Weeks 3 and 4 - Walls and Garage Slab

Our timber frame is nearly complete.

East Wall with the front door in the centre

Looking through the window of the Snug, through the lobby and Bedroom 3

South west corner across the open-plan area

North west corner, looking into Bedroom 2

The next stage was to cover the frame with a modern, environmentally-friendly sheet material called Magply - this stiffens the frame, is fire-resistant and forms the wall cavities that will be filled with insulation.

Meanwhile .. Sarah and I were busy constructing the floor slab for the garage. We calculated 3.8 cubic metres of concrete, so ordered some ready-mix to be delivered in a cement lorry. Our team of builders from Beattie Passive were total stars, building this chute to carry the concrete into the foundation - a much better prospect than moving 100 wheelbarrows by hand.

And finally, we took delivery of the two steel beams that will bridge the 8m and 5.5m glazed walls on the south and west sides of the house. The beams were too heavy to move by hand but Richard, our project manager, improvised a solution using the forks of the telehandler. The steelmen are coming to erect the steel next week.

Addy at the wheel - Billy in charge

Watch the greenhouse Richard!