We were away for three weeks, returning on the 7th April. The webcam decided to throw a wobbler in our abscence, so we have had to jump from no windows to windows in one leap! The windows were installed at the end of this week.
Our windows from Marvin Architectural have a white metal exterior to reduce maintenance and wood frames inside which look like oak. We like them! The photo on the right shows the house from the west beginning to look like a house.
There has been very little change on the outside of the house this week. The valleys and roof edges have been installed, and some of the lead flashing prepared. The tiles have arrived, so they will be going on next week.
Inside, the walls on the first floor are now waist high, and fitting the lift (Dumb Waiter) is nearly finished. On the right John and Dan can be seen getting the rail supports level inside the lift shaft. Not alot of room to move about in!
Over the next three weeks we should see the windows installed. and the front door fitted. Great Progress!
Another week of good progress despite plenty of wind and rain. The lads have finished the woodwork and added all the felt. A particularly lively exercise on Friday with gusts to 40 knots. In the photo on the right, John and Dan can be seen battling with another roll. You can also see a rough sea running in Dunmannus bay behind. We were hoping for the windows to be fitted later next week, unfortunately they will not be arriving until later this month. There is still plenty to do with the roof. Leading and tiling looks likely if the weather is good, otherwise building walls on the first floor will start.
More Roofing Done! - The main structure of the roof is finished. Most of the gables are built as can be seen in the photo on the right with Susy & Truffle in the foreground. We can now see how the extension will look in a more realistic way. We should be onto the roofing felt by Thursday next week, and I am crossing my fingers for the windows the following week. Let's hope the weather is better, because it has been quite cool with some rain, althought alot less than average this month. Very much better than January in that respect.
A Roof At Last! - Yes the whole week has been preparing for roof erection. Scaffolding inside and out to be able to reach the roof plates and ridges. Then cutting numerous rafters and getting them up onto the scaffold. Yesterday we came home from the market to find half the roof in place. No valleys or dormer window yet, but the main structure is up. We can now get a really good feel for what the house will be like when finished! I should think the felt will be on by the end of next week, weather permitting. Great progress!
In one week the lads have progressed the building from first floor level up to the roof level, put all the lintels in place and started the gable ends. Well Done! They have been getting through the pallets of blocks at a tremendous pace. We have used some of the pallets for compost bins and wood stores. Good litttle recyclers, aren't we!. I have dug the trench from the garage to the house and laid the new water pipe and electric cable to enable the garage to be powered from the new consumer unit. In the photo on the right you can see the tall windows in the hall which will have stained glass in them eventually, the plant room is roofed and the end of the cottage will soon disappear for ever behind the gable end. When we reroof, it will be connected at a slightly lower level than the roof level of the extension. Next week should see rafters appearing within a day or so.
We have achieved another landmark in the building. We have spent this week constructing the first floor. at 8am on Monday, as planned, the Ducon lorry turned up, and two and a half hours later went away having lifted the concrete slabs into place. The Webacam picture on the left. shows this in action. Then the outside walls were brought up to floor level, underfloor heating pipes laid with steel in top, essential plumbing put in, and the shuttering built for the readymix to be poured on Friday. We had rain every day, and still only four days since Christmas without! However Friday was 'Soft' (drizzle to you and me) in the morning, and dried up in time for the concrete pouring seen here on the right. Note John perched on the wall with one end of the metal bar to create a smooth surface! The extendable elevator and two additional hands made a quick job of it. More blocks arrive on Tuesday next week, so walls on the first floor should begin to appear on Wednesday.
Not alot of progress, you might think, looking at the webcam shot this week. The walls are now ready to have the 1st floor added, and all the lintels are in plae, and a steel H beam ready to take the weight. We expect the lorry at 8am on Monday morning with it's crane to put the prestressed Ducon slabs in place. The plant room at the back of the house has been roofed!! You can see this in the photo on the right. Next week should see the first floor underfloor heating added and the surface poured. Then the walls should grow once again. Let's hope for better weather.
Rain and windy condtitons continued until the 25th when we had our second day without rain since Christmas Eve. A total of 368.4mm (14.5in) would you believe! Building has continued, and is now up to first floor level, ready for the Ducon Slab Flooring to be put in place. We can now get a good idea of the room sizes, even the pantry has been built providing more than adequate storage. We are lookng forward to enjoying the view from the kitchen. The photo on the right is taken looking through the kitchen window across the kitchen to the pantry, lobby and new front door in sunlight near the old cottage.
Despite more bad weather most of the external walls are now up to head height. The steel for the big windows is in place as well. Holes for windows and doors are showing up well. We have only had one day without rain since Christmas Eve (11th Jan) and a total of 313.8mm (12.3") in that time, so it is amazing what has been done by Mike, John and Dan. Fortunately we do get sunshine too, shown on the right here from 17th Jan in late afternoon.
