Now, where were we?
Ah yes, the steel saga. In case you need a reminder, a steel lintel needed to be inserted in the kitchen wall spanning the window and back door, which allows the pillar between the door and window to be removed. The beam did finally arrive on Thursday, but too late to make a start. By the time I left for work on Friday the builders had already started to strip the plaster from above the kitchen window and door. However, I received a call later that day to say that the initial investigation had revealed a small problem. It turns out that the floor joists in the kitchen ceiling ran the other way to what had been assumed in some of the drawings and, while this was not in itself a problem, it did involve a brief visit from the architect to run through the implications and, in the process of examining the plans, another discrepancy in the roof drawings emerged. Again, this was not a major problem but work was delayed long enough to prevent anything more happening on Friday. The bottom line was that, since the steel lintel no longer needs to support the floor joists, its only job is to support the new roof and it can be placed in the outer leaf of the cavity wall rather than the inner leaf, which avoids a lot of mess inside the house and is easier all round. The structural engineer is redoing some of the drawings to accommodate the change and correct the error in the roof design and the beam finally went into the wall on Monday.
In between all of the delays over the lintel, the builders got on with the main brick and block-work and the walls have steadily crept up. These have now reached eye level around the rear part of the building and door and window openings are beginning to emerge.
This morning we had a visit from an assessor who had come to value the house for the building society. Needless to say, the place is not looking at it’s best right now but we can only hope he has a good imagination and we wait with baited breath to find out how much money they are prepared to lend us. I then had a brief meeting with Andrew to discuss the details of the window layout. We originally specified hardwood windows but we have been advised to consider uPVC which are cheaper and easier to install and virtually maintenance-free. However, it seems that the adverse environmental impact of the manufacture and disposal of uPVC is considerable. This is the first major choice we’ve had to make between a greener option and a cheaper one. I have asked Andrew to get quotes for both types before we make our final decision. Watch this space. I also spent a happy hour being passed from one number to another trying to find out who to speak to about getting our electicity meter moved. I finally got through to the right person and our job has now been registered, although it is not going to happen for at least a couple of months.
Matt