Plastering

The main difference this week has been the plastering. The house is now fully plaster boarded and the skim plaster has been put on in the two upstairs bedrooms. A dark chocolate shade when first put on, drying to something lighter.Plastering On this photo you can see the detail around the window of the metal trim where it has not yet been skimmed.Plaster Detail
Also this week the solar panels have been connected so we can now make use of the energy which we are generating. Pity though that the Feed-in Tariff is a 1/3 of what it was at Christmas. And finally looking back over the photos, I notice that we have not had a long shot for a while. Rather too many buttercups but they do look pretty. Long Distance View

Landing

Outside work has been going on putting in fencing between the house and the orchard and tree guards have been added around the orchard trees to protect them from sheep and muntjac deerOrchard Tree Guards
Inside, the most noticeable work has been going on up in the landing. The bathroom wall has a covering of Fermacell Gypsum Fibreboard which does not need plastering and is moisture resistant. The studs on the outside of the bathroom been filled with Earthwool. Despite the name it does not include earth or wool, but instead recycled glass bottles and sand.Earthwool InsulationThe landing cupboards and shelves have also been going up, which will act as our loft space. Landing CupboardsBut for me the biggest change has been removing the temporary flooring from the void over the entrance to the library. Suddenly you can see the full height window and how the pod juts into the house.Library Void

House Cladding – Video

Inside the house the door frames are being installed as well as the frames for the landing cupboards. The wall between the wet room and Mike’s study has boarded so we are beginning to see the shape of the rooms.
The still weather meant that Mike was able to fly his drone again, so here is a video of the house showing the new cladding and the solar panels on the roof.