The clear-up begins

I ordered an 8-cubic-yard skip, the largest that would take building waste - anything bigger would be too heavy to load onto the truck.

Pips Skips put it exactly where I wanted it and supplied one with a drop-door at the end which is very useful for loading the first couple of tons by barrow.  After that it does need to be closed or it all comes out again.  So from that point onward it all needed lifting over he sides either by bucket or shovel.

If it was hard work digging it out of the ground and throwing it into a pile, it was harder digging it out of the pile, barrowing it round the house and tipping or shovelling it into the skip.  Part of the problem is the rain we have had recently has made it much stickier and heavier.  It was lovely dry sand and soil when I dug it up, now it is heavy mud.

The last bits had a half-way stop on a tarp at the front of the house because I was too tired to load it all in one go.

I had hoped to be able to get rid of all the soil and rubble at the same time, but weight and volume dictated that it wasn't all going to fit, so the soil went.  This has cleared the 3m behind the extension so I can put the scaffolding up and get the soffit & fascia ready for the roof membrane and battens.

In addition to my scaffold tower I managed to buy a second tower through Gumtree.  A lady near halesworth was selling it before she moved house and only wanted £15 for it.  Between my phone call and turning up to collect it she had another 20 calls - I think it will sell well afterwards!

So though the two towers are not compatible, now I can split them to make four bases.  I bought 10 Scaffold Boards (deals) each 3.9m long and have a good working platform outside the extension.  Trouble is now if you want to get to the garden you have to go through the garage, still it should mean that I can get the gable end of the extension ready for the roof membrane, battens, windows and doors.

The plan is to have the extension water-tight by the end of the Christmas holiday, not with the real windows and doors- they will cost something like £4,000 - £5,000 - but with OSB panels cut to size and fastened in temporarily so it can dry out and I can work on the electrics, plumbing, floor and the like, however, until we have the real bifold patio doors on the back I can't really brick-up the old back door because we will still want access out of the back of the house. 

The skip is full and needs to go,but I will have to get a second one at some point to get rid of the brick rubble, and there's bound to be a lot more to go as the project continues.