A bit about Bamboo

The the wood floor that we have chosen for the house was not by any means an easy find! We searched for months and months trying to find a floor that did everything we wanted.

Firstly it had to be dark. In the US you can source all manner of beautiful dark, baked oak flooring materials that look spectacular, but for some reason over here nearly everything is based around light oak, and it is very hard to find a proper dark wood floor.

Secondly it had to be refined. We didn't want a rustic, farmhouse finish as it just wouldn't go with the house. We found all manner of oak floors that could be baked or dyed down to the right colour, but none with the finish we wanted.

Thirdly it had to be stable over under-floor heating, which generally means going for what's called "engineered" rather than solid boards. A thin layer (usually around 5-10mm) of the real wood is backed with a ply wood substrate. This is more stable under changes of temperature and won't dry out and "cup" like solid wood can.

Well after much searching I finally stumbled upon a product hidden away in a flooring company's warehouse. Based on strand-woven bamboo of all things, the boards we have not only meet all three of our criteria above but, as bamboo is a fast growing wood, are extremely environmentally friendly to boot as they are made from easily replenishable stocks.



After all the searching to finally see the floor going down is an amazing sight.

All we have to do now is keep people off it with boots and high-heels and pray that we can avoid any surprise panda attacks...

Day 193 - Ovens and hobs

The new ovens and hob went in today in the kitchen and look great. I'm not so sure about the oven they have supplied. The one I wanted was out of stock so they gave me an upgrade to the top of the range model but it's got a funky sliding door mechanism that is just a bit too fiddly for my liking. I may have to back it!

I painted the front and back doors today in the light blue that we've chosen. It's a bit of a shock to see it for the first time but by the time I get the second coat, brass work and the canopy on it should look great.

Work on the floor continues as well. Nearly all of the first floor is now done.

Oh, and good news; I've found a new plumber, he starts today, he can hit my deadlines so they'll be no delay AND he's cheaper than Jamie was going to be. If he can get his head around the heat pump and get it all working then that's definitely a result!

   

Day 192 - Floor and Kitchen Kick-off

What a difference a day makes!

I was on site this morning at 7am to meet the kitchen fitters. A lovely chap and his dad make up the two man team who have really cracked on today. We have kitchen units!

The flooring guys were back for day two today and laid the floor in the master bedroom. It looks amazing! The guys are really pleased with the floor and want to use it in their brochure. They may also want a web site doing shortly, so I may be able to pay them in trade!

I also met up with the new plumber today who turned out to be a nice chap also. Very go ahead and keen to get stuck in straight away. At last!

Full steam ahead!

        

Day 191 - Plumber Implosion!

Slight problem last week - my plumber Jamie disappeared from site on Thursday with all his tools, leaving his keys behind. After much chasing in vain I finally got an email from him saying that he was unable to continue for health reasons.

I think I may have invented some whole new swear words that day!

So I'm in the process of sourcing a new plumber to complete the work and get the all important heat pump up and running for me, together with the bathrooms, harvester and water pipes. I'll let you know how I get on.

In other news I've had a packed bank holiday weekend fitting all of the plug sockets and finishing all of the stone floor and grouting in the house. The electric meter is now in and the power is on, but due to a slight miscalculation on behalf of the electrician, we're running on a temporary fuse board until this Thursday. I have one live plug eight feet in the air!

The kitchen and utility cupboards and appliances are all here now too. The installer was due to start this morning at 7am but phoned in sick, should be on tomorrow. You just can't get the staff!

The floor installers are on site from today putting down the beautiful hardwood floor. Starting up stairs they will be moving down stairs later in the week and finally completing the staircase next week. I am really excited about this as it will be one of the best features of the house. I can't wait to check it out tonight!

        

Day 182 - Stairs and tiles

I've done a few bits and bobs this weekend.

I am still struggling on with the sockets and switches, filling in the gaps around them before I can make good and do the electrics. I have laid some more limestone flooring in the lobby and utility room and complted the carpentry work to finish the firt floor deck around the stairwell.

The bathrooms are almost done now barring the sinks and furniture (which have been delayed by a week) and a bit of grout (which we have run out of - more on its way for Tuesday). Jamie has also run the drain for the washing machine and tumble drier from the utility to the drain in the kitchen.

Next week is a busy one. The kitchen deliveries will start this week with all of the kit arriving ahead of next week's install, as should the bathroom sinks and furniture. EOn will be installing the electric meter on Tuesday and the electricians will be back to start hooking up all the tech in the utility room.

    

Day 180 - 2,500kg of Wood

Lots of work this week. I've finished all of the down lights now thanks to a fix to the sunroom roof leak, and I've also done all the outside lights too. The kitchen installer and surveyor have been down and done the final checks ahead of the kitchen install in just over a week, and Jamie has been cracking on with the boxing and tiling in all three bathrooms.

The sockets and switches are going on slowly. The plasterboard holes aren't the right size so I'm having to trim, plaster, sand and paint them before I can fit the electricals. A pain, but the ones I have fitted are looking great.

The wood floor arrived today as well and looks fabulous. I feel really sorry for the poor chap that had to carry all 2,500kg of it in from the drive to the sunroom.

Especially as that poor chap was me...

Oh, and we've achieved some council house chic - on Thursday we got our Sky dish. Classy!

        

Day 176 - We have water!

Anglia Water were onsite this afternoon and after digging up most of Wicken Hight Street we finally have water!

I finished all the down lights today together with the outside lights, and Jamie the plumber installed two of the toilets and built the boxing for the concealed cisterns.

    

Day 175 - Lighting Underway

Good news: I've made a good start on the down lights this weekend. I've done the whole ground floor minus the sun room and three bedrooms and the landing up stairs. I've also fitted six out of the twelve outside lights and a few other bits and pieces. Martha took her brush to the exterior door frames and woodwork - next step, gloss and a difficult decision over front door colour!

Bad news: we have had some damp spots on the sunroom ceiling, and it turns out to be a leak in the felt, hence no lights yet. I've spoken to the roofers and will be getting them back on site first thing this week.

But back to good news: EDF came on Friday and connected up the mains, so we're half-way to getting some power. Next step is EOn who will be coming on the 19th to install the meter. Anglia Water will be coming tomorrow to connect up the water supply, and all being well we should be getting the wood floor delivered this week too. Bathroom furniture arrives tomorrow.

It's coming along!

    

How do you solve a problem like lighting?

Right, its simple enough. You think, why not use the same light fitting throughout the house? That way, there is only one bulb to have in stock, and one fitting to choose, and with 73 needed, bulk discounts to make the most of.

Then you find out that building regs requires you to have 25% of your fixed lights as energy saving lights. So, you think, why not make them all energy saving? That will keep the electricity costs down, please the building inspector and be a great way to placate your environmentalist friends and distract them slightly from the amount of concrete in the foundations...

Well, it sounds simple, but its now a year later, and I've only just cracked it.

Here's the problem. You can't just use any only lights that claim to be energy saving. Crucially, they have to produce more than 40 lumens/watt. That is, kick out a minimum amount of light for a given amount of electricity. Now that rules out almost everything except two things:

1. Compact Fluorescent (but only the very latest ones)
2. LEDs

Now (2) is basically out immediately because they cost an absolute fortune, plus they also suffer from the problem that plagues (1) - colour temperature. That is, the colour of the light that comes out of them.

Both (1) and (2) want to kick out quite blue light which, whilst perfect for an operating theatre or late night off-licence, isn't really what you want in your living room.

And therein lies the challenge. Find a compact fluorescent down light that kicks out more that 40 lumens/watt and gives off a nice, warm light.

Luckily, I found one made by a company called Aurora (don't worry, I didn't pay that price...). They're very new (in fact, I was originally after dimmable versions, but they have been delayed as they aren't even in production yet!), but just what I'm after.

They kick out more light that a 50W halogen GU10 bulb but only consume 11W, and I've just unboxed 73 of them and mounted them into the fittings - it took me 2.5 hours...

And who says that building you're own home isn't glamorous?

  

Day 168 - Month of Power!

Right, we're on the home straight!

After a few weeks of putting everything into place, here's just a small sample of what's ahead in May:

- Electricity connection this Friday, meter installation on the 14th
- Water connection in the next seven days
- Electrical sockets and switches arriving in the next few days and going in over the next fortnight
- Wood flooring delivered next week with installtion w/c 18th
- Bathroom furniture and sinks arriving on Monday, with all bathrooms and plumbing complete by w/c 25th
- Kitchen installation w/c 25th

But back to what's happening right now.

The painting is almost finished as Paul has done an absolutely wonderful job - and fast! I've never seem someone paint so quickly! Final gloss work is going on this Friday.

Jamie the plumber is plodding along at his usual unhurried pace, but his tiling is looking good - plus I've given him the deadlines now so he knows what he has to do!

I've spent the past few weekends working on the limestone floor in the kitchen, utility and sunroom. As you can see, I've done the sealant and grouting now, and its looking very good. Once the heat pump is in place I can finish the utility and then finally the lobby. Quick tip though - don't be a tiler for a living. I'm still trying to regain the use of my wrists...