First update for six months

It's 6 months since my last post, and 16 months since we moved in. We always knew that we would have to wait a while for things like the stone boundary walls and the woodburning stove - a combination of waiting for much-in-demand craftspeople and supply delays. Now we have a few things happening again.

We have gates - galvanised steel gates made locally and, in the case of the ones at the front of the house, hung on posts which will be enclosed by stone boundary walls. Closure fixings for the side gates are still to be fitted.





We also have our woodburning stove, though it is still awaiting installation. We know that our underfloor heating is so efficient that we will probably never actually need to use the woodburner, but it will be there for occasional entertainment, as an additional focal point in the room and as possible back-up in case of a long power-cut.



One concern we had last winter on the few days when the external temperature dropped significantly below zero was for the place in our attached garage where the water supply comes into the house and where the pump for the (compulsory in new-builds in Wales) automatic fire sprinkler system is housed. I decided that I would construct a little inner-room at this end of the garage to make it economical to have a thermostat-controlled electric heater keeping the temperature a good few degrees above zero on the coldest days. An additional advantage is that this will be a good place to store paint, the pressure washer and a few other things that don't like the cold. I've picked up a door on free cycle and started to fit stud walls which will be boarded with OSB, insulated, and lined with shelving.


Outside, a fine day gave me the chance to get the scaffold tower (or some of it) out to access some of the upper windows which had small spatters of render on them. My pole-based window-cleaning kit just wouldn't shift the stuff. And yes, I know, I should have fitted safety rails, but my nod to the HSE (which in any event doesn't control private individuals' actions) was to use the tower instead of a ladder.


So things have been progressing slowly, but the development we are really excited about is the appearance of Andy, the stonemason. He is in such demand that even Pat our builder has to be prepared to wait for his availability. We've waited a bit more than a year, but now we have lift-off, and work has started on the lower front wall, which fronts what will be an external flower bed. There will be a higher, internal front wall which will not interfere with drivers' sightlines as they approach the corner just past the house.


The work is slow and painstaking, involving time spent dressing the stones before construction can begin. This is how it looks after three days. (You get the photographic bonus of the new 20mph signage introduced in all built-up areas in Wales just last month.) We're hoping to have Andy on site for a while - I'll keep you posted.



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