So, the short Indian summer I referred to last month has been swapped for the sudden arrival of Autumn, with heavy rain and gale-force winds. Needless to say, this is not conducive to building work. But at least we got the roof on – or near enough.

I’d been wondering how a powder-coated aluminium roof is installed and I was intrigued to see it arrive as several rolls of sheeting of various widths. This is then cut and bent into shape using a special machine the size of a small fridge and then joined together using a standing seam.

As the skylights will be installed after the aluminium roof, our builder, Mark, and the team had to create the frames (called ‘upstands’) around which the roofer wrapped the aluminium sheets, carefully cut and bent like some kind of aluminium origami, then fitted around the upstands such that rainwater is diverted away from the skylight. We were almost watertight when a sudden downpour threatened the newly created floor.

The floor insulation had been laid before a liquid screed made from various recycled materials and resembling concrete was poured over the top. The deluge happened just an hour later, during which we kept looking skywards and appealing to the weather gods. They were merciful and the rain was short-lived, with only a little disturbance, which will hopefully remedied by the next steps which will involve sanding the screed and then applying a levelling compound before the final flooring goes down.

Before then, there will be plaster boarding, creation of a stud wall and new radiators to extend the heating system in our new space, which suddenly appears a lot bigger than it had done until now. Six months in we can really see now how the extension will look, and we’ve been thinking about fixtures and fittings. We ordered indoor and outdoor lights, because we’re starting to imagine how we’ll use the house and garden as one space, especially as the doors and windows have been fitted on the back wall.

But next summer still seems a long way off and at the moment we’re just focusing on getting as straight as we can before Christmas. No tricks, only treats on Halloween and my letter to Santa this year is only asking for one thing.