Worktops At Last....

Excitement again ... today the granite worktops arrived! The Marble Workshop phoned this morning to ask me for the final balance. That paid the granite was loaded onto the van and arrived with us at around 9. That gave us time to give the units one last clean...

Three guys arrived with all the stuff. and then asked for help getting the island top off the van. It was very heavy - over 500Kg!

Getting it out of the van was fun! Especially as their trolley had flat tyres!

I dont know if i added any strength to the effort but at least I was there for moral support.

Getting it out of the van was one thing... getting it in the kitchen door was another...

Once in it was a case of man handling it into position...

 Mind that door frame...

know which way up does it go?

At least we know the kitchen units can support someone dancing on it...

I am sure i added a lot of help at this stage...

Phil checking for marks...

The finished job looked great...

except for that one mark on the top... argh!

Once the island was in place the cupboards were finished off too. This granite was only 20mm thick and does the job perfectly.

Lost Sink Waste Pipes

It was while the granite was being fitted that we thought we would check on the parts for the sink as Brian is returning Friday to fit that taps. After a bit of a search we concluded they were lost - probably binned by one of our really tidy builders (Joke about the tidy bit). So the next three hours was wasted as Claire and i attempted to locate the parts we needed to complete the sink.

No one could help us. The Franke Service Centre was probably the least helpful place to call. Eventually we called the people who supplied the sink to the people we bought it from. 'Babs' was very helpful on the phone and agreed to call Franke for us to order the new parts. We are now hoping, one day on, that the parts arrive tomorrow (9/7/15). Will let you know more later.


The end result is that the granite looks excellent, despite the marks on the surface. I am looking forward to playing table tennis on the island top now.

Bathrooms, paint and flooring...

In the last two weeks we have moved on again - although at times it seemed pretty slowly. We now are only a couple of weeks away from finishing.

The bathrooms are now all complete (except for the final sealing of shower screens and baths)

This is the ensuite coming together in stages..

with the shower tray in the wall and floor tiles have been laid...

the smaller tiles have also been set around the bath

We used a selection of different sized tiles - 600x600 on the floor, 600x450 on the walls.

With the wall tiles in place the basic and vanity unit, made by Danny, has been installed. It was very heavy so the wall has been reinforced to take the weight.

Next the shower screen has been fitted - although not yet sealed around the edges so we can't use it!

The girls bathroom has also now been finished, including the tiled bath panel.

Meanwhile, downstairs the cloakroom has taken shape.

We had to laugh when these tiles were put in. Claire had given Liz the wall measurement and somehow they got doubled - so we ended up with double the quantity. Thank you Liz at Blanchfords though s she took them back without any quibble.

The basin and toilet look good now they are in too.

The downstairs bathroom has turned into a lovely room. This is especially nice as we didn't spend much on it as we re-used the old bathroom suite from the original family bathroom. The tiles are from Minoli. We especially like the large floor tiles (although next time would choose a darker shade of grout!)

So, with bathrooms complete it was only the floors left, and that happened the same week...

the utility floor

the stone is a beautiful colour - we wanted something that wasn't too yellow in colour nor too cold - what we have is a great golden colour that has some great fossils and quartz lines embedded.

the kitchen

the hallway

more of the hallway

the front entrance

This is the view from the landing down to the entrance hall showing the beautiful opus pattern. We love it!

so, there you have it - the house is coming together. Alex is still busy painting - he's doing a great job - and most of the 'big jobs' are now complete.

Next week it's carpets and games room floor...

We're Getting Close to Finishing now...

We're Getting Close to Finishing now...

Yes, after almost one year we are almost there (with phase one anyway!). This last few weeks has seen lots of little things coming together.

The plumber, Brian, has finished the heating work and has tested the boiler and pipe work. He has fitted all the showers, basins and baths. The bathrooms look beautiful. (He does have a few more jobs to do - like connecting the sink, fridge and one toilet!)

The Plant Room plumbing

As well as building the house the Girls also had a lovely time playing on the mini digger... much to the horror of claire who was afraid they might knock the house down.

even Esme had a go...

Lucy practising her reversing...

Next update coming soon.