Week 17 - build update

Another good week - pretty full on but still a reasonable amount left to do but dare I say it, the end is in sight. Well the end of the build, then I start to tackle the rest of the house!!

Monday

The tiler arrived to start laying the kitchen floor - the shower panels were fixed into place, the bedroom floor made good progress and it was so good to see the pigeon holes up!

Tuesday

More tiles down in the kitchen, we now have a downstairs loo and can use the shower (hence my attempt at a blind!!) and work on the outside of the dormer nearly done.

Wednesday

The fancy tiles went down in the kitchen and I LOVE them! The bathroom got paneled out, the inside dormer plaster boarded out and my poor new, white bedroom floor got covered in mess (sigh!)

Thursday

Tiles down but the tilers now not back until Saturday afternoon to grout them. The dormer inside and out is now awaiting the plasterer's. The bathroom is now awaiting the electrician to second fix and the plumber to put up the heated towel rail. Oh! and more mess in my lovely bedroom!

Friday

A huge wash down and clear up today by the main builders as they head off next week onto a new project - I'll be sad to see them go. The carpenter has made a start on our bedroom wardrobes and has probably the biggest 'to do' list for next week now we're down to just one!

Highlight for me this week by far, has been the kitchen floor going down.

So next week the plasterer's should be returning to plaster the dormer inside and render the outside, plus skim the bathroom ceiling and the utility room. The carpenter has quite a few jobs on the the 'to do' list and the main builders have a few bits to do before they go off to their next build. I'm hoping by the end of next week it might just be the decorators left but we'll see!

Half term

This half term hasn't been the most relaxing of breaks - we've been up and out of the builders way by 8am, so no lie-in's. Even today the decorators were in bright and early.

Sophie and I have been enjoying days out whilst the boys have spent most of the week at home - Sam on his computer, Jeff fielding questions and trying to write reports.

We went to Cribbs Bristol and Ikea on Monday, sofa hunting and think we may have found the 'one' in John Lewis. Now to decide what colour fabric to go with, although I shall not be decorating the sitting room for a couple of months yet.

I was able to go my Slimming World group at last. I've missed 5 Friday's due to the build and having to be here at home. I faced the scales and since Christmas had put on only 2lbs, so I was pretty pleased with that considering everything that's going on and no kitchen for 2 weeks.

I received this lovely hamper from Slimming World too, to thank me for my positive Instagram account and for spreading the word about how wonderful SW is. Just need a kitchen now, to cook the dish they suggested from their new cook book. Hopefully by the Easter hols we will be done with all the building work and although busy with the subsequent decorating, it will be a far more relaxed break.

Week 16 - build update

So what a week - a week I've been dreading but great progress all round.

This week we have had to manage without a kitchen or a bathroom, other than a loo and a sink between 5pm and 8am. We've eaten out for lunch and had picky sandwich teas. We've showered at my sister's and used the local swimming pool's facilities!! We've survived but have to do it all over again next week, with work and school thrown into the mix too!

Monday

Sophie and I went out all day Monday and came back to the kitchen and bathroom completely stripped out and the front garden resembling the local tip!

Tuesday

Tuesday saw the old kitchen partitioned in half ready to house the downstairs loo and utility area. The cooker hood and splash-back went up in the kitchen and the shower tray was put in place!

Wednesday

Wednesday saw the kitchen being painted, the cupboard doors upstairs in the bedroom were made and finally, the scaffolding down the side of the house was taken down - what a difference!

Thursday

Thursday was dormer d-day! We've been waiting for planning to approve it, so as soon as we got the nod, it was all systems go and as you can see from the pic below, with the view of Glastonbury Tor, it was well worth the wait!

The new bathroom sink got temporarily plumbed in, the floor started to down in the bedroom and further work completed in the utility.

Friday 

So the window man arrived on Friday and fitted new windows in the box room, bathroom, new dormer, utility and loo. The remaining windows in the old part of the house will have to be replaced as and when we can afford them!!

So we now have a sink in the utility, ready to be up and running on Monday, when the kitchen sink will be out of bounds due to the floor tiler. The shower walls went up ready for the glass panels to go in on Monday and the kitchen got a bit of a clear out, for the painters to return on Saturday with everyone out of the way.

So, I think that's it!

Next week the kitchen floor tiles go down and we have no use of the kitchen at all! The plasterer returns to skim out the utility area and dormer. The roof tiles and outside finishing off will get done and the floor will continue to go down in the bedroom and possibly a start made on the wardrobe. So still plenty to do, I reckon another 3 weeks but we'll see!

Happy Valentine's Day

Given the chaos we are currently in, we agreed to not exchange gifts this Valentine's. We've no room to even display a card nicely at the moment but I couldn't resist buying a little 'something' and chocolate milk is his favourite x

Love my card(s) very apt as our surname is 'Pea'body xx

Hope you are being spoilt and romanced x

Week 15 - build update!

Everything seems in touching distance, yet there is still a LOT to do!

And this week got off to a frustratingly slow start again.

No one turned up on Monday due to the weather, Tuesday the Electrician and Plumber both turned up, unpacked their kit, packed up their kit and went off on emergencies, then one of the builders was sick so we were down to 2! Wednesday, the best day of the week and the plasterer called in sick - he was supposed to be rendering the side of the house but 3 carpenters arrived, the electrician returned, as did the plumber and the full 3 builders!

So this week a new fuse box was fitted for the the new part to get connected. We have a new front door and the old one has moved to become the interior kitchen door.

The bedhead wall in the bedroom has been panelled out ready for painting.

The bathroom has been stripped ready for work to start in there next week.

The box room is fast becoming the dumping room!!

The kitchen fitting is making great progress and...

... the panelling has started in the kitchen, boxing in all the wires etc.

And thankfully the plasterer returned on Thursday and Friday to render the side of the house, so the scaffolding can come down next week and the side wall and gate can be built.

So a good week in the end but next week will be by far the most challenging!

It's half term week but we will lose the use of the old kitchen and our bathroom, other than a loo from 5pm - 8am, so it's showers down at the swimming pool and toilet trips to Tesco's! Later today I have the job of moving the kitchen into the sitting room (if there's any space!!) They promised me the new kitchen would be ready but it's not, so we will be eating out a lot and making use of the toaster lol! Hopefully work on the dormer window can start too and the decorators return, so we will be keeping out of everyone's way and hoping everything goes to plan!

5 more minutes of fame!

HA! Today I am in Woman's Own magazine.

Bit disappointed the only mention to Slimming World is 'I even joined Slimming World'. Without Slimming World, I wouldn't be where I am today and I have everything to thank them for.

I'm embarrassed and proud in equal measures - I should of never let myself get that size in the first place, but I've worked hard to get the weight off, now the challenge to keep it off continues.

If my story can inspire one person to start their own weight loss journey, 

then it will have been worth it.

Decisions, decisions

It's time to choose a front door colour. On my run this morning, I caught myself looking at each front door I ran past, checking out the colour variations.

 The two pics above are of my last front door, as you can see the colour changes depending on the light. It was a Farrow and Ball colour, although no longer available and I must admit, I fancy a change. 

I still want a blue'ish door - found this image earlier and this is the colour I want. 

I would say it's a combination of 1 and 2 - so the search continues.

Week 14 - build update

This sums up my week, dust and mess everywhere but wow, what a week.

So much has happened.

The painters have arrived and given everywhere a mist coat.

The kitchen arrived on Thursday.......

.....and the fabulous Craig worked really hard all day Friday.

I've spent today giving it all a little clean and hoover up. I know it'll all be messy again next week but I feel better for it, although I'm itching to get in there 'proper'!

It is going to be a fabulous space.

The knock through from the main house to the new bit happened on Wednesday. I was dreading it and yes it was messy but not half as bad as I feared and the new bit does feel part of the whole house now. 

The roof on the front of the house is now finished and the scaffolding has come down. The side still needs to be rendered and the back is still awaiting the go ahead for the dormer. 

So a great week.

Next week should see the actual kitchen corner finished. The walls still need to be panelled and the room painted, then the floor tiles need to go down. The current front door will become the new kitchen door and the new front door will be hung. The electrician is arriving on Monday for second fix and the plumber will be moving us over to the new system and the under floor heating (such luxury) will be ready to be switched on. Outside the front drive pillars will be done, a gate fitted and wall along the side, side wall rendered and hopefully 2 other windows will be fitted. The bathroom is set to be cleared ready for the half term week, when we lose the bathroom and old kitchen and the new downstairs loo/utility will go in and new bathroom suite upstairs - eek! well that's the plan!!