So here we are

Since I got planning permission, seven months (and one blip) ago, the architect has been trying to get quotes from builders. He uploaded the project to a website that builders use to look for work and contacted builders he'd previously worked with. Two visited the house in January and said they could start in February. We got a fullish quote from one and a partial quote from the other. My co-building neighbour and I agreed that we didn't want to work with the one who'd given the more detailed quote. Nothing to do with the quote - just a feel.

My neighbour and I scouted round for other builders; another one visited in February and said he could start in May but he didn't quote. The acceptable January builder surfaced from time to time but he isn't based in Oxford and he didn't think we'd accept a quote from him as it would have to include overnight hotel costs for labourers.

The prices of steel, wood and cement were going up by the day and it seemed that no-one wanted to commit themselves to a price. My neighbour and I agreed that we would accept a quote for labour and pay for materials at whatever prices they were when bought plus a fixed percentage mark-up for the builder. But still no quotes. 

In early May, we were approached by a local builder, Phil, who'd seen our project on the website. We met him and were tentatively interested but not completely won over (why had he trained as a structural engineer, gone into the City, then started writing building finance software?). He invited us round there and then to visit his own house and see the conversion he'd done on it. That was a useful visit then a few days later we visited a house whose extension Phil's company had recently finished building. The owner was very enthusiastic. We agreed to commission Phil.

On 24 May I got a bombshell. Phil phoned me to say that my build as designed by the architect would cost double my already stretched budget. It involved far too much taking down of existing structural walls and insertion of expensive beams. He said he'd see what he could do...

Two weeks later we met - he had completely redesigned my house, all the architect's work was out of the window, but he could do the basics of what I wanted (a highly insulated near-carbon-neutral house) within my budget as long as I did the painting, and possibly the plastering, accepted a very basic floor and was happy to live without a kitchen. I agreed. He told me a job had been cancelled and he could start in 18 days time, on 27 June.

I cancelled everything, arranged movers to move my furniture into the garden shed (which was why I'd bought it in the first place), alerted the friends who'd said I could stay in their attic and got packing boxes.  As I filled them a relay of friends drove me and my boxes across town and I carried them up 36 stairs to the attic. 

Having had no time at all today to take any more representative pictures, this is me having just taken down the temporary wiring I put in place two years ago so that visitors could have bedside lights.