Wednesday 20 February
After two blissful days without builders, it was full steam ahead today. The carpenters have been working on skirting boards, and by close of business they had finished in the loft room and landing outside. There's one odd bit of skirting installed in the loft loo that doesn't need to be there, but it should be easy to take out again.
"Dad" builder has been back ticking off more of the jobs on the snagging list, including filling small cracks on the first floor landing and in one of the bedrooms which opened up when a structural beam was inserted below. I'm assured its just "settlement" cracks and nothing to worry about. I do hope so.
He's also replaced cover strips inside the retained fireplace in the dining area downstairs which had been removed when the new ground floor slab was installed. That all looks a lot neater now.
He's siliconed in the ground floor loo around the new toilet and where plywood from the cabinets meets the floor. All the rest of the floor joints will be covered with skirting boards in due course.
He's also adjusted the position of the WC pan in the first floor bathroom which wasn't put back square to the wall when the soil pipe was replaced and re-routed. That's now siliconed in place too. And he's tightened up a bath tap which had been left loose when the hot water feed had been re-routed as part of the extension works.
The plumbers have been here too...the central heating system has been drained down; all the old radiator thermostats have been replaced and the system has been cleaned out, refilled and balanced. All radiators throughout the house are working more efficiently now!
The mason was here in the afternoon, filling a small crack which has opened up where two pieces of kitchen worktop meet.
Hopefully there will be now more movement now everything has bedded in and that will be that.
The brother in law of the man in charge called in to check progress and note outstanding works on the schedule and snagging list. Things are moving forward quite quickly now!
Thursday 21 February
The carpenters returned to continue putting in skirting boards. By close of business, they had completed the kitchen diner and jolly nice it looks too!
They were supposed to cover up a patchwork of ply and gaps under the stairs on the hall side, but all they have done is fill the gaps with more ply...perhaps that's a prelude the the final finish? I need to remember to flag that up at the next snagging meeting...
While the carpenters were working downstairs, an engineer from Miele came to look at the fridge freezer which hasn't worked properly since it was installed. The freezer keeps dropping below 18C every few days, but with no obvious pattern or trigger. Having ruled out interruptions to the power supply (which has been happening quite frequently as the electric have been replaced) and poor ventilation (the plinth now has a vent grill but the freezer problem continues...) it was time to call in the experts.
The engineer decided it was a faulty sensor in the freezer which he would replace there and then, provided we could turn off the appliance. Fine. But where is the switch? It was supposed to be in the bank of switches in an adjacent cupboard, but two of those turned off the ovens and the third didn't seem to work anything...I ended up switching off the kitchen power circuit at the fuse box, which worked for the fridge freezer. However, the carpenters electric saw - also plugged into a socket in the kitchen diner - was still working...so clearly not on the kitchen power circuit. Another fine electrical mess to sort out!
Friday 22 February
The carpenters are back for a third day. This time they have finished skirting boards in the hall (quite a lot of filling needed there!), coat cupboard lobby and ground floor WC/utility room.
...and replaced the skirting removed from the first floor bathroom (quite a lot of filling needed there too)....
...and sorted out the mat well at the front door; the coir matting I cut to size is now in place; there is a nice brass strip on the threshold and only a small gap under the front door which I can sort out with a draft excluder...
...the odd bit of skirting in the loft loo has now been finished. In fact it wasn't necessary. Skirtings are only need to cover the rough, unsightly gap where plaster meets floor. In this area, boxing in of pipework had a nice neat finish so no gap to conceal with a skirting board. However, it looks OK so it can stay...
...and the last bit of skirting under the stairs is all in place..
And the window board and upstand is in place on the single glazed opening into the garden from the kitchen diner. I treated myself to three succulents to sit on the sill where they can bask in the sun. It might become a small colony if there are still some other types of cacti left when I visit the shop again ...
That's all the skirting boards in place now. Just the filling to go now to finish off that job....Oh yes, and the painting/decorating....
The brother-in -aw of the man in charge called in to review the outstanding works again. Good to see he's so hands on. Between us, we've found a rainwater connector that will fit on the down pipe from the extension roof gutter so I can harvest run off in a butt to water the garden in times of drought.
That will be another job ticked off on the schedule of works. When that's done, the outstanding jobs are hardwiring a set of wireless smoke alarms on each floor, cleaning up, certification and completion certificate from Building Control. The rest is snagging - mainly filling holes and rubbing down ready for painting and decorating (which is my job) and sorting out the last few bits of electrical work. So still not quite there, but the finishing line is in sight...
Saturday 23 February
Today I said farewell to the old dining table which has served us well, but doesn't have the right proportions for the space it now sits in. It has been bought by a couple who saw the advert on Gum Tree. It's good to know its going to a new home rather than being recycled when there's still a lot of life left in it.
The new table arrived a few hours later and by the evening was put together and in place (with a bit of help from my friends - far too heavy for me to lift alone!)
Easily sits 6-8, and more when extended...so time to be sociable again, methinks
After two blissful days without builders, it was full steam ahead today. The carpenters have been working on skirting boards, and by close of business they had finished in the loft room and landing outside. There's one odd bit of skirting installed in the loft loo that doesn't need to be there, but it should be easy to take out again.
"Dad" builder has been back ticking off more of the jobs on the snagging list, including filling small cracks on the first floor landing and in one of the bedrooms which opened up when a structural beam was inserted below. I'm assured its just "settlement" cracks and nothing to worry about. I do hope so.
He's also replaced cover strips inside the retained fireplace in the dining area downstairs which had been removed when the new ground floor slab was installed. That all looks a lot neater now.
He's siliconed in the ground floor loo around the new toilet and where plywood from the cabinets meets the floor. All the rest of the floor joints will be covered with skirting boards in due course.
He's also adjusted the position of the WC pan in the first floor bathroom which wasn't put back square to the wall when the soil pipe was replaced and re-routed. That's now siliconed in place too. And he's tightened up a bath tap which had been left loose when the hot water feed had been re-routed as part of the extension works.
The plumbers have been here too...the central heating system has been drained down; all the old radiator thermostats have been replaced and the system has been cleaned out, refilled and balanced. All radiators throughout the house are working more efficiently now!
The mason was here in the afternoon, filling a small crack which has opened up where two pieces of kitchen worktop meet.
Hopefully there will be now more movement now everything has bedded in and that will be that.
The brother in law of the man in charge called in to check progress and note outstanding works on the schedule and snagging list. Things are moving forward quite quickly now!
Thursday 21 February
The carpenters returned to continue putting in skirting boards. By close of business, they had completed the kitchen diner and jolly nice it looks too!
They were supposed to cover up a patchwork of ply and gaps under the stairs on the hall side, but all they have done is fill the gaps with more ply...perhaps that's a prelude the the final finish? I need to remember to flag that up at the next snagging meeting...
While the carpenters were working downstairs, an engineer from Miele came to look at the fridge freezer which hasn't worked properly since it was installed. The freezer keeps dropping below 18C every few days, but with no obvious pattern or trigger. Having ruled out interruptions to the power supply (which has been happening quite frequently as the electric have been replaced) and poor ventilation (the plinth now has a vent grill but the freezer problem continues...) it was time to call in the experts.
The engineer decided it was a faulty sensor in the freezer which he would replace there and then, provided we could turn off the appliance. Fine. But where is the switch? It was supposed to be in the bank of switches in an adjacent cupboard, but two of those turned off the ovens and the third didn't seem to work anything...I ended up switching off the kitchen power circuit at the fuse box, which worked for the fridge freezer. However, the carpenters electric saw - also plugged into a socket in the kitchen diner - was still working...so clearly not on the kitchen power circuit. Another fine electrical mess to sort out!
Friday 22 February
The carpenters are back for a third day. This time they have finished skirting boards in the hall (quite a lot of filling needed there!), coat cupboard lobby and ground floor WC/utility room.
...and replaced the skirting removed from the first floor bathroom (quite a lot of filling needed there too)....
...and sorted out the mat well at the front door; the coir matting I cut to size is now in place; there is a nice brass strip on the threshold and only a small gap under the front door which I can sort out with a draft excluder...
...the odd bit of skirting in the loft loo has now been finished. In fact it wasn't necessary. Skirtings are only need to cover the rough, unsightly gap where plaster meets floor. In this area, boxing in of pipework had a nice neat finish so no gap to conceal with a skirting board. However, it looks OK so it can stay...
...and the last bit of skirting under the stairs is all in place..
And the window board and upstand is in place on the single glazed opening into the garden from the kitchen diner. I treated myself to three succulents to sit on the sill where they can bask in the sun. It might become a small colony if there are still some other types of cacti left when I visit the shop again ...
That's all the skirting boards in place now. Just the filling to go now to finish off that job....Oh yes, and the painting/decorating....
The brother-in -aw of the man in charge called in to review the outstanding works again. Good to see he's so hands on. Between us, we've found a rainwater connector that will fit on the down pipe from the extension roof gutter so I can harvest run off in a butt to water the garden in times of drought.
That will be another job ticked off on the schedule of works. When that's done, the outstanding jobs are hardwiring a set of wireless smoke alarms on each floor, cleaning up, certification and completion certificate from Building Control. The rest is snagging - mainly filling holes and rubbing down ready for painting and decorating (which is my job) and sorting out the last few bits of electrical work. So still not quite there, but the finishing line is in sight...
Saturday 23 February
Today I said farewell to the old dining table which has served us well, but doesn't have the right proportions for the space it now sits in. It has been bought by a couple who saw the advert on Gum Tree. It's good to know its going to a new home rather than being recycled when there's still a lot of life left in it.
The new table arrived a few hours later and by the evening was put together and in place (with a bit of help from my friends - far too heavy for me to lift alone!)
Easily sits 6-8, and more when extended...so time to be sociable again, methinks
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