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Following on from the electrician completing his work last thursday, the plumber finished off his work on friday when he plumbed in the kitchen sink, dishwasher and washing machine. He also had a few leaks to sort on the heating system, which were completed on monday. With all these finished it marks the end of the builder and the other trades working on the house - what's left is all down to us now!

What it also means is that we have all the services up and running, so we moved back to Hillside on monday, reclaiming it as our home. There's still a load to do, and we're making do with limited flooring as we've only just ordered the oak that will go in many of the rooms, so it's a challenge to keep parts of the house clean.

Now that we are back in the house we can start to put it and the various technologies we've installed to the test. So far everything is working well, and I've only had to refill the boiler hopper once in two weeks, which bodes well. But as it's been a mild start to autumn I guess I shouldn't be suprised. Plus the heating has only been ticking over on a very low setting. I'm now starting to adjust the various control settings, using the underfloor heating in most areas to build up the heat stored in the house's thermal mass. This is already working in the kitchen which seems to easily be maintained at a steady temperature thanks to the low grade heat stored within the concrete and limestone floor.

As the winter sets in and we get used to how the building performs I'll try to ensure I record what open plan living is like, and hope we don't have to retreat to the snug living room and the woodburner too much!