this building a house malarkey is turning me into a hyperactive insomnica

[zippitippitoes]

..and the current "builder" seems to be a bit of a an oddball

this week feels like groundhog day..help!

Did you get your block and beam floor problem sorted yesterday?

yes. I thought he just carried on building up on the blocks and he wouldn't have it , so asked the building inspector out today and he confirmed that I was right!

brickie is good at laying bricks and seemd quite personable but since starting he is I think a bit of a bluffer !

he is also a bit of a "smoker" apparently though not I think on the job, so hence we seem to have circular conversations and he veers between a sort of grumpy paranoia and repeating discussions we've already had. It's just got a very surreal feeling at the moment..i fancy there will be tears before bedtime when the chippy comes on the seen! I have also been round ordering and unordering stuff.

Builders yards/merchants are a bit like pubs in old westerns ..not a woman in sight, and they are so gossipy

I am determined not to end up in a total stress

Are you project managing the build then? What sort of place is it?

(Sorry if you've given all this info before).

DP is a builder/carpenter and we're in our second house that we've renovated ( although this is a bit more than a renovation as its included a big 2 storey extension and major upheaval).

DP really wants to build something from scratch next time (A la Grand Designs)although I'm not relishing the idea of living in a mobilehome/caravan on site!! People on these progs on telly seem to go through so much -I think I'd lose it!

LOL about brickie being a bit of a "smoker" -I know the sort (in fact I'm sure DP worked with him!!). There are a few brickie jokes but unfortunately can't remember them -brickies are the butt of all jokes by the other trades apparently.

Good luck and try not to stress. I'll be watching out for progress reports to see if its something I could get through

Yes I am project managing with support from dp..I have several posts dotted about on the subject. it is a little house in our backyard (so we are living in our house which is almost renovated)with just two bedrooms and a kitchen living room, it is a one and a half house. The idea is to get it done and after a decent interval sell up and move to the country.

theoretically it shpould be straightforward but it is a very tight site..4 inches on each side from adjacent properties and up a narrow back alley so not popular with dleivery lorries as they have to reverse up with about an inch to spare each side.

Also no room for scaffolding so one of the gables will have to be built from a cherry picker!

It's rather a high risk project so it will be interesting to see if we build it cheaply enough to make it worthwhile...another of life's steep learning curves. I am glad it's not being filmed!

I'm a bit worried it might not be particularly good for my mental health, but it's started now.