Hooray we have walls again.

Prep

Fireplace boarded up.  And yes, draught proofed, and stuffed with insulation of course.  (You know this by now, right?)

I also tried using this draught proofing thing behind socket boxes.  Not great through.  The electricians failed to follow the instructions, and didn’t bother to thread the wires through.  I had been warned that trying to get workmen to do anything a bit different than what they’re used to is really hard.

Not easy to use though, as really big, and difficult to get flat.  The landing light switch looks rubbish.  Will have to redo, or cover with a wood border or something.

That girder above the lounge window has been exposed, draught-proofed, (you guessed it) stuffed with insulation, boarded with a strip of left-over polystyrene floor insulation, and finished with plywood.

Plastered

Meanwhile

In the loft the extra insulation has been moved aside to make way for temporary boarding for storage when we move in, while works are completed.

Later, the floor will be raised so the insulation can go back, whilst still being able to use the valuable storage space.

StoreFloor Raised Loft Boarding looks ideal.

and Finally

United Utilities are still trying to unblock the rainwater drain in the back garden.

They’ve struggled to get jet hoses or cameras round the old style trap (like a u-bend, but more of a swan neck).  Then their big pump truck on the road outside popped it’s hydraulics, spilling oil everywhere; made a right mess.  I think this week was about the 6th visit.  They dug up the garden around the drain (which turned out to be encased in concrete) and installed an access hatch.

• Me: “Looks good, access hatch installed OK then?”
• Workman: “Yep, all done.”
• “So, it’s unblocked now?
• “No, we just dig the hole.”
• “Oh.”
• “We’re just contractors, United Utilities will contact you to come back and unblock it.
• “Right.  And that big paving slab you lifted, that is now leaning against the fence, could you perhaps put it back down?”
• “No, that’s Reinstatement who do that.”
• “I see… “

So now our garden looks like this.  We’re still waiting for the call…

Next steps

• Paint walls
• Assemble kitchen…