We've been busy...

From laying floors...

to lining the wall and putting up the stud work

ready for the insulation

now its time for the electrics

We won't quite be in for Christmas but it won't be long...

Under floor heating goes in

Melv wrestles with a maize of pipes

Anyone would think he knows what he is doing!!

Its starting to look like a house!!!

What with the windows in and the render on the outside walls the old workshop is finally starting to look like a house.

As a long one storey building Melv split the outside rendering in half.

Matthew came and gave him a hand - as with the short days and poor weather it is hard to get enough time for the render to dry to get a finish on it before darkness.

It didn't seem to take long

Then the following morning - as if by magic....

No stopping us now...

Melv plasters the outside ready for the arrival of our windows

After a 6 week wait they finally arrive

 Melv prepares the sills

 And the first one is in

One down 4 to go...

Inside and Outside

Inside and outside work continues...

As we lay the damp proof membrane and the insulation inside the main room

Seems to make what is quite a big room even bigger

4 inches thick its gonna be a bit different from the caravan.

Melv makes the best of one of the fine days which ave been few and far between

with a coat of render on the end wall.

Hey - we've got doors!!!

The view down the valley towards the Quantock hills is one of the many plus points about living at Mill Barn

So we wanted to make the most of it - with two very large patio doors

Rather than opening in or out they are by-folding which mean they fold back to one side without leaving a middle frame in view.

Apparently they were a villan to fit though, fortunately I was away in Wales and Melv had a hand from his carpenter friend Jeff

Once we start to get the doors and then the windows at the end of the month the main room starts to take shape and we will soon be planning where the fireplace is to go - then that really feels like progress.

The scaffolding has gone

Things are really moving on now, the scaffolding was removed yesterday to reveal the building beneath and it does look smart.

There will no stopping Melv now

The patio doors have arrived and the windows have been ordered.

Next it will be to finish plastering the outside and get the first fix of plumbing and electrics done inside

So will we be in before Christmas????

With a little help...

the ridge is underway:

The finishing touches are made to the roof

 and the ridge tiles and pointing are finally completed

Melv goes inside

As we wait for help completing the roof - Melv's knees can't cope, Melv turns his attention to inside:

He starts to build the internal walls up

Then in with the under floor heating in the ensuite

Down with the floor

Its starting to take shape

Some finishing touches

Paint on the gable end

Guttering up

We must be getting there!!

What's next?

With the roof almost finished, its on with the lime plaster.

We have also been taking a bit of time out and enjoying the garden

The wildflowers are amazing

Work on the roof continues

We weren't put off by the threatening skies - there were Velux windows to go in...

For once they got the weather right and we finally had a day without rain, which is always  a bonus when cutting two holes in the roof!

Don't they look smart - 1 for the bathroom and 1 for the en suite in the main bedroom