Oak

26/11/13 will forever be know to us as Oak Day. On Tuesday the Oak trusses were delivered and with it came crowds of people watching from the front of the house and at the back.

The trusses ordered after we were dramatically let down by a previous supplier. This put our programme behind by 6 weeks and caused an awful lot of distress and delay to our project. Somehow as a team we all worked around the problems but at a cost!

OakMasters of Hayward's Heath in Sussex were able to come to the rescue but we still had to wait 6 weeks for the trusses to arrive. On Tuesday they most certainly did.

A crane was hired and in they went. It took nearly all day as the hips by the bay had to be cut in site.

We added a special touch for austerity for our boys, their initials to the centre trusses.

Time flies

Since last post so much has happened which is why I've not had time to write about it!

We have an almost functioning bathroom, Oak in situ, a window in place, a front door, screed in the front bedroom, a working garage door, a new hallway and a very bright sun pipe....more details to follow!

Heating on!

On the 5th of August 2013 our gas supply was moved to a new location due to the demolition works required for the build. As such we have been without heating since that time, and for a week after the 5th we were without hot water but that is a distant memory....

On the 4th of November our heating was switched on again! Just in time for fireworks night! 

It's amazing how quickly the house warmed up again and soon those biting cold nights of October and November will be a distant memory....

A final job which will hopefully be this weekend will be the cylinder move ! Pic to follow!

Redland 49's

For the past couple of weeks I have been like an internet stalker seeking out 'pre-worn' roof tiles to match our existing roof. Not quite as easy as I thought it would be! We so far have acquired 850 with about 350 to collect at the weekend. The whole family including 2 boys  and the dog have piled into the eBay purchased truck in order to secure enough for our roof. So far we've been on road trips to Brighton, deepest Guildford, Worcester park and this weekend Mitcham! 

The poor truck has just about coped but at 8lbs in weight per tile... Has been quite a weight for it to carry!

Stormy times

Still we have no heating which so far is managable ..... However that can change at any time. I fact this weekend we are being told that a nasty storm is possibly heading our way. Now I normally like a bit of tubulant weather, however this could be catastrophic for us in out current state.

The builders today have Been working hard to protect us as best as they can given the circumstances. 

Roof works 2

It's been a couple of weeks since last posting, and lots has happened!

Our roof has really taken shape, the builder has built an amazingly beautiful (if that is even possible) ceiling in the garage. We were initially going to pluboard the ceiling but after seeing the splayed timber pattern I think it will look better left open. 

The flat roof works with bitumen and felt has started with the 1st layer now in place (yesterday) and now we are water tight in all of the flat roof areas! Great news. 

Next week the pitched roof areas will be play's and felted and then the very exciting job of putting the tiles on. See the next post for the tile saga!

Progress

It isn't until you look back that you see how much progress has actually been made.

So in spite of the cold weather and disappointments of this week, we will remain positive and carry on building!