Days 142 - 147: The house is complete (well almost !)

A weeks gap in posting here, but that's been due to me having this week off from work & all the work that's needed doing here.
Since last posting though we have managed to move into the extension, although there is still some work ongoing - though this is all outside in the main, so shouldn't be intrusive to us.


The carpets were layed as planned on Monday by Taylors (Banchory), and they made a fantastic job. The upstairs carpet was the biggest challenge, and it took 5 lads to get the 5m wide roll in there. The difference in feel to the house now that the carpets are in in amazing though, and the downstairs one's work well in letting the heat come through from the underfloor heating.

Jenny got moved into her room on Monday, and the following 2 days involved getting furniture built & the room sorted out for her. She's got it looking really good. I also managed to get moved into the study, though this had to wait until Thursday due to other things on the go. Still got loads of boxes to un pack - all the stuff that hasn't seen the light of day since we moved from Stonehaven !

Tiling was completed in the laundry last Friday, and following that I got the room painted calico to match the rest of the house. Looks much bigger now. Also did the flash coat in the utility room before all the new skirtings & facings went up. We've still to stain the wood, but will do that ourselves.
The sparkies returned on Wednesday and completed their snagging list, which included the mirror lights in both the wetrooms & the extractor switches. All working fine now, though they still need to come back & fit a down lighter & the correct spec switch in the garage. No big thing though.

On the joinery side it's mainly been Henry here, though sometime 2 of them. The structural work has been completed now in the attic (fair sized beam !), and the insulation has all been installed up there too (you notice a difference downstairs now !). The lads also replaced the shower screen in the ensuite, along with installing a proper finishing strip on the bottom of the glass screens in both wet rooms. Looks much better now.

Outside the weather hasn't really been the best, however the ground has now been graded around the new rear entrance, and the landing areas at both doors is now ready for tiling. Just need to hope the frost stays away !

Day 139, 140 & 141 - Laundry floor tiles

Another gap of a few days since I last posted - have been busy with other stuff. However, progress in the house has been steady, and painting has been the main work in hand. All the wood has now been stained to the right colour, and most (if not all) of the varnishing has been completed. That's allowed the joiner to get the window vents & door handles back on, which tidies everything up a good bit.

As well as the varnishing, the 2nd coat of emulsion has gone on a few of the rooms. The lads are concentrating on the rooms that are going to be carpeted next Monday, so upstairs is complete, along with the guest room & ensuite. Still to have the 'coloured' walls done in both Jenny's room & the study. This will be done tomorrow. I really like the crisp feel of the rooms now that the ceilings are white with the walls (mostly) calico.

The joiner has been working in the front vestibule and has tidied things up around the triangular windows. Outside the larch cladding has gone on, and it all looks pretty tidy. We've still to get further coats of paint on the door & frame, but the weather has ben too horrendous. The cupboard doors have also arrived for the vestibule, so looks like they'll be going in over the next few days.
The tiler also returned today to get started to the laundry tiles. This was delayed a wee bit as the floor level needed sorting out after the back door was raised up a bit. Need to move the washing machine out the back room tonight so the tiler can get in properly, so looking at all done tomorrow. After that the skirting & finishings can be installed, then it's ready for a paint.

Day 138 - Vestibule windows are in

At last the remaining two vestibule windows have been installed - and just as well given the dreadful weather than we're currently getting. We had 3 joiners here today to get them fitted, and the plasterboard has been installed inside already. Still some further wood work to do outside, along with insulation etc. This means that the vestibule is almost complete now.
The replacement back door also had to be altered today as it was sitting too low to allow the laundry tiling to be done. The frame has been raised up slightly, and the plasterwork has even remained relatively intact.
Painter continued with the varnishing inside. Not sure if anything was done outside, and there hasn't been any emulsion put on - which is a worry given that we need the painting inside completed within the next 6 days ! (there has been some filling work done though, so that may be the prep work required).

Days 135, 136 & 137 - Front door painted red

I haven't updated the blog for a few days as there's been a few other things going on. However I'll summarise the last 3 days work here - things have slowed down a bit with the bulk of the work tending to be painting.
Painters have been working outside as well as inside. The window frames & garage door have all been painted teal now to match the rest of the house, and the front door & new rear door have been painted a contrasting red - looks pretty good I think. Still needs another couple of coats to bring the colour out a bit more though.
Inside the staining is pretty much complete (only one or two areas left to do), and most of the varnishing is also done. Also great to see that the windows upstairs are all matching stain-wise now, so we're finally in a position to have the emulsion put on up there.

Joiner works have progressed in the house, and the front vestibule now has it's oak floor layed. Looks nice, but I'd rather see the missing windows fitted in there (we're still waiting on these for some unknown reason).
No sign of the tiler this week, which is a shame as we have both the inside & outside tiles waiting here for him. Hopefully this coming week he'll get these jobs done.
For our own part, Wendy has been busy in her workroom and has removed the unwanted varnish and stain from the windows and doors and is busy applying a lime type stain/wash. Looking better now, and matches in well with the wooden floor.

I've been working mainly in the garage workshop, and have installed the data cabinet on the wall, and have run the necessary cables to the media socket I've fitted in there too. Can't do much more in there until the concrete & cement is sealed and the painting done. Need the rest of the building stuff removed from in there to let me get on with this.

Day 134 - Upstairs windows sanded back

Finally all 4 of the upstairs windows have been sanded back to remove the awful stain that had been applied a while back. The painter will now be able to stain them properly, then varnish. This should be the last job before the walls are painted, then that should be that up there.
The painter also carried on with varnishing the internal doors, and also put a first coat on the shelves in both the bedroom wardrobes. Still on the painting side, Wendy is applying white lime stain to the wood in her work room & associated cupboard.
One joiner here today and he's fitted the threshold/step to the garage door, so now it seals properly, and there's no howling draught. He also sorted out the outside tap drain and made a wee water run-off. Also outside the frame was fitted ready for concrete for the rear entrance plinth (we'll be tiling over that soon).
Still no sign of the missing windows, and the electrical niggles from yesterday are still outstanding, however tomorrow is another day, as they say....

Day 132 & 133 - Extractors fitted

The plumber was here on Saturday and fitted the lime chip drain for the boiler condensed water drain. Really neat job & you don't see anything really. He also checked out the heating zones, and replaced some plastic pipework for copper.
Monday saw the painters return, along with the sparky & Doug (for a time). The sparky fitted both wet room extractor fans, though the duct has yet to be properly terminated into the soffits. However neither is working with the light, and comes off a separate switch, which I don't like. To be changed I think. Sparky also fitted the shaver points and the leads for the mirror lights (we have the wrong ones, so a delay in completing this). Not much electrical work to do now though.
Painters were working both inside & out today. The remaining windows & garage door were painted teal, so just the red ones to do now out there. Internally the painter stained the study & main wet room, and also varnished some more of the internal doors. He's also carrying on with the sanding work I started yesterday upstairs.

Day 130 & 131 - Power in the garage and a workshop

There have been loads of folk working here over the last couple of days, as we move towards completion by the end of next week.
The sparky was here on Thursday and prepped up the two wetrooms for the shaver & light fittings. Still to complete though, and the extractor has yet to go in. The garage electrics were mostly completed too though, including the new workshop, so that has made a real difference. Sparky expected back early next week to complete things.

The joiners completed the garage workshop, which is looking really smart. The skirting & door is on (with a lock) and they've fitted a neat window to keep some light in the garage. The joiners have also been working up in the attic and have layed some more insulation - a good thing as the temperature has been dropping a bit of late.
The painter has mostly finished upstairs, though I'm still not impressed by a couple of the windows that were stained incorrectly previously. Looking like we'll need to sort this ourselves to get it right. Still more staining & varnishing to do downstairs, but upstairs should be ready for the emulsion coats early next week.
Unfortunately we're still waiting on the 2 final windows to arrive to finish the front entrance. They were meant to come on Monday - but which Monday !!