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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