When we bought The Sandbag House fourteen years ago, there was a void above the kitchen and dining areas on the south side of the house. And they had a ceiling. The approved plans showed that this was to have been a double volume area but there was a ceiling. Go upstairs and only the space on the north side had been developed. The rest had been blocked off. Much wasted space, we knew, but we didn't need it, and parked any thought of "opening up".
The Husband may no longer be around, but the time has come. What I didn't say when I started this Reno Record, is that there is a grand plan: to split the house into two separate, self-contained units. I shall live in one, and let the other out as weekend accommodation. The Sandbag House must keep me: in more ways than one.
What will happen, in a nutshell, is that a second staircase will go in and the void will be opened up and turned into a bedroom. It's happening in steps (ha!), but not quickly enough.
So say that last Tuesday and Wednesday had been long days would be an understatement. And mostly not for me, but for the guys doing the work. It was productive, though. Mostly for them. For me, not so much, but I can make that up.
Of course, things didn't quite go to according to plan: despite taking off the front door and security gate, the boards still had to be trimmed before the fancy-footwork-almost-flip of getting them up and over the stairs.
That's a long way to saying that the floor is in (and yes, it will be painted - always the plan).
Next will be the staircase before the ceiling, cladding and window. The last, not necessarily in that order.
The "wall" in the third (right) photo above backs on to the existing bathroom: the door on the opposite side, and which you can see at the top of the landing will go in there, swopping sides with the wash basin. Yes, there will need to be a little fancy pipe work, but not as fancy as it looks, I am told. The door will have to open into the room, but that's ok, because it will prevent a view of the loo from the bed.
It's getting real and now, it's realer (if there's such a word) than real.
Especially as we measured for existing furniture that I can comfortably (and attractively, I hope) use in that space, so I neither have to part with it and/nor buy more.
I can't wait; my middle name is not "Patience".
This space has to be finished so that I can move in and create a workstation (not sure, yet, whether upstairs or down) before work on The Corner begins.
The final internal step will be the doors and partitions that will ultimately split The Sandbag House in two.
Next installment: The Stairs. When? Not today, and not soon enough.
Today, though, collateral damage needs dealing with: because part of the fancy footwork for the supports, meant they had to be posted over the geyser. Some wiring was disturbed because the geyser tripped everything when it kicked in that night. It took the best part of Wednesday to find the fault: another long day. Fortunately, living in the village, the friendly electrician is exactly that: a friend who checked in the morning just to see all was in order. After a night of the best sleep I'd had in weeks.
Oh, and as I write, second hand windows have been sourced and should (if life doesn't send another curved ball) arrive next week.
Until next time
Post script
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