Glad you have set your mind straight about what you are going to do, Kat.

The walls won't be 2 feet thick on the new build. They will be a sandstone outer with thermally lined blocks on the inside. Building regulations have definite rules on what how you build walls etc. The old walls are from an outbuilding, and are mainly whinstone (or whin sill, as it's also known) which is some sort of basalt (volcanic, anyway) and which is nigh on impossible to work, as well as being very heavy. Builders hate working with it because you can't easily cut or shape it, and it doesn't absorb the mortar - has a habit of sliding out of position. It therefore has to be built a little at a time. A lot of cottages are built of it here, because it was the cheap option.

Because the house is listed, the stone to be used has to be sympathetic to the overall appearance, and although the back is largely built of whin stone, the gable end which is visible from the road is mainly sandstone. The back wall of the new build will also be visible from a certain angle, so sandstone is what they want. I don't think they would want whin to be used, and most new work around seems to be sandstone. Any sandstone is being salvaged, and will probably used in the back wall. The whin, brick and other rubble is being carted away to a local firm with a crusher, where it's made into hardcore. The old lime mortar has deteriorated and crumbled, so the back is extremely dusty at the moment - and so is the house!

I've piled on a lot of weight this last week. Being a bit at a loose end, and not able to do a lot, I baked cookies and a cake for the builders....yep.....you all know what that means!

Andrea