Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Blogging Hell
It's been a long time and this blog is just to show that we're still alive, kicking and very, very slowly getting the house sorted. Mike and his gang have been off site for several months now (although they STILL have a few small outstanding jobs to finish off - a year after the scaffolding first went up) and we've (just about) finished off the dining, living and back bed rooms. But there's still a long way to go and the work yet to be done is the most difficult.
In the living room we sanded the floors and stained them, replaced the skirting boards and door architraves with rather lovely hardwood ones and painted everything in sight. Noelene has made some very beautiful curtains but the curtain rails are b******s and are very difficult to close. So they need sorting.
We've resorted to Ikea units for the dining room but they do look very good and it's great to have emptied all the cardboard boxes. I think we'd forgotten what we actually had.
In the back bedroom I removed all the floorboards, skirting and architraves, had the walls replastered and then put in a new floor with insulation beneath it. We've stained the floor, put new skirting and architrave in, painted the whole room and fitted new wall and ceiling lights. We're working on putting back the (highly modified) old wardrobes at present.
Last weekend Noelene and I ordered new doors for the two first floor bedrooms and the dining and living rooms. they should arrive next week and we'll get a pro to install them. having spent quite a lot on the doors I don't want to c**k them up at this stage!
So, only the loft conversion to finish off, the study to redecorate and the nightmare of the hall, landing, stairs and 1st floor bathroom to sort out.
There could be a few more bloggings yet!!
It's been a long time and this blog is just to show that we're still alive, kicking and very, very slowly getting the house sorted. Mike and his gang have been off site for several months now (although they STILL have a few small outstanding jobs to finish off - a year after the scaffolding first went up) and we've (just about) finished off the dining, living and back bed rooms. But there's still a long way to go and the work yet to be done is the most difficult.
In the living room we sanded the floors and stained them, replaced the skirting boards and door architraves with rather lovely hardwood ones and painted everything in sight. Noelene has made some very beautiful curtains but the curtain rails are b******s and are very difficult to close. So they need sorting.
We've resorted to Ikea units for the dining room but they do look very good and it's great to have emptied all the cardboard boxes. I think we'd forgotten what we actually had.
In the back bedroom I removed all the floorboards, skirting and architraves, had the walls replastered and then put in a new floor with insulation beneath it. We've stained the floor, put new skirting and architrave in, painted the whole room and fitted new wall and ceiling lights. We're working on putting back the (highly modified) old wardrobes at present.
Last weekend Noelene and I ordered new doors for the two first floor bedrooms and the dining and living rooms. they should arrive next week and we'll get a pro to install them. having spent quite a lot on the doors I don't want to c**k them up at this stage!
So, only the loft conversion to finish off, the study to redecorate and the nightmare of the hall, landing, stairs and 1st floor bathroom to sort out.
There could be a few more bloggings yet!!
Thursday, March 11, 2004
More Than A Month.....
.......has gone since the last blog and the lack of cyber action denotes a lack of decorating action too. Well, the excuse is that I've been off to Malaysia and Ireland and Noelene's been working, working, working. The curtain material has been bought and once turned into curtains will enable us to occupy our very splendid looking front room.
Then it's the back bedroom in time for Aki and Kev's visit in May!
Michael & Co. are now completely off site, although Sean still has to replace a few tiles and Paul remove ladders and other stuff. Oh, and for a change, there's a skip on the drive again. John's done almost all of the electrical work but has found out that that the expensive fitting of a timer to the boiler was a waste of time because Harrison McCarthy sold us the wrong thing!
Look out in a month's time for more news!
.......has gone since the last blog and the lack of cyber action denotes a lack of decorating action too. Well, the excuse is that I've been off to Malaysia and Ireland and Noelene's been working, working, working. The curtain material has been bought and once turned into curtains will enable us to occupy our very splendid looking front room.
Then it's the back bedroom in time for Aki and Kev's visit in May!
Michael & Co. are now completely off site, although Sean still has to replace a few tiles and Paul remove ladders and other stuff. Oh, and for a change, there's a skip on the drive again. John's done almost all of the electrical work but has found out that that the expensive fitting of a timer to the boiler was a waste of time because Harrison McCarthy sold us the wrong thing!
Look out in a month's time for more news!
Monday, February 09, 2004
Blogging Well Decorating
Things have moved on quite a bit in the last few weeks. The new garage door has been fitted, Sean has, at last, done most of the repairs to the kitchen roof (although we've now noticed a slight leak in the main roof!) and Paul has redone the access hatch to the boiler which was made too small to enable the boiler casing to be taken off!
More importantly, Noelene and I have finished decorating the front room and it only remains to make and put up the curtains before we reoccupy it. The walls and ceiling are a very fetching combination of very pale and slightly darker green with a big gold coloured square painted on one of them! That's what you get for being married to an artist!
It's looking good but there's still a bloody long way to go.
Things have moved on quite a bit in the last few weeks. The new garage door has been fitted, Sean has, at last, done most of the repairs to the kitchen roof (although we've now noticed a slight leak in the main roof!) and Paul has redone the access hatch to the boiler which was made too small to enable the boiler casing to be taken off!
More importantly, Noelene and I have finished decorating the front room and it only remains to make and put up the curtains before we reoccupy it. The walls and ceiling are a very fetching combination of very pale and slightly darker green with a big gold coloured square painted on one of them! That's what you get for being married to an artist!
It's looking good but there's still a bloody long way to go.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
So What's New?
Not a lot, actually. The delay between bloggings shows that not a great deal has happened during the last couple of weeks. Electrical John has just about finished his electricaling, the new garage door has been delivered and is waiting to be fitted and Sean has still to do some repairs to damage done to the kitchen roof during the main work, plus a few finishing off touches.
We've made quite good but slow progress on the living room. The floor has been sanded and stained, but not without some cursing of Grundy's (Bolton paint supplier) who supplied the wrong stain. I've removed the skirting boards and architraves and we've bought some spiffin' hardwood ones to replace them. But I think I already mentioned that. The cold's getting to me!!
Hopefully we will finish it off before too long, finally get our furniture out of storage and begin to lead a normal life.
What!!!
Not a lot, actually. The delay between bloggings shows that not a great deal has happened during the last couple of weeks. Electrical John has just about finished his electricaling, the new garage door has been delivered and is waiting to be fitted and Sean has still to do some repairs to damage done to the kitchen roof during the main work, plus a few finishing off touches.
We've made quite good but slow progress on the living room. The floor has been sanded and stained, but not without some cursing of Grundy's (Bolton paint supplier) who supplied the wrong stain. I've removed the skirting boards and architraves and we've bought some spiffin' hardwood ones to replace them. But I think I already mentioned that. The cold's getting to me!!
Hopefully we will finish it off before too long, finally get our furniture out of storage and begin to lead a normal life.
What!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2004
And Another Week Passed, And Another Week Passed, And................
By now we'd expected that Mike's guys would at least be off site and this merry blog could all be about the work we're doing ourselves. But, wishful thinking.....
Paul is still doing bits and pieces inside, Electical John has quite a few things to finish off, including fixing the ceiling fan to the spiffin' plinth I made to fit onto the "penthouse" main gluelam beam and Sean has yet to fix all the roof tiles on the kitchen that he and his mates broke when they were doing the main roof work.
Mike gets paid! Yes, Noelene took the final cheque to Michael today so now we're officially broke. All we have to hope now is that the "snagging" that has to be sorted out really does get done. But I trust Mike (honest!).
Noelene and I have started work on the living room, ripping off the skirting boards, sanding the floor with one of those wonderful noisy, dusty machine (and the vibrations, well, I tell you....!) and stripping all the paint off the window frame. We've even bought some rather nice hardwood skirting boards and architrave wood so I'm looking forward to having a go with Jon's big mitre saw. Lennon and McCartney wrote"Happiness is a Warm Gun" but I reckon there's nowt like a good power tool!
By now we'd expected that Mike's guys would at least be off site and this merry blog could all be about the work we're doing ourselves. But, wishful thinking.....
Paul is still doing bits and pieces inside, Electical John has quite a few things to finish off, including fixing the ceiling fan to the spiffin' plinth I made to fit onto the "penthouse" main gluelam beam and Sean has yet to fix all the roof tiles on the kitchen that he and his mates broke when they were doing the main roof work.
Mike gets paid! Yes, Noelene took the final cheque to Michael today so now we're officially broke. All we have to hope now is that the "snagging" that has to be sorted out really does get done. But I trust Mike (honest!).
Noelene and I have started work on the living room, ripping off the skirting boards, sanding the floor with one of those wonderful noisy, dusty machine (and the vibrations, well, I tell you....!) and stripping all the paint off the window frame. We've even bought some rather nice hardwood skirting boards and architrave wood so I'm looking forward to having a go with Jon's big mitre saw. Lennon and McCartney wrote"Happiness is a Warm Gun" but I reckon there's nowt like a good power tool!
Thursday, January 01, 2004
A Happy Blogmas!
I suppose that it's a bit late for such wishes on new years day but this is the first chance I've had in a while to put my thoughts to blog.
Not much at all has happened since my last posting. The builders have been off site since well before Blogmas, the study door is just about finished off, the bathroom ceiling still can't be plastered until the plumber moves a pipe and the problem with the lost box of electrical fittings (now compounded by our realisation that the expensive chrome handles for the study door were in the box too) hasn't been sorted. However, we are at least scaffold free and skip free! Oh, and we received Michael's bill just after Blogmas. That has to be sorted as well!!
The only real news is that Noelene and I have made a concerted effort and have finished off the dining room, even to the extent of hanging curtains and fitting cupboards and a sideboard (well, nearly). It looks very good indeed and when I have a few more minutes I'll update the photos page with some "latest editions".
More news when it happens.
I suppose that it's a bit late for such wishes on new years day but this is the first chance I've had in a while to put my thoughts to blog.
Not much at all has happened since my last posting. The builders have been off site since well before Blogmas, the study door is just about finished off, the bathroom ceiling still can't be plastered until the plumber moves a pipe and the problem with the lost box of electrical fittings (now compounded by our realisation that the expensive chrome handles for the study door were in the box too) hasn't been sorted. However, we are at least scaffold free and skip free! Oh, and we received Michael's bill just after Blogmas. That has to be sorted as well!!
The only real news is that Noelene and I have made a concerted effort and have finished off the dining room, even to the extent of hanging curtains and fitting cupboards and a sideboard (well, nearly). It looks very good indeed and when I have a few more minutes I'll update the photos page with some "latest editions".
More news when it happens.
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Blogging 'ell
We thought it was all over but it isn't! Having spent a week in Germany (purely work, I do assure you!) we thought that virtually all the outstanding bits and pieces would be complete when we got back. We should have known better.
Well, the living room and dining room walls had been skimmed (replastered to you non-technical readers) and John had been electricking as usual. All the scaffolding has been taken down but not removed, so the place is littered with poles and planks (even the neighbours' garden - aaarrrggghhh!!).
Fortunately Paul, young Paul and Denise came round on Sunday and did a great clean up. Paul started doing the study door but it looked awful and has had to be rethought and there still seems so much more to do.
Will at least the dining room be finished for Christmas? Well, in a way, that's up to us. So we'll see.
We thought it was all over but it isn't! Having spent a week in Germany (purely work, I do assure you!) we thought that virtually all the outstanding bits and pieces would be complete when we got back. We should have known better.
Well, the living room and dining room walls had been skimmed (replastered to you non-technical readers) and John had been electricking as usual. All the scaffolding has been taken down but not removed, so the place is littered with poles and planks (even the neighbours' garden - aaarrrggghhh!!).
Fortunately Paul, young Paul and Denise came round on Sunday and did a great clean up. Paul started doing the study door but it looked awful and has had to be rethought and there still seems so much more to do.
Will at least the dining room be finished for Christmas? Well, in a way, that's up to us. So we'll see.
