Getting settled in

Our caravan was as we had left it and we quickly found the value in being able to shelter from rain showers. We assembled the cement mixer and got the level set up & calibrated.

Levelling up for drains: Before Ric arrived, we did an exercise checking levels in the steading itself. It is indeed very level, we will not have any steps up or down within the steading, despite the existing flooring being quite irregular. We checked the amount of slope down to the bottom of our plot, this is of particular interest to whether our plans for drains were going to work. We thought they would, just about. Once Ric was on site, we did it properly. We set up a datum point, with a stainless steel screw, in a corner of the bothy, near ground level. We established secondary datum points within the bothy, then levelled up the paths of the drainage. This confirmed that we could get away with 110mm pipe at 1/40 slope, keeping our inspections chambers at acceptable depths and allowing us a standard septic tank, but with an extension neck.

Checking the warrant plans: We spent most of a day going though the plans in great detail. We had a lot of questions we needed answers for. We drew up a list and agreed we would see if the architect could run through them with us.

Grounds: We had arranged delivery of  a second load of woodchip a couple of weeks beforehand and spent a happy day barrowing it round to the exposed weed membrane in our runs of hedging. Once again it ran out before we got everything covered over, we will need another load at some point. It is wonderful stuff, I recommend it to anyone. It keeps weeds down, it keeps the ground at a more even temperature and it looks presentable. It does not blow away even with gales. A quick inspection of the hedging revealed quite a low failure rate from all three of our plantings – less than 5%. Most of the plants which had put growing tips above the tops of the tree guards had been nibbled off by bunnies/hares, some were clearly less palatable and were growing happily.

Our areas of grass, nettles and other perennial weeds were rampant. The Japanese Knotweed was greatly reduced in area again and was at an early stage of growth. We planned to leave it until September to spray again, when it as full growth and is flowering.

Setting up the caravan: Ric was keen to get the caravan set up, so I acquired a 19kg bottle of propane gas and a variety of fittings to run a temporary water supply using 25mm blue pipe from our standpipe. Once he arrived, he spent a couple of evenings getting the water and a temporary electricity supply connected. He checked out the gas system and got the Morco gas water heater running. The only thing missing being the plumbed in toilet and water waste – these will wait on getting our foul drainage installed, a job for September.

Tools & equipment: A cursory inspection of the areas we need to dig foundations convinced us that we either hire a concrete breaker, or buy one. We hired one the previous year and it worked out about £70 for two weeks. We clearly had a lot of use for one and I had had an eye on the cheap Titan breaker that Screwfix sell. I knew someone who had bought it and swore by it. I bought it, for a penny under £150. We treated ourselves to another wheelbarrow, more shovels, a pickaxe, a fork and plenty of builders buckets.

Working with Aberdeenshire Building Standards: There are a limited number of points at which Building Standards need to inspect our work, the first being the drains. However, our architect advised us to keep records of everything we do, to demonstrate that we are following best practice and standards. So we will take loads of photos of our building activities and have them available if there is a dispute about what we have done.

Before the main event: The grand plan for July is foundations, for September it is drains. Once we had the digger, however, we wanted to open up some of the new doors/windows in our north wall – ‘slapping’ them, as they say…

So Ric pulled rubble out of the wall where our front door needs to be. We quickly twigged that it is immediately where our new water supply comes to the surface. We took care, but suspected that once we dig the foundation out, our water supply will fall into the trench.

We needed another new opening, for a window, where an old doorway had been blocked up. In true Aberdeenshire fashion, the mortar and blocks were just about indestructible. After a lot of trying, the entire column of blocks parted company with the granite either side and came out in one piece.

The third opening was another old door, that we had opened up last year, but it needed widening to break off the cement and brickwork that would otherwise be visible once it is converted to a window.

All an essential step on the way to re-building, but it once again made the steading look even more like a ruin!

Bothy doors and Woodchip

We went up to Aberdeen for 2 weeks over Christmas, on the understanding that most of it was social – our steading time was limited.

Replacing the Bothy doors: The main thing we wanted to get done was replacing the doorway of our bothy with something a bit more functional. The current doors should slide apart on runners; one side is stuck shut, the other opens a few feet only. They are falling apart. We have, up to now, used a bike lock through the handles to keep it secure – it is anything but.

I got hold of two ledged & braced pine doors, some more structural timber to make a frame and wood cladding and suitable door furniture – all from Jewsons in Aberdeen, because Ellon Timber is closed over the holiday period.

We could not remove the old doors with our limited toolbox, we forced them apart enough to expose the full opening in the wall. We will sort them out when I can get hold of an angle grinder.

Anyway, we made a simple framework to sit within the opening, screwed to the wall and to the remaining timberwork above the doorway. I hung the doors in their part of the frame, then we cut the cladding board to size and nailed it over the rest of the framework.

I was at least able to use the decent SDS drill that had been my Christmas present!

There were two downsides. The weather was pretty gloomy and we do not have power in the bothy, so we were literally working in the dark. The other was the temperature – it was too cold to use woodstain and for it to dry out properly, but we had no choice. So we put two coats on and left it all tacky.

At least we have a semi-secure entrance, with easily locking doors.

Woodchip mulch: We had searched for someone who would supply large amounts of woodchip at a reasonable price. We had been partly successful – Aberdeen Tree Services is, unfortunately, based in Huntly – they only occasionally operate in our area.

Fortunately for us though, they did a job just before Christmas near Mintlaw and were able to deliver a satisfactorily large pile just after we arrived – 3-4 cu m for £130. So we spent the best part of two days barrowing it over our weed membrane to a good 2-3″ depth. It made it look a lot better, will keep the ground damper/warmer and will keep weeds down. There was not enough to finish the job, though.