Under Pressure

Apologies for the delay in posting, this is due to having no internet, or living room, or kitchen for that matter...

I honestly thought we were past all this. It is with some horror I come home to find my toilet in the middle of the kitchen, a large mechanical saw operating in the hallway and the entire contents of my living room piled up willy nilly at one end whilst poisonous chemicals and sanding happen on the floor.. No care has been taken with my possessions, no consideration that the walls their tools are marking have cost us ALOT in time and money, no thought at all for the fact that we still live in this building site.

Oh, and guess what? Another major problem. When recently fixing the guttering they discovered many cracks in the wall of our roof – basically resulting in damp down one side of the house. As ever, it’s all fixable but will cost more money and more time living in squalor.

It’s not to say I don’t enjoy the convenience of having all my possessions in one room and sure it keeps life interesting. The slalam to the loo in the middle of the night to avoid tripping over drawers, desks, bookcases and lamps which litter the bedroom, the simplicity of wearing the same outfit for weeks on end because you can’t actually access your wardrobe. Oh yes, there are pros, but right now I just want to shout, I’m not a celebrity but please get me out of here!

To add insult to actual injury my relationship with the builder has become somewhat fraught. Not dissimilar to a married couple we are bicker, alot. Not full on arguements just general annoyance at being constantly under each others feet. Me with my annoying questions and constantly pointing out faults, him with his inability to finish one job before moving onto the next.
It all boils down to one simple fact, enough is enough. It needs to be finished... and soon!

2 steps back

I think it is the nature of the beast, at least I hope it is, but it really does seem that every step forward you take 2 steps back.

Re-decorating the bathroom, uncovers problems with the plumbing, installing coving reveals an alarming damp patch on the wall. All, might I add, problems caused by the last set of builders.

For some reason the building work this time round has been particularly painful, maybe because I have been around more, maybe because the end is in sight - so close yet so far, maybe because they are doing the hall way and landing, literally no way of avoiding them. You can't shut the door, you can't disappear upstairs or into the kitchen, they are everywhere, so too the layers of dust and coffee puddles that accompany them.

There is progress, I mean we have walls - smooth white ones, ceilings, smooth white ones, cupboards, apparently not so smooth, as informed by builder who told me I needed to re-sand them after an entire weekend of painting undercoat. What? seriously, who has the time for this! But the progress feel slow, so so slow, when all patience has escaped you and you just want to wash the dust out of your hair once and for all.

This week brings with it a milestone, this week we say goodbye to 'the crack'. Once a blight on our landscape, a horrid disfigurement representing the overall dilapidation. We discovered the crack in the very first weeks, it brought horror and despair. But over time, we have grown to accept the crack, just a little idiosyncrasy that makes a house a home. Soon it will be gone, forever (we hope!), so here we commemorate its being.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale

I have been somewhat lax on updates and this certainly isn't due to lack of progress. On the contrary, my dear friends, we have moved the woeful dread of eternally living in a dusty squat with no ceilings or plaster on the walls to seeing real light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

I cannot tell you the sheer joy of walking onto the landing and seeing a white, smooth wall. Yes it is just a small section of wall and the rest is still bare plaster/ huge crack which has not yet been fixed, but there is some white and that makes me happy.

A small summary of recent works:
1. Rip down ceilings in hall way, landing and bedroom
2. Remove all plaster from said walls (levels of dust such that had to leave the house or risk asphyxiation!)
3. Remove existing architrave and skirting board
4. Apply some kind of tape thing which apparently stops cracks from appearing in future (no idea what it is, a Polish thing I think).
5. Apply new plaster board to ceilings
6. Apply plaster to ceilings
7. Apply plaster to walls
8. Install new veluxe window in roof (much anguish over how/ where etc.)
9. Sand all plaster - repeatedly (more dust)
10. Install fireplace in bedroom
11. Build shelves and cupboards in bedroom alcoves
12. Build floor to ceiling cupboard in hallway (currently an eye-sore, am confident will come good and be very effective use of space)
13. Move ugly gas pipe and box in gas meter previous placed in the middle of the hallway.

The end.... so far, watch this space.....