The Italian Stallion

The 'beauty' is mounted and looking awesome. Anyone notice the mistake I made when I installed the electrical socket?

The chaps from Ecoheat have done a superb job and it looks really tidy. Fingers crossed only a day more to go before we have heating again!

Heating Up

After 2 very cold months, the heating system is now being installed! The kit is here, the two chaps from Ecoheat just need to bolt it all together. The radiators are already mounted so fingers crossed only a couple of days to go.

You can see at the back the bad boy Italian boiler, the Alpha CD28C! An A-rated high efficiency combi-boiler. Sweet!

Too cold to write any more....

For the collective good

With Shelley vacating the grand manor this weekend, a couple days distraction free DIY were obviously on the cards. Friday night was spent like any other normal 26 year old, searching DIY stores for low tack masking tape. As it turns out there is a global shortage of the low tack variety mostly due to climate change. So, both the random lady in B and Q and myself had to opt for the overly expensive 3M Expert Paint Tape instead. Being blue and costing a huge £6 I expected great things from this tape and I wasn't disappointed! Even with the masking tape problem I still managed to get a full coat of paint on the master bedroom ceiling and coving that evening.

Saturday was a long day filled with painting, sanding and more painting. The master bedroom ceiling got another coat, as did the the three wall of the study that were being painted cream. Two panel doors were tidied up and each had there first layer of undercoat applied.

Sunday proved the most productive with the help of two part time DIYers also know as Phil and Lisa. With Phils obsession with general destruction I had no other choice but to set him tearing apart the upstairs hallway. It was either that or there was going to be little left of the downstairs. Once Lisa arrived, thing calmed down slightly and after a tediously long search for a scrapper we set about stripping the wall paper. All the progress can be seen in the photo above.

All I have to do now is decide on whether I want a lion or an acorn on top of the stair post..... apparently.

Clear as glass

One new bathroom window put in and looking tidy! The wall paper obviously was not our choice.

Process the Progress

Well it has been an age since the last update, so as I sit on the train heading back from a trip up to Bradford I thought it was an ideal time to post! It seems that if I am not working, I am working.

The master bedroom is nearing the decorating stage with the walls fully sanded, the carpet taken up and the lining paper only two sheets away from completion. It’s been a long slog but the room is slowly coming together. The wardrobes have been ordered and the bed picked so all the big things are all sorted now. On with the painting at the weekend then!

AV trunking and HDMI cables for the connecting of the loft PC to the lounge will get put in too if I can find the time.

The most important room in the house, the study, has only one coat of paint left to do and the floor to be laid and then the gaming PC can finally be set up! Having installed the cat5e cable for the PC alongside a number of 240V mains cable I am worried about network interference but we will have to wait and see. If it’s bad I will have to pull the floor up again and re run it as the media centre cable runs the same way; fingers crossed!

Electrically wise, the upstairs is done. The extra sockets in the bedroom and study went in and so did the unswitched socket for the boiler. Just need to connect the cables running to the distribution board into the new MCB’s and it should all work. No doubt the bathroom will need new lighting but I shall worry about that if the ceiling gets pulled down.

The next big job, the bathroom is another step closer as the suite has been decided upon. It is just waiting for approval from the lady of the house. Then it’s time to pull out the sledge hammers and knock down a wall. Oh and the new window goes in on Thursday. Go go go!

Back to the ‘Guns of Navarone’ then… only 15mins left to go.

Orange Squash

The first coat of orange is up and it looks pretty good. There was a moment as it went on the wall that I thought this could go either way but looking as the finished article I am really impressed. Wasn't impressed with the paint pads I brought from Wickes so it is back to the roller tomorrow.

One thing I wish I had done was run masking tape down the wall edges prior to painting; it turns out my brush skills are a little wobbly. I will try this on the second coat or possibly do it when I do the other walls. Thrilling stuff eh!!

The master bedroom is coming along slowly too with most of the wall sanding done. Just some trim to add around the window, run another double socket to the far side of the room and then its on to the next stage of lining and painting. Oh and i've got to run the trunking for the audio visual cables down one side of the alcove; I am sure that will be a delightful task.

E is for Energy

100mm of insulation installed and what a difference it makes, especially when your heating doesn't work. There is another 170mm to go down but I will wait till all of the AV wiring is completed up in the loft.

At the far end of the loft is the double gang socket for the TV in the bedroom. My first attempt at wiring a ring main and much to my surprise it worked first time. I still nearly wet myself as we tested it and the grinder burst into life!!! Anyway, I moved this socket last Wednesday further to the right so I don't have to walk over the bedroom ceiling to get access. With the joists being a little thin I was worried about the deflection caused by my 14stone cracking the new plaster.

Next job up here is to run the AV trunking downstairs and run some cables.