The Bay Project

The tiling job

As luck would have it I managed to buy a second hand scaffold tower before starting on the re-tiling. At the time I thought the tower and £70 was a bit of an extravagance. In retrospect I think the job would have been impossible without it.

I replaced the old felt sarking with new stuff, and replaced the battens with new treated timber, setting them the same distance apart as the old battens and doing my best to keep them level. I cleaned off decades of soot, grime and paint from any useful tiles and replaced damaged ones with new clay tiles (which are still manufactured). In retrospect, it would have been worth taking the trouble to visit a reclamation yard, in order to have obtained a better match.

While I had access to the bay wall I decided to insert some insulation.

I chose polystyrene as I thought this would stand up well to becoming damp. My only concern placing material in between the wooden studs was that free airflow around them might be impaired causing the timber to become damp. In the end the prospect of a reduction in traffic noise plus the radiator being sited under the bay window were factors persuasive enough for me to accept that risk. However I did cut the insulation short at the level of the first floor as I was unsure whether airflow getting to the joists might be significantly altered. The last thing I needed on my plate was a flooring job.

The job took about 3 weeks in all as I approached the task in a fairly leisurely way at weekends and evenings.

What to do about the window ?

Obviously for such a large expanse of glass I chose double-glazing. To improve the aesthetics and in an effort to match the neighbours I went for lead squares. Why a upvc frame? Well I know wood is better for the environment and it looks better but I remain sceptical about the quality of wood available today and especially the length of time it is laid down to season. I just didn’t want to have the worry of rotting timber and the bother of painting every few years.

So here is the finished job, its functional and looks pretty neat. One thing I was ignorant of at the time, was that the unpleasant white appearance new lead flashing developes can been avoided by applying patination oil immediately after installation.

For those now contemplating a bit of DIY let me just point out that rather than simply tweeking those cosmetic problems, as a near neighour demonstrates, there is an alternative. I bet the neighbours just love him!