On Tuesday Steve came to start on the sliding door storage in the loft. The track was delivered (Harrison Double Top) and Steve set about making a framework, then fixing the tracks top and bottom. Over the next couple of days he made (and fixed) six doors from 3/4" MDF, approximately 4' high, which go the whole length of the back wall underneath the roof slope. This gives us plenty of storage, about 28" deep, and approx 14.5' wide. He's fitting us in around his other work and by Friday this is what he'd achieved:
This will bring the bed further forward into the room so hopefully avoiding anyone hitting their head on the ceiling when getting out of bed. What a shame we didn't think of this when the builders were here!
Steve's also fixed the missing pieces of worktop edging and they now just need trimming to finish them off, which he'll do next week when he comes to finish off sanding the bannisters and spindles ready for waxing or staining and make some shelves for the airing cupboard.
On Wednesday Neil came to tile the walls in the utility room and grouted them on Thursday:
It just needs the silicone between worktop and tiles which Neil will probably do some time this week. Paul will sort out some kickboards, also box in the pipes under the bit of worktop at the end by the tumble dryer and paint to match the walls.
We also ordered furniture for the two bedrooms. Solid American oak with dovetailed joints - chests of drawers, tallboy, bedside tables, headboards and a wardrobe for the one room. I'm still hoping to come up with something to build in the alcove in the main bedroom which will complement the other furniture.
My favourite piece, the three over four chest. We're having one for each room.
This wardrobe will go in the second bedroom. We couldn't have one with full length doors (which we would have preferred) as the doors and the back are too tall to go up the dog-leg staircase due to restricted head room. This wardrobe comes apart, the drawer section below and the 3/4 hanging robe above. The hanging robe will still need to be dismantled to get it up the stairs.
We went to a local retailer who sold this range but he was £700 dearer on the whole order than a shop on The Wirral (who also have an internet shop). He did come down in price but still ended up being over £300 dearer than the other shop who we dealt with over the 'phone. Sorry local retailer, that £300 will be very useful towards other things we still need to buy.
On Saturday we went to Shrewsbury and managed to come back with a coffee table for the lounge and a couple of samples of curtain material - yes I'm still struggling with that! We visited a garden centre to look at chairs for the sun room, found some very comfortable ones but they wont deliver to where we live so we'll have to order them online once we've measured to see if they can go through the doorway. We bought a Sidalcea "Little Princess", a pretty little perennial a bit like a dwarf hollyhock (the one in the picture isn't ours as I've not planted it yet!). I also wanted (but didn't get) an Agapanthus Headbourne hybrid as it would make a nice specimen plant for the garden but we really need to plan where it's going to go and do a bit more sorting out first:
We didn't manage to get around to looking for any roller blinds for the kitchen and utility room (apart from those in B & Q which weren't suitable), we packed a lot into the day and Paul got very tired.
Today we've been busy with the sliding doors for the loft. Paul has been sanding them and I've been sealing them with MDF sealer, it took most of the day as there were 12 sides to do. Paul filled the holes where the screws had been countersunk in the frame but they didn't dry out in time for it to be sealed. We'll seal the framework tomorrow and start on painting the doors to match the walls.
In the garden the veggies are doing very nicely - the dwarf runner beans have some teeny tiny beans forming and we've been enjoying potatoes and carrots most days this week.
For anyone who likes roses, particularly fragrant roses, this one is wonderful:
It's called Blue Moon. D-i-l Tracy bought it for Paul earlier this year. If you want a fragrant rose, try this one. Get your Nan or your Mum to have a sniff, they'll tell you they didn't know you could still get roses with such a divine perfume!
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