Break from the house.

Just a quicky as we are off to France in the morning for 10 days of sun, pool and watersports, not to mention 10 nights of wine, bbq and cheesy entertainment!

Builder has been left in charge with a key plus instructions to complete the utility room and downstairs shower room, as well as starting on creating an en-suite and walk-in wardrobe in our bedroom. He's already booked in the sparky and plumber to do their first fix, seems he's hell bent on getting it done by the time we get back!

Decorators finished the office, bathroom and kids bedrooms today. And look what we found when stripping out the boarded-up fireplace in our bedroom!

Holiday toes.

Love this OPI colour - the show must go on!

Weekend 3, house.

So the weekend rolls around again, giving us a welcome respite from the noise. Not so much the mess, we still have to clean the shower and sink every time we use them, but are grateful for decent washing facilities. And for friends who are helping us with clothes washing!

We now have a fully functional and safe boiler, several shiny white walls and brand new sockets and switches. Not sure whether to keep the nicotine-stained lightbulbs yet, they are energy saver ones and cost a bomb!

You can see below the plywood which our builder had to fix to the wall so the plumber could attach the boiler to something solid. And the last photo gives an indication of the general condition of the plaster. We have 2 options - rip every room down and replaster, or cover the whole lot up with board and just paint over. You can guess which one our dwindling budget is going for!

Week 3, house.

Given up counting the days, we are into weeks now!

Today was the day from hell. As well as doing my day job (luckily I work from home so can supervise the proceedings), this morning I had to manage 4 sets of trades who all have different work ethics and timescales. Thankfully they are mucking in together now, but at one point I was stood in front of the old boiler (which had fallen off the wall when the plumber removed the flue, the plaster behind it was shot) with our builder, plumber and electrician, all trying to work out how to fit the new boiler onto a wall which was literally falling down!

Several hours later, we have a shiny new boiler with immaculate piping and 3 rooms which are nearly decorated and electrified. The bathroom proved more problematic as the walls were covered in vinyl which couldn't be painted over (they tried, believe me they tried!) and both kids bedrooms had faulty ceilings which needed boarding over.

And yes, the pictures below are all of the same corner in the same room!

House' day 14.

I retract what I said last week about the van being spacious. For 2, it's fine. Add 2 unruly and bored kids into the mix - nightmare. Especially when they are in desperate need of sleep yet refuse to get zzzzzs while its still light. Muchos wine needed to get us through this patch....

Housewise, the decoraters are cracking on although the sparky failed to show this morning. The room which will become my office/spare room no longer stinks of cigarettes with the removal of the wood chip, although the stains are still showing on the ceiling through 1 coat of paint. Yuck.

Oh, and spent half the weekend at a Dalek convention and the other half hacking down some of the huge bushes in the garden. Discovered that we have a path down the full length of the garden, plus a new friend. Sadly he ended up in the skip;)

House, day 11.

Its been a frustrating week as nothing much seems to have happened. Ok, the phone line got connected and the electrician added some extra sockets, but nothing massively visible.

But today it all changed, the whole project notched up a gear! The builders arrived at 8am, waking us up from a wine-induced slumber, and made huge inroads into the utility/shower room downstairs. 1 wall removed, flooring taken up, a doorway partially bricked up and an odd glass/plasterboard contraption removed to create a huge opening from the dining room into what will be the new kitchen.

And then the kids arrived home! They hadn't seen the house until today and were a bit apprehensive, but manged to see through the mess and smell - and absolutely loved it. Luckily they seem to have gone to sleep in the van with no silliness, think grandma wore them out this week! A bit weird for us though, sat here in the dark at 9pm.

House, day 8.

The electricians are having fun today, and tonight we are back to B&Q for door handles and to change the locks. Rock'n'roll!

House, day 6.

Well, the van today rather than the house! Its surprisingly spacious and comfortable, with 2 bunks for the kids when they get home from grandma's, 2 singles/1 double bed for us, a proper kitchen area with sink, oven, cooker and decent fridge, lots of storage and a loo/shower room and changing area with a bathroom sink. 2 tables, fitted carpets, running water and plugged into the house to get leccy and the BBQ bottle to get gas for morning coffee. And heaps of power points, shelf for a telly (well, laptop with iPlayer in our case!), central and reading lights, fly screens and blinds on every window and a radio. Not sure what to do with the cassette player though, ditched ours years ago!

House, day 5.

Not a lot happening today as we are both at work and will be sloping off to my parents for the weekend to a) see the kids, and b) enjoy some proper home comforts. Plumber, electrician, builder and decorator are all booked, just need to find a plasterer and locksmith today.

Will leave you with a photo of the living room fireplace.

House, day 4.

Havs found some bizarre things in this house. From a stunning original 1920's tiled fireplace to a 1960's cast iron microscope (electric and still working - Mr Moo is getting it for Christmas!), about 4 chainsaws to some grotesque garden gargoyles, a million miles of cable linking cctv with data cables and sensors and lights, and some incredible DIY and decorating mistakes.

We knew the previous owners were wannabe inventors but the reality is that they are lucky not to have burnt the place down. Also turns out our plumber and electrician both know the family and have been able to give us snippets of why they lived like they did.

House, day 3.

We have cleared everything possible out of the house so today had a bash at the garden. The Husband was excited at the thought of having 3 sheds to tinker in but they will have to come down eventually; he did empty them of mouldy carpet, old filing cabinets and broken chainsaws. I hacked away at the overgrown garden and found 2 apple trees, a pear tree and a giant fig tree, as well as lots of thriving herb plants.

Tomorrow, need to order skip number 3!