Week 15: Blockwork nears completion

Another highly productive week on site at 'High Pines' this week.
  
We visited the site at lunchtime today and for the first time could really make out size and shape of the superstructure of the house.

Susan at the front door looking in to the hall

Joe takes in the view from the balcony

Week 14: Landscaping the site

Our architect Ewan Cameron has been busy this week producing a few rough ideas for the eventual landscaping 'look & feel' for the site.
  
As we have a sloping site the use of terracing seems to be most appropriate and will make best use of the garden.
  
This image gives an impression of how the site & house may look eventually.

Week 14: Ground floor walls built and window openings formed

The three bedroom window openings are now formed

The first floor balcony is now visible to the left

The walls, insulation and steelwork are all getting fully integrated

Week 13: 'The brickies are back'

The past few weeks have been painfully slow progress on site - mainly down to snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures.  Bernhard and the boys had been eager to make a start but there was no way they could mix mortar and expect it to set safely when 'it's Baltic outside'.

"...just like icing a cake"

"many hands make light work"

Joe breaks the ice on a frozen water bucket

With an increase in temperature on Monday this week a team of brickies arrived back on site and got to work like a team 'possessed'.  By the end of the week they've pretty much laid out all of the ground floor walls and doorways. 

It's not a building site without a Lucozade bottle

The view of the ground floor from high above Joe's bedroom

Dougie from PAN builders has also been able to confirm the dimensions for the first floor joists and get them ordered for a few weeks time.

The brickies 'crack on next week' and we should see the walls continue to rise and the window openings formed.