Some assembly required

Our front wall is here - in the form of many Thermalite (lightweight, insulating concrete) blocks.

We know it's a travesty to replace original 18th century Devon cob with modern concrete slabs, and we would have used cob if (1) it weren't massively more expensive (and we can barely afford all this as it is) and (2) decent cob were available (our builder says it's all rubbish).

Mrs O consoles herself with the analogy of fitting an artificial body part to replace a broken one. I console myself with the knowledge that, once it's all covered in plaster, no one will notice anyway.