Dressing Room

We spent ages looking for kit to do the dressing room. Its the last stumbling block before we can get everything unpacked and begin putting things where they belong properly. Way back when we had some money, we looked at Hepplewhite fitted furniture but that is very expensive. I trawled the net and found Elfa at aplaceforeverything.com. They drew up a design from the plan and after a bit of negotiating we bought a few bits and bobs and - voila! instead shelving and railing.






Still plenty to do - all the clothes are in boxes after being stored in the loft for months - the guys at work got a shock when I turned up suited and booted instead of wearing my usual works polo shirt!

So what's left.....

The new loft is part floored, but the eves need boarding. The RSJs need final bricking in. The thermostat for upstairs is still not connected but Darren has been to quote so we should be able to get him back to do that soon. We have the CORGI certificate for the boiler so I can now get the manufacturer in to commission it - that'll be the heating done at last.

Some of the windowsils and doorsils are still missing endcaps and the drain outside the backdoor is still pretty lopsided and a bit low. And the Velux still need a bit of adjusting so they stay up.... The flooring bods (TJ Hill Flooring) are coming back to sort a couple of lifting planks and also to patch where the kitchen unit legs have been moved.

Walkabout

Here's a quick walk around the ground floor

Oh Woe is me.....

Well,

today we had the flooring contractor set to start prepping the floors downstairs for the Amtico....

First they arrived nearer 12 than 10 because they found that they had been delivered the wrong stuff..... perhaps they should have checked.

Then we find out the heating should have been off for 48 hours before they start.... bit difficult wen you find out on the day!

Then, it turns out they were planning on prepping the whole ground floor - a bit difficult when we have stuff in most of the other rooms we were planning on moving into the big room when that was done.....

Anyway

We are now getting the main room, front hall and kids playroom primed today, skimmed on Wednesday (when the floor has cooled) and laid Thursday/Friday. Next monday they will start on the Snug, rear hall and loo, and the utility.

And on the 28th they'll lay the carpets upstairs!

So, fingers crossed, we'll move downstairs this weekend and have more than one room for the first time in... well it feels like years. Still loads to go at, and no sparky as yet so we'll see how much of a delay that causes..... but at least we may get to use the new sofas on Saturday! Hoorah.

Bugger

Well great. Our part-time sparky, Gary, was doing his work at weekends and splitting his time between the UK and Spain. This caused some problems as it could be a while between his visits, but he has really done it now. With no warning, we have now discovered he has emigrated permanently - so Geoff now has to find another sparky to take on a partially finished job. There appears to be no major stuff to do - just all the fiddly finishing up - light fittings, switches/sockets in some rooms, the alarm, the outside lights, but it is a long list....... and there are a lot of wires!

Bugger....

But at least the Amtico shoudl get fitted next week and we can finally move downstairs again!

Outside

Before and After:



The garden hasn't improved much..... but the house has certainly changed!


The front is pretty much there too - The guys spent the weekend putting the plastic trims around the doors and windows, fitting the leading to the front and painting. Most of the guttering is on - just the end and the downpipe needed now. Plus we have the arched trim above the bedroom window. They need to do the same at the back now.



The front door is almost done - a bit of tidying below the sill to do.

The bathroom tiles arrived on friday - I still haven't seen those for the surround, so that'll be a surprise! They're going on starting tomorrow. Geoff is working on the kitchen from tomorrow (maybe today?) and we painted the kids' playroom cupboard doors last night - one green and one metallic purple!

Post Easter Update

Well, not enough has happened....

We have a plastered and skimmed upstairs hallway, and the big cupboard on the landing (which forms one side of the bath alcove) has been built and boarded ready for skimming; the washing machine is finally plumbed in - no more trips to the launderette.... - but that's it. No kitchen, still a room full of tools and still a huge list of little things to 'finish off' everywhere.

We have booked the flooring contractor for the 7th April to lay the Amtico downstairs. The only issue is really the cupboard in front of the UFH manifold, but we can allow for that if we have to. There are still a couple of holes in the floor where the old electric meter was and some little gaps near the walls in a couple of places but they won't take long.

What is annoying is the pace - we are so close now, but it is taking forever. The fridge got unpacked yesterday and the the gap was plasterboarded so once that is skimmed the fridge can go in - but the plug might not be live so we still may not be able to use it.

On the good news, the bathroom tiles should be in today or tomorrow so they should start tiling next week with a bit of luck.....

Heating controls

Been a mixed week. The bath surround has almost been completed - just waiting for the tiles to be delivered now. Some plastering in the snug - once that's been skimmed, it will be ready for decorating. The kids room is still the tool store so no chance to decorate yet. The rear hall now has skirting boards so a few bits of plastic trim around the windows and the radiator and that's done (plus another coat of paint!). The light is up and (I think) it just needs the circuit breaking closing to make it work. The utility needs the door panel fitting, the radiator and the tiling round the sink then it's time for the washing machine, drier and fridge and the units.

The big thing this weekend was the thermostats came on-line! We now have control of the heating downstairs, and even after one day it's better. With UFH you don't turn it on and off, you 'set it back' - ie. turn it down - overnight. So we are running the main room at 22 degrees from 6am to 10.30pm and 16 degrees overnight. The thermostats take care of warming up and cooling down so the room should be at the chosen temp at the chosen time. This morning it was 20 degrees at 6am so tomorrow it will switch on earlier!

The controls come from Heatmiser in Darwen, Lancs.... very swish they are too!


Parlo ripped the landing apart yesterday taking out the old bathroom doorway to keep the ceiling level throughout the landing. He started plasterboarding as well so that should be boarded and ready for skimming today (?). Hopefully they will get on with the raidators today but the plumber has gone AWOL at the moment. And, yet again, we are waiting for the sparky's next visit...... Still plenty to do, but nothing that should hold the build up now.... apart from the isolator switch bank for the appliances, which all have their own fused spur anyway, it's mainly fittings now - switches, lights, etc.....

Ah.... the ensuite. Although we had success with one lot of UFH, the en-suite Walkwarm system failed to start. We are waiting to find out what's wrong. Worst case is the ribbon of wire was damaged, in which case the tiles will have to come up..... so we're going to wait until the bathroom is ready before we even think about that.

Feb 12th update

Photos from 8th Feb

Doors! We have decided to put glazed doors on the kids room and the rear hall so we can see what the kids are up to and let even more light in at the back. We have put a solid door on the snug to keep it private - and a lock! And a solid door on the front hall to retain the surprise of entering the big room.

The hob is in albeit temporarily, and since the sparky neglected to appear this weekend, we can't really use it as there is no power. It can be lit with a match, but we're going to wait and use it properly. It is a Britannia hob with a Chef Top which is basically a thick lump of stainless steel that sits on top of the fish burner in the middle.


A better piccie of the sink with the tap in full view - full of clutter already....

The rear porch looks great. Just the glass for the door to go in - oh, and the roof to finish off,

The utility is further away than expected - the rear hall seems enormous now we've added the doorway and moved the door to the kitchen a bit.


Photos from 12th Feb.

Work has started on the utility. This used to be an outhouse which the previous owners joined to the house via the shoe room. It has a double thickness brick outside wall, but building regs require us to insulate it before we can knock through from the house and use it.

The guys took the previous poorly fixed plasterboard off and ripped out the old oil fired boiler. We are keeping the Belfast sink (but cleaning it up). We will also keep the vaulted ceiling.



Unfortunately we have a chimney box left over once we remove the wood burning stove. So we will just get that boxed in.


The guys got a bit enthusiastic taking out the windows - and removed some of the wall! But that has now been re-built.

It is actually quite a big room when it's empty! This is Jazic (apologies for the spelling).


We now have the right doors - the solid and glazed doors match.

That sinking feeling....

The new drain for the utility. It used to half a 1 1/2 inch waste sunk underground running into a drain int he rear hall. Apparently, this is illegal - only 4in pipes can be underground, so we're getting another new drain laid.

The rear porch is coming on. Now they need to join the sloping roof of the old rear hall to the new flat section and install the box gutters etc.


The front hall on sunday night

and on monday night

We have stripped the stairwell wallpaper, and luckily the plaster is not that bad - just have to find a safe way of painting... time for a longer broom handle on the roller.


The kitchen..... here is the island run with temporary worktop and a gap for the dishwasher. You can see the sink at the end - not the usual installation, it woudl normally face into a corner with walls either side.


The whole kitchen. Top left are two 1000mm drawer units and a 600 drawer line cupboard, the drawer unit int he middle will have the hob on it. Then the corner unit before the run of tall units - oven, oven, larder with pull out wirework, fridge, broom cupboard, then a cupboard run to cover the UFH manifold.


The sink in place - a bit dusty! But you can see how big the main bowl is.


The tall unit run.


The sink complete with tap, soap dispenser and remote switch for the garbage disposal (an InSinkErator ISE65 - must be American with a name like that)


That ISE65 - didn't realise it was that big - good job it's a big cupboard. The clear plastic tube goes to the remote switch - it is an air switch.


Hopefully we'll have the hob in today and the rest of the units ready for the electrician to connect things by the weekend - maybe even a fridge!!!

BbbbbIiiiiGggggg bath....

Well, it's here, and they got it upstairs!

It's 2000mm x 1250mm and it is now a Bath Room, not a bathroom! The big silver blob on the side is a combined overflow and filler, and you turn it to open/close the waste underneath:


The bath is an Airspa, so it's not a jacuzzi, it blows hot or cold air into the bath so there are no jets for little fingers or toes to poke, just watering can style rose holes on the bath base. Here is all the compressors and gubbins:




We have bought some tap heads to go with it but they look so small, we're putting them on the box surround, not on the bath itself, they are about 1 inch square:

That sink!

Well, it arrived today..... a bit unusual, but nothing special.........hmmm.

A Blanco Modus M-90 in Anthracite Silgranit apparently!















Maybe this makes the point a bit better!!!! IT IS HEEUUGE..... What a beast.



The oven is nice, but pretty ordinary in comparison - hopefully they'll deliver the other one soon!



Geoff has had a busy day! The porch looks great even without glass and a roof.


And the Bow window looks nice all lit up!

Tomorrow is BATH DAY!!!!! Wahey.

Painting... at last

It's been a busy weekend. The main room plaster has dried so we have been painting - the first time I have wished we didn't have the vaulted ceiling with the Velux!

Anyway, the electrics are progressing - although not fast enough!! This is the current meter and fuse board.....


Soon to be replaced by this monster!!!

We've started stripping the stairwell since it was a mixture of fresh plaster and textured wall-paper.

Here is the main room in it's new white livery - I need a wide angle lens !!!!


Some of the kitchen units are here, ready and waiting


And on Saturday this arrived. We were worried that it woudl look huge in the house, but it looks quite small - maybe we should have bought a bigger one ;-)


Yes - this was that much fun to paint.



Parlo has been putting skirting boards and architrave on - what a difference it makes. Now it's starting to look like a room.

Jan 16th Update - almost plastered...

Well, downstairs is practically plasterboarded. We are just waiting until Gary the sparky comes on saturday and he can hopefully finish up the kitchen area and Geoff and the guys can finish plaster boarding the big room. The bathroom is boarded and we have a little cupboard at the top of the stairs.

Hopefully not too much electrics work to go, apart from the big switch over when we stop using the old board and cables and move to the new (as yet unfitted) consumer unit - which will be huge going by the cables hanging in the front hall..... then we can get the new light fittings up and have something other than a single bulb in the main room.

Cooker hood is due today, going to order the fridge this afternoon, ovens, sink and hob on order from Biasco due week after next, bath due next week (in stock, but no taps yet), flooring company coming on sunday to measure up and show us some samples, and Hilarys are coming on wednesday to measure up for blinds...... should be a busy couple of weeks.

Plus the rear porch should start going again next weekend and when the wind dies down we'll get Geoff to replace the ridge tiles and do the last of the flashing on the rear roof.

January update - visible progress

These pictures were taken on 12th december last year. You can see how much cable has gone into the main room...

Some plasterboard was up, but not a lot.

The woodwork is the false ceiling to level the main room and hide all the beams.

This is the vaulted ceiling. We have 2 lights going on this vertical wall so we can put up some pictures.... gonna need a long feather duster!



On the 19th december it looked like this before we went away.



By the 10th jan it looked like this:
This is the re-instated snug wall with a new doorway.

The doors to the front hall and the kids room.

The guys working in the main room - you can see all the plasterboarding on the ceiling. This is the the only light in the room!

The vaulted ceiling and Velux look really good now.

This is the new door from the rear hall into the main room. Going through here is pretty risky at the moment as there is almost no floor whilst the soil pipes for the downstairs loo are re-laid - they used to block as they join another pipe - urgh....

Recycling in action - the door from the kid's bedroom does duty as a temporary back door. At least we're warm now. Thanks to Joe and Eric from Churchtown plumbing and heating for getting the new boiler and tank up and running last week. Upstairs was warm straight away even running the rads at the 50 degrees the UFH uses, but after 3 or 4 days the UFH has really started to work and downstairs is comfortable in a t-shirt most of the time now. Considering the state of the back door and that the front door hasn't been fitted completely, and we have no internal doors, that's really good news.