Note the plastered ceiling on that last photo. Oh yes it's all happening.
In other news, the north and south meadows are looking lovely and lush in all the rain. I don't have pics sorry, but we're about to mow the paths into the north one and it will look great, I'll post pics afterwards.
What else?
Kitchen fitter is booked in Concrete floor gets its final polish soon Burnt larch cladding will be done in the next week or so The awful protective tape is off the lovely black window frames - again no photos sorry
Next to go will be a large conifer (just out of shot here) to make way for our bin store, and a willow tree which has grown in the wall separating the property from the bungalow next door. Then we can repair the boundary drystone wall.
Time to clad the house in its best party frock. We think the two-tone burnt-larch and stone coloured render one will do nicely.
Thanks to Shepley Plastering and Carbon By Design for Mount Pleasant's elegant facade. Obvs the full elegance will happen later, this is work in progress, but nonetheless very exciting.
Plasterboard is also going up on the interior. Oh yes, it's all happening.
In other news, our bug hotel has arrived. Yes bug hotel. Pics when it's been erected. Erected, I say. In the graveyard. Yes in the graveyard. Just wait, you'll love it.
And here, in full widescreen splendour, is our polished concrete floor being poured and .. polished. A balletic performance with quite a large cast. This leaves it nicely mottled as we requested, but not with its final shine and seal - that comes after the interior is properly finished with plasterboard etc.
We have our first pressure test tomorrow - yes, pressure test. They pump air into the house, and check how long the pressure stays. Basically it tests how good the house is at keeping warmth in in Winter, and out in Summer.
If it loses 0.6 of its volume in an hour, that's considered Passivhaus standard. If it's around 1.2 it's still ok. The Architect is hoping for 0.5...
It's been ages since I posted and lots has changed.
Despite the odd bent nail, the roof's all done, with solar panels (this was back in June when the sun shone)
Floor's also done. There'll be video of the concrete pour soon. As I type, the floor is generating, via the concrete going off, more heat than the underfloor heating will ever produce. It really is hot in there. The floor looks lovely (honest) but won't reach final glory until it gets a final polish, near the end of the job.
I will admit, the North Meadow was hard work. I ended up with a very sore back and I hope never to do so much rock-shifting, digging and wheel-barrowing again. It's now seeded and with the recent rain it's greening up nicely..
The shrubs will be in a mulched section, we await the bark chippings for it. The plan (probably already mentioned) is for strimmed paths to evolve among the meadow grass and flowers. Imagine it without the scruffy hoardings and with those two trees taken down, giving a proper view up the valley to Kinder. I do all the time.
We spent yesterday choosing bathroom fittings, tiles, carpets and flooring for the whole house, so that's a big chunk of work out of the way.
Rendering starts on Friday and should only take a few days. Soon it will be time to move the scaffolding and have a proper look at the place.
We still think we can be in by late September. Wish us luck :-)
I'm an engineer, so expect the expected. I dislike coriander. I like owls. I hate cold water. Repeating tensions such as clocks and dripping taps, which drive some people crazy, don't seem to affect me. I survived cancer in 2019. I once drank seven mugs of tea in 15 minutes. I have trouble understanding why people keep dogs as pets. All of my names contain 7 letters. My lowest three vertebrae are held in place by titanium rods. Deep water represents the unknown, which terrifies me. I read slowly. I eat quickly. I was briefly insane in the autumn of 1990. My happiest moments were spent throwing arrows around a field when I was 12. My favourite colour is blue. I rarely catch colds. I believe that not taking part in any physical activity after the age of 30 is the equivalent of not ducking when being punched. I accept and respect the existence of an opposite point of view. I wish I had a good plot idea so I could write a book. I have never bought a tabloid newspaper. I sink in water. Of the five people I spent my teenage years with, three are dead. I think that in a family context, love should be unconditional. I believe to the core of my being that man's most divisive and destructive creation is God. I neglected my father and regret it now he's gone. I can hear and memorise numbers instantly and retain them indefinitely, but forget what my wife tells me in seconds. I dislike fruit in desserts. Masks scare me. Only my family should shorten my first name. I intend to live to the age of 121. There is no retina in my right eye. I've been to five continents but I hate sight-seeing.
