24.11.2024 A queue of roundtoits.

 ~o~

 Sunday 24th 44F/7C [8.00] Incredibly dark this morning! Rain forecast until just after lunch. Windy too. I can make out the absent neighbour's hedge rocking. Overnight rain has removed most of the snow. 

 61F/16C in the room. So more logs will be sacrificed for a little extra comfort. I am getting through two whole baskets a day at the moment. The kindling has not only gone through the roof in pricing but sunk to a new low in quality. I buy it by the sack [or three] from a special workshop for the disabled. So I am not sure whether I dare join the long queue for a refund.

 Up at 6.30 with another nose bleed. Removed a giant, dark red slug from my left nostril. Then plugged it with tissue again. I was up half a dozen times to use the fire bucket in the night. The opposite of last night. When I didn't wake up at all. The latter was a record for me. Guinness said it didn't constitute a "real record." Because I wasn't wearing odd socks. A bit of an oversight on my part.'

 I could feel a breeze on my face in the night. Though it could not be felt on my hand. This morning I attached the TOPDON infra red camera attachment to my phone. The window proved to have a small hole in one corner where the windowsill should have been. Now stuffed with cotton wool roundels. The cobwebs will soon hide this crime against building regs.

 This was just another unfinished job. When the quality of my [unfinished] workmanship was rudely questioned. I had allowed the spray foam to encroach on the newly painted, new windows. Though they represent a fraction of the entire exterior wall surface, the windows are the major heat loss. Even when covered by the lean-to greenhouse. 

 I fitted these newly purchased windows shortly after we took possession of Chez Hovel. Until then these living room "windows" were just bare pieces of glass. No proper frames. Nothing. Just a narrow batten around the edges for show. I bought the double glazed windows from a posh, window display centre. From a now defunct firm in a village not far away. 

 They required some assembly. The panes and glazing bars had to be fitted after painting. My wife did the painting. I did the fitting. We could never agree on suitable sills. Neither inside or out. Several panes have blown over the years. Causing them to steam up. The panes were correctly installed using corner spacers.

 Though described as "energy" windows [of the time] this did not extend to insulated panes. The glass was supposedly reflective. To keep the sun out and the heat in. There was no thermal gap in the aluminium frames between the two pieces glass. Gas was supposedly inserted between the panes during manufacture. To further reduce heat loss.

  If you think the windows are bad then you should peer at the image of the back door. I made this to measure from thick, pine, recycled floorboards. The door is a very odd size. So there was never anything suitable at the architectural recycling yard which we constantly visited. Buying new was well beyond our budget. 

 The rear entrance hall is unheated. Gaining only from leakage through the living room, kitchen and bathroom doors. All of which are kept closed in winter. This the main entrance door form the parking space and is unpainted. The door is hideous as well as cold. Frequently enjoying a layer of frost inside hen outside temperatures are low enough. I fitted sponge draught excluder but it resists the door closing well enough to be locked. Another roundtoit. 

 I would like a glazed back/main entrance door. To let some outdoor light into the hall. Whether this would be sensible from a thermal point of view I can't be sure. The door faces north into the boundary trees. So light infall would be minimal but still desirable. Security? Does it really matter? Thieves need only break a window to gain entry. I'd have to learn to wear a dressing gown to cross the hall. Just in case a solitary visitor should turn up on a shower day.  

 The third image shows the recycled, double glazed, double door I fitted to the front hall. Prior to this there was a solid, paneled, front door. Fully exposed to the elements and blocking any light to the hall. With a four inch [10cm] gap underneath. To ensure easy access for the rats. Or any passing cat, mink or stray dog I suppose. The replacement double door is covered by the lean-to greenhouse and only used for access to the greenhouse. Hall's sliding greenhouse doors do not make a serious point of entry. 

 The infra red image shows how poorly the foolishly expensive, foam draught excluder works. At combating draughts. The front hall feels like walking into a fridge, with a fan going, in winter. It relies on leakage from the adjoining rooms through [normally] closed doors for warmth. These internal doors are left open outside the heating season. For easy movement between rooms. The living room door to the front hall was closed for years while my wife was still alive. Covered in heavy curtains to keep the meager heat in the living room. We lived upstairs. Where it was warmer and there were no obvious draughts. 

 I planned to go for a short walk but the outdoors is is hardly inviting. Dark, raining and blowing. I'll put on my heavy, Ventile jacket and go anyway! It has a proper hood.

 10.45 False optimism! It was hardly spitting as I left. Alas, it could not resist having a token downpour on the return journey. The gravel drives were soft from the double whammy. Of being thoroughly wetted and simultaneously thawing. The stream/bæk was nudging its muddied banks. The neighbour's guard dog was not happy. Complaining bitterly about the weather it must endure year round. Another recent neighbour has gone again. Taking their worldly belongings with them. Empty houses in our hamlet now outnumber the occupied homes. 

 The nice neighbour's mini-goats have made a serious impact on their allotted bit of turf. With multiples of prairie awaiting. To which to next turn their rapt attention. Once released into the recently fenced paddock. A solitary cockerel popped out to check on the weather, sniffed and returned to base. And who can blame him? 

 I have changed my wet trousers and hung my clothes to dry. Three hours of stoking the stove and the room has only just reached 64F/17C.

 I went for a drive to an antique market after lunch. They had two display cases by the same manufacturer as mine but they weren't for sale.

 Dinner was sardines on toast with tomato soup. It eventually reached 69F/20C in the room.

 

 ~o~