HI Q

Thats a sweet pavillion you have there - looks very English!!

Unfortunately, the wonderful people at Planning Control deem that 8ft 2 1/2 inches (2.5 metres in French) is high enough for a garden building without the dreaded "Planning Permisison" so a central tower, however beautiful yours looks, would be prohibited.

At present, with the house renovation to complete, the shed is only being used as a store.  Days spent grovelling around under the floor of the house clearing out 1890 builder's rubble and spraying dry rot will soon be over I hope.  We have already started applying paint to the bedrooms and the builder is replacing structural timber with steels all over the place downstairs.  In 2 weeks time, the plans are to have the re-roofing complete, the steelwork done, all rooms plasterboarded (if not plastered) and the remiedial brickwork sorted.  It's downhill thereafter (he says confidently!!).

In the meantime, I have planned (and started) posting short videos on my Yarslow YouTube channel discussing the plan for the layout, the concept of Cab Control (for the dinosaur generation of DC users), prototypical stuff like BR wagon colours and markings and other layout stuff like "using relays in point operation", an update on my "Stopping Freight" operations etc.  In the absence of any modelling activity, this is as good as it gets and makes a useful distraction from the house where we are working 7 days a week to get back to our deadline of "move in by Xmas".

Unfortunately, during the re-roofing, I have ventured into the loft space to discuss insulation and discovered 4 massive rooms ripe for conversion - not for railway use as the roof space has structural walls running front-back and side-side - but ideal for my collection of model soldiers, slot cars and table football.

Mrs M was not impressed at my suggestion of making 4 more rooms………….

Just a quick update.  The house renovation has reached the stage where we are finishing little jobs this week and then next week will get down to building the extension starting with the footings.  The project is about 6 weeks behind - mainly as a result of the weather (which has been rubbish) and 2 of the building team having to take time out with Covid-19 symptoms.  We do not have an infectious site and have strived since the start not to have more than 1 or 2 people working in the same space at the same time.  That has resulted in us having to stay away for some periods.

No modelling has been achieved but I have accumulated miles of 0.7mm/16 wire, tag strip, shrink wrap, solder and all sorts of other goodies!!

I am grateful for you guys for continuing to post your layouts, models and updates.  That keeps my spirits up during a time when I have had some highs and lows.

Thank you

Barry

Big set back today.  The weather has been poor lately and this has meant that the footings were only poured today.  The overall extension project will be 12-15 weeks which means, after fit-out, we will not be into the house until February.

That is disappointing and for me means that I cannot get into the shed until February whan I was hoping it was going to be the New Year.  The whole renovation is 7-8 weeks behind schedule.

The good news (clutching at straws) is that I could possibly get out there to do some insulating and wiring over the Xmas period providing the weather is reasonable (I need to get some stuff out into the garden in order to make room).

To maintain my mental health, I have opened the boxes containing my old Railway Modeller magazines and have started reading old back numbers.  Its not modelling but it keeps the juices flowing!

Thats tough Barry……I get the sense of just how frustrating the further delay must be. Frankly I am very impressed with how stoic you have been throughout this exercise.
I suppose to fill in the time, rather than re-read the Modeller, you could always bone up on DCC:lol:

Though  perhaps thats a bridge too far?:pedal

John I fear that DCC gets further away - I have just ordered a couple of J26's and a couple of J27's on pre-order from Hattons to add to the fleet.  Even with the older engines being retired off, the fleet is still 60+ and I really don't have the inclination to convert.

In case you missed it, I am a bit of a meglomaniac and would go DCC Sound if I go at all.  The cost of that would be daft so I rein it in and feel content with a background soundtrack of "steam noises" from a hi-fi.  Its something I did on the old layout and although its not all co-ordinated etc, it gives me an atmosphere.

My biggest concern with the setback is the mental repurcussions.  Its bad enough being stuck indoors and I'm glad that we have the house renovation to get stuck into but that has slowed down as the days get shorter and there is becoming less for us to do.  I cannot do bricklaying and plastering so once the decoration and electrical work is done, I'm just tinkering around.  I'm happy to do that as I can't get in the shed because its our furniture depository.  If I can get some stuff out, I can start fitting the Kingspan insulation and perhaps start the wiring for the lighting etc but part of me thinks that making a start will only make the actual modelling seem further away.

I agree that re-reading old mags is not brilliant but for now, it's more interesting than Christmas telly and has inspired me to do a few more videos for my YouTube channel.  I've even volunteered to edit a Xmas Virtual Exhibition for my local MRC!

And, of course, its good to stay in touch with the YMRC members - inspiration from all angles  :doublethumb

Barry

No worries Barney…….I was only teasing about DCC…..although I did have a hand in convincing Bill (Longchap) to see the light.:lol:
I agree 60 locos will take a lot of time and money to convert. I guess I had about 30 in 2007 when we moved house and I started with DCC and Granby III . That took me three or four years…a lot were split chassis and hardwired. 13 years on there are probably only three running regularly.

Thanks for the reminder about your videos….been on my list for a while. Good luck with your virtual  Exhibition at the club

Best wishes

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:


……although I did have a hand in convincing Bill (Longchap) to see the light.:lol:

To say nothing of me !   I'm still trying to seek my revenge and get you into sound but currently, not having much success !   :cool wink

 
I am seriously tempted Peter:shock: I was very impressed with your latest soundtrack.  More to the point I have new hearing aids which are a revelation…..I might even be able to hear a chufff with them.:lol:

I have a similar dilemma to Barry…..too many locos for it to be realistic. However I find I spend an awful lot of time running just the branch where there are only about 6 locos……..so it could work there.

I may start a thread…….sorry Barry you can have yours back now!:nice

John

Your hearing aids may be working perfectly but you need new glasses

I'm Barry, not Barney  

I've been called worse!!!!!!

    Actually have new glasses as well! ………my apologies:oops:

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

…………………………………………….   Actually have new glasses as well! ………

Wow John - new peepers and new headphones - the bionic man !!

 

No expense spared when it comes to modelling essentials!

In a strange twist today, the groundswork crew laid all our new drainage and then proceeded to lay the heavy plastic conduits through which my SWA (steel-wire-armoured) cables will run to provide power to the shed.  A 13 amp supply and a CAT-5 cable for a wireless router will be put in shortly.
 :doublethumb

If only I had the time and ability to get out there and do something with them!!!!!

Barry

Hello,
I  dont know weather you are aware but there is a Cat-6
now, just a thought
Regards

Hi fellow cat-avatar!!

It might be CAT-6.  To be honest, I know less about CAT cable than I do about Theoretical Particle Physics.

(Much like DCC really  :???:)

Luckily, I know a man who knows how it all works and when he connects it up, I get wi-fi in the shed.  It could just be hamsters on wheels for all I know  :lol: :lol: :lol:

Crikey, I have just realised that it was November when I last posted here.  Days and weeks just melt together as we tend to be at the house every day so I'm not surprised.

The moving-in date is now early March 2021.  That's about 10 weeks later than we first thought when we started in June.  Given the current strange times, delays in supplies, weather and some lumpy decisions on job scheduling, I am neither surprised nor disappointed.  I think we have done well to get this far!  The initial work-plan for the house certainly did not include re-plastering every room and most of the ceilings.  Two ceilings came down care of Yours Truly. 

Everything in the house - one exterior wall, roof, 5 internal doors, all plaster, 2 ceilings, all electrical cable and fittings (and consumer unit), all gas pipe and fittings, 2 gas fires, all water pipes (including the main supply pipework) hot and cold, the central heating system, all insulation, all airbricks and all external doors have been replaced.  The origianl quote of £15-20K turned into a six-figure bill.

Fortunately, the 27ft x 12ft 6in shed didn't get lost!!

I am planning to get into the shed about April or May and have set a VERY soft target of getting a train running by xmas 2021.  It may not go all the way round but I expect to see something running.

In the meantime, I am still taking advantage of sales and cheap deals - retail and on-line shops are desparate for sales and the prices are pretty keen.  Even the local timber supplier is keen to do me deals so I have stocked up on shed insulation and softwood lengths.  I have made a conscious decision not to buy anything on eBay from China in an effort to support UK businesses so switches, wire and electronics have been ordered from UK suppliers only.  I know that some of the stuff is made in China but at least a UK trader has got some benefit from the transaction.

The planning and preparation stage continues - mostly as an excercise to maintain sanity in this tiny World we are forced to live in.  Even going for a walk along the seafront is a rare event - its so damned cold!!!

Barry

Hi Barry.  I would  have said “J C “ if I found myself in that position when I was looking for a suitable house a few years ago. But the sellers idea of what their properties were worth, didn’t match mine. Best wishes Kevin 

This thread has taken on something of a Home DIY look but it is all related - I assure you!

The end of next week will see the final acts of the building team inside the house as the kitchen and utility room get plastered, the heating engineer starts work and the electricians finish the 2nd fix and new Consumer Unit installation.  That all gets us light, power and heat.  For the first time since June 2020, the toilets will flush!!  Long list of bits and pieces to do but every day the list gets shorter.

We are planning to move in during the week of March 15th - but I have set dates before………

Rather helpfully (not), I have been called for Jury Service in the middle of February so I will lose 2 weeks (assuming that I don't get something that lasts longer!).

By the end of March I anticipate having the furniture moved out of the shed.  A bit of organisation in the garage will allow all the tools to be relocated giving me the space and the time to do the electrics and insulation.  I will be reviewing all the helpful advice on heating and ventilation that I got from you guys.

I have sourced a series of LED Daylight downlights and will run 2 ring mains around the shed.  One will be for heaters/fans, the fridge etc and will be live at all times.  The other, using red socket faces, will be switched off after each visit.  This will be for bench lights, soldering irons, controllers, bench and auxilliary supplies etc and will ensure that all this equipment will be OFF when I leave the building.

Just before Xmas, the guy I was talking to about alarms called in to say he had a few spare days and could do my installation "for cash" at a good rate.  Although the system has been somewhat in the way during the renovation, it was worth doing and as part of the package, I got a motion detector in the shed linked to the main panel and the alarm box outside the house.  Similarly, I got a Cat-6 cable installed to give me a wifi booster serving the shed and garden.

The local building supplies company have got to know us like old friends and are now given decent discounts on supplies as a result of the amount we have spent with them.  That makes the PSE timber and 9mm ply boards a bit cheaper.  They are also happy to deliver the lining ply, baseboard tops and all the linear timber.

The carpet guy we are using is searching his warehouse and chatting up his contacts to get me a decent deal on carpets - probably carpet tiles which allow for both comfort AND the ability to screw through them for securing legs etc.

All this "infrastructure" stuff is vital to get the right environment.  I plan to do all this once so a lot of thought and planning has gone into it.  I am lucky to have decent tradesmen making comments and suggestions and have learned that my initial ideas are not always the best thing to do!!

Barry

Hi Barry.  Good luck with all your work. It would do me in, the week after they fitted the carpet in the living room, the shop that did the work burned down, which meant that we didn’t get the stairs done. Best wishes Kevin 

And so it begins….

Visually not very exciting so no pictures but today, I started work on the new Yarslow layout. I have been waiting 5 years to say that!!

My Jury Service continues into its 4th week but I am hopiong to be finished mid-week.  At least I hope so because I've got my first jab on Friday.  Last week the electrician put the Fuse box in my shed and I am expecting him to make it live in the next few days.  This has involved having a major sort out of everything that is in the shed and so I took the opportunity today to begin installing the insulation.

I am using 1 inch (25mm in French) Kingspan which is foil lined on both sides.  This will keep the heat in, the cold out and the harmful rays away (so says the sales blurb!)  Inserted between the internal battens of the shed, I am leaving a 1 inch air gap between the insulation and the breathable membrane as instructed.  I've only done about 10 panels and have another 5 dozen to go followed by the ceiling panels but at least its a start. 

A few curtain poles and a bit of painting should see the house finished and thoughts can then turn to the shed proper.  In the interim I am starting to sort out boxes - have found my modelling tool boxes  - and clearing space.  I have also managed to squeeze in another birthday which yielded a new DeWalt drill to replace my knackered old ones and a hot-air blower for heat-shrink.  (Essential and exciting - I must be getting old!). 

Move-in date for the house is scheduled for 27th March to coincide with the first steps of Lockdown easing.

What could possibly go wrong…………