I haven't left town!!
It's been so long since I've posted people must think I've left town! As expected, the bathroom re-building work has taken a LOT longer than anyone predicted, in fact I took the first shower in our new room just this Saturday. The tiler had to return 5 times to make good problems, not the least of which was grout which turned back to sand on the floors. All the new floors. He'd never seen it before he said, but I suspect they didn't mix the cement mixture in the right proportions. Then the builders dropped some equipment and chipped 3 tiles in different places, then some tiles were loose.
Like I said the M. curse strikes again. We even have an intermittent fault in a power point which needs replacing. The painting has been substandard (in our opinion anyway) and the painter has had 3 attempts at restaining our woodwork. Now DH is planning to sand and re-do it himself eventually, he will certainly do a better job than the 40 year experienced bloke I'm sure. It seems as soon as they say "insurance job" that they try to do the quickest cheapest job they can get away with. Well, they didn't at our house, we were on top of things the whole time, I haven't stirred from home except for a a few quick outings for nearly 10 weeks. Did I hear you say "cabin fever" loudly !! Thank goodness for the internet and telephone, that's all I can say.
Today I was just getting ready to go out to visit the grandchildren for lunch when the electrician phoned to say he'd be over directly to fix the power point. Sorry, no appointment, no can do !! I've put my life on hold for long enough, so he'll have to call and make a day some other time. In the meantime, we haven't signed off on the work yet, so they haven't been paid by the insurance company yet.
We certainly learned some lessons during this exercise. Some of them include a) you can't trust a tradesman to do what he says he will unless it's in writing and b) you have to check the progress of the work at the end of every day to pick up any problems early so they can be fixed before the next step or they can't be fixed at all and finally c) custom made fixtures and fittings cost a bomb!!!
The 3 way bathroom is now very modern and quite stylish, I've tried to suggest a swanky resort bathroom with rolled towels, scented candles, bamboo mats and stone containers on the porcelain vanity unit. Now I just have to keep it clean and tidy !
Did someone mention a holiday when all this work was finished? Bring on Easter, 4 whole days of nothing to do but munch Hot Cross Buns and chocolate eggs.
Like I said the M. curse strikes again. We even have an intermittent fault in a power point which needs replacing. The painting has been substandard (in our opinion anyway) and the painter has had 3 attempts at restaining our woodwork. Now DH is planning to sand and re-do it himself eventually, he will certainly do a better job than the 40 year experienced bloke I'm sure. It seems as soon as they say "insurance job" that they try to do the quickest cheapest job they can get away with. Well, they didn't at our house, we were on top of things the whole time, I haven't stirred from home except for a a few quick outings for nearly 10 weeks. Did I hear you say "cabin fever" loudly !! Thank goodness for the internet and telephone, that's all I can say.
Today I was just getting ready to go out to visit the grandchildren for lunch when the electrician phoned to say he'd be over directly to fix the power point. Sorry, no appointment, no can do !! I've put my life on hold for long enough, so he'll have to call and make a day some other time. In the meantime, we haven't signed off on the work yet, so they haven't been paid by the insurance company yet.
We certainly learned some lessons during this exercise. Some of them include a) you can't trust a tradesman to do what he says he will unless it's in writing and b) you have to check the progress of the work at the end of every day to pick up any problems early so they can be fixed before the next step or they can't be fixed at all and finally c) custom made fixtures and fittings cost a bomb!!!
The 3 way bathroom is now very modern and quite stylish, I've tried to suggest a swanky resort bathroom with rolled towels, scented candles, bamboo mats and stone containers on the porcelain vanity unit. Now I just have to keep it clean and tidy !
Did someone mention a holiday when all this work was finished? Bring on Easter, 4 whole days of nothing to do but munch Hot Cross Buns and chocolate eggs.