h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We've been planning an extension to our house - we've talked with the builder and the other day he gave us a price. Then this afternoon he rang to say he is ready to start next Monday. So I spent a furious afternoon trying to prepare. I'm away at the weekend in Germany for the h2g2 Mannheim meet, so I won't get a chance to move everything to a safe place. I'll have to trust him to move stuff if it is in his way.

You must have found a good builder if you trust him already.

Hope everything goes to plan and you have a great time in Germany.

I hope he was recommended by someone happy with his previous work.

Have fun at the German meet

Yes, there are two builders and they are highly recommended by friends.

Now all I have to do is come with more money than I originally paid for my entire house! (House prices were a bit lower in 1981).

The builders are here since Monday morning. Now we have no roof on our shed, 15 feet of the wall between our garden and the neighbour's garden has been removed, there's a giant hole in the back garden just behind the house, and the entire garden has been covered with flat panels of wood to protect the ground underneath so that they can throw stuff around, although it will kill the grass. The guinea pigs have been moved down to the end of the garden and are probably wondering what all the noise is about.

Our dishwasher and tumble drier have been disconnected, and without a washing line that we can safely use in the garden, we'll have to dry everything by hanging it over the bath. At least we still have the washing machine.

And out the front, there's a giant skip outside on the road, and our drive is full of blocks, so there's nowhere to park the two cars.

Fill the skip quickly, before your neighbours do!

How long do you expect it to take still?

Sounds like an awful mess.

Irish builders have improved enormously over the last decades. We had solar panels put up last week, they were in and out in two days, minimum disruption, much better fit of a bigger tank into the hotpress [airing cupboard] and no mess whatever.

Oh, it wasn't a reflection on Irish builders, it just sounded messy the way Gnomon described it.

The builders are very neat. But the mess is very messy.

They've the roof on the shed started now, and they'll put the tiles on it on Monday. The shed should be finished on Monday,except possibly for a new door on it. They also have to sort out the drainage before laying the foundations.

It wouldn't surprise if the whole thing took about two months, but it could equally take four.