Author: peterb51

17th May 2018

Nicola and Colin came to up to help me again. Nicola tackled the garden turning it from a weed infested nightmare into a weedless nightmare. The garden is another project, but at least it looks a lot more presentable.

Colin was helping me fit battens to the wall for more plasterboard. Although the walls were not bad I wanted to get the whole wall as straight and true as possible. After several hours of alignment and tweaks we finally got it looking good.

The ceiling in the main bathroom area was plastered, it was a relief to see that done. I kept out of the way, I wanted to experience delight at seeing it transformed. Yes my life is filled with even the most trivial pleasures.

It was one of those days when even the simplest things make me laugh.

I had to trim a sheet of flooring chipboard, I got my circular saw from the shed, set up a guide to give a true cut, clamping everything down on my Black & Decker workmate.

I switched on the saw, and slowly started the cut. It was perfect, on the line, and as the off-cut fell away so did part of my workmate.

There is very little of the original top is left, an edge, a corner all have disappeared, it is a sad and sorry sight.

16th May 2018

The day of the red fridge freezer had arrived.

“You’re going to hate me for this” I said pointing to the slope.

“That’s okay, we’re used to difficult deliveries” replied the youngest lad, however the bravado changed halfway up the path. The sap was raising, and inside I was smiling, “those youngsters think they know it all.”

Everything that had been ordered had been delivered, so again the place looks like a warehouse.

All this heavy moving and lifting is making me loose weight, I have been contemplating punching another hole in my belt, to avoid exposing my peachy parts to unprepared souls.

Andy finally got round to fitting the plasterboard to part of the long wall, this will enable him to start plastering the ceiling.

The evening was spent at the Mint Rooms with Abbot and Costello, always a great time even though only half the gang could make it.

15th May 2018

What a terrible night, I could not sleep with my head full of outstanding issues and conflicts.

It’s like you are stuck in glue, not able to concentrate, the night is long when you are watching the time change. I felt I was not in control, the budget was running close to the line, and the bathroom still had to be finished.

In the early hours I had to resolve something.

I wanted the bathroom ceiling plastered so that it could be painted ready for the second fix electrics. Unfortunately that couldn’t be done until the walls were boarded out. Andy was busy with the pipe work, so that for him was the priority.

This was a bad day, there are some things I can do on my own, but it is difficult for two people working in such a confined space, so often my work can only start when Andy finishes for the day.

I resigned myself that maybe tomorrow it will be back on track

14th May 2018

I had high hopes for the day. Firstly a man came to make the templates for the kitchen. He was due at 8.00am which meant an early start, again. Armed with sheets of thin MDF he set about cutting and trimming them into accurate sized patterns. I was impressed that he used a jigsaw upside down, not something I was keen to try, but the cut lines were perfectly straight.

Next I wanted to get rid of the growing pile of rubbish, so the Shogun was loaded up to the roof.

Andy didn’t fit the shower tray on Sunday like he said he would, so that was the first disappointment of the day.

Progress has been slipping every day, and it looks unlikely that the bathroom will be finished before I leave for the US.

I did push Andy to get the tray bedded before the end of the day.

This was really difficult to do, there was a bed of cement that the tray had be be lowered on to. Fortunately Andy brought along some suction handles to help with the task. I felt my neck swell up like a bullfrog as I took the strain. The best antidote for this is swearing, really bad words, and very loud, it was all over very quickly, and after a bit of shuffling it was done.

13th May 2018

Breakfast outside is a rare and pleasant experience that makes even toast taste better.

The badgers kept away, therefore Nicola and Colin had an undisturbed night sleep. I have slept through most of it which is a blessing, I don’t think the villagers could tolerate three fully grown adults chasing a creature round the garden like crazy Druids. I therefore leave it to the experts.

12th May 2018

I drove up to Cribbs Causeway to collect the tiles for the bathroom, this was a pleasant drive up the M5, if there is such a thing, but different from the usual route.

The tiles were six hundred by three hundred porcelain slabs that weighed a ton. The poor Shogun, it it could talk would call me every name under the sun, as the boxes on tiles were loaded into the back, the floor got closer to the ground.

As I made my way along the M4 I could see the fuel level dropping, as long as the wheels didn’t drop off I would make it.

I stopped off a Interior Harmony as promised, and the new extractor was ordered.

I tried to pick a route back to the cottage that didn’t have too many hills, of course as soon as I was back I had to carry the tiles up the slope.

Even using the green trolley was hard trying to pull it with two packs in it made the sap rise.

Andy wasn’t there to help either, he didn’t arrive until I had finished the heavy lifting.

By the time he fitted the cement board to the floor there wasn’t time to mix the cement and bed down the shower tray. He said he would get a friend to help him on Sunday, mmm let’s see if that happens.

11th May 2018

Colin the installer was finishing installing the dishwasher, and moved on to the fit the extractor hood. He then informed me that the socket position interfered with the position of the hood. Because of the low ceiling it had to be fitted up against it, then the fixing screws couldn’t be accessed. It was a bad morning.

This was the first time I had seen the product, it was not shown on the plan, and it was quite large, and if fitted would have clashed with the spotlight positions. That was a drag, and meant drastic phone calls back to the showroom to find an alternative. Poor Leroy, he normally talks at a hundred miles an hour, but this took him supersonic. I agree to stop off at the showroom the next morning to confirm the other product.

I was really hoping to have the shower tray laid and settled by the close of play, but that wasn’t going to happen, Andy said he would drop round on Saturday afternoon, once his hangover had cleared.

10th May 2018

Colin the installer was there bright and early. Within a short time he was fixing the legs on to the tallest unit, and moved it into position.

There were a few minor adjustments to be made, but he carried on relentlessly until all the units were in position and looking great.

I worked on making a frame to fill a recess in the bathroom where the shower will be sited.

I also had to get rid of a mountain of rubbish that had been building up.

In an organised way I loaded the car with old wood, cardboard and plasterboard in the order that the bins are laid out at the recycling centre. Smugly, I drove off, but the centre was in chaos, apart from the plasterboard, my plan came apart as they had closed the cardboard bin, so I had to adapt a different strategy.

Emptying the cardboard on the ground, I carried the wood towards the bin. An attendant was trying to block it off, but the many people refused to acknowledge him, and continued to dump their rubbish. I joined the rebels, and finished my dumping.

I picked up the remaining bathroom items from Leekes to apply a bit of visual pressure to Andy to make more progress.

9th May 2018

Today was a landmark day, the kitchen units were being delivered. I had cleared space so that they could stored ready for the installation.

I was expecting two burly guys, bulging with tattoos and muscles to turn up with a carcase under each arm, the reality was only one chap, and the designer, Linda. It was bank holiday week, so too much sun and booze resulting in an absent assistant.

I looked at the packages, and offered my strength, or what was left of it. The sun had burnt off the morning mist, so the temperature was rising. We marshalled the boxes off the truck, and started the slow trek up the slope. I was pushing from the rear, and could hear the gasping coming from the front. To break up the journey, we established a base camp at the bottom of the garden path, and stacked the boxes there.

The poor guy was bathed in sweat and breathing loudly, I on the other hand, was relatively relaxed. Linda was carrying smaller boxes, but still dressed in a fleece. Eventually even she succumbed to the heat. One last push from base camp to living room was successful. The oven unit was the most difficult to get through the front door, but with bloody knuckles we made it. I gave the chap my bottled water which he gulped in one go. He kept mumbling that he wasn’t paid enough to carry furniture up the side of a mountain.

Once the job was done, off they went.

Colin the installer arrived later in the afternoon to bring his tools ready for tomorrow’s install.

I had driven to Leekes to collect the shower tray. I prepared the back of the Shogun ready for the load, and looked in horror as three attendants wheeled this monster towards me.

It took all of them to load it into the car, the suspension groaned, and my only thought was “how the heck will I get it to the cottage?”

Andy had not turned up in the morning, as he had another customer to attend to. I messaged him to find out when he would appear, and said that I had this monolith waiting to be carried up.

That was the heaviest thing I have moved in the whole project. The tray is a solid concrete slab over cast with a resin to form the tray, I was so concerned that we might drop it as we climbed the steps, the strain on my knees was tremendous, but eventually we made it into the bathroom, and both collapsed in triumph.

8th May 2018

I was at the tile and flooring store when it opened. I loaded up the tub and set off back to oak floor city.

” this will only take an hour” I said to my self, three hours later I laid the last piece.

The things on my list were many, mostly to do with the bathroom floor. I finished cutting the joists with a lot of half lap joints to cut.

There are days when I can cut the perfect joint, but this wasn’t one of them, it’s not critical, and will never be seen, but I try with each cut to make it good, what a big saddo.