Week 10 - Bedrock and Bakings

What a good week we have had. For the first few days, the weather was fab and the bolt issues of last week now seem largely behind us. Sunnier weather always puts me in a far better mood and helps me to be able to cope with the challenges. We are really enjoying the work and the life here. We are slow - definitely behind schedule (whatever that is!) but that's ok - at least for now! This week we've had further delays on the shed due to supplies (replacement bolts et al) and laterly the wind has stopped production! We have started on the house foundations though and on balance we have achieved quite a lot.

Weather dictates everything we can do, especially the wind when it comes to erecting steels and today was a write off for any shed building. It's pouring with rain outside and the wind is howling, so we have holed up in the static, drinking coffee and doing various administrative jobs which feels ok on a Sunday! Keith has taken the opportunity to rewire the water pump switch in the caravan so we can operate it from the kitchen sink instead of the bedroom cupboard - a much appreciated upgrade!

While we are working on the shed we are habitually wearing our hard hats as suspended steel could do a lot of damage and to be honest I suspect a hard hat might not be enough if one of those massive beams came down from above!

The good weather is also having an effect on my “garden”. Last week I planted some sweet peas and brought out various salad leaves from the indoor propagator. They seem to be doing well and next weeks forecast for sun will hopefully instigate a huge growth spurt. My biggest excitement is that my potato plants have broken earth - so am really hoping for a bumper crop.

I'm hoping that this little visitor doesn't do too much damage though...

Unfortunately the replacement bolts for the shed anchors did not arrive until Friday so we turned our attention to the house foundations. We plotted out the house with lines and levels which may sound easy but it's not. We made 12 wooden structures (they look a bit like rugby posts) and banged them into the ground. We levelled the cross bars using Huey (our trusty laser level) and lined up strings to mark the external walls. This is a more permanent structure and we can remove the lines while we work and then put them back accurately as needed. I think we remeasured the shed about 6 times so hopefully this investment will pay off. When I look out over the plot I find the levels odd as the front of the house, nearest the sea appears to be on stilts! I know it's an optical illusion, but still there is about 1.5 meters of height difference. This means we'll have a lot of back filling with soil and a lot of blocks to lay. We will have to find earth to build up that side of the house - hopefully from the excavation of the septic tank area.

The man in the high castle (aka Keith in Digby the digger), has scraped about 18 inches of organic material from the 150m2 house plot and used it to back fill some drains. He is probably enjoying heat, comfort and radio 2 while he works although he would not admit that! Meanwhile yours truly worked with Ben removing all the reed roots, bagging stones and building a culvert bridge over another drain. The reed roots are huge and some can be incredibly deep. They are a legacy from when the plot was a bog but since it has been properly drained, they have died off leaving the big hollow straw roots behind.

The really good news is that the ground is solid and good for the foundations and we are able to get building! You don't know what you will find until you start digging so that's a huge relief.

The other big achievement this week was filling the old open drain which unfortunately ran under where one of the supporting walls will be. It was dug 2 years ago in error and has been a conundrum for us. We diverted the water by digging a new drain some weeks ago and we took advice from Patrick and Chris on how to deal with the old one. We packed large stones in the bottom followed by layers of type 1. After each layer, we ran the compactor over it and whacked it down. It is now incredibly solid and should be a very good base for the wall footings.

Whilst scraping off the organic matter we did encounter some boulders and bedrock which was not a surprise. After quite a struggle, we managed to break off the one bit that may have interfered with the house foundations with a lot of help from Digby. The result is a huge boulder - It looks a bit like the one Obelix carried around on his back. Hopefully we will use it in a dry wall or perhaps it will be a standing stone at the front of the house.

We did make some progress with the shed in spite of the bolt delay. We have erected 2 of the 4 apexes and secured them with various "purlins". Yes, I now know what a purlin is! We have had to put a lot of temporary support ropes on as well due to the wind and the lack of strength in the part completed structure. It seems to have survived quite a storm today. Fingers crossed it survives until the rest of the structure is up.

We placed quite a few Amazon prime orders this week, including a new “killer” drill bit to drill through the rebar we had hit when having to replace the anchor bolts. Unfortunately it wasn’t killer enough though and we managed to ruin 2 more bits. Definitely not fit for purpose and going to be returned.

I have swum a couple of times this week, and each time the seals get a little bit closer. It is such an amazing experience, the water is so clear and and I am getting used to the temperature. 10 minutes this week! Hopefully any of you who come out to visit will come and swim with me and my pals!!

I decided this week that my arms and upper body are getting a good daily workout but my legs are being neglected. I also don't want my bottom to give in to the effects of gravity so I’m back on the running. I've only done a 6k run a couple of times and I try to avoid cattle grids (accident waiting to happen!) and include any inclines but there are not many of them on Coll. Again the wind plays a big part, I made a big mistake earlier this week and ran with the wind, which meant that it was a really hard slog home. I was nearly at a standstill.

Each week we plod slowly forwards, there is so much to do. Poor Tsala isn’t getting many walks, as we don’t really take much time off. She does seem content however wondering around the plot and sniffing out the rabbits. My carpal tunnel is infinitely better, but I still feel that my hands are weak, and Keith now has a dodgy elbow... getting old is no fun.

You will be glad to know that I have binned my sad ripped jeans, the small rip on the bottom pockets gave in, and they were no longer decent for 50+ year old woman.......if only I was still in my 20s. I’m onto my next pair of “work trousers” - some M&S 3/4 length turn ups. They are not faring any better. One of my jobs earlier in the week was clearing out a “mahoosive” drain. It's quite deep and narrow in places and after this joyous task, I was completely mud spattered. Not sure any amount of washing will get these stains out. Oh well, if we have a wee trip to the mainland at some point I will just have to go shopping!

With Ben working with us 2 days a week, and lunching with us, (he has a very healthy appetite!) I seem to be constantly making sourdough. Yes @LucyNeilson, your Sally Starter is still going strong. And today I did further baking - I made almond milk scones.

Putting up the shed apexes was stressful! Partly because of the wind but also because we were using the digger to do a job it was not really meant for. Would it reach? How would we attach it? How would we release it once in place? And other such concerns ... As it turned out however, Keith, who is now really competent in his "high castle", did it seamlessly. And we got 2 sections up with lots of high fives!!

Here's hoping for another good week with a lot more progress on the shed... The weather forecast looks quite promising!