Getting The Blues
The tiles in my house are pretty tired. Mainly due to ten years hard wear with innumerable tenants, but also I suspect because knowing Gerry, they weren’t the best tiles to start with.
Getting The Blues
So I’ve decided to get rid of the hideous tiled skirting board and replace it with an oak one and put down a proper carpet.
This afternoon, I went to John Lewis to see what they’d got. I chose a Brinton’s carpet in a shade called Coast. Mainly because the book had been left open at that shade.
It was only after I left the shop, I realised that it might have been the same carpet, we used to have around the Chinese carpet in our house at Debach, nearly forty years ago. In that case though, we bought the blue carpet first from a shop in Woodbridge and then bought the Chinese carpet in Hong Kong.
My only problem, is was it C or the Chinese, that made someone leave the carpet book open at the page? A Chinese friend at the time, said that the carpet was a lucky design.
Jerry Strikes Again
I want to replace my washing machine with a washer-dryer, so I have more space in the garage by selling the tumble-dryer there, but it’s not as easy as it looks.
Jerry Strikes Again
As you can see it looks a bit tight. Note the floral monstrosity on the right. It’s an ironing board. Real men like me, don’t iron! We pay someone to do it, or buy a new shirt, we can wear out of the packet!
Note how the plumbing seems to have been bent around the washing mashing and the crude stand, that it is supported on. Here’s some detail.
Crazy Pipework
If you think this is bad, then the outlet pipe is a masterpiece of bodging!
A Masterpiece Of Bodging!
I dread to think what you would have to do if the pump above the washing machine failed and had to be changed.
As it is, I think I’ll have to sort this mess out before I change the washing machine for a washer-dryer. I’ll also need to change the crude stand that holds up the machine.
I also am getting fed up with moving wet washing through two doors from the hall cupboard into the garage to get it dry. currently, if there’s a car in the garage, I can’t really use the tumbler-dryer, as the door can’t be opened.
I can’t abide bad design and workmanship.
Air-Conditioning
On the way back from the women’s football on Tuesday, I got talking to an air-conditioning engineer. I said about my solar gain problems and how I’d improved the atmosphere by installing air-conditioning.
He then asked if I lived in a loft. I said no, and he said that most needed air-conditioning, but the archiotects never specified it to save money. I suppose he didn’t mind, as it was a good earner.
But after my experience here, I do think that surveyors should understand solar gain problems better. If I had installed air-conditioning earlier, I might have saved myself a lot of trouble.
At least I seem to be finally on the mend.
Between a Rock And A Hard Place
Over this winter I have severely dehydrated myself, due to the bad design of this house. I regularly have lukewarm baths to try to get more water back into my body. My GP’s colleague thinks this is a good idea. I’ve also had air-conditioning fitted, so that my house is usually at about 25 °C with upwards of 40% humidity. I also drink quite a bit to try to raise the moisture levels in my body.
However my cardiologist says that I must not drink more than 1.5 litres a day. I don’t think I do!
But my skin is still as dry as a bone and I itch like crazy. The guy who cuts my hair, says my scalp is very dry and I scratch everywhere like mad. Especially, the backs of my legs, my back, my scalp and my throat.
The problem did clear up last year, but only when we got some sun. Fat chance of that this year. Why did the Queen have to have a ruddy jubilee to guarantee bad weather this summer?
Has anybody any serious ideas, other than moving to Australia?
I’m Now Air-Conditioned
For a few days now my living room has been air-conditioned.
My Air-Conditioner
It’s certainly made me feel a lot better and hopefully, it will get rid of a lot of the bad health I have been suffering from.
As an example., now over the last few days, my left arm has been a lot better and I can type with two hands if I need to!
The Death of the Flannel
The Daily Mail amongst other media, is reporting that we’re not buying flannels any more. The BBC drive program is making great fun of their demise, with various jokes being sent in. Some of course are saying that flannels are towels for diminutive people, like the presenter, Peter Allen. Others are sending in jokes. One just said.
I have two flannels; one for upstairs and one for downstairs.
I can’t actually remember any flannels in my house for many years. I think we got rid of the last ones when the children left home. When I changed all my towels for the new house, I didn’t find any flannels to throw out. I think C used one of the last ones to clean out our first basset hounds ears.
I’ve Now Got Benign Positional Vertigo
A couple of times recently, when doing my morning stretching, I’ve got a bit giddy. I’ve also noticed a bit of trouble, getting out of bed in the middle of the night. It happened again yesterday with my physio and he said it was Benign Positional Vertigo. Apparently, it’s caused by crystals of calcium carbonate in the inner ear and the cure is to use a particular movement, which is generally taught by a physio.
So I’m going to see a specialist physio next week and we’ll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I’ve cut out my calcium supplement and am going for walks, as this seems to help. But I’m also suspicious of this house and the sooner I get the air conditioning the better.
The Brave Little Humidifier is Winning
Finally after a couple of weeks, my brave little humidifier is finally getting towards the temperature/humidity point, at which the house should be.
My Little Humidifier
This morning, the hygrometer showed a figure of 50% and a temperature of 21°
The Bluebells Are Out in Kew
The BBC has just said that the bluebells are out in Kew. This is the earliest they have appeared since records began. No wonder I’ve had such a terrible time being boiled alive in this house, with all the sun we’ve had so far this year.
Coping With Solar Gain
I’ve now found out why it is that my health has got worse since I moved into my new house. The picture shows my south-facing windows.
My South-Facing Windows
The house is probably highly insulated, has under-floor central heating and I suspect that the floor slab between the two floors is fairly immense and thus takes not only a long time to heat up, but a long time to cool down. At times, when I’ve been away for a couple of days in the cold, it seems that it’s almost taken another few days to get the house warm.
But when it gets hot, it gets very hot, as the light coming through the windows warms the house by the same principle used in somewhere like the Palm House at Kew Gardens. I have measured a temperature of 30 degrees.
To make matters worse, I also have a roof light.
My Substantial Roof Light
Not only does the house get hot, but also the air inside gets very dry. This means that my throat, ears, eyes and skin are all very dry. This article on Dry Skin and Winter Itch led me in the direction I have gone. Firstly, I installed this simple meter on the wall.
Combined Barometer, Thermometer and Hygrometer
So that I could measure everything properly.
I also purchased a humidifier from John Lewis to try to get the humidity between 50 and 55%.
Bionaire BU7000 Humidifier
I then turned the heating down as low as it would go and still maintain a temperature of about 22-23 degrees and used the humidifier to adjust the humidity to a comfortable level.
Then I did the difficult bit and decided to have a lukewarm bath every other day to moisturise my skin. My ears and eyes have definitely got better, but my throat has only marginally improved. That could be because of the cold outside, as it’s very dry there.
I’m now trying to see if I can cut the solar gain in the room, by some simple passive method like the right blinds. This article has been a help.
So what am I going to do first.
If you read the article, it indicates that one of the best systems is to use a blind or curtain, with a pelmet and a vent. I’ve tried a simple John Lewis blind to see that it looks like.
a Test Blind
Four of these cut to fit two to each window might be a good start.Note that the opening top windows can be used as the vent. And of course the blinds can be adjusted up and down for light control and visual security. For the pelmet, I might seriously consider a U-shaped one, that also acted as a shade for an LED ropelight to downlight the windows internally at night.
The Anonymous Widower 