Weeks seven and eight

In this picture-tastic episode we conclude the main story of Ulf and his Henchmen, although Ulf will be back to finish a few things, then sign off the whole project and make sure the building inspector is happy. I shall miss them, with their tuneless singing and their drinks with two sugars. They have consumed more than a pound of sugar in eight weeks, not counting the biscuits.

Week 1

Start of week 6

End of week 6

Week 7

The theme of the last two weeks has been nice, smooth surfaces - the floor, walls and ceilings. It is starting to look like a real room. The floor so far has involved two layers of levelling compound followed by boards, and that is how it will stay until the last phase of the project when the floor man cometh. The walls and ceilings have been prepared and skimmed, and on week 7 day 4 the roof lantern finally arrived. I wasn't at work that day but they came so early that I missed the initial hoisting into place, which was a pity. Never mind; Ulf and Doors and Windows Ulf gave me a guided tour from the roof and posed for a photo.

Electrician Ulf made a welcome return and continued work on the wall sockets and various electrical necessities. The floorboards of the upstairs hall had to be taken up to route the electrics to the fuse box by the front door, the defunct burglar alarm was removed, and there is a mini fuse box in the utility room as well. Spotlights and other light fittings started to appear, and I came home from a weekend away to find that the doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house had finally been opened - no more traipsing through the garden, although it means there is a much more straightforward route for the dust to permeate every corner of the house. Pictures show the scene from the living room side:

Week 5

Start of week 7

End of week 7

Week 8

Doors were delivered towards the end of week 7, and they look really nice but will need finishing with paint and/or varnish. The radiators were also put in by Plumber Ulf. An extractor fan appeared in the utility room, and an outside light with motion sensor - I must remember to ask about the other outside light fixed to the garage. The days that I came home and found the radiators were warm, and the electricity supply to the new kitchen had been turned on - those were good days. I also bought the floor tiles that should be laid after the kitchen is in.

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

I realised that if I move quickly and find some wall lights then they'll be put up by someone more proficient than me. Unfortunately despite hours of online searching and visits in person to at least three different stores I have failed to identify wall lights that I particularly like, so I've bought the cheapest adequate option, which will be fine. I have had a look at lampshades and all I have to decide now is the colour scheme, but I'll wait for the kitchen to go in before I go any further down that route.

The extra jobs that aren't 100% kitchen-related also got some attention. Ulf reckons that the damp in the wall in the living room is caused by naked hot and cold water pipes, so he got Plumber Ulf to cut them back and then re-plaster. Sons of Ulf finished the outside drains and put back the veranda roofing that had to be taken down while the kitchen roof went on. The only casualties of the works so far are one mug and one knife missing in action, and I think the doorbell is broken.

Start of week 1

End of week 1

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Ulf and Sons had surprisingly many vehicular experiences during the eight weeks - after the wind blew a board into a neighbour's car, another supplier's van door dented Ulf's van, which then had to go for repair and a replacement van was temporarily supplied. Without sufficient confidence in this van's security, my hallway served as equipment store for a week. Then Son of Ulf had a nasty experience when his windscreen was broken by hitting a black-clad cyclist with no lights or high-vis or helmet in the dark. His truck was briefly confiscated and he was badly shaken, but the cyclist is OK and so is he.

I have had a brief altercation with the kitchen company (Ylf's mum) who wanted to know where the skip should be delivered. I told them that the kitchen is empty and no skip is needed, but they thought that the packing material and any offcuts were worthy of the price of a skip. I had a chat with Ulf about it and he agreed with me, and I hope that is the end of it. Ulf told me that Ylf's mum had contacted him to see if the start date was still OK or if the work had overrun. When he said that it was all ready for them to start exactly as planned, she said that was a first in her experience.

I realise that I have failed to document the progress of biscuit consumption. There is a distinct periodicity; sometimes none are eaten, sometimes whole packets, and it doesn't seem to depend on how many mouths there are to feed. We'll see how the kitchen fitters compare.

Sons of Ulf