Week Fifty-five

Week beginning 21st June 2023.

On Friday evening Zadjil and Carolyn arrived for the weekend and we had a nice dinner and catch-up. On Saturday morning we asked them to help us build another of the mezzanine balustrade corners since Zadjil had done such a good job of one on his previous visit.

Unfortunately when we went to fix it in place we discovered that the first section we had fitted had a problem. Where it meets the corner above the stairs it is pretty true and level but at the side we were about to fix the new section onto was leaning into the room and was way off level.

It took us quite a while to work out how to fix it but eventually we found the way. It took so long we ran out of time to fix the new bit.

After lunch we headed to Inverawe for a walk. We parked in the cafe’ car park and after talking to the owner we headed off towards a hill over looking Loch Etive where we got some stunning views down the loch.

After that we headed down to the lochside towards the trout fishery where we saw some more gorgeous views.

We headed back to the car park through some fields and onto a small suspension bridge over the River Awe.

It is a lovely wee walk with a range of very nice mature trees, great views and the odd wild black bunny.

On Sunday we headed to Ardfern for a day of Yoga and massage and Zadjil and Carolyn headed back to Portobello.

It was great having them visit and lend a hand and we had a lovely sociable time together.

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It’s Monday morning and the rain has arrived, it’s a bit of a relief as we have had a couple of weeks of clear blue skies and strong sunshine which has made the land parched, a rare thing in Argyll.

What a lovely surprise! Zadjil and Carolyn left us the corner piece to nail together and fix into place, leaving only one more to do. Thank you Zadjil.

Ishbel has arrived on the bus from Glasgow and Molly has collected her because it’s still raining.

After a quick catch-up over coffee, Molly and Ish are getting straight into building the final mezzanine corner piece.

Pete is getting stuck into polishing the concrete in our bedroom with our new stone polishing machine. He had started it two weeks ago using our orbital sander but we decided that was way too dangerous given that quite a lot of water is needed for polishing and there is a serious danger of electrocution if you don’t have the right tool.

Molly and Ish have made short work of the final mezzanine corner and so have moved onto building the wall for the handrail at the bottom of the straight staircase. Adding this section helps to define the kitchen cooking area from the rest of our open plan living space.

Pete is carrying on polishing the bedroom floor. The new machine is much more efficient, and safer, than the orbital sander and he is making excellent progress.

Now that we have finished our work for the day we head into the garden to plant some seeds and some flowers Ish has brought from her hut at Carbeth.

We walked Ish to the end of the road so she could catch the seven o’clock bus back to Glasgow and now we are settling down to a bit of TV before bed.

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It’s dry this morning so this offers the chance to fix the final stitching bolts onto the house ridge. Pete is up on the roof doing that and Molly is filling the gap between the ridge and the flashings with compraband.

That’s it, the roof is done! We are so pleased because we have been waiting a very long time for this day.

We are back indoors fixing the remaining battens to the en-suite’s walls after that we can move on to battening our bedroom.

We’ve made a good start battening the bedroom but we’ve had enough for today so it’s down tools and time for dinner.

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It’s another nice morning, contrary to the forecast, but we are working inside anyway. We are continuing the battening of the bedroom.

Ross and Kathleen are due to arrive before dinner and will be staying until Saturday to help us with the building work, and keep us company.

We’ve finished the bedroom so Molly is up on the internal scaffolding and on the mezzanines filling some gaps in the double trusses. Pete is polishing in the en-suite around where the shower tray is to go.

It’s been a hard working day and Ross and Kathleen have arrived so we can stop and have some R&R. A bonus, they have brought dinner with them so we don’t even have to cook. Happy days!

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It’s a. bit of a slow start but with four of us on site today we should still get lots done and we are expecting another visitor this afternoon.

Molly and Kathleen have started battening the south wall of the open-plan living area, Pete is re-organising the remaining insulation and Ross is measuring, cutting and fitting some of the extra insulation.

By fitting some of the insulation Ross is freeing up space in the house as well as getting another job done.

Re-organising the insulation and storing it under the two staircases is freeing up space in the guest bedroom so that it can be battened in due course. It’s great to see that room empty again and be reminded of it’s size.

Kathleen and Molly have made good progress battening all the way to the staircase and now that Pete is finished re-organising he is helping with some of the tricky bits.

Now that we are preparing for the finishing we are having to deal with some of our early mistakes and inaccuracies. For example, there is a strip of OSB above the French door that is not flush to the rest of the wall. This came about when we built the frame and fitted the lintels above the opening for the doors. We weren’t exact enough positioning the lintels and this is the results. It isn’t a structural problem, we just have to make sure that when the plasterboard goes on everything is straight and flat.

Our visitor, Mary, is on the train arriving soon so Molly is off to the station to pick her up.

Kathleen and Pete are fitting the last few battens at the staircase, working out some awkward angles and doing some nice cuts to get a neat fit. Ross has joined in and the job is nearly done.

Mary has arrived and we are winding down and tidying up before finishing for the day.

We have decided to come down to the river after a tasty dinner, a tagine that Pete made. Mary wants to practice skimming stones because she fancies herself entering the World Stone Skimming Championships on Easdale Island. The river has lots of pebble banks and with the water level low, there are plenty skimming stones to be had.

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It’s Friday morning and there is lots to do.

Mary is a researcher and has come to interview Molly about future proofing buildings for people to be able to continue living in their homes as their needs change due to health or aging, for example.

We soon rope her in to helping and Molly, Kathleen and Mary are battening the guest bedroom. In the process Molly is teachng her how to measure, cut and use the powertools.

It’s a busy morning because we have Des starting on the first fix plumbing and the guy from Openreach has arrived to connect us to the internet.

It turns out that he has come to fit a copper wire connection but we want/need to be future proofed so it has to be fibre optic. He is very nice and helpful and contacts his manager. He tells us what we need to do to get a fibre connection and what to say to our provider. It will delay things for a while but better to have the right connection now rather than have the copper now and then get it replaced by fibre at a later date.

Pete has heard from the electrician and we are programmed into his work schedule for our first fix electrics, he also tells us that we could be getting the solor panels fitted by the middle of July too. All of a sudden it’s all systems go on the inside of the house and the solar panels and battery.

While all this is going on Pate and Ross are working out how to frame up the drop ceiling that is needed between the bedroom and the en-suite.

We need to do this because when we fitted the ducting for the MVHR we had to drop two of the ducts below the level of the joists to get them all through the narrow pinch point.

It’s taken a while to work it out because of the position of the staircase and the aligment of the walls but they have managed. Now it is time to fit the frame on the en-suite side and fix timbers between it and the door frame.

It fits and it’s neat and it’s level. Result!

Kathleen, Mary and Molly have finished the south wall of the guest bedroom and are off to cook so Ross and Pete are battening the east wall of the room.

Ross, Kathleen , Molly and Mary outside St Conan’s Kirk with Loch Awe in the background.

With that done the room is ready for first fix electrics and then plasterboarding. A great team effort and many thanks to Ishbel, Kathleen, Ross and Mary for helping us achieve so much this week.

It has been a very productive week again but also an exciting week as we are now well and truly into a different phase of our build. We have the plumbing underway and the electician is committed to starting very soon. We should get confirmation for the solar panel install date next week and once they are fitted the scaffolding can go.

The end is in sight but we will still have to be patient as the hard work isn’t over.

By Pete Ross

After years of living in a beautiful Victorian flat in Edinburgh, Molly and I have decided to sell up and build our new house ourselves in Argyll, Scotland. We have called it Gar Bothan which is Gaelic for warm bothy or cottage or hovel!!!!

8 comments

  1. Wow what a week, so full of visitors and achievements! The house is looking absolutely incredible, and your local walks so beautiful!

    1. Thank you Nicky. It was an amazing week and we achieved more than we could have wished for. It was also an extra special week because we had the company of family and friends, not only whilst we were working but also in the evenings. This is definitely something that we miss since leaving Edinburgh.
      And…… we are looking forward to your next visit where we can spend lovely evenings together and explore the countryside for more walks.

    1. Thank you. We’ve had a great time with everyone. Looking forward to when you will be able to come up here.

    1. Hi Nick. I guess you’ll know how much a few extra people can make. It’s amazing. It really lifts the spirits and all these endless wee jobs get dealt with all the quicker.

  2. Thank you so much, Pete and Molly, for volunteering in our research and letting me join in constructing your beautiful future-proofed home in a stunning location.

    It was a real honour to learn and work with you alongside Ross and Kathleen what a gentle lovely couple they are down for doing any task they were putting me to shame.

    Good luck with the next leg of building, and you can eventually sit and enjoy some fizz and chocolate, admiring your hard work. Thank you for letting me be part of your amazing and inspiring project.
    Thank you all the best
    Mary, the next skimming Kenyan/Scot champion

    1. Hi Mary. It was a great pleasure to be part of your research project and a joy to have you come here and help. I was very impressed with your enthusiasm to get stuck in and in using the various tools for the different jobs…..even the scary nail gun 💥 🔫
      We will enjoy some fizz and chocolate when it’s all done and hopefully you will visit again some time. Keep on skimming these stones. Mx💕

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