Thu 31 Oct

Through the Hallowe'eners and over to Bedster...

...and the structural squad have started knocking down the brick supporting wall between the boiler room and loo.

Not as private as it once was, that cloakroom...

Quite a bit of rubble in the boiler room. But then, there would be.

Meanwhile, feet away, the other gang have been busy putting the new floor in the garage-to-be-den.

Lizzie plotting furniture placement.

Wed 30 Oct

Wednesday: Lizzie's day off, so I took a long lunch break to have a catch-up, including taking some pics of the recent work in daylight...  

The propped-up garage doors gives a good view into the den-to-be - and beyond, through the utility-room door and the doomed patio doors, into the garden. 

More demolished internal walls means you can also see straight through from the front door past the doomed loo.

The doorhole between the two extension rooms has also been blocked up. Here's the music room, full of bathroom stuff and seats (the two stacked on the left are garden chairs, while under the sheet on the left is a sofa and rotating chair).

Up the stairs, now complete with LED spots...

...into the adult lounge.

The ensuite-to-be.

Nat in her book nook.

The lodger's room.

Ella's room, focusing on the space above the stairwell where her bedhead will go.

And here's that intricate model again.

Spots!

Busyness at the back, with wood somewhat callously chucked on top of the garden Nick had tried to sort out...

Speaking of Nick, the trooper dug out the front garden yesterday. There'll be a bike shed here, we're just wondering what size...

Tue 29 Oct

The night of Sun 27 had seen hurricane-force winds hit southern England. Everything movable was lashed down and the building site was fine, although a tree over the other side of Hurst Road went down.

With winds still high on Mon 28, the structural crew opted to leave it a day. But they soon got busy on Tuesday...

For a start, they've knocked out the stud wall at the side of the doomed downstairs loo.  

This gives a rather impressive aspect the width of the house: here, our handsome male model loafs in the kitchen while our respected photographer hangs about near the boiler. 

Out the back, they've been busy inspecting the lintel, by removing a few dozen tiles. Some got broke, but most have been safely piled. Tile pile.

They've also pulled off most of the back wall...

Meanwhile our Polish crew have also kept busy. In the garage they've erected the partition that will separate the kids' den from the utility - seen here from the door into the garage/den.

...and here from inside the garage/den. Note also that new door into the utility (beyond) and the preponderance of wires hanging around near the fusebox.

They've also installed li'l LEDs up both flights of stairs.

Up in Ella's room, the scale model that Lizzie and Ella built for Pawel... featuring loft bed, hanging space, desk and staircase of stepped bookcases.

It's bonkers, but it'll work: Pawel's a carpenter by trade and he's confident. The one change he made is to substitute the supporting pillar for a ceiling support, to create more floor space...

Round in Nat's room, they've built the seat-shelf in her nook. Next: bookshelves.

And everywhere, more or less, there are spotlights.

Fri 25 Oct

Bathrooms arrived today. Cue a massive late panic that they hadn't sent the right things, and therefore a quick car chase round there to check they had. Ticklist ticklist.

Music room, formerly empty, now full of bathroom stuff...

Then over to Ikea to finalise the design and purchase of the kitchen. And, when paying the deposit at the till, discovering a computer error means we need to come back on Saturday morning. Fun!

Here's the kitchen, in 3D and 2D.

And here's the utility.

Thu 24 Oct

Thursday night's list: 5.30, Ella football training; 6.00, drop Nat at school for drama performance evening; 6.10, back home to move things from broken fridge (oh yes) to borrowed fridge; 7.00, back to school to watch Nat's performance; 9.00, family over en masse to inspect new house. A body should keep busy.  

Extension partition on the music room side has come down, presumably for rewiring purposes. (That doorhole will be blanked up.)

They've also created the door from the "boiler room"into the garage - or, as it will be, diner into utility.

Handsome man on premises. These pictures are all taken in Blur-O-Vision.

Up in Ella's room, plans are afoot to maximise floor space. We've asked them to knock out the cupboard above the stairs, the idea being to create a loft-bed starting at high level, with storage and desk space underneath. This will give her plenty of floor space in front of the window. Informed of the plan, Pawel - a carpenter by trade - smiled wanly but agreed it was a good plan.

Ella seen in her room, around where the foot of her bed will be, shot from the landing through the cupboard doorhole. (Obviously this will be blocked up...)

Floorboards up in the lodger's room, to create spotlights in the adult lounge.

The bathroom has been cleared, ready for the new suite arriving tomorrow. This used to be a bath.

Toilet's still there...

...but the sink's not.

Wed 23 Oct

A useful day on site for both of us. Long conversation with electrician about various switches, sockets and doohickeys, and another long discussion with Pawel about, oh, everything. Furthermore, structural builder Richard was over in the afternoon to check out the site and, although all is fine, has decided to start next Monday - a week earlier than planned.  

Also, to the electrics and lights shop for an illuminating (ho!) chat with the chap there. Provided lights for the garden and food for thought. LEDs loom large in the future.

No pics though.

Tue 22 Oct

The sparky proper started today, so it's wires central: not much in the way of major visible change, but wiring wiring wiring all over the house. Here in the adult lounge, more spotlight holes, looking like miniature nooses for naughty teddies. 

And in the spaces between the floors, wires wires wires. None of this is plumbed in yet, they all just arrive in a bundle by the fuse box, but that will change.

Splashbacks. Best said in celebratory Alan Partridge style: