Almost Enclosed

Last week the windows and doors started to turn up at Lakestone Lodge and it all got very exciting. With the ply now surrounding the building, it would have been great to see everything enclosed a bit earlier but a combination of the weather, constantly changing our minds and the consent process all meant that it was not to be. It is now the start of August and a long winter has been predicted so we will still have plenty of time to enjoy the benefits of an enclosed building.

Last Friday was the day it all happened with regards to the windows and it proved to be a pretty big effort getting the doors into place. I think my arms grew about an inch from the weight of carrying them – at least there was no reason to go to the gym that day. It took pretty much a full day to get the doors into place (most of the windows having been done a few days earlier) and there was a huge sense of satisfaction at seeing them in place – it makes a dramatic difference to the building and is progress that you can see. Looking in from in front of the lodge now creates the illusion that we are surrounded by the mountains as they are reflected back in the windows.

While there are still a small number of windows and doors to go we are looking forward to being able to work inside unhindered by the external elements. I spent some of Friday inside painting the soffits with the sun streaming in through the glass which was much more pleasant than battling the elements outside on a bad day.

As well as the windows going in, the roof is now 90% finished apart from one exposed truss which has proven to be a bit of a challenge but that is on the cards for this week.

The roof has been a difficult one as the weather needs to be warm enough for there to be no frost on the roof but it can’t be raining as neither of these conditions are safe for the roofing team. Just to make things even more difficult it must also be perfectly still conditions so a few attempts were made before we managed to pick the right day to get things moving. The roof is a relatively steep one with a 40 degree pitch to allow room for attic space as well as be close to the ideal angle for solar panels to receive maximum sunlight in our location. Since we are planning on mounting 32 x250watt solar panels on the roof we definitely want to get the most out of them as they are what will provide the power for the lodge.