Scotland - we're still here, but making ourselves useful

Happy Christmas! Photoshopped by Brian Snr (Tony's dad)

Having been about to cut the A frames in the last blog, it was all terribly unexciting, nothing dramatic happened at all, which obviously is good. The columns were raised by two more quoins and my work of finding granite blocks was done. There are still various blocks of bricks in the wall that need replacing with good stone, but this is purely aesthetic so not high on the priority list.

The next step was the lintel, hauling this up was what the block and tackle was bought for, but actually it wasn’t necessary, it has come in very useful at other times though. Once it was in place, it was surrounded by wood and left to set. The new roof then had to be built, joists and noggins, sarking and paper. All done in a day. A long day it has to be said, we didn’t finish till 19.30, so three hours in darkness by headtorch, but what a good job! The weather was great, clear and sunny, though very cold, but just what was needed. 

Yes, I am on the roof with a vacuum cleaner. That's the lintel, covered now in timber, sealed on to prevent water ingress and sanded flat. There's a gap in the middle where the steel lintel protrudes up that needs filling with expanding foam to seal the top, so sawdust has to be removed. Few other builders would go to these lengths, its just an example of how Tony wants things done properly

We had a deadline, Mark the slater was due. I thought it was all over, but fitting the sides, and gutter brackets took longer than I expected. Cutting the board for the sides was interesting, various measurements were taken as carefully as possible by tape measure. Tony then came in and drew it on the computer rounding up or down the measurements to make it all fit. By careful extrapolation of the lines it was possible to measure and mark the outline to cut without having to measure any tricky angles. It had to be cut in two as the board wasn’t big enough to do it in one, but they fitted together beautifully with minimal wastage. The slating has now started, but sadly the weather has changed so progress is slow, and jolly miserable for Brian the slater. It won’t be long till it’s watertight though and the flooring is stacked up, ready to be laid when it’s all dried off a bit.....

So here, we've cut holes in the roof and attached the first couple of joists to the existing roof A frames to the extend out to the new lintel to form the new raised roof section (apparently called a 'cat slide' as its at an angle that cats won't slide off! I don't know, its what I was told!)

There has been some rain over the last few days, with ridiculous amounts forecast for last night. Brian went out in the drizzle to fit gutter ends on the standard roofline. He and I added an extra layer of polythenes to the window in the gable end and buckets were placed under all the chicken pots to catch drips. The farmer who owns the field next door had obviously also heard the forecast as he had someone out clearing the burn. We assumed he’d finished when it went dark, but apparently not as we were plunged into darkness about 17.30 as he went through the power cable! Fortunately the fire was lit and Nicky had candles to hand. It was a peaceful couple of hours till it all came back on! After all that, yes, it rained, but possibly not the amount that was forecast, though the hens are in danger of getting webbed feet.

This is one of the new roof joists cut and ready to install. Its got that shape so it will rest on top of the lintel with a bit to stick over the back to hold it in place. Jackie thinks it looks like a shark! You can just see the white geese in the orchard beyond

Brian and I have made a start building walls down the other end while Tony has continued with the evil work of fitting insulation. It’s all really coming on.

Sometimes you have to do things by balancing! A little bit of chiseling was needed but the scaffolding wasn't quite high enough, so balancing on the very top of the scaffold poles was necessary - a position that couldn't be held for long, so quick work was necessary. An H&S example of how not to do things really

In other news (there isn’t much other news) today we had a custard delivery. We’d had the trauma the other day of finding the cupboard bare. 72 packets should keep us going a while! While I write Brian is doing his homework, going through the assessment Tony has prepared for his students. Mechanical engineering isn’t what Tony studied, but it is what he is teaching, and it is what Brian studied many years ago, fortunately, as some of it isn’t coming easily for Tony.

That wooden construction is one of the wooden side coverings for the raised roof cut out (in two pieces) and ready to install. Carefully measured and drawn out on CAD by Tony to make it easy to mark out. Will it fit? Lets find out....

It’s now Wednesday, homework took too long to make sorting photos possible, and we’ve been out, again. Last week we both went to the local brewery to buy beer, then I took myself to a barbers in Fochabers for a haircut. Today we’ve taken Ted to have his solar controller looked at, again. The lights were flashing as you’d expect, but the engine battery volts were getting lower and lower. A second controller has been added so we’ll see how he gets on now. We had a pleasant drift round the shops and a yummy lunchtime curry while we were out, the day has been fine and Brian the slater has been going like a rocket, but will he finish tonight?

Screwed in position it fits perfectly

A couple of days later the slaters arrived. Their first job was to cover those sides with lead.

So we then went inside. This is the opening and, above is the existing roof A frames. The new raised roof is built on the outside, so we've got to cut the legs of those A frames right up to the horizontal part at the top. The five you can see above the opening all have to be cut. First job, remove the wooden sarking on the outside...

Wooden sarking removed. Brian is not now holding the roof up, just removing the horizontal bar ready to cut the beams

Beams cut and the full extent of the opening can be seen. What a view they'll have from their new balcony when its built

Talking of views, how about this for a sunrise?

Here's a skein of geese, loads of them on one of their regular flights past us, morning and night. They are not quiet either

Sunshine through the rain and that crock of gold at the end of the rainbow is almost within reach

In other news, some of the last veg needs collecting. Carrots anyone? Tufty cat is helping of course

For some reason cats seem to like to lie on pillows. Here's Genghis cat on Brian's pillow...

And Gummy cat on Jackies

Gummy does like your full attention when in residence - and reading is definitely not you full attention

So the only solution for him is to lie just here. Now try reading!

Normally Cookie cat has the bed to herself during the day, except where Jackie torments her with teddy

We don't know why, but Genghis cat seemed quite happy here in our shower

Look at all that insulation in what will be T&N's bedroom, their ensuite and office

I know not many will be interested, but here's how thick the insulation is. There's two thicknesses of board you can see between the A frames there. There's a 50mm gap under the roof to allow of flow of air, then a 70mm thick board and then a 100mm thick board. It should be pretty warm!

So while Tony fits the insulation and B&J the noggins in between, we also start forming the outside internal walls in the top end. There's going to be two bedrooms, an ensuite and a corridor access along the left in here. The wood is there on the floor, we've fitted some of the floorplate on each side, now to start building 

Here's a photo from the other end showing the walls built so far, with some insulation started here too

And just so we know its Christmas, Jackies built a wooden tree for us!