a constant temperature, and it is that heat which our system will transfer through the heat pump (www. iceenergy.co.uk ) to warm the water and radiators for the house.




















The ground here is particularly hard, and it has taken all day to dig one of two trenches.

It is a challenging job, requiring considerable skill, to dig a trench that is 3 metres deep but only 300mm wide ( 10ft by 1ft).




















Thanks to the initiative of our digger driver, Mark, we now have a digger bucket modified by the addition of one central tooth to cut into the underlying rock.

Bottom right in the photo of the digger are the racks or panels of pipes, ready to be laid in the trench. Before being covered by sand and back filled, the pipework will be pressure tested to 4 bar pressure to ensure we have a leak free system.

Each of 12 panels of pipes runs to 36m so in total we will be burying 432m of 40mm pipe. Fortunately, speed is not of the essence!

The digger arrives!

Until the slates were on, there was too much scaffolding to bring in the digger. Friday there was much tidying ( a rare event) and scaffolding was dismantled ready to give the digger access to front and back of the house.

The area which will become the patio has now been cleared and levelled to create an outdoor room which gathers the sun.

At the front, work was begun on grading the drive so that the slope is not so severe; so that cars can swing around to let passengers alight at the front door. When this house was built in 1931, the approach was on foot up a steep path. A concrete drive was added in the 60's ( I think) with a handrail bearing testament to the steep incline. We want to make a kinder approach, bearing in mind that some people would find a steep drive intimidating. Surfacing is still under discussion - local gravel appeals but would probably wash down in the first heavy rain. We'd love to reuse old setts, but are there any cobbles or paving stones available which have been taken out locally?

Inside, the pipework has been pressure tested to make sure there are no leaks. The radiators will be mounted much later, after the decorating, and of course, we cant decorate till the plaster is dry. No plasterers here this week - downstairs plaster is drying, slowly, slowly.

More fine weather please. Snow for 2 hours on Sunday was fine, and hopefully enjoyed by those who like snow. How weird it was mid afternoon, to see bits of snowmen amidst the spring flowers
Tomorrow we need digger weather so we progress the pipelaying for the geothermal groundloop.

The final Velux window goes in, but the roof doesn't quite get finished.

So near to finishing the roof, just the end section of slates to go, but looking so much better than with cement tiles!













The fourth Velux is in and upstairs is so light and airy - it's almost a shame to put in the room divisions. The en suite shower room now has this great view out over the fields to the Downs and forest, looking over the garden room extension.

How odd that Velux dont make a bathroom window in this smaller size, although there are bigger versions. Are you listening, Velux?

How much better that extension will look soon, clad with Hardiplank 'weatherboarding' and how much better insulated it will be too.

Although the heating will be delivered by conventional radiators, the geothermal ground loop will be delivering very cost effective heating, both here and throughout the rest of the house. With the double glazing, and taking advantage of the south facing aspect, we hope to achieve very efficient heating in a very pleasant living environment.

The roof nears completion, with one Velux left to put in place.

Fine weather enabled the roof team to press on - the hope is, all slates on before the weekend and the change in the weather.

Inside , the first rooms to be plastered are drying nicely, looking lighter and so much more finished.

The third Velux is finally in place, delivering more fine views. The final one is installed tomorrow. The internal walls should also go up to create the bathrooms and fix the size of the bedrooms.

How the house looked on April 1st

As the sun shone, the slates went on and the positions of the next 2 Velux windows were fixed. The first went in before work ended yesterday; we hope to see the next in today. The next Velux will give a second window - and great view - to the twin bedroom, and the final Velux will light the en suite shower room.

The roof with slates must be so much lighter than when it was burdened with heavy cement tiles - which were of a red which clashed with the bricks.

We have selected cladding in cream 'weatherboarding' to finish and to add insulation to the garden room extension more information here. Whether we clad the front of the house this summer remains to be seen, time being of the essence.

Spring breakthrough

Spring at Last!
As the temperature hots up (16.5C today) work continues at a pace. The plasterers are busy on the second ground floor bedroom, the old window between the kitchen and the new extension has been removed to make a doorway, and a new lintel put in. The photo shows the breakthrough, and to the left the blue glazed fireplace we've saved. Originally in a bedroom, it will take pride of place in the dining room.

Work has also progressed on the roof with a new supply of slates and the second of four Velux windows being installed, this one at the top of the stairs. Light now floods onto the top of the stairs and down through the hall.

We have had to delay the installation of the ground loop for geothermal heat pump because of a lack of specialist insulation to protect the mains water pipe. If not properly insulated the water supply could freeze with disastrous effects so we must wait for proper insulation material. Work with the digger on the geothermal installation should restart on Monday.

Weekend work - the extension has windows

In fine sunshine today, finishing touches were put to the windows and sliding doors, installed yesterday in driving rain and cold wind.
The triple windows on the south facing wall went in first to give some protection from the weather, then the east window and finally the 3 metre sliding doors, so the 'garden room' now looks out at the garden rather than being open on 3 sides to the garden.
Double glazed windows and doors should provide light and heat through the year, with plenty of openings to allow a free flow of air should the mythical hot summer arrive.
Radiators will be heated from the geothermal heat pump :see http://www.iceenergy.co.uk/
- we've been running this system in 'Orchard Lee' since we built it in 2005 and are very enthusiastic about the benefits of obtaining heat from the ground.
Because we built 'Orchard Lee' from scratch, we were able to install underfloor heating and the 400m of pipes ran out through the next field; here at 'Eastern Lee' we are having to work with an existing building and much smaller grounds. Here, the ground source pipes will go in vertically in looped sections like large radiators, each section being at least one metre below ground level. (see the photo of the pipes stacked up waiting for the digger). As we're retaining existing floorboards and have to keep the system simple, we've opted for conventional radiators. With all the increased insulation inside and cladding outside, we hope the house will be much more efficient thermally, and need relatively modest heat.

In the coming week, we aim to start tiling the main bathroom, finish plastering downstairs and start upstairs, and solve the riddle of exactly how to fit in all the elements of the bathrooms. IF the weather allows, the slates will go on, but meanwhile there's plenty to do inside.

Rain stops play - but only on the roof

If the view on a wet day in March, is this good, how much better will it be on a fine day?

The key to a 'green' heating system sits in the garden - the pipes for our geothermal system from Ice Energy, piled amongst the daffodils. There wasnews last night from our digger driver who can come to 'sow' them next Wednesday.

Ten minutes clear and dry was the best today, but inside three teams worked steadily and much was achieved.

The plasterers rocked on downstairs. If plastering was an Olympic sport this team would be medal winners. Upstairs, there was awareness that the plasterers have one room only left to do downstairs so the plasterboard was steadily fitted.

When it was built in 1931, there was little insulation. 77 years later there are now substantial layers being fitted which will make a dramatic difference, cutting heat loss in winter, and keeping the house cool, in the apparently unlikely event of a hot summer.

No matter how neatly the drawings show bathrooms fitting nicely into the space upstairs, in reality, trying to fit a shower in restricted space and under reduced headroom of the eaves, has been an exercise in ingenuity. A quadrant shower, nestled up to the central chimney breast does the job. The enclosure fits with one cm to spare - and we've found satin glass so our hard water wont leave visible ugly limescale. And yes, a trip to the loo can be achieved without cracking your head! All the pipework is now in place. The twin bedroom will be en suite.

At the western end upstairs, will be a bedroom with a six foot bed, and in the room, as befits such splendid views from the newly fitted Velux - there will be THE bath. It's freestanding and positioned so that bathers can admire views to the Downs and Brighstone Forest. From the other bedroom window, there are distant views to the West Wight and Hurst Castle. Likewise from the cloakroom window the other side of the chimney breast - so why put in obscured glass?

Today the walls went in, so we can now say there is a cloakroom!

Thanks to good, kind weather great strides were made today, after yesterday's wind and downpours made work on the roof unsafe. Even our less athletic staff member was up on the new extension felting and battening all day. With weather like this tomorrow, the slates will be piling on.

The new little patio-to-be at the back of the house is proving a real sun trap - just the place to spend the lunch break, so likely to be a great place for our holiday visitors, even outside the summer months.

Here's the present stage, with the new, as yet empty, sewage system well protected against frost with bales of straw. Once there's a volume of water and effluent, the protection wont be necessary.

Meanwhile, look beyond the sewage system to the new door leading out of the bedroom onto the patio. It was sad to lose the lovely sash window ( which will be reused elsewhere) but great to gain so much light and be able to walk straight out onto the patio. One of the main ways we hope to improve the energy efficiency of the house is by insulation and by reducing heat loss. A double glazed door should cut down drafts and heat loss.

The new extension - with windows on three sides to capture the countryside views, light and heat, is in the right of the picture.

Tomorrow, more velux windows in the roof - I hope.

Plastering is go!

Today, despite it being Easter Monday our team of plasterers started work. In order to bring the house up to our demanding standards it has been gutted and we are now to the point where we can start plastering the downstairs rooms, after a number of new windows and doors have been added to make the most of the natural light, especially on the south side.

Our electrician is just finishing the 'first fix' of the electrics. As soon as the rooms have been plastered we are looking forward to fitting up the lights, all of which have been chosen to accept low-energy light bulbs, and still look good.

Just a quick word about what we've already done. The picture is of our sewage digester. Because we're out in the glorious countryside we're not on mains drainage. In the past this has meant either a septic tank, or cesspit, neither of which is a very eco-friendly option. Instead of either of these options we have chosen to install a sewage bio-digester. How one of these works is explained here .

The bio-technology in these means that we are protecting the local water courses and quietly and odourlessly breaking down our waste, on site.

The view in the picture has already changed substantially. We have removed the heavy, ugly and out of character concrete tiles and replaced them with European slate. The insulation in our modern renovation is looked after by the boarding installed within the roof. As the tiles were coming off we've chosen to install Velux windows into the southern side of the house, once again bringing further light into the building.

The coming few days should see the new roof finished and the roof on the extension finished - we've not even mentioned that yet!

Eastern Lee - our new project - new windows going in

Our eco-house in Wellow has new windows!

What was once a single floor bungalow, with a huge and sadly neglected roof space, ready with windows, is developing in to our newest, premium accommodation.

The plasterers start tomorrow.

Unlike much of the UK the, weather over Easter on the IOW has been mostly fine!

Welcome to the Coast & Country holiday homes blog

Welcome to our blog. We will update this as we continue to develop our holiday homes business.

2008 is an exciting year for us, as we have a new property nearing completion. We'll let you know lot more details about this as we work on it.

There are always new ideas and projects going on, as we continue to strive to provide the best premium accommodation for people looking for a special holiday on the Isle of Wight.