Rõika 15

Monday after work we went to a sauna specialist to get some information on what we would need to build a sauna. And as if often goes when you go to a shop as a foreigner, you get advised very expensive stuff and when you ask about an other stove that is half the price, they bend in all kinds of ways to explain why the expensive one is better (which it might be, but mainly when you have long sauna nights with a group of people). Anyway, I did not get much more information as I already had gotten from a nice document I found on the Harvia website.

After the all the nice weather from the last weeks, it was finally raining and a bit surprising we had a leaking roof again. So we put some bucket and marked where it was leaking, so when it is dry I can fix that

Before anything else, the floor needs to be in the sauna, so on Wednesday I started with the floor.

On Saturday morning I climbed on the room and found the moss was so dry after the past hot weeks that it had let through water through some holes I found under the dried moss. After I scratched off the moss it was an easy fix.
In the afternoon we picked up the sauna insulation with integrated aluminium coating. besides we got a sink for the toilet and I got myself a miter saw as ABC had another one of there 25% off days.
On Sunday I finally put in the network cable to the boiler.

At the start of the week I replied to a request of a German guy in town who needed someone to put in a few tiles in his bathroom. I agreed to stop by and see what would be possible. He turned out to be very handy, so we decided I would teach him how to tile and borrow him my tools.

On August 1st 3 pallets with bags of pellets where delivered. A ton per pallet. It was estimated this should be enough for about a year. Next year we will know if this actually will be enough, so we can also make a calculation of how much our heating and hot water will cost us.

This week we had Annemiek and her family over for dinner and later on for tea. Always nice to have visitors from the Netherlands stopping by.

As the pellets cannot stay outside we moved them inside during the weekend. Jon-Paul was a great help. We also visited the construction store to check out the sinks for in the toilet and some replacement part for shower.

On Sunday I finished the shower. Connecting the last electrical wires gave us also coloured lights. There are also some minor things to fix some time in the future, but nothing that will stop us enjoying the shower fully from now on. Before going to bed I tried the steam shower. It is a nice feature that I think I will use on occasion.

After five days of being fully offline it was good to come home, but it was a bit harder to start with the next project again. We had wonderful warm summer days, which did not help either.

On Wednesday we had a couchsurfing couple from Belgium coming over for a few days. So we went for bike ride and a swim in the sea. Together with Rik, I connected the washing machine. Something that had not be done yet, but sure is useful.

Thursday one of the tech guys from Pelltech stopped by for a problem with the wifi module. It turned out they did not use a very good radio, so he also left an ethernet module as he agreed there is no added value for wifi if the connected device is static and there are network connections around the house.

Saturday afternoon was the first time to clean the ash tray and fly ash filter. There was surprisingly little ashes after just over a week of heating. Nice to know! I also started on the chimney, but did not get very far because is was a bit to hot. Since there is not that many hot days in Estonia, I decided to just take it easy for a bit.

Today will be the last time Uve will be at the house until the first maintenance round. First he showed how to fix the error. It was pretty simple, but I made a note in case it happens again some day. He double checked all radiators and then we could fill them. It was nice to feel all radiators getting warm, even though we don’t need them for some time, it is good this part is ready.

When we where done, Uve got a few alcohol free beers from his car to toast to a finished project.

Nice in time as tonight we will go to a festival for 5 days. Nice a few days of total relaxation after all the work done on the house the past half a year.

After weeks, no months of preparations we had the last check of the sewer system today. Mo showed the friendly guy around and the only thing he was amazed by, was the fact the dirt was not back in the hole. He said it should be filled as soon as possible as when he finishes his paperwork, the hole should be closed.

So when I got home, we instantly started closing the hole. Luckily Jan stopped by and he offered a helping hand, so in no time we were done.

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Normal life is picking up, so this weekend started with a guided tour before the work on the house started. I had to put plaster plate behind the radiators before we can fill them.

I started with the hardest one, the radiator on our future bedroom. This one needs a 10 cm frame and dito insulation as it is placed on an outer wall.

The rest was pretty simple, remove the radiator, place metal stud, put on plaster plate and put the radiator back.

In the mean time the boiler had given an error (E18 Flame2). Uve asked if it was ok, to show me on his next visit how to reset it as he had a hard time explaining it without the interface before him.

Update: How to reset Pelltech PK15 Combi:

• Press the flame icon on the top right
• Press the power symbol on the bottom right
• Confirm by pressing: Yes

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Today is the big day. All connections are made, so the boiler can be filled, both with water and pellets and then it can be started!

We filled the floor heating and warm water system with water and got 4 bags of 15 kilo of 6 mm pellets and put them in the pellet silo. We did not fill the radiator system as I still need to put gyprock behind them, which is way easier when the radiator is off the wall.

The the big moment, turning on the pumps and turning on the boiler. Testing, Loading, Igniting, Pre-burn and then burning. The display showed nicely in what stage the heater is.

We found out the expansion tank of the warm water system needed more air pressure, but after that was fixed, all was good!

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Uve had first told he needed a sturdy wall behind/above the boiler to screw his artwork to, so I got some 12 mm OSB to match the 12 mm Gyprock, but then he told it would be better to have a fireproof wall there. So I figured I’d get some Fermacell. When I asked Uve where to get that he told me he did not know the material, so I started a little search.

In deed, it is not as commonly available as back in the Netherlands, but in the end I found out good old Puu Market around the corner had it available.

So I got a piece and made some strips to put behind the boiler. Forgot to make pictures.

Now we have moved it a new chapter in reconstructing will start, as we will be home every day. For now the first thing is to get the boiler connected and setup. Uve is making a great art piece from all the pipes, meters and valves.

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Today will be a day off, this weekend is the big song festival which is held every 5 years and I am excited to check it out. Unfortunately Mo could not get a ticket anymore as for the first time the festival was sold out. We still went there together and enjoyed most of it from different sides of the fence.

Around 18:30 we left the festival to have a last bike ride to Kolde to hand in the keys. The owner was very impressed with the fact the renovation had already started, as she was not notified. Apart from that all was good and we should get the safety deposit back, which will be very nice to spend on the house.

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