Tomorrow we move...to the mobile home. Our landlord very generously stayed a few months over our contract but now it is time to let a paying tenant move in. The packing has been going well although I didn't realise how much junk we have. I am dreading opening up the containers to see what we actually brought from the UK nearly 3 years ago!
The mobile home is surprisingly spacious and we have managed to fit all the essentials inside. Unfortunately the gas cooker leaks so we got that out of the place and I have borrowed a gas hob and grill from Janet (Tigger) - Thanks Janet! I am actually looking forward to being close to the house. My friend has been trying to get me to change my mind because she is worried about our security while Daithi is away but I am sticking to my guns at the moment. Next week could be a different matter when Daithi is going away. We shall see. The boys seem quite pleased with their new room and are generally happy about living there for now.
We will be busy for the next few days at least. Tomorrow is Halloween and the boys are excited about trick or treating with their friends. It means a meal out too. Saturday I am in Dublin for the Knitting and Stitching show (I can't wait!!!) and Daithi is in charge of the boys. I hope they get on ok although Liam has a birthday party to go to so that will break up the day a bit.
I am hoping to get a broadband connection at the mobile home but that may be some time. Apologies if the blog gets a little bit behind....
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Things get better.. well almost...
After a good night's rest the rest of the bank holiday has passed without major argument or incident. I managed to get in my painting hours in the mornings and am really pleased with the finish of most of the windows. We just have to wait for the glass now!
On sunday we caught a glimpse of the most perfect rainbow. I couldn't manage get a full photo of it due to its size but it was a complete rainbow that framed our view of Youghal town. It lasted about 10 minutes before slowly disappearing. It cetainly improved my mood of the day. Would have been nice to find the gold at either end!
But all good things come to an end as they say.... we had a phone call today from the landlord the result being that we have to be out of the house by the end of the week. It had to happen some time. So it will be into the mobile home we go. It is perfectly livable now we have got new carpets etc. Daithi checked today that the hot water system works, which it does. But the oven does leak gas so we either have to find another or just manage with a camping gas hob and a microwave for a while. The boys aren't bothered in the slightest and have decided which toys to pack and which to put away already. My main concern is the cold. Next week is supposed to be very cold. However, I'm sure we will get used to it in time.
On sunday we caught a glimpse of the most perfect rainbow. I couldn't manage get a full photo of it due to its size but it was a complete rainbow that framed our view of Youghal town. It lasted about 10 minutes before slowly disappearing. It cetainly improved my mood of the day. Would have been nice to find the gold at either end!
But all good things come to an end as they say.... we had a phone call today from the landlord the result being that we have to be out of the house by the end of the week. It had to happen some time. So it will be into the mobile home we go. It is perfectly livable now we have got new carpets etc. Daithi checked today that the hot water system works, which it does. But the oven does leak gas so we either have to find another or just manage with a camping gas hob and a microwave for a while. The boys aren't bothered in the slightest and have decided which toys to pack and which to put away already. My main concern is the cold. Next week is supposed to be very cold. However, I'm sure we will get used to it in time.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
I think I'm losing it.....
It is bank holiday weekend in Ireland at the moment so of course it is raining! The weather hasn't helped to improve my mood. I think I must have woken on the wrong side of the bed this morning because I have spent most of the day snapping at the boys for doing things that wouldn't normally bother me.
The start of the day was ok. The plan was that every day this weekend I would go straight up to the house and finish painting the downstairs windows and boxes. I was there at 8.30am giving a final coat on all the relevant windows that needed them. Great....! It is such a relief to have them done at last. The next step of the plan was that Daithi would go and start putting in the glass which we had delivered a couple of months back. So far so good except that Daithi came back after about 20 minutes with an ashen face.... The double glazed units are the wrong size! We never even thought of checking the size of them when they arrived. We had a problem with the colour of the spacer inside the unit and we contacted the manufacturer about that but never dreamed that the size would be wrong (the depth is ~4mm out which means the window would have a very sunken look to it when the beading holding the glass in is set in place). Daithi made contact with the supplier and will speak to them again on Tuesday to get them remade. We could possibly work with the panes we have but it would mean remaking the beading - all that fiddly painting started my bad mood off. If it was our fault then we would have to live with it but we checked all the correspondence and the size we asked for is not the size we got so in my eyes we get replacements! It just means another delay and I am now giving up hope of being in the house by Christmas.
After that I have been a bear with a sore head most of the day and the boys have been on the receiving end I am sorry to say. At least we all had a bit of a break from my mood at a birthday party in Perks, Youghal. The aim is to have an early night tonight and wake refreshed and re-energised and in a much better mood.
The start of the day was ok. The plan was that every day this weekend I would go straight up to the house and finish painting the downstairs windows and boxes. I was there at 8.30am giving a final coat on all the relevant windows that needed them. Great....! It is such a relief to have them done at last. The next step of the plan was that Daithi would go and start putting in the glass which we had delivered a couple of months back. So far so good except that Daithi came back after about 20 minutes with an ashen face.... The double glazed units are the wrong size! We never even thought of checking the size of them when they arrived. We had a problem with the colour of the spacer inside the unit and we contacted the manufacturer about that but never dreamed that the size would be wrong (the depth is ~4mm out which means the window would have a very sunken look to it when the beading holding the glass in is set in place). Daithi made contact with the supplier and will speak to them again on Tuesday to get them remade. We could possibly work with the panes we have but it would mean remaking the beading - all that fiddly painting started my bad mood off. If it was our fault then we would have to live with it but we checked all the correspondence and the size we asked for is not the size we got so in my eyes we get replacements! It just means another delay and I am now giving up hope of being in the house by Christmas.
After that I have been a bear with a sore head most of the day and the boys have been on the receiving end I am sorry to say. At least we all had a bit of a break from my mood at a birthday party in Perks, Youghal. The aim is to have an early night tonight and wake refreshed and re-energised and in a much better mood.
Monday, October 20, 2008
When will the painting end?
Every spare moment that I am able is spent painting these fecking windows! I can smell white spirit everywhere. I actually enjoy it when I am doing it but I can only paint when Daithi is here or both the boys at school. This makes things very slow! I feel a bit pressured because we need the windows in before the plastering can be done. Thankfully the sashes for downstairs are almost complete but it is the fiddly bits that will hold the windows in which are the pain. The weather hasn't been good enough to take them all outside to spray paint so I have been doing them by hand and have now moved to a roller which is so much quicker although the finish isn't as good as the brush so I will do a final coat with the brush I think.
On saturday we were feeling shattered so we decided to have a break and head into Cork to the Modern Homes Show. The exhibition was the same as any selfbuild show and fortunately we didn't have to pay to get in. We only really went to see the CycloVac people about their central vacuum system, which is on my wish list for the house. The CycloVac seems to be a bit more poweful that say Beam or Vacuflo, but it has a bag inside which is something we want to avoid. We would prefer a cyclone system similar to that found in a Dyson. The guy on the stand was very informative and is coming to the house next week to give us an idea of what we need and how much it would cost ( a DIY kit of course!). We shall see..... The boys were really good. Shows such as these don't really hold a child's attention for too long. Liam was dressed as a mummy (Halloween costume of the moment) thoughout our trip which drew a few glances especially when we had our dinner in Scoozi's! A nice relaxing day for a change!
On saturday we were feeling shattered so we decided to have a break and head into Cork to the Modern Homes Show. The exhibition was the same as any selfbuild show and fortunately we didn't have to pay to get in. We only really went to see the CycloVac people about their central vacuum system, which is on my wish list for the house. The CycloVac seems to be a bit more poweful that say Beam or Vacuflo, but it has a bag inside which is something we want to avoid. We would prefer a cyclone system similar to that found in a Dyson. The guy on the stand was very informative and is coming to the house next week to give us an idea of what we need and how much it would cost ( a DIY kit of course!). We shall see..... The boys were really good. Shows such as these don't really hold a child's attention for too long. Liam was dressed as a mummy (Halloween costume of the moment) thoughout our trip which drew a few glances especially when we had our dinner in Scoozi's! A nice relaxing day for a change!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Getting closer
Cian was here again this weekend and it is always handy for Daithi to have an extra pair of hands to do some work although they do like to have long breaks for lunch etc.
All the stud work is now complete downstairs and part of upstairs too. The stairwell was a bit of a pain because it required some of the steel to be joined together to make the height. I was promoted to drill operator to screw the steel studs together while the lads kept them in place. I wasn't too bad at it either and was quite proud of my self!
The wiring has been completed for the two front reception rooms now so all that is needed to finish them is to put more insulation between the studs, then plasterboard and then plaster. We have a couple of numbers for decent plasterers in the Youghal area and are waiting to hear back from them. We shall see from their keenness if the recession is starting to bite..... My next job is to get my bath so I am off to buy it from a shop on ebay. Daithi is a bit sceptical about it but it looks exactly like what I want and the price is good too. I will post more details if I am successful.
All the stud work is now complete downstairs and part of upstairs too. The stairwell was a bit of a pain because it required some of the steel to be joined together to make the height. I was promoted to drill operator to screw the steel studs together while the lads kept them in place. I wasn't too bad at it either and was quite proud of my self!The wiring has been completed for the two front reception rooms now so all that is needed to finish them is to put more insulation between the studs, then plasterboard and then plaster. We have a couple of numbers for decent plasterers in the Youghal area and are waiting to hear back from them. We shall see from their keenness if the recession is starting to bite..... My next job is to get my bath so I am off to buy it from a shop on ebay. Daithi is a bit sceptical about it but it looks exactly like what I want and the price is good too. I will post more details if I am successful.
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