Bathroom week

This week is actually officially bathroom week.  Avid followers of The Block will wonder if it wasn't planned like this, but no it was just luck! 

Despite the fact that it is bathroom week, the focus of the build so far has been more on living room floors and demolishing the outdoor toilet.  I am assured however, that the bathroom is going to shoot ahead soon, and although we won't be doing a Grand Reveal on Sunday, we will be ready to tile by Friday.

So in the last few days this is what has happened: 

The floors went from this to this to this to this: 

           

     

     

The old back door was replaced with a new internal door (ready for the next part of the build):  

The down-light holes were positioned in the ceiling (a great deal of thought and anxiety went into that, let me tell you!):

The back toilet was demolished:   

And boy do we have some bricks now! 

         

And last but not least the bathroom!
Our new windows arrived ready for installation (they are so lovely!):

The new window opening for the bathroom window was opened up:

The scree was put down to even up and fall the bathroom floor:

And the first bit of the waterproofing paraphernalia was put down: 

Despite what it looks like work has actually slowed down a little bit.  There is more busy work and less major differences that can be seen each day.  

This week we are booking in a floor sander and all of our tiles and bathroom fittings and fixtures will arrive on site.  We are looking forward to everything arriving - and hoping we don't have a crisis of faith when we see the things we chose months ago!

Breath of fresh air

We did manage to squeeze in that walk by the beach.......

Who wouldn't want to live here? 

T.G.I. Friday

This is absolutely a T.G.I. Friday for me!

This week has in turn flown by, and felt like it has lasted for a month.  I was speaking with a supplier on the phone this morning and said to him: "I ordered windows about two weeks ago, and just wanted to see how they were coming along and when I might be getting them?".  After looking for my order (from a couple of weeks ago) the supplier came back to me and said: "sorry you didn't order them a couple of weeks ago, you ordered them a week ago today".   After apologising to him, and assuring him that I wasn't implying that they were taking too long, I remembered that Yes, this is only day 10!

That being said the guys have done great things in the last few days, and as at 4pm on day 10 this is what it looks like:

The Plaster is on the walls and topcoat has been applied:

You will see some of the brick wall still behind the second Louvre window....

They have now gone, and all the bricks have been cleaned ready for reuse: 

 We got Power-points and light switches:

Our bathroom wall got reinstated.

And the concrete pad that was missing was pored.

 And last, but not least, the architraves started to go on.

We also gained a new guy on site - Big Harry (as apposed to Baby Harry), who is chipping away at all those bricks.  As you can see the pile is getting much more significant now:

For us the weekend is filled with buying more things for the guys for Monday.  Doing drawings and updating the budget.  And somewhere in there we are determined to fit in a walk by the beach!  

Have a great weekend! 

Keeping up with the Jones

Things are happening so fast on the build that we are struggling to keep up! I thought I would be posting more frequently as so much is happening and there is so much to show you! However I find that I am struggling to find the time to even upload the photos!  

Every day is spent rushing around ordering things and picking up things and when we are not doing that we are at work ordering thing on the internet and phone! But it is all fun, and it is an extra bonus when I can finally find some time to show you what has been going on! 

So..... by Friday afternoon last week I had both of my beautiful new Louvre windows installed. 

By Monday we had the double doors in: 

And yesterday all the electrical work was done and the ceiling was back in: 

The transformation is amazing and it is so much lighter and brighter than it was before.  I can begin to imagine what it is going to look like when everything comes together.

Now all of those bricks have to be cleaned so we can patch up the windows on the outside - thank goodness I have found a lovely man who is happy to do this! - maybe he finds it soothing?

An (almost) lost art

The first week of building was really hectic.  

Even though we had lots of things sorted out already there were so many things that we hadn't even thought of.   As such, my days have been filled with racing around town making decisions, putting in orders and forking out a lot (a lot!) of money! 

One of the more lovely places I went on my travels was Thomas Decorative Plastering.  They have a small showroom and factory in Edgeworth and it is just a pleasure to go to.  I only had limited time there while I chose and ordered the cornice for our room, but it was a great place to wonder around and dream about having a grand old house I could put all these fabulous things into.....

ceiling rose

This is one of the plaster molds they use

Cornice hanging up to dry

Art Deco ceiling rose 

Apparently this is a Corbel? Isn't it wonderful!

And this is the Cornice that I have chosen.  It is not very ornate but it is beautiful.