December 2024
Close but no cigar
The aim of getting the roof finished by the end of the year came close, but because of an issue getting the tiles delivered, we didn’t quite make it. All the felt and battens went up, which really gives a picture of the outline of the house. The general consensus is that it looks a lot bigger! The roof needs to be made of “Staffordshire Blue’ clay tiles, which are manufactured about 20 miles away in Keele. Once these arrive the roof can be completed, at least all the complicated joins and angles have been done so that feels like we’re a good way along the roofing journey.
We welcomed a new addition in the form of Dezza the Volvo which can be seen in the picture above. Nearly 20 years old and 100K miles on the clock but still going strong and already proving his worth in the bad weather and taking old radiators to the tip. Hopefully, we’ll get a tow bar fitted, and then we’ll be able to trailer in all sorts of useful things.
Back of the house taking shape and shows how the silhouette of the house will look.
The Gym
Whilst the builders have been tackling the main house, we decided to split the workshop into two parts, with the front space being a gym. It’s insulated, which makes a huge difference, the other uninsulated half is like stepping into a fridge. And we have our first working lights now, with a light switch and everything. It all runs through an extension cable to the outlets that were installed earlier. It’s so good to have an additional space, especially one where it’s possible to fully stretch out, unlike in the caravan. A blast with the electric heater and it comes up to temperature quickly, and the non-heated version is quite nice when running. The windows from the house are a strong addition; it’s great to reuse the materials.
An additional space where it’s possible to fully stretch out!
End of Year
Storm Darragh blew through with pretty standard winds for our hilltop location. Some of the building materials and the portaloo were left a little bit worse off, but nothing more drastic.
The end-of-year round-ups that everyone seems to do now had my bank confirming we are very much in the throws of DIY. Toolstation topped my place-to-shop list with a solid 18 transactions, and Screwfix and B&Q were in the top 5!
Where all the money goes…
The evenings are getting much lighter now. A funny quirk of nature saw the older chickens return to laying on the very day when the evening light turned and was a minute later than the previous day. They must just know. We are looking forward to more progress this month, hopefully with the windows at least being ordered and a very exciting addition of a washing machine and dyer!
Thanks for reading, love from Hillside Farm x
PS Avvy hopes you had a lovely Christmas and she’s already counting down to next December for her favourite advent calendar month.
Next window, please (plus the treat behind the window, obviously).
