Getting ever closer to completion...

We're almost there! 

We've put our notice in on our rental property and are now in the countdown phase to completion - it only seems like yesterday that I started to blog and we can't believe how fast this year has gone! Whilst there still looks like a tremendous amount to complete, pace has quickened and there are at least 4-5 guys on site each day. 

Gas reconnection

Last week Rob was spending a lot of time on the phone talking to the gas company about our reconnection. Frustratingly when they initially disconnected our supply they never mentioned that the pipe was too old to be reconnected and that we'd need a whole new gas pipe. So when they came to reconnect they then let us know this crucial fact meaning we were delayed by a week whilst the builders laid a new pipe. Thankfully this was not as difficult to achieve as we thought it might be and the builders successfully managed to run a channel with the new pipe behind their large shipping container which looked like it might be in the way. So this week we now have gas! This means we can now get the heating going to dry out and warm up the house. 

Decorations

Work is continuing at a really rapid rate on the internal decorations, plastering and internal joinery. It's so exciting seeing the rooms coming together and taking shape before our eyes. We've been brave and selected our paint colours and we hope that they work well together and create a proper style to the house. It's a lot of pressure but our only consolation is that we can always repaint if we (or everyone else) hate the colour! 

Money

It's tight, really tight! We'll be hoping Santa pays for Christmas this year! 

So here are the all important pictures: 

The scaffolding is down!!

We're now almost 7 months into the build and the scaffolding has finally come down!!! We are so excited! 

It looks so different without all the poles and boards! The roof is complete and there are temporary window frames in place until the actual windows turn up in two and a bit weeks time - hopefully! 

We've seen evidence that they've been manufacturered and are getting ready to be delivered which is encouraging! 

So now that the outside structure is pretty much complete thoughts are turning inside to paint colours and tiling! Here are some piccies of the bathrooms which are now almost fully tiled.

This is the master ensuite. With Fired Earth Cromarty tiles on the walls and Newlyn wood effect tile on the floor and bath panel. 

This is the guest shower room which is also Fired Earth Newlyn wood effect on the floor (unseen) and Matt white Bilbao on the walls. We're gonna go for a dark grey grout to give a slightly industrial feel and also minimise any mold/damp discolouration! 

The builders have also been busy plastering and I just love the pink tones of drying plaster - it's so pretty! 

The plastering is set to continue this week and next as the entire inside gets drylined and redone. It's then going to be ready for decorations and flooring! 

So here are some other final pictures:

Front porch still to be built but now that the scaffolding is down it can be done! 

Paint colour choosing! Tip number 1: use a sheet of lining paper and paint patches to stick on different sides of the room - that way you can see the effect of subtle light differences! Tip number 2: Dulux Visualiser app for smartphones and tablets is amazingly clever! 

And before we go...we're not sure whether our builders are in need of some light entertainment or whether someone has another life we don't know about but this wig was left hanging up this weekend! 

Captions by comment box please!! 

Hope that keeps you going to the next post which I truly hope will be quicker appearing than this one! 

Luv n hugs 

Jo & Rob

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