A look at the house suggests progress has been very piecemeal since the roof went on 18th February.  Rain in the last week of February meant not much could happen.  Our next steps were to get the plumbing and electrical work underway and start getting windows and doors in.  As our bracing consists of internal sheeting we need to have the plumbing rough in (pipes in the wall) and electrical work done before the external cladding can go on and lock up stage achieved.  

March 1st was a great day of activity.  Our plumber arrived and got down to work straight away.  By the end of the day he had completed the rough in i.e. all pipes were in the wall and through the floors for...

the shower, vanity and toilet (I know pipes may not excite too many people but these ones give me a buzz) ...




























(that's the shower)

... and the kitchen sink as well as the laundry. 
Also, all the pipe work to attach to the solar hot water system were installed.   Now we wait until our plumber has another spare day to come up and do the underhouse pipework and connection to septic tank and transpiration pit.  Of course, the latter two require Josh, our excavator operator, to come back and do some significantly digging.  But at least the plumbing is underway.







Also on the 1st March, Nick arrived to assist Paul with installing the first of the doors.  While we are using recycled timber windows and doors throughout the house there are two exceptions.  I had doors made up for the openings on to the eastern and northern decks.  These doors had been ordered last year and were ready and waiting to be delivered since December.  The steepness of the road proved a bit challenging for the driver but he made it and very carefully four of us unloaded the doors by hand.  Nick then installed them, teaching us as he went so that we are able to instal the rest of the windows and doors.  I'm sure we will need Nick to hold our hands a bit more while doing so.  

Each time another 'bit' of the build is achieved the feeling of the internal space changes.  I was getting quite used to wandering around inside what felt like a big metal tent. While I'm very happy with the doors, just the addition of these two has me feeling like I'm cut off from my surrounds.  I wonder what it will feel like as more windows and doors go in and then external walls.   

On the same day Nick started Paul's first lesson in decking.  They began on the smallest of the areas - the front porch.  Paul felt confident and the following day, while I was at work, he completed the decking for the porch.  What a superb job he did - his meticulous side obviously a real strength here.   Now the challenge is to utilise all the decking boards in the most efficient way.  We have three sizeable decks and the boards need to go around if, and a big if, my estimation of quantity was correct. 

So now to those recycled windows and doors.  I have almost completed sanding the lot, not a pleasant task.  We've soaked all the fittings in caustic soda to bring them back to an acceptable finish.  The big tasks are getting reglazed those items that no longer meet current glazing regulations (about a third of the items), re-puttying those that are deteriorating and then sourcing reasonably priced wood to frame all of them (I say box them although Nick refers to it as reveals?).  And that's before we can begin installation.  Of course, then I need to paint all of them - even the new ones, which seems a pity.  

Since that flurry of activity, this week has been very wet.  Great for us as we've already collected around (we think) 14,000 litres of water with two of the tanks.  A good start now only 90,000 or so to go!   

Meanwhile, in addition to work on windows and doors, I need to find an electrician.  Nick is organising metal fascia for the remaining parts of the roof that do not have guttering.  Paul is repairing mowing equipment - while we focus on the build, the grass is out of control here.