Getting there....

The final window in the house has been fitted and is this triangular piece to the south west corner of the master bedroom window. This is one of those architectural details which just adds something a little more to the overall scheme. Originally it was to be 50% larger and would have been the better for it but it is still a refreshing detail. One of the balances in self-build is to order goods in sufficient time to avoid delays so we had ordered (and now own) the original 50% larger window. Unfortunately it transpired that the architect's plans did not concur with the timber frame manufacturer's and...the client picks up the tab, hmm. We have thought to use the spare window in one of the holiday lets but its not a great idea to design a whole building around one window just 'cos it happens to be spare...but we'll see if it fits somewhere.

We're keen to make progress on the holiday let plans but the architect hasn't moved forward with these since our meeting before Christmas which is a bit disappointing.

We've measured the areas for wall tiling in the two upstairs bathrooms as the plumbing work there is well on the way and the plasterboard is due to be taped at the end of this week. It brings to focus the need to have some idea of final finishes upstairs. The painting will commence in 2 weeks so colours for the bedrooms are no longer a distant thought. After so long on the detail of the build its quite a prospect. In certain areas we've got very clear ideas and aspirations, in others the blank canvas seems daunting! Last week I went up to Perthshire and sourced the midnight black slate which will cover most of the ground floor. The tiler is coming this Thursday to help me (and 3year old Finlay) measure the area.
The master bedroom has two areas for wardrobes/cupboards etc which will probably need some made to measure kit. We spent a couple of hours last evening working out what could go where - we know how to spend an evening in!.
The final picture today is of the holiday let we're enjoying. We managed to have a children's party here on Sunday to celebrate Molly's 5th birthday. Aside from the usual birthday stuff it was just very pleasant to have friends 'round, something that isn't easy in the caravan

Rambling catch-up

Have realised that I haven't taken any new pictures in the past few days...sorry! Lots happening though so here's a random list....

We've taken deliveries of towel radiators (Molly had requested a purple one for their bathroom but thankfully B&Q haven't realised there's a market need out there yet); three Grohe showers purchased online from Bathrooms365; we've also purchased two bathroom units from B&Q, with slightly adventurous acid lime coloured fronts; and there is a shower tray on the way which should complete all purchasing for the bathrooms except for flooring and tiling;

The kitchen design is being tweaked hither and thither but we are hoping to be making a decision by the end of next week, essentially the decision is between Magnet and John Lewis; both have been good on customer attention so far and both have well manufactured products, the latter have a slightly better selection of unit sizes which is a plus point but we haven't had the final quotes yet!

The search for slate floor tiles and hardwood flooring is next (Steve's job) and also for sliding wardrobes for the bedroom and hall (my job); when we finish this house build we should have so much spare time...I wonder?

On site the work on installing the Heat Recovery Ventilation system ducting has commenced. Steve spent a bit of time with the electrician as the system was new to him, I don't pretend I can explain the detail so will let the engineer expand on that soon. The principle is that the house is so well insulated and airtight that ventilation is an important requirement, and the system we are installing continuously extracts stale, warm, moisture laden air from the house and replaces it with fresh air from outside, transferring the latent heat from the former to the latter in the process . Other electrical work is largely complete for this stage with the positions for electrical sockets and other outlets for lighting, telephone, DAB, SAT/TV, RJ45 (computer network - CAT5e cabling) all firmed up. Thankfully we'll be having some of those neat multimedia sockets so the house doesn't look like an electrical showroom.

I have been striving to get quotes from landscaping firms to undertake some tree planting around the perimeter before the current planting season is over. I am submitting an application for a grant scheme which the National Park operate and although the rules are numerous I hope to get some help towards improving the local landscape. In addition I have been perusing the website of Butterworths which is an Ayrshire based organic apple nursery. Last year I missed the planting season but want to get 12 apple trees planted shortly with a mix of eating and culinary varieties. The hens currently occupy the orchard plot in its bare and bleak state so I'm sure they'd welcome the trees. Butterworths is a really specialist and very well regarded small nursery and they have many old Scottish species which I hope we can have here. I shall include a cider variety too so that we can dust off Steve's Vigo apple press in future Autumns.

And finally..we did watch some TV this week and were pleased to see the Hugh FW and Jamie Oliver programmes on chickens. Obviously we are pleased to have our own former battery hens which have flourished and are still laying eggs through the winter. We don't have chicken very often because organic is expensive (but delicious) but we are wondering whether to get some chickens for the table as well as for their eggs.

5 more nights in the caravan ('til mid March anyway).......

Brochure management..!

Now we're on a mission to make sure we're ahead of the game on 'client supply items', we're starting to get rid of the accumulation of brochures as we actually bite the bullet and start buying stuff!
So far we've bought the sanitaryware for the three bathrooms, external insulaton system, chosen the wood stove and heat pump, and ordered and fitted all windows and doors - all of which we separated from the main build contract to retain maximum freedom of choice. Today our fridge freezer was delivered (Liebherr A+ rated) marking the first delivery of kitchen items.
The focus now is on the overall kitchen as Debs mentioned in her last blog, with Magnet and John Lewis very much in the running and we should have costed designs from both by the end of this week.
With regard to the overall build program, the joiners we're back last Friday fitting the internal airtightness/vapour membrane and tomorrow we should have a full crew including the slaters who probably have around two weeks of work to do in order to complete the roof. That said, we have snow and gales forecast tonight which might make roofing work a little tricky in the morning!

Shopping and snowmen

This morning we went to check out kitchens at John Lewis. There are quite a few elements of the build package we are responsible for supplying, kitchens and bathrooms being two of the more visually obvious but other things such as the ground source heat pump, pavatherm and internal flooring rest with us. This gives us more control over the final result although the whole design and build process is all consuming and full of decisions to be made. Being on site every day is cause and effect of that.We are keen to have a bright red kitchen as the whole room is incredibly light and could easily take a strong colour. There are a few on the market but our current favourite is JL's colour collection in high gloss burgundy. We know their quality is good and that is the key to a good kitchen. We went to MFI the other day who had a nice looking kitchen too but the units and drawers wobbled as you opened and closed them, the fittings were plastic rather than metal so not sure they would have lasted terribly long.This afternoon we made 3 snowmen before the blizzard took over.The joiners were fixing the air/vapour membrane to the internal walls but headed home as the weather deteriorated.