Update part two!

Day 65
So a slight delay to post number two from Sunday night... anyway, here's an update of what else has been going on at Dixies.

Upstairs is coming along swimmingly - we now have real plastered walls in the spare bedroom (albeit a patchy salmon colour). Our fake beams are just how I imagined - rather than creating the pretense of a full exposed oak frame, instead the beams give the extension a rustic feel, and (I like to imagine) provide a visual  link back to the beam structure that features heavily in the original part of the cottage.

Master bedroom taken from doorway

Spare room taken from doorway

Sourced from sawmill and joinery Ternex, the beams are actually new wood, kiln dried to an age of ten years. This means they look older - which was the plan - but the other benefit is that we should get slightly less separation which is apparently a problem when plaster and new oak dry side-by-side at different rates.

 In other news, the shower tray has also been fitted in the en-suite. A slight cause for concern - whilst the shape and size fits perfectly in the room, complementing the angle of the bathroom door, first impressions are that the shower cubicle is going to be very small. Maybe in this instance practicality has been sacrificed for aesthetics. The proof will be in the pudding, once the remainder of the bathroom has been fitted.

Outside view of master en-suite

It's good to be back

Day 61
A much belated update for the blog!

We've been back from holiday for two weeks now, but aside from getting over the jet-lag, the remainder of our spare time has been absorbed by catching up on decisions for the house. Our evenings have been filled with research, measuring, ordering (and of course microwave meals).

The project has been hurtling along since we've been away, and indeed, since we've been back. So much so that I've decided to split today's update into two posts - one to bring the project up to date to last week, with a real-time update to follow.

So, in the space of time whilst we were away, the builders were busy working to give us ... (drum roll)... a roof, wiring, plumbing, and plaster-board upstairs.

New en-suite: plumbing and velux

Plumbing and wiring - view is of new
upstairs landing

Plasterboard and our fake beams in the
master bedroom

 And it's starting to look more like a house from the outside too, with the first layer of rendering up.

First layer of rendering to ground floor

A room of one's own

Day 47
I have a slightly different view as I write this blog - from the balcony of our apartment in Florida! Jet lag has made us get up before sunrise for the last two mornings, so it seems like a good opportunity to catch up with the house diary by posting the pics I took of the house before we left.

It's very strange to think that the house is still growing whilst we're on holiday, but after a two hour meeting with the builder on Tuesday night before we left for the airport, we feel confident with the work they've got planned for the next ten days.

So here's where we are - we now have rooms! Before now, the build has concentrated on the outside shell of the house, but the wooden frame for internal walls has now gone up, so we can finally get a real feel for the sizes of the different rooms. Positives: the master bedroom is a lovely size, and the height given to the room by going up into the eaves is just lovely; the second bedroom upstairs is also a great size. Downsides: the master en-suite is smaller than we thought, which means we're going to have to be clever when it comes to the design and type of furniture; the utility room is also a bit smaller than we thought after we borrowed some more room for the kitchen, but there's still plenty of room for my cross-trainer, appliances, and most importantly the cats!

Spare room - who wants to come and stay?

Master en-suite.
In this picture you can also see the old wall of
the house where the extension joins on. 

Master bedroom view

Snug (shot taken from the kitchen)

Utility room (top)
Downstairs cloakroom (left)

Whilst we're away the builders are putting on the roof, the electrician will be completing the first stage of the wiring, and they may even get to laying some of the plumbing - should help with the back-from-holiday-blues!

The little green house

Day 37
It's been another busy week on the build-project front, but nothing that has made for very interesting images, hence the dearth of updates on the blog this week.

In summary, we have the roof joints, rafters, and eaves in place, and the builders have erected the scaffolding on Friday which will allow them to begin work on the exterior of the roof this week. You'll also see from the image that the whole structure is now covered in what I can only describe as a green felt-like meshing, ready to be rendered at some point over the coming weeks. We also ordered the windows this week, so they are now in production! In short - things are coming along swimmingly.

Our new cosy corner

We (Jodes) finished off another job in this afternoon's sunshine.

The area to the front left-hand-side of the house was a messy space, with old paving that had given way to weeds, with an ugly concrete wall to divide it from the front garden. After some carpentry-based help from Dad last weekend, we now have some neat wooden boards instead of the concrete wall, which we've finished off by painting it a smart black.

Finally, we re-planted some box hedging that was in the back garden, to give us a neat divider for the garden, and finished off the project with some golden shingle. We think it looks rather smart, and the area will certainly come into use for eating in the evenings now that the evenings are lighter, until we get our back patio back in working order.

Day 32
It's been another storming week on the building front this week. We now have a first floor, complete with eaves, and they've insulated and boarded approx 3/4 of the outside walls. Will let the pictures do the talking - all very exciting!

A touch of frost

Our first big disappointment of the project hit this week. After a day of back-breaking work, and meticulous-bordering-on-obsessive watering by Jodes, our newly planted hedge has been beset by frost. The black leaves cut a decidedly unpalatable picture and we are (without wishing to exaggerate) verging on heartbroken.

General opinion was that this was the wrong time of year to plant the hedge because the recent warm weather would make us a slave to the hose, but we failed to consider the silent killer around the corner that came in the shape of a ground frost on Tuesday night.

We're hoping the plants are fighting for life underneath the morbid leaves, and we will continue to look after them in the vain hope that some TLC will restore them to their previous (albeit 1 foot) glory. 

I'm sure your thoughts are with us - will keep you posted on the patients' progress...

Mr McGregor's row of cabbages

Having decided on a spotted laurel as the shrub for our hedge, we spent most of Friday putting 150 plants into the ground. It didn't take quite as much time as I had imagined - primarily because the 'trees' were only a foot high, and also due to the ground being so dry it was like planting in sand - no digging required.

So we now have what can only be described as a row of cabbages along the dividing line between our garden and the field next door - I'm expecting Peter Rabbit to hop along and swipe them all any minute...

A picture for comedy purposes:

Feeling chipper!

Day 28
It may only have been a three day week this week, but that didn't hold the chippies back. In the last three days we've seen the most physical change in the build to date (apart from the destruction phase). The builders have worked hard, and seem to have performed a small miracle. We now have an exterior wood frame for the whole of the ground floor of the house, and the same for the guest room to the left of the first floor. It's very exciting, and although we don't have the actual walls in place, the build now feels more like a house, and less like a 'project'.

The wood frame makes it easier to get a feel for the space of the rooms, and how they flow together - everything just seems more tangible now we have more of an idea of the parameters. We've also agreed the dimensions for the doors and windows, which you can see marked by the wood sections if you look closely.

We literally can't wait for next week now, to see the walls of the master bedroom (to the right) take place - it looks like a big room looking from below - although we need to fit an ensuite and the upstairs corridor into the space too.

Fully grounded

Day 25
After 25 (working) days since the start of the build, we are finally at ground level. It's a very satisfying feeling - not that I've done any of the hard graft myself - and it now feels like we're getting somewhere. Now that we've gone through the destruction and foundation-laying phases, we're hoping the actual build will feel quick - and I should have lots more progress to share.

The builders actually got to this stage on Tuesday, and then abandoned the build temporarily to allow the concrete to dry. I got around to taking an update photo this evening, and managed to capture the glorious promise of the build at floor level, illuminated in the last warm rays of what has been a glorious Easter weekend.

Onwards and upwards this week (literally!). We need to make a fairly quick decision this week about the windows/exterior doors, and we have 130 trees arriving for the hedge, so we need to arrange a meeting with the farmer who owns the field next door so we can agree a boundary line before we get planting. Am exhausted already... best get back to some planning - over a celebratory glass of Easter wine.