So it begins …

The late Bernard Hill’s finest work is his portrayal of Théoden, King of Rohan, in Peter Jackson’s screen adaption of J.R.R. Tolkein’s masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Hill is present in many striking scenes but perhaps the most memorable is in the second of the movies, The Two Towers. An Uruk-hai army 10,000 strong advances on the fortress of Helm’s Deep where the defenders made up of around 300 Rohirrim, a small force of Elf warriors and three of the main protagonists, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, face almost certain death. As the Uruk-hai horde charges the walls, the camera cuts to inside the fortress where Théoden stares straight at the camera and delivers his iconic line: “So it begins …”

 I don’t wish to draw any comparison between our builder and the Uruk-hai, but the scale of the demolition in the first days of our renovation has been absolutely epic. There were a few days of heightened tension as everything was in place and the only missing piece of the jigsaw was the formal Start Work notice from the local authorities.

 

 

Scaffolding up, ready to start demolition

 

 

Empty skip waiting

Once the paperwork was settled, the speed at which the part of the house marked for demolition came down was breathtaking. Over the course of three days what previously had been our kitchen and living area was reduced to nothingness. Perhaps the best illustration is a series of photographs taken from more or less the same vantage point.

 Looking across the living room, past the log-burning oven towards the kitchen

Ceiling gone, log-burner gone, insulation gone

 

Roof off 

 

Windows out, walls coming down

 

Completely gone

Today marked the end of the first demolition phase. Our deck was dismantled and then the surveyors arrived to mark out the areas that will be excavated to build the double garage and front entrance on the under the main living area.

Decking boards lifted

 

Deck gone

 

Site surveyed and new footings marked in blue

 Luckily we are still able to live in what remains of our cottage. This has required a lot of temporary plumbing and also some additional bracing in addition to a fair amount of weather proofing. So far everything has stood up pretty well. Of course we have had to make some adjustments to our living arrangements. The second bedroom has now been transformed into a rather elegant living room, but alas, the dining room and the kitchen have been moved to the shed. 

Our new dining room is now decorated with Stihl power tools

Knut looking a bit bemused by the new position for the kitchen bench

So far the work is progressing smoothly and the weather is forecast to be fine for most of the coming week. This is good news as excavators and mud are not the best of companions. 

The only family members that are being really inconvenienced are the dogs. Obviously they can't hang around the building site - for their own safety and that of the builders. So we are now in a cycle of getting up early by our recent standards and getting the dogs safely shut in the Arboretum by the time the builders arrive (usually at around 6:45am). So far they have been very trusting and unhesitatingly set off with me to feed the hens in the morning, only to have the gate firmly closed. Pepper is starting to get suspicious and drag her heels a little and unlike Knut she is not a sucker for a treat ...

Don't shut us in there again!