Progress report

Since the scaffolding arrived, the builders have topped the windows, put in some steel joists, fixed in the floor joists for the upper storey and begun putting up the roof timbers of the utility room.  They have also finished the brickwork around the front doorway. 

Despite a few technical hitches, none of which - fortunately - were insurmoutable, we are making good progress.  The toilet has been reconnected after a whole day out of service (what would we do without our wonderful neighbours?), and the waste pipes have all been cleverly hidden from view under the floor and within the roof space of the porch.

The new playroom

The next stage of the building works means we need to vacate the house for a couple of days while they remove part of the kitchen ceiling to put in a steel joist.  We thought we would get ourselves aclimatised to our new lodgings, so we've spent the weekend in the shed. 

The scaffolding arrives

As well as the shed, the scaffolding also arrived today.  The lower storey is built, we are now going skywards.

Shower room and utility top left, kitchen to the right of the photo.  Oooooodles of lovely space!  Anyone for dinner?

This is something we don't normally get to see.  The only elevated view of the garden is currently obscured by the bubble-wrap double glazing gaffa tapped over the kids' bedroom window.

Temporary lodgings

Today the garden welcomed it's latest addition - the shed.  And quite some shed it is, at 20 x 10 feet.  This is almost as big as our house, and before we fill it with garden tools and lawnmowers, we might just spend the odd night here when the builders turf us out of the house.

Building update

Weather permitting the brickwork should be finished tomorrow.  The lintels are nearly all in, and work on the upper storey begins next week.

Old stomping ground

It was the NGS open day for Chevening gardens today, so we thought we would wander down to our old stomping ground and relive some memories.

There were fish in the lake, dragon flies and damsel flies to chase, wild orchids to admire, and lots of trees and long grass for playing hide and seek

and to top it all off, a maze.  Amazing!

The antidote to bricks

For those of you who are sick of looking at our brickwork, this is what the garden looks like at the moment.  More pictures on Sunnyside Diaries