Week Seventeen

Week beginning 26th September.

On Sunday we were invited to lunch in Tarbert by our friend Monica, who was Pete’s dad’s partner for many years. On the way we went to see Andrew and Manda because we needed to check that our plan for cutting the trusses to ready them for the Veluxs was right.

It’s Monday morning and we need to take the bull by the horns and work on cutting into the trusses and installing the bridles that will maintain the roof’s structural integrity. We have gone over it, and over it and over it, together and with Andrew so many times that it’s getting ridiculous.

We are up on the east mezzanine carefully discussing and measuring before we make the first cut so that we can be as sure as we can be that we are doing it right. Clearly we are still lacking a bit of confidence.

Pete is up the ladder with the circular saw making the first cut with the help of a straight edge that we have clamped to the truss. To make it easier he is making three cuts in the same place, each one getting deeper until the saw is through.

The saw is really struggling with the deepest cut and can’t quite make it through to the end of the mark because the truss is a bit warped and moves on the release of the tension. We are having to cut the final few centimeters with a hand saw.

We’ve now made all the cuts on the first truss and it needs lifted out of it’s position. First we have to unscrew the braces that are holding it up while we work.

Now we have to add the bridles, these are bracing pieces that will join the middle truss to the two supporting double trusses. They need to be connected with metal supports to keep the whole arrangement strong and stable (here’s hoping that it’s stronger and more stable than Theresa May’s government was!)

The first aperture for the Veluxs is complete and we are relieved and a lot more confident now that it’s done.

We have to go to Oban now to buy a watertight electricity box becaue Molly got a call from SSEN saying they are coming tomorrow to connect us to the grid. They haven’t given us much warning but we are not too annoyed because they originally said we would have to wait until October for a connection.

We are back from Oban with the box and a ‘hockey stick’, a pipe for the mains cable, ready for tomorrow. There’s still enough time to cut another truss and add bridles so we are getting on with that.

Today is going to be a big day because we’ll get our mains electricity connection and we should get the trusses finished.

The men have arrived to make the connection so we are leaving them to it and we’re getting on with the job at hand.

We are both really tired from all the lifting and climbing up and down ladders so we are calling it a day. We are happy because we feel like we have taken a huge step in our building ability and confidence and we have finished all three apertures.

Before dinner Molly is planting some daffodil bulbs we were gifted by Sheena and some snowdrops from Pete’s mum, Ursi.

It’s a cold but beautiful morning here and the mist is low in the glen. We need to dress for the cold and get ourselves outside to do some work.

We have been working really hard but somehow feel we are falling behind a bit with our task list so we are pushing ourselves on to get the north facing roof sheeted with OSB. So it’s back to climbing the rafters and keeping our nerve.

We have finished sheeting the north roof so it’s time to clean up after ourselves, we clean and tidy the site at the end of every day, and move some timber to clear space ready for the scaffolders who should be coming tomorrow.

We are starting to feel quite tired after all these months of hard work and the changing season, with noticibly colder mornings and nights, is adding to it. We have to keep going until we can get our house wind and water tight, then we can take a proper break.