It’s been a reasonably eventful start to the new year where the house is concerned.
Due to a suspicious lack of activity at the house this week, we decided to withold this weeks fairly meaty payment to the new gang starting the loft. It certainly had the desired effect – causing ructions which reached the MD of the building company and resulting in somewhat threatening messages on the answerphone. Anyway it was all resolved quite nicely and won’t happen again – and it was all down to miscommunication since the guys had actually done a lot of “work” (or at least ordered a lot of the stuff)- so we paid and they promise to be on site, in force (7 of them) on Monday.
The scaffold was also delayed by a couple of days and the monkey boys who put the stuff up finally turned up on Monday this week. They did a kind of two-days on, two-days off kind of thing which was also confusing but the net result is that our house is now entirely sheathed in scaffold – front, back, top and sides.
There was scepticism from the project manager (Paul) over whether the builder (Barry) had “over-done” it on the scaffold – apparently protecting the roof from rain is only a secondary concern when you’re trying to squeeze profits on the job. But I’m glad Barry went the extra mile. Especially since London flooded today from all the rain.
Of course it could never be that simple and the enormous scaffold shield did a good job of rendering next door’s satellite dish pretty much useless. So now we have to get a company to come and move it to keep the neighbours sweet. All in a days work for a property developer.
In other news, the other gang is close to finishing the refurb job. The two main bay windows were replaced today and look good and we’re down to skirting boards, architraves and the final bathroom reorg in the grand pecking order of the snag list.
Photos will follow when chance happens to make it light when I’m able to be at the house.In the meantime imagine some mechano connected by corrugated iron and that’s pretty much it.

I’ve been thinking about our loft conversion and heat.
Lofts can get hot and steamy especially in the summer. I’ve been thinking about provision for air-conditioning to avoid those hot sticky nights up there. But then I read this and thought again:
From the “Home Ecologist” at the Independent:

When I popped into the local B&Q recently, it was great to see that it had an exhibition on energy saving, with good deals on bulbs and insulation, and an exhibition on solar panels. But the irony of simultaneously having a special offer on home air-conditioning units piled high at the entrance seemed to have escaped it. Studies have shown that buildings with air-conditioning can have 100 per cent higher energy bills, doubling the damage that they contribute to our climate crisis. A quick look at the energy consumption of some air-con units being marketed for home use shows that they range from 1,200 to 3,500 watts per hour – for just one room. That would be like having up to three electric fires running in each room with a unit. In comparison, a desk fan uses only 60 watts.
The crucial question is not “Which air-conditioning unit should we buy?” but “How can we avoid getting one in the first place?” There are lots of simple tips that will keep your home cooler, without using gadgets that will make the planet even hotter. The simplest is to allow as much natural air flow through your home as possible. Hot air rises, so ensure that windows or skylights at the top of the house are open, allowing it to escape. If you then open the doors and windows on the ground floor, you will generate a nice breeze. If you live in a one-storey flat or apartment, similarly try to create a through-flow of air from the front to the rear by opening windows or balcony doors, which allows the air to flow nicely. Pull the curtains on windows that are exposed to direct sunshine. The thicker they are, the better. You would be amazed what a difference this can make, especially if pulled before the sun hits the room.
Turning off all unnecessary electrical equipment and lights will also help. Halogen lights add enormously to the uncomfortable summer heat in modern homes, so get rid of them. A dozen halogen bulbs will create up to 600 watts of heat, which is the equivalent of another electric fire blazing in your ceiling. Installing air-conditioning to counteract the heat generated by these stupid lights is straightforward lunacy in the current climate crisis.
As the summers get hotter, copy our Mediterranean cousins and install retractable shades or shutters over windows that get the sun if your house is overheating. Good loft insulation will help keep the sun’s heat out, as it absolutely roasts our black British roof tiles. I switched off my solar hot-water panel the other day by mistake and was shocked to see the temperature on the roof had reached 130C.
Finally, for a deep-green touch, fast-growing deciduous trees, if planted on the south-facing aspect of a block of flats or house, will in time keep temperatures down in summer, while allowing solar gain in winter when the leaves are gone. You will also have the smug knowledge that instead of burning carbon dioxide using air-conditioning, these natural shades will absorb carbon dioxide as you watch them grow. So next time perhaps the DIY stores will pair up trees, not air-conditioning units, with special offers on energy-saving bulbs and insulation.

Thought it would be worth a quick update. The builders are on their two week break – which is a blessing for the neighbours but also a well-earned rest for us too. At least it gives us two weeks to “get ahead” of them again. The decisions, plans, requirements and designs required to keep them moving is quite exhausting sometimes.
We had a bit of a confrontation at the end – we didn’t want to pay them all they thought was due. Mainly because we’ve been taught to hold back at least 10% of the total cost until completion and the payment schedule didn’t really match that. So the chaps had to go away with half what they wanted – but hopefully it’ll mean they return keen to win back the last bit in January. This aint no charity.
The good news is there’s only a couple of weeks of work left by the Polish crew (although some of that will be at the end). The major items are:

• Kitchen installation (cupboards, electrics, water, gas)
• Replace skirting boards
• Fix/repair cornicing/coving
• Replace/repair dado rail (architrave)
• Prepare all the old gloss wood for painting
• Sand all the fireplaces
• Complete window installation (two bays)
• Patio doors (remove, supply new and install, including lintel over)
• Complete utility room (sink + worktop)
• Label all electrical wires
• Commission electrics
• Stop cock under stairs/sink
• Re-glaze the front door
• Complete plastering round windows
• Storage cupboard under stairs (inc light with door switch)
• Extractor fans in WC and bathroom

And the other even better news is that we had our pre-start meeting with “Barry” – the guy who is leading the other two projects and he’s set up to start on the 7th January – with scaffold going up on the 3rd. The party wall surveys are all done and the “Award” is due to be delivered just after Christmas.
Finally the house itself is looking tidy (and secure) – they went through and cleared up before they left. They’ve done a fab job really.

The new windows, this one from the main bedroom:

Chrome window furniture:

Chrome window closer:

The loft, ready to receive it’s renovation:

Extraction fan switch, bathroom:

Mysterious damp patch – needs further investigation:

New radiators now warming:

Board on the floor protecting the floor which is now down:

Since I last wrote we’ve been away from holiday but progress has been swift. He’s an update:

• Boiler – we have one and it’s warming the house. It’s great to have the place warming up and gently drying out
• Utility room – the first cupboards are in and despite a sink being the wrong side, it’s starting to take shape
• Flooring – probably the biggest improvement, the oak flooring is down in the hall, downstairs loo and most of the lounge and dining room – looks really fab, just hope we can protect it enough until all the heavy work is done
• Windows arrived – and they look great. They’ve been prefabricated off site and are already first-coat painted which saves them from the winter weather. I can’t wait to see them in.
• Doors and handles on – looks great
• Lounge fireplace is in – really grand, it’s the original one from the rear dining room with a refurbished grate, and a new black slate hearth.
• Dining room secured and almost complete
• Bathroom calamities – we need to make some changes to the bathroom layout cause we cocked up – more later…

The original fireplace from the rear dining room is now reinstated rather grandly in the lounge (needs cleaning):

The brick feature in the dining room looks good – although we’re getting rid of the dodgy brick hearth which didn’t turn out as planned

New doors between the lounge and dining room:

Dining room door into kitchen, just waiting for the extension to be built…

Refurbished original fireplace – it’s going to have a gas fired coal-effect fire installed in due course

Door handles now on:

Utility room starts to take shape:

Nice detail in the cupboards – that’s hard to do right:

Storage cupboard from Ikea:

Bathroom, we have some changes to make here:


Door frames are on –

We’ve got a bunny boiler in our house

The house is warm now and the plaster is drying out

I want to honour S for bravery under fire – she got our toilets back.
We have been ordering stuff for the house – and doing our best to economise by buying everything from places on the internet with the keenest prices. So S managed to find three of the toilets we wanted (concealed cisterns, decent amount of flush and a wide-bore pipe, if you catch my drift) for a good price on a site called diy-home-solutions.com.
Perhaps we ought to have known better – and maybe we tried too hard to economise – but anyway, three days later they took the cash for the toilets – £750 – but mysteriously failed to respond to any of S’s emails to enquire when the goods would arrive.
S got a sinking feeling and we looked up the DNS registry to find the address of a Mr Steve Upton who runs the show and a phone number which unfortunately didn’t work. Getting more and more suspicious as the days wore on – the only hope we had was that delivery was stated as “up to 14 days” on the site.
At 14 days, S sends a letter registered post to request a refund immediately otherwise we’ll go and speak to Trading Standards.
And as it happens, S is on her way to Bristol to see friend M, and on the way is Trowbridge where Mr Upton runs his show. M, who’s a small lad, puts on three jumpers and a beany hat and acts as the “heavy” while S turns up in her highest boots to knock on the door of the residential house on an estate where he.is.
Mr Upton is somewhat apologetic and sheepish and rather than being the fraudster we imagined, turns out to be just a rather terrible business man whose business is “going down the pan” (no pun intended) and who rather dishonestly tried to put £750 of our cash into the hole his sorry little enterprise had left behind.
All credit to S and M for their illustrious work – perhaps a new career in loan sharking awaits?
We have new toilets, delivered for a lower price in 2 days by another supplier. And I have to say all the other suppliers we’ve used have been superb.

Shock horror!
Some photos below for those who want a quick fix of progress.
The house has lights with switches that work and everything! This is a major milestone and makes it come alive for the first time. I can now feel what it’s going to actually be like to live there. Nice feeling.
Big jobs left are getting the boiler in (it’s nearly there) and the heating on – and then the windows and finally then the floors and the fireplace downstairs.
The stress is getting to us now – the relentless need to make decisions and get everything ordered at the right time. S has done a sterling job chasing the various suppliers (including actually visiting one of the delinquant ones…). I think we’re coping quite well but both of us have “lists of lists” of things to do and chores to run all the time.
I managed to get the many copies of the new plans to the surveyer to finally get the party-wall proceedings underway again today – so that is a result too.
Here’s a few notes, more for us since we’re both travelling to the US in the next days.

• In the utility room they need to add plumbing for the washing machine – so far only the sink has plumbing. Where does the waste run?
• The dining room appears to have only one light switch – we need another just inside the main concertina doors from the lounge
• The electrical sockets and switches are all white plastic. This is cool for now but I think the eventual plan will be replace them with brushed steel – only the budget means we should wait!
• We need to arrange a call with the project manager while we’re away to check on progress
• Oh yeah, and from here on in the money gets held back until all the snags are fixed

And the next jobs:
* Tim to order worktop for utility room
* Tim to chase surveyor
* S to chase toilets…
* Plan lighting and electicals in the kitchen
* Sort out the concertina doors for the rear of the house
* Plan and purchase for the bathroom in the loft
Gas feed finally connected. We have gas!

Attractive light in the stair well:

New radiator, old bannister:

Shaver socket to be:


Working switches:

And spotlights:

Random deliveries – is that the top to the cupboard?

Awaiting a sink:

Downpipe (slightly disappointing but we’ll forget about that):

New towel rail – and it’s a radiator too:

Hallway:


Spots are on:

We’re very nearly there – thanks for the feedback, we rolled it into our latest view:








Ordering commences today.

Here’s our current favoured design… comments welcome

I have to give the builders credit.
It was Saturday and I decided to go round when the builders weren’t there and try to install some underfloor wiring for the surround sound system in the living room. It’s one of those things which you really need to do while the floor is up – otherwise it wrecks your skirting boards.
So I spent a couple of hours on my belly, on the dusty floor, trying to pass cables under the floor joists with the help of various bits of wood, tape and wires tied together.
Eventually it was all done, but working in the house is cold, dusty and tiring and I only did it for two hours… Those builders work hard.