DIY Bling!

While some choose to run 26 miles this weekend, I had my sights set on an equally challenging event; the building of a partition wall and cupboard for the boiler in the upstairs hall. Sure, 26miles of running requires months and months of hard, sweat inducing training, but I spent over £90 in B and Q which nearly brought me to tears!

Fortunately I had a crack team of helpers this weekend in the form of a rather drunk Jeff and the ever keen parents!

Friday afternoon and evening were spent adding the finishing touches to the bedroom prior to handing it over to the chief interior designer. The curtain rail was put up, the bed was constructed and the sliding wardrobe doors were finally put in place. During this period Jeff (worker #1) was ''stuck'' in the pub as a result of a beer induced train delay.

Once the lubricated friend finally made it the only possible course of action was to down tools, up beers and ring the Curry Centre for a mosterous feast.

Saturday morning started like any other, coffee and planning. Jeff and I decided planning was over rated and ploughed straight into the build. After a couple of hours hard graft, we had a frame that almost looked like something substantial. The parents ( worker #2/3) arrived with the new lawnmower and more importantly home made brownies and they set to work in the garden.

At lunch we decided that it was time to hit B and Q for plasterboard and timber. Long story short.... we ended up in the car park with a sheet of plasterboard double the size of the Ford Focus. Bring on Car Park DIY! Once in the car, the only concern was the avoidance of any kind of road traffic accident which would have brought about sudden death in the two of us. I have never seen Jeff looked so relieved as he got out of the car with all his limbs attached!

5 hours later and we had a fully enclosed 'normal' bathroom and a cupboard around the boiler that would put any carpenter to shame! Whilst all this heavenly construction was taking place the rents and the missus were making great use of the new lawnmower and strimming in the garden. What a sterling job they did! I now even have a tidy garage that a car will fit it!!

Sunday we focused on the coving around the hall which went up like a dream. There were a couple of dicey moments as I balanced over the stairs on an old hand rail, which in turn was balanced on two 40 year old ladders, which in turn had a precarious Jeff balancing on the end, but all was well and everyone survived unharmed!

By late afternoon it was time to hit the shops as chief credit card holder to purchase the bed sheets and duvet stuff for the master bedroom. Half way through we said good bye to Jeff and thanked him for all his hard work and we continued to run round a couple more shops.

So, another weekend of great progress thanks for all the help received. Time to start the mighty move into the new bedroom now. Toast first though... always toast first.

The marathon DIY session has finally come to an end and as a result I am now coaching both my body and mind back to health!

Following the last post where we had the bath in place and the toilet 'kinda working but leaking' things progressed well but not without a couple of nightmares along the way.

First thing Saturday we got the bath secured in place and piped up. We ran the new waste pipes which was hard work as a couple of new holes were required in the external wall to the back of the house. A strong desire to crack out the power tools at this stage to save on manual work resulted in a plume of black dust filling the bathroom and covering my father as I went to work outside with the grinder. Some loud shouting and coughing from the window soon had me back to the pain inducing hammer and bolster.

Some time later we started on installation of the basin (not sink, they are found in the kitchen). Little did I know the pure pain and mental torture that was just ahead of me. To cut a long story short the basin went on, then off, then on, then off, then on, then off, then back to the bathroom shop as it was the wrong basin, then back again to the bathroom shop because it didn't fit, then on and then off. At this stage my Dad had suffered a minor breakdown and it was time for him to be wheeled off the safety of the local mental home. Fortunately, at 6pm the second shift arrived in the form of the future father in law. We pressed on until the whispers of darkness fell and exhaustion had engulfed me. At this stage I thought that it was the perfect time to climb a ladder in the rain and install the waste pipes on the side of the house. Amazingly this little job went without incident and I even had a little joke with the neighbour about how my Dad had got caught earlier going to the toilet in the garden by the neighbour on the other side of the house; I later regretted this!

Sunday was another day packed full of FUN. The sink came off and on again as we attempted to stop the waste leaking and I got a nice little wave from the neighbour I was speaking to just 12hours ago as I zipped up my flies as I walked back to the house from the garden.... nice.

After a couple more hours work the partition around the bath took shape mostly due to the encouragement of Tod whom without I would have been sat playing the playstation or fast asleep.

After a jolly on Sunday night for a rather merry dinner party, Monday was a write-off. I set about returning as much unused 'stuff' I had amassed from Wickes and Screwfix's over the weekend to try and replenish the bank account and then set about being grumpy and useless.

During all of this I must mention the superb work the girls, by whom I mean Shelley, my Mum and Julie, did in the garden. It looks truly smashing and if it wasn't for the randomly placed old bathroom suite would almost look like any normal garden!!

Thanks to all that helped this weekend and for putting up with my incessant swearing, none of it could have been achieved without you all!

Time for some special, well deserved playstation time now..... until Friday that is!!

Bathroom Mayhem

Its the start of a 5 day marathon DIY session and so far so good. Day one was spent constructing the wardrobe interiors whilst my mate and electrician supremo Tom tested my dodging wiring and worked his magic on the distribution board. Thanks Tom.

Day two has been a biggy. I picked up the basin early in the morning and the rents were down shortly after. No time for coffee as Dad and I set to work whisking out the bathroom suite. The floor came up reasonably easy, especially in areas where the wood worm had rotted the joists. After three trips to Wickes and much buggering about with plastic pipe, we were ready to lay the new flooring. I still cannot believe the price of the PE fittings!!

By 6:30 we had the new floor down and to treat ourself we installed the toilet! There is still no water upstairs but the bath is in ready for plumbing in.

Its been a long slog today but the end result is superb and drinking a beer whilst standing on the new floor was priceless.