Wires And Pipes

When people enquire about the rate of progress on the renovation of the ‘glorified shed’ they’re often quite surprised by the response.

Some six months down the line, they’re expecting me to report that, “Yes, we do now have a bathroom” and, “Yes, the kitchen has now been installed”. But the fact is neither is true, partly because some of the work is down to our own efforts and our time is limited, what with work, elderly mothers and children needing attention and life just being lived, and partly because much of what is being done is kind of ‘behind the scenes stuff’. You know, that gutty work that needs a lot of effort but doesn’t show much in the way of tangible results.

For example, before either bathroom or kitchen could become nearer to reality, drainage needed to be put in place. Currently both water supply and drainage only serve one small corner of the building, which is not anywhere near where the bathroom and kitchen are to be installed. We therefore had to find a willing and trustworthy individual to dig out a big trench, lay pipes, connect to drainage system and put everything back as if nothing had happened. Happily mission accomplished!

Similarly a plumber had to be arranged to run pipes from the water source to the proposed bathroom, to enable bathroom fittings to be connected.

And then of course came the matter of wiring. The room (former office) that we are converting to a bathroom contained sockets and switches not compatible with its intended use. Cue electrician. Of course, his intervention has also had to include new wiring looms, cable suitable for a shower, relocation of sockets and some shiny new switches!

So there has been progress but not of the ‘swish-new-shower’, ‘brand-new-bath’, ‘super-stylish-kitchen’ variety!

Walls and ceilings still have to be lined, flooring laid and a new ceiling put in place – then I’ll get my bathroom! Watch this space...