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Start making frames, would like to get a roof covering (Isoroof) on by late autumn if possible.

Having gone through the process of considering then discounting travertine as our floor covering of choice, we eventually settled on a porcelin tile to cover those areas (kitchen, utility and vestibule) that were not having oak flooring laid. Unfortunately for us, the person who we believed was going to be doing our tiling (and does virtually all of the builders tiling), at the last moment refused to undertake the work in our house. Quite why I've not been able to establish, nor has my builder. To say I was put out is an understatement. My builder was none too happy either. Fortunately, he was able to pull a rabbit out of the hat a couple of weeks later, in the form of Tony from Australia, a tiler on an extended visit to Orkney. As neither of us had seen his work, we agreed that he would tile an initial small area and decide whether he would do the whole job on that. We needn't have worried, a really nice and hard working guy, he set about measuring and marking out, discussing patterns and the best way to achieve the look we wanted. As the tiles started to go down, we could see the care he was taking, and we are more than happy with the result. Due to insufficient clearance under both the front and back door we ended up creating mat wells for the door to open over, edging the wells with aluminium trim. Moving into the bathrooms, where we had decided to use the same porcelin tiles, we tiled all the walls to half height, and finished with a simple straight edge aluminium trim. In the picture you can see the bulkheads we created to conceal the cistern and give a finished height of 1000mm, and the frame / surround for our bath. Access to the cistern / basin trap is by a removable tile (held in place with silicone). If for any reason we do need to get to the cistern and the tile breaks, I have 6 boxes left, so a healthy supply of spares. In the utility room, the units and oak worktop were fitted. A 50mm offcut strip from the utility worktop was used to create a handrail on the staircase, as required by building control. One of the key uses of our utility is as our clothes drying area. Readers may recall from earlier entries that we have a section of vaulted ceiling in the utility which now accommodates two clothes pulleys. Each pulley can take a full load of washing which means all washing can be hung up above normal ceiling height,out of the way. I fitted the utility MVHR extract in this space to ensure moist air is drawn away, and can happily report this particular feature to be very effective, drying all washing overnight. Through in the kitchen, plinths were fitted, doors put back, appliances installed and the worktop (quartz) lifted into place. On the island, we decided to go with a quartz splashback, and to finish with oak on top. We're very pleased with the finished look. On the other side of the kitchen, we are still undecided how to finish the splashback, so in the interim have a length of quartz. We may opt for tiles, glass or leave it as it is. We also have to decide how to finish the underside of the overhead units. This was something I flagged at the design stage but I was overruled in the quest for a 'clean look'. We have the option of fitting a piece of pelmet or a piece of shelving matching to the doors / carcuses. I suspect the later would give a better overall finish. Next entry: 2nd / final fix electrics

blockwork and fintwork & beamblock flooring

NEW ENTRY 4 weeks after we hoped to have it, our warrant was finally approved. Another weeks delay waiting for the digger driver, but finally work has started in earnest on site. Strip foundations were dug and concrete poured the following day. A minor set-back during the pour, a hydraulic line split on the mixer forcing it to shut down. An hour later after the mechanic had brought out and fitted a new line, the job was finished. You’ll note the lack of a digger on the concrete pour. 4 men - 2 on barrows,1 spreading in the trench, 1 tamping and levelling the concrete off. It’s the fastest I’ve seen strip foundations poured. Having finished the pour, the concrete was floated to a smooth finish. Not normally required with block foundations but as we are building with ICF, it’s important in ensuring that the base blocks are level. The ICF (Amvic) system blocks that we are using are formed from two sections of 65mm EPS separated by 150mm plastic webs to form a hollow core for the concrete. The plastic webs are embedded in the EPS for rigidity. Here is a close up of the block: Note the teeth on the top and bottom edges of the EPS, these ensure the blocks securely interlock with each other. The markings on the side of the blocks are to aid cutting and are set at 20mm intervals. So, after measuring and setting out, the first course of ICF blocks were laid. These were half blocks, a full block having been cut in two with a table saw so that there was a flat edge to sit on the concrete strips. A second full course followed, taking us up to just above finished floor level. The pour to fill the hollow core of the blocks took 1 hour. C35 concrete had waterproofer and steel fibres for strengthening added to the mixer. You can see the steel fibres here: A hoistable skip was filled by the concrete mixer and lifted by crane. Again, a team of four worked their way round the foundation, releasing concrete from the skip into a ‘funnel’ which ran on metal rails fitted over the top of the ICF blocks. The rails allowed them to quickly slide the funnel along the ICF block wall, filling up the core as they went. 2 men worked the skip and funnel, while a third, following immediately behind, used a vibrating poker in the core to agitate the mix and encourage settlement. Every segment of the block (as separated by the plastic webs) had the poker treatment. My builder followed round, running a line the length of each wall, bracing it where required to ensure the finished wall was straight and true. The finishing touch was floating the surface of the concrete in the core to a smooth finish, to aid the painting on of a radon barrier. Next entry - Upfill, insulation UFH and slab