Ivans garage/mancave build

I didn't say the flue being against current regs is why we're changing the boiler. It's knackered. The whole control board has had pieces removed and hot wired to run without any control. You can no longer get the control board. That is the main reason it is being changed. Other than that the pump and heat exchanger are knackered as well as most of its other components.

The boiler is 20 years old, they don't last forever.

I have an uncle who has been a central heating engineer for 40 years. He agrees that its not worth bothering with and replacement is the way forward. He also thinks that the price is about right for the boiler we're having fitted. He says that the make and model of boiler we're having fitted is as reliable as you can get. It comes with a ten year warranty and yes it's a combi which is no less reliable than having a system boiler.

We did get a report when we bought the house. The boiler flue meets regs for an existing boiler. We're now having one that goes straight out the wall with a diffuser instead of through the roof as the existing flue doesn't meet regs for a new installation. The boiler passed inspection before we bought the house but as I say, it had been frigged to appear to work for the 10-15 min while those checks are being carried out.

If the boiler wasn't in such a state then obviously I'd be looking at repair instead of replacement.

Some progress made this week.

I've now run out of floor paint. About two thirds of the floor is painted so should just need one more tin. It's a bit of a juggle painting round all the cars

Lidl have in their middle aisle, large tubs of dirt cheap white paint. Ideal for slapping onto breeze blocks in the garage. So more wall has been painted.

One thing that is in my way is the GT6 engine. It was on a plastic milk pallet which has collapsed under the weight. This has caused the wheels to splay out making it difficult to move about.

So today I've knocked this up. Hopefully it'll be strong enough.




Now I don't yet own an engine crane and that six cylinder cast iron beast is immensely heavy. I have no idea how much it weighs but this is the heavyest thing I've ever lifted.

But it's on

And it feels pretty stable


Out of harms way and still allows me to use the ladder


Now I can crack on this weekend and paint the rest of the walls and possibly build some more shelving upstairs.

More soon

It seems unusual that the dividing wall is double skin with blocks one side and bricks the other, any idea why.it wasn't just single skin?

making good progress there. Assume the garage was originally a single with a second single tagged on the side of it?

It's been a busy weekend.

We've dug a trench and ran a new power supply from the house.

Fitted a new ring main with plenty of sockets and rcd protected fuse box.

The two existing lights now live upstairs and we now have 6 of these V-TAC Led batten lights.
They're extremely cheap and flimsy but I like them because you can actually change the tube if they ever blow instead of having to change the whole light



Plenty of light and 6 double sockets


And upstairs lit and with a socket at the end


Pretty happy with how that's all gone.

I also started widening the driveway while I had a great big trench dug up. No pictures of that as of yet.

Probably won't do much today in this storm though.

Next jobs are a cleanup and more paint

Just a thought, if it’s a fairly ‘new build’ style of thing, was your garage the sales office for the builders, or construction company?
Mk2 daughter and partner are in the throes of buying on a new estate and the ‘garage’ of one of the houses is the sales office,and very nice it is too!

I would have thought the estate would be too small to have a showroom. There's only about 10 houses.
If there was a showroom I would have thought it'd have been the house across the road as its bigger and has a detached double garage.
It's a possibility though

Coming along well, unexpected photo of Castle Square.

Olivares is a great place.