Time for an update

We’ve been home more than a week, Amy and Edward have moved to a temporary place in Exeter to begin getting things ready for when they can complete the purchase of their house and we are now adjusting to being home alone again.

Except we’re not quite alone! The builders are still here, working hard to maintain the momentum as we work towards the late October deadline. Our three “downstairs rooms”; a cloakroom, a storeroom and our laundry room are now all plastered and ready for the underfloor heating to be installed. In the rest of the house, Tom the plumber has replaced all our hot water pipes with a modern pressurised system, removing the need for the noisy pump which used to wake everyone in the house when the first up in a morning took a shower. The first fix of electrics is in place down here too and there’s a pile of bathroom fixings and fittings ready and waiting.

We still have no “proper” stairs and rely on this temporary construction to reach the top floor.

There are no stairs at all from the ground floor to the middle floor however, which means we’re still using the steps in the garden to go there. Again, awaiting underfloor heating and (I think) still needing the plasterer to work his magic out here (unless it’s been done since I took that picture…I haven’t noticed!!) The stairs, when fitted will go in the space to the right of the picture, into the space covered with the black screen just beyond the light fitting (which survives all the upheaval!) The landing supported by the post needs to be completed, I assume at the same time as the staircase.

On the other side of the black screen is our garden room, to where the staircase will eventually lead.

The kitchen is relatively unscathed, but we’d forgotten that as part of the “bringing more light in” concept, we decided to remove the window seat and create full length French windows there. As it’s on the first floor however, there’ll be a glass Juliet balcony fitted outside.

Fortunately, they were able to recycle the mullions from a couple of the windows removed from above the porch. As I look at that photo however, I see that we’re not quite done with the demolition yet - those blocks will need removing before the new windows are fitted.

The main progress right now is taking place around the porch, where the two metalworkers are busy fitting the zinc roof and facings.

It looks really great and they are doing a fabulous job. Right now, it’s a little shiny, but we are assured it will weather down and in time will match our zinc gutters and downpipes.

As we sat in the garden under a clear blue sky yesterday watching the flights heading west - these two both flying from Munich, one to Charlotte and the other to Denver - it seemed longer than a couple of weeks ago that we were looking forward to coming home from our travels. Right now, it still feels good to be at home again, in spite of all the mess. I mean, at least we don’t have to climb up and down ladders and work on a metal roof in these temperatures, do we? Because of course, the school holidays are over and the temperatures have soared again for a late blast of summer.

But we agree on one thing. It will be lovely when it’s all finished!