Still awaiting the delivery of the rainwater flow control components (now promised for tomorrow) so work switched back to the Courtyard where the sticky clay soil has been getting tracked into the buildings and there were soft spots where drain trenches had only been loosely back-filled. The soft spots were compacted with the digger tracks and some walkways were formed using reclaimed / crushed aggregate on top of landscape fabric. These walkways form part of the ‘grid’ pattern of paths and planting beds envisaged for this area long-term, but for now they’re just the subset required to create mud-free access between the House and the four doorways into the Outbuildings.

Another important bit of progress was a site meeting with the company who will fabricate the handrail for the external staircase. There’s an ‘indicative’ drawing for this from the Architect but the as-built dimensions needed confirming, together with some discussion about how the steel structure will be fixed to the masonry. This will be a very prominent feature of the site, directly in front of everyone arriving at the front door to the House, so it needs to look good. The plan is to leave it with a ‘raw’ galvanised finish, which will match the heavy galvanised frame of the adjacent stable window – as well as echoing some features of the House (notably the zinc roof covering). While new galvanising always looks very shiny it will weather to match the existing zinc over the course of a few years.