Windows!!

Seven window fitters turned up today and brought all of our windows and doors with them in five vans.
Their first, and main task was to get each window in to the correct room. The only window that was really very heavy was the big one in the kitchen, and that weighed about 300 kilograms.
They bought a special machine of the kind seen on Grand Designs and wheeled it round to the back of the house.

We kept out of the way, but I did walk around the back after a couple of hours to see how they were getting on.

They have fitted all of the most difficult bits, although unfortunately one window on the top floor is cracked, so they need to send a replacement.
The back looks amazing, and the surprising thing is that looks almost like a mirror.

They are back on Monday to carry on with the rest of the house.

Ground working

If anyone reading this is thinking of changing jobs, then I really do not recommend ground work.
Maybe if I had a ride on digger it would be more fun, but with a little spade, trowel and bucket then it is just very hard work.
Also, digging right next to a large wall and into heavy clay probably doesn't help either.
Enough moaning though, because I think that I have finally finished.

It doesn't look it in the photo, but it is quite deep and with a couple of inches of water at the bottom.
We are leaving it to dry out a bit before we put the pipe in place and then bury it all again.
Tomorrow we are having a day off as the window fitters will be on site and this is how the front looks today.

I can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow.

Window update and action stations

The window company rang yesterday and politely asked me if it would be convenient for their surveyor to call round today to check our measurements. She apologised for the short notice, and it was a very exciting development.
At 1.15pm today Darren put the final board in place so that the window spaces were all finished.

Half an hour later the surveyor arrived and went around the house carefully measuring each opening.
Tension rose, but each one was carefully ticked off and eventually he announced that they were all good.
What a result for Darren who has spent ages sorting it out, and for me who had to try to make sense of the checklist that they sent us.
Unbelievably, the surveyor then said that the company would be sending three or four teams of fitters this Friday. He also said that 'hopefully they would smash most of the windows in by the end of the day'. A very worrying turn of phrase indeed.
The house is a complete mess with insulation, wood, paint, tools and rubbish everywhere, so after a celebratory cup of coffee I gave up on my job of digging a new drain and got on with a spring clean.

Gardening

Today I have been working outside, and have added a sunflower patch and a couple of pumpkins to the front garden.

It's not looking great yet, but give it a bit of time.
All of these plants were destined for Darren's mum's allotment, but as I said before, that isn't happening this year.
The tomatoes, peas and aubergines are also growing well,

although I ended up with too many, so gave lots away to our neighbours.
I have also been inspired to add some of my own, so have bought chilli plants, garlic, lettuce and pots of basil and coriander from Tescos that I have put into bigger pots.

Out in the garden I spent most of the day improving the side next to the staircase. Last year we dug out the clay soil for a big pond. This year I have decided to put the pond in a different place, so today I moved most of the clay back.

This is a strange photo that doesn't show what I have done, and I am surprised that I took it. Here is one from the opposite angle.

I also spent quite a bit of time digging a hole around one of the drainpipes, because we have to add another one and we need to know how to fit them together.

Front of the house

We are working on the front of the house, and Darren has been up and down the tower putting a wooden frame together.

He assigned me the task of cutting the insulation for the panels.
At long last I am getting the hang of it and whizzed through six pieces before Darren started fitting them in place.
It then turned out that I had been cutting up the 120 mm insulation that is going down on the floor and not the final two pieces of 100mm.
Bit of a sulk and stopped for lunch to get over it. Afterwards we put the cut pieces back on the floor pile, and I started all over again.
Amazingly all of the pieces fitted first time which is incredible, normally I end up shaving lots of slivers off each piece. The slightly annoying thing is that I have got good at it just as there is hardly any more left to do.

What a beautiful day it was though, and our street is looking very interesting.

Ps, I forgot to write this a couple of days ago, but after finishing work for the day we walked back to have a look at the house from the back. We saw that a cat was sitting on the window cill to Darren's workshop looking completely at home.

It's a good thing that he loves cats and isn't allergic to them!

New neighbours

There is a lot of activity going on around us, as lots of the builders are back on site.
Earlier this week they started the groundworks for the future house just behind us on the left.

It's all action now and very noisy, but it's great to see other people working.
The digger driver is so skilful and it is amazing how quickly he turns the machine around, and then stacks up huge amounts of clay. Lorries then queue up to take it all away.
Black and yellow striped concrete lorries have also been arriving and tipping whole loads into the foundation trenches.

As soon as the builders have finished these foundations they are going to start on our future neighbours house on the right, so it will be busy for a while now.