Week the fifth

Lots of building action this week, although most of it isn't very photogenic. Taking pictures of pipes and cables running along walls and ceilings doesn't result in anything I want to share here. There was quite a lot of rain this week as well, which slowed down progress above the roof but there was much activity below.

Monday
The boards on the sides of the roof are in place, and they have constructed the skeleton of the internal wall dividing the kitchen from the proposed utility room. The corner of  the wall due to receive the boiler was prepared and Plumber Ulf made a start. They took down a bit of the living room ceiling so that pipes and cables could run from the boiler to the heating controller and tank upstairs, and the dust from this operation has reached every nook and cranny of the whole house. Ulf told me that they had done the best they could to seal off the area with plastic sheeting. It didn't entirely work, but I imagine it could have been a lot worse. I emailed a marked up plan of exactly where I want all of the electric sockets and light fittings.

Tuesday
No day off for me again, but I did manage to get home in time to talk to Plumber Ulf about options, including choice of radiators - another occasion where I narrowly averted the choice being made for me. He also told me about a steel pipe that runs outside the house between the meter point in the pavement outside and my stopcock inside - if anything should happen to this pipe the water would have to be turned off at the meter point. Today was also the day for the boiler move, and while Plumber Ulf managed to restore the water supply I didn't have any heating that night. The outside tap was plumbed in, but not in a position I would have chosen had I been asked. Ulf made a good case for where it was, but still.

Wednesday
Heating restored, the boiler is resplendent in its new situation. There are lots of pipes and cables passing above the boarded up door into the house, allowing winter wind to whistle through into the living room bringing a seasoning of dirt with it. Ylf the Kitchen came to measure up at this point to make sure everything would fit. What with the near miss on the radiator, I emailed Ulf the list of things that are pending, and this is where the discussion about stairs continued in earnest. Ulf gave me a price, which was pretty steep, and offered to bring round samples of wood. I made the point that for that price I'd want to see more than samples of wood, and sent him a link to the sort of stairs I wanted, to which Ulf the Stairs simply replied "Sorry Ulf but I don't keep any photos. The stairs will look exactly the same as the link the lady has sent."

Thursday
Concerned about the stairs quote, I got in touch with the manufacturer of the stairs whose picture I sent as an example of what I wanted, in order to clarify the cost involved. Although the French doors and windows and the outside back door have already been ordered, Ulf sent me a picture that doesn't look too bad, and I managed to intercept the order for internal doors and agreed a price for the radiator I want. I'm also home in time to catch Electrician Ulf and talk about the location of sockets, light switches, pendant lights and also the style of sockets I want. Ulf has left me a catalogue to allow me to choose doors and door handles. Today the rubberised roof membrane was stuck down, and they got to work on the lead flashing between the roof and the adjacent wall. I went to sleep for two hours before the evening's badminton match (we lost).

Spot the difference...

Where's the boiler?

Friday
I'm up early because I didn't manage to photograph the site before it got dark yesterday, and Ulf arrives early too, so we have the chance to work things out with the stairs. Ulf has personally guaranteed the quality and appearance, so I'm going with his contractor. He's agreed to help me out with some removals - if I clear the upstairs and downstairs desks, then he and the Henchmen will take my downstairs desk upstairs and get rid of the other one. The building inspector is booked to visit to sign off the roof construction, and by the end of the day the mount for the roof light is in place, the last bit of internal wall is gone, and the plumbing and electrics appear to be ready for boarding up and plastering.

Although it is all going extremely well I'm really getting tired of the whole project now, especially because of the two weeks with no days off, too much badminton, and a busy weekend in the middle. On the other hand, biscuit consumption has been restored thanks to visits from Electrician Ulf and Plumber Ulf.