And then the Builders came...

It's been a few months since my last update, and well, an awful lot has changed. An awful lot has also unexpectedly (or expectedly?) popped up too, which is what you get with an old house I suppose. It's sort of been ongoing, with small little annoying things continually popping up and it seems to me that no matter how much you plan, there will always be more things.

I guess all that watching of Grand Designs over the years has at least taught me that in building/renovating, all's fair.

Day 1

By the end of day one, the house was in total destruction mode. I had no idea they could do that much so quickly. Behold...

Missing - x1 bathroom, x1 bathroom wall, x1 hallway wall, x all power to the house except for 3 plugs in the kitchen...er, great. Can we change our minds already?

(Well, in saying that, this part nearly didn't start on the day that it was supposed to! The plumber couldn't find the water mains after a minute of looking and so promptly left. After about 5minutes, one of the builders found it (right by the front gate) and promptly called the plumber back).

Looking up at the bathroom directly in front of me from the hallway. The lounge wall on the left has all but disappeared.

The bathroom (or what was the bathroom). The toilet was in the corner where you can see the hole in the floor.

Standing in what is now the lounge - the shower would have been directly in front of me, up against the far wall where the light is in the photo.

That was a doorway on the right and a wall on the left, now it's just the hall way.

Standing in the lounge/dining room/kitchen looking at the destruction.

By the end of the day, it was rather apparent that my initial plan to stay in the house was not going to be a realistic one. So I packed an over night bag and went to a warm house, complete with working bathroom. (I should add that David was galavanting around the world for the first three weeks of this renovation - was it planned? We will probably never know for sure).

Day 2 

Then the builders came back and did it all again the next day...

Lounge cavity slider frames are in (left) and the second wall is out (right). Bathroom - no change.

No more wall...

Standing in the dining room/kitchen looking at the lounge.

Cavity slider frame is in, the bathroom is behind. Why they put the bathroom door back on, we will never know...

The cold icky weather we had during this initial bit of house-destruction did not help either. Do you know how much dust renovating makes? SO MUCH DUST. Add to that constant rain and you get cold wet muddy mess.

If you plan to renovate, my advice is to give up any plan of cleaning/dusting until every single work person has left your building.

More pictures to come - I'm trying to sort through the hundreds... and they get better, oh how they get better (she writes while sitting in her lovely lounge with the french doors open, the sun shining and the birds tweeting!).

xx
J (& D)