Trev and Hil's New Build in Polemi

[trevnhil]

Thanks Biddy for the good comments.

Today is.......... well practically a day off, whoopee!!

I went out this morning to get some compost for the planting of the fruit trees. I also did a little shopping and had a haircut. When I got home it was lunchtime and after that it seemed that a siesta came all over me.

Yesterdays job did take its toll a little. I was quite tired at the end of the days work at about 7-30, and my hands were sore and cut as well.
My job yesterday was to try to stop the birds nesting in the roof of the bungalow. When the roof was put on the builders never cemented the tiles in the joint of the roof ie the valley.
I did question this at the time and the answer was that it was not necessary and the rain in winter would stay in the cement pointing and tend to rot the ends of the roof battens.

Reluctantly I went along with this idea as long as they would put wire netting there to prevent nesting birds. They did this but not in a very good fashion. Hence nesting birds.

So yesterday morning I took out all the nesting material and set too cutting and shaping small sections of expanding metal to fit in the valley. I made them in the shape of a letter U, with the corners square. I then put these into the valley and joined them with copper wire.

Hopefully this will now keep the birds out and still allow rainwater to drain away....




It may be a day or two before I have any more pics.

Cheers. Trev..

[Macattack]

The Trellis looks fantastic. What a difference it has made cosmetically.

[trevnhil]

I have to admit that you are correct about that Ian, but the idea was Mrs Trev's and she was right... as usual.

As you can see because I am on the computer, I am still on my afternoon off. However there is still a lot of watering of plants, trees and bushes to be done. But, a bit like drinking I have to wait whilst the sun has gone down.

Another very little job i have just been out and done.... Due to the wet winter we seem to have a number of grape vines with small bunches of grapes on. Earlier today I looked at what the professional grape growers do, and they cut off the end of the vine just after the bunches of grapes. I assume this put the strength of the plant into the grapes and not into extending the length of the vine.

So I have just been out with the secateurs and trimmed a number of vine plants. Hopefully later in the Summer we should have some grapes...... except they are planted on the next plot to us but overhang our wall. I will keep giving them some water and hope that they grow.

Cheers. Trev..

[Macattack]

So, it's the Kafkalla Winery next!!!

[trevnhil]

Ha ha, I very much doubt it. When we bought the plot of land it was covered in grape vines. Most of the other fields / plots around us had vines as well. Since then the Government paid land owners to 'grub up/ destroy' the vines because there was too much wine.

In the case of our plot and maybe some others the vines were dying because of lack of cultivation and water. The top plot where the bungalow is was cleared when the building started. Our lower piece of land was cleared on our instructions to make life easier for us, and to keep it looking tidy.

We will have to see how these grapes grow, and more importantly how they taste. But I think they will be for eating rather than squeezing into a bottle.

Cheers. Trev..

[JOPLIC]

Trev, very impressive.

I need a fine looking trellis so if you come home one day and a panel is missing I will have 'nicked' it.

[trevnhil]

Just get some wood.. nails.. and stain, and there you are some new trellis.

I was going to save posting about this next job until I had finished it..... But what the heck, every picture tells a story. And when you get a group of them, well you really need no words.


























So tomorrow some pipework to get the rainwater (what rainwater) to the tank, and a tap to stop it coming out, Ha ha.

There is even a good chance of rain next week to test it out.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

So, despite it being very warm today I got the pipes all connected so that some of the rainwater from our bungalow will now go into the waste water tank.

The first pic shows the pipes laid out .




The second and third pictures show the pipes connected..







And the final picture was taken after my lunch break when I had covered the pipes over.





I also put a tap on the tank and filled it with about 3" of water an lo and behold... no leaks.

I still have to organise an overflow for when the tank gets full. I was going to use something like 3/4"pipe..... but then it dawned on me that when it is pouring down and the 3"pipe is almost full when it is flowing, a small overflow will not do at all.

So I will check next week to see if there are outlets of about 3 inches. If not I will sort out a fitting myself.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

I must admit that a 5-30 start was not what I had in mind when I retired here. But I was awake and having an outside job and an inside job today an early start meant outside finished before the height of the sun.

I really took too many pictures (9) so I will try to cut the number down, it's only an overflow pipe after all.... ha ha.

The first picture is the outlet / bend, with a screw on blank end. But I have cut a hole in the blank end.



Other pictures show the cutting out of the outlet hole to just allow the threads through but not the screw on, stop end (with the hole in).





The next picture shows the stop end fitting in the hole.




And the following pictures show the finished job where the overflow outlet deposits excess water a few meters away from the tank, so as not to wash away the ground / base that the tank is on.









No pictures of the worktop that I did after this job, as I just wanted to get the job done in our 'Dads' kitchen.

I finished the day at 6-30 PM , I must admit that I had a little siesta after my lunch.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

Well what a different day weather wise today from yesterday. Rain.......

So just one picture...





Ha ha ha. I think it will be a long time before the overflow is tested.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

OK !!! OK !!!!!!. You've tested it now....







Trev..

[KEITH]

Hi Trev,

I have been watching this project from the start and what a fantastic job you have done.
Only thing was, once the bungalow was finished I thought that was it, so for months I have not been on to view this thread. I have just spent the best part of two hours reading through and looking at all the pictures you have posted since I last visited.
You are one hell of a guy and so envious of not just your home but the abilities you have to be able to do much of your own work.

Well done and from now on will keep an eye on the thread so I don't have to spend two hours on a computer

KEITH

[trevnhil]

Hi Keith. Thanks for your comments. I am very pleased that I am fit and able to do all these jobs.
However the next job has made me draw a line in the sand......

The middle area of the front garden needs covering with pebbles. So I spoke with our local supplier in the village and he came to see what I needed.
Unfortunately I needed at least TWO full wagon loads. I say unfortunately for two reasons. 1. I have to pay for them.... 2. They have to be laid, and this entails a lot of shovel, barrow and rake work. A little more than I really want to do. So we are going to get someone with some garden tools and barrow/s to do the job for us. I hope you and other viewers agree that there are a lot of pebbles in the following pictures.









So we are just awaiting some to lay them for us, and then there should be some nice pics from the front of the area.

By the way at the bottom of the first picture you MAY be able to see a furrow that I have dug in the sub soil to try to drain away the water when it rains heavily. I uncovered the grey rainwater drain and drilled some holes in that as well. All will be covered with the pebbles.

I am not just sitting on my backside, whilst I am waiting. This morning off a good pair of steps I have been all round the bungalow and washed the guttering and all the fascia boards.
Tomorrow I will probably be touching up the fascia and giving it all a coat of varnish.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

Tungsten tipped will of course give you a better finish. But it is a good general purpose saw. I will cut just over 3"deep with a strain on the motor though. This means that I can split a 6"x 2"if necessary. It is certainly a tool that I would repair or replace if it broke down.

I have still had no word about the guys who are supposed to be laying the gravel. I will have to start more inquiries this morning, and see what is happening.

I am on with re varnishing the fascia boards at the moment. But it is a relentless task on the rung of a ladder, especially in this sunshine.

Trev..

[trevnhil]

Well we had a small crisis this afternoon. Hilary had planted a number of new plants and small veg.
Watering time is as late as we can make it, so starts around 6-0pm.

The problem was that we have no mains water because the pipe has been damaged on it's 500mt journey to us. I have written a complaint to the council, and I am hoping that the pipe will be repaired tomorrow.

But we still had the problem of watering the plants tonight without any mains taps (inside or outside) working.

I connected the two lengths of hosepipe together, and connected them to the only screw fixing tap we have..... The over bath shower.

It worked a treat. We had a pressurised cold water supply which we used sparingly, because this is household water from the tank.

We can't do this regularly because we would have no water for the household. It's times like these that I am glad that we stipulated a larger water tank than normal.

Cheers. Trev..

[KEITH]

any news on the pebbles or are they still piled high?

[trevnhil]

any news on the pebbles or are they still piled high?

Hi Keith.
Yes there is news on the pebbles, and it is in two parts. The first part I can relate to you tonight and the second part will wait until a little later.
Even before the pebbles were delivered I spoke to a man in the village who came up to look at the job of spreading them. He said that he could get two people to spread them and we agreed on a price. I then got the pebbles delivered and notified him.
However after waiting around two weeks I called him (not for the first time ) and he said there were problems, but he could get someone the following week.
Meanwhile the man who supplied the stones had gone past our place and stopped to ask me why they were not laid. As I was not prepared to wait any longer we had two of his friend lay them only last Thursday.

BUT...... There were too many pebbles and even after they were laid to the main area and an extra smaller area, we were still left with two quite big piles of pebbles. ( see pictures ).

So even now after both of us working hard to get rid of the spare / excess pebbles we still have a goodly amount left. However that is the second part of the story for another day.

The two wagon loads of white pebbles....



And here is the front area that has been completed. Except of course we have two large piles left......





Since those last pictures we have been steadily using up the pebbles in various places.
That of course is part two of the story for another evening in a little while.

Cheers. Trev..

[KEITH]

Pity we don't live close to you Trev and are over there at this time, we could do with a few white pebbles for our garden and been looking at getting some.
Mind you the size our garden I am only talking of a few buckets full.

[Jim]

Very bright!!

[trevnhil]

It is very bright indeed Jim. It should mellow somewhat as the deposits from the sand in the raid get on it. Also it is all at the moment covered in the white limestone dust that washes through.

Keith you should have been here at the right time with your bucket and spade , We have not quite finished yet but are down to the last few barrow loads.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

Well today was the end of a sort of Marathon. All the stones have been used up and one of the bigger jobs we have tackled is finished.

We had an area below the Patio railings that was not only rough ground bit was all up and down and uneven. So I have spread a lot of the pebbles on there, and also on a sloping 'drive' which leads to the bottom plot of land that we have.

We have also spread some more of the stones around the shed and the raised veg and herb beds.

I have also tried to add another layer of pebbles to the biggest front area and tried to make it as level as I can.

Hilary has placed 'Teddy' the mascot on the arch near the front doorway. The picture is from when we had the rain and thunder and he has his umbrella up.

So here are some pictures without captions, but I think they will give you the general idea.

















So that's all till next time.

Cheers. Trev..

[Macattack]

It is looking great. You must be very pleased with all your efforts.

[trevnhil]

Hi Ian.
Yes we are pleased as to how it has, and still is, coming come along.
At first I was a bit annoyed at having bought too many pebbles. And it has been damned hard work with a shovel and a barrow moving all the excess.
15 shovels to a Barrow load... 3 barrow loads, and a rest with a drink in the shade.
Not forgetting raking them all level....ish

But as you can see from the Pictures, we have managed to find places to use them to good advantage.
Especially the area below the patio railings.

Cheers. Trev..

[Molly]

Its looking absolutely fab Trev - Gonna have to pop up and see it sometime........

[jimgward]

Trev, you shame much younger people who haven't achieved as much. The story (continuing) of your efforts is a highlight of CL and long may you continue...

Methinks the stones off the patio, on the rough patch, may struggle to not wat downhill in the winter

[trevnhil]

Hi Jim. Thanks for your comments, and I am really pleased after my 2007 heart attack that I am fit enough to do all these jobs. Yes they make me out of breath. Yes they make me sweat. But I soon recover after a little while in the shade with a cool (soft) drink.
I certainly think that it is possible that we may lose some stones from the top of the slope, I am hoping not obviously. And I am really hopeful that we will not lose many from the area below the patio railings. But whatever happens I have done my best, a man can do no more.

We now seem to be at the end of the heavy work stage. I still have some painting and trellis to fix and other small jobs. Time to have some days off from time to time.

Regards. Trev..

[markwoods39]

I hope I get a invite to your place and have a look over when we over next trev

[trollydolly]

Trev he wont turn up. Marj

[trevnhil]

Well if he does he knows he will be very welcome. One member even found his way here when it was being built!!

Trev..

[Biddy]

Guided tours - that's the way forward Trev!!

[trevnhil]

Errrr, no I think not. We had some friends come visiting for the first time last Saturday, and we are about 500 mts from the road down a track. When they arrived after following me, they asked what if you meet another vehicle?? I told them that it very rarely happens, but if it does then someone has a lot of reversing to do.

And of course that was tempting fate, because only yesterday I met a double cab and I had to reverse back and find an entrance into a field.

Trev..

[jagwheels]

Trev whats the latest news from VILLA KAFKALLA

[trevnhil]

The latest is, that I am extremely busy. It is a small job that has mushroomed.
The final coat of Superplast has some small areas flaking off the render. These pieces are about half a palm of the hand downwards to just half an inch.

I have repaired them all and just finished repainting the bottom 6 to 9 inch around the bungalow. Job done one would think.

However the new paint is slightly lighter than the old paint even though it is from the same tub. The original paint is 18 months old and the new was put on in the last week or two.

Because of this minute difference I decided to do a quick one coat all round. But I decided to use an elastomeric paint instead of the original one.
I have got the paint, but was told that it needs TWO coats to provide the elasticity. And it is a large bungalow.
Serves me right for being so particular.

So a lot of work ahead but of course no particular rush to get it all done in any particular time frame.

Busy Trev..

[jagwheels]

Thanks for the update Trev. Would hate to think you were sitting on your ars*e just supporting CL

[Jim]

I am, in fact that's all I can do!

[Macattack]

I doubt if Trev knows where his ar*e is, as he hasn't been sitting on it for a long time!!!

[trevnhil]

Oh I do have frequent breaks, believe me. I have been out masking this morning and still have windows to do. I shall not be starting until the sun has long gone off the wall that I am doing.
However I am approaching this job with a little fear and trepidation, as there are a few unknowns..... Tipping a full 10lt tub of paint into a roller tray or paint bucket ???? Keeping a 'wet edge'.
I will know the answers later in the day, Ha ha.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

Well as some of you may have seen on the elastic paint thread, I am getting on with repainting the bungalow.

The heat on the walls is a problem but of course I don't paint walls with the sun on them, only ones in the shade. The latest wall that I have done will probably need doing again in the cooler weather, but the others are certainly passable.
I have three main walls to do yet, but all of them are in the shade until lunchtime. So I will get up early and do them in the cool of the early morning. But not today because I am having a day off, and I will start again tomorrow.

Painting is certainly not an easy task, and cleaning roller tray and paint bucket at the end is certainly messy and time consuming.

Trev..

[Molly]

You need a rest Trev - maybe a meze night..........

[trevnhil]

I had a rest day last week when I went to see the consultant at the hospital... He said my cholesterol was very high.

Trev..

[trevnhil]

Hi all. We have had two sets of visitors since my last posting. Our Daughter and Granddaughter came towards the end of August. And since then our Son, his Partner and Granddaughter have been on their first visit to us and Cyprus.
He flew here from Thessaloniki in Greece, and returned there. Yes they are an British family, but he has a house in Bulgaria and from there it was cheaper to use Ryanair from Greece.

The most recent thing that has happened re our bungalow here is that we are a step nearer getting the 'Final Certificate'. We applied for this earlier in the year and the file has gone from office to office.

I called at the Paphos offices last Wednesday and the young lady looked at our file with plans attached and said "You have demolished things".
I did correct her that the things missing on the plans have not been demolished, but have never been built. ie two chimneys, a boiler house, a garage and two pergolas. These omissions are where there is a variation of the plan.
The young lady said that she would be in Polemi the following day (Thursday) and that she would visit us.
True to her word she did visit us. She checked all around the outside of the premises and counted the windows and doorways.
She also measured by striding the distance from the bungalow to the boundary. Three strides..... OK.
She did mention that we had a shed which was not on plan, and I showed her that it was just for storage of items like tools, paint, and ladders. Again she said that it would be OK.

So apparently she will now pass the file to her boss with the comments that all is correct.
I am still not holding my breath, or having a guess as to when the final certificate will be forthcoming. I would imagine that it will be sometime in 2013.

Cheers. Trev..

[trevnhil]

I went today to the Paphos District offices to see how our Final Certificate is progressing. The answer was that it is in the pile of files that are waiting to be ' written up '

So I will be making another visit in a couple of weeks or so.

I read on the Forum about the problems of land moving in Armou and of course other paces in the general Paphos area as well.
How terribly distressing this is for those involved, and we can only wish them all the luck in the world in finding some sort of solution.

I am reminded sometimes of the saying..... There but for the grace of god go I.

We looked at over 50 plots of land in our search for somewhere to build. Some are now built upon and many others are still empty plots.

We are very happy with our choice of this plot which is within a few mtrs of being at the top of a hill. Even so when there are downpours the run off of water from the higher plot and the roadway try there best to wash away some of our garden soil and the gravel car park.

We certainly feel that we are in no danger at all of being washed away. Lucky??? ..... Maybe, but some of it has to be the quality of the construction, and the preparation of the building plot.

Cheers. Trev..

[jagwheels]

Have copied your idea of using Elastomeric paint on the outside of the house but unlike you Trev I lack the energy to do it myself. If the sales splurge is right then will compare notes in 15 years time
That is the how long it is forcast to last. Wonder what project you will be on then

[trevnhil]

It certainly seems to be good paint Norv. but I doubt that it will last 15 years in the Cyprus Climate.

I doubt that I will be very much in the DIY line in 15 years. That will make me 85. But at the moment I am just pottering with small jobs.

One bad thing has happened here in the storms we had about a month ago, and again to a lesser extent in the last storms a few days ago......

The rain water washed some of the garden soil away next to the fence that I made. I did make the fence solid boarded, but it was not of course water tight, ha ha.

The water swilling across the garden washed some of the soil away and created little 'canyons' here and there, especially up against the fence.

It took me a while to think how I could try to stop this happening during every storm. I made a gap between the fence and the soil and have filled it with the white clay soil from our bottom plot of land.
The theory is that when this clay soil gets wet it will swell and provide a barrier to stop the water. It seems to have worked as well. My wife and I did the job a couple of weeks ago and during the last storm it acted very well.
There is now only one place that the water is washing the soil away and I will attack that area in due course.

Regards. Trev..

[jagwheels]

At last an acknowledgement that this is not all Trevs efforts

Well done hillary

[trevnhil]

No it certainly is not..... my own work !!! Hilary helps as much as she can, and of course every barrow-full of whatever from wherever, is one less for me to move.

Recently we have had the problem of the soil being washed away but I think that today we have rectified the problem. I have dug a narrow trench next to the fence and filled it with Clay soil from our bottom plot. The rain should make it swell up and form a barrier for the rainwater.

Here are some pics of the ' damage' and also of the finished job.









Hopefully the soil will not wash away now, but only time will tell.

Trev..

[trevnhil]

These two pictures tell a good story, at least to us here in Polemi.

They were both taken in the month of October. But one was last year, and the other was this year.

Quite a difference...






Trev..

[trevnhil]

Well as those of you who live in Cyprus will know, we have had good amount of rain in the last month or so. The efforts that I made with clay soil to stop the garden being washed away seem to have worked.
When it pours down now, we get puddles on the soil which is better than it being washed into the next plot.

We are also due to have some more rain in the next week, maybe starting tonight. So it looks like I have just finished my latest DIY job in time.... I say finished, but it has yet to be painted.

A few weeks ago my daughter and Family from Scotland said they were coming next May. And We also have family from the UK who have said they will probably visit later next year.
Both families have youngsters who are now too big for a cot, so Hilary thought it would be a good idea if I made a 'Toddler Bed' that would collapse for storage.

So that's exactly what I have done. I bought the timber pieces from One Stop and cut them to shape, and put a bullnose on many edges.

The first picture is the shaped pieces this morning....



The second picture is the ends and sides assembled.....



And the next three pictures are the finished article....







All is now disassembled and safely indoors awaiting coats of paint. That's an indoors job, perhaps for next week.

Cheers. Trev..

[Memory man]

A few weeks ago my daughter and Family from Scotland said they were coming next May.

I always suspected that you had Scottish blood in your veins Trev.

[trevnhil]

Noooo. They've taken English Blood up there.

Trev..