Central Brittany Holiday Gite Renovation - 10 Week Challenge

The 10 week Challenge!

What's the challenge I hear you say? Renovate 100m2 Gite Cottage in 10 weeks. And when the word renovation is used, I mean complete and utter remodelling of the abortion which was erected 20 plus years ago.

Two guys, a boat load of tools, to rip out and replace everything but the exterior walls and roof. To start off you need to DESIGN!

For a successful build it is important to have some sort of design work finalised, it will never end well if you try and make it up as you go along.

If you're on a budget and can't afford an interior architect, I recommend Sweet Home  3D - http://www.sweethome3d.com/. It can be used in conjunction with other software such as Sketchup, or solely for just mapping out the interior layout.

One key point about designing a layout for a future renovations is it will allow you to estimate to some accuracy the amount of materials one might require.

 (New Layout proposed.)

 

Condensation on inside of windows

Great post by Oberon on  - http://www.doityourself.com/forum/doors-skylights-windows/362701-condensation-inside-windows.html

Okay, it is that time of year - here is the really long version!

You have interior condensation on your windows simply because the surface temperature of the window is below the dew point temperature of the air in your home…that’s it…a very simple explanation.

Unfortunately, as to why the surface temperature of your window (glass) is below the dew point temperature of the air in your home may be a bit more complex – so I am going to offer a few thoughts and maybe even throw in a few numbers that I hope might help your situation.

In the summer, when you pull something cold and refreshing out of the refrigerator, and the air is warm and humid, that cold and refreshing beverage container suddenly and quite magically becomes instantly wet – just as soon as it is exposed to the air. What has happened is that the temperature of the container fresh from the refrigerator is below the dew point temperature of the air – which has caused condensation on the outside of that container.

What happens to your windows in the fall and winter is that the surface of the glass is below the dew point temperature of the air in your home – which is causing condensation on the surface of that glass.

Dew point is defined as saturation vapor density...or put in simpler terms, when the air reaches 100% relative humidity and can hold no more moisture.

Relative humidity is, well, relative.

Relative humidity is a comparison of the actual vapor density versus the saturation vapor density at a particular temperature. Put a bit more simply, dew point is 100% relative humidity or the point where the air - at that temperature - is no longer able to hold any more moisture. If the air has reached vapor saturation (100% relative humidity), then the air will release moisture...be it on the outside of that cold beverage container in the summer time, or be it on the interior glass surface of your windows in the winter time, it makes no difference. If the surface temperature happens to be below freezing, then that moisture becomes frost or even ice.

In order to stop condensation from forming on the surface of a window, you either have to lower the dew point temperature of the air in your home to a level below the dew point temperature of the window surface, or you have to warm up the window surface to a temperature above the dew point temperature of your home, or a combination of both.

Lowering the relative humidity of the air in your home may have absolutely no effect on controlling window condensation or it may completely solve your problem – depends on how you lower the relative humidity and what affect the “how” has on both the moisture level of your air and the temperature of your windows. All this because there are two ways to lower relative humidity – first, you can increase the air temperature in your home or second, you can decrease the moisture content of the air in your home.

By increasing the air temperature in your home you will lower the relative humidity but you will not change the dew point – which is based on the amount of water vapor in the air and is not based on the temperature of the air. So, while the RH is lower with higher air temperature, it may not effect condensation on window surfaces at all – unless the rise in air temperature also caused a corresponding rise in window glass temperature to a level above the dew point temperature.

But, lowering the amount of water vapor or moisture in your air will lower the dew point temperature as well. And if it lowers the dew point temperature sufficiently to drop it below the temperature of your window glass – no more condensation issues.

The amount of moisture in the air is measured in grams per cubic meter, which is kind of nice for our metric folks but not so nice for our non-metric folks; but the metric version is much easier on the calculator than the English version. However, in the interest of making this stuff easier to understand for all of us non-metric types, I am going to use Fahrenheit rather than Celsius temperatures in the calculations.

Okay – consider your home at 65 degrees F and with a relative humidity reading of 40%. There are 6.25 grams of water in a cubic meter of air in your home in that particular scenario - which then equates to a dew point temperature of 38 degrees F. So at 38 degrees the air will be at 100% relative humidity or at saturation vapor density.

Now, if your neighbor keeps her house at 75 degrees, but she also has 6.25 grams of water per cubic meter in her air, then the relative humidity in her home is 29% - versus your 40%. But, and here’s the kicker, the dew point temperature in her home is still 38 degrees.

While the relative humidity in her home is much lower than is the relative humidity in yours; if the surface temperature of the windows in her home is 35 degrees she will have condensation on those windows…yet if the surface temperature of your windows is 40 degrees – only five degrees warmer – you will not have condensation on your windows.

So, while her handy humidity gauge reads (correctly) only 29% RH – she has a condensation problem.
While your handy humidity gauge reads (correctly) 40% RH – you don’t have a condensation problem…SWEET…well, for you anyway, not her.

If your home hygrometer measures the relative humidity in your home at 60% while the temperature of your home is 70 degrees, you will have a dew point temperature of about 51 degrees – meaning that if the temperature of the window surface is below 51 degrees then you will have condensation - so now we talk a little more specifically about windows.

The interior surface temperature of a single lite of glass, when the temperature outside is 0 degrees F and the inside air temperature is 70 degrees, will be about 16 degrees.

Add a storm window on the outside and the surface temperature of the inside lite jumps up to about 43 degrees – a huge improvement.

But these are center-of-glass readings and not the temperature readings at the edge of the window where condensation usually forms. A typical clear glass dual pane window is going to have center-of-glass temperature reading pretty much the same as a single pane with a storm – however, if that dual pane has a LowE coating and an argon gas infill then the center-of-glass temperature will be about 57 degrees – a 14 degree improvement over a clear glass dual pane or a single pane with storm window – but again, and more importantly, there will be a comparable edge of glass improvement as well, particularly if the IGU (Insulating Glass Unit) was manufactured using a warm edge spacer system. Also, the dual pane is going to have desiccant between the glass layers. Desiccant absorbs moisture keeping the inside of the dual pane system very dry.

The advantage? If it gets cold enough outside, the temperature in the airspace between the lites can get very low. By keeping that space dry, it helps to keep the dew point temperature very low as well; something not always possible when using a single pane and storm window.

Oddly enough, a single pane with a good and tight frame and sash assembly may be more prone to condensation than will a less tight single pane window simply because air (and moisture) will leak out of the looser window while the tighter window may be more likely to trap the moisture inside the home. And, while a tight storm window can help the interior lite to avoid condensation (when compared with a single lite and no storm), the storm window itself may frost up when the temperature is low enough – at a temperature usually well above the temperature that will cause the dual pane to ice up. It is unavoidable given the right circumstances

So what does a window temperature of 57 degrees mean? Well, as I mentioned earlier a home kept at 70 degrees with a 60% relative humidity has a dew point temperature of 51 degrees so it is much less likely that there will be condensation problem on those particular windows than there would be with a less energy efficient window - despite the relatively high relative humidity in the home.

But, there is always a "but"…

Again, that 57 degree glass temperature is still a center-of-glass reading and the edge of glass temperature will be lower - actual temperature is dependent on both the spacer system used in the IG unit construction and on the material used to construct the sash. So even with a "57 degree" center-of-glass temperature it is still possible to get window condensation if there is enough moisture in the air.

And consider that the interior glass temperatures are based on the fact that moving, warmer, indoor air is actually in contact with the glass at a given time. Curtains, shades, other obstructions can cause problems by blocking airflow across the glass – airflow that can have a huge effect on the condition of the window relating to condensation. Also, bay and bow windows can be more prone to condensation – again because of the possibility of decreased airflow over the glass.

And finally, what can happen to the dew point if you keep your home at 70 degrees and you have a 65% relative humidity? Well, for one thing the dew point has jumped up to 57 degrees which we have already noted is the same as the window temperature. For another thing, anyone with 65% relative humidity in a home at 70 degrees has way too much moisture in their air and they are in serious need of some sort of ventilation system – or at least several good exhaust fans!

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/doors-skylights-windows/362701-condensation-inside-windows.html#ixzz3MHiQZZ5x

Scarf joint rotten floor joist ends in Finistere, Brittany.

How to scarf joint rotten floor joist ends?

In the process of renovating our new home, we noticed one of the gable walls was suffering from Damp. After tracing back, looking for the cause I came across a few joists which had rotten ends. The damp patch on the wall was due to a leaky gutter, allowing water to penetrate down the wall on 2 levels and working its way round the corner stones, thus the damp patch.

After rectifying the gutters, next on the game plan was to fix our rotten floor joists ends.

This subject is as broad as it is wide. Online, you'll find many options as well as different methods of resolving this problem. I'll explain which method of resolution we chose as well as how I executed the fix. This job will not be for everyone but worth being aware of.

In our scenario, the floor joist reside in a street level, north facing room. The room below  is basement level, no windows, and granite dry stone walls. The basement room does suffer from severe humidity which is another topic to talk about in the future.

The street level room has a thin cut solid chestnut tongue and groove flooring. With these environmental ingredients, I knew I didn't want to remove the flooring, experience has told me that French chestnut floors are a pain to remove due to their secret nails and expensive to replace. Using metal hangers with nails would encourage condensation and cause further damage in the future.


As the property is of a traditional build, not wanting to use anything metal and wanting to carry out the fix on the cheap (one after another unexpencted gremlins all mounts up), I chose to go the old school route and use a nibbed scarf joint.

What is a nibbed scarf joint I hear you cry what were the alternatives?

A Scarf joint is; "Over to you Wiki" -

A scarf joint (also known as a scarph joint) is a method of joining two members end to end in woodworking or metalworking.[1] The scarf joint is used when the material being joined is not available in the length required. It is an alternative to other joints such as the butt joint and the splice joint and is often favored over these in joinery because it yields a barely visible glue line.
 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarf_joint

For this incidience the rotten joist end were cut off and an angle cut is made to bottom of the beam to allow a new part to be bolted (or dowled) on a good distance from the fulcrum point. As stated before it’s a traditional repair, low cost and can be finished to match the original joist.

The alternative methods are -

Joist Repair Plates

Basically using two "L" section steel, slide in the the joist footing well and farsen to the good part of the joist.


Resin Slice Joist

The rotten end of the beam / joist is cut off.  A vertical slot is machined in the joist.  A new joist end is drilled to so two or more steel bars can be glued (Resined) in.  The new end is then fitted with the bars going in to slot. Resin is then poured in to the slot to secure the new beam end. (This looks to be a pain in the ass!)


Replace the whole joist. hmm, I wouldn't want to do this on my tod!


Last option is only viable if you have a run of end joists to repair - Using Hangers.

This picture says a thousand words, though I have noticed they used screws. This is not advisable as the screw heads can and will rip off!



Positives with using a scarf join (Nibbed/Vee'd ends) -
Its cheap
Looks good
Can be done without the use of metal.
The finished flooring doesn't have to be removed in you have access from the underside.

Negatives -
Difficult to cut in situ, up a ladder upside down. Difficult to set out and accurate craftsmanship required.
Quite a few tools required compared with the other methods


How is it done and the method I followed.
Obviously for the benefit of this project I have simplified the procedure... But not by much! It really is an uncomplicated breakthrough allowing new, treated timbers to be installed with the minimum of fuss and disturbance.
Timbers are not all accessible from the same place. While you may be able to get to a floor joist from the top by lifting a section of the floor, it is far easier to access a rafter from underneath.

In the below sequence of images I  have shown the most basic, repairing a floor joist that is accessible from the basement level. 

(Setting out the cut.)

 

(Cut Vertically to the diagonal line.)

(Cut along the setting up lines.) 

 (Chisel, plane & sand till its perfectly flat.)

 (Make a left & right template and map out onto replacement timber.)

(Position, fix using dowel, 90degrees from the diagonal.)

 

Conclusion:

In fairness, this isn't the easiest of jobs. I would've preferred using hangers from an ease point of view. Though more material would have been required, all you would have needed is a saw, and a hammer.

 

"NEXT!"

Carpentry and wood flooring Central Brittany and Finistere

Wood is a great material to work with; I just wish I got to use it more often. Well, soon the worm will turn as I have 65m2 of new wooden flooring to lay. Though this isn’t as demanding as cabinet making, there are many things to consider which affects the look of a room, price of installation and material cost.

(Bespoke Wooden Workspace made 2012)

From the material point of view, my flooring project is price dependent, so I will be using solid Pine boards. I have the intention of painting of staining them in the future, so using a solid hardwood such as oak seems a bit of a waste.

The way you lay the boards can change outcome of a look of a room as well as price. It may seem strange, but the difference of choosing vertical, horizontal or even diagonal lines on the floor really does matters.

The room in question will be the living room, currently it’s divided into a kitchen, hallway, toilet/shower room and a living room. The plan is to knock the walls down to make a large open planned space which will be used as a living space and kitchen area. The space will be long and thin – 13.5m x4m.

As with all jobs, I like to use the computer to design my interiors as it saves money in the long run, give you a feel of what the finished look will be and the proportions of the room.

With a long thin room, you have to think that the way the flooring is set out is not dissimilar to a woman. A more rounded woman would never wear a dress with horizontal stripes as this will accentuate the areas she may not want others to notice. This concept is also true for tall women. Though this time it’s the vertical lines which are generally avoided, as this would make her look monstrously tall.

So before any work commences, I have done a 3D diagram of the three options available to determine my final choice.

(Floor-Boards Length)

(Floor-Boards Width)

The last option is to run the floor boards on the diagonal, this is extravagant due to the extra time it take to lay, however, I have always loved the finish result, especially if you frame the boarders of the room.

(Floor-Boards Diagonal)

 The final consideration of which way you chose to lay my come down to price. As with the diagonal option, choosing a horizontal option is also costly due to the amount of cuts involved and the time it takes. As stated earlier, the room is 13.5m x 4m and the flooring will be 2m x 15.5cm. So on the vertical run, every row two boards will have to be cut, whereas on the horizontal, though it is true that every row to will also require a cut, you will get to lay five to six boards which don’t have to be chopped.

English Roofer Brittany

Not long ago, I built a new roof from scratch. This was my first roof and luckily it was for a play area, so if it leaked, nothing of value would be ruined. Most of the materials used were new except for the tiles which were reclaimed.

(Central Brittany Slate Roofing project - Play-barn) 

Having the opportunity of building this with both the clients understanding that this was my very first and having the trust in me to complete it was an honour. 

It was a project I always wanted to take on, especially using a traditional roofing material such as slate. I knew the principles of construction and have the skills with putting something of this size together, but nothing is as good as physically building.

Being an interior builder, I have the tools for cutting, shaping and nailing timber together. The only specialist items I had to use was a slate tile cutter and a proper roofing hammer.

(Slate Roofing Hammer & Cutter)

Building the timber frame isn't that dissimilar to building timber stud-work, there are rules to follow with regards to sizes of timber used as-well as the spacing between them.

Tiling is similar tiling a wall or floor, though using Tile hooks (crochets ardoise in French) for fixing not tile adhesive. One thing which isn't similar is the lapping of the tiles, his is something which is quick to learn though.

(Types of slate tile hooks)

Roofs in Brittany background basics

In Central Brittany, it's common to have black slate roofs built on stone walls. Properties are 40 to 50m2 per floor level and a roof of is usually at a 42 degree pitch and a surface area of 50 to 60m2. (And no they don’t follow the golden ratio – 1:1.62!)

The construction is simple. The ridge beam and purlins are generally set in the gable ends, the rafters are then nailed 90 degrees to the ridge and purlins (set 400mm apart, on the rafter centre). Then you have barge board 90 degrees to rafters, with a waterproof membrane (sarking felt) running 90degrees from the boards and tiles sit on top.

(Half Gable Roof in Central Brittany)

(Barge-boards nailed)

Tips and Tricks

Type of ladders - As you can see from the pictures, this roof is a half gable, IE the Ridge beam is against the gable end of the existing building. As such this makes a modern roofing ladder useless as you have nothing to catch onto.

I noticed that the local roofers used wooden Ladders and I quickly pick up the reason why. Using the crochets, you could attach the ladder.

NB There are two types of Crochets as well as many sizes - Crochet Point, you hammer the point into the barge board. Crochet Agrafe hooks over battons instead.

Tile sizes, and mapping out - There is not much to say about tile sizes, usually the size and type of material used depends of the available budget. I was using reclaimed slate tiles 200mm x 300mm, As such, I used 100mm long crochets as this allowed for a 3 overlaps of tiles. 

With regards to mapping out, I did very little in the way of chalk-lining. As the tiles are 300mm and the Crochets are 100mm, you'll generally stay straight and true, though do check once in a while.

 I did ensure that the horizontal and vertical of the timber frame did have a 90 degrees angle on the edges.  

Using the sarking as a guide - When buying sarking, you will notice that it is generally 1100mm in width, you are to overlap the ends 100mm (which the sarking has a printed line as a guide). If you set the guide line 90 degrees from the ridge/top plate or the verges then it becomes a great guide for the tiles.

(Sarking Felt overlay)

How to start off - You start from the bottom and work your way up. With a 300mm length tile I set a 100mm overhang at the bottom. To do this I measure 100mm up from bottom of the barge-board at either end and chalk-lined. Then 101mm parallel above the first line, I chalked again. (The 1mm allow for the 2.7mm thickness of the Crochet.) Repeat this 2 or 3 times and that should be enough.

The first run of tiles I turn 90 degrees and nail. (So the top of the tile lines up with the chalk-line and you have 100mm overhang.)
The second run sit direct on the first set of tiles, but now the correct way round. Both first and second set of tiles should be flush at the bottom and the top of the second run should line up with the second chalkline.

  

How to do your runs - There are two ways of doing your runs, either build up in pyramids of in straight line. I worked out if you laying tiles on your own, then doing straight line of 4 tiles per line, allow you to do 90/100 tiles an hour. If there are two of you, then the pyramid is faster.

(English Builder in Central Brittany - My first Roof)

Roofing tips by the English builder in Brittany

Of the Many Shapes of the Roof the gable will be Found Most Suitable for the Beginner. Marking Off the Wood for Cutting is Simplified by the Use of a Steel Square as Explained by Sparrow Legs Renovations.

THERE are various shapes of roof such as lean-to, gable, hip, hip and valley, gable and valley and Mansard.

For the average do-it-yourself man just starting on rafter cutting perhaps the gable roof is the most suitable. First, one should be familiar with the names of the different parts of a roof. Span is the overall width of building taken from outer edge of wall plates.

Run is the horizontal distance from wall plate to a point directly under ridge. This as a rule is one half of span.

Rise is the height of roof at centre of ridge (see Fig. 1).

The steepness of a roof is known as its pitch and pitches most commonly used are one-half, one-third, one-quarter and one-sixth. A roof with half pitch is half as high as the building is wide. If it is third pitch it is one-third as high as it is wide and so on.

Fig 1 - Diagram showing the various parts of the roof.

The Steel Square

A steel square enables you to mark off the various cuts and also to ascertain the length the rafter needs to be. The long arm of the square is called the blade and the shorter arm is called the tongue. The blade is 24in. long and the tongue 16 or 18in. The outer edge on one side of both blade and tongue is marked off in inches and twelfths of inches.

In using the square think of the blade as being the run of your roof, the tongue as being the rise and the hypotenuse (that is a line drawn from a point on the blade to a point on the tongue) as being the slope.

The measurements used on the square will be equal to one-twelfth that of the actual roof, i.e., inches and twelfths on the square will represent feet and inches on the roof. For an example let us say your building has a width (span) of 12ft. and you wish it to have a roof of one-third pitch. The rise will therefore be 4ft. (one-third of span) and the run 6ft. (half of span).

Lay the square on your timber so that the 4in. mark on the tongue and the 6in. mark on the blade is on the edge of timber. The tongue will now give you the bevel required for the top end of rafter-that is to fit the ridge board. This is known as a “plumb cut.” The blade will give the
 bevel to fit on the plate (“seat cut”).

Length of Rafter

The length of the rafter can be found by any of the following methods:-


1. Measure hypotenuse from 4in. mark on tongue to 6in. mark on blade and multiply by 12.
2. Slide the square on the timber twelve times keeping square on marks 6 on blade and 4 on the tongue.
3. Read off rafter length from rafter scale found on the  side of the square where the twelfths occur.

If method No. 2 is used it is made more easy to slide the square if two strips of wood are screwed together on the hypotenuse. Either method will give rafter length from the centre of the roof to the outer edge of the wall plate. Where a ridge board is used, deduct half thickness of the ridge board from the rafter length and add the allowance for overhang as a separate measurement.

Fig. 2 - A Steel rule showing the rafter scale which simplifies the task of marking off the wood.

Rafter Scale

Fig. 2 shows part of a rafter scale. The first column gives figures to be used in placing the square on the timber. In each a case in this scale 12 is the setting for the blade and the next figure is for the tongue.

Column 2 gives the pitch and the remaining columns give the rafter length. To use the scale for a roof of 12ft. span and one-third pitch select line 3 for one-third pitch and carry along to the column under the figure 6 (6ft. being the run of the roof).

Here you will read off 7-2-6 which means 7ft. 2 6/12in.

This will be the rafter length required and it is only necessary to deduct half thickness of the ridge board and add whatever is required for overhang.

Repointing Old Stone Wall in Central Brittany, France.

Recently I completed a job which I have to admit, bored me senseless. Repointing, and to make it worse, pointing an old stone wall! This was the first time I’ve ever taken on this sort of work and no doubt, it won’t be the last. I’m just amazed I got away with it for this long!

(Gable ends before re-pointing)

As a seasoned builder, pointing wasn’t a hard job. Though being of a younger generation, I choose to use a pointing gun opposed to hawking in the mud by hand. Using a pointing gun made life easier on an old stone wall, though I couldn’t offer a comparison with brick thus to which method would be faster.

The mortar gun used was a cheapie, around 5 Euros from Brico Marche. It was smaller than the others available in the build centres, but being in France, I wasn’t going to be fooled by paying 140 Euros; (Point P).

I’ll have to admit that a larger gun would have reduced the amount of times it had to be refilled, and this wouldn’t have been a problem if you pointed the traditional way of hawking it in.

The mortar used was a ready-mix lime mortar, just add water and mix. You have a choice of colours, as such, I didn’t have to colour match as everyone uses the same pallet.

Cleaning out the old joint was easy on this job, being a traditional drystone wall; all that had to be done was raked out old dry mud. I took out 15 to 20mm’s, which equates to 2.5m2 for 25kg of “Renovation Enduit”.

Once the mortar was in the joint, I waited till it started to become firm before I started the cleaning process. I think this is where most people go wrong and can the job look awful.

Quite simply, I had two small thick paint brushes. The first brush I dipped in water and pushed the mud into the joint, compacting it.  Then I waited for the mud to go firm again, a little firmer than before and used the second brush to wipe of the excess.

(Gable wall after pointing)

If you do happen to make a pigs ear of it, then have a cordless drill to hand with a brass brush bit to hand and use lightly. (Wear goggles!!)

(THIS IS NOT HOW IT SHOULD LOOK!)

Pointing isn’t a hard job; I’m no expert so I reckon anyone can do it. Just think you’d be saving 35 – 60 Euros per m2, paying someone else. If you have high walls, you will have to beg, borrow or still some scaffolding as trying to point on a ladder is dangerous and hard work on your legs.

My last recommendation is to have a radio to hand; it will help to pass the time.

Pointing, what’s the point!

Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing (the external part of mortar joints) in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units (usually bricks), allowing the undesirable entrance of water. Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and from salt dissolution anddeposition. Repointing is also called pointing,^[1] or pointing up, although these terms more properly refer to the finishing step in new construction.

(From Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repointing)

Types of Brickwork Pointing

• ·            Concave or Bucket Handle Pointing.
• ·            Weatherstruck
• ·            Recessed or Raked

(Ref:  http://www.i-brick.com/types-of-brickwork-pointing/)