Ok so I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am HATING organising the utilities. No one seems to fully understand what’s underground and where, stuff can go wrong and everybody involved seems to require a fee to produce some sort of permit or licence. Frankly the crux of the matter is that I don’t know what I am doing. It’s an extra application I thought was part of another package of work and I didn’t know enough to check the specifics. It’s no bad thing to know your failings when it comes to something like this – you have to learn as you go as there isn’t another way – but I’m not a big fan of feeling like I’m not in control (as those of you who know me would no doubt be willing to confirm).
Today we were all set to connect sewers but Groundworker John has discovered that we don’t have all the permissions so here I go again with the form filling and waiting for new dates. The sewers are lower than the electricity cables so need to be done first so poor Kay from Northern Powergrid has once again had to reschedule my date (I think I probably owe her a bottle of wine by now!). She was once again very lovely which is the silver lining in all this. The saga of utilities continues but we have time on our side. One side effect of my utilities terror was that I started the process almost as soon as we got planning permission so we’re nearly at the end of the road…which ironically lies under the road.
Meanwhile quietly and without causing me any stress the timber frame is going up. I’ve nicknamed the joiners the “Z” team as they are Daz, Jez and Wes. They’ve been barraged with the full force of mother nature this week and still have smiles on their faces. They have reached the roof on the double storey frame and hopefully will be moving onto the single storey frame very soon. Timber frames go up fast! It’s the best feeling to be able to walk around rooms. Wes built an extra step so I could climb up and have a look at what will be the boy’s playroom and bedroom and it was the best moment of the build so far. The boys will have a fantastic view!
So if this rain ever eases up I may have a little venture up there again later to remind me why I have to do all the tedious form filling in.
Sarah