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!