Quick Update

Things have been quiet on the self-build blog for a few days now. Just to reassure you we're still busy in the background sorting out scaffolding, delivery of roof trusses and roofing contractors, as well as getting in quotes for windows and doors, floor insulation and screed, so things are still ticking along.

Darran will be standing the roof trusses week commencing 3rd August and I will be going up to join him on the Thursday of that week to give moral support for the final few days.

We also need to get our thinking caps on for a house name so we can register the address properly. Any suggestions gratefully received as we're struggling a bit!

Better Slate Than Never

We had the Council decision yesterday on the slate and we can use the Marley Birkdale slate which was our preferred option. This is good news as we can now confirm the dates for trusses and instruct a roofing contractor.

We're now waiting for Eurobrick to deliver the materials to make up a sample panel for the Council to have a look at to give what should hopefully be our final 'yes'.

Council Decisions

We had some good news earlier on this week. We mentioned here that we were having trouble with the approval of materials, namely the Council Officer's decision over the slates and guttering. He wanted Welsh slate and cast guttering, we wanted man made slate and aluminium guttering.

Our architects confirmed that approval has been given for the use of both man made slate and aluminium guttering. The meeting with the Head of Planning worked. We were so relieved as there is about a £15,000 differential between having a Welsh slate roof and a man made slate roof. A house with no roof all year round brings a new dimension to the great outdoors.

So, all planning conditions have now been cleared and we can just get on with it without having to go back to submit anything or wait for a decision. The Councils 21 day turnaround time is more like 41, and they had lost one slate sample too, so we really don't want to have to go through all that again!

Timber Frame. Done.

We've done it.

We have finished the timber frame, including some internal bracing walls. We have done what we wanted to in the time we had, and here I am drinking tea in the middle of the afternoon too!

Yesterday was unbearably hot, but we managed to get the Thunderbolts (bolts that tie the frame to the block work) into the base plate on the external walls and managed to do some internal walls before we just couldn't do anymore because of the heat.

Today it has been much cooler and we managed to finish the internal walls and Thunderbolt the internal walls and garage.



This is the sitting room wall dividing the sitting room from the hall and bedrooms.




Above is the start of the walls dividing the bedrooms.

We have certainly had highs and lows over the last two weeks, and there were times when we didn't think we'd make it. But we did. And we're very proud of ourselves, and very tired! Home tomorrow and then back to 'proper' work on Monday.

Beaming Marvelous!

Today we put up the beams and posts in the garage and out the back of the dining room, and the two beams across the breeze way between the lobby and garage.






The posts and beams outside the dining room window were a bit tricky (well, that's what I can publish, I'm probably not allowed to say out loud what we really thought of them!) They took so much time to set out and level and then the bolts had moved in setting over night which meant the supports wouldn't sit straight down over them, then there was a bit of banging with a hammer involved, then a bit of angle grinding, and then they fitted. Hooray!

It has been so HOT today. The hottest yet I think. How we kept going I don't know, but all big jobs are now done and we've got a few odds and ends to tie up tomorrow before doing the internal walls.

We're now aiming for Friday afternoon off.