We're still stepping, slowly, towards an inevitable move in date. Whether we'll be "builder free" at the point of moving in - or whether there will still be work to do, is difficult to figure out. Peter had to return to Poland for a bit which was a shame as far as progress is concerned. Hopefully he's back on site tomorrow - otherwise we will be stuck.

We still need the kitchen done.

On the plus side the new appliances turned up today and it will be possible to finish the work before we move in if they knuckle down now.

I got down and dirty and carpeted the storage area neatly: (first time carpeting for me)

New bike fits in new shed (now with more suitable internal and external bolts):

And closed:

Our garden shed, now neatly painted:

Inside the dressing room, the new shelves and boxed areas are done and painted:

They matched our diagrams nicely:

And again:

And the loft getting close:

Posted by tim at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It may not seem like much but it was significant step in our transforming our tired old house into our fresh and new home.

The neighbours tell us that to their knowledge, the shed has received no maintenance in the 10 years they have lived next door. In which case it's amazing the wood is not in bad nick and the felt on the roof is intact.

We cleared out the junk lying behind the shed and rubbed the old creosote off it. The rear of the shed has obviously been damp for a while and was hence rotten and woodwormy. We stripped four of the cladding boards and cut out the base of the frame. A trip to Homebase got us some fresh wood and I fashioned a replica of the bit we'd cut out. Although it's not yet finally fitted (I couldn't find and replacement cladding yet), we were quite pleased with the result and the new colour (racing green) is rather fresher.

Other plans for the garden include some decking outside the kitchen, a couple of raised beds for vegetables, space for a small chicken coop and possibly a little seating area at the bottom of the garden for catching the final rays of the sun.

It's going to be perfect.

Posted by tim at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We're just two weeks away from our moving in weekend now. Sometimes it feels like we're really close and other times, so far away. But in truth I think we will be ready to move in then.

The carpets are laid now - took three guys just 5 hours to lay two floors of carpet and underlay. And so, apart from some wardrobes being built in to the loft, and some snags in the two bathrooms, the top two floors of the house are, to-all-intents-and-purposes done. Seems amazing.

Downstairs, the paint is mostly there and the kitchen is a work in progress.

The lovely Peter (Polish) is our main man on site, although he had to rush to Poland the other night to see his dying mother. He is supervised competently by Val - the sole reason we still like More Space because he is willing to look after us.

Here's some photos:

Stud walling to go around the cupboards:

Corridor of cupboards (two of which need to be swapped):

Kitchen island - sink too big... hole needs cutting;

Drawers:

And more:

Inspecting:

Studding:

Plans:

Underfloor heating thermostat etc:

Carpet! Study looking finished:

Wardrobe handles:

Small doors:

Loft, nearly there:

And again:

Loft bathroom:

Landing 2:

Landing 1:

Posted by tim at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The kitchen itself turns up (and in one day is laid out):

The start of the island:

Contrasting wood and white:

Corridor of white:

The worktop:

Handles:

Hinges:

Drawers:

Graphite oak doors, fortunately behind plastic by now:

Posted by tim at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Floor laid:

Shower screen for the 1st floor bathroom:

Door for the tricky dressing room in the loft:

Finished:

Painting of the doors:

Architrave around the door:

Patio doors to come:

The floor is tiled:

Tiles now match the level of the wood floor:

Posted by tim at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was on the roof at the weekend fixing the TV aerial - although I still have to go back and out a mast up and finish it.

Chimney with the brace for the TV aerial:

TV aerial ready to go (need a mast):

Domelights:

Our domelight:

Roof:

Velux - and how I got on the roof:

Posted by tim at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

First tile to get the level and the position:

Green paint

Island marked out (slightly wrongly, but it'll do for now)

Contemplating the tile:

Each man is an island?

Level is v. important and the floor itself turns out not to be:

Bannister:

Study is nice and clean:

Radiator:

Tools:

The fireplaces look much nicer "blacked":

Guest bedroom sorted:

Clean door:

Loft bannisters:

Loft bathroom sink snags finally sorted:

Towel rail (now without chipped tile):

Grouted panel above the cistern: 

Shower:

And outside, Peter and crew have removed the "raised flowerbed" (without finding any body):

Much more space now:

Tiles go down:

Adhesive:

Powelly works on defusing the bomb: (and we wire up the PIR sensors)

Posted by tim at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We finally got the roofing snags ironed out (and inspected by the party wall surveyor). See the photos below.

It still looks vaguely like our roof was finished by Stevie Wonder - but at least it shouldn't leak now for a bit.

The party wall surveyor said he thought our brickwork "interesting" - the "heavy" pointing style went out of fashion 400 years ago - is what he actually said. He didn't think much to the lead roof either. But neither is too disastrous.

Onwards and upwards.

We now have a carpet man booked in for a couple of weeks time, the kitchen turns up next week, the kitchen floor is being tiled this week and various snags are being knocked off the list.

On the painting front we have finished paint on the top and middle floors and first coats on the lower floor.

And today I booked a move in date for 9th June. Rock on!

Posted by tim at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now that the house moves on, thoughts turn to the garden.

Here's some decking I liked the look of:

And another - overlaid?

We want to have some decking outside the patio doors and then some raised beds where we want to grow vegetables. Finally there will be a chicken coop (for S's chickens) and the shed at the end of the garden - possibly with a seating area at the bottom of the garden to catch the last rays of the day.

And here's a very first draft of what the garden might look like:

Posted by tim at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Ideas for the layout of the loft dressing room:

Posted by tim at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We got back to find quite a lot of progress in the house. We reckon we're about 4-5 weeks away from moving in now (exciting) - and ready to set a date for that move too.

Tomasz the painter has made good progress - the loft is entirely painted and so are all the rooms on the 1st floor. Which leaves only the rest of the hall-stairs-landing and the front reception room to go.

Peter has also built a wardrobe for us in the loft back bedroom which turned out great.

Here's some photos:

The back of the house is secured, finally - although we wonder how to actually get out?

Kitchen door, from kitchen:

Fireplace looks brilliant now painted:

And another:

Bannisters - this is the lasting legacy of the dodgy crew - the bannisters which don't fit... we're just going to have to live with this one:

Bannisters:

Landing painting - looking pretty nice with a two tone effect. The lower half is "wipe-clean" paint which should mean it lasts longer after we move all our junk in:

Cubby hole in the back loft bedroom - painted also:

Wardrobes:

Bannister rail "waxed":

Loft finished:

Bright white:

New bedroom:

Loft door:

Posted by tim at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We were fortunate enough to have my parents (thanks!) come and house sit this week while we were away and both supervise the builders in their progress as well as help by fixing up some stuff we didn't have time to do.

I can't tell you how much of a relief it was being away - but knowing that stuff was getting sorted out and handled! Trying to do admin Stateside with a 6 hour time difference and a full time job is worse than impossible.

But thanks to their kindness, we now have two sheds - a new one in the front garden which will eventually be our bike shed. It needs some securing (to the ground) but didn't my dad do a good job?

Posted by tim at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I thought I'd contribute some lessons learned - for anyone thinking of taking on another renovation project (or indeed for our learning if we do this again).

Firstly, I would like to do it again. Maybe in a few years. Despite the stress it has put us under (and it's difficult to underestimate how stressful it has been in truth) - it has been an enjoyable and satisfying experience in the main.

• Choose your builders with care. Every builder will try to distance themselves from the "cowboys" in the market place. You may have to pay more than you think to get some who are actually good. Don't accept the first, cheapest quote.
• Even when the quality of the work looks good, you still need to supervise them at every step. Get involved, make sure you understand what they're doing and why and ask them about it
• Be ahead of the game. Building projects have a habit of lurching along and suddenly reaching crucial decision points you weren't ready for. Be ready for them in advance. Know where your sockets should go, where the taps and pipes should go, whether there's enough head height in this spot or what height the windows should go at. The "standard" way helps sometimes but it isn't necessarily good enough.
• Draw stuff clearly. If there is a sliver of ambiguity in anything you give the builders, you can guarantee they'll interpret in the other way. If you want something, draw it first (preferably on Sketchup or similar) and give them the picture. It makes it a ton easier.
• Present them with lists. In my experience few builders take notes during conversations in which a lot of information is being transferred. If there's a list of stuff to do - snags, specification etc etc - give it to them on paper, multiple copies if necessary and get it distrubuted. Keep giving them lists and try to get them to tick items off. It helps everyone know where they stand
• Builders will generally try to get money upfront as much as possible. Your job is to keep them just behind in the payment stakes so that there's always an incentive to keep going. Remember that "final payment" of £1k to £2k might easily be "not worth their while" and they may have priced the job to ignore that payment anyway. Hold back more than they want to - despite how much they whinge.
• I'd recommend using a building company who subcontracts out the work - like we did with MoreSpace. While it didn't work perfectly, it did take some of the pressure off us having to make decisions about the money side of things and helped diffuse some tricky situations where they were able to be forceful
• The money bit is what makes it all stressful. If it was just a case of a fixed price project and getting through it, it would be a doddle. What makes projects hard is surprises. Surprises in terms of stuff which didn't work out as you'd hoped (because it costs to change it) or surprises in terms of stuff which you thought was included but actually was extra. Assume everything you ask for is an extra until proven otherwise and ask at every opportunity. Make sure you understand what is included in advance as much as you can. Don't give in when the builders pester you for money. Attach payments to measurable targets.
• Watch out for shortcuts. This is difficult if you don't have a building background. Try to establish what the correct way to do things is and make sure that no shortcuts are taken. What's the right thickness of insulation? What's the right finish? How is that normally done?
• There's give and take in every contract. In a fixed price contract there is some give and take. You don't want to be really hard on your builder - they have to make a profit. At the same time, don't accept poor work. They might do a bit extra on one thing. In return you might pay a bit extra for another. Building projects are a series of minor compromises to get you over the line

Posted by tim at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)