HIGHER FARM
Construction Diary
17 December 2015
Purchase of Higher Farm finally completed, six months after agreeing terms.
27 September 2016
Planning permission granted to demolish and rebuild.
w/c 13 June 2017
The bungalow at Higher Farm is demolished.
w/c 4 September 2017
Work begins on site with the digging out of a 3.5m deep hole in the ground for the basement studio.
w/c 2 October 2017
After extensive preparation, to ensure adequate drainage from under the basement floor, the slab foundation is poured and work begins to form the cast concrete walls.
w/c 30 October 2017
After several weeks' work to construct the shuttering and reinforcement, the concrete walls of the basement floor are poured. At this stage, still less a studio and more of a concrete box with self-contained paddling pool.
w/c 4 December 2017
A month later, the box now has a lid on it, and a nice, warm (and hopefully waterproof!) jacket to boot. The concrete roof of the raised-ceiling end of the studio, which was poured a fortnight ago, is still propped up on Acros while it cures. Elsewhere, the rapid option of concrete beams and blocks has been used to create the basement ceiling. Finally, we can also now see the footprint of the rest of the house, which has been prepared to receive the concrete raft foundation.
w/c 15 January 2018
The concrete raft was poured before Christmas, laying the foundation (so to speak) for 'proper' building to begin after the holiday period. And with Lego blocks this size, things take shape very quickly - three weeks into January, the 'north wing' is built up to first floor level, including the floor. Martin (the builder) reckons that, by this time next month we'll be at the ridge line. Meanwhile, the 'south wing' is a bit delayed because our 'wind posts' haven't arrived yet. They were a late addition to the spec. (perhaps, after the engineers appreciated that it can be quite windy here).
w/c 12 February 2018
A month on, one half of the house has been built up to roof height and has been topped with a delightful blue membrane, the first of many layers the will make up the pitched roof and vaulted ceilings. It really is starting to resemble a house now.
Meanwhile, the win-posts have arrived on site, been bolted into place and are being integrated into the fabric of the building. For a week or so, the site became a sculpture park of stark red columns, before the block-work grew between them.
The variety of photos of the build has stepped up a gear, with the addition of a drone camera to the armoury and the possibility to get new aerial views. It's reassuring to see that the shots taken directly overhead bear a remarkable resemblance to Michael and Sheila's plans.
w/c 16 April 2018
tbc