It's all over!

Wooden Floors

And so here we are on the final stretch ... I think!  Wooden floors going down in the bedroom and hallway.

These are oak engineered semi-solid floors which give the flexibility of engineered laminate with the feel of real wood. It is  stained a bluish grey and will need to be sanded and oiled before it is ready.

Laying the floor, Swavek and Kuba need to cut into the skirting boards to slide the floorboards underneath and give space to allow for natural expansion and contraction due to changes in ambient temperature.

Moving Doors

Two down- stairs doors, to the kitchen & cellar have been moved & or replaced. Petro, a part-time consultant anaesthetist (apparently) and kiteboarder did the carpentry, including using an old door that I found in a skip in a nearby road for the new entrance into the cellar.  Great recycling!

More Painting

On the last lap now ... with painting of the front master bedroom, done much more expertly and speedily than we were doing it!

 

The new cupboards dissolve into white and a lick of paint makes the extended chimney disappear.  Some fancy wallpaper will adorn that wall.  We have used up some of the greyish paint left over in this room and did try to dilute it with white (spun in the machine at Travis Perkins), but am not sure the change in shade is discernible!  Soon, you never know, we might even have a finished house ... we might actually sleep in this room!

Staircase Renovation

I must admit I never thought refurbishing the staircase could make such a difference to the house.  The Vandals of the 1960 or 70s had torn out the spindles and boxed up the bannister with cheap hardboard.  But with the skills of Mick the carpenter to hand, we are trying to make it look as it might have done in the late 19th century.  Suddenly a lot more light is flooding the space.

One vandalism problem we are trying to sort is the newel cap which would originally have been like a squirrel's tail according to Mick.  This squirrel has been well and truly docked!

Planing A Door

Hard to believe maybe but my DIY skills have now advanced to planing a door!  With the carpet and thick underlay, the door needed shaving back in the front room so that it would open smoothly.  I borrowed a classic old tool from my Dad, that used to belong to my grandfather - and he passed on more than 40 years ago, so it's quite an antique.  After a little adjustment to the blades and some hours carefully planing and re-hanging the door to check the fit, I think I have managed to do the job OK, for a novice!

Christmas in our new home

Finally, we were able to host Christmas in our new home after months of hard work. The family had a good time and all was merry and fine. Even the turkey came out well.

Is it a bird ...?

Is it a plane?  No, OMG, it's a carpet!  We have a carpet ... look here it comes, through the window, oh the soft spongey underlay, good enough to sleep on ... it's like Christmas five days early ... oh plaster dusted floorboards thou art but a memory!  Be gone!  Two more rooms recaptured from the invaders! Vamos Reconquistadores!

Polish Painting

Painting makes such a difference!  Thank you to Daniel and his team from Poland, borrowed from our neighbour, for this great speedy finish downstairs and in the hall.  Unfortunately the rest may have to be done by the householder!

We Have Painted Shelves & Books!

This will soon be a house one can actually enjoy living in! 

Cupboard Love

Oh we love these new bedroom cupboards ...

 

But who's going to paint them???

Dust City, Arizona

One of the things I have personally found most difficult about renovating a house from top to bottom is the continual battle with DUST!  Breathing it, walking in it, endlessly wiping it away, the constant hand washing ... OCD anyone?

Yesterday "the men" took the door off the box & bag filled sanctuary, where my last remaining remembered possessions are stored and ...
forgot to think about the dust that would then flow in. 

Can you spot where the scissors were (left)?  Can you see my footprints in the sanded paint outside the bedroom?

A 21st Century Chimney Sweep

This is Mick the chimney sweep, a man with a funny line on most topics - it could have been an impro sketch! He doesn't believe in climate change ... "after all the dinosaurs didn't burn fossil fuels for the ice age to hit"... And he helps out Father Christmas "we all go to a big conference round his place.  He's magic." Hmmm yes ...

However, he has given our chimney a clean bill of health.  Here is the smoke finding it's way 28 feet out of the correct chimney pot!

It's a white wash!!

The decorators have taken over and the downstairs rooms have turned all white within hours!

Needless to say, the dust is overwhelming and is in everything and everywhere.

Built-in Cupboards

"So I'd like the shelves put in so my boots will be able to stand up straight" she says "they don't like lying down" ... you couldn't predict it ... meanwhile in a partially successful effort to improve TV reception I have put together this in the cramped back loft.
Just need a TV now!

 

Nearly there, nearly there ... only a few more:

a) weeks?

b) months?

c) builders?

Answers to the blog please, calls charged at your standard msg rate.

Mick Wins The Carpentry Race!

Wow, Mick is quick, and quicker than Nick!  2 days and 2 sets of shelves completed! And good quality too, but he did have Dan to help him.  Ignore the scary primary colours that the project manager will not allow to continue to grace the wall.

Nothing wrong with Nick's work, mind ... he's doing fine and having to deal with very wonky floors upstairs!

Progress

Wow! That is what I call progress.

 In less than one day, Mick has built this beautiful piece of furniture from my drawings below.

Cupboards galore!

It's the final push, we are at the last hurdle now to finish this refurbishment before Christmas (ahm). We can dream.

We have two carpenters working flat out building cupboards for the library and cupboards for the master bedroom. They both come highly recommended one by a friend and the other by the builder who thinks his man is the god of all carpenters! Let's see - it's an exciting challenge and one I am going to relish deciding. I hope it's going to be a tough one.

Mick working on the library cupboard and bookshelf.

 Nick is working on the bedroom cupboard - where is he? Oh yes, parking ticket it's 10.30.