We now have evidence that the builders plan to lay bricks. This month, we have received a shipment of bricks. Nothing shows more intent to do a job, than spending money and delivering the things you need to complete the job. The block has taken delivery of both internal and external bricks. We didn’t have anything to do with the type of brick for internal walls, and it doesn’t matter because all internal bricks are going to be rendered with plaster. But the external bricks we have chosen are Midland Brick Shale – and we think they will look great with the off-white mortar we have chosen. The Shale brick has no susceptibility to lime pitting and has a nil to slight potential of efflorescence (which as you know describes the behaviour of salts coming to the surface of brickwork and crystallising there.) Yeah, I had to look it up too.
To further add to this leap forward in progress, our soakwells have been buried. At least, I assume they have been buried, because all I can see is sand where the soakwells were. They might have simply been taken away. Wouldn’t it be a great scam if builders only possessed one set of soakwells? They could then simply move the soakwells from site to site, informing each site owner that their soakwells had been buried. Cynical, I know, but a possibility. To guard against this, I might recommend an anonymous tip off to the police – telling them that you suspect a body has been buried under your driveway. The police would turn up with underground body detection technology, which would of course show the presence (or absence) of your soakwells. Genius!
Smart homes told us that we would experience delays. It’s not really the delivery of the materials, it’s the shortage of tradespeople that really dictate the project timeline. We have been told that all materials should be delivered by late February, and a bricklayer is expected to commence works by around mid-March. That’s not too bad given the climate, and at least they haven’t put all our prices up like other builders!