This month has been focused on installing the underfloor heating across the top two floors. It feels like a big step towards occupation although there is clearly a lot of other work still to do. The first stage was for TCOPSA to complete the internal walls. This means that all the of the bedrooms and bathrooms are now clearly layed out and so we have a much clearer picture of how these rooms will be. In Spain all internal walls are built with terracotta bricks rather than the stud walls that would be used in the UK. The resulting walls are much stronger (no more raw plugs through plasterboard) and appear very quickly (and can be rebuilt quickly if they are not quite in the right place….).
Then Tecnovasal moved in to lay a plastic grid on which the heating pipes are fitted. There is a separate run of pipe for each room so that it can be controlled by a dedicated thermostat.
The pipes come together in a “collector” which is in turn connected to the hot water boiler. Working this out across multiple rooms is complicated!
The system must then be tested to check that there are no leaks. This is done by filling the pipes with water and pressurising them. It is left overnight to check that the pressure stays the same. The final stage is to cover the system with self levelling concrete that is designed to be good at conducting heat. This is the final layer of the floor before tiles are layed. This will happen very soon.
In between working on preparing for the underfloor heating, the team started work on the terrace and on completing the stonework around the windows.
The terrace is a completely new addition to the front of the house. It will be built using reclaimed beams supplemented with new beams as necessary and will be glazed all the way around. We hope to create a fantastic space for eating and relaxing. As it will be fully glazed, we will be able to use it all year and the views are spectacular!