First Fix

The house is now house shaped and weatherproof, which leaves the external finishes - roof and walls - and the internal finishes. So the pressure was on for us to finally make up our minds on the detailed fixtures and fittings so the first fix plumber and electrician could get on with installing all the pipework and cabling needed before the plasterboard is put in.

First visit was back to Howdens for the kitchen.We had already agreed the layout but we need to make some adjustments and agree the internal features so back to Andy and his 3D design software for the last minute tweaks. Everything is apparently in stock so the actual purchase can wait but the joiner and the plumber both need to know what goes where so they can get on with their first fix.

Next an 8 o'clock meeting at PlumbCenter's showroom with the plumber. Turns out what looks neat and tidy on the architects drawing doesn't quite turn out so easy in practice. Pipes need space and one trade gets in the way of another and its only about now that these clashes raise their ugly head. Thankfully it can be made to  work with a bit of give and take and the bathrooms are going to be pretty much what we envisaged. We lose a bit of storage but we can live with that - and it saves some money too! I actually quite enjoy helping to resolve these issues, just like the old days when I had to work for a living.

Next I get to get on site and  take a look around. There is still no staircase as they needed to leave a space to get the windows in but its great to actually see the upper floors. We were not entirely sure whether we would want to use the upper (attic) floor as a study as it only has velux rooflights but in fact it is a lovely space - and  not being able to look out of the window will help avoid too may distractions. We went around  with Peter the joiner  to discuss where the shelving and storage would go so he could put extra noggins in and then with the electrical and  plumbing subcontractors. We seem to have ironed out the remaining issues, plus a few new ones due to the Heating and Ventilation ducting having gone in,

Jason nearly got himself into trouble by suggesting the site wasn't suitable for a lady but we managed to wriggle out of that one as I was the only on with steel soled boots. However he got all the offcuts cleared up pretty prompt and last Friday Margot was given the grand tour.

Thankfully she was OK  with the decisions we had made on her behalf so this week the plumber, electrician and joiner will all be onsite not to mention the roofers - the tiles for the front slope are  delivered and ready to go up. I however am down south dog-sitting for my sister so well out of it - except I have just had a call from Jason setting up a site meeting for Friday morning. Nothing serious I hope