Oops upside your head...
The screed has finally dried enough to walk on and paint. Don't let anyone tell you that the instructions that the screed will: "....flow over the surface with minimum tooling..." are accurate! I actually added a little more water than recommended to ensure the stuff was like runny cream - still just sat there when poured... However, the final job is quite acceptable for me. Well it was until I painted it with the nice glossy concrete paint. It's amazing how the slightest surface imperfection is highlighted by a shiny surface. Oh well. Reminded me of what I have to tell my kids at school though, who think that the secret to a good finish on their work is umpteen layers of gloss spray paint. No, the key to a good finish is an excellent sub-surface.
The additional damp-proof membrane has made a big difference to the comfort and "dryness" of the shed.
I've bought a couple of bulkhead lights for the darker times and evening work, and these will be attached to roof timbers. As I don't want to have to dig up the garden to put in a permanent power supply for the lights and power, I've bought an external mains socket as used in caravans and intend to connect up the shed with the 25 metre mains lead that came with the caravan.
As the floor is almost sorted, the roof and insulation (mainly from radiant heat) is next. I've bonded battens to the inside of the roof and intend to attach insulation that contains a damp-proof membrane to these battens by stapling it to them. We've opted for the stuff which is a mixture of foil, foam and something akin to bubble-wrap; it's often sold as radiator reflecting insulation, but its ideal for our purposes. We need protection from heat radiating from the metal roof (sunlight) and something to prevent condensation from the cold metal surface at night.
Our first order of 36 cider-apple trees has finally arrived, thanks to some intervention by Tracey Deacon of Deacon's Nurseries who are supplying them. We were starting to worry that the trees would not arrive before we are due to go away for a couple of days over Easter. We are going to Norfolk to commune with the good guys at Whin Hill Cider and to consume vast quantities of Fish & Chips from French's chippy. We may also be tempted with a pint or two of luvverly Wherry at the Three Horseshoes in Warham....
Lots of work to do first though. Better go and get planting... More Morgan Sweets are going in today!
