Walls! (little ones)

A week of significant progress by Pat and his assistants. We visited at lunchtime today, having just paid the Scottish Energy Networks charge for the electricity connection to the house/plot. They are not willing to supply us via a pole, so the job is going to involve closing the 40m section of road to a point near our architect's house, digging it up, and laying an underground cable to the front boundary of the plot, from where Pat will be responsible for the trenching. As this involves much work and 'compensating' the local authority for the inconvenience of creating a diversion (and we will probably have to wait for the half-term holiday in February as it will interfere with access to the primary school), it is not cheap. But, as we have already heard Pat say many times, 'we are where we are'.

The site is very muddy, except for the protected area under the big tree, where the team were sitting and enjoying lunch, but the shape of the house (minus the garage, which will be built after most of the beam and block floor has been put down) is now clear.

Here, the digger is in the kitchen and Liz is standing at the front of the study/possible downstairs bedroom.

Here, the wheelbarrow is in the sitting room below our bedroom (views to the hills) and behind the shovel is the hall and stairway. The dining area is below the jib of the excavator beyond the blue spirit level.

We are planning to take out the lower sections of hedge visible in this picture, to be replaced either by a low beech hedge or a timber fence, or both.

The next picture shows the depth of the house from the kitchen, through the utility room to the study.

Next week Pat is hoping to get hardcore down to reduce the mud problem.  He has ordered the beams for the floor but isn't sure when they will arrive.




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