Moving in
The first thing we do in the new flat is try to figure out what we’re doing with the place for real. What to paint. What to fix. What stuff the previous owner abandoned in the place and thought we’d not notice. What stuff the previous owner was contractually obliged to leave in the place, but didn't. That sort of thing.
So the next month consists of packing, moving, getting quotes, and breaking various social engagements so we can pack, move or get quotes. We see people who help us move (thanks Rachel), but not much else.
The fun bits were looking at kitchens. Seeing various space or labour saving devices of all shapes and sizes. Faucets you can turn on when your hands are covered in batter without getting them filthy. Corner cabinets that are fully accessible and use the whole corner. Drawers you can open without bending down.
So the wifemonster and I make the list of what we want. Then we start accommodating reality and rein that in a bit. We skimp on some appliances to save a bit of cost. We go for the countertops that cost a tenth of the really pretty blue corian. We give up on the cabinets above the island because there’s no way to physically support it. Everything is planned and in order, so we say "go" to the builders and they start. They say it will take 3 weeks and we’ll be done by the time our old lease is up.
It doesn't.
I'm not going to recount everything that goes awry, just the notable bits. The first parts go really smoothly. Tearing down the walls and putting up new ones is a breeze. It all goes well until we have to deal with the kitchen supplier, Howdens. A prefect example -- they sell countertops that don’t fit their counters. They only sell the one size counter. And they sell countertops that are too small to fit. Of course these are the countertops we'd ordered. So we have to send them back and order more expensive countertops and wait for them. Everything is like that with them.
There are things that are the fault of the old owners too. The door to the place is too small for appliances to go through. This explains why they left stuff like a bed and wardrobe -- they probably could not fit it out the door. Our fridge sits in the front hallway for a week (this was after it had to be sent back for being damaged). The builders end up taking the door and frame off to get the appliances and kitchen bits into the flat. We decide that door's got to go too. We replace it with a much bigger doors: 80 x 250 cm. We're hoping that will be enough to get anything through, but I’m still dubious. You see, when they converted the house into flats, they didn’t have enough room for both flat doors to be next to each other. They put them in at 45° angles. Which means our 70ish cm door was effectively 50cm, while all appliances are around 60cm. I’m still worried some of our furniture might not fit through it. Sigh.
All the while we have a rice cooker and a microwave. It's fine when we're still in the old flat, but once we were out of that we just have no way to cook. I eventually get sick of rice -- no mean feat. Eating out is not an option since we're spending all our money on the flat. Eventually they finish enough of the kitchen to start using the hob. This is the 2nd week of Sept, only 3 weeks late at this point. So we don't starve (spoiler alert).
Once all the work is done and dusted, we still have the utilities to deal with. That's a story for another time.
So the next month consists of packing, moving, getting quotes, and breaking various social engagements so we can pack, move or get quotes. We see people who help us move (thanks Rachel), but not much else.
The fun bits were looking at kitchens. Seeing various space or labour saving devices of all shapes and sizes. Faucets you can turn on when your hands are covered in batter without getting them filthy. Corner cabinets that are fully accessible and use the whole corner. Drawers you can open without bending down.
So the wifemonster and I make the list of what we want. Then we start accommodating reality and rein that in a bit. We skimp on some appliances to save a bit of cost. We go for the countertops that cost a tenth of the really pretty blue corian. We give up on the cabinets above the island because there’s no way to physically support it. Everything is planned and in order, so we say "go" to the builders and they start. They say it will take 3 weeks and we’ll be done by the time our old lease is up.
It doesn't.
I'm not going to recount everything that goes awry, just the notable bits. The first parts go really smoothly. Tearing down the walls and putting up new ones is a breeze. It all goes well until we have to deal with the kitchen supplier, Howdens. A prefect example -- they sell countertops that don’t fit their counters. They only sell the one size counter. And they sell countertops that are too small to fit. Of course these are the countertops we'd ordered. So we have to send them back and order more expensive countertops and wait for them. Everything is like that with them.
There are things that are the fault of the old owners too. The door to the place is too small for appliances to go through. This explains why they left stuff like a bed and wardrobe -- they probably could not fit it out the door. Our fridge sits in the front hallway for a week (this was after it had to be sent back for being damaged). The builders end up taking the door and frame off to get the appliances and kitchen bits into the flat. We decide that door's got to go too. We replace it with a much bigger doors: 80 x 250 cm. We're hoping that will be enough to get anything through, but I’m still dubious. You see, when they converted the house into flats, they didn’t have enough room for both flat doors to be next to each other. They put them in at 45° angles. Which means our 70ish cm door was effectively 50cm, while all appliances are around 60cm. I’m still worried some of our furniture might not fit through it. Sigh.
All the while we have a rice cooker and a microwave. It's fine when we're still in the old flat, but once we were out of that we just have no way to cook. I eventually get sick of rice -- no mean feat. Eating out is not an option since we're spending all our money on the flat. Eventually they finish enough of the kitchen to start using the hob. This is the 2nd week of Sept, only 3 weeks late at this point. So we don't starve (spoiler alert).
Once all the work is done and dusted, we still have the utilities to deal with. That's a story for another time.