Painting the outside of the house

I started painting the outside of the house on Monday. All the walls are finished with plaster and I'm painting them white (Dulux Weathershield). The sills and "reveals" around the window will be black. (Keeping it traditional) I like the clean plain look of black and white . I only got the front wall done - 2 coats. There's plenty to be done yet - but the weather as a bit damp for painting the last 2 days.
I did a bit of insulation in the loft space today - the glass wool type. It's a horrible job and I only stuck it for an hour or so. The fibres get into your skin and eyes and nose even with a mask and goggles. Hopefully a bit at a time will get it done in time for the cold weather...
The immersion was finally connected today - but we probably won't be using it much.
Still no gas hob connection - although we did find out that there is no leak in the pipe after all. The plumber checked the pressure and found that the gas fitter must have tested the wrong pipe - good news but still waiting for the gas fitter to come back . In the meantime making use of the solid fuel range for hob - might not need the gas as much?

Change of Address

There are loads of agencies and companies to inform when you move house.
Child Benefit
Tax
Driving Licence
ESb
Prize Bonds
Pensions
Banks
Vehicle Registration
Electoral register
Library
Schools
Work
Probably more - but that's enough for now - better get writing those notes...

House Insurance

We had a "building under construction" policy for the last 5 or six months - but e now have taken out full buildings and contents cover. I tried a few online insurance sites but ended up going through a local broker and getting it slightly cheaper and quicker! The policy is with Allianz - and is 405 euro.
The online quotes that I had were slightly higher than that.

Been in a week

Can't believe it's a week since we started living in the house.
Still a few bits to do inside - insulate the attic space, varnish the stairs and some of the skirting.
The gas still hasn't been connected - turns out the pipe under the floor has a leak - so it's a bit of a bigger job. Sowe have been making more use of the solid fuel range - which is probably a good thing. I cooked a couple of full meals on it - and it is heating the water at the same time. We are using peat briquettes mixed with bits of left over timber from the house building.
It's like the calm after the storm now it's all over. Months of chasing and deciding and shopping and decorating - now I feel like there's something I should be doing - or someone to chase - but the urgency has gone. Maybe we should start another one !!
It was a challenge for someone with no experience of DIY or anything - to take on the project of building a house. But that i swhat I did - project manage the building - controlled the budget and timescale where possible.
Would I recommend it ? Probably not. If I was to advise someone going down the same path - I think I would say to get a reputable local contractor to take on the full job. (Make sure you have detailed specifications before you start of all things like insulation etc. Make sure you have plenty of quotes and see the work of the builder before selecting them. Try - if possible - to build in a penalty clause for late completion.
My main reason for giving this advise would be that a good builder will be able to call on a pool of tradesmen who will probably try to do agood job on time - if they want to work for him again. The sole self builder is not important to these tradesmen - he is just a fill in job for many of them - and they wren't too concerned about getting further jobs from you - so they have no incentive to do the job cheap or on time or to a good quality.
I don't think we fared too badly - but all along I felt that I had no power when trying to get people to turn up on time.
The hassle and chasing would be handled by the contractor - you would be paying for the privelige - but the overall price would be fixed from the start - so there would be no surprises along the way.
So my advice would be to get a good price from a reputable builder and keep an eye on the job. (That's what I'll do for the next one !!!)

Moved In!

It's been a busy week - we finally moved in last Thursday! We left our rented house (glad to see the back of it) - and 10 months after starting the build - we were in our new house There were still a few minor things to do - like the towel rails and kitchen wall tiles. We still have no fitted wardrobes and are making do with boxes or suitcases for now. The only other thing not done is the immersion heater wiring and the gas hob connection - we are still waiting for those.
It's great not having to flit back and forwards from one house to another. The exterior painting and patio and garden wall are the next major jobs to be done - so it's not over yet but at least we are living in it.
The broadband here is back on the dial up - pay as you go - so I'm not spending too much time online. We hope to have an "anytime" package sorted ina few days.

Almost Ready

It's getting close to the target move in day - and things are going fairly well.
The kitchen is fitted - just expecting the gas fitter to come on Thurday to connect the hob to the gas (cylinder).
The electrical work is almost complete - just the immersion to connect - but that isn't vital.
The plumber just has to give the heating a final test and balance if required - there are a few rads not working.
The stairs are 80% complete - they arrived yesterday after havng to arrange delivery myself! The joiners knocked a bit off the price beacause of that. he carpenter called round soon after the stairs arrived - and finally got the spindles etc fitted by 6pm today. We went for metal spindles from Richard Burbidge - but they are not as easy as they appear! the distance between the hand rail and base rail meant that we had to cut each spindle!! - This neede an angle grinder . The leaflet said a hacksaw would do - but that would have aken ages. Some of the spindles didn't fit into the brackets very well and needed a good bit of banging and 1 or 2 were just wasted. The final result looks great - but if you choose these - don't expect an easy job. The carpenter was fed up by the end of the day.
The TV aerial was fitted today - which is the most important thing as far as the kids are concerned!! We can get BBC and ITV - as well as the Irish channels but the picture isn't too good on the UK channels. We might get Sky Digital - mainly for the free to air channels. f you pay for a years subscription you get the equipment installed free - and after a year you can use the dish to get the free channels. (as long as the kids don't get hooked on the sky stuff)

Furniture tomorrow and blinds being fitted.
Curtain poles are turning out to be a pain to fit and I am hinting to the carpenter to give me a hand ) the blind fitter didn't want to know)
Most of the boxes of all the bits and bobs - books cds etc etc etc have been moved in to the house. The rest of the stuff will be moved tomorrow and Thursday.

So - 10 months since we turned the first sod - we will be living in out new home in Ireland.
I will getr some pictures soon when all the mess is cleared up

Some Irish Wood suppliers - briquettes and pellets

www.czechdirect.ie
www.greenheat.ie
www.premiercastings.com
www.balcas.com
www.celticflame.ie
www.nps.ie

Wood for Fuel

Greenheat - home

This web site sells wood pellets and logs online - we might make use of them soon - for someting to burn in the range. If the oil prices keep rising we wil be making more use of the range.

Kitchen Finished

The kitchen fitters finished yesterday - thay just have a few units in the utility room to do. It's looking very good - I'll get some pictures soon.
The plumber and electrician are due back today to finish off taps , oven , fans, balance the heating system etc. Then its just the stairs - which should be delivered on Friday - and should be fitted Monday or Tuesday if I can get the carpenter back for a day.

Fitting the Kitchen

The kitchen is being fitted today and should be finished by tomorrow.
The electrician has promised yet again to be here today. (Last excuse was an injury on Sunday playing football.)
The stairs are now expected this Friday - or possibly Monday.
The plumber has to come back to connect the kitchen and utility sinks and sort out a couple of problems like a cracked cistern and another one not filling up so it won't flush.
We then will need to have a good clean up and varnish the skirting and architrave, fit the curtain poles and hang the curtains. Still planning to be in on or before the 18th - but it's all dependent on the stairs now.

Latest Progress

Well - it's geting close to our target date for moving in - the 18th August.
The plumbers have been back and fitted the bathroom stuff - showers and shower doors. There was one cracked cistern which I had to take back but it was replaced free of charge.
The electrician came back yesterday and finished off the downstairs lights and put in one fan in an en suite. He still has some work to do - mainly power for the waste treatment plant and a couple more fans in bathrooms - which he has promised to do today .
The kitchen fitting is due next Tuesday . The only job that could delay things now is the stairs. They have been on holiday for 2 weeks - and are open again on Monday. They have all the measurements etc. - so I hope our stairs will be one of the first jobs they start when they come back!
The furniture is due for delivery anytime after Aug 15th.
The blinds and curtains are all ordered or bought - just need to be hung.
All the floors and doors and skirting is fitted - but I have a fair bit of varnishing to be doing in the next few evenings.
The fitted wardrobes (only getting 2 ) won't be ready till September - we left it a bit late to order them - so we might be living out of suitcases for a few weeks.

Still looking for patio blocks

Acheson & Glover :: Construction Products :: Paving Brick Ireland

Will probably be getting "country cobble" from this company - if I can get anyone to sell them to me!
Tried getting them at a garden centre - but they said I had to talk to a specific person who was off that day! He has called back but seems to know less about it than the other staff did.
I might try calling the head office direct and see what they can do.

Paving for the Patio

Originpaving

This site looks interesting - we will hopefully be getting a patio laid in August so we need to choose some slabs or paving stones. This company have some good ones.