October Scotland update

Not quite what it looks, but still impressive!

More insulation, more wood, more fluff (fibreglass insulation that I can handle, as opposed to 70 or 100mm sheets of PIR board insulation that Tony has to precision cut with a saw and knock tightly into position, with no gaps). We all have to go in turns in our allotted spaces, but it seems to work. Yesterday the first insulation even went into the ceiling space. Not exciting for most, I’m sure, but in terms of rooms being constructed it’s a big step forward.

More exciting possibly (though I understand it’s all relative) we’ve started work on ‘the big opening’ the last big challenge, I think (though I’m sure something else will crop up. This is the doorway from both the downstairs and upstairs lounges to outside. When we started there were five quoins in, on the upper left side. Nice looking quoins, but in the wrong place, too far out, making the space too big, so they’ve still to be carefully removed. We’ve taken out all the random bits of concrete and blocks that had been put in at various times, which leaves us with a good starting point.

The  'Big Opening'! Whoever owned this property before Tony and Nicky had blasted  a huge hole through the 600mm thick wall for some reason. There was an upper doorway, evidenced by the quoins in the upper left side, but unfortunately they are in the wrong place and will have to be moved. Down at the bottom Tony has fitted the first layer of quoins and Jackie has selected stones to fill the gap to the existing wall. This line will be continued all the way up, with a lintel halfway, extending the roof up a bit to create a large window downstairs and a matching one upstairs. Lots of work to go!

It’s obviously not just the quoin that has to be put in, but supporting blockwork behind, making the wall the same 60cm thick as all the rest and the ‘pretty bit’ filling in gaps in the outside wall with suitably sized pieces of granite, all with the strata running horizontally, just when you think you’ve located something the perfect dimensions..... it’s not! So again, we all have our roles, Tony actually does the building, Brian cuts the supporting blocks to fit, and I mix the cement, fill the buckets for Tony, pass slate, odd shaped filling stones and whatever else he wants AND run around like a headless chicken looking for the perfect stones to fill the gaps. It’s never as easy as it sounds, it would fit if it wasn’t for that little lump there, and that bit of old lime mortar or cement has to come off, so I spend quite a lot of time with a hammer and chisel, just modifying things..... I wonder how long the hammer rash will last on my thumb! The last two quoins we fitted today were behind the temporary doors as it was wet and windy, just as well I’d found a couple of options for each side earlier when it was sunny! I still ended up outside in the rain positioning, but hey, one has to suffer for ones art!

Day 2 and Brian has constructed a wooden frame to give Tony a line to build the quoins to. But first, its tea time!

Time for some 'air guitar' to very loud Status Quo

Nicky spent the last few days of her weeks leave looking at doors, kitchen cabinet doors from Howdens, and actually not at the doors themselves, we know there are three sorts, blue wood that will actually be going in the kitchen and pale and dark grey ones that will be going in the bedrooms and all sorts, but at the sizes and shapes of what was in the garage. These had been discontinued some long time ago, so picked up for a fraction of the retail price. This is not how most people buy a kitchen, we reckon there are probably 150 door and drawer fronts, all of which Nicky and I carried into the house from the garage to sort into size and colour. This was prompted by Howdens discontinuing some of their units, (built, not flat packed) the first 8 were bought from the local branch, 26 arrived the other day from the Nairn branch, and there are 70 to be collected from Aviemore.... sounds crazy, but when you realise that they’ve got many of these units for £10 or £15 instead of £150 or more (that is the cost price, not the general public price) it all begins to make sense, as long as you’ve got the storage space.... The nightmare of trying to work out what combination of door and drawer fronts works with what sort of cabinet is a headache I don’t envy her!

Tony and Jackie have a discussion about something. Here you can see the blockwork that needs to be constructed behind the quoins for the 600mm thick walls. They are 430mm x 215mm x 100mm thick concrete blocks laid flat and each one cut by Brian to fit. The stone cutter throws out a trail of dust as it cuts, so I end up looking like a snowman!

The slaters have actually been here for a couple of days, the lead work has been done on the raised roof so the slating can be done on all except the roof above the big opening and then we can work on the other end of the building once it’s dry.... Sod’s law they came the day Nicky and Tony had to go to Aberdeen, so there went our lie in! Just as well really as it would have been embarrassing to unload 26 kitchen cabinets in our dressing gowns!

Gummy cat comes to inspect the work...

So really still just work to talk about, we’ve been spoiled rotten and been brought a TV dinner for both episodes of Strictly Come Dancing, and Steve from up the road came over one evening to practice some caving rope work with a friend in the large space by the stairs! Very interesting to watch, till I got too cold, but he did ring today to ask if we’d like to go out caving with him at some point, the answer obviously a resounding yes, though time and date could be a long way off!

It requires careful inspection....

But it passes the first cat scan at course three...

And, in fact, the second cat scan by Genghis cat

Talking of Genghis, here he is in the old dog pen (the dogs have long since died). He got himself in quite happily (somehow), but when Jackie went out and he wanted to get out to see her he apparently had forgotten how to get out. He's decided the square holes in the mesh fence are too small for him....

So he climbed up the post hoping it would be easier higher up - it wasn't! One paw through...

Two paws through and a body squeeze - you need to cut down on the cat biscuits Genghis!

A final squeeze and he's through. That's a relief!

Slaters on the roof and they've done the leadwork - you can just see it on the side of the raised bit of roof. Nice job they've done. Just got to slate the green bits now (not the bit further down, that's the 'Big Opening' we're building up with the quoins. The roof will be raised like this bit eventually. Might have to dodge the winter showers when we do that!

Steve practicing his caving ropework in the Steading one night

Robbie lifting Steve in a simulated cave rescue. It was really interesting watching the techniques they use

One of the teenage chickens has got into the habit of flying over the fence and into the garden. She likes to have a nibble at the veg and fruit and generally have a look round so, each day we've had to pick her up and return her. Fortunately she quite likes to be picked up.

Sunrise from our bedroom window this morning. The scaffold is for the slaters on the roof, through it is the huge garage number tow, next to the poly tunnel. Further right are the chicken pens

Jackie trying a stone she's selected on the fourth layer. Later on Tony managed to fix the quoins for the fifth layer (that Brian had previously cut and prepared). Only one more layer to go before installing the lintel across for ground floor and the building on up for upstairs

This is a photo inside the lounge at the moment and all those boxes are some of the kitchen cabinet doors Nicky is now trying to sort out....

And here in the Steading are some of the kitchen cabinets they have bought for £15 each. 26 delivered, only another 71 to go! They may have over bought but at that price they'd be mad not to. They can become bedroom wardrobes, bathroom cabinets and service access doors, so there will be a use for them all. Just got to find somewhere to store them all in the interim

These are two of the chicks we saw hatch out in May. Their wings are working well and here they are on top of the fence having a look round. Hope they don't end up in the field beyond and need rescuing, it's a long walk round there!

But all this work - and him getting stuck in the dog pen - is a bit too much for Genghis, he needs a sleep on our bed with teddy!