Walls done

It has been a really good day of progress today, the roof space is really taking shape.

Cutting the wooden column to size

The new column goes upstairs

The side of the doorway in place

Making sure it is very secure

Filling the gap with blocks

The first thing the men did when they got in was started to cut and trim a 10x10 beam to size to act as the side of the doorway into the back part of the roof. With the trimming done Bekir lifted it up and then set it in place before securing it with metal brackets. We've gone for a two meter wide double door here and it looks very much big enough. Once the upright was fixed in place the blockwork began again and this went quick, even though Bekir tied each course into the wood with more metal brackets.

Working on the raised beds

Unfortunately Rosie was off school again today as her sniffle still hasn't cleared up but Angela got them outside into the garden for some of the day to do some clearing and plant some new stuff. We hope this year to make more use of the garden and be more productive.

Very nearly finished all the walls

Measuring up for doors

Bekir cutting the final piece to size

The men cracked on with the blocks through the afternoon and had reached the very top of the wall by late in the day. The window people arrived towards the end of the day to measure up for the doors that we want installed up there for access to the storage and also between the two sections of roof. Hopefully they will be quick to quote and come and fit them. The end of the day saw the last section of block cut (though actually there is one more piece to be done at the other end which is waiting for some small fixes on the plasterboard) and now we really can see what the space looks like and it is great.

Rosie outside her awesome den den

I'll leave you with this picture of Rosie next to her "den den" that she built (with our help) by the front door. She is loving making these things, something I'm sure I used to do at her age as well. Fantastic.

So there it is; thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Camping, toilets and blockwork

Well it's Monday once more so let's get straight back to it.

Rosie enjoying her hot chocolate

I actually took very few pictures over the weekend. Friday night Rosie and I camped and it was great; we had our hot chocolate and it was raining lightly so you could hear that on the tent and then Rosie woke me in the morning "wake up wake up wake up" etc. It was fun. After that we didn't go out as we normally would but played games and just generally had a nice "in the house" day. On Sunday I set myself a crazy hobbying challenge and it took me all day to achieve, other than some very welcome breaks to sit with Rosie and also eat. And that was the weekend.

Extra security for the wall

More toilet problems

Back to block laying

Epic progress on the block work

This morning the men were in and went up to the roof to continue working on the block work. Bekir was tying the new wall above the stairs into the existing wooden frames using bits of metal going into the joints and they were making good progress. I then went out to the toilet pump block as the upstairs toilet has a little problem and I found that the downstairs toilet pump seal had broken (we discovered it is exactly the same problem as the other pump experienced) and there was poo everywhere; I helped to clean up a bit but mainly the men hosed it out and pulled the broken pump out. I'm getting seriously close to just going with normal toilets and being done with it. Anyway after they had finished that task they headed back upstairs and cracked on with the blocks and have reached the ceiling in a lot of places. It's looking great.

So there's the update. Thanks for reading and back tomorrow.

Block work

We've reached another weekend, can you believe how fast time is flying. Let's get to it!

Thelma hanging off her ball, through the bars

First of all a picture from yesterday evening after I did the blog; Thelma had her ball on the other side of the gate and rather than go round to get it she was just hanging off it, through the bars, for ages. She's very stubborn, but not very bright.

Bekir fits the final bits of plasterboard

Cleaning up the floor ready for brick laying

A wall is appearing at the top of the stairs

Starting to turn the corner

The wall is rising

Sweeping up loads of dust on the stairs

The men were back in and first of all finished off the final bits of insulating and plaster boarding to support the next block work. With this done they swept up and then used water to clean the final dust (and there is a lot of dust) from the work area and then got stuck in. They were laying blocks all day, though they had to go out to get some more supplies this morning, and got quite a bit done at the top of the stairs. At the end of the day Halil was sweeping the stairs and there was so much dust - I really can't wait for this to all be finished and floored and plastered and painted so no more dust comes down!

Gonna do some winter camping (it doesn't feel like winter!)

Firey sunset

Before Rosie got home from school I put the tent up as this winter has been so mild I think we can camp tonight. There was also a lovely sunset this evening, I took this picture from the roof terrace while up there with Rosie.

So there it is; thanks for reading and back Monday.

Panels in place

Well we've made it to another Friday and today has been another learning and slightly frustrating day however progress has been made.

We actually could see the sun this morning

Joining fittings being tightened into place

The panel is in place, but it doesn't fit

Bekir working to true the frame

It was a nice morning for once, and so lovely to see the dawn and the sun rise rather than the thick cloud or heavy fog we've had for days now. The men were in on time and headed out almost straight away to go to the shop to pick up a pipe cutter, the light fittings for the eaves crawl space storage, and also to check the invoice we've received. When they came back they set to work on the first of the solar panels, trimming the pipes to the same size and then fitting the joining fitments before shifting it onto the roof. I missed this process however when they had the panel in place they found that the frame was not 100% plumb and square and so they had to spend several hours fixing this slight mistake. We are learning so much doing this and that always makes it a little slower.

Halil trims the tiny pipe

Hefting the panel up onto the roof

Carrying it over to the correct location

Carefully sliding it into place

We have solar panels

There goes the sun

Bringing blocks in

With the frame now square it was time to prepare the second panel and get it fitted; they did the trimming of the pipe and then I watched, slightly panicked, as they lifted and carried it into place. It went without a hitch which was a huge relief and I left them to making the final adjustments to the frame and then joining the two panels together. The day was bookended by lovely sun while the middle of the day was cold and overcast again, and right at the end while Bekir was still finishing up on the roof Halil got the trolley and brought in a load of the blocks from the patio. He has also covered those he didn't bring in really well with plastic, in case it rains.

So there it is; we've made progress but there is rain forecast now so we may end up pausing our solar boiler experiment for a while until the weather improves. Let's see how it goes. Thanks for reading, back on Monday.

Two days in the roof

Two days in one to cover in this update as I went out last night with a friend and was back too late to want to write an update. Onwards.

Working out positioning

Trying to hoover all the dust (and failing)

Fitting wooden plugs into the wall

The junction box is ready

Cinder blocks for our walls

Sweeping the dust up

Dinner time

Yesterday started with more work on the electrics by Bekir while Halil worked on cleaning and tidying. The vacuum cleaner didn't really work as well as we wanted as the wide head didn't want to lift all the dirt but he stuck at it. They headed out mid day or so to get some more items for the electrics such as a junction box and some joint strips and they also ordered in a load of the wall blocks we are going to use for the dividers up there; these were delivered very quickly and I didn't even hear the truck drop them off so I missed the process but now they are stacked inside nicely. Upstairs Halil was continuing to sweep to remove as much dust as possible and it was a very dusty place indeed. All in all it was a good day and I went out (as I've said) to see my mate and had a lovely meal but was back much later than expected. Unfortunately it rained nearly all day, though it stopped for my walk home.

First block put in place for the wall

A gap for a door, and the corner

Bekir cutting a block to size

Fitting insulation (a horrible job)

Plasterboard in place

Mortar on the end wall

Today was another day of rain all day and I'm hoping the forecast for it to stop tomorrow is correct. The men were back to the roof this morning and first of all they started to lay out the bottom course of the blocks for the right hand wall of the corridor. We discussed doors and other spacings then they just got on with it. Once this first course was done I suggested that the insulation and plasterboard be done in the crawl space we are creating as it would become very difficult if the walls were fully up. The men agreed and swapped over to doing some insulation and plaster boarding. At the end of the day Halil made use of the left over mortar which they had planned to use to build the walls with, and slapped it onto the end wall which was a good way to save waste.

So there it is; thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow. Cheers.