Nearing the end of 2013...

At the beginning of this year all we had were a set of plans, some building regs drawings, a caravan, each other and some dreams.... but now we have the main structure of a house, still living in the Caravan, we're recording the build progress as part of "Building the Dream" and I now have a Fiance. What a difference 12 months makes!!!!

During the Christmas break we have a lot of plans on what we will be doing, but obviously the weather will play a part. We hope to put some more stone on the drive to help tidy it up a bit under foot (after the 11.5 tonne telehandler etc churned it up), paint the gables, feather edge boards and the roof soffits, rafters etc and doing the insulation in the roof!

Just 3 months ago we started to put the foundations in and now as Christmas approaches we have the shell of the house up, roof on and tiled, the upstairs floorboards in place, stud walling upstairs and we can really start to envisage what it will be like to live there.

We've now got nearly 10 days to do as much as we can before the end of the year!

Have a Great Christmas!

Tim & Fliss

There's no point crying over spilt, erm, paint?

We've had an exciting week or so since the last blog which has seen Building control doing an inspection visit, the external roof carpentry finished, felt and batten on, tiling started and we've ordered timber for cladding and roof insulation along with three tins of paint/stain ready to go... well until "the incident"!!!

So I will start with the roof carpentry. It's amazing how much has been achieved in a relatively short amount of time with the roof works, even with some hold ups waiting for materials.

Roof trimmed out for rooflights

External roof carpentry, including attic trusses, roof light windows trimmed out, the centre hand made on site section all ready for felt and batten.

Last Friday saw the roofers come on site and in less than a day our house had felt and batten on, so we were water tight (well the roof anyway). 

Felt and batten on, ready for tiles

We were expecting the roof tiling to be started on Monday and the roofers were on site all ready to go, but there was a hold up with the tile delivery which meant this was delayed until yesterday. 

Very quickly however it has gone from this...

To this...

Tiles stacked in position around the house

Tiles on the back of the house. 

We chose the tiles quite a few weeks ago now and we are both delighted with how they look on the house! Neither Fliss or I wanted the tiles to look too red and we wanted to achieve a rustic look to compliment the way the house will look once it is finished and to blend into the local scenery.

Roof from the front after day 1 of tiling

The oak frame trimmed on the edges with slate soffits

By end of the week the roof will, if not finished, be pretty close. There is still some internal ceiling joist work to be completed, but a few holds ups with materials have delayed this a little. 

I suppose I ought to clear up (no pun intended, but Fliss did most of it if truth be known) the tin of paint incident. To set the scene, we both had a very productive Tuesday with the timber cladding ordered from local Timber Merchants Powell & Co, Kingsland, the first batch of Kingspan Insulation ordered and we (well Fliss) had finally chosen the colouring, "Chicago Grey" from the Sadolin Classic Wood Protection range to go on the timber cladding.

Naturally I was keen to "pop the top off" to have a proper look at the colour... as I did so the cat decided attack me at exactly that point, which lead to a slow motion fall of the tin only rivalled by the baywatch beach run... In my head I shouted nooooooooo and then heroically dived across the floor to rescue the last bit of paint before it left the tin, in reality I stood there like a lemon thinking "oh s**t" that's just wasted best part of £65 while Fliss calmely started to rectify the situation. It went everywhere. All over my shoes, trousers and the carpet in the caravan, but after 2 days of scrubbing with WD40 and blotting with anything that looked like it would remotely absorb, the carpet looks a lot better, and it's nothing that a big rug won't sort! 

#thankgodflissdoesn'tmoanasmuchasme

What a difference a week makes...

Surprisingly we've had another dry week... We've gone from being topless (and I'm not talking about parading in the winter sunshine earlier in the week) - to the bulk of the roof structure being in place. 

The attic trusses took a bit of handling because they were delivered upside down and had to be turned around in a small space before being lifted into position on the ready erected frame. 

 Attic trusses being manoevered before being turned around and lifted into position.

Attic trusses form the bulk of the roof, giving us space to fit two good sized rooms a bathroom and a landing. They came pre-formed, which meant that the significant transformation took place very quickly. 

The first 4 trusses in position. 

Rooms taking shape, with the view through the window. 

Attic trusses in position prior to securing.

The centre section of the roof is being made on site. It's obviously a much slower process, but it's amazing how much Neil (the carpenter looking after the roof carpentry) has achieved in a relatively short space of time. It's good to have people on site who can see beyond just looking at the drawings and help ensure things move forwards smoothly. 

With a temporary deck down we've been able to stand in the upstairs bedrooms, peer through the trusses where the roof light windows will be and stand on the beam which will form the internal balcony. 

Frontal view from upstairs

Upstairs view of the rear

I also managed to squeeze in a spot of filming for Building the Dream. Fliss wasn't here this time, but Lee was able to capture a little bit more of our story and the significant change since the last visit where the oak frame was being erected. 

"Up on the roof", Robson & Jerome have nothing on me

The internal balcony taking shape

Truss ends shaped to match the oak on site by Neil

End of week one of the roof carpentry works

And there we are; another week on and very visible changes. I hope the weather holds again next week!

Ta ta for now, Tim 

The roof is coming...

After week 2 of the frame work, we were up to the wall plates, with scaffolding erected around the house and the internal bird cage - now the roof carpentry has started!

Scaffolding up, ready for the roof works to start.

There have been a few small complications with the frame, but this has been resolved and it was all fixed together ready for the roof. One the benefits of using a local company is that we didn't have to wait very long for it to be resolved and it didn't cause a delay to the project..

Last week felt quite a stressful week with lots to organise and arrange, but piece by piece it is getting closer to our finished home. I've learnt a lot this last week while discussing various facets of the building works, materials and more. Fortunately I have a lot of people to talk through most areas of the build and finishing. Utilising expertise from trades qualified and skilled in what they do is a key part of the building process, but I feel you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that at the end of it, it is our project and it will culminate in our dream home being developed.

After a bit of a mix up with the arrangement of the scaffolding supplier, I chose to arrange my own supplier. There were a few factors that influenced this, firstly they came highly recommended by several people I know and trust. Secondly they were competitively priced and finally I have had a relationship with them as a customer and have always found them straightforward to deal with. After being put back by a day, Boyd Scaffolding arrived on Thursday as agreed. They talked me through what they were going to do on site; and the scaffolding was up in 2 days. I wasn't on site while it went up, but they kept me up to date with information on progress and any queries they had.

Raised scaffolding at the gable ends

At the end of last week it was great to get up on the scaffolding to have a look at what the upstairs space might be like and of course the views we will get once the caravan moves! The kids were up this weekend and they hadn't seen it since it was just a base. A lot has happened in two weeks and they were quite excited by it all. 

Internal bird cage scaffolding inside the house.

Attic trusses being unloaded #ruraltrafficjamcaused

The roof carpentry has started this week, along with a spot of filming tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, Tim

Frame part erected, stroking the oak and a parrot named Dave...

I delayed writing this blog by a couple of days because this week promised to be really exciting for us, and we haven't been disappointed!

On Monday the main structure of our house arrived! I stayed on site for the morning to see what was going to happen, meet the Border Oak site team who will be putting our frame up and project manager. The Oak Frame arrived first followed by 2 packs of our softwood panels that will make up the ground floor all ready to be erected!

Border Oak Frame being delivered

Oak frame ready to be unpacked and assembled

2nd delivery of Monday, 2 packs of softwood panels

It's surprising how small it looks on the back of a delivery lorry, but as it is unpacked and starts to go up you really get a sense of how it will come together. Bit by bit, piece by piece. Like a big jigsaw, with very heavy pieces! 

Miserable weather, but the first part of the frame is assembled prior to being put together. This is the glazed section above the french doors on the front of the house

Shortly after this I left site for the rest of the day, but we returned at the end of the day to a pleasant surprise - the first part of the oak frame was up and in position. The only problem was it was dark so we couldn't have a proper look. Needless to say I woke VERY early and took the following snap just before 7am... I had waited until there was enough light to get a reasonable pic.

Main section of the Oak Frame in position at the end of Day 1 for Border Oak on Site

We knew today was going to be full on! Not only were we filming for Building the Dream with Lee from True North, but also we were hoping that a large part of the frame would be put up and we would be around to see it happen. We also had a meeting to finalise some choices on the colour of the windows and doors, door furniture and roof tiles. To start the day off the weather was fantastic, sunshine and blue sky - in November! 

The rear porch being hoisted into position and yes that is blue sky in November!

Lee photo bombing, albeit he probably didn't know!

When Lee arrived we presented him with his chamois (left from last visit) and a Parrot. Not a live one of course, but we felt it a vital addition to help us with concentration...Today's filming was good fun and we both felt much more relaxed with the camera around. I'm sure Dave helped with that. 

Everything seemed to be moving forwards quite swiftly, but while the Oak frame was being put into position we came across a slight problem with the positioning of one of the beams on the front bay window section. It was causing a slight problem with the rear of the frame being lined up, but after a bit of re-measuring and discussion it was easily resolved onsite without too much of an issue; so onwards we moved.  

The Oak Frame up in it's full form.

View from the front

We wrapped up the filming for the day after around 4 hours on site - it seemed to fly by. It's great to see the house taking shape, with a real feel for size and volume (thanks for that word Merry). The Oak looks very substantial and sturdy and is a very tactile product and I couldn't resist having a stroke. 

To finish our day off, I've confirmed details and booked Boyd Scaffolding for next week in preparation for the roof joinery the week after next. 

Thanks for reading! 

Tim

A temporary lull...

After the frantic activity of the base works being carried out, we've reached a bit of a lull in the build. It feels really strange to go from something new happening everyday to what seems like no progress at all. 

Since the last blog, we've used the time to organise a few bits and look at a some finishing options for the interior. We've bought a new light, this time for the entrance hall as we try to buy some on the nice finishing items, as we go along so if the budget gets tight at the end these areas aren't affected too much. 

We're exploring the possibility of a polished concrete floor for the main living space as an alternative to wood flooring (which I need to follow up this week), we have one price for the stairs and are waiting for another and we have been trawling the internet (bought a shower base and screen) to try to decide what we can do with the bath and shower rooms.

We also had a visit from the Architect to inspect the works so far as part of the Architects Certificate. No problems to report, which was expected however still a relief. 

The biggest bit of news though is that our frame has now been through the Border Oak workshops and they are due on site to start erecting on Monday 11th - thats a week tomorrow!!! It's really exciting to think that the building activity is going to resume and less than 3 weeks we should have a house shell and another 3 weeks on, before the turn of the year, we should have a roof on! Lee from True North will be down on Tuesday 12th to film some more for Building the Dream, so we can capture some of the frame going up.  

Over the next week we'll need to organise some of the trades to get first fix moving along so we can make some real progress internally early in the new year and also make arrangements with Kingspan Insulation for delivery!

Thanks for reading, Tim

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Slab down, we're out the ground

Yes!!!! The riggers are dirty and we're completely out of the ground! As planned the concrete was poured on Wednesday this week, albeit with a bit of a delay! MGL Building arrived just after 7am to make sure everything was ready for the slab being poured at 8:30... we received a phone call from Travis to let us know there was an hour delay, 9:30 came and went. It seemed a very long wait with the lorry finally arriving at around 10:30. 

 Concrete slab being leveled and air taken out

It's the first time we have experienced a delay on site, fortunately though it didn't cause too many problems. We still just managed to beat the rain and get everything leveled as we needed. Up until this point building control at Herefordshire Council have done a few inspections to make sure the work carried out meets regulations, but we've got our first visit from the architect overseeing the build this week (he is doing certification for the build). Because we are managing the build ourselves it would have been very difficult to gain an NHBC warranty so we have opted for an Architects Certificate instead. We needed to have this or similar in place for the mortgage. Temporarily the build will be at standstill for a little while, but it will give us a bit of a breather to sort out some things for when the structure is completed and we are in the dry.

Finished concrete slab

Following on from Grand Designs Live, we've received most of our expected samples for flooring through the post from our visit to Grand Designs Live, which will give us something to think about over the next couple of weeks. We aren't yet decided on the flooring! We've also got some information through about a great wall finishing product we intend using in the bathroom from Natural Stone Veneer. 

This weekend the kids are down. It's 2 weeks since they were last up and there has been a marked change (last time all they saw was concrete in the foundations and that was it). After Josh playing football, we took a detour on the way home to Swansea to pick up our feature light from http://www.thelightcompany.co.uk/. Although you can order directly The Light Company, Swansea online, we were looking for lights during our stay in Swansea and when we walked past the window it really caught our eye. After looking at it at length, trying to make sure it would fit where we thought, we both decided it would be perfect. We managed to get a really good deal and paid for it there and then, arranging to have it sent up via carrier once it had been packed away. During the week however I got a phone call from the shop to say they were concerned about sending it because it was very delicate. Although I had to go out of the way to pick it up, they refunded the carriage and it showed to me that they really cared that we got our light in top condition. 

So there we are, we have a bit of a breather for a few weeks. It's now over to Border Oak for the frame! I can't wait to get more news as things are progressing with our frame and get more info on when they will be onsite!

TTFN, Tim

Ahh, but this tape measure is different... and rain could have caused a disaster.

Slightly behind schedule on the blog, but fortunately the same doesn't apply for the build! 

I'll start off with one of the issues we had! So far throughout the build we've moved a lot of soil, neatly tumped down the bottom of the garden... or so I thought. We've put Gabions filled with stone to retain the soil, which isn't a problem however a prolonged day of rain; and more rain on Thursday caused the soil banked near the hedge to shift and the consequence was the hedge collapsing... into the road! This could have been a big problem, but after a bit of good patch up work from Mum and my brother (who were the first responders in this case) to tie the hedge back, we trimmed it back temporarily and MGL managed to get Pete back on site (Pete helped with the digger work on the foundations) and he moved the soil away from the road edge of the plot. Disaster averted, thankfully. 

Now to look at some more positive activity! Last week saw the completion of the block and brick work to damp proof course level. This means we are officially out of the ground in just under two weeks! 

Base with damp proof membrane ready for the concrete slab

We've got the concrete slab being poured on Wednesday this week, which means we are ahead of schedule and managed to do so even with a few days of poor weather (sorry about that Mark)! Pretty much all of our base works products have been ordered through Travis Perkins, Leominster. I don't know if all depots are the same but they have been knowledgeable, very helpful throughout and everything has been delivered on time, when they said, with little fuss. I can't stress enough the importance of this in assisting with getting the base done quickly. 

Once the concrete is poured we'll be ready for Border Oak with the frame! We've ordered the roof windows from Travis Perkins and they will store them for us until we need them. We are a bit ahead of where we thought we'd be at this stage, because the frame isn't due to go through the Border Oak workshops for another couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted on this. 

After the rain, I've bitten the bullet and purchased myself some rigger boots - I've always fancied a pair and now I have a legitimate reason for them and at least I look the part!

They're dirty now, honest

This weekend saw Fliss and I visit Grand Designs Live at the NEC. with the aim of finding inspiration for some of the finishes and also potential suppliers. In a word PACKED. Lots of shuffling to move through the crowds, but was great to find some inspiration, some affordable some well out of our budget. 

A couple of neat products we found were, pocket doors for the upstairs bathroom (I'll re-visit this at a later date), some interesting stone finishing products and there was flooring options galore. We're also seriously considering a Heat Recovery Ventilation System. It isn't something we have budgeted for, but if was can make the numbers work it might not be as expensive as we first thought. For those that don't know what this is, basically it is a way of keeping fresh air in the building. It does this by extracting air and moisture from the inside of the house, and replacing it fresh air, that is not cold because of the way the extraction system works (using an energy cell). There are lots of variations of the system (this is a very simple description). You'd need to ask experts in these systems for more detailed information. We have a few things to work through before deciding whether it will work for us (like where to put the main unit) and how to go about it, but it is something we are seriously thinking about. 

We also took the opportunity to chat with one of the #AskAnExpert team and we're mulling over what to do with the information provided.

Now did I mention a tape measure? We'll if you've read other blog entries, you may think I have an obsession for tape measures...  I would argue that it is simply an essential building tool. Yes I did buy another tape, but this one was different... it is a double sided 2 in 1 gap tape! What more could you want when measuring a gap!

Thanks for reading, Tim

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PS I've added a subscribe section on the top right of this blog to make it easier to follow the build. 

Back to the future...

or maybe not?

I saw on facebook that last Tuesday was the date in which the famed (for people of my era) Delorean visited and it got me thinking of how I may have been watching our build being carried out if more of the things shown in the film were as predicted - for starters Mark & Pete, the builders, might have arrived on their hover boards...  I can't tell you how disappointed I am to find out that unless it is the date in Episode 3 where they don't actually name a date, I am 2 years and the best part of a month too early!

Even though the Back to the Future hoax has rendered me a bit disappointed this week has given me a glimpse into our future... in more ways than one!

We've both been off this week, so we could see things unfold, make tea for the workers, lean on a shovel a bit, and hand out Fliss' Bacon sarnies! Within the first two days of the week the house has been marked out, foundations dug and inspected by building control. Now we can start to see the space in reality.

 Part way through digging foundation trenches

Foundation trenches dug out and inspected, ready to pour concrete! The hole in the center isn't for a toilet  (thank you for that input Phil Clewer), but the newel post for the turn in the stairs

We also had the drawings for the frame through from Border Oak for us to approve. They were exactly what we were hoping for and gave us a little bit more understanding of how the mix of oak & soft wood frame would work together. On Wednesday we had a day off building activity on site, but we managed to squeeze in some filming for "Building the Dream" with cameraman Lee. It was just the three of us this time and we re-capped what had happened during the last filming session along with what was going on at present. It was good fun and felt much easier this time around - Lee also managed to have a bit of cake! We also signed off the amendments from Border Oak, because of the changes we made and received an idea of how the schedule of the build might work out if everything goes to plan. On Thursday, I had my chance to get behind the camera and film the concrete being poured. Not sure I will be the next "Lee Chapman", but gave it my best and we'll see if any of it is used when the cut is produced (yep another technical term I'm not sure is exactly right, but I know what I mean)!!!

The biggest bit of news of our story, isn't directly related to the build, however by way of a poem I wrote especially, I also managed to convince Fliss to agree to be my wife! Those that know Fliss well, know how fussy she is (especially Jewelry) so I had spoken to Darren Pugh Design to give him some ideas I had. How wrong my ideas were, but we have been over to design the ring, scale drawings will be done for a week Tuesday. Although I didn't envisage we'd be pouring concrete on the morning of my proposal, I had it all planned out and managed to keep it a surprise! 

So, all in all a very exciting week! Not sure I can top this one (for me anyway) next week, but will keep you up to date on how things progress with the block work on the base! The bricks and blocks have been delivered and are here ready to go. 

By for now, from a VeRy HaPpY mE!

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Note to self: lights on in a caravan at this time of the year only means one thing...

...daddy-longlegs will invade!

With the exception of some soil being taken away as mentioned last week, my main physical activity this week has been removing daddy-longlegs from the caravan - there have been loads! It's been quite while since we lived in an actual house now, but I don't remember it being this bad before. Needless to say, I won't be leaving doors open and lights on in the evenings on any more! One thing that is useful to know though is that there is a common myth that they are highly poisonous but cannot bite humans, according to the University of California this isn't true...

With a big week looming, over the course of the weekend, I have mostly been me looking up at the sky and checking the weather forecast every hour, hoping that the weather will be dry for next week! The forecast is good, so we'll have to wait and see! While there hasn't been too much visible activity this week, there has been quite a lot that has been sorted and organised.

We've ordered the bricks from Travis Perkins ready to build the lower part of the building, to sit the frame onto. I wasn't too sure what time this needed to be done, but MGL builders have really helped to prioritise what to do and when. It's a god job too, because there is a local shortage of bricks and blocks - something I wouldn't have even thought could have been a problem. I am not sure if this is right or not, but I am lead to believe this is because of the regeneration of the old Hereford Cattle Market site. I don't think it will pose a problem for us, but it is another thing I would have expected to be very straight forward. 

We also managed to finalize insulation. It won't come as too much of a shock to those of you who are from Herefordshire, but we have chosen to use Kingspan Insulation. As I have said previously, wherever feasibly possible we will try to use local products/suppliers/trades and with Kingspan Insulation based just down the road in Pembridge, they were always on our wish list of products we would have preferred to use. That said, we looked at lots of options before deciding to go with them because with our limited budget and limited (but ever expanding) knowledge & understanding, we couldn't afford not to check and compare. When you add in the fact that due to an oversight on my part, I hadn't properly priced insulation as part of our original budget plan (we have a contingency built in to the plan, but insulation shouldn't be something that is a contingency)!!! With the budgeting we have tried to allow for worst case scenarios, but we might have had a real problem that could have held up progress and our budgets may have been seriously affected.

The Kingspan website, http://www.kingspaninsulation.co.uk contains a wealth of information regarding product options, properties & performance values and we utilised their technical expertise in planning what to use to give us the most suitable insulation solution. Using there recommendations along with some original suggestions by Jim Hicks/Border Oak, we have decided to go with the Kooltherm products. For the floor we will be using the K3 Floor insulation, to insulate the walls we will be using 100mm K12 Timber frame Insulation along with 37.5mm K18 Insulated plasterboard. For the roof, we will be using K7 Pitched roof insulation. We don't ever intend moving from Forty Acres, so long term planning is an important part of our decision making. Combining the Kingspan products will mean that the building will be very efficient, helping keep the long-term energy costs down.

I have spoken to several local companies this week to make preliminary enquiries about the stairs. We have a wish list, but depending on how the budget stretches we may need to make compromises with this one. We are also hoping this week to tie up our choice on roof light suppliers. 

Both Fliss & I are off work next week, which coincides perfectly for the start. We've got quite a lot we want to look at and MGL will be here Monday to make a start.This week will definitely be a BIG one for us!!!! By the end of the week we should have foundations in place. I can't wait to see that first digger bucket enter the ground as the foundations are started.

Weather permitting, by the next Blog installment we will have some visible progress!

Mistakes made, but new plans laid...

I said I would come back to re-visit the plans (again) this week and here they are dah-dah!

Pic: shows new fully glazed front oak section

The plans have proven to be a really tough challenge, and I wanted to share with you some of the mistakes I think we made and also what we have done to resolve those. 

Firstly, the outline planning was done by Mum & Dad. We are really grateful for this, because without it we wouldn't be in the position we are now - soon to be building our new home! That said our lack of understanding of the planning process has meant that, until now, we didn't make the most of the plans. 

There isn't anything wrong with the process we went through, but we did make mistakes. Here are the mains ones, I think could be avoided if we were to ever do the same again. Mistake number 1, we assumed the original drawing was exactly what we had to follow, which meant all building reg plans were done based on this plan. This isn't necessarily the case. Mistake number 2, we assumed that we couldn't have an upstairs so the plans reflected this. Mistake number 3, we failed to dream and envisage what it would be like. Mistake number 4, we should have had someone look over the plans with fresh eyes earlier, we have been very fortunate to have benefited from this as part of "Building the Dream." The consequence of our mistakes is that we will have spent more money on the planning process and drawings and we've also caused more stress than necessary for us and more time pressure for the architect. 

When we met Charlie he hit us with his suggestions with one foul swoop - part of which I am sure was for the benefit of the program, but after we had some time to reflect on them most of the suggestions will make a real difference. He suggested that we changed around the whole downstairs living space (the position of the kitchen, lounge, dining areas), this one we aren't planning on doing. He also suggested that we move the rear wall inline on the rear, either leaving a small oak porch on the rear or removing it altogether. We have decided that we like the frame as it is and will be leaving it as a porch (as shown below). Moving the rear wall in slightly will mean that there is less surface area to lose heat and we can have a turn in the stairs, which is something we really wanted! He also suggested that we glazed the whole front oak frame and to maximise the aesthetic impact and light into the building (as shown above). He added that we should take a section of the upstairs landing away, which will give us light upstairs along with also make the Oak frame entirely visible and not stuck in a cupboard. 

We had approx 2 weeks to get these plans tweaked to reflect our new ideas, and JJH have managed to come up with the goods in a very short space of time. I had been patiently waiting, for what seems like an eternity and the plans finally came through yesterday. For those with an eye for detail, you may have noticed that the building finish has changed slightly, to be weatherboard throughout. JJH made this suggestion because there wasn't a natural break on the rear because there is now a porch instead of being part of the centre on the house. Initially it took some getting used to the new idea, but having previously costed the build, this may actually save some cost on the external finish - which can be used somewhere else!

Pic: shows new exposed oak porch on rear of building and weather boarding change

We are both delighted with the new plans! Having a learnt a little throughout this process, I am not expecting them to be perfect and I am sure we will come across things as we are living there that we could have done differently. It's easy with the benefit of hindsight, but we haven't built or project managed a house build before!

To sum up what I've learned from the planning process I would say; seek advice from experts and people who have been through the same process, BUT don't take anything as gospel without checking and double checking things for yourself. Dream and have vision or seek inspiration. If like me you aren't particularly visually creative, look at magazines, the internet other people houses etc to get ideas - and don't be afraid to borrow them!

Now off on a different tangent, we've had confirmation that the base works will be started week of the 23rd September. Hitrees are also coming this week to take away a little more soil to ensure we have a decent amount of space around the building to have suitable paths. 

I really hope the weather holds up!!!

By for now, Tim

Pic: shows new downstairs window to east elevation (down the garden)

Lights, camera, action... The next Tom Cruise?

As you know we had our first filming session for the "Building the Dream" series, it was the first time for either of us doing anything like that, and what made it even more nerve wracking was that until this day we hadn't even met anyone from True North - and we haven't even seen an episode, because it hasn't been on air yet... Sorry if this goes on a bit, but I just wanted to try and capture everything that happened. 

After work at the Garage on Tuesday night, I went to help mum and dad do a bit more towards their move, but once it got dark we headed back to the van for the compulsory "tidy up, cobweb check & bathroom clean." I tried to explain that it was 3 men coming and they probably wouldn't notice cobwebs anyway, but alas my point was ignored so I gathered the feather duster to remove the webs. I wasn't feeling particularly nervous that evening, more curious as to how the day would unfold - all we knew was that the crew were going to be with us at around 10 am, with Charlie joining us around 10:30 and we would be heading to lunch around 12:30 at The Corners. Tidying and temporary removal done for the night, we went to bed.

I woke early (again), so got up to do a bit more moving/tidying. I think nervously excited best describes how I was feeling. When Fliss got up a little later, she didn't seem at all worried about the cameras, just wanting to make sure the van was clean... 

We had a phone call around 9 from Lee the director for the day to say traffic was bad and they wouldn't be here until 11ish. It wasn't a major problem because we had both planned for the day anyway... When the crew arrived, I don't know why (as only 2 names were mentioned when we were confirming things), I was expecting more than 2 people. Both Lee & Stoksey introduced themselves and immediately made us feel at ease, there was an energy that they seemed to generate. They were more or less straight to it, with barely even time to have a cuppa. We had a quick walk around the plot and Lee ran through what would happen, while Stoksey fetched the camera out of the van (slightly better & different to my Nikon) and set up checking light etc. Charlie arrived and we chatted for a while, mostly about cars and living in the Caravan & I made another cuppa (see I do make the tea). So far so good.

We then set about filming, it was fairly light hearted, with banter between the crew and Charlie. We were told to relax and ignore the camera and then it was shoved in our faces approx 2 feet away from us (very relaxing!!!) It started with a Q & A session where Charlie asked questions about our plans etc and after a nervous start I got into it a bit. Fliss didn't seem at all phased, which I have to say I was surprised about. This first part took a couple of hours and the questions & answers were asked several times and it was shot from several directions/ways. Once we shot a few rushes, yep I am now down with the lingo (although I'm not sure if it means the same as I think it does), we finished that segment and headed down to The Corners Inn. 

The next section of filming was focused on our plans. Both Border Oak & JJH Architectural Design had agreed to let the plans be filmed and used for the program. Whilst we waited Charlie spent some time looking over the plans, but no notes were made - I said that must be good news, Charlie laughed... we then re-started filming and we discussed the plans, I can't actually remember the discussion we had, but then Charlie began to scribble on the drawings. It seemed to be about 100 miles per hour, then he hit us with his suggestions. Silence. It felt like we were silent for about half an hour, both Fliss and I were stunned. I hadn't been expecting that and I felt myself getting agitated and defending what we had done previously. I really don't know why because it wasn't supposed to be picking apart our plans, and on reflection it wasn't even given to us in that way. I think it demonstrates how much this all means to me. We broke for lunch and once that was done, we went back and discussed his suggestions again on camera - it was at that point that it registered some of the suggestions he made were really good and one of the would transform the house, in our view (now we have got used to it), for the better. All I can remember thinking was, oh god, we've only got around 2 weeks to get these changes made before the building starts being produced - how on earth would this work as we didn't really want to delay the build any further... Thankfully after a few Emails and phone calls to Jim at JJH & Border Oak, I think we will be OK (I'll come back to this next week).

We then wrapped up the filming inside, Wayne Mills the new club house manager at Luctonians attempted a bit of discreet photo bombing, when moving the van (hopefully he managed to get in the shot) and we moved outside for the final bit of filming for the day. The last bit was a walk down the village, I assume for some kind of intro to the program.

We finished, sorted out the agreements and then left, with our own camera (not quite as good as the one being used on the day I might add) to use in between filming sessions. With the exception of a quick Oldfields/Markhams rescue for the crew (thanks Tavey for the lending the tools), who managed to push a step onto the tyre when going down a curb on the way out of The Corners, that was it.

I don't think Tom Cruise has anything to worry about just yet, but I don't think we did too bad considering! Next blog I'll talk through Charlies suggestions for the revised plans (again, sorry Jim).

Thanks, Tim

PS - The first series on Building the Dream will be on air on More 4 at 9pm Tuesday from next week (10th September). We'll be watching to see what we have let ourselves in for!