Day 30: Re-arranging the walls

We have a new stud wall along the west side of the back area, supporting the roof and blocking out the rather dodgy brickwork behind. As I want to lose minimum space from the kitchen area, I asked if the pantry shelves my Dad made me years ago could be incorporated into the wall. Today the builders came and replaced the part of the stud wall where the kitchen will be with a huge lintel, so that the shelves can fit in below. Dad would be pleased. They need a bit of TLC (sanding and re-varnishing) before they go back, but they are as solid as ever.

Day 28-9: Tank installed, more windows fitted

Plumber came to re-arrange what we thought were water pipes. A big galvanised iron pipe turned out to be gas, but fortunately nothing burst into flame when he cut the pipe. It and its attachments were duly re-routed, and the tank did indeed fit through the window opening with about a centimetre to spare all round. It is now sitting in place in the lightwell, waiting for the roofers to return to fix downpipes.
Picture shows the tank in place, shot through the window that it went through, with the window now in place.
Fitting of windows continued, so that all are now in place except the tiny triangular one at the back of the kitchen. Several of the windows have frames only at this stage - they will be glazed in place. In the pictures below you can see that the big window on the left is unglazed, as is the fixed panel of the sliding doors.
 It is at last beginning to look a bit like a house again.

From the inside looking out








From the outside looking in.

Day 27: Some work on the windows...

Things proceed very slowly on the house. Our windows were due to arrive Friday 14, then were rescheduled for Tues 18, actually arrived Mon 17, when of course the builders weren’t there. They turned up on Tuesday and fitted one of the glazed windows and the (glass) back door, plus the frames of two more windows that will be glazed in situ later. The big sliding door unit for the back wall was a bit of a surprise. Architect drew two enormous sliders, and we specifically said ‘no flyscreens’ as we wanted a view of the garden without any blurring. What arrived was a three part slider, with fly screens. We have decided we can cope with having two sliding doors and one fixed panel, rather than two sliders as it actually gives you a bigger opening if the two doors are slid away, and the two panel effect would probably have been too heavy to move easily. And we have found that it isn’t an issue to remove the fly screens, so we will probably have it installed with the screens, then decide whether to remove them afterwards.

Since demolition commenced way back last year, we have had a temporary cable linking the house to the garage lying across the floor of the back part of the house (originally it ran over the roof, so of course it had to come down when the roof was removed). The back windows couldn’t be installed with it there, so everything stopped again until the electrician came to re-route the cable. And the builders haven’t been back since, so no more progress. We thought they were definitely coming back today to get on with the windows, but no…

In the meantime we have ordered and received a water storage tank to go in the light well. We are installing this not for environmental reasons, but rather because there is no inlet to the stormwater system in the light well, and not enough fall to put one in. For years the water from the entire roof has had to travel the whole length of the house, including negotiating two right angle bends, with the inevitable outcome that we get waterfalls from the guttering if there is any heavy rain. Some of the water from the front has been re-routed down the east side of the new roof, and what’s left will drain into our new tank, then be pumped back up and over the roof. And the plumber was supposed to be coming today to fit all that, but did he? No. The tank will just fit through the window space into the light well provided it goes through BEFORE they fit the window frame, so they can’t finish the windows until the plumber comes. We live in hope for tomorrow.

Waiting for windows

Not much activity so far in March. The builders were on site for about a day and a half in the first week, when they removed all the old iron, insulation and so forth that had come off the roof, and finished off a few other bits and pieces around the new roof.
We took advantage of the skip they brought to get rid of lots of scoria that we have dug out of the light well to make room for a rainwater tank. We uncovered some rather bizarrely arranged water pipes which may have to be relocated before the tank is installed - we're waiting for a plumber to come and provide an opinion. We also found an old earth stake at least a metre long which took us ages to dig out. Somewhere in the process of digging and shifting the scoria Peter did his back, and I pulled the muscle that I damaged last year when I fell out of the bed in the roof of the camper (but that's another story). But we've uncrocked since and are now walking normally again.
This week should be full of action. We've ordered the water tank, which may arrive as early as Monday. Windows are due to arrive Tuesday, and will presumably be fitted as soon as they arrive.  Skylights may also arrive this week. Once the windows are in we will really be able to feel we have a house again, and possibly even lock up the back part, and open up the door in between us and the building site.
And that means it is time to get back to finalising the design of the kitchen (some minor changes to be made to the old layout to adjust for walls being in slightly different places) and putting in our order for cabinets, a new sink and rangehood. We have bought a Weber barbecue which has vastly extended the range of meals I can prepare, but I am looking forward to the day I can stop cooking in a cupboard.
Watch for the next update, with photos.