Bits & Bobs

Another month has passed with precious little "big stuff" to report. The electrician, who was keen to come back as soon as the plaster was dry to do second fix, has been ill and did not come until the end of last week. It got to the stage where we asked two more electricians to quote to finish the job. Surprisingly, both did, despite appearing quite daunted at the prospect of taking over somebody else's work.

The consequenece of his visit, and two more follow-up appearances, is that second fix in our new lounge is done, and work has started on first fix of the final room of our project - the old sitting room. This should be completed tomorrow afternoon.

To facilitate this, we have now moved our temporary living area into the big new room. Before moving in I managed to finish the skirting boards and complete the painting of the remaining wall and ceiling with a white mist coat. I have also second-fixed the telephone, Cat5 ethernet and TV outlets.

In the en-suite bathroom we now have wall lights (fitted by me, not the electrician, probably contrary to all the regulations - though they will be inspected & tested), towel hooks, and toilet roll holder, though still no operational shower.

Back in the living room, we have some carpet samples to choose from, but it is proving very difficult. We fancy a plaid or check pattern, which we did with some success in our old dining room in Portsmouth (well, we thought so), but imagining a pattern over such a big area is proving difficult. We do not intend to fit a carpet yet (the plasterer still has to make one more visit), but if we can choose it, we can finalise (?) our colour choices.