WESTBROKE

The Battenburg cake has gone!!

2010-09-05T10:06:00.001+01:00

We promised ourselves when we moved into this house almost 18 months ago that the Battenburg cake path and balcony would be replaced. We're thrilled that our "new" garden was completed on Thursday this week.

We used Summers Gardens, who are based at Caerau Uchaf, near Bala (if you're ever in the area, do go and see their own gardens and treat yourself to some of the yummy cake that Stephanie bakes for their cafe - no I'm not on commission!). Toby did the design and suggested the materials (Indian stone and as a contrast some stone chippings) and despite my original reservations regarding more multi-coloured paving it definitely was the right choice and looks wonderful. We had some rain this afternoon and the colours look even more impressive when it's wet.

Toby and his lads came on Monday, 23 August, and amazingly all the old paving and walling was ripped up and in the skip by 4pm. They worked through heavy rain and wind for the first two days but for the rest of the first week the weather was pretty good. The second week the weather was glorious, summer came to north Wales at last!

Here are the before and after pictures, do click to enlarge them and see what a wonderful job Toby & Co have done.

The border has been removed where the concrete planters were on the left hand side and the path taken right up to the fence, this has given the impression of much more width to a very small garden:

View from loft window:

We still have to sort out the borders, rescue some of the plants that were disturbed during the works, move plants around, decide what new stuff we want, plant up with new plants and bulbs. We have quite a bit more room now as the borders have been widened.

Pictures taken this morning when some of the pots had been brought back:

The bird bath fits very nicely into this corner of the garden, Paul's cleaned it up and it looks like new:

We found a special place for our little sleepy elf - a drain has been formed in the bottom corner of the garden and he disguises it very nicely!

We're just hoping for a bit more nice weather now as we'd like to paint the pillars and wall around the balcony to match the house.

Thanks so much for coming to see our new garden, we hope you like it as much as we do.

Long time no post!

2010-08-03T17:17:00.004+01:00

Nothing really to post about as there's nothing much going on inside. The garden's kept me quite busy, you can see it here if you like. We've had a landscaper round to discuss replacing the hard landscaping and disturbing as few plants as possible. Just waiting for him to get back to us.

We're still waiting for the sun room floor to be levelled, not holding our breath as it's son Neil who will do it when he's been reminded enough times!

The only other thing that is new is our little addition to the family, Poppy:

If you want to read more about her she has her own blog. Paul thinks I'm a bit sad!

16 April 2010

2010-04-16T14:51:00.021+01:00

Well, I can't believe it's one year and one week since we moved in! There's not really much more to blog about as there isn't really much left to do, just a few finishing off bits which have had to wait until Paul recovered enough from his stem cell transplant and got some energy back.

This week he has laid the carpet tiles in the loft bedroom, these took a lot of finding as we wanted it to be pink and to look as close to a normal carpet as possible. Because of the limited headroom and dog-leg staircase we couldn't get a roll of carpet up there as it needed to be 5 metres wide.

After much searching we found that Heuga did a range called Simply Soft and the "barley" colour is actually pink. I've now changed the bed linen to the new set I bought months ago from Dunelm.

I've got plenty of room for my craft desk and cupboards but I think I'll have to be a bit tidier now!

Also today we've had new blinds fitted in the sun room. We had five people come out to quote and the prices ranged from £450 to £2,000 for the job. We wanted pleated blinds in a reflective material so that the light would filter through but the sun wouldn't be a problem. The £2,000 quote was from Sandersons which was a joke! The nicest and neatest blinds happened to be the £450 quote which was from Angela's Blinds, a small family company from Newtown in mid Wales, about an hour's drive from here. Selwyn came and measured, he is such a nice man and we were most impressed when he took his shoes off at the door - something he always does without having to be asked! He came and fitted them today and he even keeps a pair of slippers in his van to wear in his customers' houses - how considerate is that!

The blinds are "Perfect Fit" which has a frame which clips into the beading of the windows and the blind fits neatly behind the frame. We chose a subtle striped beige material which is neutral and blends well with the paintwork and the chairs.

Last week Paul fitted blinds to the Velux windows in the sun room and kitchen roof. We had these in a plain cream fabric which blends nicely with the colour of the paintwork on the ceiling. The blinds are closed in this picture and plenty of light still comes through but it keeps out the sun which makes the room very hot and was also shining directly onto the carpet and furniture in the lounge and would have eventually caused them to fade.

BEFORE AND AFTER

2009-12-26T15:10:00.112Z

OUTSIDE

This is the back of the house which faces the sea. The size of the dormer shows just how much the size of the loft bedroom has been increased. Not the prettiest house from the outside but we think painting the rendering has made a big difference, everyone who knew the house before thinks the painting alone has made the house a lot better! The planning officer wanted the dormer slate hung, which we were happy to agree with, but he wasn't keen on the house being painted as he thinks the town is in danger of becoming like Balamory! We promised to keep it subtle so hopefully he likes the outcome.

The house fronts onto the pedestrian lane, tucked away in a quiet little corner of town. These pictures look down the lane with the harbour and mountains just about in view:

And these pictures look up the lane (the little bit of wall painted white on the right hand side of the lane in the after picture - just in front of the white house at the top of the lane - is the rear entrance to the garden of the restaurant where we used to live so we didn't have to move far!):

UTILITY

The utility room is at the front of the house, facing onto the lane, the above pictures show the side window just above the gas meter and the larger main window to the front. Below the before pictures were taken on our second viewing of the house so it's nice to say this time it's not our mess! The new units were the original ones in the kitchen which we have re-used. We still need to get around to either buying or making plinths.

DOWNSTAIRS WC

The state of this really had to be seen to be believed. Clicking on the before picture to enlarge it gives you some idea!

LOUNGE

The huge slate fireplace stretched the full length of the lounge. This, along with the pine panelled walls and mock beamed ceiling made this room very dark. We had the small windows removed and French doors/windows put in which has given us easy access to the sun room and kitchen as well as lightening the room.

KITCHEN/DINER

The layout of the kitchen wasn't the best, with the gas cooker originally very close to the opening window. The sun is very strong on this side of the house so standing there cooking would mean that it's not just what's in the oven that is roasting! We moved the cooker to the other side of the room and didn't replace the wall cupboards by the window as they cut out a lot of light.

CONSERVATORY/SUN ROOM

According to the builders, our conservatory became a sun room when the polycarbonate roof was removed and replaced with a pitched slate roof with Velux windows. They opened this up by knocking down the dividing wall between the conservatory and kitchen and it is such a bright, sunny room that we spend a lot of time in here, even in the winter it's comfortable enough with the two radiators.

BATHROOM

The bathroom was probably the room that changed most, it was completely stripped out and the landing walls removed, new stud walls built to provide a shower alcove and a storage cupboard.

This is what we saw on our first and second visits:

The toilet was in a little alcove and the enormous airing cupboard was a waste of space. So the room was stripped and walls removed so that we could decide what to do with it:

The original toilet alcove became a storage cupboard with access from the landing:

The airing cupboard was halved, the rear half became the shower alcove in the bathroom and we could still access a smaller airing cupboard from the landing:

The new toilet was put into the alcove where the bath with cupboard above originally was and a new vanity unit replaced the old one in roughly the same place:

The old shower cubicle which had been built around an opening window was removed and the space left clear so the window sill can be used.

The new bath has been positioned where the new stud wall was built dividing off the old toilet alcove to form the storage cupboard on the landing:

BEDROOM 1

Bowed and cracked ceilings had to be removed and replaced, the damp outside wall had to be remedied and apart from one wall this room was one of only two that did not need a plaster skim. The fitted wardrobes were probably the worst case of DIY we've ever come across (but it did make for easy removal!) and how two people could need that much wardrobe space was beyond us! Removing the fitted wardrobes opened the room up and using free standing furniture has given it a sense of space. We just need to decide what to do for a wardrobe in the alcove, our old pine wardrobes are just temporary until we find exactly what we want.

BEDROOM 2

The outside wall of this bedroom had a major damp problem which left us wondering how, with lights and sockets in use, no-one was ever electrocuted! The builders again remedied the problem and we moved the bed and electrics to the inside wall. The radiator was moved from under the window to allow us to put a chest of drawers there and was sited on the outside wall instead. More poor DIY wardrobes which were again removed and replaced with free standing furniture. Again the ceilings were cracked and bowed and had to be removed and replaced.

LOFT

There is so much to say about the loft. The surveyor, architect and builders had never seen such a poor conversion and it was ripe and ready for bringing the house down. It was a recipe for disaster due to some of the roof supports being removed, the main purlin cut into by at least half of it's depth to provide headroom for the stairs, and the floor joists laid directly on top of the bedroom ceiling joists going in the same direction.

This has now become the guest room with en-suite and furnished mainly with the office furniture left over from the restaurant to provide me with a desk and storage for crafting. We still have to choose some floor covering, which will probably be carpet tiles due to the fact that we can't get a roll of carpet up the dog-leg stair case. Once we've done that we'll use the new bed linen and the room should look a lot better than the mish-mash it is at the moment.

Saturday, 26 December 2009

2009-12-26T14:39:00.005Z

Well, here I am on Boxing Day - not much to do here as we have had such a quiet Christmas so I thought I'd try and update the blog.

Paul's stem cell transplant went ahead on 21 October down in Bristol. He was there for four weeks altogether, having been admitted on 12 October for a week of chemo prior to the transplant. He was then transferred to Bangor where he stayed for another five weeks. Very unpleasant after effects of the transplant now in the back of his mind, his recovery is going well and he was allowed home on 9 December, weak and frail but happy and, as usual, positive about the future. By Christmas he was starting to look better - an early Christmas present was that his hair is starting to grow back and he's quite excited about the fine stubble he has coming through - and he is managing to get about the house well and make a cup of tea and a sandwich. He's not allowed contact with anyone who has anything infectious, and as Molly has a cold at the moment we had to cancel Christmas dinner with Neil, Tracy and the grandchildren. He can't go out shopping either, far too risky where infection is concerned, so apart from hospital check ups he's a bit of a prisoner at the moment. Not to worry, it's a small price to pay for what is hopefully a successful recovery.

In November we had a bit of a problem with leaks in the loft following some very freakish weather, 50mph winds, torrential rain which I'm sure was more horizontal than vertical, which all combined to allow the water to find the tiniest place to get in. Mark and Sid came back the week before Christmas, when the weather had calmed down, removed the big window, Sid climbed out onto the sloping roof below and sealed between the lead flashings and the slate surrounding all the windows in the loft, plus some sealing on the sun room roof where the rain had blown beneath the flashing. All appears to be OK so hopefully this has solved any problems.

So today I've been going through all the photographs and tried to pick out some before and after pictures to show what an amazing transformation has been done at Westbroke. I think there will be quite a few so I shall put them on a new page. Hopefully, my fellow renovators over at MSE who are still in the throes of their projects, and who may be getting a bit despondent and thinking "Will this ever end?", will look at them and be cheered by the fact that yes, it really does come to an end. Looking back it's hard to remember how it was, all the mess, the cleaning up, the moving in and being surrounded by so many boxes while rooms were still being decorated. But we got there, it's soon forgotten, we're comfortable, warm, cosy and happy.

We've still a few things to do - sort out wardrobes for bedroom 1, level the floor and get some floor covering in the sun room, tile the porch and store room floors, get some floor covering for the loft bedroom, and curtains for the bedrooms still need sorting out. But these are all minor things for which there is no urgency and we can take our time with them in the new year when Paul is able to get out and about again. So go and have a look at the next post, hopefully I've covered everything and the photographs that I have taken have turned out OK.

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

2009-11-03T16:14:00.013Z

Not a lot has happened during the last few weeks. Paul hung the pictures in the lounge so apart from maybe a lamp/vase/finishing off bits and pieces then we're done in there. It might have been nice to have more modern pictures but as these are limited edition prints we wanted to keep them. Pretty rubbishy photos but I'm not as good with a camera as Paul.

Much sorting out has been done over the past couple of months and we've been fairly ruthless. Three local charities have benefitted from items no longer needed but still in good condition.

Paul's been in hospital since 12 October for his stem cell transplant so any other work will now have to wait a few months until he's well enough to continue. Fortunately only relatively minor works are left such as fixing a curtain rail in the downstairs WC and painting the understairs cupboard door. We're waiting for Neil to level the sun room floor then we can choose some carpet tiles for in there and also for the loft room.

Now the colder weather has arrived we've discovered that this house is quite cosy so hopefully there'll be no massive heating bills. The sun room really is a lovely place to sit and enjoy a cuppa, probably the most used room during the daytime. It's lovely and bright and with two radiators it's very comfortable in there, a perfect place to watch the antics of the birds visiting the feeder and bathing:

If the sun room gets too hot, the lounge is the place to be. Always cooler in there as it doesn't get direct sunlight. I wonder how warm it would get if the sun room wasn't there.

Against all the odds and a mighty battle with the tiniest caterpillars I've ever seen, my cauliflower plants that Steve gave me have survived and thrived. I do realise that putting six plants in a container this size was not the best idea, but I'm learning as I go along and I'll know for next year. So not meaning to boast (oh go on then, I'll boast!) here is my very first cauliflower. Photo taken today and it's about the size of my thumbnail. I think I'll let it grow a bit more before I harvest it! Gives a new meaning to "mini veg" - eat your heart out M & S!

I've had lots of red peppers on the four plants I got from Wilkinsons and they've been put to good use, even had enough to share with our neighbour Ellen. The leeks still look more like spring onions in size whilst those I gave to Ellen have grown much thicker. Probably something to do with hers being in the ground and mine being in containers and too close together. Another lesson learned! All in all I'm pleased with the garden, I've overhauled it, rearranged it, planted new shrubs and bulbs and successfully grown potatoes, carrots, runner beans, cauliflowers, peppers and leeks (sort of). The butternut squash - ah well, yes they did successfully bear fruit which grew to quite a reasonable size, then went all soft, grey, withered and dropped off. I now know that growing them in containers is wrong, a proper vegetable plot is needed which I don't have room for. Never mind, I'm happy enough to know that I managed to get them to grow at all.

I've had to call Petros back to repaint the scuffed walls in the hall/stairs/landing. He did tell me how to patch them and I was quite successful but the colour is a bit lighter seeing as it's about six months since it was originally painted. He's been back to have a look and decided that it would be quicker, and give a neater finish, if the three walls were completely repainted. He should be back in a couple of days to do this for me. Thankfully there's no more furniture to be taken upstairs so hopefully no further damage to the paint.

Monday, 21 September 2009

2009-09-21T21:37:00.009+01:00

I just realised, as I typed the date, that in five days time it will be exactly one year since we completed and received the keys to Westbroke! The time has gone so quickly, a lot has happened and the house has undergone a big transformation.

Five and a half months after we moved in we have at last unpacked the final suitcase and emptied the last boxes of clothes and bedroom items. We eventually got the delivery of the bedroom furniture last Friday and what a rude awakening we had! We were given a delivery slot of 7.30am - 9.30am and seeing as we don't normally set the alarm (one of the perks of being retired!) we thought it prudent to do so on this occasion so set it for 6.45am. The delivery men had other ideas though and rang the doorbell at 6.30am!!! We were their second drop, pity the poor people who were before us, I wonder what time they were woken up. I don't envy some people their jobs, these guys had started off from the West Midlands at 3am, not sure where they had to go before they came to north Wales.

The furniture is solid oak and very heavy and came well packaged in boxes with polystyrene packaging. The delivery men must have been very strong to get this lot up the stairs but unfortunately the paintwork on the walls did suffer quite a few scuff marks. They wont wipe off successfully as it's matt paint so we're hoping we can get the roller out and patch paint over the marks, don't fancy having Petros back to repaint three walls certainly not now the carpet is down.

So, here it is:

The "gents" wardrobe and tallboy (old fashioned word that, it's now known as a 2 over 4 chest) in the second bedroom. The old wardrobe has been dismantled and is being stored up here until ready to go to it's new home, I think Tracy and Neil want it for one of the boys. There is also a long chest, headboard and bedside tables.

In the main bedroom, the long chest of drawers or the 3 over 4. As the electrical socket is behind the chest I've had to put an extension lead for the hairdryer underneath. Not sure what the reflection in the mirror is, it could be next door's scaffolding as they are just about to have a loft extension.

The headboard and bedside chests in the main bedroom.
Humphrey seems very comfortable on top of the headboard.

We've just got to decide what to do about built-in wardrobes in the main bedroom now and it looks like the decision will have to wait until Paul comes back from Bristol and is well enough to go on a door hunt. In the meantime the old pine wardrobes will serve the purpose.

There are no major purchases now, just a few finishing off things like blinds for the bathroom and other bits and pieces that turn a house into a home. Curtains are also needed for the second bedroom but we're making do with some old ones for the time being. We still have to finish sorting out some boxes in the loft but that's all to go in the storage cupboards up there. Tiles for the store room and porch are still waiting for Neil, so hopefully he can get those fixed soon. The sun room floor needs self-levelling then carpet tiles for the sun room and loft need to be purchased but again those will probably have to wait until next year.

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

2009-09-15T11:01:00.015+01:00

We have curtains up in the lounge - yipee! The curtain track came early last week and Paul fixed the brackets onto the wall. As the curtains are so big we decided to wait until the weekend when Deborah would be here to give us a hand hanging them.

Here they are in all their glory! The colours are perfect, the two shades of brown match the wallpaper on the chimney breast and the dots in the middle of the flowers are virtually the same blue as the stripe in the suite. We're really pleased with them and they've made the room a lot more cosy.

Paul also fixed the light in the alcove in the hall. This was originally wired up by the electricians for a spotlight but somehow they never provided a switch, so the wires have been made safe and tucked away in the ceiling of the alcove and plastered over. It's taken a long time to find any kind of suitable light as we couldn't have one sunk into the top so have had to settle for one that's surface mounted, not what we wanted but it was that or nothing. Neil brought round his extra long drill and drilled through the back of the alcove and the new light has been connected to the porch light so that both lights work off the same switch. Paul just has to make good the hole in the plaster at the back and we'll repaint and hope it's not noticeable.

Nothing else has happened with the house so with almost a week of glorious weather I've been out in the garden clearing it of the hundreds of nasturtiums and other unwanted weedy things which have popped up everywhere. I don't think I'll ever get rid of them all but each one removed this year is one less next year.

I discovered that primroses like shady places so I've moved some of those we brought with us to the camelia corner (the wild type of primrose we managed to find at a garden centre, one of my favourite flowers). They don't look too good at the moment but come early spring we should have a nice display.

I also planted a few violas, mini cyclamen and primula into the planters on the fence. Not sure if I've crammed too much in, I'm still on a learning curve! The daffodil bulbs are underneath so fingers crossed they'll come through OK.

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

2009-09-15T11:00:00.002+01:00

Just had to pop back on as the weather has been glorious today and I've finished moving the gladioli and taken a few photos of my recent handiwork in the garden. Still a little bit to go, I want to put the strawberry plants in baskets next year to see if they do any better than they did squashed up by the rhubarb, and with three rhubarb plants being so close to each other we're going to try spacing them out a bit better in the border.

Left photo shows the Montbretia which was recently moved and leaves now dying off, with mini Cyclamen. The bits of cane sticking up are to remind me where I planted the Allium Purple Sensation at the back and some daffodils in front of them. On the right is the rest of the Cyclamen, the majestic Lobelia Cardinalis and Salvia "Hot Lips" with pretty red and white flowers. It seems like this type Lobelia and the Cyclamen are favoured by slugs and snails!

The gladioli now that they have been moved and replanted in groups, they should make a lovely display next year, plus the old runner bean bed with some plants that were in pots waiting for somewhere to go! I still have some daffodil bulbs which I can plant in groups dotted around this bed. I already have a few tulips where the canes are.

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

2009-09-08T22:45:00.011+01:00

Well, what a roller coaster ride we've had the last week or so!

Firstly, last Tuesday, while Paul was at the hospital for his review, I received a phone call to confirm delivery of the bedroom furniture for Friday, 4 September. How exciting, we can start to empty the remaining boxes in the bedrooms at last!

On Wednesday Paul received a phone call advising him that he will be going to Bristol for his bone marrow transplant next Wednesday (9 September) now that his tests show he is clear of the lymphoma at the moment following four cycles of this rather toxic type of chemo. What a relief that he doesn't have to go through any more of that! In preparation for the transplant he needed to go into hospital on Friday for a central line to be inserted. So he cancelled the furniture delivery as he needs to be here to remove the old furniture, disassemble the existing wardrobe and get it downstairs. They tried to get us to accept delivery anyway but eventually agreed to store it for us until the new year.

On Friday Paul went into Bangor hospital for his preparatory operation and I made arrangements for Deborah and Neil to share the journey to bring me back from Bristol on the Saturday as I will be going in the hospital car on the Wednesday with Paul. The operation went well but the doctors woke him up at 5pm to tell him that Bristol had cancelled the date they had given him only two days previously. What a devastating blow, after all this time, the anticipation, making arrangements and preparing mentally for what is to come. So now Paul has to have the dreaded chemo number 5 scheduled for Tuesday, 8 September.

So off Paul goes this morning ready for his regular 3 - 4 nights' stay but when he arrives he is told that he wont be having this chemo after all! Apparently this chemo regime (DHAP) is too toxic for how he is at the moment, so they will give him a cycle of the chemo he had last year (CHOP) which is milder but enough to hopefully keep him from relapsing while he waits for his transplant. Well, that's one good thing as the side effects of the CHOP during his six cycles last year were not as bad as the side effects of the DHAP have been.

Now Paul will return to hospital next Monday for two days for the chemo then come home, followed by a return to hospital the following Monday for a few days for a harvest of the remaining stem cells they need to make up the optimum amount for freezing for backup if the donor transplant fails.

And while all this has been going on Paul took advantage of the fact that he'll be home for a while and rearranged the furniture delivery for Friday, 18 September.

What else has been going on? Well, the curtain track was delivered yesterday so hopefully that will go up soon and maybe the lounge curtains will be up for the weekend.

Yesterday the weather was beautiful, dry and sunny for a change, so I cleared out a patch in the garden and moved some of the gladioli so that next year they'll come up in a nice group. I also cleared out the bed where the runner beans had been and planted a few plants that had been in pots waiting for somewhere to go. I bought some mini cyclamen last week and after I moved the montbretia, which was growing up through a large fuchsia mainly, I planted some of these close by with the rest going in another part of the bed. I still have to move about another dozen gladioli and clear a patch for them so I'll have to be patient as the weather has been horrendous again today!

Saturday, 29 August 2009

2009-08-29T18:04:00.014+01:00

What a difference a few days make! We have wallpaper! While I was off gallivanting with Tracy and the children on the last but one steam train for this year, Paul put the wallpaper on the chimney breast.

The most expensive wallpaper we've ever bought! Excellent quality though and the roll was wider than normal, good job we only needed one roll! Exactly what was needed to make the fire stand out rather than it just disappearing into the wall when it was painted a very similar colour.

These two photos show the flame effect in the daytime and later on without so much light coming into the room:

And here is a video which shows the flame effect better than before, we didn't have any lights on so it would show up better. It's perfect for cosy winter evenings and I'm glad now that it wasn't possible to have a gas fire as we wouldn't have been able to have just a flame effect with one of those - it's heat or nothing with gas. This was my second attempt with the video, I got a fit of the giggles again the first time - it's definitely something to do with Paul! I still don't know why it's such a crummy picture but at least the video is OK.

As the curtain track we ordered from the local shop was unsuitable we ordered a different type of track on the internet. It was £72 cheaper than buying the same track locally so a nice saving there. These are the curtains that will eventually hang in the lounge when the track finally arrives in a week or so's time:

This photo is especially for my MSE friends, I promised if they weren't up by this weekend I'd drape them over the settee and take a picture! The little dots in the middle of the flowers are the same colour as the blue stripe on the settee.

On Tuesday we had a phone call to say the bedroom furniture would be delivered on Friday. Unfortunately the delivery company (not the shop) changed it's mind and we now have to wait until next week. They wont be able to deliver on Tuesday or Wednesday as Paul will be in hospital so we're hoping they'll be able to fit us in Thursday or Friday. I can't wait to get a bit more organised in the bedrooms, hopefully I can get rid of of either the boxes or the suitcase. Then I can give some more thought to the fitted wardrobe in the main bedroom.

Two redundant pine beds plus another headboard have gone to the Seren charity this week and Paul then reorganised the storeroom and workshop so that we could put away some stuff that has been lying around in the sun room for far too long. Now we have a bit more room we've found the computer a more suitable home and have rearranged the chairs so things are looking a lot tidier. We ordered cushions for the chair that a replacement was sent for and when they arrive we'll let Tilly have her blanket on that one instead of the old plastic patio chair she adopted when we first moved over. It will be easy enough to uncover if we have visitors and need the extra chair. I think we also need to think about blinds for the Velux windows in the sun room roof, it's amazing how blinding the sun can be coming through those.

I'm itching to get back into the garden but overdid it last weekend and hurt my back so it hasn't been possible, but the weather has been pretty awful too so I probably wouldn't have been able to do much. I want to move the montbretia now they've finished flowering as at the moment they're coming up in the middle of a large fuschia, and the gladioli also need moving to a more appropriate place now they've almost finished. It will soon be time to plant the daffodil bulbs we brought with us too, and I have bought a few of the large Allium Purple Sensation which should look quite stunning. Hopefully I can make a start on this next week.

Monday, 24 August 2009

2009-08-24T18:52:00.014+01:00

Well, I was hoping to have some nice photos of the curtains and the feature wallpaper on the chimney breast to add but, as usual, things didn't go according to plan.

The fire was delivered, and very nice it is too, and Dunelm didn't take very long to make the curtains so those have been picked up. The wallpaper for the chimney breast has also arrived and B & Q kindly refunded on the paint we decided we didn't want after all. The replacement chair for the sun room also arrived and when I asked the driver if he was going to take the original chair away he said he had no uplift note so it's still here. Oh well, if they don't want it back I'm sure we can get a set of cushions for it and make use of it. I'm sure the cat will love it!

Once Paul started to feel better after his last cycle of chemo he managed to fix the roller blind in the kitchen.

So, not much to report but here's a couple of pictures until there's something more exciting to show:

The roller blind in the kitchen. It's a good match with the tiles, I think I would have preferred a striking contrast such as red but there was nothing else that would have tied in with it. Anyway, we're very happy with it, it has a suede effect so not quite a solid colour as there are slight shade variations due to the nature of the material.

Here's the new fire, a hang on the wall electric with pebbles. We had to change our mind from the gas fire we originally wanted as it wouldn't have been possible to drill through the random stone wall for the flue. As it's virtually the same colour as the paint the chimney breast is to be papered with a brown textured wallpaper.

Here's a pretty rubbishy video of the fire in action, Susan's first ever video and no idea why the picture is like this. Nowhere near as good as in the flesh and if you listen carefully I get a fit of the giggles at the end so I cut it short! I'll try and do better when the wallpaper is up.

Gary (gas) came today to remove the bit of gas pipe that is now redundant and was sticking out of the wall underneath the fire. You can just about make out the gas pipe if you enlarge the picture above the video. It looks small and insignificant but when you're sitting in front of it it's quite noticeable! He made a good job of cutting back the pipe and sealing it (or whatever the right thing to do is!). Paul patched the wall with a bit of plasterboard and has smoothed filler over it. Once it's dry he'll be able to wallpaper the chimney breast.

We also had a curtain track delivered which we ordered from the local shop. We want it corded one side only as it's too much of a stretch to have a cord and pulley in the corner behind the TV. So Paul unpacked it today to find out that we'd been given wrong advice and with this track you can't have a curtain each end of it, you have to have curtains on the one side only. Well, that will look stupid so now that's gone back and we have to find a track where you can have curtains each end and a pulley on one side only which operates both curtains so that they meet in the middle. Not too much to ask is it????

Friday, 7 August 2009

2009-08-07T16:58:00.030+01:00

Oh my goodness, how time flies, almost three weeks since the last entry.

The chairs for the sun room were delivered, of course this had to be whilst Paul was in hospital. We had no e-mail giving notice of delivery and I had a dreadful feeling when I opened the door that the driver might have to take them away again. Paul had made a template of the chair and thought that they wouldn't fit through any of the doors and we'd have to take a window out in the sun room. I told the driver we might have a problem but between us, slowly and carefully, we managed to manoeuvre them through the sun room door - phew! Unfortunately one of the chairs has a small split on each of the side/back supporting canes. I e-mailed a couple of photographs to Dobbies, who passed them on to the manufacturers, and they are replacing this chair. Good customer service from both companies and aren't computers wonderful!

Not much progress has been made sorting the boxes in the loft, they really do need both of us to go through them together and Paul hasn't been well enough, so for the moment they stay where they are, some out of sight behind the new sliding door storage but still a few littering the room. Not to worry, we'll get there some day!

The fire for the living room has been ordered, as have the curtains. No word yet on when they will be delivered. After buying the paint for the chimney breast wall, a dark brown to contrast against the stone colour of the fireplace, Paul decided that all the cutting in and about three coats of paint would be too much work and that he'd rather wallpaper it. So I've been up to the local shop and shortlisted a few nice papers. We'll have to wait until we've picked up the curtains to make sure we get a paper that tones in well. Fingers crossed that B & Q will refund on the unopened tin of paint. Or if not, does anyone want to buy a tin of Dulux Feature Wall Intense Truffle?

Last Friday the new bed was delivered and over the weekend Bradley arrived to fit the carpet to the second bedroom and hall/stairs/landing and what a difference this has made. It all looks cosy now and at last there's no more dust and dirt from concrete floors and uncovered floorboards.

Dining area now carpetted. The pendant light shade is now also fixed. Unfortunately the red glass is cracked but the replacement has arrived at the shop, just waiting for us to pick it up. When the light is on it's more of a pinky-red and it goes very well with the wallpaper.

Looking through to the hall. Carpet is the same, we thought this would look better as you see straight through when you come in through the front door. Luckily the colour of the carpet goes very well with the wallpaper and paint in the dining area as well as the hall/stairs/landing.

Stairs up from hall. The new understairs door is waiting to be painted and the banisters and spindles need staining and waxing.

These two photos show the first floor landing and steps up to the next landing leading to the loft:

The last flight of stairs up to the loft room.

The garden is still very productive, a steady supply of carrots and plenty of runner beans. I've thinned out the leeks, plenty left for our neighbour Ellen, the new carrots planted into the empty potato bags are coming through and the tall runner beans and half a dozen cauliflower recently planted are doing fine. I'm still waiting for the peppers and tomatoes to turn red. I've had a bit of a tidy up in the borders and planted a couple of new plants. There are still a couple more waiting which will have to wait until the bedding plants currently in flower have finished.

For anyone into steam trains, take a look:

The Cambrian. Running weekdays during the school holidays taking tourists from Machynlleth to Porthmadog or Pwllheli. Picture taken from our garden, overlooking next door's and the terrace behind the engine is where son Neil and d-i-l Tracy live in the third house along, windows only just coming into view.

The train runs very close to our house (the railway sleeper fence is our boundary) and the smell and noise brings back lots of childhood memories.

Sunday, 19 July 2009

2009-07-19T17:20:00.029+01:00

Steve has been back a couple of times this week to finish off sanding the bannister, make the shelves for the airing cupboard and make the door for the understairs cupboard.

Shelves in the airing cupboard. At last I've got a proper home for the towels and bedding, freeing up the limited space in the temporary wardrobes. There's still room to store plenty of other items in here, which will eventually be sorted when we get time to go through the boxes we still have in the loft.

Paul sanded and painted the frame for the sliding door storage in the loft and I painted the doors. Paul also fixed the curtain rail and we now have curtains in the loft!

Sliding door storage now finished and the bed in a much better position. Daughter Deborah visited this weekend and gave it the thumbs up - she didn't hit her head on the sloping roof this time!

We started to sort through the boxes in the loft but there's still a way to go, we'll get there one day!

On Wednesday we went out for the day intending to buy the fire for the lounge. We changed our minds from the original fire we had chosen and we think this one would look better than the black one we first saw:

Unfortunately the shop wouldn't budge on price and as it's £100 cheaper online then it's Internet 1 : Retailer 0, and we'll now order it from an online shop.

Because this fire is a stone colour it means we'll now have to repaint the chimney breast darker than the oyster colour that it is now, otherwise there'll be no contrast and it will just disappear against the wall.

We've also ordered the two chairs for the sun lounge from Dobbies. As the shop wont deliver to where we live we bought online and I managed to find a 15% discount code which made the price much more attractive!

We had the Opal Wash option which is a nice light colour. I can see us getting a lot of use out of them, and using the sun room a lot, as they are so comfortable.

And I couldn't resist popping into a garden centre whilst we were out. Paul chose two Thrift plants, one pink and one white, as he had to leave some behind at the last house, and I chose a Veronica Blue Dwarf:

At the moment this is sitting on the patio, still in it's pot, next to the Sidalcea we bought last week. They look very effective together so hopefully we can put them near each other when we start sorting out the garden in a few weeks' time when it's safe to move things.

Today Paul has been taking up the old carpet in the second bedroom and screwing down the loose floorboards ready for when Bradley comes back to fit the remaining carpet. He's planning to come in two weeks' time on 1 August so then all we have to do is wait for the new bedroom furniture.

Sunday, 12 July 2009

2009-07-12T19:56:00.027+01:00

We seem to have been quite busy this week and feel we have achieved something after a few weeks of not much happening.

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!

Saturday, 4 July 2009

2009-07-04T14:33:00.025+01:00

Well, another three weeks have gone by but not a lot has been done in the house.

Paul was in hospital for chemo for four days and when he came home he was very poorly for over a week. When he went back for his review he was admitted and it turns out he had a chest infection which had probably been caused by his PICC line. The line was removed and tests identified the infection as Bacteremia which his doctor explained is one step away from Septicemia, which it may well have turned into if it had been left any longer and his lowered immune system probably couldn't have fought it. Paul says PICC means Provides Infection Can Kill - well his sense of humour hasn't suffered then!

So, what's been happening at the house then? As Bradley was due to come back and fit the remaining carpet today (Saturday, 4 July), it became urgent that the two remaining pieces of skirting board for the dining area were fixed and that the door was trimmed to allow it to open over the new carpet. The bannisters and spindles also needed sanding before the hall, stairs and landing carpet was laid, I didn't fancy trying to get the resulting fine dust out of it afterwards. As Paul was in hospital I had to make arrangements to get these jobs done. I bumped into Steve the carpenter at the local garden centre and asked if he could come and look to see if he could do anything about some built in wardrobes. While he was here he also agreed to do this work for me. So he came along for a couple of hours on Monday and Friday and made a good job of it.

We then heard that poor Bradley had been rushed into hospital with suspected Pancreatitis so he wouldn't be coming to lay the carpets after all. Steve still has to come back on Tuesday to finish off the spindles as he ran out of time on Friday. Funny how things work out. Get well soon Bradley, and thanks Steve for jumping in and helping out at such short notice.

To keep myself busy while Paul was in hospital I decided that now the rendering on the porch had dried out, thanks to the rainwater gully that Neil created for us a few weeks ago, it was time to paint it. I'd previously sprayed the moss to kill it and it was a nice shade of brown so I got stuck in with a stiff brush and a plastic scraper and removed as much sand, dirt and dead moss as was possible without dislodging all the little stones. Two coats of white Weathershield was possible in one day thanks to the hot, dry weather. One coat of colour the following day and a second coat of colour the day after saw the job finished. I quite enjoyed myself and despite using masking tape and covering the path I still managed to make a mess. Never mind, job done and after all I'm only nearly perfect (wink!).

Here's my masterpiece:

Paul came home on Thursday night so on Friday we set about discussing storage in the loft, along with Steve. We decided that as the room was quite deep, and that if we put the head of the bed under the sloping ceiling the occupants would hit their heads on the ceiling on getting out of bed, then we could lose some of the depth and bring the bed forward a couple of feet. This would then allow us to build something like this:

Steve said he'd be able to do it so we ordered some Harrison Double Top track and floor track and we'll be able to get some MDF for the sliding doors locally. Hopefully the track will come next week and Steve should be able to make a start on it then. We're still pondering over what to do about the wardrobes in the bedroom so no progress there yet.

Today Paul has fixed the dummy drawer fronts on the utility room sink unit and also fixed the towel rail in there. Neil is coming on Wednesday to tile the utility room and then it will be finished apart from getting some kickboards and fixing them.

That's about it for now, but if you want to see how the veggies are doing here are the potatoes and some of the dwarf runner beans:

and here are the leeks, carrots and peppers:

The pepper is quite big considering the plants are only about 6"-8" high. I've probably done something wrong, I'm sure the plants should be bigger. I must find out more if I want to do it again next year!

I've cleared out the strawberry/rhubarb corner a bit. The rhubarb was coming up quite hollow so I got rid of those sticks and have been watering the new growth diligently and they're quite firm. I've potted up a few strawberry runners so next year should be better. Seven squash plants are doing well. Again, I don't know what I'm doing but have realised that if I do get any fruit on them then there isn't enough room. I'm beginning to think that a bigger garden with a veggie plot is needed for squash, but at least I can hopefully have some baby ones:

Monday, 15 June 2009

2009-06-15T11:22:00.029+01:00

So, what's happened during the last couple of weeks here at Westbroke?

Firstly Dave decided he didn't want to come back and finish off what he started. Only fixing the trim to the edges of the worktop was needed but for some reason he wont do it. Oh well, we'll get that sorted as Neil can do that for us.

Neil came on 8 June and the first job was to fix the basin in the downstairs WC and then box in the pipework. The curtain is made and just waiting for the rail to be fixed but for now here's a before and after. (If you want to see how disgustingly filthy this house was before, click on the left hand picture to enlarge it.)

Next on the list was tiling the kitchen. These tiles were bought because we needed them and not because we'd looked exhaustively and they were THE chosen ones. We were unsure if they were right, thinking they were a bit rustic and country compared with the rest of the house. However, time was not on our side to go out and find some more, we had to get on with it. Now they're fixed we're happy with them, they go very well with the kitchen units. Neil did have a problem with the windowsill being one tile and a silly fraction above the worktop which would have made cutting the tile to that depth very difficult. He decided the best solution was to take about half an inch off the windowsill and leave it just the one tile high.

Want to see what it was like originally? I promise I am not the lady in the picture:

Neil also dug out the tarmac around the porch outside and created a concrete rainwater gully to keep the water away from the wall as this has previously caused a problem with damp. He also sealed the vinyl floor in the bathroom with silicone where it joins the tiles and sealed between the kitchen worktop and tiles.

On Friday the decorator returned to repaint the stairs wall as the lines were showing where the lining paper was joined and had been filled.

Today Neil is fitting the sink and tap in the utility room and fixing the kickboards under the kitchen units. As we don't yet have the tile trim for the utility, Neil will be back sometime in July to tile the utility walls.

For anyone following the progress of the garden, this is how the potatoes are doing and the "surprise" plant that UKMaggie identified as a Delphinium Tricorne (a bit tall and leggy for that situation, will probably move it next year):

This fuschia is doing well, and this rose is so pretty and has a nice perfume too:

The carrots and leeks are doing well and the peppers haven't pegged out yet:

The runner beans and squash are still doing OK and we've had a few delicious strawberries from the plants that were already here.

Sunday, 14 June 2009

2009-06-14T21:31:00.029+01:00

As I typed the date for this post I realised it is exactly 12 months since we viewed this property with our son Neil, who came along to give his opinion on some of the work that would need doing. I thought I'd do some "then" and "now" pictures.

Here's Neil checking out the then bathroom:

and this is the same view now:

As can be seen below, originally the alcove (where the toilet is now) had a false wall built so a cupboard could be created and the bath was fitted beneath the cupboard. To the right of the vanity unit the shower cubicle had been built around a window and what appears to be some kind of boxing in was actually only boxing in fresh air! We think it's fair to say the quality of the workmanship was probably second only to that of a 10 year old!

Here is the new shower cubicle to the right of the basin, built not around the window this time but formed from the rear half of a very large airing cupboard. The light is on in the cubicle which makes it look a different colour to the other tiles!

When the bath was removed and the cupboard and false wall demolished we discovered that the original wall was covered in black mould as can be seen here:

The builders drilled some air holes and left a gap to give a continuous air flow to dry the wall out and then studded and plasterboarded the wall.

This side of the bathroom originally looked like this and had another false wall to accommodate another cupboard:

and now looks like this with a new wall being built to create a storage cupboard accessed off the landing and the bath fitted against the new wall:

We now have a nice rectangular shaped room with no nooks, crannies or dodgy built-in cupboards and have gained a large shower and some very useful storage.

I'll come back tomorrow after I've taken some more photos to show what has happened during the last week.

Monday, 1 June 2009

2009-06-01T17:27:00.016+01:00

Well, it's getting really exciting now! Some carpet has gone down, it's feeling much more like home and is a lot cleaner now that the concrete floors are almost all covered up. At long last we managed to get Dave back on Friday to continue with the worktop in the utility although he's not finished yet, he didn't turn up on Sunday as promised to fix the missing edging strips and there's still the cut out for the sink to be done, but I suppose we can't expect miracles!

Here's what Bradley did over the weekend, and what a great job he made - very neat and no damage to the new paintwork:

The carpet in the lounge is a sort of fudge colour and is almost a match to the stripe in the suite. We still need a fire and surround, coffee table, curtains and a few bits and pieces to finish this room off but at least we now have somewhere clean and comfortable to relax:

The bedroom carpet is a lovely dusky pink which goes really well with the duvet cover and gives a warm glow to the room. Yes, we're still living out of boxes and suitcases but hopefully we can get around to making a decision on the bedroom furniture next week when Paul is out of hospital and should be home for the week.

The vinyl in the kitchen is a slate tile effect, very effective and a very realistic tile effect. We think it goes really well with the worktop and is a nice contrast with the cabinets. The kickboards still have to be fixed and the pelmet under the wall cupboards needs finishing off too. The piece of carpet in the dining area is just an offcut of old carpet laid over the concrete for now.

The second bedroom, dining area and the hall/stairs/landing will be done in a couple of weeks.

We managed to get out on Saturday and chose some tiles for the kitchen walls. There are three complementary colours but they don't look right. We'll take them back and change them for just the lightest colour which we think will look better.

Here's a couple of pictures of the bathroom now that I've managed to buy the new towels and bathmat, they're a good match for the darker colour in the border tile:

And I added these pictures just because I think they're cute, here's grandson Luke (going through his "I want long hair" phase) and Tilly having a cuddle:

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

2009-05-19T15:34:00.038+01:00

Last Thursday Gary came, as promised, to fix the hob and a couple of jobs to do with the central heating. Paul removed the bottom three tiles underneath the radiator in the downstairs WC and Gary tidied up the pipework, chased out the wall a little and has managed to hide the pipe. Neil will replace the missing tiles and it will be a much neater job than how it was before. Gary also replaced the old valves which had been put onto a couple of the new radiators, so they're all new, clean and matching now.

Gas hob now fixed in position and working at last, five weeks after we moved in! We still haven't chosen tiles for the kitchen walls, we really must get on with that as Neil has booked us in for 8 June.

Tiling has now been finished in the downstairs WC apart from three on the bottom row behind the door which were removed to allow the central heating pipe to be moved and hidden. Just the hand basin and waste pipe to be fixed on the left hand wall and then the pipes can be boxed in.

Petros did the patching on the dwarf wall in the sun room and this has now had it's final coat of emulsion.

On Saturday Paul levelled the kitchen floor ready for the vinyl to be laid. It's not quite finished, it still needs another thin coat and he'll finish it off with a float to get a smooth finish. Bradley will be back at the end of the month to lay the vinyl and the lounge carpet, the upstairs carpets will be done later.

Today Helen came to paint the final coat on the skirting board in the sun room, the door to the electric box and another coat of emulsion on the downstairs WC as it was a bit patchy and showing where the cutting in had been done. That's the decorating just about finished except for the door to the understairs cupboard which Paul didn't have time to make over the weekend. We'll just ring Petros when this is ready and he will come back and paint it for us, along with making good anything else that may need touching up or any problems that we find. Hopefully bringing in the carpets wont cause any damage.

Here are a few more pictures of the garden:

First time growing potatoes and they're coming on well:

Carrots, leeks and red peppers, primulas in wall behind with an unknown plant, this will be a nice surprise when it's in bloom (hopefully it's not a weed!)

Squash in these two big pots. Can't say I know what I'm doing but if you don't try you'll never know!

Strawberries, rhubarb, camelia, primroses:

The alpine border, fuschias, hosta and other plants in tubs brought from the last house:

This just has to be my favourite flower in the garden. If anyone knows which particular lily this is, please let me know.

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

2009-05-12T15:20:00.033+01:00

During the past week Petros and Helen have been busy with the painting. The stairs walls which were papered with lining paper last week have now been painted, the woodwork and walls in the lounge have been completed along with a few pieces of skirting board for the dining area and the utility which will be fixed later. All that is left to do now is the final coat on the downstairs WC now that it's been changed from Cornflower White to Timeless (and it looks much better!). There's also a bit of patching to the plaster in the sun room then the dwarf wall under the windows and the skirting board need to be painted and then that's the decorating finished!

We've ordered the carpets and these should be arriving 21-26 May and Bradley should be coming soon after to fit them. Paul's been trying to cure the ticking central heating pipes, floorboards on the landing have been up and down the last few days. He'll have to get some hair felt to try and remedy the problem before the carpets are fitted.

Steve told us he can't fit us in for fixing the gas hob and the couple of little jobs to do with the boiler and radiator but has introduced us to a new Gas Safe registered chap who came this morning to see what's needed. He'll be back on Thursday to do the work but first Paul has had to remove three wall tiles in the downstairs WC so that the pipe for the radiator can be moved. We checked with the supplier and fortunately those tiles were a new line so they still have plenty left so we can buy a few extra to replace them. The spare ones we had are needed for the boxing in of the basin waste pipe.

Paul's red cell/white cell/platelet count have plummeted this week so he was taken back into hospital today for blood transfusions so will probably be away for a couple of days.

Just a few pictures of the garden for now, when I've found the batteries I'll take some more photos!

Red peppers in front planter, which I've had to rescue from marauding snails - beware guys, I've declared war! Carrots behind, leeks to the left.

Potatoes on balcony, five bags are mine, four behind are Tracy's. Fuschia in bed below along with dwarf runner beans. Runner beans also in pots. My mother's day azalea, camelia behind bird bath.

A few more runner beans in this bed along with a couple of fuschias and some gladioli just coming through.

The two concrete planters have bizzie lizzies with a rose and some double primulas in the bed behind. There's a hosta in the tub to the left and a twisted hazel in the right hand tub. Just peeping in on the left hand side is a winter jasmine that's grown through the fence from next door.

Dwarf rhodedendron, fuschia, and a shrub we brought with us - not sure what it is but it has tiny red fuschia-like flowers and very small leaves.

Sunday, 3 May 2009

2009-05-03T19:01:00.025+01:00

Quite a lot has been going on this week. On Monday Paul went into hospital and his chemo recommenced. Dave came to do some more towards cutting the worktop for the utility room but this was rained off after a while, cutting is taking place outside as sawdust and painting don't mix well!

During the week the utility room and downstairs WC had their two coats of colour. Unfortunately Cornflower White (for the WC), which looked a nice pale shade of grey on the colour card, turned out to be very blue and general opinion is that it just doesn't go with the tiles and curtain so we'll have to ask Petros to repaint in Timeless (an off-white) which should look better.

Jasmine White for the utility which is a lot creamier than the photos shows.

Cornflower White in the downstairs WC which in real life is very blue compared to the photo:

Two walls on the stairs were papered with 1700 grade lining paper and the stairs and hall are now ready for painting. The feature wall in the dining area was also papered and this finished the kitchen/diner as far as decorating goes. Now the paper is up it looks more pink than red, probably because it's a metallic red and is reflecting the light from the window on the opposite wall. Skirting boards can't be painted yet as we're still waiting for the floor to be levelled:

Paul returned from hospital on Thursday and we set about moving the dining table and chairs into the dining area which has freed up space in the sun room:

While Paul was away I was busy sorting out a lot of the stuff in the lounge and moving it up into the loft for now. I also sorted out more of the boxes in the loft and found homes for the contents and cleared the loft enough for our first visitor this weekend, daughter Deborah. We'll now be able to move some of the remaining items from the lounge when Petros wants to start painting in there and there will be room for these in the sun room.

Steve ordered for the parts needed to fit the hob but they haven't yet arrived so I still have no hob to cook on.

Today (Sunday) I was back in the garden. I planted a dwarf rhododendron and a cranesbill geranium along with the dwarf runner bean seeds and cleared a little more of the final border.

Dwarf rhododendron "Keleticum" which will grow to about 40cm high, then the fuschia we inherited from the previous owner, the shrub we brought with us and the large white lily just coming into flower:

Cranesbill geranium "Sanguineum", paeony lactiflora (double pink) and one of the runner beans.

The border with the rest of the runner beans:

Sunday, 26 April 2009

2009-04-26T19:49:00.031+01:00

Well, another week has gone and we're still surrounded by mess and boxes, but we have done a lot of sorting out over the week and it's looking a bit better.

Painting of the two landing cupboards is now completely finished so we've been able to put things in there for storage. We've spent a lot of time sorting out the boxes in the bedrooms and books, bathroom items and suitcases now all reside in the two cupboards, albeit temporarily until we get more organised. This makes the bedrooms a lot tidier and gives us room to move around.

Curtain rails have been fixed in the bedrooms and we have curtains! Real, proper curtains! They don't fit properly as they've come from the old house where the windows were much narrower and much taller but we can put up with virtually no drape and over-long curtains until we get around to choosing new ones once the carpets are laid:

The new ready-made curtains we chose for the loft last week had faults on both pairs and as we can't get back to Wrexham for a long time the shop allowed us to post them back (with a promise to refund the postage). New ones have been ordered which will be posted out to us when they are delivered to the shop.

We've made a start on sorting the boxes currently in the loft and it's getting easier to move around in there. The two cupboards from the office in our previous house are now in the loft and house my craft stash which I've started to sort out:

Last Sunday Neil started to tile the walls of the downstairs WC but couldn't complete the job as we didn't have the trim and this has now been ordered. He also installed the toilet but this proved to be an awkward job. The water supply was in the wrong place as it prevented the toilet from seating against the wall. The toilet had to be moved slightly to the left and unfortunately the water supply is now visible at the side of the pan instead of being hidden behind it. A flexi-waste was then needed for the outlet. The wastepipe for the sink had to be re-routed through the wall into the utility otherwise we would have had to box in pipework which would have been about 18" up the wall.

Petros and Helen have continued with the painting and the upstairs is now completely finished. The hall/stairs/landing is painted in Almost Oyster with feature walls on the dog-leg wall and the top landing being Malt Chocolate. This is the top landing (dog-leg wall still to be painted) and the colour shows up better on the first picture with natural light:

This now leaves the stairs up to the first floor, the hall, utility room and downstairs WC to be painted and the feature wall in the dining area to be papered. The lounge will have to wait until we can find a home for what's being stored in there at the moment. Hopefully that wont be too long as the carpets have been chosen, we have a good price from the local shop and an excellent fitter waiting for the go-ahead.

The final worktop was fixed in the kitchen on Friday but the hob isn't yet connected as we're waiting for Steve to come on Monday evening. I can't wait to be cooking with gas again as I just can't get to grips with the temporary electric hotplate I've been attempting to use. We still haven't got any wall tiles for the kitchen as the ones we saw last week cost £69 per square metre (and they're just 4" square ones) and there's no way we're paying that!

The first of the worktops was also cut for the utility room and today Paul has put the battens on the wall ready for the rest of the worktop to be fixed tomorrow:

We've been out in the garden today making the most of the good weather and it's the last time Paul can do anything as gardening is a no-no when receiving chemo. I've planted Bizzy Lizzies in the tubs and made a start on clearing the long border, hopefully disposing of more weeds than plants:

Paul transplanted one of the shrubs we brought from the other house and tidied up some plants. It's the small one to the left, the large green plant is a lovely white lily we've inherited.

Tomorrow Paul goes into hospital for the start of his new chemo in readiness for his bone marrow transplant. We hope he'll be home by the end of the week.

Saturday, 18 April 2009

2009-04-18T19:59:00.021+01:00

Oooh, this is the 100th post! And it's 10 days since I last posted, what a lot has happened.

Thursday, 9 April, (moving day) was not particularly enjoyable. Having your tails chased by the new owners from 9.30 a.m. is not the best way to be moving house. Their boxes were coming into rooms before we'd had chance to remove all ours. There were four of us acting as removal men, Paul and myself, my friend Angie and d-i-l Tracy. We worked like Trojans all day, not realising how much stuff was still waiting to be packed. Thanks Tracy for the last minute packing, and thanks both for all your hard work.

During the morning we had a delivery of tiles from Wickes and the new freezer came in the afternoon. We finally finished the removal at about 6pm and the only major problem was that one of the beds could not be dismantled to go upstairs. As the staircase is a dog-leg with restricted headroom there was nothing that could be done. We've had to find a buyer for the bed and will replace it in the near future.

It was a bit strange going to bed with no curtains at the windows but it is so nice and quiet here it's a nice change from living on the main road. It's also good for getting up early!

Friday, 10 April. Wow! What a lot of boxes, piled here, there and everywhere. We're walking round them, walking over them and virtually living out of them. Every so often we've had to make a phone call to Tracy and ask where certain items are. It's amazing that she's able to remember exactly what she packed into which box or suitcase and which room it was put in!

Over the Easter break we spent some time in the garden as the weather was sunny and warm, most unusual for a bank holiday! We cleared out the smallest border and planted some alpines and ground cover plants. The rest of the time was spent trying to organise our belongings and make the place a bit more livable. On Sunday we had to ring the electricians as the porch light/outside light/shaver socket were not working. They arranged to come and fix these on Tuesday. Bradley also came on Sunday and make a great job of fitting the vinyl in the main bathroom.

Wednesday, 15 April. The builders came back to finish off a few small jobs, i.e. re-felt the store room roof, fit four radiators, fix some architrave in the utility and fix architrave and the door handle/privacy lock on the downstairs WC door. The decorators were also back after their Easter break and the sun room had the final coat of emulsion, also the kitchen extension.

Thursday, 16 April. Paul was busy fixing towel rails and door hooks and Chris came to connect the computer up and sort out the broadband.

Friday, 17 April. Today we took the opportunity to go shopping, probably the last time before Paul's treatment starts. We had a long list of items we needed. The curtains we originally bought for the loft could not be altered satisfactorily so we returned them for exchange. We managed to get a suitable bathroom cabinet, curtain rails, towel rail for the kitchen and other kitchen items, plus other bits and pieces.

Saturday, 18 April. It's been such a lovely day that we were back in the garden. Paul replaced the slabs which the builders had to remove to install the steel support for the sun room roof. He also cleared out another border and I planted up some potatoes in bags and some vegetable seeds. Neil came to replace the pop up waste in the bathroom which seized up on Friday morning.

Now I can't believe I'm doing this but here are some pictures of the mess we are living in at the moment. It's really hard for someone who is normally organised and keeps a clean and tidy house to be living like this! We can't see the decorators being finished for another couple of weeks and until then not a lot can be done.

The kitchen (no tiles yet so a temporary splashback made from Tyvec so as not to get water down the back of the worktop), four red bell pepper seedlings and some primula plug plants are waiting for their new homes. The sun room is playing host to the dining suite and part of the cooker hood as well as the sofa from the conservatory suite. Tilly is enjoying her tea! She seems to be as happy and settled in her new home as we are:

We're still missing the last worktop, hopefully it will be fitted soon and I can get the hob fixed and get back to cooking with gas. At least the other side is useable although with all the dust still floating around it doesn't stay clean for long:

The living room which not only has the new suite (still in wraps) but the two chairs from the conservatory suite, kitchen wortops, kitchen flooring, boxes destined for different rooms and the office furniture (goodness knows what we'll do with that!):

One of the bedrooms. What do you think of the designer curtains!!! You too can follow this new trend by saving the boxes from your kitchen cabinets! The wardrobes are too big (I did tell him but he didn't believe me!) and will eventually be replaced:

The other bedroom (I've no idea what's in the blue cases, I really must ask Tracy! Clothes currently in use are in a suitcase on the floor behind the bookcase):

The loft:

My five bags of potatoes, plus my planters - carrots in one and leeks in the other:

The two borders that have been cleared, the left hand one is planted with alpines and ground cover, the right hand one has a fuschia which we inherited from the previous owners and will have my dwarf runner beans. Various tubs with shrubs and plants we brought from the other house which we'll replant when we get around to doing a bit more in the garden:

These are the violas that Molly planted for Nanny and Grandad (with a little help from Mommy).

Tuesday/Wednesday, 7/8 April 2009

2009-04-08T23:24:00.004+01:00

Not much different going on here really, cleaning up ready to move in and carting more of our belongings over.

By Wednesday Petros had finished the two bedrooms apart from the window wall in the right hand room which was the last bit to be papered and is still drying out. He also put the first coat of colour on the walls of the sun room and the kitchen extension. Paul brought over the wardrobes and re-assembled them, realising now that I was right when I said they were too big for the room. They'll do as a temporary measure as we've nowhere else to put our clothes but we will get around to replacing them. We've kept a large piece of the old carpet for the time being to make the room a bit cosier.

I've been busy cleaning up the conservatory suite so we've somewhere to sit (when we have time!). The sofa has gone into the sun room and the two chairs are in the lounge. Our new lounge suite is still wrapped in polythene and will stay that way until the room is finished and the carpet laid. We've vacuumed the square of old carpet that remains in the lounge and stacked the worktops and vinyl against the wall for now, they should be fitted within the next few days. A couple of the cupboards from the office have been put in the lounge until we decide if there is anywhere for them to go.

Neil and Tracy came to help with moving over the sideboard, table and chairs. I've taken the cardboard off which was protecting the kitchen worktops, cleaned up and unpacked the new microwave, and as it is a grill/oven combi too at least I can cook something if the oven and hob don't get fitted for a while.

Tomorrow the first priority is to empty and clean up the second bedroom then get the beds over. There are a couple more wardrobes to empty, although we aren't taking those wardrobes with us so will be packing some clothes away. We've still some furniture to move over and a some more boxes, plus stuff we haven't yet packed, so I expect it will be another long day.

We'll probably be without the internet for a while now as Virgin Media haven't got us down for disconnection until 15 April and then it takes a few days to reconnect on the new phone line. If I've got something to say (and it will be very unusual if I haven't!) I'll pop over to Neil's and update the blog from there.

Thursday-Monday, 2-6 April 2009

2009-04-07T00:14:00.006+01:00

The wallpaper arrived in stock on Thursday and Petros was able to finish papering the two bedrooms on Friday. He also finished painting the loft which is now looking good and ready for us to start moving things over.

On Saturday Paul and Neil carried the washing machine and tumble dryer over to install in the utility room after all the pipework was fixed. Tracy painted the store room (ta duck!) and it now looks clean and fresh, ready for when the freezer is delivered on Thursday.

On Sunday Paul fixed all the base units in the utility and also hung the wall units. We can't get the worktop fitted until next week but at least we now have some storage we can use. Molly (5) bought some violas for Nanny and Grandad's garden and helped her mummy plant them.

I've continued cleaning windows, frames and doors (nearly finished now) and also cleaned up the pleated blinds to go back in the sun room.

On Monday Petros returned and put the first coat of emulsion in both bedrooms and painted more skirtings and architraves. Paul and I, with the help of one of our friends, started to move some of our belongings from our current loft into the new loft at Westbroke. Most of our things will be stored in the loft until the rest of the rooms are finished.

Wednesday, 1 April 2009

2009-04-02T00:04:00.007+01:00

Nothing very exciting to show at the moment. Petros arrived on Monday and will be concentrating on the loft and the two bedrooms to start with so that we can at least have three usable rooms when we have to move next week. He started prep work - filling nail holes in architrave, etc., sizing the walls in the two bedrooms which will be papered. On Tuesday he started putting up the paintable wallpaper in the left hand bedroom. The shop didn't have enough in stock so we've ordered the rest which will be delivered later in the week. On Wednesday he undercoated the woodwork in all three rooms and did the cutting in of the emulsion in the loft. The original colour we had put in there, although we liked it, really wasn't right with the bed linen and curtains - a bit too pink and the new colour is very pale cream which should look better.

I've been concentrating on washing down the doors and windows outside, cleaning up the UPVC window frames inside and out, cleaning the windows and clearing out the sand from inside the frames. It's been hard work and I've only managed the porch and utility plus side door up to now but it's looking good.

Paul has been sorting out the old kitchen units to go in the utility room, clearing out the store room ready for a coat of emulsion before we order a freezer, and making up the rest of the kitchen cupboards. Neil came over this evening to fix the wall cupboards and tomorrow we'll get them all cleaned up and start bringing over the contents of some of our kitchen cupboards that we wont be needing at the moment.

Saturday/Sunday, 28/29 March 2009

2009-03-30T12:50:00.002+01:00

We've spent the weekend cleaning up and getting the house ready for Petros to start decorating as he needs it as free of dust/dirt as possible.

Paul has finished putting the kitchen cupboard doors on all the units. One door has to be returned and the units on the cooking side of the kitchen can't be fixed until the worktop and the missing end panels arrive, hopefully on Monday.

We've also tidied the garden up a bit and brought over our tubs and planters.

Friday, 27 March 2009

2009-03-28T22:27:00.028Z

Well, it's come at last. The final day. They've packed up and left us. But not before finishing off a few things this morning including fixing the door handles on three of the doors hung yesterday, some plumbing and some last minute jobs. They packed up their equipment and belongings and after hugs and kisses (no, Paul didn't get any!) we waved them off.

Seventeen weeks' work to remedy numerous DIY disasters made by the previous owner, not least of which was the Mickey Mouse loft conversion which would surely have brought the house down eventually, and to transform an unappealing house into a bright, modern and contemporary home.

When we first considered buying Westbroke we did wonder whether we ought to take on a property that needed such major works. It would have been easier to buy something that just required decorating to our taste but there was nothing else available in the vicinity as so few properties come up for sale near the harbour.

So, ever up for a challenge, we went ahead and we could visualise how we wanted it to look, but suggestions and advice from Mark and the boys have taken this renovation beyond anything we could imagine and given this little house the WOW factor. Thanks guys. We've loved having you around, we've had lots of laughs and we wont forget your kindness. We'll miss you and we're sure you'll also be missed at The Barmouth! But in the nicest possible way - bugger off guys, your families want you back!

These are the first of our before and after pictures, showing what a difference the new dormer, kitchen and sun lounge roof and paint job has made:

The garden will eventually get a makeover, we're not too keen on the Battenburg cake effect of the slabs, so for the moment we haven't had the pillars and dwarf wall of the patio painted.

And here are our boys in all their glory:

Mike: The Daddy, supplier of yummy grub, keeps them in line, they are totally lost without him. Oh, and he's a whizz with a quiz and not a bad plasterer either!

Mark: The Boss, Captain Cute himself, couldn't you just eat him! Never a day went by when he didn't talk to his boys back home, and "my Sarah", giving them an update on progress. Both he and Mike were very honest with ideas, opinions and suggestions they thought would work better than some of our original ideas and we're very grateful they did.

Al: The quiet one of the group, not only a grafter but very decorative too - just look at that lovely baby face.

Sid: Hunky Sid, our very own Vinnie Jones, very camera shy (we've never seen anyone move so quickly when a camera appears) but we did manage to get a nice photo to pass on to his Mum. Pretty handy with a broom and appears to be able to read minds, particularly when working with Mark!

Fred: Ah, what can we say about Fred? I did offer to adopt him but his family might miss him! What a star. He took on the job of painting that grotty rendering and not once did he complain. And he always had the biggest smile on his face.

So off they go, on to their next job. But they've not quite finished yet. There are still a couple of small jobs left and someone will be back fairly soon to finish them off, they need some dry weather to re-felt the store room roof. Also, their fame spread whilst they were here and it looks like they'll be back in town in the not too distant future for another loft job. The welcome mat will be out guys, you know that, so call for a cuppa any time! If there's no answer come round to the front (back) as we'll probably be sitting in the garden admiring the freshly painted walls and the lovely new dormer!

Thursday, 26 March 2009

2009-03-26T16:41:00.005Z

Today seems to be no different from the rest of the week as far as things going wrong are concerned. The end panels for the kitchen units arrived but the ones for the end of the oven housing still aren't right. Apparently the manufacturers don't do decor end panels for this size, so large larder unit end panels were ordered but they're not deep enough as they're normal cupboard sides. We've now got to wait for two "fitter's panels" to arrive next week which should be the right depth and can be cut to the correct height. To say Mark is frustrated is a bit of an understatement.

The cooker hood was fitted, and very nice it is too except for some damage to the rear corner of the glass. Another one has been ordered and the glass will be replaced when it arrives next week.

The electricians fitted the bathroom mirror (which has lights) yesterday but the sensor didn't work. Another one was picked up from the suppliers yesterday and Mike brought it with him this morning but when the box was opened the new mirror was broken. A new one has been ordered and should be delivered next week.

Mike arrived back with the new sink and has been fitting that, along with the gas oven. Of course, nothing was straightforward and he's had a few problems with the plumbing and it's best not to mention the waste disposal unit!

Mark and Sid have fitted some skirting board in the sun room, in the hall and some architrave around the cupboard under the stairs. Doors have been fitted to some of the kitchen units but one of them has a split in the wood so that will have to be changed too.

Fred has been overhauling some of the windows, they've clogged up with sand and dirt over the years and weren't that easy to open. Elbow grease and WD40 were used here and they are much better now.

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

2009-03-25T16:16:00.009Z

This is turning out to be a rather frustrating week. What was hoped to be achieved in three days is dragging out and may not even be finished by the end of the week. This has happened because of wrong items being delivered, miscalculations in the amount of worktop required so leaving us short, and some items for the kitchen units we weren't told were needed but are necessary for a better looking finish. All these have had to be ordered at the last minute and not all will be with us by the end of the week.

Mark and Sid have started to fit all the units possible up to now, the available worktops have been cut and the joints formed. The sink wont arrive until tomorrow so it's not possible to cut the aperture for that, likewise the hob as that piece of worktop wont arrive until Monday. The dishwasher and fridge are now in place and it's beginning to look more like a proper kitchen:

It's been a bit like Casey's court in there today, as Fred has painted the kitchen walls but has had to work around everything else that's been going on. The electricians have fitted the last few lights, tested everything, signed the certificate and left Westbroke for the last time.

What a lovely surprise there was waiting when we went over tonight - the most beautiful bouquet of flowers had been delivered, courtesy of our lovely lads and, I believe, with the help of Mark's wife Sarah. And they managed to include my favourite colours - pink and lilac - and thanks to the lilies they smell wonderful. Thank you everyone, they are lovely and very much appreciated.

Monday/Tuesday, 23/24 March 2009

2009-03-25T15:49:00.013Z

We spent the weekend cleaning up a bit, mainly cleaning the remaining grout dust off the tiles in the bathroom and en-suite. Paul discovered some lumps under the vinyl in the en-suite and it appears that the fitters didn't do a very good job of cleaning the floor which they said they would take care of. We have contacted the supplier and hopefully they will come and sort this out.

On Monday, Mark, Sid and Fred returned to finish off all the last remaining little jobs and the fitting of the kitchen. The electricians joined them today to complete the electrical installation over the next couple of days prior to doing a final test.

First job was for Mark and Sid to apply latex to the kitchen floor where it was very rough and uneven from the tiles being removed. Then they set about making up some of the kitchen units:

Some architrave and skirting was also fitted and the towel rail fitted to the vanity unit in the bathroom. Now that Fred has finally finished the outside painting, he was able to start putting the first couple of coats on the ceiling in the sun room:

On Tuesday, while we were at the hospital for Paul's appointment, the remaining doors downstairs were hung. Some more skirting and architrave was fitted and Fred moved on to the walls in the sun room.

The scaffolders arrived to remove the scaffolding - what a difference that has made. We're sure the neighbours are more than pleased about that.

Mark and Sid carried on making up kitchen units and the electricians carried on with the lights and sockets. The new (correct) fridge was delivered, also the vinyl for the kitchen and bathroom floors, the end panels and 900 pan drawer unit for the kitchen.

Friday, 20 March 2009

2009-03-20T16:39:00.018Z

A bit of a frustrating day today where the kitchen was concerned. It appears we got "integrated" mixed up with "built under" and the wrong fridge was ordered. This will have to be returned and the correct one should be delivered on Tuesday. You'd think the kitchen designer would have pointed this out, but perhaps he assumed we knew the difference! Also, the 900mm pan drawer unit to go under the hob was missing and a 1000mm base cupboard was delivered instead. Another one to go back. A couple of end panels are also needed.

Mike had to move some pipework in the kitchen in readiness for the cupboards to be fitted next week.

The sink in the main bathroom was completed, with the pipework for the hot and cold water and the waste being fixed and the side shelf was fitted back on. Just the towel rail to fit onto the unit now.

The awning over the kitchen window was refitted and a bit of a general tidy up was carried out.

Today we lose two of the guys as they start another job on Monday. So we said goodbye to Al and Mike. Mark, Sid and Fred will be back on Monday for a few days.

We're not sure if this had anything to do with Mike not coming back next week, apparently he had a few pints of Guinness last night!

(Only joking, he was using the hose pipe to clean off the slabs.)

Bye Al............................

Bye Mike. Thanks for the eggs and the food and the recipe ideas.

Don't forget to come back and see us sometime.

Thursday, 19 March 2009

2009-03-20T16:15:00.008Z

Today lots of bits and pieces were carried out towards finishing off and cleaning up.

Fred, assisted by Al today, finished painting the rendering. He has boldly been where no man has gone before, transforming a dirty brown ugly house into a bright beautiful home. Fred danced a little jig when he finished and I just had to stroke the lovely new paintwork.

Mike was busy with some plumbing and cutting the hole in the wall for the tumble dryer vent. He also fixed the new guttering around the sun room and kitchen. Al made a good job of cleaning windows and fascias, etc.

Mark and Sid fitted the rest of fascia boards and cladding to finish off outside the sun room and then moved into the kitchen to start making up the new units.

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

2009-03-18T22:04:00.010Z

What a lovely week weather-wise we're having, although the sun was so bright today Fred was having trouble seeing where he'd already painted, but he still made a good job of finishing the first coat around the kitchen window.

The patching to the rendering has been finished with stone chippings to match the original.

Mike finished plastering in the sun room with the final coat on the store room wall. He also created the slope from the kitchen to the sun room and Al removed all the old tiles from the kitchen floor:

Mark and Sid have now finished fitting the bannisters and spindles from the first floor down to the ground floor, plus the skirtings and architraves to the bedrooms. They also fitted the extractor fans in the bathroom and created a hatch in the airing cupboard for access to the shower pipework and isolators for the loft:

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

2009-03-17T22:08:00.012Z

Another lovely day today meant that Fred could continue painting the rendering - on the store room back wall, the side wall of the kitchen and he also started the wall around the kitchen window:

Al rendered above the kitchen window as the roof has been raised. Also some rendering has been done between the new slate roof and the bedroom windows, plus some fascia board has also been fixed:

Mike has plastered inside the airing cupboard and the last bit of the ceiling in the sun room by the side entrance door:

Mark and Sid have been busy fitting skirting board and architrave on the first floor, then they started to fit the bannisters and spindles from the first floor landing to the loft:

Monday, 16 March 2009

2009-03-16T21:01:00.010Z

Over the weekend Paul finished all the upstairs doors (7 of them) with two coats of Polyx Oil. They look lovely, we're really pleased with them. The remaining 4 downstairs doors wont be fitted until the very end.

Today saw Mark and Sid fix the last of the tiles in the bathroom. Just a bit of grouting left to do now.

The shower and the bath have both now been sealed.

Mike and Al were busy plastering the ceiling in the left hand bedroom and parts of the walls which needed patching:

Al plasterboarded the airing cupboard now that the plumbing for the shower has been finished and Fred continued painting the rendering and applied the top coat on the lower part which he undercoated on Friday.

The kitchen units were delivered this morning and will be fitted later in the week.

Late this afternoon the guys managed to get our new suite into the house but had to remove the kitchen window first as this was the only way it would fit in.

Friday, 13 March 2009

2009-03-16T12:54:00.009Z

The bathroom is really taking shape now, the new toilet was plumbed in and the wash basin has been hung on the wall but there's still a bit of work to finish it off. The bath has also been plumbed in and the bath panel was fixed:

Now, whenever anyone tells you that white is white is white, do not believe them! Someone (probably a salesman!) told us that it didn't matter which brand of sanitary ware you bought, as if you mixed them they would match as white is white. Not so! The toilet is a very bright white but the wash basin is a creamy white. Too late to do anything about it now but if we could remember who told us, and it turned out that it was the supplier we bought them from, we might be asking them to change something.

The last remaining slates have been fixed on the kitchen extension roof. It's a pity that the seagulls have already started to use it for target practice.

The ceiling in the left hand bedroom has now had the final pieces of plasterboard fixed in place after checking that all the plumbing is OK for the en-suite above and it's now ready for plastering.

After a clear up, space was found to store the kitchen which will be delivered on Monday. The new lounge suite also needs to come over soon as it wont go up the stairs to our present accommodation.

Wednesday/Thursday, 11/12 March 2009

2009-03-12T19:43:00.018Z

On Wednesday the sun room and kitchen ceilings received their top coats of plaster:

Meanwhile tiling continued in the main bathroom with the second wall in the shower cubicle being tiled and some grouting carried out. The shower door was also fixed and very nice it is too!

Mike also managed to find time to install the basin in the en-suite.

Fred continued with painting the rendering. We're beginning to think he deserves a medal for sticking with it and always having a smile on his face. If he's beginning to get fed up with it he's not one to complain.

On Thursday we saw exciting changes in the bathroom. Almost all the tiling has now been completed and grouted, there's just the window reveals left to do. Then it was time to get the bath and basin ready for fixing:

Al had his own starring role today - King of the Kango! For some strange reason known only to himself, the previous owner had built a rather useless concrete step in the then conservatory. As it looked completely out of place and encroached on the floor space, it was hoped that this could be removed without discovering anything important beneath it. So Al got to work with the kango and made short [cough] work of removing it. Actually, it took quite a long time and was very hard work, leaving him with wobbly arms and temporary loss of hearing! He also removed part of the concrete floor from the original kitchen doorway to enable the construction of a slope to join the sun room and kitchen instead of having a small step:

Fred began painting the lower part of the rendering with the first white coat of Weathershield. The whole appearance of the outside of the house is beginning to change and we can't wait to see the transformation when the scaffolding comes down:

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

2009-03-10T22:05:00.012Z

Today Mike and Al were again busy plastering the ceiling and walls in the kitchen and the walls in the sun room:

Mark and Sid were back in the main bathroom tiling behind the temporary toilet, the back wall of the shower cubicle and the wall where the radiator will be fixed:

Fred continued with painting inside this morning and when the weather brightened up he was back outside painting the rendering.

PIN UP OF THE WEEK

Here he is in all his glory and a picture we thought we'd never see. How did Paul manage to snap the elusive Sid? By being sneaky, that's how!

Monday, 9 March 2009

2009-03-09T21:44:00.010Z

After a wet and windy weekend the sun came out again today. Mike and Al made an early start on plasterboarding the ceilings in the sun room and kitchen and some more plastering to the walls has been done:

Mark and Sid were busy tiling the third wall in the main bathroom

and grouting in the en-suite was finished today. Apart from fixing the wash hand basin this room is now complete and the shower was used for the first time tonight. Everything seems fine except for the extractor fan which, for some reason, decided not to work despite being fine when it was installed last week.

Thursday/Friday, 5/6 March 2009

2009-03-09T21:09:00.018Z

On Thursday Mike carried on with studding, plasterboarding and some bonding in the sun room and kitchen:

Sid continued with the roof slating

and Fred (aka Picasso) carried on painting the outside. Just to liven things up for him we bought a different colour for the window sills:

On Friday, we were out getting more bits and pieces and checking out flooring. Back at Westbroke Sid carried on with the slating and it's looking good. The sun room roof is completed and about half the kitchen also done:

Fred cleaned up the bedroom windows then went on to continue with painting the top coat on the other side of the house.

Mike and Al tidied up the plasterboarding in the sun room and kitchen and some skim was applied:

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

2009-03-04T17:40:00.009Z

A lovely bright, dry day today meant that work could start on slating the sun room roof and Fred could get back outside to start the top coat on the rendering:

Because the walls are so bad in the sun room and kitchen extension, Mike plasterboarded these today:

Two of the walls in the en-suite have been grouted and the shower and toilet fitted. A little tweaking is needed with the cistern top but what a difference a day makes - we're really pleased with how it's turned out:

Monday/Tuesday, 2/3 March 2009

2009-03-03T17:47:00.020Z

Mark and Sid started tiling the en-suite on Monday while Al was tidying up the edges of the plasterboard in the sun room and then he put the batten around the bathroom ready for tiling. Fred continued painting the rendering.

On Tuesday, more tiling in the en-suite:

This picture shows where the basin will be positioned below the window.

This is the main wall, the shower will be on the left and the WC in the centre.

The shower cubicle will be fitted here after grouting.

Good progress was also made with tiling in the main bathroom:

This is the wall where the bath will be fitted:

This is the bathroom extension where the low ceiling is. Until such time as the new sanitary ware is fitted, the temporary toilet will stay.

Al was busy fitting insulation between the roof timbers in the sun room and kitchen, and because of the rain he covered up the Velux windows until the slating can be done.

Fred contininued with the painting but despite desperately wanting to be outside painting the rendering (!) the weather forced him to stay inside and he put the first two coats on the bathroom ceiling, plus some in the bedroom and on the landing as well as the downstairs WC.

Meanwhile, Paul was trying out different finishes for the doors and skirtings/architraves. We've not made a decision yet, he still has to try and get the colour of the skirtings as close as possible to the colour of the doors.

Friday/Saturday, 27/28 February 2009

2009-02-28T16:49:00.022Z

As the weather wasn't good enough to work outside, it was all inside work that was done on Friday - making good in the sun room and kitchen in readiness for insulation work next week.

Mike was plumbing and getting the wires through for when the electricians return. He also plastered the wall at the side of the French doors where the old plaster had been removed. The pillars are all that's left of the wall between the sun room and the kitchen and these have also been boarded and plastered.

The roof is now all ready for slating and for the Velux windows to be sealed in.

And Fred continued with the painting, but today he was inside! He applied the first two coats inside the landing cupboard and on Saturday Paul applied the first top coat. It's a bit patchy so he'll put another coat on tomorrow.

Wednesday/Thursday, 25/26 February 2009

2009-02-26T17:06:00.014Z

On Wednesday Paul had a hospital appointment and whilst we were out we picked up the lights which we'd ordered. Meanwhile, more work was carried out on the kitchen and sun room roofs - the timbers were fixed, covered with Tyvec and some battens fixed in place. Fred continued painting the rendering.

This morning the Velux windows were installed and more work carried out to join the new roof to the existing store room roof. Fred continued painting the rendering.

It was discovered the store room roof had only one layer of felt and this was puddling badly so Mike constructed a drainage system with lead and new felt flashings to drain this roof onto the new slate roof. A extra layer of felt will eventually be applied to the store room. Fred continued painting the rendering.

The battening is now complete and the Velux windows installed.

And Fred continued painting the rendering! Poor Fred, you have to feel sorry for him. Things will be better next week, the top coat is a different colour!

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

2009-02-24T19:54:00.018Z

Today we have lost a conservatory and gained a sun room. Apparently replacing a polycarbonate roof with a slate one and good insulation means you can no longer call it a conservatory, so the boss tells us!

So, the army continued with the construction of the roof of the sun room today. Old poly roof was removed and timbers fixed for the new slate roof:

In order to avoid a trip to A & E, Sid decided it was not a good idea to run and hide when this photo was taken.

The kitchen extension roof was also removed (the original pitch was too shallow) and this will allow the new sun room roof to follow in one smooth line across the kitchen as well.

It was decided to remove the side kitchen wall and door that led into the sun room to open up this space to create unrestricted access from the kitchen, through the sun room to the back of the lounge. As this is something that hadn't been planned we've taken advice from Mark and the boys and they will create a vaulted ceiling in the kitchen extension with Velux window to match the sun room.

Looking into the kitchen extension now the side wall and door have been removed.

Taken from the kitchen looking into the sun room with new roof timbers in place.

Fred continued painting the outside but is getting frustrated at the amount of paint the roughcast seems to be drinking in.

The electricians were also here today and continued with the wiring and installed a new fuse box.

HALLELUJAH Wickes appear to have got their act together at last. After 19 days the tiles have at last been delivered correctly.

Monday, 23 February 2009

2009-02-23T17:13:00.013Z

Over the weekend Paul was busy stripping paint off the newel posts and one side of the staircase in readiness for the new spindles and handrails to be fitted.

Today the boys were back with steels to hold the new slate roof for the conservatory.

The old polycarbonate roof was removed and by this afternoon the new steels were in place - one sunk into the ground and one above the window.

Rendering had to be hacked off the wall and a timber support attached ready for the roof timbers.

Fred made a start on painting the outside rendering.

Mike finished skimming round the window in the downstairs WC and installed a temporary toilet.

Thursday/Friday, 19/20 February 2009

2009-02-20T21:33:00.016Z

On Thursday we were out all day fetching supplies - paint, more paint, newel post, door handles, looking at curtains and lights. While we were away the guys continued turning our house into a home with more painting, fixing skirtings and doors, etc.

On Friday our delivery of tiles didn't turn up again, not Wickes fault this time but the carriers who managed to damage them. We seem destined not to get the en-suite tiled!

Mike installed his "new" kitchen - the sink from the old kitchen has been re-sited in the utility. We've promised Mike that he can take the lovely yellow sink with him when they've finished, it will give him some fond memories!!!!

Sink and worktop removed from kitchen and installed in utility so Mike can continue with the important job of feeding the army:

All the remaining units in the kitchen extension have been removed so that work can begin on the roof:

Al removed the ceiling and insulation to reveal another interesting bit of workmanship by the previous owner, we would have thought a more substantial timber in one piece would have been required to take the weight of the slated roof instead of the three pieces that have been nailed together:

Some of the door handles we brought back with us yesterday were fitted, and very nice they are too. All the doors upstairs have now been fitted. Some skirting boards were fixed in the bedrooms and the new newel post fixed on the first floor landing:

Fred carried on with the painting - he must be fed up of white by now, but we did bring him a couple of tins of a different colour so he can have a change soon!

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What is this used for?

We're not telling you, you'll have to use your imagination (Sarah & Des - you can have a LOT of fun with this photo. E-mail for a copy!).

Answers on a postcard, first correct answer wins a loft conversion courtesy of The Hunky Army! (Only joking!)

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

2009-02-18T20:17:00.015Z

More bits and pieces again today. Plastering on the landing, in the cupboard off the landing and the bathroom:

Plus more painting in the lounge (not sure how Fred managed that with the amount of stuff that's in there!):

More doors were fitted and a new door for the cupboard housing the fuse box was made and fitted:

Now this is a very rare picture, often spotted but rarely captured on film here is a very (camera) shy specimen. Almost got you there Sid:

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

2009-02-17T19:42:00.015Z

Our own plans to have a day out buying paint and other essentials were scuppered this morning when Paul had to ring for an emergency dental appointment for treatment for an abcess.

Meanwhile, another bits and pieces day and more painting for our busy boys.

Fred, chief painter, and his temporary helper Mark, painted the walls and ceiling in the loft with two coats of top coat. It turned out paler than we thought but we're very happy with it, and it makes for a very light, bright room. Also, more painting was done on the landing:

Mike fitted the shower tray in the en-suite and sorted out the waste pipework, plus some plastering in the bathroom. Al was busy finishing off some plasterboarding that couldn't be completed until the shower tray was fixed and the temporary shower in the main bathroom was rigged up again. Tanking in the shower area was also completed:

Sid was busy with Mark cutting and fitted architraves and skirtings, also making the window sills for the loft windows:

Mark has made himself comfortable in the loft, it looks like a real home from home!

This picture shows the new dormer in all it's glory. There is still work to do on the kitchen extension roof as the slates are at too shallow an angle so this needs to be remedied, plus the conservatory polycarbonate roof is to be removed and replaced with a slate roof to match:

Monday, 16 February 2009

2009-02-16T20:58:00.004Z

Lots of bits and pieces (Mark's words) carried out today. The last little bit of flashing around the edge of the dormer roof was completed, Al was doing some work on the stack pipes outside, and Sid made us a nice new access door for the loft storage space and fixed the ridge tiles on the ends of the roof.

Mark fitted two doors in the loft [which has now been re-named The Presidential Suite], laid a carpet which he brought from home and appears to have moved in to apparently escape Sid and Mike's snoring! Fred continued with painting the ceiling in the en-suite and sanding in the lounge ready for painting. Mike applied the tanking material to both shower areas.

The saga of the tiles for the en-suite continues with Wickes arranging a delivery for today, which turned up this afternoon only to find that once again they have sent boxes with non-matching codes. They didn't even get unloaded off the van, just rejected and returned to Wickes. They promised to hand pick a new batch to be delivered on Wednesday.

We had better luck with our delivery from Diamond Bathrooms - shower cubicle and tray, basin and WC for the en-suite plus bath and vanity unit and basin for the main bathroom.

Thursday/Friday, 12/13 February 2009

2009-02-13T20:56:00.012Z

On Thursday some plastering was done and Fred started the painting in the loft. The delivery of tiles for the en-suite didn't happen although the tiles to be returned were picked up.

On Friday Mike was doing some plumbing work in the main bathroom ready for the toilet and the bath. Al and Mike continued with the plastering of the staircase, landing and the second bedroom.

First floor landing going towards the loft.

First floor landing looking towards airing cupboard and bedroom:

New wall in second bedroom which had to be studded and plasterboarded due to poor condition of wall caused by past water ingress.

Fred continued with the painting in the loft and managed to complete the third undercoat of emulsion on the walls, plus the ceiling, of the en-suite, together with making a start on the stairway to the loft.

The toilet for the main bathroom and the border tiles were delivered today but still no sign of the new delivery of tiles for the en-suite which we have now been promised for Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

2009-02-11T19:57:00.012Z

Lots of different things going on today starting with Mark and Sid studding on the outside wall of the second bedroom. The plasterboard was then fixed. This gap and an air vent will allow air to circulate and any moisture in the wall will dry out. Once the plasterboard was fixed, Mike was able to skim the ceiling and the underside of the stairs. Some top coat plaster was also applied to parts of the staircase to the loft.

All remaining plastering was completed in the loft room, then Mark fitted the remaining skirting board and architrave.

Other jobs done today included the outside soffits around the dormer being fitted and the lead around the new dormer windows was oiled to prevent future discolouration. The crack where the cement fillet meets the outside wall where the extension joins the old cottage has been cleaned out, sealed and sprayed with two coats of silicone.

Fred was busy finishing stripping the wallpaper but found some gloss paint under the wallpaper on the stairs which will be removed with Nitromors. He also started sanding down the new dried plaster in the loft ready for painting with the mist coat.

The sheet vinyl was laid in the en-suite today ready for fitting out when the sanitary ware and shower cubicle arrive on Monday.

Our delivery of the toilet for the main bathroom and the border tiles didn't happen today due to a mix up in the despatch department at the suppliers - this is now scheduled for delivery on Friday.

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

2009-02-10T20:36:00.025Z

Today the final felt covering was laid on the dormer roof:

The fascia board and guttering were fixed to the roof of the bathroom extension:

While the weather was fine Mark took charge of cleaning the rendering and spraying with silicone where some bad leaks had occurred on the side walls, mainly due to a fault with the concrete fillet between the original stone cottage and the brick of the extension. Only one coat was applied today due to the weather changing.

Back inside Mike was plastering - bonding on the landing and in the second bedroom. Mark and Sid were fixing skirting boards and architrave in the loft.

Meanwhile, Fred was continuing with the wallpaper stripping.

Underneath the paper on the outside wall the plasterwork was in very poor condition and here it shows that damp had been penetrating for a considerable time. This wall will have to be studded and ventilated and will probably take a long time to dry out.

In the main bedroom, after removing the painted anaglypta and the vinyl coated paper underneath, this pattern remains on the plaster.

The 5 sq metres of tiles missing from yesterday's delivery arrived at lunchtime. However, the batch code was different and the colour was not a match so another 'phone call to Wickes brought a promise of 16 sq metres of tiles to be delivered on Thursday (hopefully with all the same batch code) and the 16 sq metres we have here being picked up and returned.

Monday, 9 February 2009

2009-02-09T21:08:00.003Z

Today didn't have the best start for Mark and the army. Mark arrived with Sid, Al and Fred and immediately had a phone call from Mike asking to be rescued as the van, with a lot of the tools they needed today, had broken down. After unloading the timber and plasterboard they brought with them in the trailer, Mark raced off to see what could be done to get the van going again only to be warned by the police for speeding along the estuary road. He must have had some luck today as he didn't get a speeding ticket!

Just as Mark returned with Mike and the van, temporarily repaired, the delivery of new doors and tiles for the en-suite arrived, although only 11 of the 16 boxes were on the delivery.

Work today consisted of radiators being fitted in the loft bedroom and en-suite, the last of the plasterboarding to the ceiling in the main bedroom was fixed and Fred started stripping wallpaper from the main bedroom.

Thursday/Friday, 5/6 February 2009

2009-02-06T22:20:00.006Z

While we were out on Thursday the slating was finished. On Friday the new fascia around the top of the dormer was fitted and Mike started some of the plastering in the loft and en-suite, also some in the shower of the main bathroom.

Tuesday/Wednesday, 3/4 February 2009

2009-02-04T17:21:00.011Z

While Paul had a hospital appointment on Tuesday, the slating continued (between snowstorms/blizzards) on the front of the dormer and around the sides. Fortunately the snow didn't stay around for long. Meanwhile, Mike carried on with the plumbing inside and out and some work was done in preparation for skimming the walls in the loft.

This was what we saw on Wednesday morning showing the slate hung dormer (looks much nicer than the old white UPVC we think):

The boys were back on the roof this morning continuing with the slate work. The lead flashings around the windows have been left on the outside to provide weatherproofing against the strong winds that we experience here coming off the sea:

Mike carried on with some pipework from the boiler and also made a start on fitting the new radiators:

Mike also finished off work on the external stack pipes for the two toilets.

Mark's only working part-time this week and left this afternoon as his wife's celebrating a special birthday tomorrow.

Monday, 2 February 2009

2009-02-02T16:48:00.015Z

Despite overnight snow and extreme cold, the boys were back at their usual time this morning and were straight up onto the roof to sweep off the snow and start slating the dormer side of the roof.

This was taken late afternoon showing how much has been done today, the plan is to carry on with the walls of the dormer tomorrow providing the weather doesn't get any worse.

Mike has been busy concealing the pipework for the sink in the en-suite:

and he then went outside to alter the stack pipe for the new en-suite WC and the new position for the bathroom WC.

Saturday/Sunday, 31 January/1 February 2009

2009-02-02T16:40:00.002Z

Paul has been paint stripping this weekend, once he'd found where he'd put the Nitromors for safe keeping! The newel posts on the top landing were found to be two nailed together, one was hardwood and the other pine so obviously that wouldn't match when stripped and waxed. The hardwood one is to be replaced with pine when the rest of the bannisters/rails are renewed.

Besides the newel posts, some of the strings of the stairs were stripped but he had to give up when he wore out his wire brush.

Friday, 30 January 2009

2009-01-30T21:01:00.005Z

Paul went over to Westbroke this morning to join the boys for breakfast - bacon butties, and apparently very nice they were too!

This morning was spent finishing the slating on the land-side of the roof and making sure the ridge and chimneys are watertight for the weekend. Fortunately it was possible to salvage enough of the old slates to complete the re-roof on this side. Copper nails are being used as they are not affected by the salt air.

Thursday, 29 January 2009

2009-01-29T17:31:00.013Z

Re-roofing on the land-side continued this morning with Mike looking after the lead work and Sid and Fred fixing the slates. It's a bit laborious as each slate needs to be re-trimmed and new holes made for the nails as they've managed to salvage slates for this side from the best of the old roof:

The windows arrived today so Mike has also been busy with the lead flashings for each window while Mark and Al have been installing them:

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

2009-01-28T17:51:00.011Z

With some nice sunny weather today, Mike, Sid and Fred got to work on asphalting the "warm lined" flat roof of the bathroom extension:

They managed to get all three layers on today then moved onto the dormer roof to continue asphalting on there.

It's been possible to salvage some of the old slates to be re-used on the land-side of the roof and the re-roof began this afternoon:

Meanwhile, Al was busy plasterboarding the wall from the first floor landing up to the loft.

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

2009-01-28T17:30:00.011Z

While we were out today choosing and ordering the bath, the toilet for the en-suite and looking at shower cubicles (for the en-suite), the old staircase to the loft was removed and the new staircase (all wood - none of your MDF, the army don't like it!) with top and bottom landings installed. The underside of the staircase in the second bedroom was insulated and plasterboarded:

The side wall by the stairs was formed and boarded, plus more plasterboarding in the loft along the back wall and the ceiling:

Monday, 26 January 2009

2009-01-26T20:58:00.008Z

Mike, Al and Fred arrived this morning bringing with them the new staircase to replace the existing stairs up to the loft. They also brought more timber. The staircase will be installed later this week.

The last of the laths were fixed onto the roof this morning.

More studding and boarding in the loft has been done today:

Mark and Sid arrived late this afternoon with a trailer load of slates for the outside walls of the dormer and the roof.

It's been a beautiful day today and Paul took this view of the estuary from the scaffolding at the rear of the house.

Friday, 23 January 2009

2009-01-24T13:43:00.019Z

Back on the roof again this morning to re-lath the land-side in readiness for re-slating next week.

Temporary waterproof sheeting fitted over dormer windows. New windows should be arriving next week.

We arranged for a new aerial and Sky dish to be fitted while the scaffolding is up and the riggers came this morning. (We have to keep the boys happy somehow now they've finished their tin of biscuits! They're trying to locate a spare Sky box this weekend.)

The side wall of the en-suite was studded and plasterboarded today, insulation put into the small vertical wall and a gap left for access into the small roof void to allow for storage. Looks like we'll need one of Santa's elves to get the Christmas tree out of there!

This picture shows the other end of the dormer where the end wall has now been studded and boarded, and also polythene has been fixed over the slabs of insulation.

Thursday, 22 January 2009

2009-01-22T17:46:00.008Z

The electricians have been wiring in the loft, sockets, lights, etc., in readiness for the walls to be boarded, while the builders carried on with the loft rebuild.

After a very wet night, several leaks became evident and the roof had to be stripped of all the laths and old felt ready to be re-sheeted to make it waterproof.

After the roofing work was finished, they all got to work inside the loft constructing the studded walls of the en-suite and insulating them. Meanwhile Mike was busy doing all the pipework for the radiators.

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

2009-01-21T20:15:00.014Z

The weather today started dry and allowed the builders to put the first coat of felt on the dormer roof and insulation inside was being fitted.

Unfortunately the weather turned wet but they still managed to get the second coat of felt down and made the roof completely watertight:

The wall insulation was installed - 4" thick slab cut to size and fitted between the studding:

The roof had solid slab insulation fitted between the rafters and then covered with a "space-age" blanket insulation. Battens were then fixed over the blanket ready for the ceiling plasterboard to be fitted.

Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - Part 2

2009-01-20T17:21:00.013Z

What a difference an afternoon makes! There was no stopping them today as they've managed to carry on at the same pace with the weather being kind - well almost, it was dry but perishing cold.

Taken from the stairs looking towards the left hand wall where the en-suite will be. All exterior plywood cladding is now complete (walls and roof).

Taken from inside the loft looking towards the stairs.

Progress that has been made today:

Just have to let Master Evans know that the man had a very big smiley face! Your dad and the rest of the team are just great.

Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - Part 1

2009-01-20T13:22:00.037Z

Well, it's all go around here. It's 1pm and look what they've done this morning. Photo taken from back garden showing the timbers for the new dormer:

The first and largest steel which went in last week. There are 4 or 5 sections bolted together spanning the full width of the building.

View taken from scaffold into the new dormer through what will be the side wall. The en-suite will be along the far wall.

Photo taken from stairs into the loft and showing the dormer.

View from inside the new dormer looking towards the corner of the room. Mike is standing inside where the en-suite will be.

This is the view through the main window in the centre of the dormer looking out to sea beyond the yacht compound.

Dormer roof with first roofing board in place.

This photo shows the steel in the roof (with wood inserted), which spans the full width and supports the roof of the dormer and the rear roof elevation.

Don'tcha wish your builders were hot like ours, don'tcha, don'tcha! (With apologies to The Pussycat Dolls but I couldn't resist.)

Monday, 19 January 2009

2009-01-19T17:33:00.015Z

Mark and his merry men arrived back this morning with a new member of the army, Fred. They came with more timber, plasterboard and roofing felt ready for action.

Before long they were unloaded and up on the roof in freezing cold conditions, wind and rain. The original dormer roof brought the first laugh of the day as it lived up to expectations of the usual botch job of the former owner with quite an interesting patchwork effect:

They started to strip off all the slates and on the land-side of the roof discovered numerous holes in the underfelt which they've patched temporarily. Part of the sea-side of the roof has also been stripped off and sheeted up against the weather:

Another example of the type of workmanship we've found which the previous owner carried out:

Fortunately, it didn't rain this afternoon so they were able to get a good day in before Mike's chicken chasseur tonight (laced with half a bottle of brandy and a bottle of wine).

It looks as though it may be possible to salvage some of the slates to use on the land-side of the roof after all, we'll have to wait until they've been checked thoroughly.

Thursday/Friday, 15/16 January 2009

2009-01-18T22:08:00.005Z

The scaffolders arrived and over the two days managed to erect all the scaffolding needed. The electricians continued to fit the sockets and switches.

Lots of work going on but no major changes to photograph. Plastering around landing window and on the wall, some more studding in the bathroom around the window and work started on the outer warm roof lining of the bathroom extension flat roof:

It was discovered that the main roof was in a much poorer condition than was first thought and will need to be reroofed completely. It was originally thought that just the sea-side of the roof would be renewed and the land-side would be repaired with the best of the tiles, however most of the fixing nails have corroded away and the slates are falling off when touched.

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

2009-01-14T20:16:00.018Z

We were out yesterday and managed to come to a decision and order lights for the bathroom and lounge. We found out that the gas fire and fireplace we had in mind for the lounge was way beyond our budget so we started to look at electric fires - it's hard to find one with an authentic flame effect but we think we've found a pretty good compromise.

Whilst we were away the rest of the steels were installed for the new loft floor, also some of the 8" x 3" new floor joists in readiness for the flooring:

When we visited the house this morning we found the floor in the loft was now down and studding for the rear wall of the loft had been fixed.

This picture shows the full extent of the steel once the old dormer had been removed:

They've also been working on the area where the new staircase is to be installed.

The electricians have been installing light switches and sockets and look - we have spotlights in the kitchen!

Monday, 12 January 2009

2009-01-12T16:32:00.016Z

Woo hoo, the boys are back laden with gifts - timber, timber and more timber! (for the roof).

First job - sort out the shower. Temporary job as we never managed to get the shower area tiled whilst they were away.

Once they'd got their temporary home organised they soon got back to work and have installed the largest and main steel support for the new dormer which spans the complete width of the building. As it's so long it's had to be installed in pieces and bolted together.

The brickwork and mortar they had to take out was very hard (crikey - something the previous owner did properly then???) and it took well over half an hour to drill each hole through the brick with their heavy industrial kango hammer.

The downstairs WC floor tiles were laid last week, were grouted yesterday and are drying out nicely.

Wednesday, 7 January 2008

2009-01-07T19:13:00.006Z

The builders delivered the steels for the loft yesterday ready to start back to work next Monday.

Paul has spent the last couple of days making new cupboards out of old - some of the old kitchen cupboards will be going into the utility and a few need re-sizing to fit along the shorter wall. I think he deserves a medal going over to work in this freezing weather, but he has been working in the conservatory which gets the sun all day although there's not much warmth in it at the moment!

The tall cupboard was made up from a full height base unit door, a drawer line base unit door and a wall cupboard door, and the carcases fixed together one of top of each other. The legs haven't been put on yet but when they have it will all match up. The depth of the units on the shorter wall had to be cut down to fit. There's still more to do, and a new worktop to buy, but they'll have to wait a bit longer now the builders are due back.

Tuesday, 30 December 2008

2008-12-30T19:31:00.003Z

Neil grouted the tiles in the utility room a few days before Christmas and on Boxing Day Paul started sanding down the plaster ready for painting.

Today Paul has put on the first coat of paint on the new plaster but found it exhausting. We'll see how it goes when he puts the next coat on but it looks like we might have to find a decorator as we don't think he's going to manage to decorate the whole house now.

Tuesday, 9 December 2008

2008-12-14T19:11:00.003Z

Nothing has been done for a while now. Paul has been too ill since his last chemo to do any physical work so we've just played around with thoughts on what to do as far as the basin in the bathroom is concerned. A piece of wall mounted furniture, about 100cm wide, in a dark wood is top of the list at the moment but we've not seen the right piece at the right price yet. It needs to provide some storage for bathroom necessities, we'll work on it!

Neil tiled the utility room floor today but wont be grouting it until next week.

Wednesday, 3 December 2008

2008-12-14T19:04:00.003Z

Who crept back and did a little jobby in our shower cubicle today then????? Ah, our spies tell us it was Mike paying us a fleeting visit (unfortunately we were out and didn't see him). He plasterboarded two of the walls in the shower enclosure and cemented in the shower tray.

Saturday, 15 November 2008

2008-11-15T23:26:00.003Z

Nothing much to report over the last few days.

On Wednesday we went to Oswestry and met up with Mark who took us to one of his suppliers. We ordered a shower and shower door, both nice quality at the right price (thanks Mark). These will have to be installed and the new shower tiled and ready for when our boys come back in a few weeks. Oh no! That means we've now got to start thinking about what tiles we want for the bathroom........... the mind boggles with all these decisions!

Today we've been sorting through the original kitchen units deciding what we can fit into the utility room. Those we don't need will be re-used, some going to a friend and any remaining will be put in the workshop for storage.

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

2008-11-11T22:19:00.011Z

The remaining skirting board in the lounge has been fixed today, along with architrave around the lounge doorway in the hall, and in the downstairs WC two of the walls and the ceiling have been plastered:

This is how the bathroom looks now. The temporary shower has been removed along with the vanity unit and you can see where the new shower cubicle is going to be. The space was stolen from the rear half of the airing cupboard:

Well, our Hunky Army left us today as there's not much more they can do until planning consent for the loft is granted. It's gone to delegated powers rather than committee so that should be a good sign. We're not expecting that to come through until around Christmas so what did our lovely lads do? Cleaned up and left everything neat and tidy, and left us a little present:

They've put down one of the old carpets, brought the conservatory suite and their TV into the lounge, and made it look like home sweet home. I'm sure they've done it to make sure we'll miss them while they're away (which we will of course)!

Monday, 10 November 2008

2008-11-11T11:49:00.011Z

The finishing coat plaster has been applied to the walls in the kitchen/diner - see Mike's stuffed mushrooms ready to go with the steak tonight!

A start has been made on fixing skirting board and architrave in the lounge:

Friday, 7 November 2008

2008-11-08T15:15:00.008Z

The finish coat has been applied to the kitchen ceiling today in the dining area and working area:

Mike is helping us to work out where to position the hob and cooker hood and marking the wall is making it much easier to imagine. The more decisions I'm asked to make the harder it is, I'm getting to the stage where I seriously need help........

Thursday, 6 November 2008

2008-11-06T22:29:00.013Z

The wrong shower tray was delivered so we can't get that fitted this week after all.

The old chimney in the kitchen has been filled in and a bonding coat has been applied to the three main walls of the original part of the kitchen.

After a hard day's work, Al brings the essential supplies for the evening (Carlsberg I think)

In the bathroom holes have been drilled through the wall which has been affected by damp which will allow air to circulate to allow the wall to dry out and prevent any future problems. The walls and ceilings have been plasterboarded.

Wednesday, 5 November 2008

2008-11-05T22:12:00.028Z

Today lots of plasterboarding has been done over the studding that went up yesterday, together with insulation.

Standing in the bathroom facing the wall that forms the new smaller airing cupboard, with the new shower cubicle to the left, and looking into the airing cupboard from the landing:

From the landing looking into the new storage cupboard which has been formed from the waste of space alcove in the extension part of the bathroom. The ceiling is lower due to this being the concrete slab roof of the extension which can't be removed.

Everything on the landing side has now been plasterboarded. The airing cupboard is on the left and one of the bedrooms straight ahead, and the second bedroom with plasterboarding around the new doorway:

In the bathroom the remaining partition wall between the sink and the old shower cubicle was also removed today and another temporary shower cubicle was constructed. Also some work in the kitchen fitting back boxes for the electrical sockets.

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

2008-11-04T20:33:00.012Z

The electricians have been back today continuing with the wiring.

Lots of work in the bathroom today with the shower enclosure being started and plumbing for the shower being put in place.

Studding to form the new smaller airing cupboard on the right hand side and the shower cubicle is being formed on the left.

Studding for the wall and doorway of the bedroom and from inside the bedroom looking out onto the landing:

Got him at last! The elusive Sid, waiting for Mike's gastonomic delights, enjoying a film after a day's work. Before he had chance to run and hide Paul managed to snap him!

Shower tray has been ordered today and should arrive on Thursday when hopefully it will be cemented in.

Monday, 3 November 2008

2008-11-03T17:17:00.012Z

Today the floor tiles have been removed from the utility room. Another good tiling job done by the previous owner (not), Mike reckons slightly thicker gravy was used in this room compared to the toilet! At least we wont have to feel guilty about destroying any quality workmanship! The utility room is now ready and waiting for Neil to fit us into his busy schedule. Once he has tiled this room we can refit the cupboards and order the new worktop and sink.

The wall between the airing cupboard and bathroom has been removed ready to construct the new shower cubicle which will go into the rear of the old airing cupboard and the ceiling has also been removed:

All of the shower cubicle has been removed and our Hunky Army have installed their own temporary designer model (i.e. a makeshift cubicle comprising of plastic sheeting with the shower attached to a wooden frame. Very innovative!) The old tiles have been removed from the shower area which revealed that some of the adhesive hadn't even gone off due to the damp problem caused by the shower leaking.

The doorway and part of the wall to one of the bedrooms was removed, mainly because of previous poor workmanship (no surprise there then!). This will be rebuilt with a standard sized doorway with room for wardrobes on the wall behind.

Thursday/Friday, 30/31 October 2008

2008-11-01T15:04:00.017Z

Mike finished off the remaining top coat of plastering in the hallway.

More of the battening was done in the bathroom on this side and the side not showing and making good of plaster in the kitchen where the old serving hatch was situated.

See you on Monday guys!