The second week in June was unseasonably wet and presented us with a few challenges. With no windows and no roof covering, we had little protection againt the deluge. Our foundations also flooded because we had holes at the base of the steel columns that had not yet been bricked up.
The rain just kept coming for day after day. Sarah did most of the flood management work, using the Vax to suck out the water and improvising a way to use a sump pump to keep the water levels down. Although the floating Jablite insulation shown in this video was especially alarming, the foundations have now dried out completely.
After it stopped raining, the Beattie team "jumped on" to the task of building our double garage. This is timber-built and sits outside the thermal envelope.
Beattie covered the garage in Magply sheets and battens - we will clad it at the same time as the rest of the house.
We have now reached the end of Week 8 and the structure of our house is now complete. The exterior is covered in yellow Wraptite fabric and battened and the interior is lined with Magply. We are now having a break from the builders while we finish the roof. Beattie will then return to line the walls with Intello fabric (used to make the house airtight) and pump the ecobead insulation into the walls, roof and floor.
We have also ordered our kitchen from Wren. It is a galley style layout with tall units against the back wall: eye-level integrated oven and microwave (and the all-important plate warmer). The floor to ceiling units are handle-less and have a dark finish called Italian Concrete. The island unit is topped in sparkly quartz with an inlaid sink and induction hob.
