Finally Ready for the Trusses !!

On the 14th Nov the block layers installed the first window sill into the house. This will make the first substantial connection between the outside leaf and inner leaf of the blockwork walls.

With every new sill being fitted the walls will get progressively stronger.

On the 16th Nov the East wall was up to the start of the gable

View from the North -West corner

 On the 19th Nov the men arrived from the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) to put up the pole. The pole will be erected on the southern edge of my land.

It took two men and a 10t digger with a great claw attachment about half and hour to install it. The claw was used to lift the pole and dig the hole.

The Claw attachment on the digger.

The Digger carrying the pole

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Digging the hole.

On the 19th Nov the block layers finished the West wall up to gable level.

North-West corner

The scaffolding is now being added to the outside of the house. This will be used at first to help install the roof trusses.

View of the South-East corner, More cills have been fitted.

On the 21st Nov the block layers capped the North side wall ready for the wall plate to be installed.

The blocks closing the cavity being finished on the North Wall

Pat the carpenter arrived on 23rd Nov to fix the timber wall plates and to start on the roof trusses

Fixing the wall plate to the South Wall with ESB pole in the back ground

The wall plate, the green tint is the wood preservative. The string line is used to confirm straightness.

The wall plates are lengths of 100mm x 75mm timber that the roof trusses will rest on. These timbers are bolted to the top of the blockwork closing the cavity.

All the walls are all partly "scudded" this is a mix cement and sand with is flicked on to the block work to provide a key for the "scratch coat" and final render coat. This "scudding" has to be done on the inside and outside walls

The "scudding" pattern can be seen on the walls

We are now ready for the roof trusses.