A Week Later

We're making progress.  These photos show the plastering but there's also been a lot of furnishing going on - more later. Dad's inner plasterer is getting much faster and smoother. Just in time, the whole stairwell is next.
Lucky Colin is a source of Nitto tape - a kind of super protecting blue sticky stuff - here it's keeping the back door from the plaster..
You can see the cubby hole under the stairs.  It's going to be Secret Storage.

nice slope dad

The archway to the kitchen. we've got a similar light for the utillary.  The sensor's moving into the corner and the meter cupboard's getting doors to match the units.

The Laundillary

Dad had a week off work last week.  MG put some plastic sheeting from the polytunnel across the kitchen door and the arch into the laundillary (laundry/utility).  So we can't move round downstairs.  It's protecting the kitchen and sitting room from dad's dust.  Oh the grinder - it's bound to come into play.
he spent most of Tuesday with a chisel hacking gloss paint off the brick walls.  Then his friend Mick the plasterer said oh no yuo don't wanna do it like that...
MG meanwhile used the steam stripper to peel the paint off in sheets, with my help while dad for once was at a loose end. haha, the boot on the other foot.

Yellow glossed bricks with ancient chip fat replaced by plasterboard walls - it's nearly done, just two triangles, the cubby hole and ceiling to sort, with a bit of plumbing and electrics then we have somewhere to use the washing machine.  MG won't need to clear her decks for me to take the laundry over there and do it, or more often, nick the dirties while I'm pretending not to look then bring them back clean and dry.

Next week I'm off work and so is dad...just think what we may get done (run out of money maybe?  Hope not)

Fast forward late september

MG got some USA spec wasp eradicator at the Stanhope Show wher George was showing his donkey.  (no wonder progress is slowing).  It nearly did the trick, but some survived and multiplied.  They were still dropping out of the light fittings and the window edges where the double glazed units need tidying up.  Three sprays later we were getting about 5 a day on two window sills.

We've got the main bedroom done now.  Plastered, painted, sockets in, light moved, skirting boards on etc.  The bed is in and we're sleeping upstairs. The IKEA student wardrobe is still in the sitting room, but hey, one step at a time.

Fast Forward to late July

MG too busy with chickens to get the photos uploaded til now, and festivals and visiting and stuff.

We got the sitting room finished with TV on the wall and moved in properly at the end of July.  We had the bed and settee in there, with scraps of carpet in the hall and bare wood on the stairs.

Then the wasps came.There were a lot of them.  More every day, everywhere.

Hot weather plastering

Dad's doing a good job plastering the living room.  On Sunday he went for the ceiling, starting with full boiler suit and all, but the hotter it got...

Stuart did a great job of greenhouse clearing. 
Now we're getting the living room done.  We're going to put the sofa and a bed in there then move in as soon as we can so the insurance is OK.

Mostly we've been mortaring and plastering.  I did the bricking up the fireplace with only one problem when dad noticed I was putting the air brick in wrong. 

The boys are plastering and MG is upstairs ripping up floorboards and tracing cables.  There's a lot to go in round the fireplace before we plasterboard the chimney breast.

good times and bad times

Between the Bank Holidays.

More progress and a little setback.

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The bathroom's been coming on fast - most tiles on and grouted.  Doves were amazing and replaced the cracked basin no bother.  Phew, thanks doves.  Installing it was a bit tricky - a leaking tap connector - turned out dad had wrecked an o ring trying to tighten a joint enthusiastically.  Then a leaking trap because of the waste pipe being wedged too high in the floor.  The shower trap leaked a bit but he sorted that out with his favourite grinder and a bit of sealant.  The nice corner toilet had no problems until we left it overnight last Sunday.  That was when we found out about how water pressure in the pipes increases at night when everyone's taps are off.  Oh and about the toilet design that has the overflow above the level of the holes in the cistern where you fix it to the wall.  Thanks doves. 

Monday evening after work it was sunny and we were cheery as we drove over.  I took the nice clean towels ready for finishing the tiles off.  Good thing too.  There was water peeing through the kitchen ceiling.  It had been for a while too.  So the laminate (not suitable for bathrooms or wet environments) floor was soaked and the underlay was too.  That was the towels wet then, trying to mop up.  After 3 days there's not been much evidence of drying despite heating turned up.  at least it isn't smelly - yet, though that could be relative because the ceiling still exudes eau de pee.

MG joined freecycle and posted the greenhouse on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning there were 13 emails.  weds evening, stuart came around to squirt WD40 on the fixings.  friday he's coming to take it away haha.

Bank holiday surge

A lot happened in the bank holiday.  The cooker and hob are connected and working after a bit of wiggling and threadin wires and drilling extra room in the cabinets.  We tiled the bathroom floor including the plywood base, we bought taps and a shower.  The grout was too dark, so I scraped it out and put white in instead.  I think I've removed my fingerprints though.The taps were reduced at Screwfix and are nice and chunky, in stromg cardboard overpackaging.  Then when we moaned at the woman that the shower we want isn't in the new catalogue, she found the code from the old one and there was one left in the country - so we collected it on Tuesday.  It had to be a built in thermostatic valve and fixed head because the shower enclosure's too small for one of those hose and rail things.  It's Mira so should be good and the valve plate matches the tap shape - kind of waisted.

The bath legs went missing so MG got onto B&Q who promised to deliver new ones asap.  They turned up later where I'd put them out of the way.  Then when we opened the big cardboard box to get the basin out it was cracked: seriously cracked like it's had a Humpty Great Fall. Never mind, the bath fits in place, with a bit of dad's extra plaster removed and the wastes will be in the right places for the kitchen ceiling joists.

Meanwhile, Colin has the new maps for calling Judy (call of duty - its a game) so he is distracted and we're having a night off.

Moving on - minor glitches

The bathrooom is now fully plastered and we're painting the dry looking bits with special new plaster paint.

Meanwhile on Monday the Appliances arrived for the kitchen.  We went for free delivery (spent almost £1000, should have been free anyway).  which means Curry's give you a 4hr time slot if you phone after 9pm the night before.  Great.  So MG is at the house for 3.30pm ready for the 3.45 start and confident they'd be there before close of play at 5pm.  6.30, no sign, so we went over to paint a bit and take over. Dad didn't have the right guide for the router to do the worktop cutting yet either so that job stopped - so no Kitchen Sink yet.  At 7.30 MG and dad left for the Chip Shop.

Tuesday we did some Fitting in the kitchen and a bit more painting.

The oven would be in if the cable had been long enough, and the fridge would have been in if Dad hadn't had a moment of misjudgement and put the skirting board in making the space too narrow for it.  There was also an issue about needing to open the door wider than 90 degrees which meant we had to stop Colin from changing the hinge side.  

Wednesday MG took granma to B&Q to get her diamond card then we swapped a bigger wall cpd for a smaller one and got a smaller base cpd.  The old base will heve to go somewhere else...

Wednesday we got the new cupboards built and the fridge is in.  Yippee.

The kitchen ceiling still has sheets on it rather than a ceiling.  It makes going to the bathroom at night interesting because the light shines up through holes in the floor from the kitchen.  You have to switch the main light off so people outside can't watch you perform your ablutions through the landing window - still no door then.  anyway it is eerie and a bit unsettling.. There are still some stains round the footprint of the old loo.  The hosepipe is our advanced cistern filling device.  Civilisation can't be too far away can it?

Kitchen and Bathroom Progress

Another 2 weeks of work, planning and internet searching and we have made quite a lot of progress.  The bath's here, shower and toilet and washbasin too.  We collected the kitchen units from B&Q - including Weds over 60's discount through granma, then got laminate flooring fromWickes , spent a day putting it in. ..Meanwhile dad has been plastering the bathroom so we have old sheets tacked to the ceiling to protect the new kitchen as we build it from stuff falling through gaps in the bathroom floor.  Like an Arabian Nights Tent.

It's starting to look good.

Hygiene Issues - not for the faint hearted

You may have noticed there is no Kitchen ceiling.
Dad decided there's so many pipes and wires along there, they need identifying and rationalising.

There's also the Smell.  Right from the start there's been a bit of a piddly smell in the house.  We found wee stains on carpets and dog hairs etc, but taking the carpets out and washing floors with a lot of Strong Stuff hasn't resolved it.  Then there was some evidence of a leaking loo upstairs.  We made the cistern leak worse and had to take it out.  We did the flushing with buckets of water from the basin.  When we took the basin out, MG sorted out a hose pipe for flushing.  It was from the only remaining tap - outside on the wall.

The WC pan was leaking somewhere and every time it was used we had a problem.  MG bought a lootogo from Wickes, but dad wouldn't fit it.(waste of time).  That was when we girls started to go to IKEA for a wee rather than sit on a leaky pan in a room with no door facing the hall window with a view in from at least 6 surrounding houses. (we had been pretty tolerant).

All that leaking has made an ominous Dark Stain on the kitchen ceiling joists.  It also corroded the ceiling!
This cannot go on.  We cannot go on either.

More New Skills and security

The boiler is in.
Dad fitted it at the weekend when Mum was in York.  Colly's mate was too busy at his day job.  Luckily dad already had some basic boiler fitting skills (There's a family tale about the time when MG had to hold up a heavy cast iron boiler while he screwed it to the wall.  Equal division of labour?).  The complexities of the Combi Boiler were new to him though, but he had C's M as a consultant and good instructions - just as well - C's M will finish off and commision later.

Of course an expensive new boiler means we've had to step up security, so MG had to find the old towels to conceal the boiler.  we've already got a lot of old curtains up at the windows so people can't see in easily and potentially spot tools they fancy (or granma's cake, or the mini camping kitchen, or my boiler suit from Aldi - we got a lot of suitable clothing there).

New Skills

Dad has discovered his Inner Plasterer (internet and Michael). Good News – 2 Kitchen walls are now perfect. Bad News – he wants to do all the window reveals and more walls than we said before. It looks as if we’ll be moving in later than we thought.

I too am learning new skills: I can use the mortar mixer drill attachment to make up a batch of patch then I can clag it on. I can also do rough plastering including corner bead setting (so that’ll help the reveals then).  I built most of the New Wall and dad's plastered it, so the old kitchen door is no more - we have an opening for a door into the laundillary and you get into the kitchen from there.

Luckily Colly has mates with skills and contacts. The boiler cost a lot less than on the internet and the mate’s going to fix it. We’ve taken out all the gas pipes so there’s no fire any more, just 2 fan heaters. Colin’s mate’s mum can find us a good electric fire, hr says. He’s already sorting out radiators and bathrooms and maybe kitchens for us.

Dad’s schedule is in disarray. I hadn’t realised how much Wor Hoos is his project. Bringing in Expert help may mean he has to go Off Plan.

Meanwhile, Eddie and his team have put in the New uPVC windows, including patio doors at the back, front and back doors. Cost a bit more than expected but they’re great. It’s good being able to open windows when it’s dusty as well as getting the masks out. Shame about the neighbours’ washing.

4 more weeks' Progress

It's moving on. 

The list of stuff to do is massive and the place is still Messy Messy Messy. We've had the New Angle Grinder and the Old Little Angle Grinder involved. From here all that means is there's a thick layer of dust over everything (teapot, overalls, pipe insulation).  Granma and her Asthma are Barred.

Q: Why do boys think that putting down a bit of protective sheeting is a waste of time?
A: Because they also think Cleaning Up isn't their job.

In Real Life (My World), Cleaning is infinite once the Dust Curse descends.  It just gets moved around a bit.  Stripping Old paint is also very hard work and Time consuming which is why when it's Dad's turn - rather than being for others to do in preparation for his Master Skills- he moans and gets New Scrapers, or of course gets the Angle Grinder out and does a bit of gouging.

There is progress- honest. Mostly in the removing and chasing dept., but with some filling and tidying.  For a whole two more weeks it doesn't look great, I know.

The Priest Hole is open over the stairs.
The kitchen is nearly ready to Plaster - Shame Michael the Plasterer has retired due to a hand injury.  He's dumped his tools too, so one of us has to Learn New Skills.

Fortnight's Toil

Missing Necklace

Well we were so busy stripping and everything.  I seem to have misplaced my special Diamond Necklace from Collie for Christmas.  I was taking care of it and took it off to get ready for work - stripped for stripping.  I remember putting it in my bag.

It doesn't seem to remember that's where it's meant to be though and is now floating through a space-time warp, ie Lost.  MG has searched the floor for twinkly things, she's scoured the hoover dustings and sifted the rubbish in the bin.  Luckily it's insure, so we may just manage to get it replaced.  I have to report it to the police though, which is a bit Serious.  Where did you lose it? no idea officer.  Not great.

Why is everything so complicated




Progress

If I saw the house a fortnight in I would never have bought it. I didn't realise that it takes time to get a place stripped for action.










We're learning all along. that's the Family team of Dad. MG, Colin and Me

• 

• if you use evo stik the ceiling tiles will be permanent
• the toilet leaks somewhere. It smells everywhere.
• They didn't plaster the electrical conduit in properly, it falls off
• next door put their car in the back garden and got a broken window
• next door the other way have now added a blue mattress and a broken toilet to their garden furniture and broken fence
• it costs £600 for the Gas Board to check when you move the meter
• for electricity it's £750
• the boiler doesn't work - and it's not old enough to qualify for scrappage
• it's a very cold winter
• there are a lot of black knee-his and old bandages behind the kitchen radiator
• some people can't work tidily
• if you ask people who know, they always say any superfluous wall could be load bearing
• what the hey - knock the little one down anyway.

This is where they had a bedroom opening off another and a priest hole in the stairwell. Now it's open plan.




That means we're not going ahead with the full refurbishment plan maximising potential etc.

Contracts exchanged, completed

This is the story of a house in NE5.
It used to be a Local Authority house until it was sold in 1991. Over the years it has had a lot of care and work lavished on it. It needs a lot more to make it The House of our Dreams, but we can (probably) afford it.

Iam going to get a job as an Estate Agent because these pix do it more than justice.
There's a compact Kitchen....and utility.


















The bathroom compact and aromatic with some black slimy stuff, but plenty of air freshener.

Lounge complete with working gas fire and carpet.
















As it turned out, there were at least 3 layers of carpet in every room, Quite a lot of dog hair and wee stains and whiff. Some blood spattered on a rug. They nearly filled the skip too.
Luckily this the kind of area where the skip empties as fast as you fill it (except for carpets...). The gas cooker, rusty radiator, cast iron pipe all disappeared overnight. A kindly neighbour noted down the name on the thieves van, but I'm forgiving them. That explains why it cost over £100 for one - they know there'll be nowt worth having when it gets back to the depot.

The neighbours are great. They stop to chat and invariably say what a nice area it is and how we look out for each other. (Uncle George maintains it has a lot to do with not Being Darkies, but he belongs to non-PC World). One guy puts everyone's bins out (though he could be an commission from the Skip Raiders). The bins - Luxury. They are collected Every Week.