Week Eleven

Week beginning 15th August.

We’re just getting dressed and Molly has spotted a deer through the caravan window. What a lovely site although we may not be saying that once we have a garden with nice plants and flowers for it to eat.

Last night we had a terrible realisation, when we fitted the shed’s soil pipes and service duct we forgot to add a duct for the water main. We just don’t know how we could have missed such an obvious thing as water in!

Lorne has arrived and we decide that we can retro fit the service duct if we take great care. We decide to place the duct in the most convenient place for retrofitting, though this isn’t the most obvious place for it to be placed if we were doing it from the get go.

Pete’s job is to measure where the pipe is to go and cut out the Isoquick and Lorne digs the trench.

Now that the duct is retrofitted, Pete and Molly are reinstating the radon barrier and adding the ‘deckchairs’ and reinforcing mesh ready for tomorrow’s pour.

We get the job done but also get a right good soaking for our trouble. In the meantime Lorne has started preparing the ground for our drive.

Tomorrow we need to get up bright and early so we can be ready for the concrete that could arrive by 8.30.

We are up and ready and Lorne and Mathew arrive in good time but we are waiting for the lorry.

Finally ‘the stress’ arrives and then it’s all go. Thank goodness we have Mathew to help, he has a great eye for levelling and works hard and fast. With Pete helping to spread the concrete and Molly checking the levels we get the job done in double quick time. It seemed to be a lot easier than when we poured the slab for the house, this could be because we ordered a wetter mix of concrete.

We have to leave Lorne and Mathew and head off to Edinburgh for our granddaughter, Caitlin’s birthday. We won’t be back until tomorrow night so it will be interesting to come back to see the changes.

It’s so nice to catch up with the family after not seeing them for over three weeks and Caitlin is having such a nice time and is so happy with her birthday presents it warms our hearts. Hopefully we can establish a better routine around seeing them more regularly before too long.

It’s Wednesday morning and Pete is meeting with his work colleagues and Molly is visiting her cousin and aunt in Edinburgh.

We have both enjoyed catching up with folk but now it’s time to head home.

We have just arrived back to find trenches everywhere. Lorne has been busy in our absence. He has dug the trench for the electricity supply, another for the water supply, a couple of drainage trenches and he has done more to level the drive.

We are hoping to get the water main trench inspected on Friday and the water main connected too. The electricity is another matter and is going to take a lot longer.