DAY 100!!!


It is done, just waiting for the vertical blinds! Roller blind in bathroom installed.

P tested the shower this morning - he is pleased with it.

I am over the moon about the indoor garage door, especially at this time of the year when the garage becomes an extra larder, and I can get the shopping into the house so much more easily.

He put up his panorama of London today on the wall. It's looking like ours now, rather than an empty shell.

I think that due to the new austerity measures in Hudgell HQ, we will have to put back all the old furniture for the time being and see how that all works. Post christmas activity. For now its going to be fun having an extra room and extra shower over the festive period.

Its been a long haul, but brilliantly executed by Big Ian - def the right choice. Its beautifully put together and exactly what we planned for.

Outdoor Christmas decs put up today - thank goodness for the outdoor socket!! ;-) See Day ?

Pics to follow.

Happy Christmas Everyone, and hope you all have a Sparkling New Year!!

Bye for now...blog to become exercise diary in the New Year.

And so Day 96 - Christmas approaching fast!

Dawn arrives and we set to giving the house a huge clean. It looks so much better and I think that she felt a good job was done! I'm sure that we will have white dust for several weeks as it continues to settle, but all looking much better now. The dining room is reinstated and the utility room works as it should.  NICE!

S comes round to help P relocate sofa bed and bookcases. The aim is still to have the Jeep washed and garaged by Sunday evening. A huge amount of cardboard is removed from the garage.

My back is so sore and P's hands are cut to pieces but its looking great!

We decide that the pine furniture is def out of place and we need to IKEA it all up! Post xmas I think!

At 5pm the doorbell goes again and we think ...what now!
A wonderful surprise...flower delivery....

Thank you James - what a lovely thought! It makes the extension really seem part of the home.

P installs the replacement 'matrix' - it seems to work...fingers crosssed!

Tomorrow is a rest day from the extension apart from viewings, with a fiull onslaught on Sunday planned.

ITS LOVELY!! HAPPY!!

Day 95- First day free of builders!

P finishes off cupboards and I do HW for eyebrows and stuff.

I load the cupboards up - and in the process clear the dining room.

B and J form  next door come for site survey - they like. then the woman from down the road, who is considering a similar extension pops in - I guess we owe them a look round!

I amalgamate all P's various stashes of lightbulbs into one place - a trip down memory lane - I hope Dawn will approve of my stock system.We have enough to start a web business! LOL!

Day 94 - 10 days to Christmas - and yes they have come back!

Having enjoyed the new space to ourselves last night  - we have G which we expected but also N of the twins, all by 7.45am! And as all their stuff has been cleared away they are wanting to borrow ladders etc!

P clears off for a viewing leaving me to manage them, the Aussie electrician - due at 8.30am but not here yet, an IKEA delivery....looks like Pilates is going to have to be missed. Electricians appeared at 1pm!

Concentrate on scouring the internet for some blinds so that we can sleep visitors in their over the festive period.

Blinds ordered, pilates missed, can make up next term, wreath delivered by Graham the Gardener - absolutely beautiful, volunteered in LC Library, P IKEA'd away in the lobby when not doing photo things.

The wreath...

Ikea Billy - part of installation...

And the much awaited boot racks - hat rack to follow when Burglar Bill has been on Saturday to fix up the alarm.

Its all coming together - the aim for tomorrow is to disgorge the dining room into completed Billy bookcases before we head off to see S sing the Messiah at the RAH, so that Dawn can give the dining room a good clean on Friday am after having been a dumping room for so many weeks! It can all be done!

Day 93 - they're still here! - Probably one day too many for my sanity, but using all my mind power to control stress levels! I need order not chaos as the festive season approaches!

The winds from the night have died down to leave a bright sunny day and they all set to, clearing garage, driveway etc.

5pm: Well, alls well that ends well. I didn't get where I have got today (wherever that is) by sitting down and whining! We now have a pretty much completed extension and 2 Christmas trees all decorated. Thank you J for coming by and helping me erect the stand for the one in the hallway. The sign of a true mate! Due to austerity measures we have used the artificial one from the attic. I need some pine spray as it smells v dusty. I also got the tree in a bag from Homebase sorted - looks thin and cheap, but will be fine to make the East Wing a bit more homely - bit of a contrast to the East Wing of Waddesdon!

The driveway and garage are clear and the builders loo is GONE!!

Not sure what to do with a pallet load of roof tiles?! And what to do to resurrect that bit of lawn.

And here is the tree in the hall  - Christmas can happen after all.

DCHS Carol Service tonight and JC's birthday . She has S staying with them so all back here to celebrate her birthday and the completion of the works...But  apparently G will be back tomorrow to do some tweaking, N the electrician too, then J the plumber on thursday and Bill the Burglar Alarm sometime...

Day 92 - potentially The Last Builder Day? - and  13 days to Christmas

After yesterday when we had the East Wing back to ourselves, today is less calm! Builders bantering in the utility room as I eat my porridge! Hmmm!

So they are determined to finish off and tidy up. Windows all cleaned including the ones in the main house that their works had dirtied. Paving slabs laid.

Back path reinstated..

Side path sorted...after all the discussions re not enough slabs, we find they have loads left over which I have asked to be stored by the chimney on the other side of the house...Patrick's black storage hole!

Sadly floor tiles taken up where they were hollow underneath....1 step forward, 2 back...P says its snagging ahead of time!

You will note the room is now clear of builders stuff  ;-)

They put the metal strips over the drain cover and utility threshold...

Garage door man comes to fix the problem - all sorted for £102. General theory is that it was worn anyway, and needed adjusting etc, so he serviced it as well. Next time we will not ignore the service reminder! Lesson learnt.

5pm - they have all gone, but will be back tomorrow. GROAN!
They tell me that the house they are working on in Beaconsfield gives them home made cakes and sausage sandwiches! That puts my mince pie generosity firmly in its place. But then that's Beaconsfield for you!

They are so nearly there. The tiles are put up by the wash hand basin, the painters meticulously tidy up all little paint splodges etc.

I go to Homebase to get towel rails etc. Buy a Christmas tree in bag for £20 to go in the new space to make it more Christamssy - can I just say that fake trees do not make me as happy as a real one! We still haven't sorted the main one in the Hallway yet. We think we'll get the old fake one down from the loft, for reasons of convenience and economy - but it simply wont smell like a real one, or look like one either! Maybe Peterley Farm will let us have one cheap at the weekend...LOL!

Chelsea v Man City tonight - I surrendered my ticket a couple of weeks ago - SO glad - exhausted and happy to watch it from the comfort of my lovely sofa!

WineO'clock....

Days 90 and 91


We still wake early despite the lack of builders - but no urgency to get ready to answer the doorbell at 7.30am!

Fantastic frost patterns on the veluxes this morning.

P discovers that they left the key in the local last night when they left - he is well pissed off! Security being his middle name!

He heads off to the studio and I sort out a man to fix the garage door on Monday afternoon.

S and D come for a site visit and chat.

P returns home and then Builder W turns up! He spends a couple of hours cleaning the windows, removing the plastic from the frames etc.

Quiet afternoon listening to the radio on my iPhone - when I try to use the TVs I find the 'matrix' is so clever it has stopped them both working! I light the fire and lie down - ENOUGH!

P returns removes the matrix from the situation and we watch usual Saturday nonsense.

Sunday - with a whole day to ourselves, P clicks into DIY mode and replaces the cupboard doors in the utility room. Nice - worth the effort. they will match the doors on the Billy Bookcases which arrive from IKEA later this week. I restock cupboards, rationalising as I go - better - hope Dawn approves of the new system!

He then sets too sanding down the old airer rails. Just like old times hearing the sander going in the garage, but I do wonder how thin they are going to be with the amount of sanding going on.

Day 89 - 16 days to Christmas

We hear the clank of the builders loo door at 6.30am - peer out of the window to see what looks like the sparkies van driving off. Caught short on his way to another job we assume!

All hands to the deck - literally! Side path worked on, front step finished - K does wonders with the deck.
Painters gloss, new window installed as is the new loo. This one doesn't leak apparently!

By 4.30pm - they always knock off early on a Friday, we are nearing completion. They will be back on Monday to finish off. Its lovely to have the house peaceful.

It seems warmer in there and K checks that the heating is supposed to be on - hopefully that is OK. Big I to call P if not! Don't want a repeat of last weekend.

No one seems particularly interested in the change of cupboard doors in the utility room. But I think that it will be so much nicer and take control of this issue. I take a trip down memory lane and pop along to Howdens. They have what I want at £35/door. But I no longer have an a/c and think it imprudent to order it on the LBD one which is still open! I press the young man a bit and it seems that he can put it through on a friends a/c! So much for trade only! So I have the doors, now all I have to do is get P to fit them!

So, having a nice end of week chat with the boys, say goodbye, go to close the garage door and CRUNCH! K's van too near and door rebounds. No harm seems to be done to the van, but thereafter, the door wont close! It seems that it was worn out anyway and that knock was the final straw!

P returns home, we do a site survey and find that they have put the bar for the shower screen exactly where we asked them not - fine for me, but for anyone over 6' - no good. J admits an error  - it will be changed!

The wonderful decking with a tired woman on it - it will be lovely in the summer!

The shower looking good!

Day 88 - 17 days to Christmas

A veritable hive of activity, 2 painters, the 2 bosses and W and C doing the manual bits.

The deck is pretty much assembled, though not so far as you can sip your gin and tonics on it yet.

The side gate and pathway are installed. Decisions made on how far the brickwork extends to bearing in mind there aren't enough paving slabs - its fine, just use up what we have here. A front step is built.

Its looking much tidier - but I will be OH so glad when the mud etc has gone!

I'm getting agitated at the lack of garage space for storing festive goodies...but I am assured by P that it will all be cleared by next week.

Had to go into Wycombe to take some stuff back - O M G! It took 10 mins to park and I was on the 5th Floor and that was 11am on a Thursday. What does Christmas do to us all? #festiveoverload

N and L due to pop in for dinner on the way up to Cley for the weekend - wish I was going too! They have to collect all the bedding I brought back down last time to launder, and to receive tuition on the heating system. It will be chilly when they arrive, but what a lovely escape!

Day 87


Gosh it was hard to get out of bed this morning! Dark outside, tired, sore back. So I gave myself a talking to and I'm up and ready to go. Builders ringing  front door bell at 7.40am, whilst I was still drawing on my face! Good job P was dressed. Then again at 8am - Big I wanting to discuss dips in driveway - no doubt trying to say that his huge lorries, piling stuff, concrete dispensers had nothing to do with it. I stay well out of it.

They are piling up decking stuff in the back garden so today will show whether the thoughts on how far the deck should extend will be tested.

Door bell again - Ian C on way back from chiropodist. So its not even 9am, and so much has happened!

Driveway wars over - they will do enough to make it workable, and be included within estimated price. Absolutely no point in re laying it all at a cost of £1800 +vat! I told then we need money to put Christmas food on the table! Gave Big I and K some marmalade - to sweeten them ;-)

There is a lot of ground-works/paving action today. They are trying to reconstruct the front drive, and at the back they have levelled the under decking area out and covered with shingle. Garden full of decking bits.

The twins rub walls down and paint!

Rather strangely N appears mid afternoon and reconnects the new pump, and does various things - we think something to do with the veluxes but no one is sure. So K has to come and disconnect the pump - we don't want all that hassle again!

He does untape all the sockets - I have no idea what they are all for but have indulged Patrick!

Nice sunny, if windy day - so I walk to Old Amersham and back (pilates) and Little Chalfont and back (Library induction). 9K! The library volunteering seems to be manageable.

Christmas WineSoc tonight - that will be jolly!

PS: We actually had an apology from Big I this evening re the N and pump fiasco! O M G!! He has offered to replace this pump, since it was running dry! Amazing!

Day 86


1 plumber, 2 painters, 1 chippy and Big I intermittently!

Outside tap installed, and its in the right place. P is happy.

K works away on blocking in the chimney flue - makes a lovely neat job/feature of it.

And he nearly finishes the meter cupboard....

We agree not to reuse the old side gate and they work at installing nice new one with new fence posts etc.

M the plumber works hard and lots of bathroom stuff installed and connected - whoops the loo leaks all over the floor! The theory is that it has a crack somewhere they order a new one.

He installs a new pump to replace the one which made such a racket at the weekend.

Its a different colour so we know that they've changed it.

A good day all in all, still lots to be done - but they are certainly on the case.

I get a text from James to say that he is back in the UK - which is always a relief.

Off out tonight to 101 in Amersham with some girlfriends - ex accounts support from LBD - hopefully relaxing! There's nothing in the fridge for P - memo to self - better get to Waitrose at some point tomorrow.

Day 85

C. O. L. D.

Heating still not working, and not much concern shown by I and and K.

Much discussion on side gate, side pathway and decking - I think we all agree. I am so cold, Big I lends me his builder coat for discussions. A small gesture, but much appreciated!

So the twins carry on painting and K makes all the skirting boards. They undercoat all the wood work - its looking lovely.

After lunch I make it plain that I do not want to be cold for a 3rd night - so N is texted and the result is that they take the batteries out of the dodgy thermostat. Not sure why they couldn't have done that earlier in the day. But, we now have heating - happy!

The dodgy thermostat now has a blank display - GOOD!!

I and J pop in for a site visit - I had been for 'lunch' in the city with old colleague.

M comes round to quote for replacing the utility room cupboard doors. It would def look better - but a bit pricey - have to discuss it further with P.

I am off tonight to hear the lovely Ben Fogle talk about his new book and P is off to Photosoc! Almost normal!

Update:


The guy who collapsed at the end of the concert on Saturday is fine. He refused to go to hospital and says taht he will see a Dr this week!

Ben Fogle was amazing - what a role model for young people.
Good to see the hall so full, and lots of kids clearly inspired by his adventures!

Despite having 'man flu' - he was charming to everyone who wanted their book signed!

Days 83 and 84


K here at 8am ready to get on with doors architraving etc. He pops out to Jewsons and get bits and is here till 2ish.

Doorframes and lobby cupboard are coming along a treat....

C and S pop in for coffee and catch up - everyone shares their opinions regarding decking etc. I find it hard to imagine so we'll see what the builders think is the best solution.

Carrot soup (homemade of course) for lunch - very nice!

J helps P sort out getting SKY working in the sitting room....pretty much sorted - a 'matrix thing' is to be ordered.

Bit of a crisis in the East Wing.....the thermostat in the main room had been turned up such that the boiler was trying to pump water through the underfloor pipes, but they are not connected. Crisis averted by turning thermostat down - we await to see if ant damage to pump. Big Ian consulted - he is cross that it was touched, but none of us can recollect doing it - are we going mad? We stop it for a while, but it then starts screeching! James turns the whole heating system off and Jack the plumber calls P and guides him through isolating the underfloor heating - it seems that the sparkies may have connected something too soon. Oh dear!

I am off to see Amchor sing Brahms requiem with S at St Marys .

UPDATE:

I return from the concert and on inspection the pump is still hot and making a noise - the only solution is to turn the whole heating system off - Big I and J to be emailed in the morning.

The problematic pump..

And, concert was good, orchestra loud, brass section particularly, but all agreed to be a fair rendition. Lovely harmonies. Bit of a to do at the end, as one of Gran's friends in the choir keels over at the applause section. Call for first aider as everyone gets up to go. Knowing that James is on his way to collect us, I go and offer his assistance, but there is another Dr already there. Poor C looks very pale and ill. We see an ambulance turn up as we leave. General conclusion is that it is a 'long stand' for someone in his 80's. Hope he is OK - he was so welcoming to us when we arrived and showed us to our seats with tales of barn dances with Gran back in the day!

So, today will be Cold Sunday - good job we have a nice new log burner!

I make lovely ginger loaf, S and D pay their weekly site visit and they catch up on J's movements!

Go out to get poinsettias - starting to get the festive spirit!

We have no heating, it is getting colder so log fire is on. P finds the manual to the newly installed thermostat in the extension, and discovers it is programmed to come on automatically. So, it shouldn't have been connected. SIGH! IDIOTS!

Wolves v Sunderland on next - should have been there today but glad I stayed behind to spend time with James, much more important!