Back on the job

Well, Steph may have been to Greece for his holiday, but he was only away for a week, and returned to our two-day record-breaking heatwave when, on Monday and Tuesday, it was not possible to lay slabs as the mortar would have gone off too quickly. So a little cobbling was done on Monday, together with more marking out with Pat (who has now gone with his family to Cyprus) and Tuesday was a day off. We had 37 degrees of heat and established that a house that has been built to be well insulated to keep the heat in in winter will also largely keep the heat out in summer if you keep the doors and windows shut. We have the summer advantage that there is very little glass on the south elevation as our views are to the north.

Wednesday brought the flaggers out in force, and Dewi the joiner turned up to continue the cladding of the front porch. We went out for an hour in the afternoon and returned just as a Gon Granite left - they had taken the initiative to come into the unlocked house to fit the final piece of granite, the cill in the utility room. So, a productive day all round. Elizabeth made the curtains for her study/bedroom (we've fitted a blind to the skylight) and I put up the curtain rails.

delicately unloading more stone supplies

the outside of the porch is almost finished

some very clever detailing to fit with the stonework, and just the bottom trim needed now

less and less of the black building paper is showing

and at the back a whole new area of stone has been laid

there's at least as much again to complete, and a retaining wall to build

the last piece of granite is in place

one of the pair of curtains in the bay in Elizabeth's study


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