If Time Could Be Bottled

27 January 2011

If time could be bottled and sold, I would be buying plenty more of it this week. I have less than one week left to get this flat into a habitable state for the tenant and it really looks like I am not going to get it done.

The list of jobs still left to do is about as long as my arm. The carpet was laid the day before yesterday, so my priority was getting the painting done in the bedrooms and living room. This meant all of the walls and the trims and the ceilings. It took me two full days to get that done and it was still drying when the carpet guys arrived. Don’t mention suede effect walls !

I still have to lay the floors in the kitchen and bathroom, paint both of those rooms, put down new skirting in both rooms and then go round the whole house putting in all of the finishing touches. This includes the new face plates for the light switches and the electric points. Giving the whole place a really good clean is also a must, as there is dust on pretty much every surface.

Once all that is done, my last job will be checking the electrics to make sure the readings are correct. I then have to fill in the relevant certificates. I have to admit that I hate paperwork. Sometimes I feel that I spend more time hunched over the computer punching in numbers than I actually spend putting in the electrics. But I am also aware that there are some electricians out there who simply make up the numbers and don't bother with all of the required checks. I couldn't walk away from a job without knowing that the person living there was completely safe. Imagine how I would feel if someone was hurt because I was a lazy sod....it doesn't bear thinking about.

Speaking of checking my work, I had my yearly inspection this week. Part of my membership of the trade body for electricians is that they need to come and look at a couple of my recent jobs to see if I am meeting expectations. They will also check to see I am keeping good records and have all of the certificates required.

I was able to take him to the Victorian conversion I did last year and one of the smaller kitchen jobs I have done for Chris. The difficult part is that I have to arrange all of this with the person living at the property and then turn up and let the inspector have a good nosy around. Mostly people are OK with this, but the lady living in the upstairs Victorian flat got a little uppity.

We turned up later than expected which got her annoyed to start with, then the inspector wanted to check her meter cupboard which was full to the brim with junk. (this is really unsafe anyway!) He had to pull loads of it out to see the consumer unit and she was not happy about that at all. I mean I explained that we would need access to the cupboard, so she had nothing to complain about. But some people just aren't willing to give an inch.

The inspector was sympathetic but suggested that next time I explain more fully what will happen. I felt like a right idiot. Anyway I passed with flying colours – of course. It is still one of the most nerve wrecking days of the year for me and didn't help my work schedule at all.