Chris has prepared the buttresses on the west wall ahead of being repaired by Lee, removing invasive roots, loose bricks and the accumulated soil – this time without any accidents. Our approach to the wall repairs is ’light-touch’, doing what’s necessary to make the wall robust and resistant to further damage from ivy, roots and … More 15th September 2021

We’ve had contrasting standards of skills and craftsmanship on display over the last few days. Henry came over on Sunday to help Chris to make our first compost bins. We’ve felt slightly ashamed that our peelings and cuttings have been going in the wrong bin for nearly a year – poor behaviour for such waste … More 13th September 2021

The transformed site has been silent again this week. It’s been super that Page and Mark, our groundworkers, achieved so much and it’s great when they’re here. However, we enjoy having the site back to ourselves and peaceful. We can plan what happens next and do our seemingly insignificant tasks, like moving materials, picking up … More 9th September 2021

We’ve just watched the first of a new series of Grand Designs; wow, ouch, blimey! At £2.5 million – 200% over budget – and taking three years longer than initially planned, we’re still taking it all in and comparing notes. The owner had the sale of his collection of supercars to fall back on if … More 1st September 2021

We can’t quite believe that tomorrow brings the end of another month. We’re still waiting for summer to arrive but already the evenings are dark and chilly too early and the hedgerows have an autumnal feel with sloes, blackberries, conkers, hawthorn berries and damsons. And like Chris, some fungi …

The whole footprint has now been excavated to the right level, including the garage which has to be 100mm lower than the rest of the building. We’ve brought in 200 tonnes of ‘type 1’ stone but somehow need a load more. Chris must have got his maths, stone density or compaction rates wrong! Until the … More 28th August 2021

For fans of machinery: Page and Mark are into their second week onsite and are making great strides. The shape of the house is now evident from the excavation rather than steel pins in the ground and Chris’ waving arms, and we’re starting to see how far the lawn will come as the tipped soil … More 23rd August 2021

Right, there’s some serious earthmoving going on now. Page (digger) and Mark (dumper) are excavating the footprint of the house plus two metres all the way round. What’s being dug out – some rubble but mainly sub-soils – is then filling the central area where the topsoils were stripped. We’re digging down nearly a metre … More 18th August 2021