Refurbishment Under Way

Yesterday I received a message from Gov.UK headed “Sorry, there is a problem with this service”. Its content was simply : “Your Account is already activated” and a request to access a questionnaire to help them improve the service. I would not receive a reply. I didn’t bother.

Early this morning Richard and Ross of Kitchen Makers arrived to begin working on the first of the refurbishing projects they are to carry out.

This involved stripping out the bodged extension of the airing cupboard; removing much debris; carrying it

down the steep and narrow stairs with little headroom and out to their van; then starting to assemble the new cupboard in the chimney breast.

Because the built-in cupboards are hand made in advance their sections have to be carried round the side of the house, through the kitchen and up that staircase.

The first picture in this gallery shows the shortest of these parts; the next three the difficult task of transporting a higher compartment through the sitting room and up the stairs.

Later, the craftsmen began to assemble the cupboard.

This afternoon I filled in the Probate Application forms.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s succulent sausages in red wine; crisp roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding; firm carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli; with tender green beans. Dessert was pumpkin pie and cream. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Montaria.

79 comments

  1. The end result looks fabulous and I’m sure Jackie’s dinner was delicious so at least 2 out of 3 sounds good. I hate questionnaires that are pro format and generate neither response nor improvement.

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  3. What a lot of hard work going on: the craftsmen, you and Jackie. That she managed to produce such a fine meal with all that banging and moving through the house going on is a miracle. I loathe anyone working either in or outside our house! As for the government response … they are the same all over it seems.

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  10. Despite all the challenges, posted by websites and stairs, it sounds as though the end result today was very positive!
    I do always wonder if feedback with ‘no response’ promised is actually ever going to be read or if it’s just a limp public relations effort..!

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    1. I forget who it was who told me that if you score them less than 5/10 the additional comments are never read. Thanks very much, Emma. It was nice to link the two main challenges and their results

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  12. Like all renovation work Derrick, the process of wreaking and renewing, is very time consuming, even for smaller jobs like yours …

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  15. Checking on the refurbishment process seems much more satisfying than computer forms and technicalities and provides a nice change of scenery from the computer screen. The room is an interesting color, like some of your roses.

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  17. I’m so fed up with receiving customer satisfaction surveys after every transaction. I just delete them. They are meaningless.
    What are you doing with the flooring in the new sitting room? I was half expecting that you’d lift the carpet, polish the floorboards and lay a rug.
    You and Jackie must have been praying no damage was done to the downstairs sitting room floor as Richard and Ross brought the new components through. It’s not all that long since that floor was installed.

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    1. Thanks very much for all this, Gwen. You have outlined our plan for the floor. This will depend on the state of the boards. The two men were very careful about the sitting room floor. When they had to put the sections down Richard balanced them on his foot.

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  19. I can not imagine anything worse. But it was all worth while when you got the photo of the hammer and the shadow of the hammer against the wall.

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  20. What good work being done! What great helpers! I could sit and watch men work all day! 😉 😀
    I love the shadow of the hammer photo!
    If these men ever have to prove they worked, they can use your photos as good evidence! 😉
    UGHS on forms, paperwork, questionnaires, etc. :-/
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

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  22. The work looks well underway. You must be looking forward to it being completed and the dust and debris cleared.
    I hope you have as much enjoyment from the extra upstairs sitting room as I do from mine.

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  23. They look like they do wonderful, skilled, and careful work. I’m sure the final result will be well worth living through the project. Is there more to do with the probate process?

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  24. I’m glad the weather was kind as things were carried in and out. The new cupboards look great already! (I’m saying nothing on the gov.uk debacle …🤯)

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  30. So excited for you! I would love to embark on a house renovation! In our case there is a lot, but starting with kitchen and bathroom would probably be top priority. Not to mention both basement and attic in need of interior finishes. So much to do, and so little time and money… I admire your discipline for filling out probate papers. As far as paperwork goes, it takes me days – if not weeks – to gather up the gumption to sit down and deal with it. Terrible, I know, but true. Thankful for my husband who efficiently deals with most of it. I don’t know what I’d do without him!

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  32. I’m glad to see from reading the comments that you are getting somewhere with the paperwork, and the pictures of the work on the house speak for themselves. Online messages are often infuriating. I had not heard that scoring less than 5/10 means your comments are ignored and hope that’s a myth. It would defeat the purpose of the survey, unless the purpose is to gather praise.

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  36. It looks like your workers are quite efficient, Derrick, which is more than could be said for the crew renovating the exterior of our condo. I estimate that we will have to live through the noise and dirt for a few more months, if not a year. That’s normal for South Florida.

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