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Things have started to look much in shape this week. The walls of the reception room are now painted, and 1/3 of the room have wooden floors. All electric works and plumbing/drainage are completed for the installation of kitchen on Monday.
Now, the bathroom walls are re-covered, tanked (water-proofed) and are ready for tiling. Electric works are completed too, with 5 new lights and all the wiring and plumbing done.
This past week has been a week of deliveries...so many things are delivered everyday, keeping track of things have been difficult. Now the storage room has no place to set foot, and the same goes for the bedroom. Half of the reception room is also occupied with kitchen stuff and other building materials. I received calls every half an hour or so by the delivery guys or Tomek on the status of delivery or delivered or undelivered products. In the midst of it, I decided to change the color of bathroom furnishings, ordered few things that are not going to work (I'll need to work on the return once all is over), and found that several deliveries came wrong, damaged or incomplete. Sorting that out was quite a work itself.
Now that almost all of the deliveries are completed, my worry has moved on to if everything fit in the way I imagined; The woodfloor looked too light, bathroom tiles too colorful, and appliances too big when I opened the packages. I guess I would never find out how they'll all look until the work is completed.
In the meantime, the flat I currently live in has been raided with the viewers and photographers this week. It really feels like an invasion of privacy, with people opening up the closet doors, turning on/off the taps, and lights, etc. I don't think I can stand this for too long.
I really hope this craziness will end very soon.
The refurbishment is finally getting into the re-building and decorating stage. Earlier last week was a bit depressing; all I saw was dust and destruction, but things are finally shaping up.
Now the wall in the reception room and ceiling in the bathroom are reconstructed. It takes a little getting used to not seeing a doorway to a tiny kitchen from the reception room that I used to have. Initially, I felt the room much smaller without it, but I realized it has to do with the construction materials half occupying the room.
As the project is delayed for about 1 week, Tomek, the site leader, and 2 guys came in on Saturday, working on a quiet decorating work, ie; painting. The ceiling in the reception room and bedroom walls are painted...and I love the color I've chosen (Dulux Vanilla Mist 4). The room looks absolutely different, much cozy and welcoming than what it used to be. Well worth the pain going through 10 color samples.
I've heard a lot about Polish workers in the UK, and now I see why the country can't live without them. They have been real troopers working on Saturdays, and with very thorough work. With every street in London literally going through refurbishments and building works, I see why they are so needed here.
Last week was probably the slowest in terms of visual progress, but now that the electric re-wiring is completed, things should start to look different. Plumbings still need to be done, but once completed, it's all decorative work.
All materials that I've ordered the past few weeks should be delivered in the next few days, nice and spanking new. The fun starts from here.
The layout change that I decided to make over the last weekend has changed the course of the building work...the builder found that the stud wall on the side of the reception room actually had two layers of walls, which is unnecessary, and would not let me install 5 cm diameter waste pipe I need for the washer/dryer unit in the bathroom. The suggestion was to get rid of one layer of the wall, and rebuild the wall to fit the waste pipe. It will cost me more, but that's the only way I could have 160+cm x 320cm space that I need to fit in everything I need (and want.)
The builder also found that the bathroom/kitchen ceiling could be lifted for 25cm, which is actually a great news, as there is no window for this room and I fear that it could be a bit claustrophobic. The old ceiling is now taken away from bathroom/kitchen area, and I now see the former ceiling. Looks like bathroom/kitchen area used to be part of the bedroom. I'm also seeing the reminiscent of the old door that used to be probably an entrance to the bedroom. Interesting to see the history of what has been done with this flat.
There are so much involved with more money spent than initially ear-marked on the building works, so I decided that I will do everything that I can think of to increase the property value...not something I thought of when I embarked on this project. The last bit of luxury that I thought I wouldn't need is a dishwasher. I never found the need for it, but I've been thinking of it after my friend in Germany told me that it uses less water and is better for the environment. I've been also talking with few people and realized that dishwasher means true luxury, especially for the flats with limited space such as in London. So here I am, going all out, with new dishwasher ordered to be installed with the new kitchen unit.
The place is really bare, with electric works being done with many holes in the ceiling and walls. It can't get barer than this....next week the re-building will start with some decorative work.
The gas work is completed today, so the stud wall between the bathroom and kitchen could come down soon.
Over the weekend, I went to the bathroom showrooms, and have decided to make changes with the layout.
It's a better layout, but this requires minimum measurement of 160cm (preferably more) horizontally. This can be done, but with the additional work on the walls.
I thought I'm good at sticking with a plan, but not sure if I can say that now.
With all the demolition taking place, one-third of the reception room was covered with debris. Feel awful for the environment...I cannot NOT do the refurbishment, but I will make sure that I do this in the right way, so any modifications needed in the later days will be minor.
My biggest challenge right now is the shade of paint. I have tested 7 samples over the past few days, and have not yet found the right one. Never thought finding the shade could be this difficult...and never knew I was this picky.
