Trial and error

The builders have dug three trial pits to look at the house foundations so they can decide what, if any, strengthening they will need before being built on. Reading a trial pit is way beyond my expertise but this looks to me like a more solid foundation than I ever felt was under my feet when I was living in the house. I'm waiting to hear what the builders and the local authority, who have to see and approve the trial pits, have to say.

I've consulted Firstborn, trained in such things, who says they will also be looking at whether my soil type will shrink or swell as nearby trees grow.

I had a slightly charged email exchange with builder-in-chief this evening. A fortnight ago I sent him a lit of materials in the house that I wanted to save for re-use. He told me that remembering, seeking out and storing them would consume worktime and space; they'd do their best but couldn't guarantee things would be safe. So after they've left the site each day I've been in to remove the things they've dismantled and I've put them in storage places out of their way.

This evening four long planks (bookshelves) of mine were outside in the unforecast rain. My lovely neighbour agreed to store them and he and I, with help from his 4-year-old and 2-year-old(!) got them over the wall and under his canoe.

I thought the builder-in-chief would be relieved at how much the workers now didn't have to think about but after five petulant messages I realised that he thought that when I wrote 'removed from site' I meant 'missing', not that I had taken them away.

Bloody passives. I've spent most of my life telling other people not to use them because they hide the actor and now it's me who falls into the trial-pit.

We ended the conversation amiably.