DAY 30....

37 days ago Alessandro and Stefano, my 2 trusty workmen, began work in our little flat. We had a really horrible bathroom and an out dated kitchen to renovate! Today was the 30th working day and also the day that they packed up ALL their tools and left!!

Here's what went on today in the mad rush to finish....

Stefano had to sort out the problem with the shower enclosure being too tall....


But after nearly all day in the bathroom he managed to install it and honestly now that the extra tiles are grouted and the other piece of glass is up it is hardly noticeable.

Salvatore went and picked up all the wood for the washing machine cupboard. Not sure when I'll be able to make it but I'd really like to do it asap as that will be the only storage in the bathroom at the moment.

In the kitchen it was go go go all day!!! The worktop arrived!! Poor guys that had to carry it up a lot of stairs, it was sooooo heavy! And it was soooo hot! It was great watching them install it. But OMG the "glue" that they used took my breath away!! As well as the 2 main pieces for the units, they had to make the breakfast bar thingy and the peninsula that divides the kitchen from the dining room. I am so happy with the end result!

Whilst the worktop guys were busy making my kitchen lovely, the 2 delivery guys turned up with the dishwasher and my new fridge (the right one this time!! - I checked it before they installed it!!). So at this point my little flat was rather crowded - me and 6 guys!! Luckily by lunchtime they had finished, leaving only Alessandro and Stefano!! So then it was a matter of attaching sink and tap (love it), the oven, cooker and touching up the plaster around the peninsula.

So here are a few pics of my nearly finished kitchen....




There are still lots of things that need doing or finishing. I'll try to do as much as I can before we go away on our summer holiday down south. But first the kitchen and bathroom need a really good clean (as does the rest of the flat) then I can start putting things away! I can't wait!

p.s. will take some pics of finished bathroom after cleaning it tomorrow!

DAY 29....

What a day!!!

Well lots got done today. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! Almost!

First thing this morning the guy called to give me the price of the worktop which was actually less than I expected, although still alot of money! He also told me that it wouldn't be ready until Wednesday!!! Poop!

Then Salvatore realised that the fridge wasn't the one that we ordered!! Yesterday when it all arrived I was so busy looking at everything else that I didn't even notice! So after a small arguement on the phone, Raimondo (kitchen guy) agreed to change it. There is a cost involved and he's not sure when the new fridge will arrive. Double poop!!

After I went to pick up the wood and mdf that I ordered last week to make the washing machine cupboard frame and doors, guess what?! Not ready! Not even started! It was on their to-do-list for NEXT week! I really had to restrain myself from exploding in anger and frustration. Triple poop!!!

So even though I'm having a really poopy day things did progress here in my little flat. Alessandro finished all the electrical stuff - my blinds go up and down at the push of a button - the downlights are in and look great - and all the light switches and plugs are working. Stefano touched up the paint work in kitchen and bathroom, fixed the skirting boards, attached the shelf/ledge under the window in the bathroom, sealed the sink, loo and bidet with silicone and finished off a few other odd jobs.

Then just after lunch I got a call from the worktop guy - Worktops arriving tomorrow morning!! I have no idea what made him change his mind, I'm just really glad he did! Yeah!

Next a call from Raimondo - fridge and dishwasher arriving tomorrow morning too! Double yeah!!

To make things even better the man I nearly assaulted in the wood shop calls to tell me he personally has cut all my wood and mdf ! Triple yeah!!!

At this point I felt like dancing, all seemed to be working out well, then Alessandro called me into bathroom to show me that my gorgeous super shower enclosure didn't fit properly on the shower tray and that it is taller than the height of the tiles! Quick call to Sandro (bathroom shop guy) who assured me that it should definately fit. And yes, it DOES fit, they were putting it on wrong!! I wish they hadn't scared me like that! But the problem of the height remains! The only solution is add another row of tiles above the shower. I don't particulary like this solution but I think it's my only option! Compromises!

Sorry about this long boring post. I'll make up for it tomorrow with a whole lot of pics of my hopefully (almost) finished kitchen and bathroom!!!

DAY 2 CONT....

Just another pic of the bathroom. This is how I found it when I came home this evening. Great workmen also swept the floors in the entrance, hall and living room! Okay, it wasn't spotless but it was lovely not coming home to find mess all over the place!

I meant to say earlier, we used the new shower this morning! It was wonderful! Although it will take a little getting used to showering with transparent glass doors! Used to showering in that horrible brown cubicle with opaque plastic doors, it felt like I was showering in public! :D

Alessandro (workman) called this evening to say that there's problems with bath taps! They were meant to be here by now but they are still somewhere in northern Italy and won't be delivered for 2 weeks!! I don't know if things like this happen all over the world but they sure do happen here. Now I'm starting to worry about all the other things that are due to arrive next week (plus Monday is a public holiday!). I think tomorrow I'll be calling around checking! And calling a courier to see about getting the taps delivered directly from the factory (more money but worth it if it will speed things up)!!

DAY 1....

Was really more like "DAY 1/2" as Alessandro and Stefano (the workmen) came at about 2pm and left around 5pm. They put all their tools and some material in our garage (well, our rented garage which is in the building next door). Then we had a talk about how I want the bathroom and kitchen and I showed him on the internet the things that I've ordered. It seems that it's all possible, except he screwed up his face when he saw my lovely tiles!! I have ordered straight edge (non bevelled) tiles which I was hoping to have laid with out or with hardly any gap. According to him this isn't possible. I have to have a 2mm gap. I'm not convinced and will look into this later this evening. In the bathroom I actually don't mind the gap, but was hoping to have an almost steam line/seamless effect with the kitchen tiles. We'll see....

Then I had to go out and see Matteo do an end of year thing at school (one of the many that I have to attend in the next few days) and when I got back I had this to see -

Finally we have a shower door!! Yeah!! We can't use it until tomorrow morning as the silicone has to dry! Here's another (very similar) pic of the new doors!

Tomorrow morning the demolition begins! Not looking forward to all the dust and not having my washing machine, but am looking forward to getting rid of the old bathroom. Alex and Matteo (and I) have graffitied all over the tiles with those permanent pens! Alex got carried away yesterday and even wrote his name on the window frame. Luckily I got to it before it dried and managed to get it off. The windows are staying!!!

Looking forward to using the new shower tomorrow morning! ;)

THE PLAN....

Here's a plan of the current bathroom....

Apart from eliminating the offending brown / swamp inspired tiles, the plan is to have a larger bath (current one, apart from being brown, is only 140x65cms) and also to "hide" the washing machine. The idea is to build a floor to ceiling cupboard that will house the washing machine and have loads of space above it for storage, leaving the bathroom free of clutter! This cupboard will be in the place of the current shower. Anyway, more of what I plan to do later...

Here's the yummy shower enclosure that I ordered today...

It's Extreme 6 from Titan. Price is a bit extreme too... but I think it's worth it!!!

It would look great on a streamline shower tray, but for practical reasons it has to be higher than the floor level. So I've chosen this one from GSI. Its 72x100cms.

And here's the steel enamel bath from Kaldawei, 170x75cms.

I like that the shower base and the bath have a similar shape!

I drove the guy in the showroom crazy trying to choose it!! Oh well!!