The 4 Month Countdown
Progress on the house slowed slightly this week, as the interior render is virtually finished, with just one worker on site. Also, sadly no photos this week, since it is just more concrete and electrical back boxes... so pretty boring viewing anyway.
But even boring photos of concrete can be very useful and important: I noted from my last set of photos from the project manager that the arched doorway from the entrance lobby to the living area was just a standard square doorway... so pleased I noticed, and it is being corrected.
No actual door is fitted here (at least for the moment) and it is purely an aesthetic feature*. Of course, a curtain could be fitted if there is a draught!
*The entrance lobby provides functionality: It gives access to a reasonably large under-stairs storage area, a place to hang coats and jackets, put your boots on, and of course a welcoming space. Note for this render, I've also included the 4 stair lights recessed into the wall as well as accurately modelling the balustrades.
Meanwhile the roof frame has been planed to fit correctly, sanded and varnished. I believe that weather permitting, it will be fitted this coming week. Then the interior works proper can get underway, such as insulation and plaster boarding.
To get a handle of what is happening with the roof I have revisited the architect's plans:
The foundations done, Nivel superior (higher level) done, so just the roof level to be dropped on top, then all the structural work is done. Of course, all the walls are built too.
And here is the fully assembled structural work. That's one hell of a lot of concrete and steel.
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So, here we are at the start of November - it's my intention to be able to move into the house at the end of February or the start of March, so we are now on the official 4 month countdown. Oh bloody hell!
With this in mind, the project manager has had a meeting during the week with the builder and asked for a step-up in progress: More men on site and more 'oohmpa'. Of course, due to poor weather conditions, lots of wind and rain, things have slowed slightly behind schedule, so hopefully, a bit of extra 'grist to the mill' will help. In addition, the roof has been paid for as part of the payment schedule.
I don't expect the house to be totally finished of course - but the minimum finish is floor fitted, with a kitchen ready to accept white goods, plumbing and electrics working. Of course, it is possible that the kitchen could be fully fitted if the container with all goods arrives in a timely fashion...
So this week, all, and I mean ALL, the white goods have been ordered and arrive within the next week or so. Hob, Oven, Extractor, Fridge-Freezer, Drinks Cooler, Washing Machine are all on their way. I have not really cut any corners here, since the saving of going 'cheap and not quite what I want' comes down to around three hundred pounds - It's just not worth cutting corners at this stage: You spend a lot of time looking at a kitchen appliance.
All the kitchen goods are high(ish) end Samsung and the washing machine is an Indesit combo washer-dryer to save space. I did a lot of research on these items and I'm pretty sure I bought the best I could for the specification and the money.
Top tip if you are buying white goods... try John Lewis as I found them considerably cheaper than Currys' or any other outlet I found. Free arrangeable delivery too, which is sweet.
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I have spent some more time thinking about Soren's comment regarding the TV's proximity to the wood burning stove - and indeed the internet router / hub and perhaps PC on the other side of the fire.
Boxing in the stove is not really an option, unless of course I went for a purpose built in unit, which I want to avoid.
Experimenting with putting up a heat-shield wall either side of the fire just didn't look good and cluttered the wall.
All of which led me to a novel solution: Toughened smoked glass panels, on hinges. Yay!
These can be folded flat to the wall when the fire is not in use, and then brought out into operation if the fire is throwing out a lot of heat. A nice cost effective solution: Two panels of glass and 4 hinges. Job done.
Here's a quick render showing the panels out into operation:
So this lets all the heat out from the sides of the fire, but protects the electronics... to the left of the stove will be a phone and internet hub/wi-fi router, also perhaps a good location for a PC for streaming Netflix and YouTube videos etc. To the right is the TV and Soundbar.
Your comments welcome.
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Next Up: ... The roof, please the roof...
