Westacre Day minus 25

Hilde had quite a productive day. Before midday, she squirted expanding foam behind some plaster board to make good the walls next to the new patio doors in the bungalow. Then she caught a train back to Harrow, where she met the people who measured up for new windows. Then she filled another six boxes with stuff, mostly books.

Alex and Roger ended up moving building materials around the bungalow so that the plasterer can start work tomorrow and a delivery of lengths of skirting board can be accommodated.

Alex puts a kitchen cabinet in place

Westacre Day minus 26

As well as some invisible work, like putting insulation into the partition walls, we managed to glue down all of the lino and put kitchen cabinets in place. It’s beginning to look like something at long last.

Actual lino on the kitchen floor

Westacre Day minus 27

Today, a huge milestone was reached in Roger’s bungalow. We put something in that people will be able to see.

No longer just pipes and partition walls. Today we put down lino. We even stuck some of it down, so that we’ll have an easier time cutting it to size tomorrow.

Look at it. Doesn’t it look nice?

Westacre Day minus 28

Roger painted the wall in his kitchen, and Alex finished the stud work in the bathroom. This is now ready to box in the pipe work. He also laid marine plywood in the kitchen for the lino to go on.

Hilde slept. She really needed a day of rest. And somewhere in the middle she agreed a price for windows in Harrow.

Westacre Day minus 29

Alex did lots of bits and bobs today. He finished building the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom. He put a nice edging around the doors that hide the pipework in the en suite. He levelled a bulging floor. And he fit legs to some kitchen furniture. There is now furniture in the kitchen, even if it is upside down and not quite in the right place yet.

Hilde got a quote for windows in Harrow. It’s going to make a lot more mess than she’d hoped, but it does need doing. At least they can do it before Christmas.

Westacre Day minus 30

Alex has been puzzling over Roger’s kitchen cabinets today. He can’t quite work out how the legs and the plinth are supposed to fit on. But the wall is now flat enough for actual kitchen building to begin. Hey, did you notice? I’m talking about actual furniture here, not just pipes and partitions. It’s a milestone.

Westacre Day minus 31

Alex never makes a song and dance of his birthday, but this one was particularly low key. He took his dad to the eye hospital, where the diagnosis was very hopeful. Then they went shopping at B&Q and bought a router and sheets of formica to serve as a kitchen splash back. Some snoozing may have been involved as well.

Hilde, in London, called Alex for his birthday and then went to work to write a depressing report. Only 8 days to go.

Westacre Day minus 32

Alex took the whole wall down again and replaced the compression joints (remember how much he hates them) with soldered joints and then re-built the wall around them. He’s much happier now.

Roger finished the big partition and loaded his trailer with more stuff for the dump.

Hilde had a stressful day at work. No rest for the wicked, even in their last 10 days.

Westacre Day minus 33

Alex and Hilde concentrated on getting the kitchen ready to have its furniture installed. This involved finishing off some plumbing into the adjoining bathroom so the partition wall can be finished. Alex spent hours doing that today, and then took it all back out again because he wants to make absolutely sure there will be no leaks inside the partition. Ever the perfectionist.

Hilde has mixed three more buckets of plaster and filled holes in the kitchen wall where the electrician ran his wires. Roger has attached plaster board to the main partition, giving the final shape to his bedroom.

Westacre Day minus 34

We’re concentrating on getting walls ready for decorating and putting in furniture. Lots of wallpaper came off today. Plaster board closed off some partitions. Expanding builders foam filled some gaps. Will we get to the stage where we can put down lino on the kitchen floor tomorrow? Fingers crossed.