This is just one section of the plastic liner for the well
The perforations should allow a free inflow of water...
These sections of the felled trees started as tidy heaps at the top of the slope.We met the chosen contractors, a local branch of a national company, Pearce and Co, at the architects' office in early March. There were several loose ends to tie up, not least that the proposed windows weren't up to the high specification we want, so Pearces found another supplier, in Latvia, and their products are excellent. Fingers crossed that they will arrive on time. How many Grand Designs projects have we all watched, where the build is delayed waiting for the glazing?
Pearces started on site in early April; once they'd set up their site hut and storage, their first job was to stabilise the well shaft. It's very close to the new footings and it'd be a shame to have one collapsing into the other, in either direction. A rigid, perforated plastic pipe, about a metre diameter, was lowered down the shaft and a sleeve of porous concrete poured around it. The water had to be pumped out for this work and then the well was allowed to refill. We'll learn tomorrow if the refill rate is sufficient for us to use the well. Such suspense.
The site seems very small, cramped and steep; and we wonder how the contractors will stop everything from rolling down the hill, like the logs have done. Pearces seem unfazed by it, however.
We have a programme of the building work, week by week, right through until the projected completion date at the end of November, so we know that for the next 2 weeks, they will be excavating, constructing foundations and tanking. The next scheduled task is "internal drains and services", followed by laying of the slab. Suddenly, it has gained a real momentum.
