Tuesday, 26th November

Paid for Fisher Peykel Classic Fridge Freezer Ice and Water fridge and Rangemaster Hi Lite 90 Dual Fuel Range Cooker from Appliance City today - delivery week beginning 9th December.

Organised to get our stuff out of storage, starting next Monday afternoon. Wonder what we will find that we can't live without...... having had most of our worldly goods in store since this time two years ago, and the rest since July last year.

The wood burning stove comes tonight.  The combi-boiler should be commissioned tonight, and there will be hot water and warmth!

Doors are going back up; the worktop will be adjusted to the right height; second coat of white paint on ceilings/walls in sitting room.

We put up shower curtain in the bathroom last night.  Thank you IKEA.

Not making daily posts............ Monday 25th November

I am not making daily posts  for two reasons.  Firstly I have been away, this time to sunny Yorkshire; and secondly, not much to show you.

However, the boiler has been mostly installed - just the connection of the external pipe to the gas box and the boiler, which will happen this afternoon.

Don't know what has happened to builder this cold and very frosty morning. (Just heard he is buying more insulation for the roof panel).

frost edged leaves in the garden

But the tricky placing of the upper panel below the roof has taken a long time, as the roof itself is not level at the edges.  Now it is too cold to put the render on, so once all the insulation and the Renderlath is on its all go on the interior.

and the extract pipe for the boiler.

Nice bit of paint on the new render around the base of the building.......

Tomorrow the wood burning stove gets delivered, and on Wednesday George, our bricklayer comes to look at installing it and tidying up the brickwork on the chimney.  We are having it three bricks up from the floor, so that it is not really sitting on a hearth.  See a couple of posts ago for a picture of what the stove looks like.

We have abandoned doing anything else to the floors, as the Epimac sits in the uneven furrows and looks a rather unpleasant yellow.  I won't say what it reminds me of....... So, it will be lots of rugs.

That said, we can now organise to have our furniture moved out of store...... next Monday actually!  And I am organising the delivery of the fridge freezer and the cooker.  Pictures of these in the next post.

Thanks to everyone who has sent comments, they are much appreciated.  

15th November.......

Sorry about the silence.  I have been in London for a bit of R & R, which was great.  Went to see the Cheapside Hoard, nothing like some fantastic sparkling jewels to cheer you up.  Especially when they are accompanied by period portraits showing how the jewels would be worn.

However, back to the house. No photos today as the camera is still in the car; I had taken some pictures of the interior of the chimney to show the people at Bonk and Co. from where we have bought our Barbas wood burning stove, then left the camera in the car afterwards.  (Car in garage having a service!) Stove is now paid for and we are just waiting for the floors to be finished so that we can get George, our bricklayer, to come and deal with the fireplace and fit the stove for us.  Not quite our room, and rather a small picture, but hope you get the idea.

The gas engineer has started to connect the gas, and put up the boiler, but it is not completed - can't understand why things can be finished off once they have been started.  Anal retention syndrome, maybe. So many bits done, but nothing completed.  No wonder I am slightly crazy.

Today we will be mostly........ doing some more on the exterior and working on the floor finish ready for varnishing, if we think it is good enough!

The en-suite shower has been fibre glassed, don't quite know what the next step is.  I think it is deciding on a gel-coat colour for the final coat.  Were going for a pale grey, but think now we could go for some jolly colour.

Yesterday we also went to have a look at sofas... have decided on The Sixty Seven from G Plan, but have to do a bit of measuring to see whether there is enough room for the large sofa, or whether we would go for the smaller sofa, and two armchairs?  Then have to decide what colour?

Look back for more interesting events soon.........

Nice and frosty this morning - outside tap frozen.

Work on the exterior continues, sitting room walls base coat rendered, and the men are working on the kitchen wall.  They will all be done by this evening.  
And I have been painting - the bathroom with deep blue paint and have been working on the designs to go on the walls.

And a few random pictures too.

sitting room

sitting room

master bedroom

floats

and more floats

icy bits still frozen this afternoon

watching paint drying!

Not quite Christo

Not quite how Christo would wrap, but two walls nicely tucked up to protect the first coat render from 'weather'.  We had heavy rain and wind over weekend and this morning the garden was white with frost.

Forecast for today, sunny and dry, tomorrow, wet.

the front of the house, hiding the front door

Garden wall insulated and ready for the lath

 

detail of the lath

bedroom wall - lath in process

sitting room wall with the Renderlath lath in situ

detail of Rendalath and its securing bolts

Rain today - but house wrapped up in blue tarpaulin

Cold and wet and windy.  Its Saturday, so no workers - but have shown friends around the interior - they like the big spaces and light that floods in.

1st November and wow - walls being rendered, at long last

The exact make up of the wall panels has been somewhat of a saga, with them going off and on, to try and get the right edge between windows and wall - architect called in yesterday and made a suggestion of a 'top hat' metal strip which solves the problem of shadow gap between windows and walls, and seals them so they are watertight.

Hooray..... so, today, chaps have been whacking away at the walls, and some of them are now insulated, have the Renderlath system on them and have been rendered!  

It feels like a massive surge forward.

Meanwhile Mark has been painting part of the bathroom walls a wonderful deep blue.

side door to sitting room (boots off if you go inside!)

Insulation on kitchen wall panel

John (in hat) and Neil applying the first coat of render

the chaps mixing the render

Jazz Blue, Fired Earth

Wednesday 30th October - getting closer.......

Render going on the old brick walls at base of the house

The floor is drying out, with the help of fans and a dehumidifier!

Some more items in the bathroom and en-suite shower room, electric radiators and heated mirrors!

The floors have been finished, so we had to be away from house for a couple of nights - no access to bathroom, and now only able to go in in bare feet.  But here are some pictures of the floors drying.  Slightly odd colour in some of the rooms so need to seek a solution to that.  Then there will be two coats of Epimac to seal the floors and then they are done!  Another step closer to taking up residence.....

The outside to still be done though.

bathroom radiator and

mirror

bathroom shower

shower-room mirror and radiator 

and shower 

bedroom

looking through to the halls

kitchen

hall

sitting room

sitting room

Sunday and another week - 20th October

Another week, and it all goes so slowly, doors now off and stored.  Mark and I have today primed the shower areas in both bathrooms and have covered the basin stand with reclaimed copper from the original house.  Just need to finish polishing it and it can go into place.  Then need a copper tap to go with it! 

topside

underside

Starting from Monday we hope the following work will be done:

• emulsion paint final coat 
• gas pipes moved around the house and the boiler hung and commissioned
• final screed on the floors 
• two coats of Epimac sealer on the floors 

Ready for the following week, when the doors will be hung, the architrave put around them, shelves to go in the cupboards, and the kitchen worktop installed (along with my washing machine so I can do some washing at long last...... without imposing on Mahala or going to a launderette).

There isn't a launderette in Haddington, so take the washing sometimes to the place that does dry cleaning and they also do bag washes - but it takes forever, and I have my washing inspected to make sure there aren't any shirts, as shirts are a separate item.  Once the bags have been rummaged through the washing no longer fits neatly so I am told I need a larger wash than the one I was going to have.  Does this happen to anyone who appears to be poor and in need of having some washing done.

Maybe we will be able to get our things out of store by end of month.  Then only have to have building control to come and check that we can move in.

AND OF COURSE - THE EXTERIOR STILL HAS TO BE DONE!

Will we be in by Christmas - will I be able to have my first alcoholic drink since making myself a rash promise in June 2012 not to have a drink until I moved into the house!

Wednesday 16th - clearing out day

John and the boys have started clearing the house out ready for the floor to go down.  Doors and tools, etc. are being stored in the 2nd bedroom which will be floored last.  Bits and pieces of work will be carried out over the next few days, and the floor will have its adhesive coating and then, hopefully, the flooring team will be assembled on Monday.  Then we won't be able to enter the house for several days - maybe have to stay with someone, or just manage with a bucket toilet, and studio washing (no shower).  The end might be in sight.......... well as far as the interior is concerned!  We are not holding our breath.

levelling the en-suite shower room....

..... and shower tray