This Week

There is much happening this week and whilst we won't be finished by Friday, as the project clock suggests, we should be much closer to knowing how close to completing by the end of the month we will be.

Without trying to put the kibosh on things, by the end of the week we should have a bathroom installed (although not working), a boiler installed and commissioned, a kitchen delivered, tiling completed in the bathroom, all plastering finished throughout (except the kitchen), the under stairs cupboard finished, the garden clearance completed, the cracked brickwork repaired (subject to weather) and a start on the downstairs decorating.

I probably shouldn't have said all of that. They will probably all walk off site now.

The Problem with the Weather

This is quite an old picture that I haven't used before. It shows the brick work above the front door which is not in good nick. Some of this needs to be taken down and repaired / replaced as appropriate as the cracks you can see are not supposed to be there!

Whilst we can postpone (indefinitely) the re-pointing and re-rendering this job is not something we can leave however we cannot do it while the temperatures are so cold. The builder had hoped to do this on Saturday but there was no opportunity and we will need to look ahead and get a couple of days of warmer (not freezing) weather so we can get this done and let the cement set.

Recent Pictures

Work carries on at a decent pace and the upstairs (except for the bathroom where the plaster is refusing to dry out) is almost complete. The doors are on and only a second coat of paint is required.

I am particularly pleased that the upstairs bathroom now looks like it was part of the original house and not added subsequently. As soon as the plaster is dry, hopefully by Monday, this can be painted as well.

APD Project 2?

I have received details of two more houses that I think may suitable for the APD.

I am off to see one of them at the weekend and I have been tipped of that another will be on the market very soon. One is close to the current project and the other is much closer to home. With the current project beginning to reach a conclusion (apart from selling it!) the timing is good.

Mrs APD is rather less convinced and thinks we should do our own house next. She is probably right but ........

Skip Rip Offs

We needed a new skip to be delivered to site and one was duly ordered. It was £45.00 more expensive than the last one (ordered just before Christmas).

When I queried this I was told that the local authority insists that all skips are collected over Christmas and all permits automatically expire. As a result I need a new one.

I am either being ripped off by the skip company or by the Local Authority. I cannot be bothered to find out which as I will only get annoyed and then I will feel obligated to complain.

Life is too short.

Change of Specification

After much thought we have decided to change the specification and not re-render or re-point the flank walls.

This is not because the jobs don't need doing but because the weather is making it pretty impossible to do any meaningful outside work that won't need to be redone is few months time. I would hate to dress a house up for sale and then the new owners have to spend money on repairing it all again.

I spoke to the estate agent who was of the opinion that provided we are up front with potential purchasers it shouldn't cause a problem i.e. don't wait until their survey points it out. Overall it is likely to be cost neutral to us as we won't be paying the builder for the work but may have to reduce the sale price accordingly. Having said that we are not going to be greedy with the resale price so it is possible that we end up making slightly more without having wasted money on work that will need to be redone.

11 Days to Go

According to the project clock we have 11 days to go to finish this project. That isn't going to happen and the end of the month is more likely but will still be tight.

The terms of the insurance policy state that the house must be visited once every seven days so as nobody has been working I paid one visit over the holidays.

As we start the New Year – this is where we are.

• The bedrooms are largely finished bar final painting and second fix plumbing and electrics. They look really good and more work will be done this week.
• The bathroom needs to be installed and the new soil pipe run. This is the largest job outstanding upstairs.
  
• Stairs – there is some repair work to be done to the stairs.
  
• All thermaboard need to be applied downstairs and then plastered. This is will start this week as the materials will be delivered this afternoon.
• The kitchen needs to be installed.
• The cloakroom needs to be installed.
• The new boiler needs to be installed and commissioned.
• The under stairs cupboard floor needs to be re-laid.
• Second fix plumbing and electrics need to be completed.
• The garden needs some more work.
• The outside brickwork needs to be tidied up and painted.

That's about it although I am sure I have forgotten something.

I still hope to have the house back on the market by the end of the month.