It has been long, too long for sure.
Running out of funds cascaded through my situation, and I’ve only just now been able to crawl out far enough to poke my head above water. With the new year comes a chance to restart.
I purchased some wood for the loft about a month ago; sadly twenty of my 2x4s were stolen. At least they left the loft rafters and floorboards! I’ll take this as a lesson-learned: use the wood ASAP; don’t leave it lying around!