Part of the ugly plastic cladding has been removed from the bay. Even before I bought the house I thought it must have been done to hide a disaster so I'm unsuprised. It could have been much worse, and now I await the quote for making it structurally sound, weatherproof and aesthetically acceptable.

On Friday, almost exactly half way through the proposed time for the housebuild, the architect sent the draft contract between the builder and me. (The architect is not a party to the contract but is the contract administrator.) I read it today. There are several things I need before I sign, not least sight of the detailed costings(!) and the most recent drawings, both of which are stipulated as integral to the contract but neither of which were enclosed. I emailed my comments to the architect this evening, in the hope that he will see them tomorrow, and I copied in the director of the building firm, Phil. 

Seven minutes later I got an email from Phil, currently managing the project from Australia, saying that he too was waiting for the most recent drawings before he could sign...

Maybe I didn't need to worry about him emigrating. Efficiency is more important than miles.