Day 202-3. Not a lot

Brief view of Pete tPP on monday, though I don't know what he did. No-one on tuesday as far as I can tell: phoned Bob, who says roofers due tomorrow.

Day 201. Minor plumbing.

Signs of Pete tPP today, but occaisional (he says this is a major call out day). So I don't know what he was getting up to.

Day 200. Flat roof and Plumbing

Before 8, the flat roofer (M P Roofing I think; 07762 423928) is humping gas cylinders up the ladder at the back, and before I get up he is most of the way through the job - its only 3 foot square. Good: now the tilers can finish.

Otherwise, Pete tPP is here before 9, waiting for Ian, as he has realised he needs to check where the pipes are to go; I leave him and Ian to it. When I get back at 3 the bolier in on the wall, the flue sticks out, and there are two neat brick cores in the kitchen where he cut though. I kid him that they aren't straight: he replies that of course they aren't - they have to slope down. Oops. I haven't looked in the loft but apparently he has the pipes run to the boiler behind my woodwork.

[nb: I initially got the numbering of this wrong. It is day 200! Celebrate (err...)]

Day 199. Plumbing and glass brick window

Mostly plumbing today. Pete has to drain the system down to fit the radiator back on the wall, and takes the opportunity to swap some of the radiator vales over (I said, why don't you use that clever stuff that freezes the pipes and means you don't have to drain? And he said, we only use that when desparate). Other misc stuff - I wasn't here.

Notice in this pic the new lintel, and line of filling bricks, above the window: when built, there was no real lintel, just some concrete, and resting on the old window frames. Which must have been a bit of a fiddle when they swapped in the double glazing whenever.

Today Pete the bricklayer does the glass block window at the side (since they are glass bricks this is a bricklaying job...); they have been around since before christmas. I think it got put off because it was slightly tricky to do the last ones from the inside, for obvious reasons. Happily, our relations with Betty are now OK (indeed she is invited over for tea today) and M asks her if Pete can put a ladder up on her side, and this is OK. So perhaps waiting was sensible!

Living with a newly, err, expanded kitchen is OK, though its cold (fortunately today is somewhat above zero, whereas yesterday was definitely below zero (outside, not in)).

Pics: see-also 2006-01 at flickr.

Day 197-8. Breakthrough!

I don't recall anything happening on monday.

Today however is all go. Pete chips away at the wall into the kitchen, and by the end of the day we have a nice gaping hole into the new kitchen area. This gives us a nice feel of the spaciousness that we will get; and makes us cold. BtB had forgotten we had no lock on the kitchen door; we phoned up and a chippy is arranged to put the lock on. Meanwhile Pete tPP arrives to look at putting the boiler up in the loft. With the aid of the other Pete, the boiler and the cylinder are got up; a backplate fixed, and a sheet of thermal stuff found and cut. Pete also takes off the radiator in the kitchen on the wall that is no longer there; tomorrow he will move it to somewhere more useful.

There was some kind of problem with the drains, now rodded. I wasn't there for that.

Bob is around when I get back for lunch at 2. Talk this+that and schedule: flat roofer for tomorrow (there is a little flat roof at the top at the back about 3x3 feet); tiles finished friday. Pete will be in tomorrow changing radiator valves and fixing the kitchen rad. Spiral stair nears arrival.

Must put up pix of the big hole. There was far less dust and mess than anticipated. Perhaps someone more house-proud might have noticed more. We just got a v thin layer of dust to sit on top of the existing layer of dust :-)

I discuss with Pete tPP where the pipes etc are to go. All this is made up on the fly - or he likes to give the impression that it is. Its certainly not on the architects drawings, Pete just does his best as things arise. We'll need water and gas in the loft now, of course, and he will find some way to get it there.

Day 196. Plumber foiled!

Carpenters here early, and set to putting in the last of the big white bits of joinery - the top frame at the back. Meanwhile Pete tPP is wondering where his boiler and cylinder are, since he is supposed to begin fitting them but they haven't turned up. I leave him pondering this; when I get back past 3:30 the kit is here but everyone else has gone. By co-incicence, today our boiler pilot light blows out (the high winds? the half removed baffles?) so its about time for a new one.

Day 195. Joinery

Noises off as we lie in bed... its the 8 am builders again, first for some time. And its Tim and X, the carpenters, here to put our joinery in. Jolly good. First off they saw off the cill of the kitchen door... that seems rather bold, but I'm sure they know what they are up to! In fact, I've come to realise that there is an awful lot of stuff to this building thingy.

When I get back the front is in; the kitchen too; the back is 1/2 in.

Day 194. Tiles

No-one around when I left at 11 (other than Ian with a certificate-of-work, which means that Bob is going to put another bill in!). I was expecting Pete the Portly Plumber, and perhaps the carpenters but no. However, when I get back just before 4 the roofers are still here, finishing their tea (when I think about it, perhaps working underneath roofers is considered a Bad Idea). And asking for a bucket of water to refill the van. Roofers seem to be a rougher wilder lot, though still nice folk. Just a bit further out on the edge, so to speak. They have got most of the first (street) sied done. They complain a bit about having to to-and-fro (battening and felting before cmas; tiling some, back tomorrow, etc) but thats between Bob and them. We just make the tea and pay the bills.

Photos. I haven't been very good about uploading those recently, its a bit of a faff. What I shall do is upload them to flickr. So the January 2006 and December 2005 sets are available. This pic shows E in the new kitchen, with the hole that Pete was patiently knocking out yesterday behind.

Day 193. Holes!

Today was a day of much activity, or at least activity with visible results. It saw the return of Paul and Pete the bricklayer.

Paul did a lot of work around tidying up and dumping junk into the skip (not aided by it being the wrong way round...) so things look much better. He also sorted out the interior of the side extension which had accumulated all sorts of stuff piled around.

Pete started off figuring out where the hole from the side into the loft was to go. There is rather more than reading plans involved in this, he has to choose which course of bricks to go to and indeed work out where the ceilings are. Ian came down to consult; I went into the loft to move stuff away from the wall and remembered the beam that runs across at the end; that didn't constrain things too much. We ended up with a smaller hole than hoped for but big enough I hope; the hole is there and the lintels in place.

At some point some heavy joinery turned up: the frames for the side, front and back. I helped Paul carry the two back right angle bits to the back; this gave me my first taste of we-have-no-back-access-anymore, as we took them via Dot. In theory we could have gone through the field of course. They are big though.

pm, Pete was hacking at the front of the house, and has removed 1/2 of the width in the outer course of bricks below the kitchen windowsill. But this can't be knocked through till we're secure.

Carpenters are due tomorrow for the joinery; roofers thurs?

Day 192: Finished plastering

Today only Mr Plasterer was here; not his ?son? Perhaps because there was only a bit to finish off. At the end, we have 3 walls (not the one of the house which is to be cut out) done.

Day 191: More plastering, sand and a skip

The plasterers are here again, doing the inside walls of the kitchen today (ceiling yesterday). But only to rough-work stage I think.

The promised skip turns up. I have to stop the plasterers helping Mr Skip try to squeeze it into the drive where it won't fit - its going into the parking spaces. And it does. Only later do I realise its backwards, but happily Bob turned up during the process and he didn't notice either, so I phone him. He says they can turn it round.

We have a schedule from him: frames for the extension tuesday; roof wednesday. Boiler and tank... not sure.

Pete the plumber has been round and gobbed up a fix for the washing machine. Its still discharging onto the gravel, but at least it won't get blocked by the insulation. In fact all he did was knock a hole in a breather-brick... I could have done that, but didn't think of it. And it was a bit fragile, his fix, so I improve it a bit.

And just when I thought we were done for the day, 3 tonne bags of sand turn up. Manage to find space for them. It is astonishing how many tonnes of sand go into a house... I wonder if Bob knows how many in total? I shall ask him.

Later: tidy up a bit.

Day 190: plasterers and confab

Plasterers arrive and are just setting up (and realising there are some things they don't know: but thats OK cos...):

Ian and Bob and Pete-the-plumber arrive and we have agood long talk about where things are to go (new boiler plus tank in the loft; adjusting side hatch to suit) and how to sequence; of course I forgot to take notes or get exact commitment to timings but I think things will start rolling along now.

pm: talk with Ian about the handle for the stairs: settle on 38mm round, which is the std. Wood would have been absurdly expensive. Realise (or Ian does) that we have no letterbox and the front door is all glass. Fortunately IIan phones Bob) thats the one door not yet made: so get brochures.

Plasterers do the ceiling of the kitchen.

Soir: at 23:59 decide on a mostly glass door with a wide centre bar.

Day 186-189: Kitchen electrics

Not a lot that I noticed on fri, mon or tues (though I'm pretty sure I went to talk to Ian). But on weds Carl turns up to finish off the kitchen electrics, which is good in itself and also good cos it means the plasterers will be here tomorrow. He does a full days work and finishes at 5 in lamplight.

Day 185: Velux (#2)

No sign of any builders when we leave today. And when I get back the tiles are not on (though have some been carried up?). But... the velux has been put in place. Progress!

Day 184-185: talks with Ian

Day 184 was friday before cmas; day 185 is tuesday after new year.

Talk to Ian (and via speakerphone with Bob). Initially about the stairs: ordering the basic stairs is fine; the handrail is a problem. I wanted wood but they want £1,800 for it. Metal would have been £300 (perhaps). Maybe Parker joinery can do better? Bob to ask them. Expressing some dissatisfaction with slowness; Bob says Carl is due "this week" for the kitchen electrics and the plasterers are booked for next week; and then details the various other stuff that is scheduled. Probably OK. I ask about the tiling; Bob is surprised that it isn't done and promises to phone them...

Talk to Ian re the slightly ill-defined state of the upstairs plans: decide on floorboards throughout (inc bathroom) but they will probably be thinner (13 (14?) mm not 22) than downstairs. We also need to meet with him (later fixed for friday) to discuss the doors, etc that we want inside.