The long awaited window frames. . . have not yet arrived. I guess it is just as well because the house isn’t quite ready for them yet. I thought the windows would be finished off after the frames were in place, but actually the MgO boards are being cut into shape and they edge the windows so that the frames sit inside. It really looks neat and tidy when they are done, but it is finicky work, and it is taking too long for my impatient side.
The insulation is being fitted into the walls at speed though. In fact, the chap allocated to fitting the cavity batt seems to be trying to win a prize for efficiency. When we visited the site today he had cavity-batted the fireplace completely closed, and had beautifully insulated the outside pillars!
The cavity batt looks like a fluffy yellow duvet. It is very light and is cut into shape for each partition in the walls, and then simply packed into place. Once this is in, the MgO boards are secured on the other side and, wallah, you have walls! The bedrooms are almost completely done now, and the sound insulation is incredible. All of a sudden the rooms feel solid, and if you tap on the walls, they have lost their hollow resonance.
The screed has been laid on the garage floor, the only floor not to get vermiculite, and the last of the river sand on the site has been used up.
There are no further ceiling boards in place, but lots more brandering, so I’m sure the ceilings will follow fast. The boxed eaves are, however, almost completely finished, only the patio to go.
We are drawing near to the end of the MgO boards! I feel like a graduation of sorts is in order. It seems as though I have been talking about MgO boards for ever and I am itching to start talking about the finishings.
The electrician should be finished in about three days, and I hope we have placed enough plug points. My husband is convinced we have overdone it, but he is not the one boiling the kettle, opening a can, baking cookies, answering e-mails, charging two cellphones, listening to news on the radio, and supervising children playing the keyboard, all at the same time! Come to think of it, he is probably watching a dvd, finishing some work on his laptop, and “googling” more downlights on his iPad… I think we had better install a few more plug points!
I feel exhausted just writing this. I think retail therapy is in order. Until next week – happy Christmas shopping!
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