Back up for an exciting 3 weeks of activity, and great to have Steve here for the first part of it.
Day 1 was about putting all the walls up and prepping for the telehandler arriving on Day 2. All was remarkably straightforward – walls went up, aligned, without any drama. David then did great prep ahead of the trusses and gables going up. I didn’t fully appreciate how valuable this prep was until the following day – made a massive difference.
(and yes, in case you’re wondering, the garage is being built around the loo! It’s still the only toilet on site so needs to stay operational for the time being, and fortunately it is just below the height of the trusses.)
Day 2 dawned slightly windy and wet, with plenty of midges about. Telehandler was due at 8am, and whilst the guys appeared at that time, unfortunately the big machine had a brake problem (not good at the best of times, but especially not on a Highlands hillside). So slight delay to proceedings. In the end it worked out well, as by the time they came back with a fixed machine at midday sort of time, the sun was out and the wind had died down. Much better conditions for putting up gables and trusses.
All of David’s prep really paid off, and everything went like clockwork. Having been slightly worried about the size of garage vs the house, actually looked much better with the trusses in place – a very nicely proportioned space!
Days 3 & 4: as always, after the excitement of the swift erection of the frame, it then switches to a slightly more pedestrian-seeming pace, with daily progress not quite so visually impactful. We spent a bit of time putting board down on the first floor, to make it much easier and safer doing whatever could be done from the inside of the roof. Next up was getting everything aligned, and then focus switched to getting the roof build up sorted: 80mm Steico SpecialDry board, membrane, battens, then sarking. Wasn’t exactly roof building weather as day 4 progressed, but have ended the day with the south half of the roof pretty much complete – except for a half height row of boards up to the roof ridge and some tidying up of the gable ladders – plus some fairly wet clothes.
David is off tomorrow, so I’ve got various jobs lined up to get done for when he’s back on Monday. But none involve climbing up on the roof by myself!
