Build completed, Driveway almost completed.

We've lost another month and made more compromises but we are so close! Here is an update since the previous post: 

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors; Nearly...
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean; Walk-through done, Deep-clean a week away.
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT. Done! 

There are now steps from the patio to the base for a wooden out-building:  studio/office/gym/storage/whatever. 

We said goodby to the skip this week ('though I'm sure we'll need another one) and we'll be saying goodbye to the outside loo, too! You can see that the drive has been prepared, ready for the paviors to be completed in the next few days.

Inside the house, all the window blinds are in place.

All we have to do now is to find a removal company with a spare day in the near future - then pack! We hope it's a good long summer so that we can work on the garden (lawn, vegetable patch, flowers, etc.). 

Fingers crossed that the next post will be a happy one! 

Another Month has Dragged on...

We are almost a month further on, time-wise, but not much further than we were in our previous post:

The only things to be finished before we are able to move in are: 

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors;
• Installation of log burner;
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean;
• Sign-off by the Local Authority;
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT.

We have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. 

We're not sure why progress has been minimal but here is an update to the above:

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors - the guys doing the driveway are also going to put in some gate-posts and they decided that the posts need to be done before the rest of the drive can be laid. To get the sizes exact, they want to wait until the gates are delivered - the gates are on order but are not scheduled for delivery for another few weeks yet. However, they've made a great job of the round-the-house paving - see photo;

• Installation of log burner - YAY! Done - see photo;
  
  
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean - obviously the last thing is to clean and this is best left (apparently) until the drive is paviors rather than mud;
  
  
• Sign-off by the Local Authority - YAY! Building Regs are signed off, subject to a couple of provisos;
  
  
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT - in hand.

So we're still saying that we have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. (Do I sound just a bit fed up?) 

Anyway, the latest photographs are below.

More soon...

Our New Build House Project is almost complete!

The only things to be finished before we are able to move in are: 

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors;
• Installation of log burner;
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean;
• Sign-off by the Local Authority;
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT.

We have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. At this stage, before furniture goes in, we intend to walk round with a smart phone and video the result of all the work to date. There will still be odds and ends still to do but these are non-essential and we don't want to wait forever so they can be mini-projects once we are living there. 

Other than that, the hold-ups are just long lead-times for the out-buildings we are ordering (e.g. the carport and a shed) plus the gates. These vary between 8 weeks and 14 weeks. 

Meanwhile, around the portaloo, we have pallets of paving ready to go down next week.

Plumbing completed: Kitchen, Utility Rooms & Bathrooms

An essential step forward! When we move into our home, we'll be able to use the bath, showers, w.c. and Quooker! Another significant moment was walking into a warm house when we visited it last weekend. The house is beginning to take shape and almost feels like a home. 

We have the upstairs window blinds ready to go up as soon as the decorating is finished (it's starting next week) and the downstairs blinds should be delivered within the next two weeks.

The sliding doors to hide the utilities are now installed and we are looking to purchase fittings for the built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms. Also, we are now able to put in our order for the tambour doors for the kitchen.

We are currently trying to arrange installation of the log burner, which we purchased such a long time ago. Unfortunately, there is an issue with the granite hearth where one side is 1cm higher than the other side, then it needs some finishing-off between the hearth and the floor. This will either be granite strips, floor wood cuts or a smooth coating of filler, painted black, under the black granite hearth.

Here are some photographs from our recent visit, starting with the sliding wall to hide the utilities:

The glass is in the stairs now: 

Two showers:

Note that the skirting boards have been added now. More images to follow in future posts, in a few weeks. Hopefully, the hard landscaping will be starting soon, as the materials are all stacked in the garden. It is essential to have the disabled access in place (a requirement by the local planning authority) before the house can be signed off - and the driveway must be porous. Signing-off is necessary as soon as possible so that we can have an official address because the post office and telecoms services won't act until it's done. However, our house is now visible using Google maps!

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave your relevant comments.

Quartz Worktops - Kitchen & Utility Room

It's the final week and update of 2020. Cawdor Stone of Woolmer Green, Knebworth, have been exceptional with advice and fitting service. Here are photographs of the quartz worktops they supplied for the kitchen and utility room. They also fitted a shaped worktop with splash-back in the en-suite, which we'll photograph and post early next year.

The sliding doors to hide the ugly stuff in the utility room are on order, due around the end of January. This is a two-door system: one half will open to reveal the laundry facilities, the other half will provide access to the boiler, water softener and the hot water tank.

The blinds, according to UPS, were 'delivered' but - not to our house! The blinds company are playing detective and, meanwhile, are manufacturing some more for us. These are all made to measure and we expect to see the new consignment before the end of January. Once we're satisfied, we'll order the blinds for the rest of the house.

Finally, now that the worktop and kitchen units are in place, we can order the tambour door kits, also made to measure, which will hide frequently used small appliances that will be kept on the worktops.

That's about it for now. Updates will recommence next month. In the meantime, we wish you a happy, healthy and safe 2021.

Plumbers, Electricians, Carpenters & more...

   * * * * *  

A quick check-list of what's been happening in the house over the past month:

• the flooring is down (see above)
• the doors are (mostly) in place
• the wardrobe doors have been fitted
• the bathroom units have been installed
• the skirtings have been delivered and are being installed
• the gas has been connected (finally)
• there are lights in every room
• the kitchen worktops are on order
• the window blinds for the bedrooms and bathrooms have been ordered
• the bathroom and shower wall panelling is being installed

The carpenters had to cut off a corner at the top of one of the wardrobe doors to enable it to fit in the eaves bedroom, therefore we had to source a solid wood door. The same guys have also been hanging the room doors, fitting the skirtings, installing the fitted units in the bathroom and putting up the shower panelling. They were working long hours and needed to be able to see what they were doing so the electrician was called in. 

 

Wardrobe Doors: cut to shape and size by the carpenters

Still to do: install the log burner and fnish off the hearth; order some more window blinds (for the ground floor rooms) and order a set of sliding doors to hide the boiler and hot water tank from the rest of the utility room. The hob, taps and showers need to be installed by the electrican and plumbers, once the worktops and walls are completed. Then we need to thoroughly clean throughout the house and bring in the decorator to give all the walls and ceilings a one (or twice) over. 

We won't be in for Christmas, unfortunately, as the covid situation has cost us about 12 weeks' delay. 

** Wishing you a Happy Christmas ** 
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We'll keep you posted!
P.S. This is a useful blog for crafty DIYers: catalogue of home ideas 

Current Building Project Update (pre-lockdown2)

The new stairs are in! It's so much easier than using a wobbly old ladder. 

Prior to the stairs being installed, the plumbers managed (I don't know how) to take the slipper bath to the first floor - it took them the best part of two hours! They've positioned the bath and basin taps and their next job will be to fit the Quooker and Belfast sink in the kitchen plus the tap and sink in the utility, as these have all been delivered.

Slipper Bath - Image from Supplier's Website

Showers

We are still unable to install the showers, for two reasons. We have the shower units but they can't go on the wall until the shower wall panels have been delivered. One shower tray has been on order for weeks and we have had the date moved back two or three times - they are now saying December. We can't trust this company not to delay it further so we are cancelling the order and choosing a new shower which we hope to have sometime next week.

The other shower tray has been on site for weeks. Unfortunately, when the plumbers began to install this one, the drain in the shower tray made it unuseable, as it was sited on two load-bearing joists. We have ordered a replacement tray but, unfortunately, the supplier does not arrange collections. Trying to send this back is proving costly as it is over 50% of the refundable amount so... would anyone like to buy a shower tray?

Kitchen worktop

We decided to use a local company that we have used before. Cawdor Stone in Knebworth is a family business, situated next to Lessiters (chocolatiers). Making a choice that complemented the white hob and mid-grey units was difficult but Graeme at Cawdor was very helpful (as well as knowledgeable), letting us take a few samples away to try out. It's only a few minutes from their showroom to the site so swapping samples was relatively painless. Their prices were reasonable too. We have booked a date for the templating and installation will be a week later.

Round-up of other items - our tasks

• We are meeting with the 'sparks' this week to finalise the lights and light-switches, a pop-up socket in the island plus any other visible electrical bits and bobs.
  
  
• There are no bathroom units, even though we have the basin and taps. We need to measure up tomorrow before the next lockdown so that we can get them on order. We'll probably use Howdens again.

• The built-in wardrobe frame is in place but we need to buy some doors - one of which has to be cut on a slant because of the sloping ceiling - we're seeking advice from the 'chippies'.

• We need to buy sliding doors to hide the works in the utility room - boiler, water softener, water tank, etc. We started with Magnet trade but have found similar doors for half that price elsewhere - we are currently looking further into this prior to ordering.
  
  
• The company who will be installing the log burner has already installed the granite hearth but we want the edges rounded, which we hope they can do without too much difficulty.
  
  
• We've started to look at aggregates/slabs/whatever for the driveway and patio. These must be porous in accordance with building regs/planning permission and must also enable people with mobility issues to easily access the house from a car (e.g. high piles of loose gravel is not suitable for wheelchair users).

In hand: Flooring is scheduled for the week commencing 17th November. The worktop is to be installed the following week. The internal doors - about 15 of them - will be hung after the flooring is completed.

Still to be addressed: As listed above plus chasing up other orders as supplies are getting tighter plus the company who were supposed to connect the gas didn't turn up, so we're trying to resolve this as urgently as possible.

 

There are probably quite a few more things that will come up on a daily basis. 

Next instalment scheduled for the end of the month!