Week Twenty-three

Week beginning 6th November.

On Saturday afternoon our car didn’t start and our neighbour Iain kindly came out in the rain to give us a jump start. After that the car seemed fine and we managed to get to Oban and back, with our shopping for the week done.

We were invited to our neighbour Ishbel’s fireworks party with her family and friends. It was so nice for us to be included and made so welcome. We enjoyed the great fireworks display so much that we forgot to take pictures but we did get one of the sparklers and the bonfire.

After the display we all went inside for a feast and some good chat. What a fun night we had. Thanks Ishbel.

It was dry on Sunday so we started fixing the purlins to the rest of the mega-shed roof. We didn’t work all day but still managed to make a good start on the task.

So, another week begins and guess what, It’s pouring again. We think this is the seventh week of rain. What a misery! Anyway our main task for this week is to finish fixing the purlins on the roof and finishing the drip detail at the bottom of the roof but we’ll need it to be fairly dry to get that done.

Pete is nailing in the holding down straps inside the mega-shed and Molly is insulating the attic space.

We’ve not loing started on these tasks when the man arrives to fit our electricity smart meter. The company contacted us to let us know at the end of last week and here he is.

This is a major development and has come much quicker than we had been led to believe. Someone told us that it could take up to six months but we’ve only had to wait six weeks from the time we got the connection to the grid. We are very happy about this and are looking forward to getting mains power to our caravan and mega-shed soon.

While Pete is getting on with the laborious task of nailing in the holding down straps, Molly is making good progress on sheeting the attic. It takes a good deal of measuring and cutting to get them to fit.

The rain has stopped so we’re on the roof again, fixing the purlins on. As long as it’s dry we can make good progess although it’s a bit frustrating because we realise we haven’t always been very accurate when nailing in the batons up the roof. This means that sometimes the long screws used to fix the purlins miss the rafter and it takes a few attempts to find the right spot.

It’s getting too dark to carry on but we have managed to finish the east roof and make a start on the west roof. The days are certainly getting shorter which is having an impact on how much we can do in a day.

This morning, like every morning, we have to start by attending to our water supply and our waste water. Not being connected to mains water, sewage and electricity is hard work and has to be kept on top of otherwise it can be very inconvenient.

It’s dry and sunny so we can finish fixing the purlins if it stays like this.

It’s just started raining again but we have managed to get more purlins fixed on the roof and it’s coffee time anyway.

Molly needs to go to the chemist but the car won’t start again. We had brought our battery charger from the container, just in case, and have hooked it up to the generator supply to see if we can start the car with it but no luck. We are going to see if it charges enough to get it going later.

Pete has been researching the car battery situation and is sure it’s the battery, not the alternator. He has also found out that we can book an express battery fitting slot at Kwik Fit in Oban this afternoon, if we can get the car started.

We are back in the mega-shed and Molly is getting on with finishing the attcic while Pete is back to nailing in the holding down straps.

The weather has cleared up so, rather than sitting around fretting, we are starting on the purlins again. We are making good progress when our neighbour’s brother Alastair arrives. Molly is going to ask him if he can give us a jump start.

We are on our way to Oban now for express battery fitting at 4.30, after Alastair kindly got our car going. We managed to get most of the east roof purlins fixed so inspite of the extra run to Oban we are happy with our day’s work.

We are heading home now with a new car battery and a new work jacket for Molly.

Argghhhhh!!!! It is so wet this morning. We hope we can get the purlins finished today but it’s not looking too hopeful.

We are making progress but only because with every wee break in the weather we are jumping out and getting a few more purlins fixed. In between times we are working on the last pieces for the attic.

At last the roof is done, with the purlins and drip detail all completed. Don’t let the sunshine fool you it only lasted minutes before another downpour.

The OSBing in the attic is done and so is Molly. We are now going to do a bit of a tidy up, then measure the position of the studs so that we can be sure where to screw the batons on the outside for the cladding. It’s worth the effort checking because we want to avoid the frustrations we had fixing the purlins on the roof.

We are having a bit of a tetchy time between us at the moment, it’s probably this awful weather taking its toll.

We’ve finished for the day now and we’re pals again so all is good in Argyll, except the weather.