Lounge floor stained

A few days ago i spent the whole evening staining the lounge floor. The actual staining didn't take long but i had to wait 2 hrs before i could re-coat & i needed to put 3 coats on.It was midnight before i got to bed.
On waking up the next day i wasn't convinced of the colour!! The new boards are far too pale & stick out like a sore thumb. I may have to re-sand the new boards & put a darker colour down, but i will take this decision later.
Tomorrow is a potentially big day as i am hoping that the cottage will be reconnected to the electricity supply, but i'm not hopeful. It's taken 3 months to get to the stage where somebody is coming out but i'm not convinced he'll bring a meter with him. I've had so many conversations with various departments of the electric board & nobody believes me that i haven't got a meter!!!

Getting soooo... close, to completion

Today was a big day! It's been a long time coming, but we finally took delivery of the kitchen granite worktops. The longest single piece was 3m long so it took 4 men, inc. Phil our kitchen cabinet maker, to bring it in to the house & put in place.
It's all taking shape but we are now having problems with the extreme weather!
Rain has been coming in to 4 different rooms in the cottage. In fact that's every room upstairs!! Roof tiles have broken & slipped, pointing & leading problems have caused damp & birds to come in to the cottage and pointing work at our side of the house has caused water to come into the cottage bathroom!
As if that wasn't enough we discovered more damp in the other bedroom today.
So, after a great morning with the kitchen coming together, our mood changed to frustration at the end of the day

Wall closes in!

Another job got under way this week which was to start blocking off the access from our house to the cottage. It's been a useful way in to check on progress but Jo started boarding it off yesterday.He's left just enough room for me to squeeze through.

Log burner working well

It's been a while since i've had anything worth posting. However, today the log burner was properly installed & in working order. It is amazing how much heat it is giving off. Hopefully, it will dry out the wet plaster in double quick time.
I have still got the decorator on hold & can't keep him waiting any longer.

Carpets arrived in stock & decorator hired

2 weeks ago we ordered carpet & kitchen flooring. This has now arrived & is in stock waiting 'for the word' from us.
Received a quote from the decorator (only 1 received, despite asking 3 people)He can start in a couple of weeks so hopefully Dave will have finished all the little plastering jobs so that he can start. I think there will be plenty for him to do whilst Dave 'tidies up'.. must coordinate with him.

Windows looking good!

The windows are going in quite fast, but poor Dave has been abandoned by his nephew in order to take a crash course of driving lessons!
It's a week since he started putting in the windows & he's finished the kitchen & main bedroom (both of which are quite large & therefore several going in)He is now half way through the lounge windows. Should finish those by today. That will just leave the front bedroom & ensuite & porch/utility. The front door goes in later, as we are taking a connecting door out, from between the 2 properties & using this.

1st windows in!!

After a delayed start, we have finally started putting in the new hardwood windows & already they look pretty good, without glass in too! It is going to make such a difference to the look of the cottage.
Dave has stopped what he was doing & hopefully is going to 'crack on' with the windows.
He has almost finished the units he's designed in the porch & almost finished the patio!Let's hope he finishes the windows!! Only kidding Dave.
Though we have stopped the leaking gutters by replacing them, i think i'm going to have to try & scrub the green stains off, down the wall.

Time is moving on

It's been 2 weeks since i've updated the blog as there have been no photos of interest to post. Dave & Jo have been busy doing little fiddly things which haven't warranted any comment.
After been given news last week that the windows had been delayed, i have set Dave the task of making the porch /utility room look more inviting. He has come up trumps & created some new pine panelling & a door for the washing machine & drier to hide in. It looks so good i'm thinking of asking him to do something similar in our area next to the utility, to hide the recycling bags & make a cheap cupboard for our motorcycle & golf gear.
Tomorrow, Jo starts flagging the outside area.

Secret room under the stairs

Joe's job today was to make a shelf in the cupboard under the stairs.And that's just what he did! It's a work of art, but it, by his admission, took a long time.
We have created a very useful space as a result, so it's not just a store cupboard. It could be a work space for a computer etc.

Ensuite progress

After bragging that the plumber was ahead of schedule, i'm now told i have put him behind! I've chosen floor tiles for both bathrooms & consequently the sink, bath & basin all need to be raised! Hence, the tiles have to come off above the sink but thank goodness there is a way around it as far as the bath is concerned. I would not have been popular if those tiles had to be removed. Anyway, it's just slowed them down a bit but nothing too tragic. Unfortunately, too few tiles will also slow them down. I'm informed that i haven't got enough tiles for the en-suite. I drove immediately to Keighley to get more. I came back with just a few for the shower area but have to go back tomorrow for the others.The plumber is managing to find other things to do but can't finish 1 thing, which is a little frustrating. Credit to him though as he is going to come back on Saturday to finish off upstairs. He is planning to disappear for quite some time after the w/e!, & come back, i hope, to finish off the plumbing for the kitchen.

Floor tiles chosen & delivered

I made some 'executive' decisions yesterday when i was at the tile shop & decided to buy matching floor tiles for the bathroom.Picked them up this morning so i'm feeling ahead of things.
The plumber has already indirectly accused me of changing my mind about the flooring! He's a little grumpy because the floor is now going to be higher than it was & he has to make some adjustments to the level of the toilet etc. Dave is going give him a hand with this!
The ensuite flooring has already been laid ready for the tiles which is going to raise the floor by quite a bit. It's ok Jack, the toilet hasn't been fixed here, but the basin has!
Dave has also started on building the 'cupboard' around the new water cylinder & prepared the area in the ceiling where we are putting some glass.
Plumber is back tomorrow, so we'll see what he's got to say about things!