We have about a week's worth of finishing to complete Calabash Cottage.  The painting of the external areas is the main task and the weather has been fairly rainy for the last few days.  It is also hindering the landscaping works but we shall be planting out this week.  We now have to Diamond Brite and fill the pool and hang the driveway gates.  Job done and ready to furnish.

On our return flight from Montserrat last Sunday I managed to get some reasonable aerial photos of The Palms.
This week we completed the floor slab for Cotton Cottage and we will now put in the footings for the veranda before erecting the walls.
The drywall sheetrock is almost completed in Calabash Cottage and we have started constructing the pool deck.

Calabash Cottage is now halfway through the painting stage.  The ceilings are completed and the external walls are prepared for painting this week.  Internally, the sheetrock is being applied to the walls and the electrical wiring is being pulled into place.
Meanwhile, the floor slab for Cotton Cottage is almost complete.  The plumbing and electrics are being set ready for casting the concrete during the middle of this week.

It is now mid-January and, somewhat belated, the latest selection of photos show the Calabash Cottage roof completed, and the veranda rails and wall sidings fitted.  Internally, the stud walls have been erected and we can now start to fit the sheet rock. The painters are moving in this week.

The rafters for the main roof sections are now in place on Calabash Cottage.  We will start boarding these this week and complete the gallery rafters.  Meanwhile, on the lower floor, the ceilings have framed and most of the rooms plastered.

The footings and foundation walls for the main body of Cotton Cottage will be completed by the early part of next week.  We can then start to set the steel and rough in the plumbing and electrics in readiness for casting the ground floor slab.
Meanwhile, we have brought the natural stone retaining wall of Papaya House back to prominence.

The upper floor walls for Calabash Cottage are now erected and filled with concrete.  On Monday we start framing the roof.
APUA visited the site last week and finished erecting the power poles that will bring electricity, telephone and cable TV to The Palms.

The new stock of Nudura forms arrived a couple of weeks ago and the upper floor walls are almost built.  We should be able to pour the concrete by the end of next week.  The framework for the veranda/gallery is erected and much of the electrical installation has been completed.

The driveway for Calabash Cottage is graded and prepared and a stone wall is built at the rear of the house.  The footings are cast for the veranda and gallery.
Meanwhile, work commences on our second villa, Cotton Cottage.  The footings are dug and the steel work is prepared for the cistern floor.

Tropical Storm Irene passed over Antigua last weekend delaying our plans for the completion of the upper floor slab.  Extremely wet conditions prevailed for several days and the concrete trucks had to be scheduled for today, Thursday 25th August.  Happily the weather remained calm and dry and the concrete pour was completed.