The scaffolding goes up

Our Indian summer kept going a few days longer, thank goodness, and the house continued to heave itself out of the ground. There’s not actually much blockwork on the main living floor, above the bunker-like basement. Much of it is open plan and external walls are punctuated by a lot of glass.

The site is now swathed in scaffolding, which is great for morale as it makes it look as if we’re progressing. It’s also great for those who have lost wellies trying to negotiate their way around the site (my count is now three) and the dogs, who have a new race track and can get to the builders’ sandwiches that much quicker.

We are actually making good progress – although sometimes we don’t realise this, so it’s helpful to look back at recent photos to remind us. On a day-by-day basis it can seem like we’ve been getting nowhere.

Some of the steels are in, as well as much of the blockwork for the main living floor. We can already see the outline of the children’s bedrooms at the western end of the house, which is exciting news.

The steels for the timber framed top box (where we will have our bedroom and office) have been going in, and we’ve been admiring the vista from the scaffolding up there.

We’ve got pretty good views in all directions, and the office and bedroom have been designed to showcase them. They overhang the main living floor, so they seem to float, creating one of the house’s signature features.

Work on the damp proof membrane has just about finished, which is a relief all round. The solution we’ve been using has been an expensive and slightly unexpected palaver, but given the design and site conditions, is essential.

The weather has been what has really held us up, though. We had been catching up a bit in the dry spell, but the return of rain and wind towards the end of the month put the mockers on that.

Looking at the original schedule, which seemed a tad optimistic even before the rain started again, we seem to be six to seven weeks behind. Although this is frustrating for us, as we’re still living and trying to work in the current Hookgate Cottage on site, it is by no means a disaster.