Can't be a*sed to clean

[AMc]

When we did the big renovation we were quite lucky that half the house was liveable in until quite late in the project when we reopened access between the front and back.
Then all hell broke loose. My personal favourite being carrying the slate bed and frame for my pool table upstairs (with a 90 degree bend) so I could drape an old carpet over it and paint the ceiling around it.

If I were mad enough to do all this again I would bite the bullet and move into a flat, put the stuff in storage and hired enough labour to work fast. Then we could have gone through the work in one go rather than shifting ourselves and all our assorted junk from room to room to room getting trades back several times to work where they could. I probably wasted the equivalent of 6 months rent and storage in making my own life harder.

When the money ran out and it was just me then the glacial pace of work became depressing. If you can "finish" a safe haven then I would do that as a priority!

 

[masochists-r-us]

Sympathise with you Zebra. I've had a bathroom with neither a wall nor a door and a makeshift kitchen for the last two years. My latest addition is several large holes in various walls in preparation for new windows that haven't arrived yet, oh and it's looking like a second Winter without central heating. Thank heaven for log burners and at least this year I have a bedroom with walls and a door and re-wiring is finally underway. I think it's that time of year when the reality of another Winter in a half built house can be quite daunting. Try to focus on what you!ve managed to achieve over the last 12 months and hopefully give yourself reasons to be cheerful. Agree wholeheartededly with prev comments. Get yourself a safe haven to retain your sanity.

 

[Feltwell]

It's only a few weeks since I saw your house Zebra, and you've made a huge amount of progress since then by the look of your recent pictures.

Focus on what you've achieved - which is a lot.

 

[Zebra]

Housework is vastly overrated. The trick is learning to be at ease with your surroundings.

It doesn't matter about cleaning in the sense of general dust and other particulate removal when you are doing a project

A great problem for me is that a very tidy/clear space immediately spurs me to make improvements/alterations that otherwise would not have been considered or countenanced because of the previous clutter/mess.

It's a test of character to live in a permanent building site

Cleaning... ummmm, is that what one does when there are visitors?

I've had a bathroom with neither a wall nor a door and a makeshift kitchen for the last two years.

You lot are a bad influence.

 

[Feltwell]

Housework is indeed deeply overrated. Dust needs to live somewhere too.

One memory I do have of living in kitchen and heating-less chaos is that a slow cooker is a wise investment for the winter, if you're a meat eater. Prepare dinner at the start of the day when you're fresh, leave it chugging away and at the end of the day when you're cold and knackered there is a tasty hot dinner ready & waiting, plus it doesn't matter if you finish an hour or two late, it won't spoil. They're great for stews.

 

[worms]

They're great for stews.

And curries and chilli and rice and...I think we even tried making a cake in ours!

 

[Zebra]

Prepare dinner at the start of the day when you're fresh

Wouldn't work for me. Not capable of anything that complicated that early.

Anyway, today my other brother, who's never seen the house before, came to see it. For him to see it out of context, without understanding what it was like and what it will be like, and not being the kind of person who thinks it's fine to have to leave your flipflops on in the shower - well, after he'd gone, for shame I hoovered my haven.

 

[Feltwell]

Prepare dinner at the start of the day when you're fresh

Wouldn't work for me. Not capable of anything that complicated that early.

Trust me, complicated it is not! "Rustic" would be the polite term for my culinary skills 8)

 

[MdB]

Prepare dinner at the start of the day when you're fresh

Wouldn't work for me. Not capable of anything that complicated that early.

Trust me, complicated it is not! "Rustic" would be the polite term for my culinary skills 8)

Sorry, I'm completely on Zebra's wavelength here. Doing anything productive before midday just doesn't happen. Now, the few hours before midnight, now that's when you get something done.

 

[Lime]

Now, the few hours before midnight, now that's when you get something done.

In which case either put the slow cooker on then or make up and store the prepared slow cooker contents in the fridge until morning.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Bit late to this, but fear not Zebs, many of us have been there, trod solemnly through the Valley of Filth, and come out the other side into the sunny uplands of a lifetimes worth of other jobs!

We lived in three rooms (bedroom plus ensuite, kitchen and second bedroom with about 6 feet square that wasn't piled with our furniture that acted as our lounge). Who needs widescreen telly when you're only two feet from it? We did this with a five and seven yr old thing for about a year. We used to drewm of being able to pitch a tent in the lounge.

I think it brought the family together...Sleeping in the same room, huddling round the telly and air heater because we had no heating through the winter, etc.

There's more pics on here somewhere, but here's some towards the end of the works.

Rats - cant upload from iPad. Wil switch to pc later and add pics to this post...

 

[MdB]

We lived in three rooms ... We used to drewm of being able to pitch a tent in the lounge.

When we were in the tent, we used drewm of having three rooms - and hot water - and a toilet that wasn't balanced on two planks....

Floor was nice and warm though

 

[Feltwell]

You had carpet on your stairs - eeeeeh, we used to dream of having carpet on't stairs.........

 

[Flyfisher]

Aye, and you try telling the kids of today that and they won't believe you.

Still, mustn't grumble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1kKRxsnVmE

 

[Zebra]

OK yes that's quite grubby, how long was it like that?

You realise that I take that as a challenge?

This was a few weeks later.

All three pictures were taken of exactly the same part of the house.

Whilst the builders were here, things moved on very quickly. The problem came when they left as everything moved on very slowly from there. We spent 9 months living in the caravan followed by 9 months in a tent on the living room floor.

I believe this pile featured in a ''who has the biggest pile in their house'' or something like that competition we had a year or two back?

Is it too late to enter?

 

[LadyArowana]

Is it too late to enter?

I believe the competition finishes at Christmas, but honestly Zebra I don't think you will win, what you have there will be barely noticeable once the decorations are up :lol:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Brilliant, PPUK photo of the year!

 

[Zebra]

:lol: :lol: Brilliant! I think I'll print that out and stick it to the wall at Christmas!

 

[worms]

:lol: :lol: Brilliant! I think I'll print that out and stick it to the wall at Christmas!

Stick it to the wall?! Use it as your Christmas card!

 

[Flyfisher]

No paper party hat for Henry?