nevada_scout

It's been quite a while since my last update on the house build in April. Since then the outside of the house has been insulated and rendered, utilities have been installed and connected, and in the internal finishing work has gotten well under way.

One of the first things we did was build a wooden staircase in the house, which was not as complicated or difficult as it sounds. Mostly it is about careful planning, measuring and cutting to ensure that all of the parts fit together nicely.

Our electrician ran cables everywhere in the house for power sockets, lights and heating, then connected it to the grid. Now I am installing light switches, sockets, and lights on my own through the whole house. Mostly this is fine except the slightly more complicated "stair switches" where two or more switches control one light... I also ran grey CAT6 cables around the house, making sure that every room has at least one network port for connectivity. In addition, I've run several red CAT5e cables for security cameras. All of the cables terminate in one room where I will put a patch panel and switch. I like the idea of using different coloured cables to differentiate between what the cables are for at a glance.

The house has had water supply pipes and waste drain pipes installed, and we had a septic tank buried in the garden. Mains water was also connected up by the plumber, so we have running water in the house. When the plumber finished, I installed and connected up our water heater. Its so nice to have hot water in the house for washing your hands, etc.

We have also been doing a lot of finishing work in the house. We have hung plasterboard in about half of the house, and plastered several rooms. Two bathrooms now have toilets also along with wash basins. The main downstairs bathroom has also been fully tiled and the tiles on the floor of the living room are approximately half finished. The kitchen island has been installed and we're waiting for the standing kitchen cupboards to be done - hopefully before the end of the year.

We're continuing to work in the house in the evenings after work and on weekends, with a view to finishing early in 2024. In spending a lot of time at the house we have discovered that a convocation of eagles live near the house and they often fly around and hunt in the fields. We usually hear them before we see them!