Monday 14 - Thursday 17 January
It's been stop and start all week, so rather than write an entry for each day the builders have been on site, here is the state of play when they left on Thursday.
The big steps backwards are on the electrics front. I only had the electrician for a few hours mid week but he's uncovered more problems in the loft where the electrics for the shower combined light/extract and the WC light have been wired together rather than separately, even though they are physically separate spaces...
The good news is that he worked out how to find a nearby "earth" so that he can now separate the two switches, but only by making more holes in the new plaster and rooting around. Thank goodness I have taken pictures at every stage of the build so we could track back where the original cables ran and find them buried deep in the walls...
However, having torn the place apart, he didn't have time to start the remedial wiring, so there are now gaping holes and no power or light at all in the loft until he can put it back together again...
...However, he did solve the mystery of why the electric spark on the gas hob was no longer working. It seems he had turned it off do do some work the previous week and forgotten to turn it back on again. Problem now fixed.
The baby steps forward are the bits and bobs done by "dad builder" to tick off the outstanding jobs list. He's installed a stub pipe with an air vent top in a storage unit in the downstairs loo. Now the air pressure can be equalised when the toilet is flushed the water actually drains away.
He had to swap around an internal fitting to make space for the stub ...
...and it was a bit of a bodge to relocate into the pull out wirework into the adjacent cupboard which compromises space on a small shelf above. I'm hoping that will be sorted out, but the big problem now appears to be resolved.
I can put a pull out fitting with hooks in the "broom cupboard" where not only the indoor and outdoor brooms are stored, but also a squeezy mop, iron and ironing board and little step up. It's all just bunged in there willy nilly at the moment, but at least the tall thin items now have a home!
Still not sure about the exposed pipe to the right of the loo, but it can be boxed in at some point in the future if it's too visually intrusive when the wall is painted and skirting board added.
I'm hoping he will also be able to level the door of the mirrored bathroom cabinet with the light panel on the left...it's not quite even at the moment. Amazing how such a small thing can be so irritating - no doubt exacerbated by the little chip at the corner of the mirror where the two meet! But in the scheme of things its not a big deal.
He's also made progress outside...The downpipe from the main roof now has a "shoe" in the end to fan out rainwater over the extension roof before it reaches the gutter. That should reduce the risk of splashes over my neighbour's garden when it rains really heavily. I hope it works!
Plus, he's put some more filler into the big hole in my living room wall where his predecessors put a steel through into the room next door, and has take away a section of the picture rail to match it up for replacement.
The splash back behind the wash hand basin in the loft is now tiled to match the adjoining shower cubicle. I have enough tiles to take it even higher...but I might save them to use in the downstairs loo...don't have to make that decision yet. At least its another baby step forward!
Last but not least, he's cut a paving slab to size to replace one damaged by heavy plant and materials in the garden. Not installed yet due to the frost risk, but its ready to go subject to the right weather conditions.
I'm told that the carpenter is back from his holiday and will be here on Monday, to remake the door frame and fit the door to the kitchen diner. That will free up some space for me to do a bit more decorating on the wall where the door been propped up for a couple of months, shift some boxes when the paint has dried and put up shelves where they are currently stacked up. Then I can unpack and start putting books away in their permanent homes!
We are also going to work out a timetable for the outstanding jobs, so that I can order materials for the finished floor in the dining area at the right time and book the floor fitter. But they are going to have to work around me and my time commitments now, rather than vice versa...
... Still, I've had another long weekend builder free, enjoyed sitting in the sunshine in the new space, put a few more things on "Freegle" and sortied out all the left over kitchen bits into a smaller box, which I'll be able to get rid of when the kitchen is finally finished.
It feels more like a home now than a building site, at long last, even though its still a work in progress!
It's been stop and start all week, so rather than write an entry for each day the builders have been on site, here is the state of play when they left on Thursday.
The big steps backwards are on the electrics front. I only had the electrician for a few hours mid week but he's uncovered more problems in the loft where the electrics for the shower combined light/extract and the WC light have been wired together rather than separately, even though they are physically separate spaces...
The good news is that he worked out how to find a nearby "earth" so that he can now separate the two switches, but only by making more holes in the new plaster and rooting around. Thank goodness I have taken pictures at every stage of the build so we could track back where the original cables ran and find them buried deep in the walls...
However, having torn the place apart, he didn't have time to start the remedial wiring, so there are now gaping holes and no power or light at all in the loft until he can put it back together again...
...However, he did solve the mystery of why the electric spark on the gas hob was no longer working. It seems he had turned it off do do some work the previous week and forgotten to turn it back on again. Problem now fixed.
The baby steps forward are the bits and bobs done by "dad builder" to tick off the outstanding jobs list. He's installed a stub pipe with an air vent top in a storage unit in the downstairs loo. Now the air pressure can be equalised when the toilet is flushed the water actually drains away.
He had to swap around an internal fitting to make space for the stub ...
...and it was a bit of a bodge to relocate into the pull out wirework into the adjacent cupboard which compromises space on a small shelf above. I'm hoping that will be sorted out, but the big problem now appears to be resolved.
I can put a pull out fitting with hooks in the "broom cupboard" where not only the indoor and outdoor brooms are stored, but also a squeezy mop, iron and ironing board and little step up. It's all just bunged in there willy nilly at the moment, but at least the tall thin items now have a home!
Still not sure about the exposed pipe to the right of the loo, but it can be boxed in at some point in the future if it's too visually intrusive when the wall is painted and skirting board added.
I'm hoping he will also be able to level the door of the mirrored bathroom cabinet with the light panel on the left...it's not quite even at the moment. Amazing how such a small thing can be so irritating - no doubt exacerbated by the little chip at the corner of the mirror where the two meet! But in the scheme of things its not a big deal.
He's also made progress outside...The downpipe from the main roof now has a "shoe" in the end to fan out rainwater over the extension roof before it reaches the gutter. That should reduce the risk of splashes over my neighbour's garden when it rains really heavily. I hope it works!
Plus, he's put some more filler into the big hole in my living room wall where his predecessors put a steel through into the room next door, and has take away a section of the picture rail to match it up for replacement.
The splash back behind the wash hand basin in the loft is now tiled to match the adjoining shower cubicle. I have enough tiles to take it even higher...but I might save them to use in the downstairs loo...don't have to make that decision yet. At least its another baby step forward!
Last but not least, he's cut a paving slab to size to replace one damaged by heavy plant and materials in the garden. Not installed yet due to the frost risk, but its ready to go subject to the right weather conditions.
I'm told that the carpenter is back from his holiday and will be here on Monday, to remake the door frame and fit the door to the kitchen diner. That will free up some space for me to do a bit more decorating on the wall where the door been propped up for a couple of months, shift some boxes when the paint has dried and put up shelves where they are currently stacked up. Then I can unpack and start putting books away in their permanent homes!
We are also going to work out a timetable for the outstanding jobs, so that I can order materials for the finished floor in the dining area at the right time and book the floor fitter. But they are going to have to work around me and my time commitments now, rather than vice versa...
... Still, I've had another long weekend builder free, enjoyed sitting in the sunshine in the new space, put a few more things on "Freegle" and sortied out all the left over kitchen bits into a smaller box, which I'll be able to get rid of when the kitchen is finally finished.
It feels more like a home now than a building site, at long last, even though its still a work in progress!
Lovely to see you last week. The kitchen / diner looks marvellous - so roomy and light. The end is in sight - albeit round a few blind bends maybe! xx
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