Day 291 - Update on what's left to do

An update after yesterday's site visit

Utility Room build - mostly done apart from sink/tap and some edging
Loft insulation & boarding - boards delivered, installation today
Front Landscaping - Skip and portaloo are going today so stones can go down today/tmrw
Rear Landscaping - Patio and beds are done and turf was laid yesterday
Masticking (not sure I really know what this means though) - some has been done
Bathroom Mirrors (one of these is waiting electrician input) - both are up, but lights need moving in the ensuite
Fire-safe glass above the Fire Door into the indoor shed/storeroom
Remaining lights to be fitted - we bought more lights over the weekend so these are waiting on the electrician
UFH thermostats (again waiting on Electrician I think)
Skirting boards off in the hallway (so they can fit the flooring without needing beading)
Juliet Balcony - waiting for brackets
Glass porch - waiting for custom made bracket
Shower Door in main bathroom - waiting for masticking man

Front Door - joiners visit today to measure up - Door and side panel should've been delivered to them

Cleaners - Booked for May 4th
Decorator - Booked for May 5th

Flooring - we'll book the fitting after the decorator has started and we have a better idea of timing.

Day 282 - Gratutitous Shower Pics

I popped round to the property to meet with Shaun and take a few pics. The sun was shining in through the window into the ensuite and the shower tiles

 
 

I know no-one loves the tiles as much as me but I did think they looked lovely in the sunshine

Day 280 - Downstairs Loo

When they were tiling the main bathroom I got a call from Shaun saying they'd run out tiles so could we order some more? We were a little surprised as we thought we'd measured/calculated correctly but ordered some more.

So it turned out that the builders had 'mislaid' some of the tiles somewhere in the house and thought they'd run out. Of course the tiles turned up so we have some excess.

Thanks to a comment from my lovely Sister about the 'wipeability' of the downstairs loo we decided we needed something to the side of the loo, enter the mislaid tiles, which have also made the splashback.

 
 

Apologies for the crappy photos, my beloved Fujifilm camera has developed a problem with the lens cover so these were taken with my Blackberry camera.

Day 282 - Front Landscaping

The slabs are all in place for the front landscaping

 
Area in front of the front door

 
Side path

 
Path up to the house


Path in front of the bay and kitchen window

All the gaps will be filled in with natural stone chips, that will compress down well and won't get stuck in your shoes!

Day 282 - List of jobs still to do

We are finally approaching the final furlong (hey, it's Ascot I'm allowed a racing term!) of the never-ending build.

Shaun is now saying one more week.... There seems to be a fair amount to be done in this last week but I've decided to go with optimism for a change.

Things that still need to be done:

Utility Room build - Shaun flippantly said it's only 5 units! - and a sink and a worktop...
Loft insulation & boarding
Front Landscaping
Masticking (not sure I really know what this means though)
Bathroom Mirrors (one of these is waiting electrician input)
Fire-safe glass above the Fire Door into the indoor shed/storeroom
Remaining lights to be fitted
UFH thermostats (again waiting on Electrician I think)
Skirting boards off in the hallway (so they can fit the flooring without needing beading)
Juliet Balcony
Shower Door in main bathroom

Also Shaun's suggested if we want any accessories fitted in the main bathroom we should get them this week so the guys can use the special water cooled drill they've had to hire to fit them. This was after they'd burnt out two regular drills - eek!

Oh and we need to source and buy a new, smaller greenhouse so the lads can create a foundation for it.

Things that definitely won't happen this week:

Front door - we are waiting to hear from the Joiners and for the side panel to come in stock

Magic cleaners - every time I've sucked my breath in at the state of something, Shaun has assured me the cleaners that come in at the end of the job will sort this out, hence they've become known as the magic cleaners as I'm not sure how they're going to get everything (especially the kitchen) back to how it was before.

Then I think we're into Snagging List territory

Wednesday the carpet fitters are coming to measure up and hopefully Friday will see BT to re-connect the phone line.

I'm feeling slightly more confident about getting the decorator booked now. Better get going on the second batch of paint samples, the first were all too pinky/lilac.

Day 274 - Second Fix Lighting

A somewhat random collection of lights that have gone up around the house...

 
Bedside lights - with directional reading lights

 
A light-up mirror for the hair/make-up area

 
Eco-friendly spotlights in Study & Den

 
Bedside lights in the boys bedroom (and some random extra holes). These have been carefully measured to (hopefully) be at the right position in the bunk beds

 
Bedroom cupboard light


Blurry pic of the lounge lights - the leccy hates them, says they were 'tricky' to put up. In fact he hasn't liked many of the lights!

Day 274 - New Stairs

Well, new stair parts, ie bannisters, handrails etc

 

Lovely Richard Burbidge White Oak

Day 265 - Catflap

The catflap is finally in - complete with another new pane of glass in the door!