Week beginning 31st October.
We went down to Edinburgh on Friday because Pete had a dental appointment and we took Niven and Caitlin for a swim. We have been taking them to the pool regularly since they were babies and we all love being in the water.
When we got back on Saturday afternoon the promised scaffolding wasn’t here!
Pete was really unhappy on Sunday because we were trapped in the caravan due to the non-stop rain but after his badminton session in the community hall that night he was in much better spirits. He’s not too good at sitting around, he’s more an action person.
It’s Monday and this week’s forecast isn’t good so our task list has both indoor and outdoor options.
We are measuring up the mezzanines to send to a company in Glasgow who can supply and fit Marmoleum. We need to know if they are willing to come as far as Argyll and how much it will cost. If the estimate is good they can then tell us how thick the Marmoleum and sub floor will be. This is important information because without it we can’t order our stairs.
We notice that a digger has started scrapping the grass away in the field in front of us and we are curious about what is planned.
Pete is on his laptop transferring the measurements onto a floorplan to send to the flooring company so we can get as accurate a quote as possible.
We have just seen the digger driver and another man standing on the road looking at the field so we are going to go and try and find out what they are planning.
They didn’t tell us much, claiming they didn’t know but maybe polytunnels for growing organic veg. They weren’t entirely convincing so I asked that the owner keep us informed.
We are not too concerned about what they are doing because it is agricultural land and they would need to apply for change of use and any development would need planning consent.
We have met up with Molly’s sister, Ishbel, to go and view a house for sale near Connel. Ishbel would also like to move to Argyll but would rather buy an existing house than build one and she would like it to be a bit remote and have a good sized garden.
It’s been a difficult search so far because the pandemic has affected the market and properties have been going for silly money, and Ish has a very clear idea of what she is after.
The house was in a beautiful remote location and in very good condition. We all like it but it is quite a bit over her budget. Maybe she’ll make a cheeky offer, you never know your luck.
We’ve just got back with Ish for a bowl of soup and it’s chucking it down. Very depressing!
Ish has just left and there isn’t much we can do so we have decided to work out a way to cover the house to stop the rain getting in. When we were showing her the house we were a bit upset about how wet everything is and we need to give it a chance to be dry even if the roof isn’t yet on. Covering it is going to be tricky because it is a lot higher and steeper than the mega-shed and we want to be safe but we feel it is the right thing to do.
We have decided to buy two more large tarps which should be enough to cover it. Tarpaulins are much easier to handle than rolls of plastic and they have reinforced eyelets for tying them down.
We are up and at it a bit sharper today. Molly has to go to Edinburgh and the bus leaves at 1.40pm so we need to get cracking if we are going to get started on covering the roof. The rain is a bit on and off but it’s dry for the moment so we are getting Gordon’s roof ladder onto the roof for Pete to use to put some strips of OSB over the Velux apertures. This is so they don’t sag and fill with water once the tarpaulin is on the roof.
We have just put a lot of effort into pulling the tarpaulin onto the roof only to find that orientated horizontally it doesn’t reach from the apex to the eaves so we are untying it and rotating it 90ยบ. We are going to have to get a couple of extra smaller tarpaulins so that we can cover the whole roof.
To make sure it doesn’t blow off when the forecast heavy winds arrive, we are screwing strips of OSB to clamp it securely down.
We have been dodging the rain and have only just managed to get the first tarpaulin up before Molly has to leave.
With Molly safely on the bus, Pete is screwing some extra bits of OSB over the tarpaulin just to be sure.
Pete is on his own this morning because Molly had to stay overnight in Glasgow before her morning appointment in Edinburgh.
Pete is attaching a damp proof course around the bottom of the mega-shed for the batons that go on the outside of the building to sit on. This will help to make them last longer in the wet climate of Argyll.
It’s turned into a very wet, but not too stormy day, so it’s a day for lots of wee indoor tasks and he is getting on with it.
He is now fitting a laundry pulley in the mega-shed because getting stuff dry is a serious problem for us and this is probably a good solution.
Molly’s back and we are having a nice dinner in our wee caravan. We still like living in it but it is proving ever more challenging because of the cold and the damp. Guess it is going to have to be layers and layers of clothiing, hats and thick socks for us.
