Gone with the old (floor), in with the new

Gone with the old...

Raw floorboards

The sharper minds amongst you may have noticed that the momentum this blog originally had has ever so slightly dropped in recent weeks. This is mostly due to the fact that momentum in the building work has dropped equally. Things have been happening however. In the last three weeks, the entire ground floor has been stripped back to the original floorboard, and has been, over the course of two weekends, been replaced with our beautiful new wooden floor. It is now fully done, and, although still covered with cardboard strips to protect it through most of the ground floor, it is looking rather very nice.

Packs of wooden slates waiting to be laid.

Packs of wooden slates waiting to be laid.

The bare hallway.

No floor in the lounge

No floor in the lounge 

Packs of wooden slates waiting to be laid.

In with the new... 

The only place where we can see the new floor properly

The kitchen has also seen some substantial progress in the last week. We now have worktops, and, crucially, a working sink, complete with a working tap! This means that, for the first time in weeks, we can actually wash the dishes standing up rather than folded in two over the bath. Now this IS progress!

And they're off again...

Panokitchenramic

This is NOT the island

Oven tower and fridge hideout

In recent weeks (for at least the last two) progress has all but stalled. Apart for the ceiling lights in the bathroom, there hadn't been anything happening, but it's all changed now that the kitchen has been delivered. It arrived yesterday, and installation started there and then. 

This gap should accommodate a reasonable number of bottles, don't you reckon? 

Sean's new toy

More on Sean's new toy

Wine fridges go here.

The high cupboards and the island went up today, giving much more a sense of what the room will feel like once all done, and it is all looking rather lovely. It is actually nice to see it for real, at long last, after seeing surface samples and 3D renderings. The debate about having low or high cupboards with dark finish went on for some time, but I always thought it would be much nicer to have the high cupboards darker, and I am pleased to see that it is working exactly as I imagined. Can't wait to see it all finished now. We still have to decide on the floor, but the end of the tunnel has become slightly visible now... 

Outside, the first coat of paint has been applied, and it's looking rather fine, don't you think? 

Cat used to provide some contrast...

An extended post about our extension...

A mountain! We had a mountain in our street!

The blog may have stalled, but work has been carrying on at good pace in the last few weeks. Perhaps the biggest change though is that we have now moved back in, which means that the bathroom, although not quite finished, is now fully usable. All is missing now is paint on the wall (we're getting there with that - will it be mushroom-y?), the mirrors about the sink and on the walls (oh yes, will have enough mirrors to see ourselves into infinity) and the towel rail.

The heavy work on the extension is nearing completion too. The roof is now firmly on, the kitchen window, door frames and skylight are in too, and the door windows should be in by tomorrow hopefully. The walls are also plastered, and the outside it also looking nicer by the day.

Since it's been a while since I last updated, here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

E-lec-tri-ci-ty

Cables dangling down from the ceiling, pipes coming up from the ground, and stuff...

The extension with the old set of windows and doors

The extension with the new set of windows and doors... and a bit of slap on too

The extension as seen from the next door neighbour's garden

The new bifold doors. There will be glass in those frames soon. 

The new bifold doors. There will be glass in those frames soon. 

The new ceiling with the hole for the skylight

Bath and sink in

The back wall, which will eventually be all mirrored 

Sink and what will eventually be a towel rail

Bath panel, tiles and floor. This is a near completion as we are

What a difference a week makes

The old room

And the new

It's been a week since the last update, and since we last visited the house, the old outside wall has come down, instantly pretty much doubling the size of the room, and the steel beams have gone up, apparently not without a heavy dose of expletives. They did look pretty heavy when they were in the garden, and now they are forming the frame which is holding the house up, they look even more hefty. 

That's one big beam

The extension roof

Our builders are showing further signs of interesting artistry, this week convincingly tackling the auto-portrait genre.

The bathroom is also well on its way now. The shower is in place and tiled, and everything else has found its rightful place too. There should now only be a few more weeks before we can move back in.

View from above

Visiting the house as everybody is climbing ladders/carrying things/nailing things/shouting 'mind yourselves' everywhere, I caught the chance to have a look at what the view is from the roof. Not that it'll ever be useful of course, but I'm always up for grabbing a bit of fun. 

Something we never thought about, using the window cill to carry cups of tea  

No building site would be complete without a bit of builder's art, so here are a few examples for all to enjoy.

Meanwhile, the lounge is not looking like the most welcoming place in the world right now...

We have a roof!

So, the roof went on the other day. Apparently though, not quite the right type (something to do with builders taking an executive decision of the 'wrong' kind). The one of the pictures is, I believe, the right one. At least, it looks like the work will now be kinda less dependent on weather.

 It is still quite difficult to really have a full idea of what the room will look like, but the old wall is meant to come down imminently.

It is easier to get an idea of just how big the bifold window will be. All we'll need then it's sunshine to enjoy it fully.

These mean-looking things will be holding the house up once the old back wall and windows are gone.

 Progress in the bathroom too. The mummified bath is certainly a feature I wasn't expecting, but everybody will want one by the time we're done. It's a winner!