On a frustration scale of 1-10, Thursday scored

....around 20.  All because of the doors.  But first let's go back a bit.  I had a free day on Tuesday so tried to make the most of it, working on Bella Rustica.  I wasn't sure how long I'd last in the studio because the forecast was for 36degC and by time I arrived up there at something past 10 it was already 30 or so outside although it was cooler in the studio.

In the photos I showed you in the previous post, the top floor of the main section actually isn't glued in because I wanted access to the doors on the first (middle) floor, to put in the interior door frames and doors.  So today I took that floor out, and was glad I had left it loose because to fit them in that middle section was very frustrating indeed.  I thought one in particular - the frame of the door going from the hallway to the wing - was going to beat me for sure but finally realized the problem and fixed it.  Whew!  I can't see how I would have been able to do it though if I had already attached that floor above it.

After that I decided that I would stucco the exterior.  I know I had a really good reason for deciding that, when it is further down in the instructions, but I can't remember what is was now lol!  Anyway the interior filler that I used certainly dried quickly in the heat (and yes, it did get to 36, in fact to 37) so I didn't have to wait long for each wall to dry before I moved on to the next one.  Actually it dried so quickly that I could move on to another wall straight away without damaging the one just done.

 Then I did the exterior of the house with a dirty wash also as per instructions, and hoped I hadn't been too enthusiastic with the amount of  'grubbying up' I gave it.  Next morning I checked it out and it was okay.  In fact I might give it a bit more 'grubbying' later on.

In the end though it wasn't the heat but the lack of light that beat me.  The sky clouded over about lunchtime and by mid afternoon it was really poor light.  With the tarpaulins up on the verandah so I can move things from the studio out there to sort through and to hold while I empty the rest of the studio to re-organize it all, it was even worse light than it would otherwise have been and it was too hot to turn on the standard lamp or desk lamp I have  because of the extra temperature from those.  My LED ceiling light hasn't been installed yet because that will be part of the major electrical work that still has to be carried out.  At the same time we want to have an updated fuse box for the house, plus rewiring a couple of areas.  Big expense involved and we will try to get it done next year.

Nothing on Wednesday but today, Thursday, I was able to spend more time on it.  And a large part of the day was spent wrestling with inserting those frustrating doors.  I am not happy with the results, they look quite amateurish to me when I look closely but they'll have to do and that is not pleasing at all.  I hope that by the time I put the wooden interior frames around them, and add some lace to cover the doors, their shortcomings will be reasonably hidden.

Fortunately the windows went in quite easily.  I cut the 'glass' from a sheet of perspex that is provided in the kit, added them to the interior frames, then popped in the exterior frames.  And as always, the windows make an enormous difference.  It almost compensated for the poor results with the doors :)

I also fiddled with a few other bits and pieces, nothing that has been attached to the house yet.  Today was mercifully much cooler, temps only up to about 27deg C, with a nice southerly (cool) wind blowing so I was able to work with the lights on to cut the material for the window 'glass' and to see properly for everything else.

So..... here are some photos of progress so far.  First, here is the front, showing off those windows in the main front wall to advantage, with a view of the entrance to the wing on the left.

And a view of the side, with the door to the shop on the right.

Here's a closer view of the door to the shop and the door to the wing.  The balcony for the wing window on the upper floor still needs to be attached, as does the roof with its dormer.

And here is a close-up of the side of the main part, showing the shop door,

and one of the front of the wing, showing the entrance to the pension.

Here's the rear of the wing,

I am still not quite following the instructions because I haven't attached most of the roofs yet, to enable access so I can do the trim around the door on the top floor of the main building, and also put in the railings around the stairs without the roof getting in the way.

However I have glued on the rear roof of the wing.  If you can see through the hallway on the right, you will notice that I still haven't managed to put in the door from the main building to the wing on that first floor.  Or the door to the bathroom.

So there it is so far.  What else have I done?  Painted the railings and the trim for the doors, the pieces that go under the double door on the first floor of the wing to make the balcony, and the door on the side that also forms the balcony for that side.  And I've started to cut out the roofing material to go over the wooden roofs.  Still a lot to do, and all of it quite fiddly but it's getting there.  More soon!