A week has passed....

....since arriving at Leighton Buzzard.

I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing, well I was on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but I have an excuse, it’s summer, time to sit outside in the sunshine with a cold beer and read my Kindle....well that’s not happened! Antibiotics have put paid to alcohol and rain has put paid to sitting outside.

So yesterday with a no rain forecast it was time to leap into action and start on the work needed to my stove, I won’t bore you with the why’s and wherefores, let’s just say that some time ago I smelt burning wood when wood should not have been burning!

So the  first job was to remove the collar on the roof. I had thought ahead and sprayed the bolts below with WD40.

The bolts came out easily and then about an hour later having freed all the silicone between the collar and the roof I was lifting out the collar with the flue still attached, that was a surprise, it was heavier and slightly longer than I thought and at full stretch I only just managed to get it clear of the roof to lay it safely inside the boat.

There was some rust beneath the collar, but not much, and some breaking through from my previous work when I repainted the roof.

Some rust along the blue edge band as well as below collar.

rust removed and treated with Owatrol Oil.

Once that was cleaned up and treated it was time to move indoors and start on the base, Karl gave me a hand to lift the stove clear.

Stove out.

And then I hacked off the floor tiles revealing the problem ( I did know, I had investigated previously)

Oops, that don't look good!

So this is what happens when you use plywood as a base board.

Over the years the heat from the base of the stove  had passed through
the tiles and scorched a hole through the plywood.

I had previously bought all the necessary bits so with some alterations and additional supports added beneath I fitted a new 25mm vermiculite base board which according to the supplier is ideal for the job, it's heat resistant to about 1200 degrees C.

Today back outside to fill the defects in the roof and prime it all, and then back inside to tile the baseboard having previously sealed it.

Now I've been able to get behind the stove I've cleaned the tiles, they are all hand painted and individual, very nice.

Over the next few days (hopefully) further painting, grouting and reinstatement progress, I’ve got to get it back and working before summer ends (I may be too late already).