The diary of a self-builder – Spring 2017

Week Twelve: Going interior…

Lots of work going on inside and outside this week - our builders started digging out the septic tank drainage field with JCB's and dumper trucks, and they've installed the septic tank. It looked huge sitting on the drive but has disappeared into an equally big hole next to the drive.

Indoors the garage doors and ceiling have been insulated and plaster-boarded out, the ground floor wall insulation is going in, the loft hatch is in and the interior walls in the bedroom are under construction.

It's great to see the room sizes on the ground, and we've tweaked the room sizes here and there, adding a little extra room into the master bedroom and taking it off the study and bedroom 3.

Week Thirteen: That sinking feeling…

The internal walls have been insulated and plaster-boarded this week and it's suddenly becoming light and bright in the rooms, so no need for torches when we walk around!

We're constantly grateful to our builders for the speed at which they're working - no sooner than one trade stops another comes into the same space and carries on - it's great progress and is keeping us on our toes making sure we make the right decisions on orders at the right time so that we don't slow them up!

Our Black Friday bathroom deal doesn't feel quite such good value this week as we have had a few issues with leaks and lack of fitting instructions as the bathrooms are being installed, but our plumber is doing a great job at problem-solving!

Wastes have been changed, bathroom shower fittings have been swapped, sinks replaced with the correct size ones, and faulty cisterns and shower bases have been replaced - all solvable problems, with a bit of head-scratching on the way!

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