Renovation Blog

2 July - Men at work
We now have a dozen roofers, plumbers and boiler fitters all frantically working on site and me desperately trying to finish the pointing with a local brickie while making constant cups of tea for everyone.

6 July - What a mess

7 July - My arms don't work, Moneypenny
Last night at 6pm the new cast iron radiators arrived. On a truck. With just one man. I helped him carry them in, but it nearly killed us and now I'm in serious pain. Luckily I have the afternoon off to attend a James Bond party (07/07/007 - geddit?) so just work for the morning.

8 July - Back at the computer Now we have the plumbers on site there is a sudden urgency to sourcing the bathroom equipment, so I can give them measurements for the first fix. I discover the joys of Plumbworld who do some fantastically good value products, although Screwfix also do some great stuff.

11 July - Still leaking Unfortunately we are still not weathertight on the roof and some of the rain has started pouring back inside the house. At least it can't really make anything worse, although it does manage to fuse the electrics in the middle of the night...

13 July - Out of phase Our new boiler is set to run on three-phase electricity, which we have coming as far as the house, but unfortunately only single phase is actually connected to the house. After much effort and many phone calls the electricity company gives us a quote of £1200 (+ VAT of course) to connect the additional three yards of wire. I ask how long it will take and why it's so expensive but am fobbed off with stuff about contractors and safety measures. I think I have no option but to pay them, but then I hear of a phase convertor which will do the job for a couple of hundred quid so go online and buy one of those instead.

18 July - Bob the builder

All my son's dreams come true as the plumbers leave a JCB and dumper truck unattended for a few days...

20 July - More googling Getting somewhat ahead of myself I get distracted into searching for tiles for the new bathrooms that I'll eventually be fitting, and find some great natural limestone at www.estone.co.uk.

23 July - Plumber's mate Luckily the pointing is pretty much done as I'm now increasingly being dragged into working for the plumber, as much as anything to prevent him ripping up floorboards etc. without consulting me, and to ensure I am happy with how the pipework is being run round the house.

25 July - Floods There has been an awful lot of rain. The roof is not yet finished and luckily we are not hit too hard by the floods, though there is standing water in the fields nearby. Other parts of the country are not so lucky. I am also sorry that our rainwater harvesting tank is not yet installed, as we are missing out on this bounty from heaven. It is certainly worth checking for flood risk before you buy a property on the Environment Agency website.