Advancing slowly on several fronts

This time only brief nature notes, then the building.

Neither of us has had the opportunity to pick sea buckthorn berries before, but for a couple of months we’ve had our eyes on these bushes and, after picking an exploratory few with Richard, went picking in earnest last weekend. The almost luminous orange berries have a sharp, fragrant taste and, clustered close to the branches amongst fine sharp thorns, can’t simply be stripped. Each berry must be picked individually and it took us a little time to find a technique that seemed practical. When we felt we’d taken enough we moved to another location in search of nuts. The hazel grove lies in a contour-hugging scoop, a couple of hundred metres long, just below the heathery top of a ridge. It’s backed by small cliffs with twisting oaks on them arching over the hazels. The sense of place is unique and powerful and every time we descend into it we feel we’re entering a realm where the ancient past is still present.

Physical building progress is slow – on Monday I went to Oban to collect my new glasses, then wore them all day Tuesday: on the phone, staring at a screen, doing various admin tasks. As well as ordering guttering I’m trying to find my way through the tortuous process of applying for the renewable heat incentive, where the government pays quarterly for seven years towards the capital cost of your sustainable heating system. Since the main man went on long term sick leave, there has been some discontinuity with the company that designed and installed our heating system. Reading the Ofgem guidance – three different sets – I was worried that we needed a separate meter (so where was it?) to record the energy being used by the heat pump. A certificate (MSC) to show the company is registered with the scheme should have followed our final payment, but hadn’t, and then for the application we also need another energy certificate (EPC) and an ‘as built’ airtightness test… Although I’m now assured we don’t need the separate meter, trying to get my head round the timing of the other things is a strain. I’ll concentrate on that a little later.

The neighbours have various bits of surplus guttering they want rid of, most of the bits are useful so I finalised my list and got three quotes. Jewson, with whom I have an account, reduced their sum, but not by enough and on Wednesday I finally placed my order with Drainagesuperstore (free delivery) and moved on to the wood store.

Although I’d not planned it I found myself rearranging one side of the wood store; useful wide larch planks above, seasoned logs and larch off-cuts for the fire, below. Pieces of blue batten went to the other side which is all structural timber, OSB and ply.

I laid concrete paving slabs on levelled and tamped pea shingle – hereabouts known as ‘peas’ – and brushed the joints full of fine grit.

I could only lay slabs as far as the stopcock, which is still where the builders left it, but when I’ve built the shed at the far end for the big blue tank, I’ll put the stopcock in there, with the fine sediment filter and the ultra-violet treatment and bury the pipes under more paving. Pending this wholesale re-jig of the outside plumbing I’ve hoisted what I can out of the way to let me cast the concrete base…

But today it occurred to me that as this shed is not truly separate from the workshop I really should check with building control to make sure I don’t do anything untoward; I await a reply to my voicemail.

So with the shed and outside plumbing on temporary hold I got on with the last few scraps of larch cladding on house (you thought it was all done?). One plank remains to go on the back wall of the plant room but I need a heavy duty screw-in ring-eye to attach the washing line which is currently threaded round a wall batten.

And so round to the porch at the other end; a start…

Tomorrow’s forecast is for sunshine so I’m hoping to complete the porch cladding and bargeboard and fit the verges to each end. Maybe I’ll get the fascia on too!