Floor done now for a pint

The result of a long hard days work. The floor is now all done and the two new units will arrive any day now similar to the one you can see in the first picture.

The two units I ordered are done and they are on there way. They are for hanging clothes. One unit also has space for shoes.

My window seat looks so much better now the floor has been finished. Just the skirting boards to do all the way round.

What a day i have had

Today i got a call to do an emergency airport job. A couple flew in from Interlaken Switzerland to spend a week with a friend of mine. That would be OK but both of them came without a license to hire a car and they where stranded 300k from where they needed to be.

I got a call could i get to the airport to pick them up, easy but i was in the middle of painting and needed a shower. By the time i arrived they had been waiting for over six hours. Well i did my best to get them back as quick as i could but it was still just 11pm when i got them to there accommodation  and job done. On the left of this screen is a link to http://www.yurtholidayportugal.com check this out for where these people are staying.

 I had arranged to do the lay the floor on Wednesday but now i am a day behind with the painting. To keep on target i am up early to get the painting done on time.

The downside was i had two important calls that i was unable to take but i am sure that i will get those calls in the coming days.  

At last the plasterer arrived

I have wanted to get my floor laid since i did the first coat of wax. But i needed to paint the room before the flooring went down however i needed to plasterer to come back. Because i had made a start on one part of the ceiling the plasterer left that thinking i was going to finish it myself. Today at 8am and by 9.30am he had finished an now all i need to do is wait for it to dry.

The strip down the center of the ceiling is the part that i have to wait till it dries. Only a couple of days and i can finish the painting of the whole room. Then the floor.

A sneak preview

With nothing to do till tomorrow when the plasterer comes back to finish i decided to put a few of the floor planks down to have a look how it will be when finished.

I am undecided whether to have the  floor as you see it or make it a shade darker. Not sure just what i am going to do yet.

A joiner friend called to see me today and suggested i run the floor left to right because if i do from front to back it will make the room look long. So when the painting is finished  this is how the floor will look.

It's been a hot few days but work had to be done.

Working in the space below the eaves this week has been hard. I have had between three or four showers a day due to me sweating so mush in the heat. Todays job is to get the storage area brushed and cleaned out now everything in there has been done. I am going to have a door made and like me it will be unusual and just what it will look like i don't know yet.

Finally all the cables have been run in, sockets wired up. Lights fitted in place and tested now it's all down to the electrician to do his bit. Every room in my house has it's own fuse panel, consumer unit call it what you will all run from the main unit downstairs in the cellar.

This is my storage area under the eaves and it runs from the front of the house to the rear so plenty of room to store stuff.

For relaxing times

As it's so nice i decided to take some pictures of the river bar. The bar is a great place to sit on a hot day and relax and this year they have Strongbow on draught also loads of great food.

Here is the bar from across the river showing the grassed area to sit and relax

And from the bridge showing the tables actually in the river now how cool is that.

Well beats the UK.

How glad i will be when the painting is done

Well things are now coming on now that i can get on with all the painting of the ceiling. As soon as this is finished it's down to getting the floor laid and then fit the window surrounds. The window surrounds can't be fitted until the sills have been put in place and the it's almost done.

The grey for the walls is a light shade of grey and i am happy with it.

How clever was I all those years ago

Early 2010 i had already paid my deposit on my house and i was getting all my things together ready for my move. It was not till July 2011 when i got to make my move to this little piece of Heaven. The summers can and are hot and today when i got in my car it was 32.5c and the steering wheel was very hot to the touch.

In 2010 i found an offer for aircon units and got myself two units ready for my move. Shortly after moving in i installed my first unit in my lounge. Over the last few years it's proved a wise investment and as i sit here typing this entry to my Blog it's getting nice and cool an investment that has paid off. 

Someone else's journey has begun

I have met a number of people over the last few years who tell me that my Blog was instrumental in there journey to a new life in the sun.  Two couples, Tony who moved to a house 58k away to Geoff in my village it makes me proud that today another friend has taken the next step in a move to a new life in the sun.

Finding somewhere to stay while looking for a house can be a daunting task where do you look, who do you ask. In my case i had found the house of my dreams and i just had to pack my worldly belongings and move in.

Today my friend found a place to stay only a short walk from where we meet for a coffee most days. While the cottage is not huge it is more than enough for the needs of my friend. After viewing it he was happy to say to the owner that he would like to move in, in a short time he will have a base and then the search for a house begins. A new chapter in the life of another Brit looking for a new life in the sun.

A great day out

Today i had the pleasure to a day out with someone who must have been reading my Blog the longest from about when i started writing all those years ago. He is looking for that special place in the sun like i did and it's out there it just needs finding. I was surprised to learn that he knew so much about the writings on my Blog so if nothing my BLOG has been of some use to someone.

I was so lucky to have found my little piece of heaven and i hope that my friend has the same luck as i have had and he finds his special place to retire to.

So Good look.

So this is my garden

I have recently been asked if i like gardening. After the way my Mum and Dad looked after the garden they had you would think i would have green fingers as well. Mum is now 91 years of age and her garden is as good as it's ever been. She does get some help but mostly it's all her own work. Me sadly i get nothing out of gardening so to the follower who asked the question do i like gardening sorry but it's a No.

The grey thing you can see on the left at the bottom is my aircon unit.

Let there be light

I never wanted a door to my bedroom and today i decided to remove not just the door but the panel that i had made to cover the boards that hid the stairs. suddenly i find lots more light coming from the window upstairs. So that's a result, now lots of measuring and wood to order with floor to ceiling spindles on each step. I only did this because i am held up with what i should be doing upstairs.

I took yesterdays picture down after i was able to get the main pillar cut to size today. This now gives me a better idea of what i am doing and i can now plan a cupboard under the stairs. Each tread will have a floor to ceiling spindle and the rounded profile will also be copied onto the pillar.

Pictures of me

Well Steve what have we done, you have a massive traffic accident, your wife leaves and so many from the fourth year at school suddenly get in touch. Micheal Moss passed my email around and Dave Allen no not the comedian asked would i put some photos up on my Blog. Micheal also sent me a letter with all the details of the reunion planned for September.  Well Dave no sooner said than done. I can say to all from Roscoe Garsfield road school that Dave Allen still looks as he did then but now very OLD. If Dave passes my details on to any from school please call about 7.30pm it would be great to have a catchup. Oh and Steve i still have no way apart from my Blog of getting in touch apart from Micheal and i don't want to trouble him to much.

This is on my Veranda with my friend Cathy.




















This was taken on my veranda just as the sun was going down.



















This was taken halfway along my favourite walk along the valley where the river Ceira runs

This was after a couple of hours rubbing down the plasterboard.

Now the bedside tables

I need to finish the wiring before i go any further so today i have had to put up my bed to decide where i am going to put my bedside table. You can see the round bit underneath well the twin sockets will be hidden behind there so it can't be seen. On the opposite wall i have five twin sockets maybe a bit overkill but better to many than have to install more some time later.

The bed is rotten with dust and that's my next job to wash it down and then cut the holes for the sockets to go.

That's the new flooring you can see that has been waxed ready to go down But i may use a wax with some colour in it to take the newness of it a bit.






How does the paint look light grey for me looks good.

First paint

While waiting for the plasterer to finish his bit i decided to start the painting. Instead of white that seems to be the normal colour to paint here or so i have found from looking round. I decided to paint the gable end walls and the side walls a light shade of grey.

Have you ever noticed while typing some words show up as misspelt. These being grey, colour and misspelt all came up as wrong. These are correct but as the spell checker is American we whose language they use are told our spelling is wrong. Who gave them the right to change a language that has been in use well before they where invented.        
Sorry for the rant.

This colour grey i mixed by using a black Tinta acrílica  normally used by an artist in painting.

It's dried out quite well but i think maybe a shade lighter.
The ceiling will be painted white as per normal.

I had to put my window seat in place to get the best view of how it will all look now it's painted and i am happy with the colour.

Waxing the floor boards

The long hard slog has started, i have 60 length's of flooring to wax when i put it down on the floor i will have to wax the boards three times. to make it easy i am waxing now before i have to get down on the floor to do the waxing.

Wax on wax off as they said in the film Karate Kid. Well someone has to do it so why not me.

Floor delivered today

Today i had the floor delivered all 18 square meters of it. before it was delivered i check every pack to make sure there was nothing wrong knots or damage are things i didn't want and all was ok by me for delivery.

Not only has all this to be laid but every bit has to be waxed and polished now that's a big job in itself.

More LED lights

While i am waiting for the plasterer to come back to remedy a small section i am not happy with i need something to do. I have a job to do on a window sill it needs waxing but first i am putting some LED lights under the sill. I have got five lights left from a previous job.

Here you can see the upside down window sill with five LED lights. I now have to solder all the lights together.
See the chunky supports either side of the shelf.

Waxing standing up

I had no choice with the beam that held the main roof timber in place but i was able to replace it and move it a little to give me some more space to use. What could i do with a piece of wood standing up in the room, i put in another just like the first one i put in place. 

Here is what i have done this looks better than having two pieces of wood standing in the room. I had wanted to install a shower behind but getting water and removing the waste was a problem i couldn't get around.
















It has proved difficult to Wax the piece of wood you can see due to it's size. After 4 coats of Bees wax i decided that if i put it in position then it would be a little easier to finish of waxing the front and back. I am pleased the was it has come out and the effect it gives to the room.

Pre painting

Now it's the mammoth task of pre painting the bedroom before i start i have to find any blemishes in the work the plasterer did.  I am using a very pale blue paint to show up any faults

The above picture is of the gable end looking down the valley. I have already found quite a few spots i need to pay attention to .

Again on the curved part there are a few bits i need to go over to get a perfect finish.