Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

[Believeitornot]

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This is how close we are to finished flooring! It's about 3m by 4m to go!

Laughing at you glue-sniffing bax!!

Lovely floor, really warm honey tones! Do I spy a very fun light fitting in the background there too? Is this the part of your extension that is right next to the kitchen? I find it really hard to match pictures to layouts!

I know don't judge me 😂

It's this but we currently have it in a bag for safety!

Not sure if this helps (excuse the mess!)

I love that light!

Oh jeez Whiskey! Definitely a nail biting moment; I'll keep my 2nd fix to after the granite fitting! Bax I completely adore your light fitting and flooring 😍

Flooring was cheap actually from wood and beyond. Light fitting was not but we just fell in love! We're having a 175cm round table so it falls in the middle.

It's amazing Bax. Can't wait to see it finished x

Bax - it's absolutely gorgeous! And it suits your space down to the ground. It'll be worth every penny. I know it sounds really profligate, but sometimes I think if you just absolutely love something and it'll give you pleasure every single time you look at it, it's really worth a bit extra. Plus, you needed something super classy to go with your kitchen! Thanks for the additional pic, it all makes sense in my head now!

My quartz is fitted and I'm really pleased. There are drawers out of cupboards all over the kitchen right now, so posting a picture is impossible, but I will put one up later on! It looks so smooth and sleek! I can't wait to get in and use the kitchen, but I have been given strict instructions to wait 24 hours for the silicone to set.

Oak steps are being fitted today, along with oak skirtings in the new space. Decorating proceedeth. My hall, for the first time EVER, looks lovely and light, instead of appearing as the entranceway to Arkham Asylum.

I love that light fitting @bax

Pleased the quartz is done @whiskyowl! You must be almost done now?

@bax your extension looks amazing, I’m very jealous! Hope ours is as nice.

So I have the day off today and am upstairs starving, because I’m hiding from the builders and don’t want to go down (this is day 4 of ‘90’). I’m abnormal, aren’t I?!

caspiana - It feels like we should be almost done, but there's so much still to do. Part of the issue is that I have had endless problems with Ikea and a kitchen delivery, so I'm still awaiting all my ovens and pretty crucial some drawer fronts which are coming in a week. So even though the quartz is in, it doesn't feel 'finished', IYSWIM.

Plus, there are still builders' tools everywhere, woodwork happening inside etc. which means the house still doesn't feel like ours! I can't wait for the moment when we can get our stuff straight again, get floors cleaned and have them STAY clean etc. I think we have another 2-3 weeks or so before that point.

I would get used to barging your way downstairs if I were you. You do need to retain some sense, for your own sanity, that it is still YOUR house! Because it is a bit like a bunch of madmen come in and take over for a bit.

Looks like everything going well for you all!

We've had another good day today, lots more little jobs done!
Gaskets round the bifold Doors/ twatchops never did them, new lock for the new front window, the key had broken in the lock before we even tried to use it! And someone round to look at the cracks in the outside brickwork that have been there since the steel went in!!

I'll try & post some pictures whisky we still have paint pots & tool boxes everywhere!

We have an exciting day tomorrow the American fridge freezer is arriving! 👍

rick - I'm so glad things are going well! It sounds like you're really onto the finishing touches. Can't wait for pictures!

Ladies, I am gearing up to issue an ultimatum to the electrician. Either he gets my appliances, including my dearly beloved dishwasher, in and working today or I am going to employ someone else and deduct it from his bill. He has form for turning up and leaving a job half done - even more so now he is semi-retired (thank God for the citizens of my city that the immortal phrase "ooooooh, there's a problem" will soon be consigned to history). I'm useless at this stuff, so currently mainlining coffee while trying to breathe deeply (I think this may be producing opposite effects that cancel each other out).

No sign of the bloody electrician yet. Just sent a text saying "Will I see you today? I need to get all of my kitchen sockets and appliances wired up and on by the end of the day. If I need to make alternative arrangements, let me know".

Ah @whiskyowl, that’s so annoying. Any sign yet? I sympathise because I am also really bad at complaining or having awkward conversations but it does sound like this chap is taking the piss.

Has the fridge/freezer arrived yet @teamrick? Very exciting!

So my news is I have been down and introduced myself, very nice lads (3 of them). They seem to be working very hard. We now have the patio dug up, old sheds etc demolished/removed and trenches dug for the foundations

Caspiana - you're racing along! Glad you have managed to introduce yourself - I think a good working relationship (not too friendly, but not cold and distant either) is what you need so that you can raise any issues that occur in future. It does make it a bit easier if things are on a reasonably 'professional' footing, IYSWIM. Believe gave me some good advice on this at the start of our project, so I am really just passing on what she said!

I have managed to have words with the electrician. I don't know how much of it actually went in. He is incredibly hard to talk to - I wonder if there is something non-neurotypical about him, because it's like he cannot listen, and just flits wildly from one idea that occurs to him to the next. He'll also talk right over you when you're trying to explain something, to say something else totally unrelated. Getting an acknowledgement that he has heard what you have said is really difficult! He is, however, working away downstairs so I have some hopes that I will at least have SOME appliances back on by the end of the day.

Well still no progress on the inside of the house for us but I have knocked a shed down (incredibly satisfying) and had some trees taken out of the overgrown garden. Neighbour was twitching at the curtains throughout. Can I ask if anyone has had party wall problems? Neighbours don’t want us to build and now have formal party wall agreement in place, they are incredibly hostile and I’m struggling a little bit emotionally with it. Our steels won’t penetrate their wall but I’m still worried about cracking... anxiety inducing...

whisky I hope the electrician pulls his finger out today. I am hoping to have a functioning dishwasher by the end of the day. Or at least a downstairs sink. I have saved the washing up specially!

Whattodo none of our work seems to have damaged the party wall, at least that we have been told about. We had chimney breasts taken out and steels in, as well as foundations. Both our sets of neighbours were very nice about it all though.

whattodo - I'm so sorry you have neighbour issues. I can't imagine how stressful that must make it. Can you simply treat it as a risk, and budget for repair work in the event of cracking out of your contingency? Then, if you need to do it, it's not a horrible shock - but if you don't need to do it, you've got a bit of money over for something else? It might also be a way of turning a personal situation into a business one, which might help with anxiety. It is awful to feel that you're upsetting people and that you can't work towards a reasonable compromise

No-one wants a build next to them, let's be honest. And some people are very unreasonable about recognising that there are limits to their right to object if something is PD or has planning approval. (Of course, people should be consulted and their views taken seriously, but no-one has an absolute right of veto). Hopefully once work starts, things will settle down for you.

You are right whisky I do need to be more objective and also said to DH that in the early stages of the build (which is the bit I think they will be really unhappy about) I maybe should try to steer clear of the site. Luckily we are not living there yet and I trust the builder (old family friend) to manage them so there’s no really need to be there a lot whilst we are getting out of the ground... sigh.

Sounds like great progress from lots of people so far though. Love seeing the update pics

Ladies, I have a hob! And a fridge! And a washing machine! And a dryer! And a freezer! And a dishwasher! And a kitchen sink!

And I also have my dining room back, where all these appliances have been huddled for the last few months.

Still no oven (that comes Monday) but I am VERY VERY happy. Every week since late December I've said "Maybe this is the week where the appliances come back on" and every week has been a disappointment. BUT NOT THIS ONE!

It's hard to detach emotionally, though whattodo, when someone is being a bit unreasonable. It will help if you're not there all the time (they can't just come round to moan) but I wouldn't let them scare you off visiting to see progress. You do need to stay very firmly on top of things, because you can't trust even an old friend to share your taste or make the same decisions in the face of a dilemma that you would.

Woohoo @whiskyowl!! Great news!

That's amazing whisky - you must be over the moon.

Yay whisky! That is brilliant. I am delighted enough at having an actual working dishwasher. And a kitchen sink!