elbow joint in down pipe
We are now well into September and are only a week behind schedule – which for a building project is pretty good! Linking the different needs of various sub-contractors has proved challenging. One lot of subbies needs another lot to have finished work before they can start etc. The main work prior to the insulation going on has been to move guttering etc out from the current wall level to a position which will be in front of the new wall level. This has been achieved by making elbow-type joints just above the ground.
Downpipe after wall cladding
The walls are more or less fully clad with 3 in thick polystyrene insulation boards now. We’ve had to make decisions about how to deal with old gutter brackets which were too difficult to take off the wall (answer: partially enclose the bottom of them in the boards but leave most of them visible). It’s also been testing for the builders to sort out how to deal with the difficulties caused by a house built on uneven ground but we are a lot nearer to completion now.
Wall partly clad with insulation board
One problem that we’ve encountered is the amount of polystyrene debris which is now distributed all round the outside of the house (including bits of the garden and the pond). We spent part of last weekend out with a hoover trying to control some of the ‘snow’ blowing around. That looks as though it will be a reminder of the building work for some time after the work is completed.
This week should see the cladding complete and, we hope, the finishing coat of acrylic. We have chosen the same colour for the walls as we have at present so we hope that the work will be fairly ‘invisible’ once we have finished. Next week should see the work completed if we don’t lose any more time. Oh, and it’s already feeling warmer inside the house!
