World of more

 Will and Scott have been labouring for some weeks and the structure is now emerging.  Every day, when the builders head home, the boys clamber excitedly up the ladder onto the scaffolding to see what new beams or joists have been put in place. By now the majority of the primary timber frame is in place, revealing the shape of our new bedroom and the new dormer, and the size of the excellent looking rooflights that will sit directly over our bathroom and the new ensuite. It feels a little precarious to step over the half-built awning, using a loose panel placed on top, and to see the concrete floor of the kitchen yawning through the gaps beneath your feet.  But the steels and beams are as solid as they should be. I'm somehow drawn to the space when no-one is watching.  I wander through the gaps with plans clutched in hand trying to imagine what the space will be like when it's finished.  It's both easy to imagine and difficult to see accurately.  What feels...

 The mud has definitely abated.  Shortly after the last post a few tons of hardcore and concrete mix went down on the mud in the "kitchen" and "patio". And now the world is drying out and mud levels are not what they were in January.  Thankfully. The chippies turned up for a week and built the porch, it's kinda remarkable to see how quickly we went from having simply a brick and concrete footing to having a full mostly weatherproof structure.  It's just timber frame and membrane, but it feels like a room when we step out the front door. And steadily the shape of the new kitchen is emerging.  Some blocks have gone down that represent the side and outside walls of the kitchen - no larger than before.  And the internal wall that had been completely demolished has now been mostly rebuilt to show the new location of the larger doors to the playroom and kitchen.  The door to the study (currently our mini-lounge" has also been bricked up and some marks have a...

This week the build appears to be turning a corner.  After slogging in ankle deep mud for a couple more weeks, and with another five 16 ton grab lorries hauling great piles of muck off our driveway, the majority of the excavation seems to be complete.  Darren appear confident that no more muck lorries will be needed. The upshot then is a fully cleaned out and excavated hole where the kitchen used to be.  The back wall, side wall, floor and roof have all come down, leaving a wet, clay and water filled hole.  And they've extended the whole to dig out the patio space further out and back together with a trench for a retaining wall footing.  The best milestone was seeing the large brick pillar that has dominated the kitchen since we moved in fall to the floor.  It will not be missed. I chipped in a bit too.  Asbestos cladding for the Aga flue where it ran through the under eaves needed removing, and I decided that I could do it myself and dispose of it via...

Two months down, here's some observations on progress and life in a building site. Darren, Chris and Bogdan finished their 2025 efforts by pouring footings for the back kitchen wall, then they swept and cleaned the paths, all in a horrible rain storm.  They were so efficient that they left the site before we could give them the Christmas presents we'd put aside for them. The heating is confused and kinda broken.  With the house split in two, and the thermostat in basically the coldest, draftiest area of the house spaces are either swelteringly hot, or cold.  The thermostat gets cold during the night, bringing the heating on in the bedrooms and making us sweat.  Plus, Keir's radiator is broken and won't switch on, whilst Ula's radiator is broken and won't switch off.  On average, everyone is fine. The hot water system is also kinda broken.  For no good reason we can determine, at some point over Christmas, whilst no work was going on, it stopped delivering r...