This begins with apologies - I've had complaints that I've not been updating, and people want to know the progress - well, so do I! Because I'm a couple of hundred miles away, I don't really have that much of a clue what is going on on a day to day basis at the moment. There's also a feeling that I don't know how much people actually WANT to know - but the complaints have shown me that you want to know more than I've been telling you!
So, we've filled up a fourth skip, and are on to our fifth. The kitchen has been gutted, and the downstairs loo has been knocked out to make the kitchen bigger. The walls have gone up for a hallway, and the understair cupboard will be turned into a new downstairs loo - complete with basin, but that probably won't be finished by the time we move in. We're moving the front door to the side of the house, and door prices are being sorted.
The bathroom has been gutted and replastered. We've been trying to choose a bath, and boy are there complications with that. We've been trying to find one as deep as possible, so that Matt can actually get in and relax, rather than, having water only up to his sides. The trouble is that different companies give their measurements differently, so comparing between them is proving rather frustrating. Is 5cm depth worth an extra £200, or is the overflow hole actually only 2cm higher, and therefore we still wouldn't get a deep enough bath?
But it is a first world problem, ultimately. We will have a roof over our heads - although I need a roofer, as there's a hole in the roof(!), we should have windows (must ring the glazier about repairing the broken two), and we will have doors to keep out the weather (although the guy who was supposed to be replacing the front door - through which you can see daylight - appears to have disappeared off the face of the planet).
Next week should see the repairing of the wooden floors, including the big hole in the staircase, a laying of a base for a shed (so we have somewhere to store all the stuff from the garage!), and hopefully the electrics completed and maybe a bathroom fitted - if we can give the poor builder a final decision on the bath!
Photos will be up for all of this, later today :)
Saturday 24 May 2014
Saturday 3 May 2014
Day 16 (I think...)
This morning has mostly been taken up with trying to get essays out of the way for uni work - deadline next week.
However, in the midst of that, I have had news that ANOTHER skip is full. More from the garden pile and more wood from the walls and ceilings. To those who are wondering, none of the wood is safe to be burned in a wood burner or open fire, due to the chemicals used on it. There have been suggestions that some should have been kept, and used to build a playhouse. It's a lovely idea, but I don't think I have the energy or the room for it at the moment. However, all the laminate flooring that we've taken up has now gone to a good home (hoorah!), and the chipboard is going to be used for boarding the attic. As much as possible from the midden will be recycled, and I've kept all the plant pots which will hopefully be nicely planted by the time we arrive.
Remotely, we've chosen a bath and taps, decided where we want plumbing and electrics to go, and are in the process of choosing curtains and working out where bookshelves will go. A new skip has been ordered for next week (they can't deliver before Tuesday am), and we've just been told that the kitchen units are falling apart, so we'll work out where to get some new ones from, and whether we want to change any designs - I'm not certain how long it will take to build a new kitchen though....
However, in the midst of that, I have had news that ANOTHER skip is full. More from the garden pile and more wood from the walls and ceilings. To those who are wondering, none of the wood is safe to be burned in a wood burner or open fire, due to the chemicals used on it. There have been suggestions that some should have been kept, and used to build a playhouse. It's a lovely idea, but I don't think I have the energy or the room for it at the moment. However, all the laminate flooring that we've taken up has now gone to a good home (hoorah!), and the chipboard is going to be used for boarding the attic. As much as possible from the midden will be recycled, and I've kept all the plant pots which will hopefully be nicely planted by the time we arrive.
Remotely, we've chosen a bath and taps, decided where we want plumbing and electrics to go, and are in the process of choosing curtains and working out where bookshelves will go. A new skip has been ordered for next week (they can't deliver before Tuesday am), and we've just been told that the kitchen units are falling apart, so we'll work out where to get some new ones from, and whether we want to change any designs - I'm not certain how long it will take to build a new kitchen though....
Wednesday 30 April 2014
The Next Trip
Photos from the last few days
After a weekend at home, catching up on the washing (of clothes AND ourselves, after a week without hot water!), Monday morning saw me heading back on the train to Cambridge. This trip was going to involve another skip fill from the garden pile, and hopefully some more quotations from tradesmen for the many and varied jobs which need doing...
Step one
On the train, between Cardiff and London, a call from the skip man: "I can't swap over the skips, because someone's parked their car in front of your drive".
I grovelled a bit, and he agreed to knock on doors for a few minutes to try to find out to whom the car belonged. A few minutes later, another call: "No dice, no-one is answering the doors - ring back when the car has gone".
5 minutes later (according to the gasman), someone sauntered out from the house to move the car, with the words, "but she told me I couldn't park here on Wednesdays only!!!" (I have had NO such conversation with anyone about parking...) Thankfully, the kind skip man answered his phone and agreed to turn round and try again to deliver. So we had an empty skip - for a wee while, anyway.
By the time I arrived, the skip was on its way to being refilled with more treated wood, and the house was being gently(?!) dismantled. I avoided the huge temptation to join in the destructive process, as I had promised to take proper measurements and photographs, and stick signs wherever we wanted the electrician to put in sockets. At about 4pm, I realised I hadn't yet eaten lunch, so stopped to do that - and then felt much better(!)
A wood man was due to quote for sorting the flooring at around 5pm, so I started dismantling things whilst waiting for him - and realised just how tired I was feeling - far less energy for pulling bits of wood apart, so didn't achieve very much. By 5:45pm, the woodman hadn't turned up, so I rang - he finally turned up at 6:30pm, but was very good when he did turn up, and gave sensible advice and a reasonable quote (I think - wait for the others to turn up first!)
Once he'd left, it was definitely time to find some more food, so went to pizza express in town for a lovely evening with Anna, and then sleep in a proper bed :) Anna's house is across the road from my old house - it was quite weird seeing it and it not being mine any more. But it was a good feeling too, that even though we're moving back to Cambridge, we're moving forwards as well, rather than just sliding back into the old life. It's a good thing, given it's going to be a completely new role for all of us in a new church.
Tuesday started far too early - woodman two was due to turn up at 8:30am, so I needed to leave by 7:45am to get across town. Matt had bought a second hand bike on his last visit (as Station Cycles are no longer available for bike hire :( ) and left it at Anna's, so at least there was no hanging around for buses.
Arrived at the house at 8:15am, and waited....
At 9:30am, another friend turned up and we filled a skip between us from the stuff in the back garden - three more trolleys were unearthed, along with: a slow cooker (internal pot and lid in one piece and saved, but decided that electrics weren't worth waiting for drying out to test), 4 deep fat fryers (the previous skip load had already contained one or two of these), 2 irons, two vacuum cleaners, three paint trays (covered in green paint, but otherwise in good order), perfectly serviceable washing up bowl, draining rack, and a dozen plant pots. Additionally, there were several mattresses, roller blinds and carpets, but thankfully no dead bodies. The best part of it all was that every time we moved something, there were two robins waiting to dive down and eat any bugs that we unearthed - presumably they've got hungry babies waiting for lots of food. They were incredibly tame, and seemed unruffled by our presence. I'm really hoping they learn a little circumspection before we introduce the cat to the neighbourhood, as I'd hate to see them ending up as an impromptu snack.
Once the skip was filled, there was a pause to draw breath, and listen to the gentle sound of other people pulling my house apart - it was actually quite relaxing - it meant that even though I was feeling shattered, progress was being made. The pause didn't last long though - the vicar (aka my new boss), the undertaker (aka the unskilled labour for pulling things apart, as he's new to the undertaking business and was waiting for bodies to be sent his way(!)), and the electrician (just an electrician, as far as I know), all turned up at the same time! The vicar was pointed towards the kettle, the undertaker towards the hammers, and the electrician shown where we want all the strange things we want to be fitted in our house. Thankfully we had biscuits too, which meant that the vicar and the undertaker (who I think knew each other, but not certain) could at least have a topic of conversation other than work, whilst I discussed things with the electrician (and tried to sound knowledgeable, and where not knowledgeable, at least not really difficult about what I wanted!)
The vicar had camping gear returned, and agreed to me booking a holiday over the summer (hoorah!), and then he disappeared to talk about baptisms to someone, just in time for woodman three to turn up for a quotation - talk about chalk and cheese. The first woodman reckoned three to five days for repairs, the second suggested they could all be done in one day! I haven't got the quotations for either yet, so we shall see what the price difference will be....
After the last of the quoting workmen had left, there was just time to head to the locksmiths. Previously, we'd had three keys cut, and given them to various people who needed access. None of the keys worked, so I went back for another try. The second batch did not work either :( It'll have to wait till the next visit now - thankfully, the back door keys work(!)
Thanks to the kindness of the gasman's wife, a tired bunny got given a lift to the station for the home trip, which was blissfully uneventful. Even the journey across London, although incredibly crowded (so sorry to the commuters who had to cope with a smelly person wielding a rucksack on the tube at rush hour....) was not overlong - the circle line was running between Paddington and Kings Cross, so no fighting with buses needed.
On the way home, I did eventually get a call from woodman two (remember him?) - he was most apologetic about not turning up, as he'd put it in the diary wrongly. Could he reschedule please? I had to point out that we wouldn't be back in the property for another three weeks, so no chance. Ah well.
Home safe and sound - glad to be home, I'll miss Cardiff, especially all its trains (we have two train lines very near to us, so if we miss one train, we can just jump on one on the other line).
Step one
On the train, between Cardiff and London, a call from the skip man: "I can't swap over the skips, because someone's parked their car in front of your drive".
I grovelled a bit, and he agreed to knock on doors for a few minutes to try to find out to whom the car belonged. A few minutes later, another call: "No dice, no-one is answering the doors - ring back when the car has gone".
5 minutes later (according to the gasman), someone sauntered out from the house to move the car, with the words, "but she told me I couldn't park here on Wednesdays only!!!" (I have had NO such conversation with anyone about parking...) Thankfully, the kind skip man answered his phone and agreed to turn round and try again to deliver. So we had an empty skip - for a wee while, anyway.
By the time I arrived, the skip was on its way to being refilled with more treated wood, and the house was being gently(?!) dismantled. I avoided the huge temptation to join in the destructive process, as I had promised to take proper measurements and photographs, and stick signs wherever we wanted the electrician to put in sockets. At about 4pm, I realised I hadn't yet eaten lunch, so stopped to do that - and then felt much better(!)
A wood man was due to quote for sorting the flooring at around 5pm, so I started dismantling things whilst waiting for him - and realised just how tired I was feeling - far less energy for pulling bits of wood apart, so didn't achieve very much. By 5:45pm, the woodman hadn't turned up, so I rang - he finally turned up at 6:30pm, but was very good when he did turn up, and gave sensible advice and a reasonable quote (I think - wait for the others to turn up first!)
Once he'd left, it was definitely time to find some more food, so went to pizza express in town for a lovely evening with Anna, and then sleep in a proper bed :) Anna's house is across the road from my old house - it was quite weird seeing it and it not being mine any more. But it was a good feeling too, that even though we're moving back to Cambridge, we're moving forwards as well, rather than just sliding back into the old life. It's a good thing, given it's going to be a completely new role for all of us in a new church.
Tuesday started far too early - woodman two was due to turn up at 8:30am, so I needed to leave by 7:45am to get across town. Matt had bought a second hand bike on his last visit (as Station Cycles are no longer available for bike hire :( ) and left it at Anna's, so at least there was no hanging around for buses.
Arrived at the house at 8:15am, and waited....
At 9:30am, another friend turned up and we filled a skip between us from the stuff in the back garden - three more trolleys were unearthed, along with: a slow cooker (internal pot and lid in one piece and saved, but decided that electrics weren't worth waiting for drying out to test), 4 deep fat fryers (the previous skip load had already contained one or two of these), 2 irons, two vacuum cleaners, three paint trays (covered in green paint, but otherwise in good order), perfectly serviceable washing up bowl, draining rack, and a dozen plant pots. Additionally, there were several mattresses, roller blinds and carpets, but thankfully no dead bodies. The best part of it all was that every time we moved something, there were two robins waiting to dive down and eat any bugs that we unearthed - presumably they've got hungry babies waiting for lots of food. They were incredibly tame, and seemed unruffled by our presence. I'm really hoping they learn a little circumspection before we introduce the cat to the neighbourhood, as I'd hate to see them ending up as an impromptu snack.
Once the skip was filled, there was a pause to draw breath, and listen to the gentle sound of other people pulling my house apart - it was actually quite relaxing - it meant that even though I was feeling shattered, progress was being made. The pause didn't last long though - the vicar (aka my new boss), the undertaker (aka the unskilled labour for pulling things apart, as he's new to the undertaking business and was waiting for bodies to be sent his way(!)), and the electrician (just an electrician, as far as I know), all turned up at the same time! The vicar was pointed towards the kettle, the undertaker towards the hammers, and the electrician shown where we want all the strange things we want to be fitted in our house. Thankfully we had biscuits too, which meant that the vicar and the undertaker (who I think knew each other, but not certain) could at least have a topic of conversation other than work, whilst I discussed things with the electrician (and tried to sound knowledgeable, and where not knowledgeable, at least not really difficult about what I wanted!)
The vicar had camping gear returned, and agreed to me booking a holiday over the summer (hoorah!), and then he disappeared to talk about baptisms to someone, just in time for woodman three to turn up for a quotation - talk about chalk and cheese. The first woodman reckoned three to five days for repairs, the second suggested they could all be done in one day! I haven't got the quotations for either yet, so we shall see what the price difference will be....
After the last of the quoting workmen had left, there was just time to head to the locksmiths. Previously, we'd had three keys cut, and given them to various people who needed access. None of the keys worked, so I went back for another try. The second batch did not work either :( It'll have to wait till the next visit now - thankfully, the back door keys work(!)
Thanks to the kindness of the gasman's wife, a tired bunny got given a lift to the station for the home trip, which was blissfully uneventful. Even the journey across London, although incredibly crowded (so sorry to the commuters who had to cope with a smelly person wielding a rucksack on the tube at rush hour....) was not overlong - the circle line was running between Paddington and Kings Cross, so no fighting with buses needed.
On the way home, I did eventually get a call from woodman two (remember him?) - he was most apologetic about not turning up, as he'd put it in the diary wrongly. Could he reschedule please? I had to point out that we wouldn't be back in the property for another three weeks, so no chance. Ah well.
Home safe and sound - glad to be home, I'll miss Cardiff, especially all its trains (we have two train lines very near to us, so if we miss one train, we can just jump on one on the other line).
Saturday 26 April 2014
Corrupting the innocent
I shall write about this morning's sagas later, but I really want to write this down first for posterity.
The boy turned round and said, "teach me some science mummy". After a few moments panic (where does one start with a request like that?!), we did the chemical reaction between vinegar and bicarb, in the sink, and the chemical equation, moving on to the periodic table. I was just starting on chemical mass, when the boy piped up: "I know about mass - it's a church service"! My boy has been seriously corrupted by this last two years! Upon trying to explain that wasn't quite what I meant, he said, "And mass is short for massage"! (he's obviously managed to find better church services than me!!!)
I gave up on the science lesson at this point, and need to find a simpler book than my A-level chemistry book for the next lesson, as the comment upon seeing Thomson's apparatus was, " a trumpet mummy"!
Definitely light relief after the morning stress!
The boy turned round and said, "teach me some science mummy". After a few moments panic (where does one start with a request like that?!), we did the chemical reaction between vinegar and bicarb, in the sink, and the chemical equation, moving on to the periodic table. I was just starting on chemical mass, when the boy piped up: "I know about mass - it's a church service"! My boy has been seriously corrupted by this last two years! Upon trying to explain that wasn't quite what I meant, he said, "And mass is short for massage"! (he's obviously managed to find better church services than me!!!)
I gave up on the science lesson at this point, and need to find a simpler book than my A-level chemistry book for the next lesson, as the comment upon seeing Thomson's apparatus was, " a trumpet mummy"!
Definitely light relief after the morning stress!
Thursday 24 April 2014
Home is where .....
Thursday 24th April
Today was a bit more manic than I would have liked. We had to be up bright and early, as our lovely gas man (and general project manager) was due to turn up at 8am. He turned up in good time, and despite a few intakes of breath at some of the more interesting features of the house, he didn't run away screaming, and has agreed to take on the task of trying to get a lot of work done in 8 weeks - bless him! His first job was to cut off the gas supply completely, as, as I had worked out during my random wake up in the middle of the night, if the gas boiler was leaking, then it was not safe to leave the system as it was, as anyone passing could choose to turn the gas tap on and cause malicious damage to the house (boom....)
The boy and I visited the last of four schools in the nearby area, and I ran around frantically trying to work out which pile all of the stuff in the house had to go into, out of, 1) borrowed stuff, to be returned (subdivided into 5, to be claimed by the appropriate person), 2) our stuff, to be packed in boxes and left at the house, 3) our stuff, to be taken home, 4) food stuffs, to be given to anyone prepared to take and eat them before they went off!
The boy was very excited to be helping our gas man with the cutting off of the gas supply, and with digging up the front garden in what turned out to be a vain attempt to find the outside stop cock for the water supply! We now have a big hole in our front garden, but will have to talk nicely to Cambridge water to see if they can sort out either, a) finding the external stop cock, or b) installing a new external stop cock.
I finally finished getting everything into its right places, and the boy and I set off with two large suitcases for the first leg of our journey home, and meeting Matt at the station.
It was strange coming into Cardiff. It was lovely knowing that we were coming back to creature comforts, such as a bed, and heating etc, and a grumpy cat. But it was also the feeling that we had left 'home' back in Cambridge. We currently have two homes - home is where my cat is? It's an unsettling time really, very strange.
But we've now spent a couple of hours designing a bathroom and planning an electrical installation ready for the electrician's visit in the morning. All fun and games, but it's time for bed now, and I promise photos of all of this will go up online somewhere tomorrow! Night all...
Today was a bit more manic than I would have liked. We had to be up bright and early, as our lovely gas man (and general project manager) was due to turn up at 8am. He turned up in good time, and despite a few intakes of breath at some of the more interesting features of the house, he didn't run away screaming, and has agreed to take on the task of trying to get a lot of work done in 8 weeks - bless him! His first job was to cut off the gas supply completely, as, as I had worked out during my random wake up in the middle of the night, if the gas boiler was leaking, then it was not safe to leave the system as it was, as anyone passing could choose to turn the gas tap on and cause malicious damage to the house (boom....)
The boy and I visited the last of four schools in the nearby area, and I ran around frantically trying to work out which pile all of the stuff in the house had to go into, out of, 1) borrowed stuff, to be returned (subdivided into 5, to be claimed by the appropriate person), 2) our stuff, to be packed in boxes and left at the house, 3) our stuff, to be taken home, 4) food stuffs, to be given to anyone prepared to take and eat them before they went off!
The boy was very excited to be helping our gas man with the cutting off of the gas supply, and with digging up the front garden in what turned out to be a vain attempt to find the outside stop cock for the water supply! We now have a big hole in our front garden, but will have to talk nicely to Cambridge water to see if they can sort out either, a) finding the external stop cock, or b) installing a new external stop cock.
I finally finished getting everything into its right places, and the boy and I set off with two large suitcases for the first leg of our journey home, and meeting Matt at the station.
It was strange coming into Cardiff. It was lovely knowing that we were coming back to creature comforts, such as a bed, and heating etc, and a grumpy cat. But it was also the feeling that we had left 'home' back in Cambridge. We currently have two homes - home is where my cat is? It's an unsettling time really, very strange.
But we've now spent a couple of hours designing a bathroom and planning an electrical installation ready for the electrician's visit in the morning. All fun and games, but it's time for bed now, and I promise photos of all of this will go up online somewhere tomorrow! Night all...
Friends and flooring
Wednesday 23rd April
Today started too early. Matt had to work all day, which was a shock in itself - and in the office, which is going to take some adjusting to, after having him just upstairs working for the past two years. So the boy and I started the morning very slowly, and wonderfully, with sitting in the garden - him on the swings (left by previous owners, and in reasonably good condition - they have been a real blessing, and a help with the boy adjusting to a new house!), and me enjoying the sunshine in a camp chair for an hour or so, feeling very decadent and lazy.
Then a friend turned up to help with removing the laminate from upstairs, both from the floor, and from the house, as he has a room where he wants to put it - win-win in my book, as most of you know how much I hate seeing things go to waste! We removed FIVE layers of flooring from the landing - laminate flooring, chipboard (1cm high), underlay, another layer of chipboard, and, in some places, a further layer of paper. We removed the wood panelling from the walls, and, once we remove it from the ceiling, it's all going to feel rather more spacious!
In removing the flooring,however, we discovered wet pathces, which implies the there is a leak from the shower room. This means that it will all have to be dismantled, rather than just taking out the bits we were going to replace with a bath. Hey ho, time to sit down and plan a bathroom layout...
One of the other discoveries of the day, as a result of taking time in the garden, was the realisation that the extra toilet in the house was connected to the guttering downpipe, and fed into the storm drains. As we also discovered a set of plumbers rods in the garden, we're not certain just how effective this plumbing endeavour might have been! We will find out, I reckon, before long!
It was very satisfying taking out all the flooring, and discovering what was underneath. It's mostly good quality floorboards, which we will get sanded and sealed. Some need repairing, so hopefully we will get that sorted before we move in, and get the most important floors done immediately too. The rest will be done as and when there is time for them.
The best job of the day, however, was taking the boy to the shops, so we could buy thank you presents for the lovely people who lent us so many bits and pieces which made the last week so much easier to cope with. A very special thank you goes to the people who lent the boy all their wooden train track for the week.
The days have been finishing very early this week, as we've been shattered. This last evening of 'camping', saw us all snuggled up in the same room, on the boy's request, and me fast asleep by 7:30pm, although I did still wake up during the night, due to unfamiliar noises in the house, and very early in the morning, due to a brain full of list to do lists!
Today started too early. Matt had to work all day, which was a shock in itself - and in the office, which is going to take some adjusting to, after having him just upstairs working for the past two years. So the boy and I started the morning very slowly, and wonderfully, with sitting in the garden - him on the swings (left by previous owners, and in reasonably good condition - they have been a real blessing, and a help with the boy adjusting to a new house!), and me enjoying the sunshine in a camp chair for an hour or so, feeling very decadent and lazy.
Then a friend turned up to help with removing the laminate from upstairs, both from the floor, and from the house, as he has a room where he wants to put it - win-win in my book, as most of you know how much I hate seeing things go to waste! We removed FIVE layers of flooring from the landing - laminate flooring, chipboard (1cm high), underlay, another layer of chipboard, and, in some places, a further layer of paper. We removed the wood panelling from the walls, and, once we remove it from the ceiling, it's all going to feel rather more spacious!
In removing the flooring,however, we discovered wet pathces, which implies the there is a leak from the shower room. This means that it will all have to be dismantled, rather than just taking out the bits we were going to replace with a bath. Hey ho, time to sit down and plan a bathroom layout...
One of the other discoveries of the day, as a result of taking time in the garden, was the realisation that the extra toilet in the house was connected to the guttering downpipe, and fed into the storm drains. As we also discovered a set of plumbers rods in the garden, we're not certain just how effective this plumbing endeavour might have been! We will find out, I reckon, before long!
It was very satisfying taking out all the flooring, and discovering what was underneath. It's mostly good quality floorboards, which we will get sanded and sealed. Some need repairing, so hopefully we will get that sorted before we move in, and get the most important floors done immediately too. The rest will be done as and when there is time for them.
The best job of the day, however, was taking the boy to the shops, so we could buy thank you presents for the lovely people who lent us so many bits and pieces which made the last week so much easier to cope with. A very special thank you goes to the people who lent the boy all their wooden train track for the week.
The days have been finishing very early this week, as we've been shattered. This last evening of 'camping', saw us all snuggled up in the same room, on the boy's request, and me fast asleep by 7:30pm, although I did still wake up during the night, due to unfamiliar noises in the house, and very early in the morning, due to a brain full of list to do lists!
Tuesday 22 April 2014
A day in the life
Yesterday evening actually ended with us repairing the curtain fixings with gaffer tape - it held all of last night, we'll have to see about tonight...
This morning, cooking breakfast went rather wrong. I turned on the gas at the box, and wandered about merrily in the kitchen getting food ready. I wandered back into the living room to find my son sitting quietly reading, whilst the gas fire was hissing loudly, as it leaked gas into the room! A quick dash back to the box, and several window and door openings later, we ended up with oven cooked sausages instead for breakfast!
I took the hose off the drain sump for the boiler system to see water still flowing from the pipe, which did not stop when I turned the valve off.... We've had a bucket under it most of the day, and it seems to be slowing down now (I have no idea what's going on, but someone who knows what they're doing will look at it soon :) )
The skip arrived at 9am, and was nearly full by 10:30am. Only two more skiploads left in the garden, I reckon! That meant we could clean up just in time to be ready for the first of the school visits to try to choose one for the boy. We've now seen two schools, explored the local shops and library, had extra keys cut, and spent the evening planning electrics, kitchen, bathroom, furniture layout etc. It's been mostly a much calmer day - a jolly good thing for one and all..
This morning, cooking breakfast went rather wrong. I turned on the gas at the box, and wandered about merrily in the kitchen getting food ready. I wandered back into the living room to find my son sitting quietly reading, whilst the gas fire was hissing loudly, as it leaked gas into the room! A quick dash back to the box, and several window and door openings later, we ended up with oven cooked sausages instead for breakfast!
I took the hose off the drain sump for the boiler system to see water still flowing from the pipe, which did not stop when I turned the valve off.... We've had a bucket under it most of the day, and it seems to be slowing down now (I have no idea what's going on, but someone who knows what they're doing will look at it soon :) )
The skip arrived at 9am, and was nearly full by 10:30am. Only two more skiploads left in the garden, I reckon! That meant we could clean up just in time to be ready for the first of the school visits to try to choose one for the boy. We've now seen two schools, explored the local shops and library, had extra keys cut, and spent the evening planning electrics, kitchen, bathroom, furniture layout etc. It's been mostly a much calmer day - a jolly good thing for one and all..
Monday 21 April 2014
Water water everywhere....
Easter Monday, and my Easter present is a nice big shed :)
So we walked 3.5 miles, first thing, to The Shed Factory - to find it closed for the day...
Another mile to the bus station, to get the bus to Shelford garden centre for a meet up with friends. We arrived early, and realised they sold proper sheds too :) Much shed-exploration later, and we worked out what we wanted, and left the helpful bloke drawing pictures of what we'd told him we wanted, whilst we had a lovely time with the Hoptons, seeing the fish and the other flora and fauna of the garden centre :)
After lunch, we went and decided on a different shed layout (poor shed man!) and then paid a deposit. After that, we found an olive tree for the boy to cover, and jumped on the first of two buses home. On the first bus, we realised we'd left the boy's coat at the garden centre, so Matt gamely jumped off the bus at the next stop and headed back in an attempt to retrieve it...
The boy and I headed back to the house for naps, and then I proceeded to uncover the damp patch - only to find that the back boiler is STILL leaking. A quick phone call to the fount of all DIY knowledge (aka dad!) and a bit more destruction of the house to find the drain for the hot water system, and 8:30pm found me attempting to drain the central heating system. It's now mostly drained, but the valve for draining the system now won't turn off properly, so the hose has been left on, snaking its way out via the catflap, to continue it's emptying overnight (and hopefully, by the morning, it'll all be sorted and I can concentrate on filling the skip that will be arriving!
Night all...
So we walked 3.5 miles, first thing, to The Shed Factory - to find it closed for the day...
Another mile to the bus station, to get the bus to Shelford garden centre for a meet up with friends. We arrived early, and realised they sold proper sheds too :) Much shed-exploration later, and we worked out what we wanted, and left the helpful bloke drawing pictures of what we'd told him we wanted, whilst we had a lovely time with the Hoptons, seeing the fish and the other flora and fauna of the garden centre :)
After lunch, we went and decided on a different shed layout (poor shed man!) and then paid a deposit. After that, we found an olive tree for the boy to cover, and jumped on the first of two buses home. On the first bus, we realised we'd left the boy's coat at the garden centre, so Matt gamely jumped off the bus at the next stop and headed back in an attempt to retrieve it...
The boy and I headed back to the house for naps, and then I proceeded to uncover the damp patch - only to find that the back boiler is STILL leaking. A quick phone call to the fount of all DIY knowledge (aka dad!) and a bit more destruction of the house to find the drain for the hot water system, and 8:30pm found me attempting to drain the central heating system. It's now mostly drained, but the valve for draining the system now won't turn off properly, so the hose has been left on, snaking its way out via the catflap, to continue it's emptying overnight (and hopefully, by the morning, it'll all be sorted and I can concentrate on filling the skip that will be arriving!
Night all...
Sunday 20 April 2014
Hallelujahs and Roast Dinners
Easter Sunday 20th April
We have had a lovely day today :)
I was very nervous about going to my new parish today - not enough sleep meant being the centre of attention was the last thing I wanted. But I was very warmly welcomed, and the boy didn't find it too overwhelming. It was great to have our first service as a family being a day of celebration. We got fed breakfast and cake, and the boy had dairy free chocolate in the Easter egg hunt - bless them for sorting that one.
Then home again for a very late roast dinner lunch - and I took the laminate flooring up whilst it cooked, and Matt and the boy built the Lego set given by the grandparents as an Easter present. Under the laminate flooring there is chipboard, and around the fireplace/back boiler there is a very large damp patch, so tomorrow's job is to remove the chipboard to see the state of the floorboards underneath (why would someone put chipboard on top of floorboards anyway?!?)
As we were getting our late lunch ready, we received a text from the Stevensons offering extra radiators, and from the Copes offering a roast dinner for teatime. We said yes to both, and are now snug and warm in a warmer house with our tummies replete with roast lamb and rhubarb crumble. We have written lists of priorities - of what needs doing before we move in and what can wait till after the move. And we are feeling very blessed and loved by our friends - once more, thanks :)
And because there does not seem to be a sensible way for me to upload photos into this blog from my phone (I have now taken photos though!), here is a link to a floor plan, if anyone is still reading this :)
Floor plan (goes to Dropbox).
We have had a lovely day today :)
I was very nervous about going to my new parish today - not enough sleep meant being the centre of attention was the last thing I wanted. But I was very warmly welcomed, and the boy didn't find it too overwhelming. It was great to have our first service as a family being a day of celebration. We got fed breakfast and cake, and the boy had dairy free chocolate in the Easter egg hunt - bless them for sorting that one.
Then home again for a very late roast dinner lunch - and I took the laminate flooring up whilst it cooked, and Matt and the boy built the Lego set given by the grandparents as an Easter present. Under the laminate flooring there is chipboard, and around the fireplace/back boiler there is a very large damp patch, so tomorrow's job is to remove the chipboard to see the state of the floorboards underneath (why would someone put chipboard on top of floorboards anyway?!?)
As we were getting our late lunch ready, we received a text from the Stevensons offering extra radiators, and from the Copes offering a roast dinner for teatime. We said yes to both, and are now snug and warm in a warmer house with our tummies replete with roast lamb and rhubarb crumble. We have written lists of priorities - of what needs doing before we move in and what can wait till after the move. And we are feeling very blessed and loved by our friends - once more, thanks :)
And because there does not seem to be a sensible way for me to upload photos into this blog from my phone (I have now taken photos though!), here is a link to a floor plan, if anyone is still reading this :)
Floor plan (goes to Dropbox).
Saturday 19 April 2014
Unending shopping trolleys
19th April
The day started too early again - first task was finding out where in Cambridge we could get some cheap mattresses or ANYTHING, in an attempt to get a better night's sleep (we appear to be unable to sleep well on blowup beds :( ). We kindly got lent one foam chairbed, and that was comfortable, so that was what we aimed for - Argos appeared to have some in stock, so we headed there via Cambrige station to pick up Matt's parents, who announced that they were coming up for the day, to take us out for lunch. Definitely not to be argued with :)
On the way to Argos, I got distracted into Homebase, so I am writing this whilst lying (laying?!) on cushions more usually used on recliner chairs used in the garden. Half the price and hopefully they will do the job :)
We all went and ate lots of protein at Maison du Steak (definitely recommended - I shall go back again without small person and try the desserts at some point - we felt guilty about ordering pudding when there was nothing on the menu that he could eat - so I bought chocolate to eat on the qt when he's not about!) and then investigated the state of the attic (remarkably empty, only a few things, very surprisingly) and the garden - erm, not so empty...
When I looked at the house, I noticed that there were two shopping trolleys in the garden, and had some idea what I was letting myself in for. But upon closer inspection, every wheely bin, of every colour (1 x blue for recycling, 2 x green for composting, 2 x black for rubbish) is full to bursting of rubbish, and rubbish of a sort that the council will not take, from any bin. Additionally, further down the garden is a big pile, which I had assumed was trees and branches. Upon closer inspection , it appears to be twenty years or more of rubbish, including carpets, broken electrical items, car batteries, and at least three more shopping trolleys. I haven't found the bottom of the pile yet, so there may be more.
We sorted out some of the rubbish and brought it to the top of the garden, ready to put in the skip when it arrives, but we will need at least to more skips to get rid of it all. We took the two accessible trolleys back to Aldi, from whence they had come, and the assistant manager was so overwhelmed, he gave us a free bunch of flowers!
To finish the day, we tried digging a hole to plant the rhubarb we'd dug up from the old house - only to find that there appears to be absolutely no goodness in the soil - back to Aldi for some (peat free!) compost, and hopefully the rhubarb might survive if I can persuade someone to water it once a week. But the garden is going to need a lot of TLC, even once we've got rid of all the rubbish and dog muck. But I have a garden that I can work on again, which is a good thing :). However, once again, I have been so busy working on the chaos, I've not taken time to get any photographs of it. I'll try again tomorrow...
And after a long shower to get rid of the fibre glass, mud, and other muck, time for a hopefully good night's sleep before I get introduced to my new church tomorrow morning...
The day started too early again - first task was finding out where in Cambridge we could get some cheap mattresses or ANYTHING, in an attempt to get a better night's sleep (we appear to be unable to sleep well on blowup beds :( ). We kindly got lent one foam chairbed, and that was comfortable, so that was what we aimed for - Argos appeared to have some in stock, so we headed there via Cambrige station to pick up Matt's parents, who announced that they were coming up for the day, to take us out for lunch. Definitely not to be argued with :)
On the way to Argos, I got distracted into Homebase, so I am writing this whilst lying (laying?!) on cushions more usually used on recliner chairs used in the garden. Half the price and hopefully they will do the job :)
We all went and ate lots of protein at Maison du Steak (definitely recommended - I shall go back again without small person and try the desserts at some point - we felt guilty about ordering pudding when there was nothing on the menu that he could eat - so I bought chocolate to eat on the qt when he's not about!) and then investigated the state of the attic (remarkably empty, only a few things, very surprisingly) and the garden - erm, not so empty...
When I looked at the house, I noticed that there were two shopping trolleys in the garden, and had some idea what I was letting myself in for. But upon closer inspection, every wheely bin, of every colour (1 x blue for recycling, 2 x green for composting, 2 x black for rubbish) is full to bursting of rubbish, and rubbish of a sort that the council will not take, from any bin. Additionally, further down the garden is a big pile, which I had assumed was trees and branches. Upon closer inspection , it appears to be twenty years or more of rubbish, including carpets, broken electrical items, car batteries, and at least three more shopping trolleys. I haven't found the bottom of the pile yet, so there may be more.
We sorted out some of the rubbish and brought it to the top of the garden, ready to put in the skip when it arrives, but we will need at least to more skips to get rid of it all. We took the two accessible trolleys back to Aldi, from whence they had come, and the assistant manager was so overwhelmed, he gave us a free bunch of flowers!
To finish the day, we tried digging a hole to plant the rhubarb we'd dug up from the old house - only to find that there appears to be absolutely no goodness in the soil - back to Aldi for some (peat free!) compost, and hopefully the rhubarb might survive if I can persuade someone to water it once a week. But the garden is going to need a lot of TLC, even once we've got rid of all the rubbish and dog muck. But I have a garden that I can work on again, which is a good thing :). However, once again, I have been so busy working on the chaos, I've not taken time to get any photographs of it. I'll try again tomorrow...
And after a long shower to get rid of the fibre glass, mud, and other muck, time for a hopefully good night's sleep before I get introduced to my new church tomorrow morning...
Friday 18 April 2014
Only(!) day three....
18th April 2014
A bad night's sleep (poor curtains and a very full brain, refusing to shut up), followed by a lovely relaxed morning with breakfast in bed, then off to St Barnabas for their morning service. It was lovely to see their new updated building.
We came back and had a lovely lunch with Amanda, and then in the afternoon the very kind British Gas man came round, and condemned our fire! He then inspected the hob, and found it had been plumbed in with flexible pipe, normally used for plumbing in water! He said we can use it for a short period of time, but advised us to turn off the supply after every use, and get it replaced ASAP.
Matt went out and bought an electric fire from the local trade counter - and upon giving our address received the response, " we've got that address on our account - we're owed money by them!" I have a feeling that this is going to be a repeating theme...
We were joined for a few hours by Becky and little Munns, and whilst the latter was asleep, Becky enthusiastically joined our parlour game of ripping apart whichever bit of wall one fancies! We've a nice pile in the front garden now ready for the skip when it arrives on Tuesday.
We diced with death to heat up dinner - aka turning the hob on to cook pasta, and then crawled to bed, with cardboard on the windows to see if that helps on the sleep front...
A bad night's sleep (poor curtains and a very full brain, refusing to shut up), followed by a lovely relaxed morning with breakfast in bed, then off to St Barnabas for their morning service. It was lovely to see their new updated building.
We came back and had a lovely lunch with Amanda, and then in the afternoon the very kind British Gas man came round, and condemned our fire! He then inspected the hob, and found it had been plumbed in with flexible pipe, normally used for plumbing in water! He said we can use it for a short period of time, but advised us to turn off the supply after every use, and get it replaced ASAP.
Matt went out and bought an electric fire from the local trade counter - and upon giving our address received the response, " we've got that address on our account - we're owed money by them!" I have a feeling that this is going to be a repeating theme...
We were joined for a few hours by Becky and little Munns, and whilst the latter was asleep, Becky enthusiastically joined our parlour game of ripping apart whichever bit of wall one fancies! We've a nice pile in the front garden now ready for the skip when it arrives on Tuesday.
We diced with death to heat up dinner - aka turning the hob on to cook pasta, and then crawled to bed, with cardboard on the windows to see if that helps on the sleep front...
It gets worse...
17th April 2014
Matt spent the morning sorting out practicalities for getting to and from work (new bike helmet, picking up his updated work pc (Linux to Win7), and then came back in time for the fridge freezer to be delivered, and for the return of the locksmith to sort out the window locks (for which the keys could also not be found!)
I and the boy spent the morning travelling from Cardiff to Cambridge, arriving just after lunchtime. An uneventful journey, on time, and met by Matt at the bus stop. We walked to the house, passing the post lady on the way. So far, so good.
We got into the house to find that the post lady had left us some post... It was addressed to the previous owners AND ANY OTHER OCCUPANTS. It informed us that eviction procedures were in process, and that we would be evicted on 29th April...
A phone call or two later...
I got put on permanent loop by the county court bailiffs, and upon re-ringing found the answering service turned off for Easter. I got fobbed off by the solicitors who did not want to do anything, and got assured by my solicitor that should all get sorted before the bailiffs turn up - we have yet to be convinced, and will ensure that there are people here on the appropriate date...
Once we had dealt with that to the best of our ability on the eve of a four day weekend, we turned back to the practicalities of the house. I had a look at the fire and back boiler. Upon a preliminary inspection, I wussed out and decided I wasn't prepared to turn it on without the advice of someone more qualified to decide.
So, we managed to borrow a couple of hot water bottles and an electric heater for the evening, and Matt did a fantastic job of persuading British Gas to come out for a check over of all the gas appliances (hob and fire/back boiler) ON A BANK HOLIDAY (much kudos to him!)
We got taken out for a cuppa by the lovely Anna, and then came back for tea, and the arrival of Amanda with extra bedding, which was definitely useful in the absence of heating! We took rather a long while to heat up the tea (ready meals, put in saucepans in the oven!) and then gave up and went to bed, to gather our strength for what the morrow would bring...
Matt spent the morning sorting out practicalities for getting to and from work (new bike helmet, picking up his updated work pc (Linux to Win7), and then came back in time for the fridge freezer to be delivered, and for the return of the locksmith to sort out the window locks (for which the keys could also not be found!)
I and the boy spent the morning travelling from Cardiff to Cambridge, arriving just after lunchtime. An uneventful journey, on time, and met by Matt at the bus stop. We walked to the house, passing the post lady on the way. So far, so good.
We got into the house to find that the post lady had left us some post... It was addressed to the previous owners AND ANY OTHER OCCUPANTS. It informed us that eviction procedures were in process, and that we would be evicted on 29th April...
A phone call or two later...
I got put on permanent loop by the county court bailiffs, and upon re-ringing found the answering service turned off for Easter. I got fobbed off by the solicitors who did not want to do anything, and got assured by my solicitor that should all get sorted before the bailiffs turn up - we have yet to be convinced, and will ensure that there are people here on the appropriate date...
Once we had dealt with that to the best of our ability on the eve of a four day weekend, we turned back to the practicalities of the house. I had a look at the fire and back boiler. Upon a preliminary inspection, I wussed out and decided I wasn't prepared to turn it on without the advice of someone more qualified to decide.
So, we managed to borrow a couple of hot water bottles and an electric heater for the evening, and Matt did a fantastic job of persuading British Gas to come out for a check over of all the gas appliances (hob and fire/back boiler) ON A BANK HOLIDAY (much kudos to him!)
We got taken out for a cuppa by the lovely Anna, and then came back for tea, and the arrival of Amanda with extra bedding, which was definitely useful in the absence of heating! We took rather a long while to heat up the tea (ready meals, put in saucepans in the oven!) and then gave up and went to bed, to gather our strength for what the morrow would bring...
New House, New Stress
16th April 2014
We completed on our house purchase in Cambridge. Said a said mental goodbye to our old, beautifully done up house in Suez Road, and embarked on a new phase of life in taking on a rather decrepit looking property in the north of Cambridge. The new house is smaller than the old one, and from the surveyor's report, we knew it needed work.
Matt went across to Cambridge on Tuesday afternoon, to take the last few items out of the old house, and to be ready upon completion to go over to the new house, ready for the locksmith to meet him and change all the locks.
Issue number one - only one key given by estate agent, and three doors. So the locksmith proceeds to drill out the locks with the words, "this is going to take me hours!"
Thankfully, he over-estimated and did a good job in a short space of time.
Matt, meanwhile, is ringing up the services to register the change of ownership and sort out how on earth one goes about getting prepayment cards etc, as both gas and electricity are on prepayment meters. Getting prepayment cards is fairly straight-forward but very time consuming:
Issue number two - there is no way British Gas will be believe the we're new owners unless we can prove it, because there is too big a debt on the meters. Cue frantic call from Matt for me to photocopy ID to send across.
Issue number three - the house has a fire with back boiler to provide heating and hot water. On first glance, the only way to turn on the fire is with an Allen key... Due to this issue, Matt decided not to turn the gas on to the property, but wait for me to look at it the next day..
Meanwhile, numerous very kind and generous friends have been arriving with all sorts of useful and helpful things for the property, to enable us to spend a week camping in it.
Matt retires to takeaway, exhausted, and having booked the next day off to deal with what that might bring.
We completed on our house purchase in Cambridge. Said a said mental goodbye to our old, beautifully done up house in Suez Road, and embarked on a new phase of life in taking on a rather decrepit looking property in the north of Cambridge. The new house is smaller than the old one, and from the surveyor's report, we knew it needed work.
Matt went across to Cambridge on Tuesday afternoon, to take the last few items out of the old house, and to be ready upon completion to go over to the new house, ready for the locksmith to meet him and change all the locks.
Issue number one - only one key given by estate agent, and three doors. So the locksmith proceeds to drill out the locks with the words, "this is going to take me hours!"
Thankfully, he over-estimated and did a good job in a short space of time.
Matt, meanwhile, is ringing up the services to register the change of ownership and sort out how on earth one goes about getting prepayment cards etc, as both gas and electricity are on prepayment meters. Getting prepayment cards is fairly straight-forward but very time consuming:
- Ring up supplier, get code for card
- Go to nearest pay point - find they don't have any spare cards!
- Find a second pay point, give over code, receive cards.
- Bring cards back to property, put each card in meter to register them.
- Find cards not programmed correctly, return to pay point number two.
- Wait for assistant to read manual and reprogram cards.
- Bring cards back to property, put each card in correct meter to register them.
- Take cards back to pay point, to put credit on them
- Bring cards back to property, put them in meter again to transfer credit.
- NOW you can finally have a cup of tea (except there was no kettle for poor Matt!)
Issue number two - there is no way British Gas will be believe the we're new owners unless we can prove it, because there is too big a debt on the meters. Cue frantic call from Matt for me to photocopy ID to send across.
Issue number three - the house has a fire with back boiler to provide heating and hot water. On first glance, the only way to turn on the fire is with an Allen key... Due to this issue, Matt decided not to turn the gas on to the property, but wait for me to look at it the next day..
Meanwhile, numerous very kind and generous friends have been arriving with all sorts of useful and helpful things for the property, to enable us to spend a week camping in it.
Matt retires to takeaway, exhausted, and having booked the next day off to deal with what that might bring.
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