House Renovation. One Year On With Slight Delay. 11.07.12

Here we are back in July 2011. The photo here is the last one I took of the house without windows (on Saturday 9th of July 2011):

because on Monday 11th July 2011 the new double glazed windows were installed at the back of the house. Yay! That made the house water tight which meant that the plastering and second fix electrics and plumbing could commence. Whoooop whooop! And, isn't it amazing what a difference the windows make to how the house looks? It looked so blank and eerie before, but the windows make it look friendlier, and like an actual home. Hooray for uPVC...

Compared to today, Sunday 15th of July 2012 - a lot less builder mess at the back of the house; we now have a patio and domestic mess instead.

Here's the single-storey extension which forms the living area of the open-plan part of the downstairs. Above is DC's room, and above that again (in the roof) is hubby's office. You can see at the bottom corners of the photo some of the shrubs that have since been removed to make way for the patio.

Here's a shot from the same place today, Sunday 15th of July 2012. The builder mess has been replaced by toddler mess.

This is the main section of the extension - the two-storey part which comprises the kitchen below and our bedroom plus ensuite above. My office is tucked away in the original part of the roof behind this extension.

Ahh, a scene of domestic bliss today, with the washing on the line... And it's a lot easier to get in/out of the French doors now that we have steps rather than a pile of rubble.

Wooooo, we have a window in the new bathroom! We had to get planning permission for that since there was never a window in the side of the house upstairs; luckily it was granted or the bathroom would be a very dark place indeed.

Not much has changed round here since a year ago, except that we now live here hence our cars are parked on the drive.

Inside now, and here's the kitchen window on Monday 11th of July 2011. The door on the very far left of the photo goes out into the garage; one day (when we win the lottery) we're going to convert the double garage into a single garage and a utlity/boot/shower room. That's a long time off though.

Here's the same space today, Sunday 15th of Juyly 2012. My, what a lot of 'stuff' we have.

Looking across to the right, the three windows across the back of the house on Monday 11th of July 2011.

And the same space today.

And the same view but from the other side of the room.

I really must dig out my camera so that I can take some photos using a flash to offset the light coming in through the windows. Then you'd be able to see the washing on the radiator much more clearly. You can see I don't bother to tidy up before I take these photos.

A glimpse through the lovely new French doors on the day they were fitted in 2011. Garden looks, um, messy.

 And today, Sunday 15th of July 2012. If only I'd bothered to move the washing, what a lovely view we'd have.

Popping upstairs now, here's the inside shot of the bathroom window that we've just admired from outside. This was actually quite a momentous day because until then an old door that you see to the right had been propped up against the hole that the builders had knocked in the wall to create this space for the window, which meant absolutely no natural light came into this room. Once the window was in, we (mostly I) bemoaned the fact that it isn't bigger, but it's too late now :( You can see on the wall to the right below the window where the tiles from the old bathroom used to be on the wall. The grey line running vertically below the window shows where the old bathroom ended (to the right of the line) and the bedroom started (to the left of the line); we 'stole' that part of the bedroom, which consisted of a bank of wardrobes, to create this new bathroom.

And here's the bathroom today; my other bugbear is that we didn't have the sink centred under the window - why, oh why? I have no idea - and that the shaving point is stuck up in the middle of the wall. Other than that, I'm (mostly) happy with this room. When we win the lottery I shall get a plumber to move the sink and the electrician to move the socket.

 Through into our bedroom, here are the lovely windows. Don't they set off the breeze block nicely?

Slight improvement today, Sunday the 15th of July 2012, with plastered walls. No blinds/curtains yet though as we just can't decide what to have. Luckily we're not overlooked...

I know this post is all about the new windows, but I was obviously excited last year to see that the wardrobes were taking shape.

And here they are today, complete with doors to hide the mess within, and with the door through to the ensuite in the middle.

 Inside the ensuite, we have a window. So posh.

Same space, today. Buddha is clasping a starfish for some reason.

 And, last but not least, here's the window in DC's room. Plus lots of bits of wood.

And here's the window today. Plus lots of bits of stuff, in the dark recesses.

Phew. I think that pretty much brings me up to date with these year-on-year posts since the next lot of photos I have from 2011 are later on in July. Perhaps I can blog about something else in the coming days and give  us all a break.