Twenty Four Hours Of Fun...
Firstly I wrote a long comment in reply to Lesley(previous post)and my blog managed to lose it and now its a bit more complicated even for me to publish comments...on my own blog!
So I will write that comment up as a new blog post. here...
I started yesterday despondent with how the work was going in my home, then the site boss visited in the afternoon and what he said gave me hope that all will be well and any repairs made good. I was even given better news that I am not just getting a shower head but a shower and a floor suitable to match for when you have a shower installed.
The hanging of new internal doors would be delayed whilst they completed other tasks. And there was even talk that they will pain my kitchen and bathroom(not something they usually do)but as it has been offered great.
This morning they are...hanging the doors(so that plan goes out of the window)I have sneaked a look at the work being done and they have managed to take a lump out of the wooden door frame that the bathroom door is being attached to so how will they repair that then?
Anyhow I'll start at the beginning what my plans are if/when hopefully all is well(The boss promised all holes, dents etc...will be made right. Its fine when you are talking to one person but so many different people keep calling. And its difficult to collar who you want to talk to, feel happiest with and whether one person has a different plan/information to someone else. I only know his christian name and nothing else.
When I went to bed I did have a plan and felt more positive so lets stay with that for now.
I have decided to put more kitchen gadgets on show and...use them(I have more working surfaces now)so I will have the cooker(naturally)but I will have two microwaves(one is a combination oven)a halogen oven, a slow cooker, a toaster and kettle. I will keep another kettle upstairs in my bedroom as I have for years and that saves going downstairs unnecessarily.
In the lounge I will have my TV and some new arm chairs and a sofa and perhaps nothing else. Keeping it minimalistic. Before then I will have got rid of the old suite I have now(that has seen better days and is probably 40 years old(that's lasted well)and the stool that matches it.
As the fridge/freezer will now be in the kitchen in the Dinning Room there will only be the folded Dining table and chairs(unlikely ever to be used but you never know)and the tumble dryer is in there. Again nothing else.
I may turn one bedroom into a TV room but as I have a TV and computers in my bedroom that may go on hold. I have thought of bringing a microwave upstairs for quick snacks and that could be put in one of the bedrooms(again that would save me going downstairs sometimes)and its no different to what happens in a flat/bedsit.
For now the other bedroom may be left fairly empty except for a wardrobe to store bed linen and/or clothes. But in time I may buy a spare bed for any guests that may stay, not likely but you never know.
If they do as promised(the extra painting to the kitchen and bathroom)because some rooms were hardly touched, out of the ten rooms(I am including the hall and landing in that figure)five may not require any decorating at all or just a small bit of touching up. So that saves me some time and money. And of course when items are put back where they should be or I can throw some things out my home will start to look as it should.
But I know I will have to replace carpets and that could be expensive. But I think the painting etc...should be done before I consider laying carpets.
I think I shall also be investing in a new single bed or a slightly larger one for myself. And whilst on I shall also have some new curtains put up and probably new blinds in the lounge, bedrooms and kitchen. This all be done over time and not in a rush. If it takes months or up to a year I don't mind.
But quite a bit will be done over the next few months especially the getting rid of furniture etc...and being alone if needs be I can sit on a dinning room chair in the lounge if I decide to use that room during Winter but as friend on Twitter said living upstairs in the colder months is warmer anyhow.
I may be able to rearrange items that I store in the internal wardrobes. So we'll just see how things progress, its all up in the air at present but as I may've said earlier it has been done in double quick time which can be a blessing or mean corners are cut...
Monday Central Heating. Tuesday rewiring, plastering and installing of new power points in a different position(and I think I have a couple of extras that I did not have)Wednesday kitchen installed and continued work on the bathroom. Thursday, doors are being hung, work in the bathroom continues, tiling and holes filled in regarding the Kitchen. Not sure how long they will be here today. But the previous days on average they were here for approx five hours from 8am-1pm.
That's quick in one way but that was because they also spent ages standing around talking...work time you could actually knock another hour or two off especially when you have up to five people all working on different tasks.
I will probably post some images of before or after but I don't think I have any of the Kitchen as it was before they started. Just images after they demolished it and when its finished.
The garden is finally being pulled into shape so that will look OK as the year ends and we head for the new one.
Another problem hopefully has a good ending, my laptop no longer allows me to use the letter "S" on the keyboard and I believe the contact is broken but my computer repairman thinks he can get a new keyboard for it for perhaps £50 and then it will only be labour costs. I thought that I may have to purchase a new laptop so that will save some money for now...You try writing texts/blogs/twitter posts without that letter included, its not easy. I am now on the old refurbished desktop.
Hopefully everything is coming together.
UPDATE:Spoke to soon...the doors they have hung are now an issue as 5 of them are white and 4 are a kind of dull fawn colour and I really would like them all to be one colour. I can't decide if this is a genuine error or they hope that I will just accept the mixture. I have checked with others who have had doors installed and they are all one colour.
Here are some images but to be honest they do not really show much difference, its more noticeable in "Real" life. The white ones really stand out. Would I lie to you?
Update:The doors were painted and now look ok(an easy solution)
So I will write that comment up as a new blog post. here...
I started yesterday despondent with how the work was going in my home, then the site boss visited in the afternoon and what he said gave me hope that all will be well and any repairs made good. I was even given better news that I am not just getting a shower head but a shower and a floor suitable to match for when you have a shower installed.
The hanging of new internal doors would be delayed whilst they completed other tasks. And there was even talk that they will pain my kitchen and bathroom(not something they usually do)but as it has been offered great.
This morning they are...hanging the doors(so that plan goes out of the window)I have sneaked a look at the work being done and they have managed to take a lump out of the wooden door frame that the bathroom door is being attached to so how will they repair that then?
Anyhow I'll start at the beginning what my plans are if/when hopefully all is well(The boss promised all holes, dents etc...will be made right. Its fine when you are talking to one person but so many different people keep calling. And its difficult to collar who you want to talk to, feel happiest with and whether one person has a different plan/information to someone else. I only know his christian name and nothing else.
When I went to bed I did have a plan and felt more positive so lets stay with that for now.
I have decided to put more kitchen gadgets on show and...use them(I have more working surfaces now)so I will have the cooker(naturally)but I will have two microwaves(one is a combination oven)a halogen oven, a slow cooker, a toaster and kettle. I will keep another kettle upstairs in my bedroom as I have for years and that saves going downstairs unnecessarily.
In the lounge I will have my TV and some new arm chairs and a sofa and perhaps nothing else. Keeping it minimalistic. Before then I will have got rid of the old suite I have now(that has seen better days and is probably 40 years old(that's lasted well)and the stool that matches it.
As the fridge/freezer will now be in the kitchen in the Dinning Room there will only be the folded Dining table and chairs(unlikely ever to be used but you never know)and the tumble dryer is in there. Again nothing else.
I may turn one bedroom into a TV room but as I have a TV and computers in my bedroom that may go on hold. I have thought of bringing a microwave upstairs for quick snacks and that could be put in one of the bedrooms(again that would save me going downstairs sometimes)and its no different to what happens in a flat/bedsit.
For now the other bedroom may be left fairly empty except for a wardrobe to store bed linen and/or clothes. But in time I may buy a spare bed for any guests that may stay, not likely but you never know.
If they do as promised(the extra painting to the kitchen and bathroom)because some rooms were hardly touched, out of the ten rooms(I am including the hall and landing in that figure)five may not require any decorating at all or just a small bit of touching up. So that saves me some time and money. And of course when items are put back where they should be or I can throw some things out my home will start to look as it should.
But I know I will have to replace carpets and that could be expensive. But I think the painting etc...should be done before I consider laying carpets.
I think I shall also be investing in a new single bed or a slightly larger one for myself. And whilst on I shall also have some new curtains put up and probably new blinds in the lounge, bedrooms and kitchen. This all be done over time and not in a rush. If it takes months or up to a year I don't mind.
But quite a bit will be done over the next few months especially the getting rid of furniture etc...and being alone if needs be I can sit on a dinning room chair in the lounge if I decide to use that room during Winter but as friend on Twitter said living upstairs in the colder months is warmer anyhow.
I may be able to rearrange items that I store in the internal wardrobes. So we'll just see how things progress, its all up in the air at present but as I may've said earlier it has been done in double quick time which can be a blessing or mean corners are cut...
Monday Central Heating. Tuesday rewiring, plastering and installing of new power points in a different position(and I think I have a couple of extras that I did not have)Wednesday kitchen installed and continued work on the bathroom. Thursday, doors are being hung, work in the bathroom continues, tiling and holes filled in regarding the Kitchen. Not sure how long they will be here today. But the previous days on average they were here for approx five hours from 8am-1pm.
That's quick in one way but that was because they also spent ages standing around talking...work time you could actually knock another hour or two off especially when you have up to five people all working on different tasks.
I will probably post some images of before or after but I don't think I have any of the Kitchen as it was before they started. Just images after they demolished it and when its finished.
The garden is finally being pulled into shape so that will look OK as the year ends and we head for the new one.
Another problem hopefully has a good ending, my laptop no longer allows me to use the letter "S" on the keyboard and I believe the contact is broken but my computer repairman thinks he can get a new keyboard for it for perhaps £50 and then it will only be labour costs. I thought that I may have to purchase a new laptop so that will save some money for now...You try writing texts/blogs/twitter posts without that letter included, its not easy. I am now on the old refurbished desktop.
Hopefully everything is coming together.
UPDATE:Spoke to soon...the doors they have hung are now an issue as 5 of them are white and 4 are a kind of dull fawn colour and I really would like them all to be one colour. I can't decide if this is a genuine error or they hope that I will just accept the mixture. I have checked with others who have had doors installed and they are all one colour.
Here are some images but to be honest they do not really show much difference, its more noticeable in "Real" life. The white ones really stand out. Would I lie to you?
Update:The doors were painted and now look ok(an easy solution)
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 10:43 am
10 Comments:
The difference for you is..you don't have to get on your knees or break your back doing the jobs yourself..and you have not got the worry of a big bill at the end of it if you get someone else to do it.
I think your the modern equivalent of 'Lord of the Mano'r?
Well done
Think that's a bit unfair, I appreciate the work being carried out but even you would want the work to be done to an acceptable standard. You have to live it.
I tried to save cost and extra work by keeping the bath and toilet I have...and they've managed to break part of the bath so now I/they have to decide whether we hide the damage with some kind of strip in a different colour, something that will mean a kind of cream bath with a white side or have a new bath in white.
You are right that paying for the work would be costly. I have heard many tales(I'll give you anecdotal)so am not alone and thankfully more see my view as fair.
And talking with me you see I am different to perhaps how it comes across when written down. I am almost apologetic when I have to point out what has gone wrong.
I will be the first to praise and be grateful when all is well.
But you are right and I also admit that physically I could not do the tasks these days(but a lot of what they are doing I could've once up on a time and I will have to do a fair bit when I finally pull everything together after the work is finished. But I will do it at my own pace...slowly.
The more I read your comment perhaps I have misread it ;-)You are right there is no big bill at the end. I'm half wondering if a lot of those being used for the work could be on apprentice schemes?
I really don't understand why you are not moved to an elderly person's dwelling - it would be so much easier for you to cope with/maintain cheaper for you to heat as well as avoid the bedroom tax - and there are so many families with children crying out for a 3 bedroom house.
That's the trouble with 'comments',they come straight off the screen and hit your mind with whatever your thinking at the time. No offence intended and just a bit of admiration intended.
Thanks Anon, I realised after I answered you and nearly amended/removed my comment. You were right saying that I have the advantage of not having to do it myself and yes all points you said were kind and positive and funny too.
The problem is I have had/have a few people who comment as anon and it makes it difficult for me to know which is which and in then past I have had to fight my corner or defend myself.
Even the another comment above about moving into an elderly dwelling could be from you or someone else? Just adding a first name in the comment(even if made up)allows me to have an idea who I am responding to. :-)
Its true I have no bills to pay at the end and can avoid the hard work and I know when its all done I will be very happy.
With the new heating system, new doors and ventilation holes/grills blocked in the kitchen, new curtains etc...I am sure the house will be warmer too. Thank you.
Where I am is close to a bus route, the neighbours in general are nice and more are helping me and the shops are nearby so if I can stay put it makes sense. All problems will come right.
Does staying put make sense though? Supposing the neighbours stop helping? Supposing one day you can't get up and down the stairs?
Having read your blog for a while now, you do not appear to utilise the garden, the dining room, the living room, etc. You seem to live in your bedroom. You don't seem to have friends who come round and visit. You seem to be very resistant to change and to moving from your home, and I can understand that this is your childhood home, but you take your memories with you wherever you go, it is not the house that keeps them for you.
I am not attacking you, I am observing these things from what you write.
It just seems such a waste.
Do you not feel bad that you are rattling around in a 3 bedroom house, whilst families with children who desperately need housing are confined to B&Bs or even living in one room at a relative's place?
Hi Anon, No I don't feel bad, truth is I am still quite independent and I am using more of the house and garden. It is located in a good area, near to everything.
With a more efficient heating system it will probably be warmer but less costly to run.
Its not like a big city area and we don't have the housing stock being built either small or large.
I am in the lounge as I write this and making use of my new TV and I have had a meal(simple I'll grant whilst work is going on)prepared in my kitchen.
There are such things as stair lifts to help. I now have access to a shower too. But I am not going up and down the stairs frequently.
In the Winter I won't be out as much, the garden is taking shape and if things were really difficult I could order shopping online, there are some very good ready meals these days that can be prepared in microwaves and frozen veg can be as good/better/cheaper than fresh.
Its all progress and part of my continued journey towards a new life.
Many meals are cold, salads, sandwiches and snacks, at last I will make more use of gadgets too.
And these days you can choose prepared meals and have them delivered and put them in the freezer but wait a minute I can make them quicker, easily and cheaper if I batch cook.
I may invest in an extra but small freezer.
But if I create space in the freezer part of the fridge/freezer, even better.
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