Can someone be born with just too much common sense? I question this, as all my life I get frustrated as to why people do things without thinking about the consequences. OK, so it can be a real party pooper type of thing having too much common sense, as it always stops me for doing anything that runs a risk of injury either to myself or to anyone else, or indeed damage to something, or in fact cause irritation to anyone else. However, when it comes to self-building, I appreciate that you cannot foresee everything in advance (Martin’s biggest reason to prevaricate), but equally you have to look at something and then make a common sense judgement and get the job done in the most efficient and timely manner at that moment. The bricklayers on the other hand had very little common sense. They mixed barrel loads of mortar up at 3:45pm in the afternoon and then worked out it was nearly clocking off time, so couldn’t actually use it. That happened on a regular basis despite being advised of the wastage and damage to the environment their lack of common sense caused. It’s common sense to me to clear up at the end of every day and put rubbish in the skip, or move unused materials to a safe and dry area to be used another day. Oh, no, trades in general are messy beings. It is not obvious to them that if they can walk from A to B without having to go round, over or indeed trip over something, the world, and therefore their life, is easier! To them it makes sense to have no idea where a certain tool is, or to pick up the nails and screws dropped everywhere or think to use an off-cut of timber to finish a job. No, you go out and get another tool, you buy another box of screws and let someone in years to come walk on that large nail you left on the ground and you cut off a small end bit from the new large length of timber to finish the job, meaning that length is now just too short to do the next bit.
But now on to my update for the week. Inevitably the scaffolder was always going to try another trick in his book wasn’t he? After I had advised him that we no longer required his scaffolding on Friday afternoon and would like it taken down, he didn’t respond for a day, and then advised me that he had no lorry driver until 8th June as he was on holiday. So, although we are not paying for his rubbish scaffold now, we cannot continue with the external finishing of tasks on the house as it is in the way, which he knew! He informed me that he would come and make a start on dismantling some scaffolding on Wednesday 30th May, then a bit more on 4th and 5th June and take it away on 8th June. That is two weeks!!!!! In the meantime, we cannot finish all the work that needs to be done for the porch on the front of the house. I had lined up the bricklayers to finish off the supporting walls, the carpenters to put the roof rafters on, the roofer to finish his slating and finally the rendering crew to be back again to render it. This all needs to happen before Tuesday 27th June when Eco-Haus Internorm are booked to fit the new front door and make the adjustments to the other windows and doors that we have informed them about. They are not flexible on their dates. Added to this, we couldn’t finish the guttering at the front of the house as there is a scaffold pole right in the way and we have had thunderstorms for two days now! Mind you, the completed garage guttering works a treat and looks wonderful. How on earth I can get so excited about galvanised steel guttering I have no idea, but I do think it is wonderful.
Just to make sure we are not going to be fined by the horrid scaffolder, we have swept clean all the scaffold boards from top to bottom, and Martin has scraped off the render on the poles. What with the heavy rains, it is now cleaner than when it arrived so I need to take pictures as evidence, just in case he pulls a fast one on that too! So the nightmare of the scaffolder goes on despite being off-hire.
We have made huge leaps in the kitchen garden area over the weekend. With the help of John, the fencing man, I now have four new raised beds made out of sleepers with some MOT1 paths laid between them ready for us to move the paving slabs from the back of the bungalow and reuse them here. I woefully miscalculated on the amount of top soil needed as the 3 bulk bags have only half filled two raised beds! Four more bulk bags are now on order waiting to be delivered then carted across into the raised beds, barrow load, by barrow load! Seriously hard work! Still, with the magnificently hot weather over the weekend, it was lovely to put the sun umbrella up and sit out for a few minutes with a cup of tea and enjoy our new surroundings. As soon as the beds are full of soil, I will venture up to Leatherhead and start transporting the plants back from the allotment to their temporary homes in the raised beds, whilst we get the rest of the garden “landscaped” and they can find their final resting places to grow on. This week’s plant of the week is the gorgeous Philadelphus which I must have bought end of season at the garden centre and plonked in a pot to grow on. It is magnificent, but will have to wait until probably next year before I have a “white garden” in which to put it, as it does necessitate us knocking down the bungalow first – so nothing drastic then!
Now for what must really be the achievement of the week – Martin’s blessed Mechanical Heat Ventilation System – or as I like to call it when I am being polite – the over-weight fridge! This thing has sat immovable on the new garage floor since its arrival. I have had sleepless nights trying to fathom out how the hell we were going to actually get it in the house, bearing in mind everything involves obstacles right now – scaffolding poles across doorways, huge steps to climb up into door opening and then when inside, there are further door obstacles. Well, time was running out on the prevarication stakes, the plumber needed to be able to get his first fix completed and yet there was still this unknown quantity of where all these pipes and tubes were to run. Then the poor electrician couldn’t start as he had to know where he could put his fuse boxes as Martin wanted to hang this dammed over-weight fridge in the same location. After much cajoling, I took the bull by the horns on Monday (that’s another way of saying I nagged Martin into action) and by some feat of mastery and my much maligned common sense, we somehow got the unit into the house and on the floor, pretty much in the position it needed to go. Much discussion then took place about the rest of the system and what was needed where. Martin decided he wanted to check it all off so we carted it all in from the garage and matched each and every piece up on the floor of the kitchen/diner. Thank goodness for a huge (clear!!!) open space, the floor of which I had swept in another displacement activity last week. Whilst we had every bit checked off from the delivery note, we failed miserably to work out how to get the first large padded channel up the wall and feed it into a funnel and it come out into a narrow padded channel. So we set that conundrum aside and I persuaded Martin to tackle the roof tubes and bends. This proved to be quite challenging as the house has not been built exactly according to the plans (funny that). In other words, we have joists in unexpected places, resulting in Martin having to get out his power tools to slice through wooden beams to allow the ducting to pass through and around. I have to say, Martin’s selection of power tools, whilst proving incredibly useful, are numerous. Where did they all come from? Now is not the time to question this. By the end of the evening we had a run of ducting across the hallway ceiling and turning into the utility room, ready for the next bit, which unfortunately requires a bit that we don’t have again! Martin has sent an email to the Mechanical Heat Ventilation System supplier and hopefully we will have a positive response enabling us to move on with the next bit. It makes jigsaw puzzles look easy! Just think, the underfloor heating kit arrives in 10 days time!
For the first time in many many months, the site is quiet. I have no workers out there needing cups of tea and coffee and I haven’t even had to open the field gate, the doors to the new house or the outbuilding for the electricity supply. The dogs are not barking constantly when someone walks by. I think I am experiencing peace and tranquillity. Just me and the dogs at home doing the admin. It is the least stressed I have been in ages, although I have a lot to sort out today. Still, with the thunder rumbling outside and the rain pouring down, it’s a perfect place to be – inside.
Spoke too soon – Renderers’ van is now parked outside in the pouring rain. Will have to go out and talk to them I guess!
Ludo and Vici's New Kennel Blog 