Why do the British always talk about the weather?

It's a British stereotype, isn't it?  Put a group of Brits in any social setting and the standard way to break the ice is to start a conversation about the weather.  Being British, the odds are that the conversation will not actually progress much past the weather.  If the group were French, American, Israeli or African, the odds are that you wouldn't leave until you had shared your life stories and been invited to stay should you ever pass near their home.  (I met a couple from Hawaii recently who gave me their card and said that I must drop by if I ever go to Hawaii!  Being Americans, I reckon they meant it, but I doubt that I will take them up on it.)  But we just talk about the weather.  Nice day, isn't it?  Hasn't it rained a lot recently?  Last night was a bit parky.  What's the forecast for tomorrow?

I think a lot of it is that we are just not used to sharing personal information verbally.  This seems odd, considering that most people seem to be happy to share all sorts of stuff with complete strangers on the internet (which I personally reckon is pretty unwise).  The weather is always unpredictable and seems a safe topic of conversation; when I was younger we were not allowed at family mealtimes to talk about cars, work, school, sport, religion or politics, which pretty well left the weather as the only topic!

So why am I writing about talking about the weather?  Well, I have lots of work that I'd like to do outside and haven't been able to because of the weather we've been having.  Right now I have stone walls to build, concrete and paving slabs to lay, plaster to mix (for inside) and things to sand and paint.  I can't really even tidy up the extension as most of it has to go in the shed which is on the far side of a sea of mud (which is where a lawn might be next year).  I made a start yesterday (Friday) by finishing one end of my low wall beside the drive and starting the foundations for the wall beside the front door, but there's a long way to go.

I now realise just how good the weather was last year, as I was able to take my pick of jobs according to priority, not according to the weather, and could do lots of messy jobs like sanding doors outside in the sun.  The only good side of it is that the grass seed which I sowed in hope during March has come up well - the irony is that I decided not to lay turf as I thought that the hosepipe ban would mean that it would dry up...

Another Limecrete Floor

A slight diversion from our house, to the church across the road where they are in the process of laying a limecrete floor in part the church.  This is noteworthy as all too often ignorance wins and a concrete slab gets laid, or the flagstones are sealed (so why bother with a breathable floor underneath?). I found a year ago that there was very little detailed guidance on-line when researching the design of our limecrete floor, so I make no apologies for giving such detail here again.

The church architect got the design of the floor from Ty-Mawr, who are one of the main lime suppliers in this country (I used Mike Wye but there are others...).  The floor design is basically the same as the one I laid in the kitchen here (see this post last year), apart from using Recycled Foamed Glass (RFG) instead of light expanded clay aggregate (LECA).  In detail, from the bottom up, there is a geotextile membrane, 200mm of (lightly compacted) loosefill aggregate of RFG, another layer of membrane, then a 3:1 mix of RFG and NHL5 to form the slab (I think, 150mm thick).

The slab has now been laid by The Limecrete Company and looks impressive (right).  The edges have a vertical inch thick piece of woodwool, whose function I have yet to understand but it might be related to crack prevention.  There will be underfloor heating (UFH) pipes added with a 3 inch Glaster screed and 20mm Creeton limestone tiles on top, although this heating will not be connected until a new boiler is fitted in a later phase. This work is the second stage (of about four!) of renovating the church; phase 1 was electrics, lighting, sound and internal redecoration.  The next phases will also include installing toilets and a servery, and levelling the entire floor with the same sort of floor with UFH (and chairs instead of Victorian pews).

Doing Things Wrongly

I do hate doing things wrongly.  I always have [Edit - I mean "I've always hated doing things wrongly", not "I've always done things wrongly"!].  In particular, on this house I have wanted to "do it right" and, mostly, I think I have succeeded.  I'm going to live in this house for years and I hate the idea of continuously seeing something I did wrongly and thinking "I wish I'd done that better".  There have been one or two places where it's not perfect and I've persuaded myself to live with them as they "add character" (great excuse for old buildings).

Now, I've just painted something wrongly.  I've been using satin finish paint on the woodwork in the new extension and it looks very nice.  It's a cream colour which is basically the colour of the old woodwork and it sets the doors off nicely against the white of the plaster.  I've done both sides and the frame of the door from the kitchen into the extension (see previous picture) and I had done one and a half sides of the door into the utility when I ran out of paint.  So, on Tuesday at a local well-known store, I bought a second tin after some considerable searching for the right type; I returned home with my prize and continued the task, finishing off the first coat on the half finished door, and then doing a second coat on the side I'd already done as it looked a bit thin.  For good measure I did the door frame and also some touch up in a few places on another door frame.  All seemed well until I went to wash the brushes; I was sure that satin finish paint is washed in warm soapy water but, to my horror, I found that nothing happened apart from a mess of globules.  Check the tin - "clean brushes in white spirit" - so, out with the white spirit and still I didn't catch on. 

Later, I checked my work and found that it hadn't dried.  This was odd as satin finish is quite quick drying.  Looking at the door I suddenly realized.  It was still glossy.  With a sinking heart I checked the tin.  "Full Gloss." All is explained.  B****r!

I could leave the one side in gloss but I just don't like gloss paint internally; if I do leave it, then I'll forever look at it and be reminded of my own stupidity.  There seems nowhere else to go but back to the store and buy a tin of the correct stuff, and then forget that Tuesday ever happened. Apart from wasting my time and £11 for the paint, I still have the issue of whether I have any use for that paint and, if not, what do I do with it?