Hang on January and February were supposed to be relatively easy at work so we could give more time to the house? Instead we have had to balance a sustained amount relatively hectic work pressure with more decisions and meetings taking place over the house. Andrew is now fully established into co-ordinating all the various trades coming in plus researching materials and potential companies for the next stages. He has been absolutely brilliant keeping us informed of progress and asking the right questions at the right time. Where are we at now?
The strange thing is that I've got to strain to think of all the things and write them down in a logical order.
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| Ropewalk House with slates and no scaffolding. Study window is the top right. |
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| Misty view from the study window out to the garden below. |
On the outside the roof slates are done, hurray! They've taken quite a long time especially with all the lead work which I had never considered to be a huge feature but actually there's quite a bit. Chimney bricks purchased and laid plus the chimney now complete with all the scaffolding down. I hadn't taken into account that the scaffolding had to come so soon (it stands to reason as there's only now two weeks remaining until GW Builders leave). This lack of appreciation meant that rushed up to the site after work on Thursday determined to paint the rest of the ends of the roof joists before the scaffolding came down the following morning. Only the eventual time pressure of a wedding viewing at The Longhouse and the prospect of precariously being up a ladder resting on the scaffolding made me finish earlier than I would have wanted. The use of a powerful torch was certainly a huge advantage as well as a good hat for keeping me warm probably on of the first clear evening we've had in a long time. The windows and doors are all in but we've got to change the locks for one central / one key as it would be maddening to have to work through the current bunch of keys in our possession.
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| Tilly enjoying the February sun. The scaffolding is finally down & James' wall (far left) is nearly finished. |
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| View from the bi-fold doors out to the garden / play ground |
On the inside upstairs Chris the electrician has finished the first fix electrics and Piers the plumbing being very proactive about trying to co-ordinate tasked between him, Solar Sam and back boiler fixer upper. Flora's eye for a bargain extended to buying a demonstration showroom sink and loo for £80. We/she have really saved quite a bit on this area and we know it's going to have to be probably replaced in 10 years time but it will do for now and is a relief some part of the build is under budget as others will be over if we get our first choice.
Dave the plasterer has plastered a few area testing out rounding the corners off that we've always really wanted which I suspect isn't in today's modern straight lined thinking but frankly I don't care!
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| Inside the study - the ceiling has been plastered rounding the edges and the oriel window (left one) is looking pretty good. |
Tuesday 19th February
Flora and I spent all day uninterrupted at Ropewalk House trying to sort through the pile of discarded wood battens and other pieces that would normally have been thrown away. This meant we could reach the evergreen shrubs on the south wall, cut them back giving us more room to put make some raised beds for fruit. It was truly a lovely day being out in the sun trying to get some jobs done.
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| Flora hacking away at the shrubs on the south side. |
Things I'm thinking about: -
1)
Heat Recovery - the team are in (another Tom) and it looks like the company also does air tightness testing. When we get the house tested Andrew and I are just praying that there aren't major leaks that can't be solved very easily or it's going to be very expensive and time consuming to put right.
2)
Installation of the wood burner - we've made contact with a company recommended by Stovesonline but they can only come in three weeks time which means Andrew is going to have to think of a less simple work plan as they have to have access to the back boiler in order to be able to connect it up to the thermal store (water tank).
3)
Exterior window sills - I've emailed Arturas asking when are they going to be fitted as Garry and Dave are waiting to put in the surrounding window frames but can't until the sills have been fitted.
4)
James' wall is looking good and is nearly finished, drainage pipes are being laid, French drain to stop any water going into the cellar is being dug, car parking area is being landscaped. Still to happen- outside window frames, guttering, cladding on the ceiling of the undercroft, cladding on the wood shed wall.
5)
Flora is mostly doing - trying to find reclamation yard door knobs, researching wall paper, paint, kitchen surfaces, tiles plus we've got to finalise details to Paul Vincent about the garden front door.
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| Garden front door - Paul Vincent is going to be making the curved door out of oak. |
