Pump it up

Today they did the air-tightness test which I was worried about, but apparently on the first run it was just outside the (exceedingly tight) limits set by the architect and with only a little bit of extra attention to gap-sealing it beat the spec.  Ray the builder was quietly pleased - he'd planned all day for tracking down and sealing leaks, and instead set the team to cleaning up and putting a last coat of sealant on the floor after lunch.  The shower screens arrived today and will be fitted on Monday, everything else seems to have been done inside - hanging rails in the wardrobes, curtain poles, shower baskets, loo-roll holders, that sort of thing.
And it looks like this:
Splendid, eh?
Tomorrow they're back to do proper cleaning prior to snagging on Monday.  Then our move date will depend on what Peter-and-James-the-architects come up with and whether it needs to be resolved before we move in.

Outside is definitely not going to be finished for Christmas though.  Yesterday they made heroic efforts with the digger and have turned the Somme trenches back into a flat paddock with topsoil on top - amazing.  But - I think I mentioned that some of the patio stone turned out to be damaged - last night the stone supplier announced that the delivery due last week won't arrive until after Christmas.  So I'm afraid we won't be able to sit out and eat our Christmas dinner on the west patio.  And they're also worried about the front drive which is self-amalgamating gravel - apparently it needs to dry out and harden after which it is ok, but as it's forecast to rain regularly over the next couple of weeks, the suggestion is that we leave it with scalpings while we move in and wait for a dry week forecast before laying the gravel.