Building a new house

Well, since we completed on the plot we have had very little rain indeed (which has been a help for the jobs I've had to do) and with this week forecast to be exceptionally hot - high 20s - the greens of the Clwydians are beginning to turn into browns as they last did in our first summer here - 2006. I had put aside the first three days of this week to start the job of lowering the Britlands' front wall as dictated by the planning permission - it's all to do with sightlines for drivers on a tricky bend. It will certainly make it safer when vehicles are leaving our new double-width splayed entrance. The wall is castellated limestone, typical of the area, so to maintain the castellation and reduce the height of the wall by about 800mm is not a trivial task. I have a lot of stone to remove, move and store. It was so hot by 9 this morning that I was sure I would only work half a day. Things started badly, as the 'repaired' wheeelbarrow wheel that I got out of the La...

Had a few days off and did just a half day today to do some tidying. Moved some stone, had a bonfire, and filled in the spurious ‘sewer’ trench.

29 days after completion, and the day after my 4-day First Responder training course, Liz and I went over to try to finish the lower fencing at the front of the site. We managed to complete the low, boarded fence and half of the temporary post and rail arrangement across the entrance. The half nearer to the road is restricted to a height of 900mm above the road surface; the other half will eventually house the gates. Incidentally, I think I found the sewer pipe from PCB - just where I wanted to put a post and only about 450mm down. - it's where the hole is visible in the photo below, now marked by a few bricks. Thirsty work on a warm, cloudy day.