CJS have been on site now for almost 3 weeks and boy do we know it! The transformation so far has been astonishing. We’ve gone from muddy half-finished hole in the ground to floor level footprint and it can’t move quick enough for me. The initial digging and concrete pour was done in the first week and the boys even managed to blag themselves a small digger-driving lesson at the same time (happy happy boys!).
It’s been great watching the process and having a whole team of people coming and going from the site. One thing that struck me today was the legacy of skills that the build is helping towards. We’ll get a home at the end of all this but there have been several apprentices on site and they are learning a trade which one day they will no doubt teach others.
I am learning too. I wasn’t a total novice at the start – after all I had a ladybird book as a child about how a house was built so I’ve been aware of the need for foundations for several decades now. Buts that’s about it! However having watched the whole process unfold I will have a great deal of respect for the house and the underground trickery that will keep it upright. We have a clay base and geological surveys tell us what is underneath that. Then there are 2 lorry loads of concrete which has a steel mesh inside forming a solid raft. On top of that breeze block walls are laid on the outside and where the staircase will be. Then a concrete beam and block system has been laid which officially takes us out of the ground. Not many people can describe exactly how their foundations work so I’m pretty chuffed that I can and I will probably bore people with this knowledge for decades to come…sorry.