Wednesday 28 September 2022

Ready for the Building Work

 The bedroom is ready, even if I'm not!

 I'm actually dreading having workmen here for 3 weeks. Wish I could offer to do the labouring just to get it done quicker! after all whenever Col did all the building work at all our previous homes it was me who did the "go and get" jobs and the clearing up. 
Brother in Law came to help me shift mattress off spare bed to stand it up in small bedroom/toyroom and my mattress onto spare bed. My clothes are still in their drawers but now stacked on top of the cupboard in the spare room and clothes that I'll need from wardrobe are hanging on the mattress in small bedroom. I've sealed up the big built in wardrobe/cupboard with plastic and covered the bedframe with big dust sheet. That's about as much as I can do to protect things. The builders will protect the hall floor for going in and out.

The new en-suite is going to be built in the front far corner, (that end of the room was once one of the garages before the previous owners extended the bedroom into it) the glass in the window there will be changed to frosted. The toilet and basin will be under the window and of course all the drains will now be able to go out the front of the bungalow and into mains drains, without an electric pump!

The light fitting you can see is another of the strange things here. Just like the living room there are two light fittings in the room with a total of 10 bulbs that are both on one switch. Who needs 10 light bulbs on all at once!! It will be changed to a couple of inset lights in the en-suite.


Below is the current en-suite, built at the back of what was the garage. It looks OK doesn't it BUT the walls are just plywood inside a single brick wall, one reason it's so cold.  The waste from basin, shower and loo run into the macerator behind the toilet which pumps out......... using electric and with a limited lifespan......... through a small pipe and into the drain that runs off the roof of the garage.

The other reason it's freezing in here in winter is because of this roof-light high up with a vent that can't be closed.

Hope they turn up today to start................ pity it's just as the weather turns cold, wet and windy the front door will be open all the time! But never mind - I will survive and I've teabags, coffee and milk ready!.
Thankfully they are putting a porta-loo outside so they won't need to use my bathroom. I've been and bought a bucket to use for flushing the bathroom loo when the water is turned off, which I'm sure it will be sometimes while they sort out the pipework. They also install a key safe so I don't have to be at home all the time when different trades  are coming and going.

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Did you watch the new police drama "Karen Pirie" set in St Andrews, Scotland and based on a book by Val McDermid  written in 2003.It was very good.  I thought how strange that another author I'd read recently is also setting books there and searched through the Books Read page to find that it is Marion Todd, whose 6th book I read in August. Her series started in 2019. Wonder  what  Ms McDermid thought when another author also featuring a female detective starting setting her books in the town?


Also I keep meaning to say Hello and Welcome to more followers who have clicked the follower button and made 749, which it had sat at for a while, up to 754 in a week!


Back Soon
Sue 



22 comments:

  1. Your renovation sounds excellent. Having new plumbing that runs directly out to the street and eliminates rooftop pipes and pumping sounds both streamlined and efficient. Having everything exactly as you want will be wonderful. There will be weeks of workmen and dust but when it is finished it will be beautiful. On my last renovation, I discovered "Wet Swifter." They are amazing for wiping up dust/dirt on all surfaces. The Swifter claims: for use on all floor types and this is true...I've learned Swifter works on walls, beams and even windows.

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    1. A wet swifter is something I've not heard of here but we probably have equivalent cleaning things.

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  2. You will be so happy to have the renovation done. I know when Harvey redid our bath I was ecstatic when it was done and I could use it.

    God bless.

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    1. It will be lovely to have things sorted without worries

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  3. Renovations are horrible when you are trying to live in the middle of all of it.

    Pleased to meet you, 'Get and Go' gal. I am the 'hold this right here like that' girl!

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    1. Yes, "can you just hold this" was a frequent request for me too

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  4. Ugh! I don't think I want to know. Soon I will be going through having my only bathroom converted into a walk in shower wet room. I don't even want to think about it right now.

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    1. Afternoon of day 1 - so far so good with the work here. Two doors shut between them and me most of the time so not to noisy

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  5. Ah yes, memories of similar events here. Just think, this too will pass, and better having it done in October than January! They certainly didn't think the lights out when they had them fitted, or how cold the en-suite would be. Sounds like the work will be a good investment, and proper drainage in too.

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    1. There's going to be a towel radiator in the new ensuite so to step into a warm room after a shower will be a treat.

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  6. Enjoying KP - it's made me dream of visiting St Andrews again

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  7. I've checked my library for the Karen Pirie series and have placed the first 2 on hold. Thanks for the tip!

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    1. I'm not going to read the books - just wait for them to be on TV!

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  8. It will be worth it, it's just a question of gritting your teeth and letting them crack on. I hate having workmen in, as I suspect do most people, I can just never settle down to either work or relaxing with other people in the house. How I lived through four years of on and off works back in Wales I really don't know.

    What are you going to do with the old ensuite once this one is done?

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    1. The old en-suite will be blocked off from the bedroom and have a door put in the back which will make it a good storeroom accessed from the back garden. I'll have the chest freezer in there so that I don't have to go out the front and struggle with the up and over garage door. But before the door is done I have to have a new oil tank on a new base further away from the house as it's breaking all sorts of safety rules. That's being done in mid October.
      It's only money! Ha!

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    2. Ah yes, I think you have mentioned this before, sorry. It sounds like a really good plan.

      Yes, we moved and renewed our old oil storage tank a year before we put the Welsh house on the market to make it all legal. Then when we visited last month, we found they had moved it again because they were building a root cellar where it used to be. As you say it's only money!!

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  9. Good luck surviving your renovations - keep reminding yourself of all the benefits! :)

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  10. Good luck with the building work. It will be so worth the inconvenience.

    Watched the first Karen Pirie episode and struggled to understand everything through the heavy Scottish accents! We will stick with it a bit longer.

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  11. You look really organised ready for the builders. You're probably fed up with hearing it but - it will be worth it!
    Alison in Wales x

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  12. It will be nice when it's done but I hate the thought of having strangers in my home lol. I shall have to deal with it as we have work that needs to be done next year.

    I hope that show ends up on one of my streaming services (maybe Britbox?). I like Val McDermid. I enjoyed the Wire in the Blood series (both some of the books and the television show) and I enjoyed reading some early books by her - Kate Brannigan series.

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  13. It looks like your new ensuite will be far better situated. I hope the installation goes smoothly for you. X

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