Building Inspection

I invited the building inspector over today. He was happy with everything that was new. It was the doors in the rest of the house that he wasn't happy with. 

So I'm going to have to check if the new doors we bought count as fire doors or not. The ones in the loft definitely are - you can tell by the weight difference. 

At least that's easily fixed and, once done, should be able to sign off the build.

Not being idle

Today, during my lunch break, I thought I'd be productive and rehang the bedroom door in the loft.

However, when I was setting up, I realised that I wouldn't be able to fit the door to the frame with that behemoth roll of carpet taking up all the space. 

So I settled on reattaching the hinges to the door, and also refitting the door handle. I had taken the handle off intending to paint the door, but given the amount of coats needed on the woodwork, I wanted to get everything else painted first. Then if I need a new batch of paint it shouldn't look too weird. Hopefully!

Loft Decorating, Episode 10

Well last weekend was a right-off. I'll spare you the details but I apologise for not being more productive.

So today I finally got back to the DIY. Just some painting; yet another coat of that beautiful green. I was going to hang the door back up too but I think I'd rather sleep right now.

Once the door is back up there'll be space to start painting the remaining two walls of skirting boards and the other windowsill.

In other news, I moved the firstborn's wardrobe from its temporary home (cluttering up the secondborn's bedroom) up into her loft bedroom. This was not done through a Health and Safety approved process. 

What I should have done is empty and then dismantle the wardrobe, took the bits upstairs and then reassembled in-situ. 

What I actually did was walk the wardrobe to the bottom of the stairs, tried to lift it up the stairs, decided it needed emptying so mostly emptied it, then lifted it again but this time by climbing underneath it and pushing it up on my back. That got it so it could be slid up the straight part of the staircase, which the firstborn helped with. Secondborn stood at the top of the stairs to tell me if the wardrobe was going to hit something. Once near the top I rotated the wardrobe (so it was now upside down) lifted it up a step, then rotated it again so that it was now on its side. From there it was much more straightforward to get it into position under the bed.

Yeah, not a very safe way to do that job at all!

Loft Decorating, Episode 9

Saturday came and went way too quickly. No DIY was done.

Today, however, was more productive. Another section of time-consuming painting of skirting boards and a door frame was achieved.

I painted the door with primer (just along one edge). Also, I painted one of the windowsills. 

Though the above pictures only show the first coats, I continued into the darkness and everything got a second coat of paint (though a third coat is looking necessary). Also not shown is the sanding down before each coat; I'm finding that to give a much smoother finish. 

Should be able to rehang the door soon, which I've decided will be the easiest way to paint it.

Then I need to move all the crap around so that I can paint the skirting of the last two walls.

Loft Decorating, Episode 8

Gentle start to the day after a very late night. So I didn't actually start work until after 1400! I carried on untill 2100 though, so still got a decent but done.

So today I sanded and then painted over the wood filler (it didn't dry enough yesterday to be painted) and gave both doors and the large bedroom's doorframe a second coat of primer. 

While that dried I cracked open the dark green wood paint and made a start on the large bedroom's skirting boards. It's a lovely colour, I was very impressed.

By this point, the firstborn's door was dry so I decided to put it back in it's hinges. Well, I say that but in reality she came up the stairs saying mom had said it was time for bed. So I didn't have a huge amount of choice in the matter! Went up nicely though. 

Once all the kids were asleep I decided to use some of the carpet offcuts on the stairs. Just to be a bit nicer (and cleaner) to walk around.

Since I was on a roll, I put some underlay and carpet down in the corner by the kitchen door. This was an entry point for draughts.

I've now exhausted Dad's supply of antique staples so I've bought some more. I think I've replaced like for like but I'll be interested to get his opinion on any difference.

Loft Decorating, Episode 7

So before we had the sheer audacity to go out for food and have some fun with a good group of people, some more DIY got done.

Specifically: 

• Trimming the edges of the small bedroom's door so that it would actually shut
• Discovering that when the small bedroom's door is closed quickly, the cupboard door (in the eaves of the house) flies open
• Sanding down the large bedrooms's door
• Applying wood filler creatively (not just filling holes but rebuilding corners)
• Getting a first coat of paint primer on the large bedrooms's doorframe and both bedroom's doors

Wow, when you list it out you see where the time has gone. Until now I didn't think I'd done much at all!

Bonus picture - can you spot where the carpenter put the hinge holes for n the wrong place? 

Firstborn Moves In

Firstborn began moving in to her new room today. 

We had to do some gymnastics with the bed frame to minimise how much we dismantled it. Rotating it in the jam-packed space available was not easy but we got it done.

Now that the bed is in, there's more space than I imagined. The door opens fully (in fact, the bedpost acts nicely as a door stop) and the ladder doesn't need moving.

I definitely need to work on lighting though. 

Firstborn moved some of her things but it will take another evening or two to get everything up there. She was so excited to be moving in. She was also excited to use her new duvet set - likely because it has sparkly unicorns on it.

Loft Decorating, Episode 6

I have ended today with sore knees, a sore thumb, an aching back, sore throat and a soul-full of satisfaction. Let's find out how/why this might be...

Well the sore throat is from singing. Had the radio on and was singing along way too enthusiastically. So that's one injury accounted for.

So aside from singing along to 20 year old music, I was also trying to finish off the small loft bedroom. We last saw it with a naked floor and a wall that needed edges painting.

First step should probably have been finishing the painting, but this is me so I went with putting the underlay down instead.

According to the internet, I'm supposed to put the sheets of underlay at right angles to the way the floorboards run. That was going to cause a lot of wastage and I don't really have floorboards (in the traditional sense). So I figured I'd get away with putting the underlay down whichever way was convenient. The door was taken off the doorframe and I got to work.

Underlay went down nicely. Just had to make sure it was tight against the grippers and stapled down well. Only needed to cut two lengths. Am running out of vintage staples so I'll have to buy some new ones (though I may put them in the old box so that the antique aesthetic isn't ruined).

It was at this point that I thought I ought to finish the painting on the feature wall. So I did.

Though I was cutting it fine with the amount of paint I bought...

I also went over some of my previous roller-based mishaps with some white paint.

Next up was the carpet itself and the first challenge was getting it in the room to start with. This entailed more hanging things out of the window. I came close to bashing the neighbour's roof but just managed to avoid it.

The next stage took a lot of effort. I had to somehow unroll the carpet, which was too big for the room, and get it into a rough position ready for trimming.

I thought the carpet would slide far more than it did. So getting it to move at all was a mission. At one point I was underneath the carpet trying to move it. I know it has a Tog rating, but I don't recommend using it as a duvet!

After a lot of pulling, pushing, swearing and bunny-hopping I got it close enough. It touched all the walls. It was slightly off square, but there's no pattern so it wasn't important.

I did a quick trim to make stretching the carpet more manageable. Then I went round with the carpet kicker contraption to hook the carpet onto the grippers and stretch it out. This worked way better than I expected. As if by magic, all the wrinkles had gone.

So in the YouTube video I was watching, they then trimmed the carpet to exact size by folding the edges over and cutting the carpet 8mm from the skirting board. I tried this but while it was very quick, I couldn't get it to work. I had far too much left over and it wouldn't tuck out the way...

So having tried that, I went back to the slower but more precise way that Dad showed me the other week. Which involves slowly working along the wall like this...

I found this to be painfully slow and despite having a scraper to protect the skirting board against scratches, I still managed to damage the skirting board.

So I ended up using a hybrid of the two techniques. I'd use Dad's technique to make regular cuts every 15cm, then fold the carpet back and cut through the back of the carpet to join the cuts. This worked very well.

So that was that. Just worked my way around the room. Cutting around the door frame was a faff but got there eventually. I need to get a transition strip for under the door so it's just stapled in place for now.

The door got put back on it's hinges but it wouldn't shut all the way. So still a little work to do but the room's now ready for furniture at least! 

I don't know if I'll get to do anything tomorrow as I'm off to a birthday gathering. Nevertheless, I found myself ending the day feeling relief that another chunk of this gargantuan project is (virtually) complete, and feeling pride that the carpet doesn't look bad at all either.

Carpet Shenanigans

I had hoped to do some painting last night but I got home and was under the weather so went straight to bed. I feel like I have a cough starting but I'm okay so far.

Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself. The carpets and underlay for the loft bedrooms arrived shortly after lunch today and, my goodness, they're long rolls!

You see 4 metre length and 5 metre length on the website but actually stop for a moment and consider just how big that is and how weighty and cumbersome they must be to move around. Well reality smacked me in the face today when this lot landed:

After work I set about moving the carpets. I got the tape measure out, fixed it at 3 metres and worked out a plan of action for the shorter of the two carpets. I enacted the plan. Got myself and the carpet stuck. Then I realised that the shorter roll is four metres, not three!!!

Still sort of stuck with the plan though. 

Some tight bits needed a bit of brute force but it got to the loft eventually.

The 5 metre roll doesn't stand a chance though. I could probably get it to the first floor landing (after smashing up part of the bathroom) but getting it up into the second stairwell just won't be possible. The 4m barely did it! 

No idea what the best way to tackle the larger roll is. Here's my two ideas so far:

• Unroll the carpet then reroll along the shorter side. This will convert length to girth. No idea if that will damage the carpet, no idea if it'll be too girthy and I'd probably have to reroll out the front of the house. Could probably do this solo.
• Enter through a loft window, probably the front velux window. Would involve lifting a heavy, unwieldy, plastic covered tube up the side of the house, rotating it in mid-air, all while not demolishing mine or my neighbour's guttering / roof tiles. Would need several people to help and risk of collateral damage is high.

The engineer in me likes the second option. I can visualise how it would work. My ladders would protect the gutter and act as a guide. Ropes would be used with people both inside and outside the house. The carpet would arrive directly where it needed to be but it's risky. If the roll slips it could take out some roof fixtures. Any weight on the Velux window opening could damage the window / plaster inside. 

I think I need to at least try the first option. I'll do some research and see if rolling in another direction is bad for the carpet. If it's okay, then I'll check the girth. That'll have to be a job for a dry day though.

In other news, the colours look good from what I've seen. I was concerned about the back of the carpet having some foam fitted but that wasn't the case so the carpet grippers should work just fine. 

Miscellaneous DIY

In the brief 10 minutes between me finishing work and the thirdborn going to bed, I got the multitool out and sanded the large bedroom's doorframe. The filling done by my friend was very effective so I should be able to paint the primer / base coat on tomorrow. Can't do the rest of the wood until it's sanded down too.

In advance of the carpeting job, Dad dropped off his staple gun (I'll use this to fasten down the underlay).

I was genuinely scared to touch it. The packaging looked like it belonged in a museum!

The brand and the staples still exist, but I had to check before I could relax! 

Build Day 74

Well, here we are at the penultimate Build Day. If you hadn't noticed already, we're in the snagging phase. Or, in other words, doing all the piddly little jobs and finishing touches that take an inordinate amount of time.

Who's excited to see what happened today? Well, gird your loins and let's get to it...

Top Floor

Up in the penthouse suite, the last two catches were fixed to the window frames. Apparently they hadn't been fitted because the window frame needed adjusting for alignment.

Then the Velux windows needed sealing in. Particularly one bit where the plaster didn't match up with the frame.

Middle Floor

In the servant's quarters, there was some plasterboard still visible. This was plastered over. 

In the bathroom, a part of a roof beam is visible. This seemed quite loose following the dormer being created but when I asked if it was safe to remove I was told it is actually still attached! So the builder kindly tidied it up for me, despite it not being on the list.

Ground Floor

Down in the bowels of the ship, there were some more bits and bobs to do. 

There was a gap in the ceiling between an old wall and a new one:

The window aperture under the stairs needed tidying up (and a piece of plastic was missing):

And the new windowsill in the old kitchen was sealed up underneath:

After the sealing of these windows it feels noticeably warmer. There's still a draught between the living room and the new kitchen but that should disappear when I put some underlay and carpet down. Same at one spot under the skirting board in the loft.

Conclusion (almost)

So I had given the builder a list of jobs and, to his credit, he blasted through it; completing it in one day. That concludes his specific efforts. I'll still need to coordinate with him to get the electrician back over, so it's not the end-end but that means the building project is (probably) just one day from completion.

That day, however, will not be tomorrow. We need the relevant kitchen appliances and worktops to arrive first. Then the electrician can hook everything up and certify the work. But, one step at a time and we'll get there. It's been a long time since the warm long days of July but we're getting close now folks. We're getting close.

Build Day 72

A very friendly guy knocked on my door this morning. I was expecting him to introduce himself as a plumber but when he introduced himself as a gas fitter, my tired brain was thrown for a moment. Either way, he and his colleague were here to connect the new radiators to the boiler.

I don't know what I was expecting that work to entail but I think I expected more than a few T connectors. 

They were considerate, friendly and tidy. They worked quickly and before I knew it, the living room was warming up again. I was on a work call when they left so I didn't get to thank them properly but it was a pleasure meeting them.

The new ground floor side windows haven't been forgotten. Nor has finalising the electrics. But both are now waiting on installing the new kitchen.

I had intended to buy some of the appliances but then I realised all the Black Friday stuff is happening. So the ovens we were going to buy are currently out of stock AND more expensive! Oh well.

On the woodworm front, it doesn't look fresh but I'll see if there's some chemicals I can buy. Sort of like a DIY fumigation.

Build Day 71

Today was prep work for the plumber's visit tomorrow. So naturally there is now even more chaos.

First up, we have the cupboard around the boiler that has been partially dismantled. I don't know why only the shelves at the bottom have been taken out when the pipes from the loft descend from the ceiling. I am therefore curious how the new floor is going to be hooked up.

Meanwhile, down in the living room, the carpet was folded back and an access panel fitted to aid access to the underneath of the floor and the radiator pipes.

Not so much a mystery hole, though an interesting hole nonetheless. 

Checking out the structure under the floor a small brick wall is visible upon which the beams rest. The floorboards then being attached to these beams. This is a slightly different layout than expected but it does confirm my theory about why parts of the floor are bouncier than others - the beams no longer rest on the wall.

There was something rather alarming, however. Take a look at this piece of wood that I'm told was a floorboard...

That's woodworm that is, or was. I didn't see any further evidence whilst hanging upside down in the hole but this could be serious. Somehow I now need to ascertain if this is a historical thing or a current thing.

So on that bombshell, I'll attempt to get some sleep. Goodnight?

Build Day 69

Not a lot happened yesterday. In fact, only one thing happened. The encirclement of metal tubes and wooden planks (aka the scaffolding) was deconstructed. I didn't get a picture last night, it being dark and all, so I took a picture this morning.

I also examined the roof to the kitchen. It was in quite a state. It had clearly been raining rubble for some time and the weight of the scaffolders / scaffolding had cracked several of the roof tiles.

That leads me nicely into the work done by the builders today, who spent the morning replacing tiles and clearing the detritus from the other tiles. Not quite as good as new, but much improved.

And that was it. Off they went to do whatever it is that they do when not doing things here. I imagine that they're setting up their next job. I suppose I could ask but I'm just being nosey.

As an aside, you really get the full effect of all the various conduits and pipes that crawl their way around the side wall. I don't like it. I don't know what the alternative is, but it looks such a mess to me. Here - what do you think?

Anyway, tomorrow promises some further developments. So until then, good night!

Build Day 68

Another day of work and another day closer to the end of the build. In fact, the builder's assistant has spent the day tidying up all the mess the various trades missed when they tidied and left.

Talking of which, it looks like the carpenter has packed up all his gear and shipped out. Today he was busy with the last of the door frames:

The last of the skirting boards:

And boxing in the underside of the staircase:

The builder's assistant also had been in the loft storage space to fit some breathable felt under the insulating foam. Which is all the more impressive considering he's taller than the doors in the rest of this house!

Turning briefly to the kitchen, the carpenter has left the skirting so that I can perfect its length once the kitchen is installed. This will minimise the amount of chopping I have to do later. There's also a length to fit once the plugs we never needed finally get removed.

Also in the kitchen, I did a grouting speed run. 20 minutes and not only are all the new tiles grouted but they're also squeaky clean.

Not a lot else to report from today. Scaffolding will be taken down soon, which will be a big visible mark of progress. I really should then get my neighbours (particularly the one whose path the scaffolding has been blocking for some time now)  a peace offering to apologise for all the disruption.

So I'll leave it there for today. Good night all 😊

Build Day 67

No gallivanting off to the theatre for me tonight, so I have a selection of pictures for you. Though first I need to set the record straight - it was Singin' in the Rain that we went to see. My tired brain invented a show called Walking in the Rain; which doesn't sound half as interesting! 

Back to the house shenanigans.

Carpenter came to entertain us with good music. He fitted the bannister today, and also some extra panels so now it looks like a proper staircase.

Here's what the rooms look like now. As you can see, they've started to tidy up as work winds it's way to a close:

Down in the kitchen, the fascias were fitted around the outside of the door/ windows and they were sealed inside and out. Window sills were also fixed into place. For the avoidance of doubt (which I often generate) we've moved on to stuff the builders have been up to.

I got a bit nervous when the angle grinder was taken to the edge of the wall above the door but there was no visible damage to my beautiful paintwork. I think they were just tidying up the excess plaster so that the strips of plastic would fit nicer.

I shouldn't have been worrying about this side though. I should have been worrying about the repair to the corner of the door into the living room. That had been damaged during dismantling of a nearby wall. I'm not keen on the new look...

...but at least it should be neat now and, once repainted, the metal edge stuff won't be visible. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot the new bit of cement that finishes the floor off. 

The builder has tasked me with finishing the floor tiles this weekend so that the carpenter can do his thing in the kitchen on Monday. I also need to re-home my extensive cardboard collection.