Renovation Blog

3 January - Back in the saddle

Time to sand some floors - filthy work but gets pretty rapid results.

5 January - Great news
I planted about 100 broad bean plants in November (rather late alas) and was afraid they were not going to come up, but we've just noticed that lots of tiny shoots have appeared, so we should be in for beans aplenty come Spring.

7 January - Chicken out
I've been a huge fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for many years (as you may have gathered if you've read either of my November entries) and am interested to see him trying to convert a wider audience to free range chicken. Go for it Hugh.

10 January - Plumbing

I have decided to try and finish sorting out all the remaining plumbing and get the bathrooms finished. This may take some time but we are no longer so pressurised by deadlines. I also have a lot of work to do this month so will be juggling it around that.

15 January - Wood chip problem
I've been saying how great the boiler is, but unfortunately some wood chip has got jammed in it, and I don't realise until late in the evening. I resolve to sort it out in the morning, and actually it's just a case of taking the access panel apart and clearing the blockage. I discover that we can install a remote alarm to tell us if something has gone wrong and decide it's probably a good idea to invest in one of those.

20 January - Divorce proceedings
Since I am still keeping an eye on the renovation market I spot a fantastic barn ripe for conversion down the road in my daily email from pickupaproperty, and think how exciting it would be to convert it. My wife tells me in no uncertain terms what the consequences will be if I don't finish our house first... Oh well, another time.

21 January - Busy busy busy
It's been manic at work for me but I am now getting on with our main bathroom, fitting and tiling the shower. Also, unfortunately, we need to make a final application for Listed Building Consent to replace the kitchen and finish the downstairs work. Because the local conservation officer is being so unhelpful, we are forced to employ a surveyor/architect to do the application for us, which will cost us money but should distance us from the process at least. I am very frustrated by the whole experience, but we are going for it early so we have time to go through the inevitable delays.

25 January - Chipping away at it

We are running low in woodchip so decide to crack through a load of wood we have chopped down over the past year that has now dried out nicely. This chipper eats its way through it at a frightening speed, and after a day's work we have plenty more in the store.

28 January - No conservation officer
We were set for a meeting today to discuss our lastest Listed Building Application, but the conservation officer has called in sick. Since we've been waiting quite a few weeks for this meeting it's rather disappointing and means more delays... how tedious. Also I am waiting on several deliveries: various mouldings, the bath and the taps. The bath comes today and looks great - the other items I am still chasing for on the phone. Obviously I don't want to order everything too far in advance or I will have to store it and also it will affect my cashflow, but it's quite tricky to get the necessary items on site on time, so as to avoid sitting around unable to complete a job - it's a bit of a balancing act.

31 January - Arrivals
I now have my mouldings and my taps so it's all systems go for the bathroom. However, I am taking a day off to visit the Ryton potato day and stock up on seed potatoes for the coming months. I am also stopping off to see an old friend who is a lime plasterer, to discuss some plastering work that I will need to do soon.