Yup! They are on hols.

It was, I am afraid, much as I expected. The frantic rush to get the base finished was, it seems, a case of "let's get this base finished quick before we go on our hols". As a result, don't expect any more activity until around the third week in August. So the blog will go quiet until activity starts again at which point the clock will be reset to Day 8 (these being working days).

So your local bricodog reporter is signing off until the action restarts. Until then, have fun.

Day 10 - still nothing

Very much as expected there is still no action on site whilst the concrete base is curing.  Don't really expect anything until next week - that is if they are not all on holiday.

Never mind - my dad has been busy modifying new shutters after he and I took the most humungous trailer load of crap to the dump.

As expected, no new work.

Well, I did not think there would be any work today and sure enough there was not. However, what I did see was that the newly poured concrete was now cracking (at least on the surface) all over.

Given the July/August temperatures of 28 to 30 degrees over the last few days, maybe they should have covered it. Still, what do I know as a mere dog - maybe this happens all the time.

A few words about this blog. I started it just over a week ago to keep Rob, a UK builder mate who had just been over with us on holiday, in touch with the build he saw as it started. I never expected it to do anything else. Imagine my surprise when, at the end of the first week, I find it has had 40 hits from the UK, France, Germany and Russia! And even an intelligent comment from one of its readers. The strange and bizarre world of blogging.

Better late than never

I  am beginning to enjoy my little trips to the new build to see what is new, so you can imagine my frustration on Monday, Day 7, when I found absolutely no progress despite it being a lovely day. It occurred to me that possibly the company had closed for the usual August 2 or 3 week shutdown and that would be the last activity I would see for a while. Well, yippee and triple barks, today I saw that the concrete had been poured.

Still no clues as to the purpose of that funny area back left but it has got quad rebar sticking up all around it!

Presumably no action for a few days now whilst that goes off. Good weather forecast all week so no problem there. Any ideas on the pink stuff they sprayed over the gravel?

No pour so far - maybe Monday

Well, day 6 and we were wrong about the concrete pour. It did not happen, although it looks like it might on Monday as they have now put down a black plastic membrane over the gravel and laid a grid of rebar on top of it.

Goodness knows what the big  black pipe is for!

After a torrential thunderstorm lasting over an hour last night (right in the middle of the opening ceremony) it is probably good that it has the weekend to dry out a bit.

Day 5 - gone pink!

I was looking forward to day 5 but imagine my surprise when I looked down on the site to find that, not only had good progress been made, but that it had gone pink.

This needed closer inspection. It appears that the single blocked footings had now gained a perimeter of boards and a topping of quad rebar.

The various pipes and ducts for services were all in place and the whole lot filled with gravel and then mostly sprayed pink. 

I say mostly as there appear to be some areas that have deliberately not been sprayed.

I have no idea about all this so perhaps Uncle Rob can enlighten me as to why the pink and why not everywhere.


Whatever will tomorrow bring. The concrete pour I suspect!

Story so far....

OK. Today is the fourth working day of the build. Day 1 saw the site levelled, day 2 saw the footings marked out , day 3 saw the footings dug, and (remarkably) day 4 saw the footings poured AND the first row of blocks go on. There is still that strange unexplained rectangle at the rear left of the plan which has full footings all the way round. Can't wait to see where they have got to tonight.