Underfloor heating goes in

Today James the plumber, with help from Kev and Norris the builders, was busy laying the underfloor heating coils. You can see from the pic that they first put down a 70mm thick slab of insulation, then the pipes are clipped to it before a 70mm scree is floated over the top. The whole thing then forms a thermal store.

In the corner you can see the Esse Lionheart stove installed ready for James to plumb in. Above the stove is a 750litre thermal accumulator that will hold heat overnight and then this will be used to heat the floor the next morning. The solar hot water panels will also feed heat into the store.

Mr Cockerel

Cockerell trying to look smart!

Here he is - a very smart looking chap - a Rhode Island Red - he fluffs up his plummage every morning to show off to the girls and tries to pounce on one or two as they come out of the hen house. Don't think he's had a lot of success yet!

Cattle in the snow

Our Dexters are mostly back at the farm staying in the barn at night and then going out during the day to soak up some rays. Some even seem to prefer to stay outside at night and you can see frost on their backs in the morning - showing just how effective their coats are at keeping them warm.

We have plenty of feed for them but keeping the water flowing is quite a challenge - I usually manage to get it going by about 3pm in the afternoon.

Uncllys in the snow

Taken 7th January 2010 - that night it got down to -9.5C!!

Inside the studio

Here you can get an idea of what it's like inside - decorated for James' 21st birthday party on 19th December. The owl was kindly lent by the Forestry Commission's Discovery Centre (thanks Liz!)

The new Ruskin Studio - less scaffolding

Looking good once we had taken down the scaffolding and got the PV panels (they generate our electricity) back in place.

With the roof being steeper (50 degrees) and higher we should be able to capture more sunlight.

On the left side of the roof you can see the two manifolds for the solar hot water system - the evacuated tubes will be fitted once all the plumbing is done.