While the cat's away ......

We have just got back from a very enjoyable 4-part trip to France, first watching our oldest grandson compete for England U18s in a Touch Rugby tournament in Vichy, then joining younger son and his family staying in the Ardeche, then visiting friends in Les Baux de Provence and lastly trying to make the long drive home enjoyable by spending a couple of days in Alsace.

While we've been away the team have completed the stone flagging down the side of the house. What now remains is to finish the large area in front of the house which will be a combination of a resin-bonded path and loose gravel. We assume this will have to wait until the front stone walls are built.

Rob the electrician has also been busy, fitting external lights and power points, including the two 16A circuits to the front and back gardens which are fitted with waterproof, campsite-style sockets. We will use these variously for outdoor equipment, greenhouse power, etc. He has also fitted the front porch lights which use a movement sensor.

On the joinery front, the walkway 'ceiling' has been completed, and all the window and door reveals now have their larch trim in place.

In the garage the fire sprinkler system has been completed with the fitting of a pump unit. Let's hope it's never needed! Helpfully the previously fitted branch to the garage itself has been removed, making it easier for me to store things above the rafters.

This morning we have had another pallet's worth of granite setts delivered, so we can expect some more work on the hard landscaping soon.

a big improvement

we had originally thought of having a gate here; now I'm not so sure

we have these front and back and hope we don't look too much like a campsite

more conventional outside power at the back

the magic eye on the left controls the porch lights at night

walkway cladding - more 'sharp' lines

a long time ago we thought we were going to have a ground source heat pump in this corner of the garage: now we've got a very different sort of pump, which we hope will never be needed

it's an interesting-looking piece of kit


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