8.  A week of decisions

First a little starter:

Max suggested our architect talked rather a lot!

So I asked Max if he thought he himself talked a lot.

He didn’t think so.

I suggested he asked one or two people – ask Spencer (the architect), ask Ruth (the structural engineer), ask Fred, ask the girls, ask the boys, ask Jules, ask . . . . . .

Then I thought I should ask him if he thought I talked a lot.

He thought for a bit

‘Yes’, he said –‘if you’re allowed to!’

Enough said,  wouldn't you think?  

Main course - the taste of things to come

Sunday afternoon - Doors

You will hear a lot about 'Fred' in the coming months – he’s the local Mr Fixit and a really useful guy to know. Apart from anything else he came and levelled the caravan with us which , not being caravaners, is obviously an art that is learnt by years of practice. 

We mentioned to Fred that we were renovating our garage into our site office, and were wanting to upgrade the rather battered door to make it more secure. After all it will be holding some important possessions – computers, files, tools etc.

‘Let me know when you're ready, I’ve got some really good solid wooden doors, and you're free to come and take your pick - they're not needed for anything else.’

Last Sunday (now over a week ago) – we were ready, so I called Fred.  He met us in the village and took us to his store.  Actually not ‘his’ store at all – but a store of his friend who had had them in her garage cluttering the place up for far too long.

So you see – Fred is the key figure in the village – if anybody has a problem they go to Fred and he sorts it out.  Village life is great in that respect.

We just wanted one door.  That's all we needed.  We chose it, were just about to leave when Fred suggested we could have more if we needed them.  ‘Well I could do with one more’  I heard, from someone who doesn’t talk very much. 

Not a long period passed before that person who 'doesn't talk very much' suddenly found his voice again, ‘Actually, I’ll take the lot'.  So we've got 5 doors.  Why five?  Five doors when we only need one.

Oh heavens! – what will it be like in a year’s time – at this rate we will have so much junk.  Please don’t go anywhere Fred, we will need you again - in reverse.

So we now have 5 doors - not very beautiful, but I'm hoping they will at least earn their keep.  One is half way there to being my site office front door – looking unusually smart.  

Pretty good compared to the one that has obviously been replaced.
I've just got to paint its title on it, one fine day soon.

The second has become the ‘welfare’ door with the original bathroom lock still in place.  One could say that this temporary fit out (if one uses some imagination)  is becoming almost sophisticated.  The other 3 doors, I have been promised, will be essential back stops for sand and gravel so that the JCB will be able to scoop the sand up without any problem as there will be a buffer to push against.  As long as they have a purpose who can complain. 

  

Monday - Floors

We are getting close now to choosing the floor finishes for the living room and the kitchen /  dining room. Far too much choice out there!  It has taken us many visits and many months to come to a conclusion.

It looks like we will be having a matt finish oak floor for the living room and a Papyrus limestone floor for the kitchen and dining room.  

The bathroom tiles have also been chosen and I am even setting out the tiling layouts.  I don't like unaligned grouting lines.  They upset me.

Tuesday - Kitchens

We are about to finalise our choice of kitchen between an Alno kitchen and a very similar John Lewis range.  The attraction of the former is the colour, and to be honest the overall quality; the attraction of the latter is the price.  However I did put the Alno rep to the test today and have managed to get a substantial reduction so that the price is within striking distance of the JL kitchen.  I’ve already been told by the JL rep that they don’t ‘do discounts’.  So it looks like I may have got onto a winner with Alno.  I need to confirm it by November to secure the deal.

As I indicated in the last post the plan of the kitchen has changed in that we have taken away the store and made the whole area as the kitchen.  A better size to work in and plenty of room for all the items one collects. 

This is the most recent plan showing the changes to the kitchen and also the fireplace in the living room which I explain next

Wednesday - Woodburning stoves

We have visited a whole range of wood burning stove showrooms over the last few weeks to try and find a couple of suitable ones – one for the living room and one for the snug.  The task is to find a fire with not too much output.  We want the stove frame to be very minimal. It must have a glass front, and the glass should be able to be raised so that the fire behaves like an open fire rather than looking like a stove.  The Belgians make the best stoves (for ‘best’ read the ‘most minimal’ in terms of design), and on Tuesday we finally found a great one. 

We feel that we can’t live in the country, and not have an open fire – it’s all part of the lifestyle – on a cold winter’s evening with friends one wants to be able to sit around the fire and feel cosy – nothing really to do with ‘heat’ just a feeling of warmth in the soul. 

However, nowadays stoves are designed to be extra efficient.  No wasted heat, they are designed to ‘perform’.  So for us this is a problem, the house won’t actually need much heat as it will be so well insulated.  We’ve found the one that fits our rather eccentric requirements.  It is a fireplace that has two glass sides to it, so that it creates a corner.  It is controllable so that we can keep the heat down, but it will look and feel fantastic.   I’m really excited about it - you can probably gather that.

Photos from the manufacturer's brochure of the corner stove that we hope to install in the living room

The architect sent us these drawings of his proposals for the chimneys plus the plan I showed you above that shows how the corner of the stove faces into the living room.

The architect's section drawing showing how the flues will work and at the same time meet the constraints of the building regs.

The snug fireplace will be designed with a chimney that could take a stove, if in the future we feel we need one, but to start with we will probably just have a small grate and have a traditional open fireplace.  The most inefficient that you can create.  Building Control may not allow it, but if they don’t we will buy the smallest stove possible.  We’ve seen the one we would have.  Inefficient new houses are just no longer allowed to be built, and stove installers are not allowed to install any stoves without meeting very stringent rules.

Committing ourselves

This is what you all really want to know about - when are things really going to start happening? - when do we think we are going to move in?!!

Well here is the plan 'til Christmas and into the New Year.  I am allowing you to put us to the test and see how well we do by posting you this gantt chart.  Will I regret having laid ourselves open to mockery and teasing?  I expect so.

Actually the family are already starting up a sweep-stake so if you want to find out the rules and join in email any of the three girls and place your bet.  

"Ceri Aiken" <CeriA@caffenero.com>
"Sian Aiken" <Sian.Aiken@pepsico.com> 
"Ffion Beagley" <FfionB@caffenero.com> 

You should really align these horizontally but this programme won't allow me to do it I'm afraid, but you will be able to work out how we hope to get from October 22nd (which is approaching all too rapidly) through to February 2013 by which time the windows should be on site . . . .   But who will pick the right date?  which is when I choose to finally move in.  We all know Max will be ready to move in as soon as it's watertight, but I am a little more circumspect and want the place 'finished' properly so that we can move into a 'NEW HOUSE'  Place your bets - not with me, but with one of the girls, because I mustn't know !  

That's all for this week.  Lots more being done, but will save it for another day.