Week 3 Red Wine (tile) hunt

Week 3

We had a White Monday as it turned out and it has remained white all week. The trodden snow has turned to ice as I took Boeke for a walk this morning - very treacherous for the old bloke!

It's supposed to be "warming up" this week - starting with 9 degrees and rain later today. And we have a strong wind warning.

We had a laugh during the week at one of the newspapers - part of their weather report suggested that "it feels like snow" - as in the way they sometimes say it is minus 1 and it "feels like" minus 7. Maybe they meant that it feels like it is going to snow...

Firewood

We got the bill for our last load of firewood...

€135,00/cubic metre (for oak)

Talk about "profiteering" - there is no other reason other than "because they can" - with the ongoing energy crisis. The last time I looked it was €70,00.

Maybe I'll do some better calculations about heating our Day Activity area - the main problem is that the central heating is for a greater area than the third that we use on a daily basis. A hybrid heat pump is probably the answer, but I have enough firewood for a couple more years yet.

Roof Tiles

Our old sunroom has been demolished and now the inside kitchen wall has also disappeared. The new extension will look like a sunroom addition from the outside but will be part of the kitchen/living room on the inside. The roof line is raised and it will be almost a metre wider - so we need more roof tiles to match the existing.

So, on Friday we started the Great Tile Hunt - Janny had sent emails to a few places. They change the designs every few years so we were relying on "finding" some that matched. Colour, glaze (shiny) and the lip for the roof timbers (apparently there's a difference).

Our first stop was a funny old farm in Diever (Province of Drenthe).  The 10 dogs were locked up and the owner came out all rugged up and led us out the back to a field of piles of used or leftover roofing tiles.

The farm buildings all looked as though they were about to collapse - some of them being held up by the old tractors housed inside...Janny gasped at an oldtimer car inside - the chap's reply sounded like "ya wanna buy it"? - Drenthe is very beautiful and just next door to Friesland - but the old farmhouses look very different and the language (dialect) was very difficult for me to understand.

Álas, the roof tiles were similar but not the right colour - more brown than the red wine we were looking for. But the trip was worth it just to be able to see this place.

We both thought that it was amazing that the owner could walk through all the tiles and know exactly where to look for any given type.

So, we went home and started planning the next day - at least two places on our list. We also began to think about having to replace the whole roof if we couldn't find a match.

Our first stop on Saturday was in Burgum - Janny used to work there as a swimming teacher - it is located on the Prinses Margriet Canal - so we go past quite often with the boat. 

Again, the chap took us straight to his pile - and we were in luck! They were dirtier than our sample but they looked just right. Ours are from 2005 - these are from 2001.

And now safely at home. 

We took all 73 on offer- as the chap is looking to retire and was pleased to give us a discount just to get rid of them - €2,00 per tile.

Just as the first chap was typical salt of the earth Drents, this guy was typical Frisian - both visits were a delight for me just for the experience. The latter also gave us a cuppa and a cake as we sheltered in his tiny office - with my frozen fingers!

Renovation Works

New slab for the kitchen - with insulation under - and then temporary insulation and plastic on top to protect it from the cold during the curing process.

Then they were able to knock down the last wall - this gave us a better idea of just how big it is going to be - and the future view from our total glass wall at the end.

I included this photo to show how the cavity wall insulation had worked

Both rubbish skips are full and will be removed this week - so we can tidy up the area in front of Janny's Mum.

And my insulation works continue in our apartment - so pleased to be able to do it whilst only inconviencing ourselves - it would not be possible if someone else was in it.

During the week, Horrie asked me if it is OK (legal) for us to be doing the electrical and plumbing (heating pipes and radiators). I asked around and yes it is! The DIY shops have all the materials. It does take some nutting out - for me - but luckily one of our clients knows it all and is happy to be teaching Tjeerd. 

One of the Government recommendations was for people to put a reflective layer behind their radiators - some Local Governments were donating it. Good to be able to place it now - before the radiators go back.

It will probably take the whole week to finish it all - a bit more electrical, reinstate the heating, dress the windows. I should be painting earlier but there are other things to do with higher priority. The painting can come when we move out and before new tenants move in.

I have to build a new wall (sub-dividing this current room) to make an extra bedroom and then knock out another wall section in order to extend the existing living room. For us it will be a dining alcove...

...with this outlook

It took me about 2 hours to dress one window - nothing is square or straight - it was built as a cow shed. So I have to go back and forth to the workshop a number of times to get the right shape - and even then, I still need a bit of filler!

Some things just take a while...

The Wijnjewoude Energie Neutraal Corporation contacted us again about us taking over some or all of the solar panels on 2 of our rooves. 40 panels are "ours" but they would like us to take at least one roof so that they don't have to figure out how to split the transformers. We said yeah, OK - so now we wait again until they sort it out.

We finally finished the clothing for our clients - so they should be available tomorrow - we then have to organise a group photo!

They're still trying to resolve what the Government will look like - more than likely a far right coalition - Geert Wilders apparently said "good heavens" to his followers on X - that's the social media world we live in, I guess :-(