What some people get up to on a windy night....

And there it was - gone!

As we had a 5 hour power cut at work on Monday, I decided that now we had power at Brookvale I could collect the generator I had bought and use it as an emergency supply for work. On arriving at Brookvale early Tuesday morning there were lots of people on telephones and a general lack of action. Gary, one of the groundworkers, explained that some "bast***s" had nicked the digger during the night. It appears that "they" managed to start the digger without keys, drove it round to the back of the house, demolished a tree to create a gap in the hedgerow, and then at the less than rapid pace of 1 mph (the digger's top speed), set off on a 3/4 mile trip across fields (the tracks clearly visible) until they reached a driveway, where, presumably, they put it on a low loader and roared off into the night. No-one at Brookvale heard a thing!

"Still" said Gary "they won't get far. Its got a Tracker fitted". After my return to work I conjured up the image of the police chasing the digger at 1 mph; the Tracker beeping away furiously and the villains being arrested. My thoughts then turned to insurance. Who was responsible? Would it be us? At £5000 for an 8 year old digger, it would be a lot of money. Suppose the insurance company wouldn't pay out? The 'phone rang - it was Roy, the project manager. He had spoken to the police and they just weren't interested. Worse still, when the Tracker was switched on - zilch, zero, nothing at all. Either it was faulty of it had been found and smashed. Goodbye mini digger.

The annoying thing was that we had almost finished with the digger - just one more day's work!

Jan & Rog

Leaps and bounds

Well, the week seems to have flown past but we seem to be moving at a great pace now.

As I looked at the weather forecast for the week last Sunday night, it seemed that we had a "window" of 3 days fair weather to put the windows in. I eagerly made my way to site on Monday to find no windows installed, and no Bob the chippy. Once I located Roy he told me that Bob had a bad back and that he would be back on Tuesday. Now I'm not a doctor, but it seemed to me that Bob would be most unlikely to be back on Tuesday with a magically healed back. Keen not to miss the drier weather, I asked Roy if he knew anyone else that could fit the windows. If Bob wasn't back on Tuesday, Roy said he had two other carpenters to call on. Needless to say, Bob was not back on Tuesday, and the two other guys did not appear. Fortunately, Bob returned on Wednesday and made rapid progress as can be seen from today's photos. All the windows (except the bay) have been installed, as have the french doors in the lounge (first picture). Due to what the trade call an order fulfillment issue (cock up), one of the bay windows had not been made. We've got to wait until Tuesday next week before A J Joinery will be able to get that to us.


And so to the saga of Gary Gutter. Gary was due to fit the guttering on Wednesday 4th November, but failed to appear. He then promised to be on site on Wednesday 11th November, but again failed to appear. However, he promised that he would definitely fit the guttering on Wednesday this week. (Does he only work one day each week?) And so we wondered if he would appear this week as the absence of guttering was having a rather damping effect on the walls. Well true to form, Gary didn't arrive on Wednesday, but turned up unannounced on Tuesday when the site was not really ready for him. Bless the building trade - if just one of them actually turned up on the day they promised.... Well regardless of Gary's diary misalignments, the guttering looks really great. Its very odd to see a single 7 metre length of straight guttering appear from the back of a Transit van that's only 3 metres long! But of course the aluminium is on a roll and is formed in a machine in the van.

The other major progress this week has been the groundwork. Gary and Ian (still talking as there has been no conflicting football match to come between them) have now levelled the ground between the house and garage, laid and rolled type 1 aggregate, and laid edging stone to the drive. We've also discovered that we own 1 metre more land than we thought as the excavations have shown the boundary between us and number 4 Brookvale is not in a line along the far wall of the garage, but another metre beyond that. This came to light as the gravel was removed in front of the garage and the edging uncovered. Once this was found, it was relatively easy to trace a line back to the cottages and see that in fact the boundary was further south than our drawings showed. With aggregate now in place all around most of the house, and the edging stones heading towards the "Fools gateway" to delineate the driveway from our garden, the whole house is assuming a much more orderly look.

At last too, we now have ELECTRICITY! EDF connected the supply up on Wednesday, and the meter was fitted Friday. The builders will now be able to make tea using the mains rather than the generator - not the best use of petrol.

Despite threatening to connect our water supply on Friday, Anglian Water once again failed to appear. Still, with a supply of electricity we can start the rainwater harvesting pump and use some of the 3500 litres in the tank. Quite what has happened with the gas connection we're not entirely sure. It appears that they had to wait a period of time before they could dig up the road, (something to do with Council rules - which probably doesn't surprise you) but as we're not desperate for the gas connection, it isn't a problem at the moment.

Two more jobs in hand for me are to organise the making and supply of the front door and utility door and frames, as well as the internal door frames. I'm also waiting to hear from the locksmiths about some suitable door furniture - must chase them as they've gone rather quiet on me.

We've been touring the bathroom stores this afternoon and now have a good idea of what we want, even down to specific models from specific suppliers

We've have one other little problem too - Clive from 4 Brookvale is having his 26 foot yacht brought on a low loader so that he can refit it over the next two years. Unfortunately, the Fools Gateway, and various trees and shrubs are in the way so it looks like some drastic pruning of Gillian Walton's garden (5 Brookvale) is going to be necessary, and probably allowing the yacht-carrying vehicle to drive on our garden. That's fine now, but what will happen in two years time when we have a hedge alongside the driveway is another problem.

Jan & Rog

The fools gateway

Consider if you will our self-righteous parish councillor Stewart Rat(aj) and his fellow councillors complaining that our proposed house would despoil the countryside and then take a look at the gates that he has hung on the posts fitted last week. It must have taken a long time, and a lot of digging, to find such a knackered pair of rusty old eyesores as those. But of course, it has been done deliberately, out of spite, because he has effectively lost his futile battle to stop us building. This was all he had left and there's little we can do as neither the gates nor the fence are subject to any form of planning regulations (I've checked). Pathetic.

And so to progress on Wee House.

Following Roy's surprise at the need to have the water pipe chlorinated, he checked and found that this hasn't been the case for some years on a pipe as small a diameter as ours. When he queried this with Anglian Water they responded with the fact that he was the third person to 'phone that week with the same query all caused by the same inspector. One hopes said inspector has now had a "pipe appreciation lesson" and understands that there are different requirements for different diameter pipes.

Lee the painter turned up on Monday and, together with his anonymous mate, set about staining the window and door frames. By Tuesday lunchtime he had finished the required two coats and will return when the windows and doors are fitted to give a final exterior coat.

In the meantime, Bob the chippy, had been getting greyer and greyer (dust from cutting the board) as he fitted first the remaining insulation, and then the plasterboard to the ceiling in what I shall from now on call the guest room, rather than the mezzanine. Due to the fiddly nature of this Bob didn't get a chance to start installing the windows but will start that job on Monday 16th.

Darren the plumber was called to site on Wednesday to connect the rainwater harvesting system control system and mains water feed which runs from the house to the garage (where the control unit is sited) and then to the rainwater tank. A quick test using the generator showed the pump was working so Darren's work is done for the moment.

Andrew the electrician was also on site on Wednesday to connect the tails of the mains electricity feed to the consumer unit. At one point it appeared as though there might be a duel (wrenchs at dawn?) as Darren and Andrew argued about the positioning of their respective equipment : boiler - Darren; consumer unit - Andrew. Both apparently wanted exactly the same bit of the utility room wall! Andrew won because he got in first and installed the consumer unit. Darren will find somewhere else for the boiler!

Meanwhile Gary and Ian were beavering away on the drains, albeit in silence on Monday, because Ian's soccer team Arsenal, had beaten Gary's team Man U at the weekend. The emotions generated by football are somewhat of a mystery to me. By Thursday the drains were complete and the building inspector was summoned to carry out our "dry inspection". This entails checking the fall is satisfactory, which apparently it was, so passed. There's also a "wet inspection". Quite what that entails I shudder to think but will ensure that I am NOT on site on the day he calls for this dubious-sounding process.

For reasons that are not entirely clear Gary Gutter did not arrive again this week, but is now scheduled to appear next week. I'm getting a bit fed up with him. If he doesn't show this week I'll look elsewhere as the walls are getting soaked because the roof presently drains directly onto them. Worse still, the water is splashing into the clay at the base of the walls and a milky spray is in turn being splashed onto the lower red bricks. Looks like a pressure washer is needed.

And finally, to Friday when Gary and Ian, now bosom buddies again (because there's no league football this weekend to fall out over) have been concreting the drains, fitting inspection points and backfilling. This means that the rainwater harvesting tank has now almost disappeared with just its neck showing, and the ground beside the house is reasonably level - bloody boggy, but reasonably level!

Jan and I had our usual weekend clean up on today (Sunday) but really only had a bit of sweeping to do. Hopefully, the windows will be in by next weekend and so stop the debris getting into the house. Mind you, it won't stop the builders being their usual messy selves!

Jan & Rog

You couldn't invent this!

On Wednesday I received an unexpected call from Roy Bacon, the project manager. Although what he was saying was largely unintelligible due to a poor signal on his mobile, I knew he was trying to tell me something was wrong. Call it a premonition, but I had a feeling that our old "friend" the Rat was going to re-appear. We had received an official letter from Central Beds Council on Monday this week telling us that their Ethics and Standards Tribunal had made a judgement in relation to the complaints that we and Gillian Walton (number 5 Brookvale) had made about Stuart Rat(aj). In his guise as a parish councillor (co-opted of course - no-one would vote him in!) he did not declare his personal interest in our plot of land (due to his connection with Mr Hyde and the fact that he tried to buy the plot several years ago) when the parish council debated our revised plans last year and voted strongly against them. Although the clerk to the parish council had not recorded any declared interest from the Rat, nor his abstention from voting, the tribunal decided that the Rat was completely innocent of any wrong doing. The clerk was praised by the tribunal for his accuracy in recording the minutes of the meeting, but several of the other councillors now disputed the clerk's recorded version saying that they distinctly remembered the Rat declaring an interest at the Parish Council meeting that debated our planning application, and also that he abstained from voting. Although the minutes did not support this, and local government being what it is, they all stuck together and the Rat was let off the hook. I said to Jan that I thought he would emerge once more now that he was cleared. Sure enough, when Roy called back he explained that there was a small gang of men putting in posts between our land and the cartway. I rushed off down to Brookvale to see one post already installed and another hole being drilled. The "posts" were a telegraph pole that had been cut into three - very ugly things they are too, with very thick multi-strand wire pinned to each. For some reason, the hedgerow to the right has been massacred and the base dug out so that it looks like a cart track now.

To cut a long story short, after some discussion it appeared that there was documentary evidence to support the existence of a 14 foot track based on copies of plans attached to old deeds from 1953 that were shown to me. However, it wasn't all bad news as it appears following legal advice this week that case law, determined in 2006, means that we have an absolute right to access the plot and that we can upgrade the driveway in any way we like to ensure that it complies with District Council standards, and the needs of modern society. So the fact that it is described as a cart track is academic and we can use it for motor vehicles - contrary to the solicitor's letter from Mr Hyde earlier in the year.

This spiteful response was made within 24 hours of the Rat's "acquittal" and appears to be a final gesture as everything else has failed. The position of the first post now makes it difficult for larger vehicles to turn at the bend in the drive. Its very possible that a lorry may accidentally knock it over one day. How unfortunate that would be. All very pathetic really - pure spite - but once we grow our hawthorn hedge, this will be covered up.

And so to the events of the rest of the week. Amazingly, we have now had the water, gas and electricity pipes all laid in the service trench and approved by their respective suppliers. Good job too as the digger cost more to hire in 2 weeks than a BMW costs for a month on contract hire! But of course, there had to be a hitch. And on Thursday the hitch appeared in the form of the Anglian Water inspector. "Yup, the position of the water pipe in the trench is fine as it meets our standard. All I now need is the chlorination certificate and I can connect you" he said. Roy, who has been a builder for nearly 50 years, had never heard of a chlorination certificate so asked where he could get one. "From the people that you arranged the water supply with" said the inspector. "What, you mean Anglian Water, the company you work for" said Roy. "Yes that's right" he said. "Well why can't this be organised between you" enquired Roy. "Different department mate!" was the response. In the immortal words of Richard Wilson "I don't believe it!" Having suggested to Roy that this was another money making wheeze I wasn't surprised to hear that the cost of obtaining this certificate is £260 plus VAT. Quite why flushing the pipe with clean water is insufficient, goodness only knows. Notwithstanding this, with luck we should have the water, gas and electricity fully connected by the end of the month.

By the end of the week, the service trench had been backfilled, just leaving the turf to be re-laid. Only the foul waste to sort out now and connect the house to the main sewer - another digging job across the road.

Thursday saw the oak windows and doors arrive and very nice they look too. I took a day's leave on Friday and applied stain to the tops and sides to help the painter, Lee Hayes, who is arriving on Monday to do the rest of the staining prior to fitting (due to start Wednesday). Trouble is I keep forgetting that I am an old man and struggled to lift the frames. Help was readily provided by Roy's men working on site, but it doesn't do much for the ego when a frame you've struggled to lift with someone else's help is picked up under one arm and moved with apparent ease! I went back Saturday morning to remove the handles and other furniture from the frames to make it easier for the painters, but found I couldn't get to them. To avoid them being spirited away by, well, you know who does these things, all the frames had been tucked up in the en-suite bathroom by Roy's men and a large piece of plywood screwed to the door frame. I decided to sweep the floor instead!

Wednesday also sees Gary Gutter back to fit the guttering and downpipes, so by the end of the week after next we should have a secure house with rainwater being collected in our harvesting tank. I must admit I shall be very pleased to reach that point as the mess created by all the groundworks, and the water running off the roof, has now reached the point where it is impossible to go anywhere near the site without getting very messy indeed.

As a footnote to the issue with the new fence posts, I had a visit from Clive (4 Brookvale) when I was tidying up at Brookvale this morning. He is having the area between our garage and his neighbours garage cleared and a hardcore/gravel surface put down so he can put his boat there(26 foot sailing variety) for refurbishment. Clive wanted to make sure we both agreed the delineation of the boundary between us (pleasant change, eh?) but was also concerned that the first of Mr Hyde's new fence posts would make it very difficult, if not impossible for the lorry delivering the hardcore to get to the area in question. I wouldn't be at all surprised if said post suffers an accident soon - it does seem to have stirred up people! Of course it would seem like poetic justice if we could get the District Council to insist on its removal because a fire engine couldn't get round the driveway! Hmmm, might do some stirring next week.

Jan & Rog