Paint and tiles

Just a reminder of where we were a year ago. This photograph was taken on 12 February 2021:

And this is a view (from a different angle) of where we are up to today - note the same model, wearing the same jacket):

It's been another busy week at the house. Rob and his apprentice have been doing the repetitive work of fitting lights and power sockets, our joiners have made progress with the cladding, the heating system has run for a few days to dry out the more recently plastered walls, and an enormous pile of porcelain tiles for the ground floor and upstairs bath- and shower-rooms has arrived.

whilst painted, the dining area shows that Pat has still not resolved the roof-light issue to his satisfaction

the kitchen and utility share the colour of the dining area

the Ecodan tank and accessories may be enclosed one day .....

..... this being a rather better image of their complexity

with the offer of control-by-app fun to come

Knightsbridge and  Italian brands trying to give our skip a touch of class

there's a clear view from the front door through to the back of the house

the meter box has got complicated, with protection bottom right for the cable going to the distribution box, and warnings that PV power supplements the incoming 240v

we're so taken with the cladding that there will be far too many images of it

and now we have some rainwater downpipes

the cladding is fixed with stainless steel star-header screws and has a black building paper behind it

here's some more

moving back to the utility room, here's the view through the kitchen to the back .....

and here from the kitchen through the dining area

and here is a casually loose-laid floor tile .....

and here is a rather surprised Elizabeth looking at how many there are piled in the sitting room

this goes under the porcelain tiles to protect against movement in the concrete floor

and this is the black building paper

the study is the same colour as our bedroom

thus

the label shows the cunning way paints are mixed these days to match competitors' colours

yes, there are cracks - thankfully as expected where the drying-out effected by having the heating on for three days and nights has moved the paster away from the door linings - this will be covered by architrave

detail - it's maybe 3mm wide

we came across the plan of the upstairs underfloor heating circuits - 7 areas (oddly, two in the main bedroom) and 7 thermostats

and here are their control valves, thermostat receivers and pump (the wiring will be tidied up)

just a little ceiling painting on the landing to allow the lights and smoke alarm to be fitted

and another hapless attempt to capture the beauty of Melvyn's plastering on the curve in the hall

just a reminder for us of the double glazing specification (reflecting next door's outbuilding)

and finally, the view from the community garden of the back of the house