Slipping behind…

As good as their word Octopus paid (after some silly complications) the invoice for the generator. I built the frame for the L-shaped workbench against the north gable/shower room wall that will serve a our temporary kitchen – great now having the mitre saw to make quick accurate cuts, despite having the noise of the generator… I drew iterations of this bench many times, on the backs of used envelopes and on Sketch-up and it changed again as I built it, giving satisfaction as it consumed wood from the piles of off-cuts, mostly 70 x 45, as well as palettes and left overs-

The worktop will be two unused pieces of flooring chipboard, one cut round the sink, the other with the hob for the house temporarily installed. I have to keep bearing in mind that it’s a workbench in a workshop so I’m constantly trying to balance the practicality and aesthetics of both uses.

With the bench substantially built but some way from finished and the sink, water heater and waste drain (white solvent joined plastic) in place I left it to get on with boxing in behind the loo, to hide the cistern and mains water pipe – to do that I had to connect the pan to the drain and set up the cistern on a support to make sure everything fitted and joined up. My son and daughter confirmed dates for their week long visit and, as Tom is a prop maker and has for a year been refitting his first house, I planned to leave the bench to him while I cracked on with the shower room. The boxing behind the loo needed to be done so I could tile the floor and walls and the tiling needed to be done before I could fit the loo, shower and basin. There were enough off-cuts of good quality ply to build the boxing – it will be about 250mm deep and run up to the ceiling, the lower part concealing the cistern, its top an open shelf then a cupboard above. There was no fixed plan so I was designing on the hoof, working out dimensions and layout, as well as where the tiling should stop and where the shower screen would attach.

How many tiles were there and were any broken inside the packs? Could they come up to the side of the boxing in/cupboard or must they stop at the shower screen? I realised there was the opportunity for a hidden light under the shelf behind the loo and possibly a mirror to reflect that light and made a note to mention it to the electrician.

Scottish and Southern Electric’s local team of two turned up as planned and after just the right amount of friendly, and quite informative chat set about moving my supply. Douggie knew the site having put in the supply when the plots are set up. I’d already dug the required 1.2 x 1.2 x 0.5m hole under the box on legs, uncovering the bulbous connector, cut surplus ducting to the right length, drilled a hole in the workshop wall for the cable to enter, put boards on the inside wall for supply, meter and consumer unit and for good measure moved four overhanging planks on the scaffolding to avoid sore headed tradesman syndrome, litigation or worse still no electricity.

Apparently I should have organised Octopus to arrive the same day but the online instructions only mentioned that in the context of having my meter moved – it seemed irrelevant as I’d never had a meter.

On Saturday before Tom and Poppy arrived I built a loo with a view (over a convenient inspection chamber)

It had been the first task on their list but I thought the gesture would be appreciated.

We set up camp in the house. The north east corner room offered the best discrete space as a kitchen and dining room, leaving the open plan as a workshop. – PHOTO – We manoeuvred the big bench, made and left by the builders, in through the scaffolding and sliding window (about 10mm to spare), moved the mitre saw on to it – freeing the round dining table (salvaged from Lizzie’s) – and Poppy found three concrete-shuttering boxes (for post foundations) as shelves. An off-cut of chipboard flooring made a work surface above another hop-up bench – Trangia and spirit stove on top, pots and pans beneath.

Like a bothy, only no open fire or mice.

Progress with volunteers was good and the psychological benefit was considerable. If I was doing an office session I had the comfort of knowing work on site was still progressing. We repurposed more timber, knocking apart some redundant roof components and Tom made a ladder for the workshop.

On Monday the the Octopus meter fitters arrived, leaving us with a smart meter that was a bit stupid as their smart system has no signal here… and the next day, the day of torrential rain my soggy electrician turned up from an early local job and fitted a temporary supply. Two double thirteen amp sockets! Goodbye generator.

In the absence of Bex, partner and plastering ace, Tom had come prepared to face the challenge of plastering the shower room ceiling himself. Poppy and I borrowed a couple of sheets of plasterboard from the nearest neighbours, Tom cut them and we helped him screw them in place then, adding legs to a palette, made a stage so he could reach the ceiling comfortably to plaster. We had to visit town to return the generator so bought screws, buckets and so forth. He made a fine job of the ceiling, starting the first coat in the afternoon and working late to polish up the final surface. The next day he got on with the workbench.

The entire week was relentlessly cool, damp and grey and the day of torrential rain saw water running down the drive and across the site while both ditches spouted and burbled. Water in the ditch behind the workshop got only so far then disappeared, so at lunchtime I took the mattock and eased its bed, hoping the problem was levels and not a hidden barrier of rock. Satisfyingly I was able to leave it flowing freely down towards the communal trackside ditch.

Selfbuild neighbours Jasper and Fiona, reminded of their damp time in a caravan, offered us a couple of electric heaters and we rigged up a drying tent to deal with our wet clothes.

Late one evening Tom made the final cut out in the work bench and we dropped the induction hob into it. The next day I unwrapped the oven to measure it and fit it under the bench but to my horror found it was the wrong one. It had been delivered in June so was well past the thirty day return period…