Renovation Blog

3 October - Heating woes
I thought we were there but no. I've drained the system down another four times in the last couple of days fixing more problems. Some of the valves had not been tightened sufficiently into the radiators, and a couple of radiators have been hung so badly they have moved away from the wall and bent the pipes below. I have removed all the skin from my knuckles reaching into awkward places, taught my sons a whole barrage of new swear words. I'm beginning to think my selection of plumber was not the best, however given the lack of interest in the job I was not really given much choice. The issue of employing suitable workmen to do building work is one of the reasons why a renovated house can command a significantly higher margin than one that has not been touched.

5 October - Wild boar!
I discover a local supplier of farmed "wild" boar and go to visit him to discuss buying some animals. He is a fascinating chap and equally interested in food. We spend a long time chatting of salamis, hams etc. and I resolve to buy a couple of animals for my next pig weekend and see what we can make of them.

10 October - Christmas is coming
My wife is so confident in how it's all going that she invites dozens of people over for Christmas, giving us more pressure to get the house habitable (at least vaguely) before then. Just when I thought it was quietening down a bit...

11 October - A second bathroom

I get cracking on another bathroom, putting up stud walls, replacing floorboards etc.

14 Ocober - Back at the computer More searching for more items for the house, including cockerels for Christmas from the wonderful Northfield Farm.

22 October - Not In My Back Yard please!
We have just heard that there is a proposal to create a gypsy site a few hundred yards behind our house. The farmer (who employs many people locally) is in a terrible state as the council wants to compulsory purchase some of his land and this will affect his future plans to expand his business. Also it will devalue our house by one third, which will certainly put paid to any potential profit from all my renovations. We will have to wait 3-4 weeks to find out whether the proposal will get the go-ahead.

29 October - Bathroom done

Well, it's mostly there, though I'm waiting for some skirting board I have ordered. I have had it made up to match the existing skirting.