Doors Please
You know what I'm going to say don't you? Correct.
In true Azorean style, the doors have not arrived at the house yet, never mind not being fitted. I have it on good authority that the frames have been made, and the doors are here... yet still, no firm date for fitting has been given. Under normal circumstances this would be a bit frustrating, but the builders have abandoned me (to go and build another house), so the lack of a bathroom door is proving less of a challenge without them arriving at 8am every morning!
However, I have e-mailed the supplier (again) today asking for a date, as obviously I need to ensure that I am on site. I do like to get out occasionally!
Other things have happened with surprising speed and efficiency though:
The banister has been fitted, just days after the job being measured up. And what a great job it is too. The fitters, Marco and Rogério, managed to hang the banister all the way to the top rail, make a beautiful curve and weld to the top upright. Stunning.
Marco and Rogério had been earlier to measure up and within a few days they came back and started fitting the rail.
Rogério gets with the program, welding, whilst Marco keeps a fire watch. Such brilliant stainless welding I have never seen.
The banister in place, it looks very cool, and is of a very high quality. These same guys made and fitted the balustrades. A really professional operation.
Later, I had popped up a picture (printed for me by my work colleague Sian xx) on to the landing. The photograph also shows the pleasing top of the banister attached to the balustrade post. Seamless.
A glass cutting company popped down yesterday to measure up the fireplace / T.V plinth. The horizontal surfaces are going to have frosted glass on them to make keeping them easier to clean; a painted surface is asking for trouble as far as marks, dust and lasting looks goes. Ideally I would have liked smoked glass but this is not available off the shelf (pardon the pun), so frosted it is. It will look clean and add a finishing touch. Next: await a delivery date.... pauses for glass of Vinho Verde...
A reasonably large order of bricks was placed last week - and believe it or not, delivered the same day. Cash. Eh?
The concrete bricks have been delivered to finish the retaining wall for the trees.
The pallets are currently stacked outside on the road awaiting the builders to come and finish building the wall. This of course is extra expense, as 'off plan'. But until the retaining wall has been built, the driveway can not be started. And believe me, I need a driveway:
Two issues:
#One, every time it rains the existing earth drive errodes a little, so the car is putting ruts into it, and it is a very steep slope.
#Two, the drive is the main access to the house and is muddy and dirty, meaning that pedestrian traffic trails grime onto the floors.
Also, the retaining wall will be back-filled with soil and vines and shrubs planted, binding the high bank together. This is when the landscape gardener Rob, can get busy. The wall is quite unattractive (although practical) in concrete blocks, so getting some growth up them will increase the 'curb appeal' 1000%.
The heavily reinforced, interlocking, concrete filled wall, needs to be back filled with soil and planted with trailing vines and rampant vegetation. Then it will not only look proper, but provide support and water retention for the trees above. It's all just glue really.
The plan is to bring the paved drive down to the main door. A reversing T-section will run between the house and the raised tree bank. This will mean that you can drive in, and reverse, ready for driving out. At the moment I'm reversing out, which is a nightmare on a 30% incline. But fun.
This picture shows the drive which runs from the road all the way down to the bottom of the house (if you're stupid / brave enough to make the run - 4x4 required really). The plan is to pave-block this down to the main door or porch. In the foreground is the T section that will allow reversing, so that driving out is possible. It's all pretty steep, and in heavy rain a river can run down here.
Inside I have continued to be busy (despite having a day off mid-week) and I have got the following done:
TV unboxed, connected to internet via the wi-fi hotspot. Placed on shelf.
PlayStation, ditto.
Sound-bar connected up via optical cable to TV.
Main windows final polish
Stair tiles final clean
Upstairs Balustrades to walkway final clean - although will want a buff after the upstairs is 'finished' More to do ….
Upstairs floor 1st pass cleaning. More to do ...
Acoustic tiles over main windows fitted.
Acoustic tiles to studio beam fitted.
Wall mirror fixed to wall downstairs
Large print hung upstairs landing
Started to unpack studio kit... this could take a while...
Here are a few pictures to illustrate progress:
Yes, OK, it's a TV. This 55" Sony Bravia is superb - but I could have gone 65" and it would have looked fine. It was going to be wall mounted - but the plasterboard / insulation walls make me worry a little about the weight. For the moment, on the shelf is good enough. Under the TV plinth will be covered with a storage unit, so cables will not be visible.
Of course, it was not just a job of plugging it in. I also had to configure the network settings for both the TV and the game console, running off the portable hotspot until such time as I have some wired CAT5 connections and a proper router for fibre into the house. The sound bar is now connected with optical cable, however, it is still available over Bluetooth for streaming audio from elsewhere in the house.
From the top of the stairs; detail of the handrail weld, kitchen benches assembled, cushions unpacked - starting to look a little like home. But much to do.
The mirror, shown last week has been positioned. Below is an Apple that will serve as a smart home interface - despite its usefulness being temporarily negated due to dimmer fitting difficulties. It will still be useful as a home hub, running Alexa, the robot hoover and a few switches, as well as being a handy place to type and print. A small stool will go under the plinth for seating. Think mini-office.
Which sort of brings me to the next bit of progress: I now have an assigned address for the house. This means that as of next week I can get a letterbox up, the house number and name and then get my Bank, Internet and Amazon delivery address sorted. I can also shop for groceries online! Oh, and get my loyalty card for the local mini-market. Wow.
Acoustic panels have gone up over the main patio doors, successfully reducing the high frequency ring, that was, in any case, barely perceivable in the space. Some bass absorption may be needed, and an excellent place for this is either under the TV or at the back of the breakfast bar. I can not tell if this will be needed until the room is fully populated.
Aside from the acoustics, the visual impact is stunning. Essentially it fools the eye into making the glass panels seem taller, and thus reducing the ceiling height. The purple shade is not too evident here, but in the flesh it looks stylish dark purple and has great effect against the white and yellow / red that predominate. All is harmonious on the colour wheel.
Upstairs in the studio area, the first treatment has gone up on both sides of the main beam. Again, just to tame any silly echoes that ring off the concrete structure, especially up at the roofline. If this proves insuffient, there is room for some deeper foam, at the actual join between the beam and the wooden ceiling. There is plenty of room for bass traps, if required, at the eves. At the moment I think it should be fine;but until I run a few tracks through the monitors, it is hard to judge.
Again, just HF is being considered here. I'm not fooling myself that this is going to give broadband treatment! It is purely to tame the little rings that may occur at the top end. Also, it looks cool and adds some much needed colour to the space. These tiles are brighter shade than the large panels.
For such a large space, diffusion is going to be important, and if needed will be dealt with later. Hopefully bass treatment less so, as I have calculated the room node out to be sub 40hz. Its complicated because of the odd shape and vaulted ceiling. Some calculations put it at sub 20Hx which would be absolutely fantastic.
Detail of the almost empty studio area; Tiles yet to go up on some walls. This image shows approximatly half of the front to back space. Placement of monitors yet to bedecided, stands ready.
A more expansive picture of the area. Plenty of room. To the rear will be soft furnishings (settee, futon, sound absorbers, equipment.) Monitor position likely to be just to the left of the beam *as shown by the stands) - sitting (floor) position just under the beam or just to the right. I will experiment.
So, that's it for this week...unless you want a picture of a coat hanger... go on then...
Next Up: 'Come on Baby Light my Fire' - The Doors
