A Hectic Week and Running out of Space

04 August 2010

Another interesting week. Strangely enough I am actually really enjoying our latest job. If you remember we are turning a large Victorian house into three flats. So far, everything is going to plan, but knowing my luck that is a situation which might not last.

We have ripped out the downstairs and nearly completed clearing the upstairs. While you might think the upstairs would be easier and quicker, I think it is actually going to be quite tricky. We have an old water heating system and unfortunately the loft will need complete stripping of all the insulation. Not a fun job at all.

Also in the garden is an old shed which I fear is made with asbestos board. Clearly that is a job for the experts and will take more time and money than expected. I will let you know how that tricky situation pans out.

One thing I am thankful for though, is the fact that the roof is in really good shape and all the ceilings are fine. We haven't got any damp and the damp proofing doesn't need redoing.

The builders have made a start on the downstairs and it looks like it is shaping up. The downstairs flat will be a good sized one bed, while upstairs will be two smaller one beds, one of which will have the bedroom in the loft.

Our builder is good bloke and I feel like I can trust him. Some of the kids he has got working for him are bit more interested in Katy than they are in their job though. A few times I have had to tell them concentrate on their plaster-boarding and stop chatting to her! I feel a bit like her Dad. In fact, I guess I feel quite protective as these blokes are never going to be good enough. She is ten times better at her job than they are!

I am also starting to get deliveries of all the kitchens and bathrooms, which is beginning to cause a problem space-wise. At the moment it is all piled into one room upstairs while the downstairs is built. But that will have to change when the builders head upstairs. Maybe I should have rented some storage space.

I have also been looking at the downstairs floor and it looks like it will need some serious levelling before I can lay the floor in the kitchen. That levelling compound is really expensive and wasn't built into my quote. I figured the floor would be more or less level. But as I have chosen tiles for the kitchen floor, it has to be perfect. I should have gone for lino!

Anyhow, things have been hectic, but fun. Home has been interesting too. Claire is busy searching out some work and is now considering something she can do from home. I thought the point was that she needed to get out of the house...having said that though, if she is at home then I don't have to worry about the kids myself. I am a selfish bloke at the end of the day.

It is school holidays at the moment and I think that Claire is getting cabin fever already. Give it a few weeks and she will be back to her usual self. Won't she?