Tag: DIY

Rant

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After we discovered that B&Q had missed some items yesterday, Barry gave them a call. Their reasons were many and varied:

  • They had the wrong barcode for the cream door pack, so it was still correct as far as the call centre was concerned, so Barry had to ring the store to ask them to call the call centre and change it to white;
  • The taps aren’t coming in from the suppliers, so we have to pick another. But we like our tap! I can’t believe they didn’t let us know about this in advance – we can’t fit the sink without the tap! They said it wasn’t in stock anywhere, but it is in Romford! After some furious internet searching, I told Barry to ask them to courier it from another store, but he wouldn’t;
  • The wooden maintenance kit had the wrong barcode on our quote, so wasn’t ordered, it was put down with the barcode for an upstand so that’s why we ended up with three of those;
  • Hood filters are waiting in store. Of course. Our mistake. Except nobody ever said that. Why didn’t they give them to Barry when he placed the order?

My work colleagues said they could actually feel me seething.

Barry waited for B&Q to call him back, they said they would change the door, the lady also had the presence of mind to notice that the cornice and pelmet were coming in cream, so she changed those as well. Maybe those would have come on time if they’d got the right colour. They’ve just confirmed that they can deliver on 5 March.

What we didn’t mention was the fact that designer hadn’t listened to Barry with regards to the drawers. We think it’s a bit late to notice now, so we’ll just live with it, but she was obsessed with pan drawers and we kept saying that we didn’t have space – we needed a four-drawer unit to put all our stuff in. She’s given us pan drawers anyway.

Barry started painting the kitchen last night; some of the plaster is coming away with the paint, and some of the paint we used had dried bits in it and went all bobbly, so he had to keep going over it and may need to sand and repaint it later.

Rant over.

Up and running

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The oven is now functional! As evidenced, we plastered the last wall and had pizza last night. I can honestly say, it’s the nicest meal I think I’ve ever made in that oven.

It’s so satisfying, removing the plastic wrapping that’s around the oven. It will have to be popped back in its box while we sand and paint, but soon it will be free.

We spent last night checking we had what we thought we had from B&Q. Sadly, we don’t have what we thought. We’re missing:

  • 2 x cornice/ pelmet
  • 2 x pelmet

Fair enough, we knew about these. However, we’re also missing:

  • 2 x cooker hood filters
  • 1 x tap
  • 1 x wooden maintenance kit
  • 1 cupboard door (they sent us cream instead of white)

So our jobs list for this weekend is thus:

  • Ring B&Q to sort the above ASAP.
  • Sand.
  • Paint the ceiling and some walls (the important ones).
  • Start putting units together!

 

Old fashioned couple

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I was cooking tea the other night while Barry was plastering the very same room, when I realised that we were fulfilling stereotypical gender roles without even thinking about it.  When I pointed this out to Barry, he asked me to get him a beer from the fridge.  I did.

Is DIY divided into boy jobs and girl jobs?  I’ve been doing some jobs like painting, following Barry around after he’s done the manly rollering with the little brush to do the edges.  When he ripped the walls down, I was tasked with sanding the bits of skirting board that came off.  I made curtains for the spare room, but I’ve never been in our loft.

I’m fine with being the ideas person and wandering around with tester pots and a camera.  I’m not saying I want to do the heavy work, I’m just wondering whether it’s implied that I shouldn’t.  Is it just us?

Kitchen update: preparing a special three-course Valentine’s meal was fun with everything in boxes in the living room. We’re going to have a few days of having to get water from the bathroom, but Barry thinks he should have the shiny new oven up and running shortly, and the washing machine and dishwasher have just been moved into their new homes.  Photos of the practically empty kitchen below; we haven’t unpacked any of the new one yet.

It’s here!

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I’ve been sent this very exciting picture from Barry, who is working from home today and has just accepted the delivery of our B&Q kitchen.

We’ve been told the cornices are missing due to a quality issue – they’re going to be delivered in a couple of weeks.

Barry’s going to take the oven, sink and parts of the old kitchen out this evening, so it looks like it’s takeaway for tea.  Hard life.

Island living

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I’ve always wanted an island in the kitchen.  It’s the dream.  That’s when you know your kitchen is amazing.  As an example, our friend Sarah has an amazing kitchen.  She has an island.

When we were planning our kitchen, I originally didn’t think we could have one because the fridge will now be at the other side of the room, and I thought it would be annoying to have to walk round something if I was cooking.  Now the walls are down, we’re thinking we might fit a cheeky slim one in by the front door.  It may have to take the form of a breakfast bar, more of a peninsula, but it would still count!

Obviously, this is further down the line.  We have a butcher’s block at the moment which could go there (but I maintain it doesn’t go and will spoil the effect of the new kitchen).  Not sure what Barry would do if I just listed it on eBay…

The new kitchen arrives today!  It will probably be less exciting when everything’s boxed up and we’ve still got to paint and rip out the old kitchen, but until then, I’ll be excited!  Photos to follow.

In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with photos of the progress.  Left is the hole where a cupboard used to be, and below shows no upstand or cupboard for the boiler.

As a side note, why do you think builders place boilers a silly distance from the wall?

Winchester Mystery House

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Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Right. I’m aware this is going to make me sound like a geek, and a bit off-topic, but I really like listening to the Stuff I Missed in History Class podcasts. I was listening to a few of the oldies the other day while painting and found one that was actually about DIY! While I was doing DIY!

Sarah Winchester, wife of William Wirt Winchester (of Winchester guns) went a bit mad (well, she did!) when her child and husband died, and was apparently informed by some spirits that if she ever stopped building, she’d die. So, day and night, she had contractors adding bits onto her house, until the day she died. What was even stranger was that she had them build things like stairs that went up to the ceiling, and outdoor windows inside the house, to trick the ghosts so they couldn’t get her. Check it out, it’s called Ghosts of history: Winchester Mystery House.

Imagine having building works in your house until you die, 38 years after construction began! It did make me think how important it is to have a beginning and an end to a DIY job. The planning and pricing, choosing colours and designs, can all be very enjoyable, but there’s nothing quite as satisfying as when you can lean back and look at your completed work. That’s when you know you can have a house party, let everyone look at your fantastic space and what you’ve done with it!

Barry’s been sanding all weekend and he’s started taking the old kitchen out. The new kitchen comes tomorrow! Then we can paint the walls and get the new one in. I’ve even managed to order the Next curtains that I wanted in the sale. It’s like Christmas Eve…

The tile of my life

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Many of my posts include the words I can’t decide, or something to that effect.  I hadn’t realised I was so indecisive!  Because we’re spending a lot of money on the kitchen especially (and will continue to do so for, oh, the next three years), we want it to be perfect.

I’m going to continue with affirmative phrases.  I like kitchen tiles.  We’re having an upstand made of the same wood as the worktop (walnut), but I believe that we need something above that to protect the walls.  We will be getting tiles of some description.  I like the tiles that are rectangular, like bricks.  I like these ones from Wickes (pictured).

But!  Is it boring to have white tiles, or is it chic?  Do we have enough colour with the purple units on the bottom?  What shall we have for tea?

Decisions, decisions…

Barry and I made a little trip to a friend’s this weekend so Barry could put a coat hook in their solid wall because he’s got a fancy drill.  We were talking about how nice it was to do a job and it having a definite ending!  We were also instructed to take a photo for the blog.

He’s spent the weekend here plastering and sanding – I can’t even help at this stage, which is frustrating for me, but probably more so for him.

We’ve had our first visits from friends to see the new space (and have a cup of tea, of course!), and the items we were selling on eBay have all sold, which is good.  Money is now being automatically translated into its equivalent value in DIY or household materials.  But would you pay £26 for a used loo (= a tin of paint)?

Pinteresting

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I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Pinterest is brilliant!  I thought you may want to see a couple of my boards as they stand.

I keep spotting some lovely accessories and pinning them to my boards, and it’s easy to see if they’ll fit with the theme, so I’d highly recommend it if you’re decorating.  I’ve pinned photos of items on there from B&Q, Wickes, Argos, Dulux, the list goes on…

As an example, I’ve just found these lovely curtains on the left in the Next sale for the living room.  I can clearly see that they complement the room’s theme.  However!  A word of warning.  I pinned this photo onto my Pinterest board and was going to wait until payday to buy them.  Then I thought I’d better get them as they’re on sale.  They were all gone, in every size, when I went back an hour later.  I’m naturally suspicious, and event one might have nothing to do with the other, but if you see something on sale, buy it before you pin it!

This is my kitchen board.  I’m lusting after some gorgeous tableware from John Lewis at the moment, but, being realistic, £9.99 for a cup is out of my price range, unless we start buying one piece of crockery a month!

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Dream a little dream

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I’m not a big fan of purple (so why did you get a purple kitchen, I hear you cry).  The truth is, I was seduced by it’s high gloss sexiness, and I wouldn’t change it.  But all of a sudden, purple kitchen accessories have been creeping in from the periphery, and I need to practice some self-control before it gets out of hand and I actually buy something.

Exhibits A and B, Your Honour.

Don’t tell me they’re not lovely.  I know they are.

The beauty of getting a new kitchen is that you technically then need new crockery, just the same as when the bedroom gets painted, I’ll be getting new bedding before you can say Jack Robinson.  Probably before we even paint it, to be honest.  Nothing’s caught my eye on the tableware front yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Update on the holey radiator – the eBay seller is sending us a new one, so that’s good news.  They’re even letting us keep the one with a hole in it!

K -4 days…

Money makes the world go around

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Or so Liza Minnelli tells us.

We’re selling everything we’re ripping out of the kitchen/bathroom on eBay to recoup some of the costs of renovating and decorating.  Barry’s started everything at 1p though, so we might not get enough to pay for a tin of paint!  So far we’ve listed the loo (which I thought would get no bids as it’s used, but strangely, several people have shown interest!), sink, three radiators and two doors.  We’ll list the kitchen, oven and hob as soon as we’ve taken them out.

Like most people, we’re having to prioritise what we want to pay for each month, as it’s not realistic to buy everything all at once.  This month’s big buy was the downpayment on the kitchen, and we’ve also stretched to the radiator as well as paint for the living room, and bags of plaster.  As an aside, we’ve put up the radiator we bought and Barry’s discovered it has a hole in it, bloody eBay!  Trying to sort that now, but it will involve bleeding all of the other radiators, and then doing it all again when the new one arrives.  I hope it’s soon, my toes are looking a bit frostbitten.

Back to money!  Next month will probably be more paint and the kitchen flooring, and the month after we’ll be able to get the living room flooring.  This doesn’t even include the annoying inexpensive but numerous items like radiator valves, paint testers and sandpaper.  Not sure when we’ll be purchasing the tumble dryer and microwave and the myriad accessories we need (ok, want).

It’s maddening for me not to be able to complete a room at a time: the living room just needs the skirting boards and doors painting, new flooring and the photos and frames sorting and it’s mostly done (still got those pesky units to sort).  In the meantime, we’ve started on the kitchen because of the time constraints with the units.  I think there may have to be a break at some point (mental or otherwise).  Although we’ve got tester paint on the bedroom wall, we might have a month off after all this (although that could be four or five months down the line).

When I get to that point, what will I write about?  I’ve asked one of my friends to give me a picture of her heinous patterned carpet (her opinion, not mine, I haven’t seen it!); I think there’s at least one post about what people could possibly be thinking when they buy them.

K -5 days…