22 February: Snowing and 0.7C. We went to bed early last night, knowing that a thick goose down duvet supplied the warmth our heating system couldn’t. No heat. No hot water. No boiler. No wonder. The central heating system had an airlock caused by draining and moving various radiators from point A to point B. Perhaps we should have expected problems – the radiators banged like firecrackers and then …. nothing.
But all’s well now. Andy-the-Builder had the system up and running again within an hour of his arrival. We now know how to bleed a gravity-feed heating system and reset the boiler if it packs up again. Note however we’re getting a new boiler in a few weeks, so knowing how to reset the old one won’t help a tinkliepoo if the new one packs-up.
Plastic sheets were taped in the hallway to keep the dusty mess of demolishing plaster walls ‘some what’ contained and confined from the rest of the house. By lunchtime, all the plasterboard was removed and just timber frames remained. I grabbed my camera and shot a few pictures through the plastic sheets. By afternoon tea break, the timber frames were gone, steel supports held the ceiling in place, and the plastic sheeting came down. Daylight flooded the dining room and kitchen, and amazingly it wasn’t even sunny – it was grey and dull and sort-of-snowing. The light spilled from the back of house, through the dining room, down the hallway and right toward the front of the house. Heaven.
We have one small problem that requires a fix. Our house has less than expected space between the ceiling and the upstairs flooring, so this means that the steel lintel will be visible by a few inches from the ceiling. That’s not the problem. I can live with that. The problem is the lintel might hang down a bit where a cupboard should be fitted, so a bit of clever carpentry is needed. We’ll hear Andy’s thoughts on this Monday morning.
No work this weekend. Andy-the-Builder takes off weekend unless he’s behind schedule. So far he’s well ahead of schedule. Here are two photos: Before and today.
Have a lovely weekend, friends, and see you on Monday! xx
The Chalk Hills Kitchen 
Wow; you are living there as it is being built/remodeled? Fascinating
Yes indeed, on both counts. I’d rather live here and sleep in my own bed than stay in a hotel.
Oh, Misk! Been there, done that. It isn’t easy to live with/through a renovation, but it’ll be worth it. We had to rebuild a portion of our house after Hurricane Katrina brought a huge oak tree down on it. We managed better than I would have thought. Good luck to you. I’m enjoying following the progress.
This renovation covers 2/3 of the ground floor, so at the moment everything is sitting in the living room, including us! It’s the sub-freezing temps that cause me the most problem. And the snow. Happily we have a big fireplace. :). Glad that you’re coming along for the remodelling journey!
Can’t wait to see the finished result.
🙂 Mandy
You and me both!
oh my goodness, time to rush out and buy a new dreamland heating pad for each of you (also double as bread proving mats – so useful) but look at the light flooding in to your house! it is all going to be so very wonderful when it is done. xx Jo
The sun just came out for the first time a moment ago, and you wouldn’t believe the amount of light that spilled through the house. Amazing difference. Heating pad. Oh yes. Good idea. It’s been added to shopping list. 🙂
Hi Misky, it looks great. You are going to have so much more space, even though you are not actually extending. And of course, the light.
It will make a world of difference in this house, which has always been a bit dark for my liking.
This dust storm will soon pass and you will be cooking up some dream dishes in your new kitchen. Love the updates!
Glad that you find them interesting, and happy to have you along for the journey! 🙂
You will forget all the dust and mess and have a light filled home before you know it.
Another month, I reckon, and then the dust will start to settle. 🙂
I remember we lived in our home during the renovations, too. I would also prefer to sleep in my own bed but it was no fun, especially when the kitchen and bath were being done. This year we are taking our projects outdoors to build a deck and playground.
The plasterer was due here today, but he’s coming on Friday instead. We still have dust raining down on us like volcanic ash. Gosh.