Simon arrived and so did the stress!

As we knew Simon was due any day, Rich was under pressure to finish the block work wall to get us out of the ground and to give us a base to place the strawbales. After his masterclass from Clive he was on a roll and he worked his arse off to get it all finished. He layed 2 blocks side by side, all the way around with a 10cm gap in the middle, he then filled that gap and each block. So much for my eco build with no cement.

In the original plans the internal walls had been timber and stud work. However, Irene and Jose decided that a better option would be for a red brick internal wall, stronger for the support of the beams and able to hold more heat in the winter when we want the house to stay toasty!. That was fine but I asked the question "what does this wall sit on?" To which Irene replied "on your cement floor of course".

It was late at night, I was tired, Simon was on his way and for the first time on the build I broke down and sobbed! I really did not want more cement. I did not want to have to wait for the floor to be completed before we could start the internal wall and then wait to be able to put the beams on it!

I spoke to Rich and must have sounded like a spoilt brat as I said, stamping my feet, "I AM NOT HAVING MORE BLOODY CEMENT!"

I stopped crying and sat and sent an email to Irene explaining that I really did not want to hold up the timber frame and did not want a cement floor. I went to bed a tad worried.

In the morning an email was waiting, bless her it said "yeh no worries Sam, I understand, but you need to build another block work wall through the centre of the house, one line this time, to support the brick wall". One happy Sam, although poor Rich then had to build another block work wall.

Simon left Bristol with my horse box in tow, full of car parts and xmas shopping from Tesco. He arrived safe and sound and the day after I pushed him in the van with me and headed off down to Murcia to collect the first load of timber. 108 3 metres lengths of 40x90cm. Heavy duty stuff!

We knew that another visit was needed in a few days but at least Simon could get started. We had a few telephone conversations with Irene to sort out the dimensions for the frame and started to get the wood up the hill for the cutting to commence. Rich moaned as I then sent him down a few days later to collect the rest of the wood and the membrane that we needed.

The red brick wall was just too much for Rich to tackle, so bless him, Phil came to our rescue at 8.30am on Sunday morning before Christmas to start the wall. Shame that the day before Rich had a senior moment and didn't get enough bricks (of course it was my fault though!) Half a day gone and half a wall had flown up. Here they are having a very British tea break....

Tea Break!

In the same photo are the timber frames laying down all cut to size. Things starting to feel real. So far I am not enjoying the build, too much stress getting the building materials to site, Rich working way to hard moving the materials to site. His back is killing him and he insists on lifting stuff around. Must be a man thing!

I guess that building a house at the busiest time of year for The Orange House, and with 2 new rescue horses and dogs I could not have made it harder for us if I tried! All we need now is for it to rain and blow a gale!

Ben my youngest son arrived on Sunday evening and we told him that he could have a small lie and then we needed him to finish the internal walls. He is at Plymouth College doing bricklaying. Poor bugger moaned and me for the tools he was expected to use, the mix of cement, the unlevel level and on and on! He is a tad slower than Phil but I am really happy that I will be able to say that my boy helped to build our house. Thanks Ben Ben.