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24 Knott End, Langold

October 2017 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Lee Read more
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  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    8th October 2017

    October 7, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    So today we embarked on our very own house renovation project. This house was severely damaged by fire back in March and needs total renovation. Prior to today, we had the house cleared completely as it was crammed to the rafters with stuff, none which was any good and the whole house smelled of charred wood, plastic and masonry.

    Currently the only access is round the back through the back door as the front door and most of the windows are boarded up. We dutifully arrived about 9.30am after having breakfast with Spok and Denise at the cafe in Oldcotes. Spok and Denise offered us some help and we very gratefully accepted.

    First job was to remove the board from the kitchen window and the front door to allow us access before emptying the car of all the tools and cleaning products we thought we would need. We did quite well, only forgot wire cutters. Once in, Sharon and Denise made a start on cleaning the sink out and the toilet - a job I’m happy I didn’t have to be involved in. Spok and I focused on the main bedroom. The ceiling had partially been destroyed which allowed us access to the loft. I went up and removed all of the smoke infested insulation throwing down in to the bedroom. Spok and I then bagged it all up in to wheelie bin liners and threw it out. I then went back up and removed the whole of the ceiling in the bedroom before we threw all of the plasterboard out on to the front garden ready for us to stick in the trailer another day. At this time Sharon and Denise moved on to trying to wipe down the walls with some TFR to try and remove the smoke. They also ripped up the kitchen floor tiles and generally gave the downstairs a good scrub where they could. Spok and I then progressed to clearing all of the insulation from the other side of the roof along with no end of more junk including a carrier bag full of lighters, a brand new sealed game of scrabble, a full roll of carpet and no end of other stuff circa 1970’s. Again we bagged all this up and the Sharon and Denise gave the front bedroom a good sweep.

    We stopped for a cup of tea and a sandwich, Sharon was very prepared with flasks and sandwiches and goodies which went down very well.

    Our next job was to drill a 22mm hole through the wall from the back of the house in to the passageway in readiness for the electricity supply to be fitted on Friday. Getting power was quite easy as Spok knows nearly everyone on the street, we chatted to a few of the neighbours and there was some good banter. Next door but 2 (Wally Parish) connected us up with a couple of extension cables and I drilled the hole. I thought that would be difficult but it was actually quite easy, however mounting the fireproof board for the termination point was less so. A combination of slightly too big a hole for the plugs, not being able to see and having to move the ladders out of the house every time I needed to get new rawplug or screwdriver saw me getting a bit pissed off. A trip to B&Q for some bigger plugs that I didn’t use saw me approach it slightly different when we got back and all turned out well in the end.

    Denises Uncle (Paul) turned up to give us some advice about 2 massive trees in the back garden, we’ve decided they need to come down. Again the garden is like a jungle and there is masses of wood. 4 wheelie bins and countless other item scattered about all over the place. It appears Uncle Les (who used to own the house) was a bit of a hoarder.

    We packed up about 3.30 just as it started to chuck it down, a very successful day, massive thanks to Spok and Denise for their very hard work and help and Paul for his advice.

    This blogs going to go on for a very long time but will provide a great reminder when its all done (assuming we get that far).    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    15th October 2017

    October 14, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Yesterday the power was reconnected to the house, when I say reconnected the official term is terminated inside the house. This is the first stage of a 3 stage process, the next step is to get a utility company to connect a meter and then an electrician to connect a consumer unit. During the last week Paul has been up at the house and has done a tremendous job with the front and rear gardens. The front has had the hedge cut back and the grass strimmed and all of the rubbish that we bagged up last weekend removed. He has also strimmed the back garden down and trimmed all of the hedges. The transformation is remarkable. Hopefully with it being this time of year it won’t need too much attention before the spring next year. Tomorrow he is going up to remove the first of two massive trees - hopefully I will be able to pop up and see how they get on however I am working in London on Monday so need to leave tomorrow evening and I have a few jobs to do at home. Spok is talking about getting a fire going to burn a lot of the rubbish - well at least he can’t burn the house down !! (Can he??)

    Sharon has been pressing on with trying to clean the walls in the current main bedroom. It’s extremely tedious work but it is looking loads better. We’ve talked about should we just take the plaster off but if this works we’d be silly to as they seem in very good condition.

    I have been in demolition mode this weekend. I have removed the ceiling on the landing and bagged up all the lats for sticks and bagged up all the rubble (with the help of my trusty wife). I then moved on to the kitchen and knocked out the dividing wall between the kitchen and bathroom and the pantry and then the wall between the the bathroom and pantry which has well and truly opened the kitchen up. The plan is to put a bathroom upstairs eventually. Finally I chiselled all the smoke damaged plaster off the walls in the kitchen and the former pantry and bathroom. Again with the help of Sharon all bagged up and put out. We had an SOS call to Sharon’s mum for her to fetch us extra rubble sacks which she did straight away. This enabled us to leave the house all nice and tidy ready for next weekend when we plan to get the kitchen ceiling down.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    22nd October

    October 21, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    This weekend has seen more progress. Spok and Paul have been up in the week and had a fire, burned a lot of the wood and trees that were cut down last Sunday. I have heard from Cadent Gas and they want to come and lay the gas supply as soon as they can despite me being told it would be after Christmas. I’ve agreed on the 16th November and have now ordered a recessed meter box. The trench will need to be dug out in a couple of weeks time and the meter box fitted.

    On Friday evening my father and I went up and set about removing the copper tank out of the front bedroom and disconnecting the pipe work (most of which was lead) which we did successfully. We also disconnected the old cast iron bath. The plan was to leave the cold water tap in place to the kitchen sink and remove everything else. Unfortunately we cut through the cold water supply to that tap instead of the hot one, the result was we took the lot out. The cylinder was emptied painstakingly by filling up a bucket at a time and throwing it out of the bedroom window. All in all though, a productive evenings work.

    Saturday and Sharon joined us. First job of the day for father was to reconnect the water and get a working tap which he did in the toilet. We then took the old bath out and it is currently sat on the back garden. We plan to eBay that and see if it’s worth anything. I filled the trailer with all of the scrap metal. John turned up with his big trailer and took two and a half tonnes of rubble and plaster to his place for his caravan park which was great. However since then we have replaced it with about another four tonnes. He is quite happy to take that when he gets a chance too. Spok came up to see how we were doing and he Met John. We got Johns opinion on the walls that the girls have scrubbed, although they have come up brilliantly, the time factor and the fact we’re going to have to chisel them out for the re-wire has made us decide it’s probably better to remove it all back to brick. A bit more work but at least when its done the whole house will be like new. He has also said he can change the 2 windows that were the pantry and bathroom in to one in the middle of them which I think will be better.

    We then progressed to removing the ceilings from the kitchen, taking the plaster off the walls in the back passage and downstairs loo and bagging up all the rubble. We snapped all the lats from the ceiling up and bagged them up for sticks for Spok. We then ripped out the old back boiler and fireplace/cooker and dragged it outside ready for scrap. We were lucky that a scrap man came round and we sold him the copper tank and lead piping and he took all of the other metal away too. This freed the trailer up and we took all the plasterboard to the tip in it. Again a good days graft.

    On Sunday morning I went up and made a start on removing the chimney breast out of the kitchen an when we took the ceiling down we learned that it wasn’t load bearing. Although 2 of the kitchen beams were supported on it, we can remove these and put a couple of longer ones in to sort that. The job was really hard graft. My dad came about 10.30 and have me a hand, it was painstakingly slow and hard but 98% of it is out, bagged up swept up and ready for the next visit in a couple of weeks.

    We have also measured up the beams and floorboards required for when we replace the floors and a John is going to order them tomorrow all being well.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    16th October 2017

    October 21, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    So today saw a mass of work in the garden. I can’t take much credit for that, it was down to Paul and his team. They have chopped down the 2 massive trees which was a huge job. We went up there for a look just after lunch and they had got the branches off them both. Whilst we were there they decided to fetch the largest one down with me, Paul and Spok on the rope guiding it so it fell on the garden. We took up the slack and Pete started to saw through it with the chainsaw. Sharon was filming from behind us. As Pete got through and the tree started to fall, it became very apparent if we didn’t move and quickly, we would be squashed !! The very last few seconds of Sharon’s video was 3 men running away, footage of the ground where Sharon was running and a load of expletives 😂😂

    A great team, all worked very hard and the change in light and looks is brill.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    5th November

    November 5, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    So after last weekend off due to a visit from our friends, we were back on it this weekend. My Dad went up mid week and started digging the trench ready for the gas supply being installed a week on Thursday. So our first job was to finish that. It was real donkey work. We dug down 18” at a width of 12” for 5 meters. The ground was as hard as hell breaking shale and road stone mainly. However we managed it and the trench is now in, hands full of blisters as a reward for our efforts.

    We found out this week that we are potentially going to need full building regulation approval for the renovation and the whole house has to be brought up to 2017 spec. I had some fairly scary thoughts about what would need to be replaced but after a conversation with John he is going to speak to a private building control company and arrange a site visit. We’ll take it from there.

    Sharon had the day off on Saturday and went and did the Christmas shopping. My Dad and I went up and started the task of removing the floors from the 2 bedrooms above the living room where the fire started. Obviously we worked back on ourselves as do not to fall down in to the living room or get stuck at the wrong side of the bedroom without being able to get back. It was also quite dangerous as the floor joists were charred and very weak but again we managed it. We then moved on to removing the charred joists. We took a circular saw to them, split them in the middle and then pulled them out. We left the joists in below the bedroom walls and removed the boards around them before acro propping them up and finally removing them. It looks really weird when you walk in the living room and 2 bedroom walls are suspended in mid air above you.

    John also turned up yesterday to take another couple of trailers full of bricks and chiselled off plaster to his caravan park. On his second visit of the day we managed to get his van and trailer stuck in the front garden. Took us about half an hour and lots of digging, bricks, pushing and grunting before he finally got out. I reckon he probably took another 5 or 6 tonnes yesterday. A massive help. We also had the site inspection from Uncle Spok today and I think we passed 👍

    Next we turned our attention to removing all the plaster from the stairs. Slowly but surely we are removing anything that’s burnt and charred so hopefully the smell will start to disappear. It’s loads better than it was but its still apparent. We managed to get the whole staircase and hall stripped and the door casings out at the bottom of the stairs and thrown on to the ever growing pile of wood round the back. We got everything swept up and bagged up before calling it a day.

    We decide to go up today for a couple of hours as John wanted to come up and measure up for windows. We decided we were going to stay until 1pm. Sharon came with me and my Dad and worked hard as ever, clearing and fetching and carrying for us as well as being chief Tea maker. We started off by removing the rest of the chimney breast in the kitchen before moving on upstairs and taking all the plaster off the walls in the main bedroom. Another few tonnes of rubble but again we managed to get it all bagged and thrown outside. John duly turned up and measured up all of our windows with the exception of the 2 kitchen ones as we are going to remove them, build the sides up and replace with one larger window. He has also measured all the joists and various other items. He’s going to speak to building control tomorrow and get prices for windows. Also had a visit from Spok and Denise and they were well surprised how quickly it is changing.

    We packed up about 1.30pm and dropped my Dad off and went home for some lunch. We decided to go back and give the whole place a good sweep out and we knew Spok and Paul were coming up about 4 to burn some rubbish. We managed to get all tidied up and swept out and all the rubbish bagged, there’s probably about another 3 tonnes for John next week now.

    Paul and Spok arrived about 3.30 and lit the bonfire 🔥. It wasn’t long before it was well ablaze and lots of rubbish was being burned. I helped carry some of the wood down and chucked it on while Sharon made us a cup of tea with a mince pie made by Lynne. I nipped Sharon home about 6pm and went back. We had a cracking night and managed to burn almost all the rubbish on the back including all the charred wood we stripped out of the house as well as all the trees and bushes cut down by Paul over the last few weeks.

    All in all a tremendous weekend, long shift today which wasn’t really planned but we’ve achieved no end.

    Thanks to everyone who’s been involved and kept coming up to help and support us, it really helps push us along.

    Until next weekend .....    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    12th November

    November 11, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Well, there’s been quite a bit of activity this week as John and his team have been there. We now have a fully functional front door although it is only temporary, the lintels in the front room have been replaced front and back, the fireplace in the kitchen and the bedroom have been bricked up and all the beams in the living room have been replaced. Most of the charred wood has now been removed apart from the odd doorframe and door and a few other bits and bobs.

    So yesterday Sharon and I went up and my task was to remove the dividing wall between the 2 smaller bedrooms, remove all the plaster from them and remove the ceilings. I also needed to replace the tap in the toilet for an outside one so that we can connect a pressure washer to it when we get the chance. I started off by sorting the tap, we didn’t get to put it to use with the pressure washer as we ran out of time but a good simple job done. As I made a start removing the dividing wall in the bedroom, Sharon started picking up all of the bits of wood around the garden that were left and put them on the fire site ready for the next fire. The side wall came out easy enough and I then came down to remove the acro’s so they didn’t fall when I started to knock the main wall down. I was just pointing out to Sharon what the next step was when there was an almighty crash and the whole breeze block wall came crashing down. Fortunately we were near the door and shot out at a fair rate of knots. Sharon was a bit shaken, I just saw it as a bonus as I no longer had to knock it down. We were lucky though, could have been quite nasty.

    Sharon’s Mum and Dad paid us a visit, fetched us a bottle of milk and a connector for the tap, Spok and Denise followed shortly after with cakes 👍

    I proceeded to remove all the plaster from the walls before heading up to the loft to kick the ceiling down. Spok returned to offer some help. He helped Sharon whilst I finished the demolishing of the bedroom ceilings. I have to say it knackered me, I kept getting cramp in my leg and it was a very long way down. But I managed it.

    The mess in the living room was huge. About 2 foot of plasterboard, lattes and plaster. Team effort to bag it all and clean up. Spok left about 4ish and Sharon and I worked on a bit and managed to get it all bagged, cleared and swept. We both left last night absolutely knackered but a good days graft and left in a nice state ready for us to get in and clean up today.

    This morning, clearing up was the aim of the game. We wanted to be home for just after lunch and we managed that. We managed to clear out the large bedroom, de nail all the beams in that room and sweep them all down so that when the plasterboard goes on the ceiling, debris wont fall down in to our eyes, although that’s a way off yet. We also cleared up the rest of the downstairs. Spok and Denise came up for a site inspection, really nice they are so interested and keep coming up, also John came and took a trailer full of rubble away.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    19th November

    November 19, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    A tremendous amount of work done by John and his team this week. All the fireplaces are now out and bricked up. The floor in the left side of the house between the living room and 2 upstairs bedrooms has now been replaced. The concrete floor in the kitchen and downstairs toilet has been removed, damp course laid and re-concreted. The windows have been ordered and arrived on Friday. The gas supply is now laid to the house and is ready when we need to get some heating and plumbing installed.

    So, Sharon had the day off yesterday as John and Rich were coming up and I was playing apprentice. The aim of the day was to get some windows in. I got the pressure washer going and tried to clean the smoke off from the bricks above and to the sides of the living room windows. I used some TFR and smoke remover along with a wire brush. It’s massively improved but I think it coild to with a bit more fettling. We managed 5 windows which is great. There are only 3 left to install but the ones they still need to replace are currently functional. It’s made such a difference, the whole house is light and feels bright. Unfortunately Rich broke one pane of glass but only slightly. It’s fine for now but we’ll replace when we need to.

    Sunday morning saw Sharon and I go up for primarily a clear up. I removed a door and frame from the master bedroom entrance and a remaining bit of wall suspended from the ceiling on the other side. I also removed the ceiling from the downstairs passage and downstairs toilet and ripped out any old remaining wiring that was very charred along with the slightly scorched door in the toilet. Slowly but surely the burned stuff is coming out We’ve still got to decide what to do with the beams in the kitchen, I’m going to see if they will wire brush next weekend and if the smell is any better. It’s almost gone but there’s still a small trace. Removing the charred cable and ceilings may have helped, we’ll just have to see. We then had a good clean up, John came up and foamed the windows in and then we left.

    Progression will be a bit slower until after Christmas as John goes in for his operation on Tuesday. We wish him well and hope all goes well.

    Very happy with where we currently are, really enjoying it and we’ve only had it for 7 weeks.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    26th November

    December 2, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Billy no mates this weekend but only did Saturday as I need to get the garden ready for winter at home. It’s been absolutely freezing today but once I got stuck in I was fine. There is still a bit of a burnt smell in the kitchen so I made it my mission to try and remove everything that is still burnt. I started by removing the plaster from the walls inside the cupboard in the master bedroom and the ceiling. I also removed the door and frame. I then removed the final bit of plaster from the stairs wall. I think that wall could be an issue, it’s a breeze block wall but it’s sat on a floorboard, not even a hoist. I think it may need to go and be replaced by a stud but I’ll get John to confirm when he’s better. Next I got in the roof space and swept all of the dust from the beams to help when it comes to screwing plasterboard on there. Next I tidied and finally swept the house throughout. All the old doors have moved out in to the outside shed and all the rubbish taken out. I had a quick tidy up on the path on the front and a sweep so it looks a little bit more presentable.

    As John is going in to hospital on Monday, we are not around for the next couple of weekends due to Christmas party in Swindon next weekend and Baz’s birthday the week after and then Christmas, there’s not going to be much activity up there.

    So it’s all nice and tidy inside now ready for the next time.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold
    1

    6th January 2018

    January 6, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    After quite a break with Christmas and work Christmas Parties etc, Sharon and I went back to our part time job today. I had been up just before Christmas to meet John up there as he dropped off some beams. We had decided that there was still a bit of a smell of smoke we thought but couldn’t be sure so we took the decision that whilst we were at the stage we were at we would replace the floor/ceiling above kitchen and the large bedroom. So the beams were got in readiness for that. Since then the only things that appear to have changed is there are 2 new concrete lintels above the 2 downstairs doors. I can’t decide if John has been up or I missed them before Christmas. Also Paul has been and got rid of the last lot of logs from the back garden from the massive trees that were taken down and cut up when he did the massive garden tidy up when we first got the place.

    So today’s task was to try and remove all the floorboards in the large bedroom as carefully as possible trying not to damage them wherever we could. The reason for this is we would like to use some to replace some of the damaged ones in the living room. A bit easier said than done as quite a few were already damaged but we did a reasonable job and managed to save a good 90%. Any damages we can cut off and also cut out any smoke damage if required.

    Removing the old beams was a bit more difficult as they were extremely heavy and really needed two people of similar height and two pairs of steps. Obviously Sharon is quite a bit shorter than me and we only had one pair of steps. So I went it alone. Not a bad effort, I’ve got most of them out just leaving the four at one end until I’ve spoken to John as removing them will take away the landing at the top of the stairs. I plan to do that when we can replace them on the same day.

    We had the site inspectors round today for a review of proceedings (Spok & Denise). It’s lovely they are taking an interest and it’s nice to show them how we are getting on. Sharon was a great lackie and moved all the boards as I took them up. She also kept me supplied in tea snd was great with the tidying up. The best bit is we both love working up there together and we usually get a fairly good result.    Read more

  • Traveler24 Knott End, Langold

    14th January 2018

    January 14, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    I was called yesterday morning at 8am by the gaffer JB asking if I was going to work. Well I was and to my delight there was a full team in today. So Sharon decided she would stay at home and catchup on some of the household jobs that have taken a back seat recently. Rich, Matt, me, JB himself and Director of Operations Jack the dog were the team today and I have to say, what a day, great banter and boy do they work. They have been up in the week whilst I have been at my day job and got the majority of the replacement beams in in the kitchen. Upon arrival Matt was on brickwork duty. He was rebuilding the tops of the walls between the newly replaced joists and filling and blocking underneath them. Rich was on with replacing the joists at the top of the stairs. Upon Mr Bown’s return from gathering supplies he made a start on removing the old lintels from above the windows in what will be the two smaller bedrooms. I made myself available as the general lacky, fetching, carrying and do the simple tasks like screwing the beams up and making tea. Everyone mixed and matched and helped each other and they seemed to get through an awful lot of work. All the beams are now in in the kitchen and the landing, the lintels in the bedrooms have been replaced with new concrete ones, all around the windows have been re-bricked as well as above the front door which will eliminate some draught. The floor in what will be the 2 front bedrooms is now complete as is the floor to the top of the stairs.

    When the real workers left, I decided to try and have a bit of a tidy up and sort out to aid them when they return. The plan on their next visit is to put the floor down in the master bedroom and maybe make a start on the stud walls. Sharon came across and we moved the floorboards that we took up last week down in to the kitchen so they are easily accessible to put down in the living room. Some of them were so long we had to pass them down through the roof in the kitchen. We also made use of all the old boards that were used to board the windows up after the fire, we put them in what will be the loft as that will be a good idea to store the insulation which we intend to order this week. We also tidied up the living room and finished with a good sweep up. Hopefully that will help John and the lads when they go back up as it’s always better when it’s tidy. They can crack straight on and won’t have to bugger about tidying up and making room to work.

    A long day and a late finish for us, gone 6 when we left but a very productive day.

    Today, I went up this morning to measure up for the loft insulation and the insulation in the ceilings downstairs. 2nd & 3rd director of operations (only pipped at the post by Jack) popped up to check on proceedings (Spok and Denise). They can see it changing every time they visit. We then went out to buy a consumer unit for the re-wire and some cable although the cable was out of stock so will get some of that in the week. We have also had some admin work to do which takes longer than you would think. The company “LJM Property Services (Worksop)” has officially been registered with both Sharon and I as directors so we have had to do a few tasks relating to that.

    So all in all a very productive weekend.    Read more

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