A little bit of mid-week prep work before the coming weekend: fitting the wiring centre. This is the box of electronics which talks to the boiler and underfloor heating bits and tells who to do what and when. It's linked to wireless thermostats in different zones so that you can have full control of heating. …
Beaming with the light
After Saturday's scarring episode, something a little more robust and mechanical for Sunday. The kitchen beam still needed to be finished with the sander. In addition we'd decided to replace the grey cables the electrician had put up with some neater white wires. It would all have to come down but it's the sort of …
Washer you shink you’re doing?
Ain't nobody gonna ruin our floor. So we put down plastic dust sheets everywhere. It's sad to cover it up so soon but needs must. Meanwhile, we'd jumped on the ordering bandwagon and got the washing machine on order sharpish. It arrived right on time, what a joy to behold. It even has a light …
Laying down the floor Pt.5 – The Grout Escape
One of life's hardest, if niche, questions: what colour grout to use? The internet has a mix of opinions though a prominent one is to only use white, a rule we applied in Bristol. More experienced and discerning than ever though, we opted for a slightly rogue option: jade. It's a creamy off-white. We did …
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Laying down the floor Pt.4 – A Good Day to Tile Hard
After a few days in the south of the north for a McDonald Christmas it was back to the grinder. Not before a crisp winter's day photograph or two though. We'd made good use of our physical respite to work out what kitchen appliances we wanted. Once the floor was finished we could start populating …
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Laying down the floor Pt.3 – Return of the Tile Guy
The saga continues. Now with all external labour depleted, can our hero complete this Herculean task? There were disappointingly few whole tiles to put down in the two smaller rooms. Disappointing because it meant the inevitable start of tile cutting. Nonetheless, the whole tiles in all the rooms were down just in time for Christmas.
Laying down the floor Pt.2 – Bad Boys II
With all the boards glued overnight the first pieces of pipe could go in. Tuesday evening saw the start of the beginning of the end. It was remarkable easy too. Just pull it off the coil and walk it around the room stepping it into the grooves, following the arrows pencilled in on the floor. …
Laying down the floor Pt.1
Now begins an epic tale of floors, floor laying and more people ballsing things up for us. It all began with the wind up for Christmas. With several days of holiday in hand a regime of four day 'weekends' was imposed in order to bosh out some serious work. The quartermaster went to work, placing …
Moving the internet
One last job before the plasterboard on the end wall of the dining room went on: to move the internet. Grandiose expression perhaps, this is in fact just moving the phone line from where it enters the house. It snakes in through a hole in the front window frame then drops down into a little …
Boarding pass
Plasterboard, what a fascinating thing. A fine powder held in place by paper. Instant walling. Tapered at the edge for easy joining, strictly speaking there's no need to plaster it at all. To cut it to size all you need to do is score through one side of paper with a knife then snap it, …