It has taken a while and a lot of organising from my wife but finally we now have a wonderful garage conversion which has created a home gym room and also a lovely larger dining room.

Yesterday was the ‘icing on the cake’ as the carpet fitters came and fit the carpet in the gym.  The laminate was already down and the painting already completed.  It is amazing the extra space and room that the new rooms give to the house.  It just feels bigger all over.  OK, we have lost a garage but we have gained two great living spaces.  Highly recommended to anyone considering this.

With the garage conversion in full swing now it was time over the weekend and today to put the first fix electrics and plumbing into place.  I was surpirsed how easy the plumbing part was actually.

It took about 1.5 hours to add an additional radiator to the new garage conversion.  It surpirsed me how easy and fast it was really.  The first part was to saw through the floor upstairs (Helen had a worried look on at this stage!) in order to get to the existing pipe work.  Then all that was done was to tee of the existing pipe into that room and then send the new pipe through the floor into the new room.  All they had to do was put a small wole in the plasterboard which will be covered up when the plasterer comes on Thursday.  With these plastic pipes it really seems quite easy.

Well, what a day!  It all started with an early get up for both of us and from then on it has been non stop.  It has had hard work, snow, arguments, confrontations, excellent neighbour bonding and much more.  Let me explain all.

I was up very early in the morning (for a holiday morning anyway) at around 0730 to the noise of heavy plant machines moving around outside the window.  If was day 2 of the garage conversion today and the materials for the ‘floating floor’ were arriving with construction soon after.  But the day started with this far from my mind.

Is I mentioned there were large lorries coming past my window first thing in the morning as there is a new development of houses being constructed at the end of our road.  Well I say the end of the road but it is really only a few metres away.  There has been an on going dispute with the planning of this development with all the residents in the area (including me) and at this point we had to get the council planning officer down to the site to sort out some problems as there was very large lorries coming through at rather fast speeds and a lot of agro from the workmen, including swearing at residents etc.  Rowland Homes have gone down in my estimation now because of that.  Anyway that is a post for later in the week when I have got time to post more on the subject.

With the residents planning officer and CEO from Rowland Homes debate going on for about 2 hours in the street it was already 1100.  Then it was time to clean the birds and rabbits (although we never got around to the rabbits).  In the meanwhile the delivery for the materials for the garage was delayed and therefore work wouldn’t start till the afternoon.

It was freezing cleaning the aviary out this afternoon, especially for my pregnant wife who did ever so well to muck in and help out as much as she could.  Every 3 -4 months the birds aviary needs a really good clean out, more than the daily checking over and cleaning that it usually gets.  It took ages cleaning all of the water and feeding bowls, mopping the floor of the aviary and also cleaning the cabinet that is inside.  Anyway 2 hours later and two very cold people later (!) we have the job done and the birds we all in a nice clean home again.  The problem is having to shepherd the birds in and out of the shed part while you are cleaning as to prevent them flying off.  So with all this time going on we never got round to the rabbits at all.  They are tomorrows priority although they don’t seem bothered.

Next the delivery arrived for the garage and so that was hoisted onto the drive way and the man was paid.  The floor was then battened out ready for leveling, glueing and boarding tomorrow.

That left my meeting with a client about a site at around tea time and the day was gone.  Oh and I finished the day getting my hair cut.  Busy busy busy!