This week my Word of the Week is:
What a week we have had. In my meal plan blog post I said it was going to be a crazy, stressful week and I would say it has been just that. It has been easier with Stu here, he has had a weeks holiday from work.
I can't even remember what we did last weekend as it seems so long ago but the builders arrived on Monday to start work in the living room. Our living room is cold and the front wall is icy cold, we have no insulation on it as there isn't a cavity so the landlord suggested putting some insulated plaster board on the inside. It seemed a straightforward job, take the skirting board off, the coving at the top of the wall and the radiator then put the boards up using this sticky plaster stuff and that was it. hahaha There was so more to it!
When the skirting board came off so did some of the plaster exposing the brick wall, there was woodworm in the skirting board, there was no thing to drain the radiator so they just lifted it off the wall and tied it up so it wouldn't fall or bend the pipes and one of the floorboards was nearly rotten. The plasterboards had to be cut exact and around the window which took a lot of work and by the end of Monday the sides of the window were done, behind the radiator and there was just one piece to go above the window.
Despite the whole wall not being finished it did actually feel warmer in here on Monday night. We only put the heating on to check the radiator was fine after being moved. On Tuesday the builders were back to finish the work, by lunchtime the boards were stuck in place with the one about the window held up with poles which we were told not to move. Eek! They came back on Wednesday and checked their work and took the poles away and everything stayed in place. Since then we've not had the heating on as it's been warm enough and we noticed on Wednesday when the bin men came we hardly heard them, it turns out it has sound proofed the room to.
I would love to say that the living room is finished but there is still work to do. Around the window needs plasterboard on, the gaps between the boards need filling in and the skirting board and coving need to be put back up. It should be done by the end of next week.
On Wednesday after Stu had put the carpet back down in the living room he got to work decorating Ellie's bedroom which worked out perfectly as he took Ellie's bed down and she slept in Becky's bed while she was doing her night shifts. Stu was cursing Ellie, why does she have to pick the hardest, patterned wallpaper to put up. hehehe. As I write this yesterday afternoon Stu is back upstairs finishing off the wallpaper.
Becky had an extra few hours at work on Tuesday for some fire safety training. Everyone was doing it and she said it was actually quite fun. She got to use a fire extinguisher to put out a real fire, it was just in a barrel but it was fire all the same. At least now she feels confident she would know what to do if a fire broke out in the care home.
We were at the hospital yesterday morning for a check on Ellie's hearing aids. It was just to check how she is getting on with them, how they're working for her and I think to make sure she was looking after them. The guy we saw was very impressed and did all of the checks and said she will have one more appointment next year and then she will be discharged and it's up to her to go back to them if she has a problem. It seems like such a big thing as when Ellie was a baby we were there every 3 months for a hearing test until she was about 3 years old and then 6 months until she was about 6 years old and then every year since. It will be the end of an era.
I hope you have all had a good week?
You have been busy this week. It's always a pain having disruptive work done but it's so nice when it's all finished. My husband put the wallpaper in the girls room upside down!! They live with it. Glad that all is well with Ellies hearing aids and good to know that Becky knows how to use a fire extinguisher now. xx
ReplyDeleteSounds like a big week of work to the house. Shame about all the extra unpleasant finds but it's good to hear that they were fixed. I'm sure that once all the mess is gone and everything is back in place it will feel so warm and cozy. What a bonus that the insulation acts as sound proof too! I saw the wallpaper Ellie picked on instagram. It looks great but I can imagine that it must be hard to put it up. How great that everything is going well with Ellie's hearing aids and now she will be discharged. It's been a lot of years with so many appointments. It really is an end of an era!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness. House repairs are rarely straightforward. We've taken down boards and found there is so much more to do. How fabulous that you are warmer, with the added bonus of sound proofing. Hopefully it will keep it cooler in the summer too. I'd love to use a fire extinguisher on a test fire. Lucky Becky.
ReplyDeleteArgh these things are never as straightforward as they first appear! Better to get it all sorted at once though. Karen Early Rising Mum
ReplyDeleteGlad that your living room feels warmer now that the insulated plaster board insulation. Sounds like it was a bit of a mission getting it put up! Hope the work got finished ok this week and that Stu has finished putting up the wallpaper in Ellie’s bedroom. I can imagine it must feel very much like the end of an era with her hearing appointments about to end. Glad that Ellie is getting on so well with her hearing aids though. Well done to Becky on her fire safety training. #WotW
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of work on the house. Hopefully having it done will make the house warmer and hopefully lower heating bills too. We don't do wallpaper as I know we would have no clue and I would choose something too fancy lol. I'm glad Ellie's appointment went well #WotW
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