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  Day 307 - One week to go... I know, I know, you've heard this before. But today, James, our new foreman/snagging list resolver said today that they (the builders) would be finished by the end of next week....
  
  Last weekend we did our snagging list - 2 and a half pages of fairly close type!!
  
  We'll head down to the property tomorrow to check out the progress this week but it sounded pretty positive on the phone.
  
  Major jobs still to finish and like days next week are:
  
  The accursed shower cubicle (Wed/Thurs)
  The ensuite shower which it seems is now broken (eh?)
  Screeding
  Front Door (due Mon from the joiners)
  Lots of electrical stuff (not sure if this is on target for next week)
  
  We hope to get the decorators back in the following week to finish off (3-4 days)
  
  Then there's the flooring, kitchen and various storage units to build before we can move back in. At least the end is in sight..

  

  3 months on
  
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  Day 302 - Utility Room The nearly finished utility room
  
  
  
  Just some edging and a proper splashback to do

  

  3 months on
  
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  Day 302 - Landscaping The landscaping is mostly done and looks very smart.
  
  At the front we have natural stone chippings and a pathway to the front door.. Hopefully this will keep the planners happy.
  
  The incomplete part is a widening of the dropped kerb. We have kicked the process off with the local council, but letter received today said they will come and review the site within the next 3 months!! And that's just review the site, not actually widen the drop kerb!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Neat drain cover in the path
  
  
  Patio, Pebble drain & new Lawn
  
  
  Beds and brick perches and what I managed to salvage of the lilac bush
  
  
  Side Alley landscaping

  

  3 months on
  
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  Day 302- The Painters are in! The decorators are in and going great guns. Milan has a team of 2 guys with him and they've been working long days (till gone 7 some nights) and it shows.
  
  
  Liam's Room
  
  
  Hallway
  
  
  Hallway from the other direction
  
  
  Main Bathroom
  
  
  Main Bathroom again
  
  
  Master bedroom
  
  Unfortunately now they've finished upstairs and moved downstairs where the builders are and everyone is getting in everyone else's way, so we've agreed that the decorators will come back a week on Monday to finish off.
  
  Overall we're very happy with their work and happy with the paint colour choice we finally made. Over 30 tester pots were involved in the decision - we joked that if we mixed all 30 together (close to 5 litres) we'd have the ideal colour!

  

  3 months on
  
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  Day 299 - Shaun has left. the building A significant day - Shaun's last day. Shaun was our foreman from the first day of the job but sadly won't be around for the last...
  
  Unfortunately he's decided to leave and setup on his own, he'd tried to hang on till the job was finished but no joy...
  
  His last gasp was building the utility room. And wearing a distinctly non-corporate t-shirt that proclaimed "Tell your tits to stop staring at me"...
  
  So farewell and thanks to Shaun, he may not have always been on top of the paperwork (!) but he came up with some great ideas, ran a tight ship with the guys and we can't fault the overall workmanship.
  
  Good luck in whatever you do Shaun...

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 291 - Update on what's left to do An update after yesterday's site visit
  
  Utility Room build - mostly done apart from sink/tap and some edging
  Loft insulation & boarding - boards delivered, installation today
  Front Landscaping - Skip and portaloo are going today so stones can go down today/tmrw
  Rear Landscaping - Patio and beds are done and turf was laid yesterday
  Masticking (not sure I really know what this means though) - some has been done
  Bathroom Mirrors (one of these is waiting electrician input) - both are up, but lights need moving in the ensuite
  Fire-safe glass above the Fire Door into the indoor shed/storeroom
  Remaining lights to be fitted - we bought more lights over the weekend so these are waiting on the electrician
  UFH thermostats (again waiting on Electrician I think)
  Skirting boards off in the hallway (so they can fit the flooring without needing beading)
  Juliet Balcony - waiting for brackets
  Glass porch - waiting for custom made bracket
  Shower Door in main bathroom - waiting for masticking man
  
  Front Door - joiners visit today to measure up - Door and side panel should've been delivered to them
  
  Cleaners - Booked for May 4th
  Decorator - Booked for May 5th
  
  Flooring - we'll book the fitting after the decorator has started and we have a better idea of timing.

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 282 - Gratutitous Shower Pics I popped round to the property to meet with Shaun and take a few pics. The sun was shining in through the window into the ensuite and the shower tiles
  
   
   
  
  I know no-one loves the tiles as much as me but I did think they looked lovely in the sunshine

  

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 280 - Downstairs Loo When they were tiling the main bathroom I got a call from Shaun saying they'd run out tiles so could we order some more? We were a little surprised as we thought we'd measured/calculated correctly but ordered some more.
  
  So it turned out that the builders had 'mislaid' some of the tiles somewhere in the house and thought they'd run out. Of course the tiles turned up so we have some excess.
  
  Thanks to a comment from my lovely Sister about the 'wipeability' of the downstairs loo we decided we needed something to the side of the loo, enter the mislaid tiles, which have also made the splashback.
  
   
   
  
  Apologies for the crappy photos, my beloved Fujifilm camera has developed a problem with the lens cover so these were taken with my Blackberry camera.

  

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 282 - Front Landscaping The slabs are all in place for the front landscaping
  
   
  Area in front of the front door
  
   
  Side path
  
   
  Path up to the house
  
  
  Path in front of the bay and kitchen window
  
  All the gaps will be filled in with natural stone chips, that will compress down well and won't get stuck in your shoes!

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 282 - List of jobs still to do We are finally approaching the final furlong (hey, it's Ascot I'm allowed a racing term!) of the never-ending build.
  
  Shaun is now saying one more week.... There seems to be a fair amount to be done in this last week but I've decided to go with optimism for a change.
  
  Things that still need to be done:
  
  Utility Room build - Shaun flippantly said it's only 5 units! - and a sink and a worktop...
  Loft insulation & boarding
  Front Landscaping
  Masticking (not sure I really know what this means though)
  Bathroom Mirrors (one of these is waiting electrician input)
  Fire-safe glass above the Fire Door into the indoor shed/storeroom
  Remaining lights to be fitted
  UFH thermostats (again waiting on Electrician I think)
  Skirting boards off in the hallway (so they can fit the flooring without needing beading)
  Juliet Balcony
  Shower Door in main bathroom
  
  Also Shaun's suggested if we want any accessories fitted in the main bathroom we should get them this week so the guys can use the special water cooled drill they've had to hire to fit them. This was after they'd burnt out two regular drills - eek!
  
  Oh and we need to source and buy a new, smaller greenhouse so the lads can create a foundation for it.
  
  Things that definitely won't happen this week:
  
  Front door - we are waiting to hear from the Joiners and for the side panel to come in stock
  
  Magic cleaners - every time I've sucked my breath in at the state of something, Shaun has assured me the cleaners that come in at the end of the job will sort this out, hence they've become known as the magic cleaners as I'm not sure how they're going to get everything (especially the kitchen) back to how it was before.
  
  Then I think we're into Snagging List territory
  
  Wednesday the carpet fitters are coming to measure up and hopefully Friday will see BT to re-connect the phone line.
  
  I'm feeling slightly more confident about getting the decorator booked now. Better get going on the second batch of paint samples, the first were all too pinky/lilac.

  

  4 months on
  
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  Day 274 - Second Fix Lighting A somewhat random collection of lights that have gone up around the house...
  
   
  Bedside lights - with directional reading lights
  
   
  A light-up mirror for the hair/make-up area
  
   
  Eco-friendly spotlights in Study & Den
  
   
  Bedside lights in the boys bedroom (and some random extra holes). These have been carefully measured to (hopefully) be at the right position in the bunk beds
  
   
  Bedroom cupboard light
  
  
  Blurry pic of the lounge lights - the leccy hates them, says they were 'tricky' to put up. In fact he hasn't liked many of the lights!

  

  4 months on