Preventing Condensation on a Solid Brick Wall

After a number of years black mould has started to form in the corner of the bedroom ceiling,while not being too bad at the moment I thought it best to decorate and at the same time try and insulate the outer facing solid wall.

Showing mould in the corner of the room.

Showing the same corner with picture added for scale.

After reading a few articles on insulation I decided to use this 2mm thick Polystyrene Veneer under the wall paper.

View showing the end of the roll clearly showing the 2mm thickness.

When purchasing this make sure the ends are not damaged or you will have a gap when matching the lengths. 

After removing the old wallpaper and sizing the wall (this helps in hanging the wallpaper as it allows you to slide the paper into position easier) I mixed up the wallpaper adhesive and applied it to the wall not the polystyrene then cut and fixed the polystyrene into position.

Showing the 2mm polystyrene on the wall.

This shows the amount of thickness taken up on the skirting board which is not much.

After allowing it all to dry for at least 72 hours I applied the wallpaper onto the veneer.

Then it all went wrong.

The veneer started to come away from the wall in certain areas as the wallpaper dried.

This shows one position on a corner where the veneer is not stuck to the wall.

There was only one thing for it and that was to take the whole lot off and what a mess it made.

In the end I mixed Thermilate to the paint when painting the ceiling and the paintable wallpaper. http://www.thermilate.com/

I know this works as I applied it to a bay window ceiling and it stopped the condensation from forming.

My conclusions are that you have to mix up a very strong adhesive to stick the polystyrene to the wall.

Do not allow any gaps between the polystyrene and the skirting board otherwise the wallpaper will curl away as it has nothing to stick to.

If you take my hints above I am sure the polystyrene veneer would work as it did feel warm to the touch before I took it all off again.

Just as an update on using the polystyrene as a backing. I have used this on the wall below our bay windows and it has stuck perfectly. I mixed up a very thick paste and applied it to the wall then offered up the polystyrene to this.The lesson learned is to make up a good thick paste so that it is a very strong adhesive.

The Queens Diamond Jubilee Inspection of Chelsea Pensioners

My Favourite Picture

If only they had  time for a chat, what tales would unfold.

See here for details on the Chelsea Pensioners...
http://www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/

Accident in a Hospital Ward

After many years of being a carer for my old mum she had to be re-admitted to hospital as she had become weak due to her condition. I thought it was safe to leave her in the capable hands of the nursing staff at the hospital which I won't name at present but apparently I was wrong.

This is the notice above her bed in hospital.

Note the first aim..

TO INCREASE PATIENT SAFETY

Well I think they failed on that one don't you as this is the result of their failure.

Mum fell out of the hospital bed at 3:15am

Note! she was already blind in the left eye due to diabetes.

 Bruising to her left elbow

Bruising to the centre of her left hand

Report written at the time of the accident by the nurse.

I don't think there is any excuse for allowing this to happen especially knowing that a person is frail and liable to be a danger to themselves. 

Could it be to the lack of staff at night in this economic climate; I don't know but I'm thankful she was not badly hurt.

Solved.Why I have an interest in Narrowboats

Many years ago I used to cycle over to Linslade to go fishing in the canal and I always thought this was the reason for my interest in narrowboats and the canals until I came across an old family photo album.

My father never had a car and we always went cycling on days out. We had a tandem with a fitted seat on the back for me with pedals connected so that I could help with the effort of getting up the hills.

After finding this old album I now remember being taken to Linslade and Marsworth to watch the boats going through the locks on days out and this must be the reason for my interest and hopefully living on a narrowboat.

The following three photographs are the only ones that my father took which show me as a lad by the canal enjoying the sights and sounds of the working narrowboats.

 They were taken in June 1958 at Linslade.

Mother and me.

Me posing

The wonders of a lock

Isn't it strange that those early experiences should be forgotten yet somehow stay with you until something happens to make you remember, like these three photo's I found.

Yes I had blond hair then but it's white now and disappearing with every passing year.

Cutting the glare and insulating a polycarbonate roof

As promised I would detail how to cure the problem of glare and noise from rain and aircraft on a polycarbonate roof. My friend lives on the direct flight path of an airport runway which is 1.5 miles away so sound insulation was as important as cutting the glare from the roof. We decided on this option after he was quoted thousands of pounds for a contractor to do the job.

After cutting the Celotex insulation to size it was stuck to the polycarbonate roof panels with No Nails

Then battens were screwed into the aluminium roof joists through the plastic capping over the insulation using these screws...

Chrome tape was used to make a thermal seal between the joints of the insulating panels and then the plaster boards were screwed to the battens.

Picture showing the first line of plaster board fixed into position.The battens are staggered due to the varying lengths of the plaster board.

Picture showing the last panel to be covered.

They can now watch the television without having to wear sun glasses and the sound turned up.

My two girl friends. Pictures to make you smile.

Being a carer prevents me from seeing friends but when I can I try and make the most of it. Yesterday I went to see a very good friend and helped him put up a new ceiling, more of that in another blog.
When we had finished his wife said,"Dave go and have a look in the front room", and there were his two girls in these bags watching the TV. I just had to grab my camera and thought I would share the pictures with you.

Zoe

Abigail

But of course those angelic smiles never last for ever.......

Thief !

I like to put food out for the birds and have a tray right outside my window so that I can watch them feeding.
Just lately the sultanas that I put out for the blackbirds have been disappearing at an alarming rate.

One day last week I was sitting reading the paper and a large shadow appeared at the window, it made me jump and the shadow disappeared so I thought I would capture it on camera and here it is... during the day,

and at night

Where Mrs fox lives I don't know but she has become a regular visitor in the garden.

Now some people would want to stop encouraging them but in my view they are just a part of natures balance and have as much right as we do in populating the urban environment. I admire their ability to survive despite human intervention,so if you don't want them around don't leave food about.I don't mind them so I will continue to feed the birds and enjoy the delights that nature provides.