About to start! 

After a few postponed dates, it looks like building work will actually start this coming week! On Friday we had an unexpected delivery of the footings for the builders’ cabin, which is due to arrive on Monday. We half-expected everything to be delayed again, so it was a particularly exciting moment to see the lorry drive into the courtyard and leave the concrete blocks!   

Even after all the site preparation we’ve been doing for the last few months, it doesn’t feel like we’re ready though. Just behind our grey-roofed barn there is the footprint of another old barn – long since collapsed – where the stone and concrete from the walls are still on the ground, and covered with weeds and moss. We’d hoped to sort through the remains to separate the stones and put them aside to face the new building that will replace our derelict unroofed barn and become our shed/laundry/games room, but we only managed to scratch the surface in the time we’ve had. The cabin is due to be located on top of the footprint of the old barns, so we’re just hoping that the first builders on site tomorrow will have time to clear through more of the stones – or that the cabin can be moved later in the build. 

It doesn’t help that I’ve been away most of the last two weeks with work, and left John to sort the final pieces. We’ve just found out that we need to take out self-build insurance (in case the buildings collapse during the work and we need to rebuild them) so he’s has been ringing round to source some options. It’s a bit more challenging because most insurance companies will only insure projects where the owners will be living in afterwards (i.e. ‘building for yourself’), whereas we’re having to go down a bespoke route because we’re renting them out afterwards. There’s nothing like an extra challenge this late in the day! 

He’s also been clearing the final boxes in the main barn, which is now nearly empty. It does mean though that the house is full of boxes to be sorted and cleaned before being moved upstairs. With every spare space taken up with furniture, it’s a bit of an obstacle course getting through the house – but definitely worth it for the savings and to benefit from the kindness of our family and friends (we picked up some donated kitchen cupboard handles and a splashback this weekend too). Once we get the programme of work from our builder and know when the work in that barn starts, we’ll move the final boxes and the chest freezer up to the farmhouse – the latter is a job we’re not particularly looking forward to, seeing as though it involves navigating the lawn and gravel to get it into the terrace to its temporary home… 
 

It’s been somewhat poetic to see the first signs of spring this week – perfectly timed with us moving from years of planning into real work. We’ve heard the first lambs bleating for the last couple of weeks now, but now the lanes are full of snowdrops and we’ve seen the occasional primrose and crocus. Most of our daffodils are up but not yet opened, just waiting for the real warm weather to arrive (rather than what feels like an early “fool’s spring”). Either way, we’re looking forward to the next few months – they may be loud and chaotic but they’ve been a long time coming.