Upstairs, Downstairs

It's been a busy week or so, but I've found some time to upload a few more recent pictures.  The build is progressing well and the first floor is in place.  This means that the downstairs rooms are enclosed and you can get a really good sense of the proportions, light and views out.  It also means that we can now stand at first floor level and even on the balcony.  The view is mostly of tree tops, but there are a few little glimpses through of the moors beyond.

The steelwork has been installed for the cantilevered balcony, including the very expensive thermal breaks (the blue thing in the photos below).  These are made of a type of high density plastic which massively reduces the amount of heat that would be lost if the steel beam ran straight through the wall.  Without them, there would be a risk of condensation forming on the ceiling below the cold steels, due to the air-tightness of modern construction.  They are fully structurally tested, but there is still something a little concerning about a balcony supported by plastic!

Cantilevered balcony frame

First floor and stairwell

Bedroom 3 with internal exposed brickwork

Bedroom 1 with huge window and tree top views

From the road

Dom's Mum and Dad came to visit at the weekend and we spent a couple of hours on site pottering around cutting back some of the undergrowth at the top of the site and collecting up all the gritstone we could find from old walls, steps, etc. to use in the gabions at the front of the site later on.  Many thanks for the help, it was really good to spend time on site.  We're looking forward to starting the more serious jobs of painting, flooring and kitchen fitting.

Most exciting site visit yet!

Another week and more to see.  The internal walls are complete to first floor level which means that we can now walk around all the rooms on the ground floor.  The bedrooms feel a good size, and the windows are nice and big with views of tree tops.  The corridor down the middle of the house doesn't seem too long and narrow (which we were a little bit concerned about).

The steelwork is in place to support the balcony and to trim around the stair opening and the concrete first floor beams are due to be delivered on Monday, so not long until the first floor will be in place.

The main bedroom with it's BIG window

The view in through the hallway window

Steelwork in place and ready for the first floor

Ground Floor Walls Nearing Completion

We've just got back from another trip up to the site to check on progress and everythings moving along well.  The external walls are up to first floor level, but the internal walls have a bit of catching up to do.  The front door and all the windows are now clear to see and the main bedroom window looks MASSIVE!  Well, we did want to make the most of the views and get lots of light into the main rooms.

Internal Walls Just Started

First Lift of Scaffolding

Front Door and Hallway Window