Electrics

Electrician turned up yesterday, totally unexpected. My dear neighbour Sarah came knocking on my door (I was still in my dressing gown)...

"Your electrician is blocking me in so I can't get off my drive"

"It's not my electrician, there is noone on site today"

"Well I can't get off the drive"

"Well thats not my problem..."

It was of course. Sigh!

Funny, but this really does mark Chapter 2 of the building project. We have moved beyond questions of how high ceilings need to be and where the walls go to questions like "what kind of light fitting are you thinking of for your bathroom" and "where are you going to put the TV?" "Do you need a dimmer with that?" A dimmer? Wow! Kevin our sparky brings a new world of opportunity and creativity- and a taste of the future where this concrete jungle is transformed into a cosy home...

It is like the first signs of spring and it makes my heart glad :)

Week 12- Dormer, History and Silence

Well, last week Justin came back for another day, put the dormer up and then disappeared for a week to another job... so all has been very quiet. Although

I was initially furious that no one was going to be on site at all (the building equivalent of being stationary on the M4 on a Friday- even 2 miles an hour feels better than not moving at all....) I found myself with my first proper winter cold and was soon quite relieved I could cuddle up with a bovril and not have to make any big decisions for a few days, not to mention the luxury of peace and quiet.

Feeling a bit better today I found some bits of the original purlins that had had to be sawn off and found a short history of taste in exterior paint colours! From what I can tell the purlins- and presumably the decorative barge boards -

before they were yellow

they were brown, before they were brown

they were red...

then they were a bright blue

then a paler blue

then a mint colour!

I wonder how far that takes us back? Maybe not as far as you think given we are supposed to paint exterior woodwork every few years... but I bet it could be as much 30 or 40 years! Fascinating! (well for the geeky historian in me!)

Weeks 10-11 - The roof finally on.

Finally the roof is going on! I don't really understand where the past few weeks have gone, or what has been going on... Nigel I guess has been working on the gable end and tidying up a few bits and pieces- he has done a fabulous job. It was his last day today which is sad but marks the end of the brick work- which is a real milestone.

Justin started... last Thursday I think, and put the front and back of the roof

on as a guide for Nigel. Then we faffed about for a few days trying to source some purlins. Basically I wanted the roof to match the existing attic roof, so Roger had designed it to have the purlins and ceiling ties on display. I had agreed with Justin that we

would shot blast some softwood to make it look better... but James couldnt source them in the right size, so we decided in the end to go for oak- because the cost of the shotblasting plus softwood was about the same anyway. So I went to speak to a nice chap called Tim at Nupend - http://www.oakframecarpentry.co.uk who sorted me out with two steady oak purlins he had in stock. I think they will look great by the time Justin has chamfered the edge. Look at me parleing the carpentry lingo! I can almost understand what they are trying to say to me these days!!!

We then had a total mare with the ceiling height in the bedroom, well more specifically the ensuite, which I have to say is our first real major disappointment. Somewhere, (I think it is to do with the pitch of the roof being different in reality to in the drawings) we have lost about a foot of ceiling height. This makes no difference in the bedroom really, but in our ensuite bathroom, not to put too finer point on it, if Nick wants to pee he is either going to have to kneel, squat or calculate the projectile.

But lets stay positive, we are almost in the dry and God has blessed us with the mildest November since who knows when! Someone said to me when the roof goes on you are about half way.... that sounds good to me :)