CEDAR NEW FRONTAGE

The roof covering is now finished. Happily, I am still alive. Had I fallen off it would have been the Durufle Requiem - out of choice. Having been to the top of Centre Point this week (thanks James) I have renewed respect for all high rise buildings!

Richard and Doug are putting on the cedar cladding for me. Hoping to get the exterior done by Christmas (2011).
 

REAR

Simon is wearing a vest, short sleeve cotton shirt, cashmere jumper (Johnstones of Elgin), second jumper (from Aviemore), English Arts Chorale fleece, brushed cotton jeans, knee protectors and Clarks shoes (holey reliable).

After a few hours walking on battons your arms get longer and swing like an orangutan.

Roofing in bad weather is tough. I am siding with Wat Tyler and should be at St Pauls protesting about credit default swaps on Greek Debt made in my name by my bank. The copper clouts and rivets have caused my lips to crack and its we haven't yet reached November - only about 800 tiles to go.

I am out of touch but is there anyone concerned about Jeffrey Archer handing back the the throne of England to the RC church. What's this bit of sea for? What's the Tower of London for?

As I watch the harvest moon rise over the sea I consider the soreness of my bum - only a weekend biking in the black mountains is comparable to tiling, notwithstanding the bath mat I have stuffed down my shorts.

"I was now heavier than the barrel, and half way down I met the barrel coming up, receiving a severe blow upon the shin". Fortunately this is a lightweight pulley made from the washing line - suitable for carrying lunch but not much more, though I did walk into it and saw stars for a day.

After the first week I have just over a quarter of the tiles on but am gradually getting faster.

WINDOWS AND DOORS

I know not why, but I'm more uncertain than when I started. The first anniversary of commencement has gone by, and the next task - the roof covering - is daunting. I rode a horse called Rocky yesterday and that was bad enough. Mounting and dismounting the worst, so I shall need good roof access arrangements. When you look into the horse's eye he appears to have the knowledge of the world, but when you hear the steady printing of his proud feet, you realize that riding is just the bi-product of one of natures great eating machines. The best thing I learned from Amanda is that you can ride a horse into another horse as easily as the milkman reversed into my car last week. Not sure whether I believe this and would prefer all milk to be delivered by horsepower.

Everything is buzzing down here - the timber merchants are so busy they need a new lorry. All I hear on the radio is gloomy. This shows that by the time all those statistics have been requested, collected, reviewed and published, they are at least a year out of date. If it's as bad as all those clever economists would have us believe, my mother's policy of growing vegetables to ward off the German invasion may yet bear fruit. However, I maintain that the better way to be a success in the capital markets is to pick your moment from a deckchair on Winchelsea Beach.

ROPES PULLEYS AND GEARING





After a sleepless night in the tent ...



I finally came up with a system of ropes ...





To haul the windows up to the first floor - fortunately Suki is very strong.



PRIVATE PARTY

Some things are under-rated.



But Suki insisted on walls before her big birthday party.



An everyone was relieved.

CHANNELING HEAT

I'm fascinated by this figure - Dungeness B is cooled by heating 100 million litres of sea water per hour by 12 degrees C. Is this why the sea is quite warm at Winkelsea beach? 100,000,000 litres is 100,000 cubic metres per hour (and tonnes) or nearly one cubic kilometre a year. The volume of the channel is probably about 9600 cubic kilometres. Ok - probably not.

But the sea has seemed cooler in the last couple of years. Last year was particularly unhot. Dungeness A is dead and B is mostly closed for repair until further notice. I see a connection.

My father used to tell a story about some part that his company had to reinstall a hundred times at Dungeness A. If that weren't bad enough, B has only been operating for half its life. Had we a decent level of phone hacking in the 60s this outrage would never have occurred!?

Both A and B now serve their most useful purpose in my view - protecting the coast from Pett level to Dungeness. They can't let it go while the Geiger counter is still buzzing.

Dungeness Power Station (in the distance)

More framing

Its raining hard and I need to put a lid on.

MOST RAFTERS UP

Most rafters are now up. There has been an offshore wind for most of this week making the sea appear quite dark. The rain has brought about a second spring and the grass in the field has turned mauve - that which han't been eaten by the Cumbrian sheep who are looking increasingly successful.

However, the biggest shock of the week was an evening stroll round our local pub garden. The renovation by the manager of the former Pet Shop Boys is nearly complete, and it is staggering. It is like a cross between a theme park and Chelsea Flower Show. I used to think that it had potential but this is amazing! And there is obviously alot of money in managing Pet Shop Boys.

Front

Rear

FROM THE SEA - AN ARCTIC BLAST

Front gable up before the rain set in.





6 rafters up - 56 to go!

After the rain set in.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

I am wondering whether the name Romnia - meaning gypsy girl - is still appropriate. Maybe Octopede, or Clingon Strike Vessel would be better.

Gable attic wall takes shape.

More doubts about how large to make the window.

FLAMING JUNE

This week I have had many visitors - Suki of course, Monica, Luci Hero and Otterley, Sarah and Ali, Sarah Freddie Joanna and Hector, Mike and Margo, and my neighbour in a rage. Where was everyone in December? For all those who visit while I am not in there is now a greeting at the top of the stair.

Next week I start on the roof. Invitations go out for Suki's big birthday party on 20th August. It's a dealine of Grand Design proportions.

keep praying for no rain

enclosure - but the birds still fly through as if it were part of the garden

TAKING SHAPE

Many thanks to Richard and Doug who helped erect the posts last week.

I did say it was going to be a church didn't I?



ONE MAN'S CEILING IS ANOTHER MAN'S FLOOR

These 8 be 3s are heavyyyy



suki seems to like her new temporary staircase



it's reassuring when the structural engineer
agrees to go to the top of the building (accompanied by his physio)



the view from the top



SOME LIKE IT HOT



It seems only a moment since it was snowing.
Now I need the shade and a little privacy doesn't go amiss.

No roof and no rain.

The right height for the windows proved controversial
and went right up to board level

It's helpful to be able to walk through the walls.



Ground floor walls now sheathed
- getting everything square and vertical has been the main problem.

64 first floor joists arrive - the task for May.

The manager of the local timber merchant is becoming quite friendly, rubbing his hands at the prospect of cladding, staircases windows and the rest. Those planks of 16mm OSB are delivered to my mother's double car-port for sizing, where of course Monte the delivery man gets tea and ginger cake. Connections have been made as word gets about here. On balance, I see prices going up.

FRAMING

It's very exciting to see the views being framed by windows and doors. It's also good to be able to walk through the walls, but that won't remain the case for very long very long. The prospect of views from the first floor is very exciting.

Front window overlooking the new bird sanctuary created by The Environment Agency

Rear view overlooking SSSI

BASE EIGHT

Rear section of framing nearly complete

Utility room

The problem with millimetres is that I can’t see them very well. Further more centimetres cannot be divided in half but not by four. Oh for the days of inches and eighths of them. An inch you can divide by half, four, eight. Half of three quarters is three eights. But then the Romans built the whole empire with letters. Only the Babylonians had numbers giving their descendants the ability to bomb them with precision. My main problem with millimetres is confusing say 2304 with 2340. No chance of confusing 7’3 7/8” with 7´8 1/4”. I wonder if the Romans made mistakes. Was that viaduct designed to take water from Birmingham to Wales?

I have managed to frame all the back section this week, even allowing time to correct one or two mistakes. Hopefully there aren’t any I haven’t noticed. As someone said – there are known knowns … there are known unknowns … but there are also unknown unknowns - if so I shall have to curse my knitting needles and go back several rows.

Its getting warmer and I am having to adopt sun cream.

Back in the real world there is a worthy cause to sing the Verdi requiem from memory – again - in the Queen Elizabeth Hall – it’s a full life.