Well now into my third week of cycling to work, not everyday yet as logistics of getting my shirts etc there results in me driving at least one day, last week completed 4 days in a row. Its 10.6 miles each way with a huge hill in the middle. Best time for home to work is 36mins, best time home is 31.59!!!! Just bought a cycle computer with cadence monitor built in so that should give me a bit more info on how I am getting on, especially up the hill, I wonder how low it will be, it is a bit of a killer.(B3128 Clevedon to Long Ashton via Failand).

Still pretty chilly in the mornings (6 C), so have long leggings and my N2S Gore jacket on, which is fantastic.

Will keep you updated with the progress on my times over the next few months, I expect some good improvements as the summer starts to arrive

Hi, Havent had much of a chance to write reecently after the birth of Ethan!!! Been a bit busy - funny that. House hasnt progressed much, we have put pictures and mirrors and lights up in all the finished areasnow, both fireplaces have been installed, the plan is to complete one area a month now time is a bit more limited, April's job is to finish the stairs and upstairs landing so it can be carpeted and also the spare room. In May I wil complete the kitchen and then in June the bathroom.

I have put myself down for some fundraising activities, I am going to complete the Solent Challenge (www.solentchallenge.org.uk) on the 21st June, 66mile mountain bike event, I am trying to raise £2000 for Helen one of the recptionists at work as she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 21!!! See how luck we are, and we dont even realise it!!! Sio don't be tight, even if its only a couple of pounds or dollars please sponsor me at www.justgiving.co.uk/nickwort.

I have started saving the planet, and now cycle to work 4 out of 5 days a week, only 10 miles each way, but there is a rather large hill in the way, best time so far is 34mins 28 sec, hope to get this down to nearer 30mins over the summer.

Speak to you all soon, and thanks in advance for sponsoring me.

Hi there,

Just a very quick update as its Hayleys birthday today!!!

The house is coming along well, and so is Hayley. Only 4 weeks to go till the baby arrives and I have about 3 weeks 6 days worth of diy still to do, the bathroom is now in, but tileing and painting still needs to be finished off, the downstairs hallway and dining room floors need final sanding and varnishing, three doors need to be put on, the dining room and 2nd bedroom need to be sanded and decorated....oh and the kitchen tiling needs grouting and the walls need painting. Apart from that we have nothing left to do.

Will post some pics soon

Regards

Nick

Starting to see some progress now, have done a coat on the hallway walls, and two coats on the ceilings, have also finished the master bedroom apart from the woodwork. We have the bathroom ordered and will arrive on the 25th jan and be fitted the following week. The kitchen is coming along nicely, have now put all the doors and handles on, well most of them, I managed to throw the instructions away!!! Just the corner door, the dishwasher door and the soft close hinges for the doors.

 

Next part of the plan is to complete the lounge and woodwork in the rooms that are to be carpeted.

 

Hope you all had a great new years eve

Some pics of Christmas at Hayleys mum and dad's, I especially like hayleys new dressing gown, I know call her Monsters Inc!!!!

Well the floor went down eventually, took me eight hours in the end, and a trip to the shops. I needed to get some heavy duty floor tools as the cheap ones broke and bent. Hayleys dad came down at the weekend and we got most of the kitchen fitted, some serious power tools were hired:- router and jig to cut the corner join and whole for sink in the work surface, a hole cutter to cut the waste pipe whole and the extractor for the cooker, and a mitre saw.

Only problem was when we opened the third work surface package it was the wrong one, so we couldnt finish the last piece on the right hand side. All I have to do is put all the doors on and make up the draws.

hayley is away tonight so I have got a coat of paint on the ceiling in our bedroom and the hallway upstairs and down. Will put first coat on our bedroom walls tomorrow.

Finally managed to lay the laminat flooring in the kitchen, like with most things now I'm an expert but I wont need to do it again for a number of years typical. Moving in on Saturday still a lot to do, empty all rubbish into skip, paint lounge and bedroom 1, build all the kitchen cabinets so that I can help maurice to fit them on saturday/sunday!!! At house tomorrow after work and then again on friday, so should just about have enough time to complete everything!!!!

Well spent the weekend replacing floorboards and sanding floors, it takes along long time, I had to hammer every nail below the surface, my baxk is killing me, I managed to drop the laminate floor for the kitchen on my finger within the first 5 minutes, owww!! I feel battered. Cuts and bruises all over me. The good news was that I have done the initial really dusty sanding in the hallweay and dinning room. It needs about another days worth to get it to a good standard prior to varnish, will wait till after we have moved in to do that.i have also finished preparing the master bedroom, so should be able to get a coat of paint on it before we move in next weekend!!!

Tomorrow the plan is to start the laminate floor in the kitchen.

Hoorah!!! The new boiler has now been fitted, thermostatic radiators as well, the house is lovely and warm and the guys have done a great job. To celebarte I ripped out the two fire places and threw them outside hehehe.

This weekend I will be completeing the wall prep and putting the colour on the walls. The electrician will be finished this week.

Hopefully I will be sanding the floor as well in the hallway and dinning room.

Had a good day today, started stripping wall paper from the spare room, its got several layers and so has taken a long time, only one wall left todo. The electrician has started and has run cables to the kitchen and is completing the rest of the house. the plasterer has started the kitchen with him preping today. Was going to stay late today but realised it was getting dark and there are no lights!!! You can only do so much with a head torch. Have bought some ights for this weekend, as hayley's dad and I are going to start the kitchen.

Did lots of work toady, finished off the filling and sanding in the hallway, lounge, nursery and main bedroom, then spent a couple of hours doing a coat of PVA. Finished off the day by painting the ceiling in the nursery and the walls in the downstairs hall and nursery. Will post some more pics tomorrow.

Had a good day today, have filled and sanded the lounge, hallway,upstairs landing and nursery walls, will carry on today to get the final bits of prep down, prior to pva coat and a coat of white paint. will then wait until electrician and plasterer have been before finishing off and applying the actual room colours and completing the gloss on the woodwork

Quiter day at the house today, had to pop into work today as we were doing a 12 hour sponsored cycle, did an hour then dropped some rubbish off at the dump.

Finally made it to the house at about 11ish, finished stripping the kitchen floor, and removed the old curtain rails. Removed the hardboard from the floor in the lounge which took a couple of hours!! Had to hammer in all the nails that had been used to lay it.Then started filling holes in the walls of the lounge and main bedroom. So all in all quite a productive day.

 

Got a confirmed start date of the 26th Nov for the electrician to start rewiring he will start in the kitchen, with the plasterer coming ion a couple of days later. The plumber will then start removing the old boiler and installing a new one the following week. The kitchen is being delivered on the 24th Nov, and Hayley's dad and I will start work installing the kitchen on the 1st/2nd Dec.

The skip arrived today, had to wait till about 2pm but it is now full and the house is empty of all the old carpet, and the remains of the kitchen. You can really see the difference, and next step is to polyfill the walls and then sand them ahead of a coat of PVA, a coat of white paint and then the colours we want, we will have to see how far I get tomorrow, probably only be able to fill and sand a couple of rooms. I'm popping in to work in the morning as I am doing a cycle for Children in Need, just doing an hours stint, all for a good cause, I will then make my way to the house. Will take some more pictures tomorrow, so you can all see the difference.

Hi,

Well we got the keys to the new house on the 5th November, and we have now gutted the kitchen, stripped the wall paper in the lunge, bedroom, one and three and most of the hallway. In addition the old carpets and curtains have been pulled up!!!!

The skip arrives tomorrow so we should get a real feeling for the size of the place once all the recking debris has been removed.

 

Awaiting quotes for rewiring, new boiler and some timber work in the roof, as well as replastering of the kitchen.

 

You all may be suprised we have taken on another project after willow cottage, so am I!!!

It is a lovely house and too good a price to turn down, we have a real deadline as we plan to move in on the 17th december so all the dirty work needs t be comleted by then, as well as the imminent arrival of the bump at the end of Feb!!!!.

 

Its just like one of those Tv programs, where they have a deadline and then they find out that the wife is pregnant!!!

 

We have placed the order for the kitchen ,and Hayley's dad has volunteered yet again to install a kitchen for us.

 

I will try to update the blog as often as possible, I have put some pictures on from day 1 and 2 and will update them after the skip has been filled

 

Nick