ORANGERY UPDATE ..........

So much snow arrived here and it's not really melting ! ..... but, it does look magical and pretty and so lovely to have at Christmas. 

Orangery and window are all done but there is so much more to do. 

Some of the flooring is down and the plastering is done but, electrics need to be finished, it all needs painting , still some carpentry to be done and we will have to wait until early February for the new kitchen but, we are getting there. It's lovely to get a full view of the garden. See all of the snow on the roof ?

It hasn't been too disruptive and, all of the different trade guys have been brilliant. 

I'll show you more when it starts to get prettier !!!!

XXXX

GETTING VERY UGLY in the KITCHEN & ORANGERY PRE - INSTALLATION ..........

I think I was lulled into a false sense of security ! All was going swimmingly ..... not much dust and walls going up. Then came the moving of the boiler 😱 I don't know if this is of any interest but, hang on in there .... there are pretty pictures of the new Orangery { I'm calling it an Orangery as that is what the company who are building it are calling it !} at the end .....

It has been a major task ! .....

So many pipes to move but, they only have the gas pipes to deal with so they should be finished with that job today. 

The Company making ' The Orangery " sent me a video yesterday of it being built but it wouldn't upload. Maybe it's the mp4 format ..... I don't think it's too big.  I tried filming the video on my phone but that didn't work either so, I have taken some screen shots to show you. 

It still has to be painted but it's nearly finished. 

Didn't have anything to cook on last night so we had take away ..... it arrived stone cold ! We ate it though ! 

Will be back with the next chapter. 

XXXX

.......... and SO IT BEGINS ..........

We are now a week in to our building work. Our old conservatory was, in my opinion, rather nice and complimented our late Victorian house but, as most of you know, after over 30years, it had fallen into disrepair and was rotten and leaking { mostly due to the con man who built it !!! }

Still, we managed thirty years from it but, it is now time for it to go.

Here's the outside of the old conservatory .....

..... and here's the inside, empty of all furniture etc. .....

 

..... and here's what it looks like now 😱😱😱 !!!

We have had progress since the last photograph was taken and have foundations, some wall built and floor joists in. It's not been dusty at all but, that could all change when they knock down the wall on the left to open it all to the kitchen.

progress ..... with some of the wall built and floor joists.

It has to get ugly before it gets pretty !!!!!

XXXX

all photos by me

PROJECT MANAGER !!! ..........

Sorry ..... it's been a while { slight understatement ! } ..........

My excuse ? I have taken on the role of Project Manager ! It is now getting close for the building works to start on our new conservatory. The builder should be starting in August  ..... SHOULD being the operative word ! The builder said he would be popping round last Wednesday ..... he rang and said he was caught up and would come on Thursday ..... I haven't seen or heard from him since ! I rang him ..... no answer, nothing, rien, nada, niente, nichts !!! Lets hope I hear from him next week  🤞

This is our present conservatory. It's over thirty years old ..... it's rotten and leaking and, if you've got a spare half an hour, I'll tell you why it's rotten and leaking. Thirty years ago we thought we would have a conservatory. Through a friend, we found this guy who , we thought, could interpret our ideas . He was a great admirer of William Morris and knew a lot about the period. I wanted it to look a bit Gothic and not look like the ' run of the mill ' type of conservatory and to blend into the rest of our late Victorian house. I showed him what I wanted like the gothic windows and he suggested a few things and we agreed that he should do it.  He got someone else to do the footings and the brickwork and they did a wonderful job. 

See that return between the conservatory and the kitchen wall ? That wall is going to be knocked down and opened up into the kitchen. That return is just a damp waste of space. It will become part of the conservatory.

This is the William Morris look a like !!!

The brickwork completed, he came back and, after paying him a third { which we thought was fair as he had to get materials etc. } he did the window  frame work 

This is what he did ..... and then, he buggered off for 18 months leaving the woodwork exposed to the elements ! We think he spent the third of the money that we gave him on his debts and then had to do another job to get the money for the materials for our job ! ..... and thats not the end of it. Now, thirty years ago it was the ' thing ' to have stripped pine in old houses so, I wanted the inside of the windows to be wood and the outside painted green. When he finally returned, he said to me, " wouldn't you prefer the green to be on the inside ' to which I replied " NO ". I didn't think any more of it until we realised after he was long gone, that he had obviously painted the wrong side of the windows so, he put them in the wrong way round which meant the glazing bars were on the outside and all of the rain and snow sat on them, which, after a few years rotted the wood ! There were lots of other things ..... cracked glass that he hid with beading to name but one !

AND THEN .....

he had the nerve to come back and demand more money as he didn't think he charged enough !!! Needless to say, he didn't get any ! 

But, considering all of this happened, it did last over thirty years { sort of ! } 

Fast forward thirty years and this is an artists impression of what our new conservatory will look like. As in all projects, nothing ever seems to run smoothly and, driving home from meeting a friend, I got a phone call from the Conservatory company. They said that this has never happened before {?} but, because of Covid and Brexit, our conservatory, which was due to be erected mid September, will have to be put back ..... they have had trouble getting supplies and joiners etc. I thought she was going to say it would be months but, at the moment, we are looking at October..... I could never be a property developer !!! 

So, therein lies the tale of our conservatory !

Oh, and , just to show you so you get an idea on the inside, here's a photograph and explanation ... ish ! 

In this photograph taken from our breakfast room, our kitchen is on the right and the conservatory is on the left. Those cupboards and wall behind them in the kitchen will be knocked through into the conservatory so that it will all be open. 

We will be having a new kitchen but thats another story !!!

Also, so sorry for not commenting much lately ..... being a project manager takes up a lot of time !

XXXX

A WET WEEKEND ............

It was a very wet weekend here in Hertfordshire .....

I've also had a face like a wet weekend ..... this broken elbow lark is getting pretty frustrating. Half of the things that I want to do I can't and the other half take a zillion times longer ! The most excitement that I get is going to either the fracture clinic or to see the physiotherapist !  I am quite a patient person and also a glass half full , flowing over kind of a gal but the healing of a broken elbow is a long process !!! I still have numbness in my hand but , it is all improving so I can't complain and as I always say, there are always so many others far worse off than me. It could have been far worse. 

Not being able to drive is a bit annoying as well !!! The doctor said the elbow doesn't usually straighten completely but, I can live with that. I told him how grateful I was to him for his skill in putting me back together considering I did a silly thing .... he told me he was pleased he could help me and that it was just his job. He was quite impressed with my knowledge of anatomy !!!  .... do you know that the nerve heals 1mm per day so that's why it takes so long for the numbness to go, and, considering I injured the median nerve at the elbow, it's got a long way to go !  I'm just so annoyed with myself for ruining a perfectly good arm but, that's why we have the word accident isn't it ? !!! 

OK ..... thats enough self pity for one day ..... has anyone out there broken their elbow ? I'm sorry to only talk about broken bones but that's about all thats going on in my life at the moment ! ..... oh, and the conservatory is leaking but, that's another story. 

UPDATE : Just read a story about a man, age 57,  who was celebrating his  wedding anniversary, who went to the toilet, fell down the stairs and is now paralysed from the waist down .... puts a broken elbow into perspective ..... I've given myself a good talking to and a slap round the face !!! 

XXXX