Walking on Sunshine

(Katrina and the Waves, 1983)

 

 

The big change this week is in the kitchen. On top of the insulation, the underfloor heating has gone in...

Then a layer of concrete, and then finally the tiles. 

The view from the landing. Cool eh!

The Heat Is On

(Glen Frey, 1984)

Previously tucked away in a dark extension, the kitchen will now be the focal point of the house.  Soon, sitting at the kitchen table, you'll be able to look through to the living rooms, up through the internal window to the main staircase, or down through the huge window to the back garden. 

It has also become the focal point of the building works.  Not only has the structure been totally re-built, but it has also required a number of different people to do their bit: the internal walls, plumbing and underfloor heating, laying the floor tiles, fitting the ceiling, painting, and then of course the kitchen itself.  All these have been done by different people.

On top of that, the actual design of the kitchen - wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling oak panneling, with lots of built-in spaces - means that everything has to fit perfectly.

This means that there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong. 

The good news is that is does seem to be coming together...

The internal walls on the left - with doorway to the WC and staircase leading to the back garden.

.. and this is what is looks like from the other side (staircase still to come)

The first attempt and insulating the floor.  Has since been re-done, since not it was properly glued... 

The internal windows being plastered

The ceiling going in

Close up of that ceiling. Cool eh?

The floor tiles have arrived!

Faraway, So Close

So, what do we have for you this week?  Let me see... 

Back facade finished yet?   Nope.

Kitchen walls fitted? ... Neither.

Or the flooring laid for the under-floor heating?  Nope. 

Plastering anywhere near done?   You guessed it, nope.  

Accoustic ceiling in the kitchen fitted?  You're getting good.  Not been fitted, but at least the pannels have arrived.  And it's spotty!

Bathroom finished?  To see this picture, you'd think we're getting there. But actually that panneling vibrates so has to be re-done.  Sigh...

What we do have is a deadline about to be missed, and a plan B. More on that soon.

El Condor Pasa (If I Could)*

(Simon & Garfunkle, 1970)

 

How many men does it take to hammer a nail into a wall?

Actually, what is happening here is the marking out of the kitchen partitions. It's a precision task, which has to be done right.  Since the kitchen units, ceiling and floor all having to fit snugly together, there is no margin for error.  

Hopefully, with this now done, there will be no more delaying with putting up the walls, which has to be done before the floor can be laid. 

Meanwhile, in the rest of the house, the first fix is progressing, but at at a snails pace. The pipes (finally done) are being boxed in and the surrounds of the windows tidied up.  

One of the reasons this is moving so slowly is that the contractor has a few men ill, and can only put a few men on site.  Their team manager has recognised that they are "dans la merde" (sic.), and is now considering our suggestion than he subcontract some of the remaining tasks to our original wonder crew, who did the first part of the works so well and so efficiently  (and who are also at the ready to step in to do the final finish). Of course we cannot impose this solution - it's a deal the contractors have to work out between them - but we are hopeful that they see the sense of it.  We shall see... 

* I think only Liz will get this... 

Rear Window

More progress this week on the plastering and insulation front.  Notably, the rear facade is being coated with blocks of what resembles blocks of polystyrene, and then a layer of 'roughcast'  (what google tells me is the English for 'crépis' - who knew...).  

From above - the rear wall

From the flat roof to the main bedroom

The same, seen from the inside

But, excitement of excitements, we now have glass in our windows! Here you can see the kitchen window in all its glory.  The lower left one slides open (pictured here), and there is a little glass balcony, which makes the perfect place for pots of herbs.

With the blocks of insulation

Call off the Search

To conclude on the kitchen tile saga, well, I'm afraid to say we gave up.  After a valiant but fruitless hunt around the salvage yards of Belgium for tiles matching those we had recovered from the old kitchen, we plumped for new carrelages de ciment, made in the old style by Carrelages Du Marais.

We did consider a patchwork of old tiles, or old and new, but decided this would look cleaner and would also be much easier to place. It also turns out they are less expensive than recovering old ones (these salvage yards put a hefty price tag on cleaned salavaged tiles - one quoted us eur 175 per square metre)

"bastide rouge" from carrelages du marais

We opted for this 'bastide rouge' design, which fits both the contemporary style of the kitchen and the classic style of the rest of the house. I also like how the green leaves on the floor will echo the greenery of the garden which will fill the kitchen window.  

Meanwhile, we have 8 square metres of beautifully cleaned tiles on our hands. Maybe they can find a new home on ebay...

More Than Words

An update in pictures of the house as it looks at the end of July.

• At the front, we have a sparkling new cornice (which rather puts the rest of the facade to shame)


• The balcony rail has been replaced, and the balcony itself strengthened;

• The back of house has been rebuilt, and now has window frames fitted (but no glass yet).

<><> <><> <><>

That very big kitchen window

The back of the house



The internal windows from the landing down to the kitchen (straight ahead) and sitting room (on the left)

• The roof has been completely replaced and insulated,

The top mezzanine - the heating system will go at the far end.

• Plastering has started, from the top down.

Plasteing around the new window, looking out onto the flat roof above the kitchen

• Electric wiring has been laid.

• ...as have pipes for heating, water and ventilation.

Hopefully things will begin to look very different very soon...

Protection

(Massive Attack, 1994)

This is the reason why the downpour on Friday evening was particularly satisfying.

Tadaa! 

The kitchen roof is still a few steps behind.  The main part has been covered, but the skylights still need to be fitted.

And the mezzanine in the attic now has a floor that can be walked on.

With that, the ‘gros oeuvres’ are more or less complete, and the first team of contractors will hand over the baton to the technical guys, who will do the electricity, plumbing and heating, as well as the windows and the interior works.  

Here is hoping that the new crew will be as efficient… 

Wonderwall

(Oasis, 1995)

Another week of progress.  The new kitchen annexe is now taking shape, with a solid-looking roof structure, with holes where the skylights will be.  Here are some shots of beams to please the engineers amongst you. 

 

You can also see the openings which link the kitchen and living room to the first landing on the stairs.  Here is a shot from below and one from the landing looking down on to the kitchen.   These will have internal windows (that won't open...) to be able to look down into the living area are you come downstairs.  

Meawhile, up in the roof, the openings have been added for the Velux windows, which also look pretty huge... 

... and we have been able to take a closer look at the state of the dividing wall. Pretty disastrous.  The neighbour's on this side renovated the house themselves some thirty years ago, and it is not in good shape.

The brickwork is in need of rejointing, and the top is totally unprotected from the elements.  

This required a bit of discussion on possible solutions, and some daredevil acrobatics from the architect.

So a separate little project will be to repair the dividing wall. Happily, the neighbour is keen for someone to get on and do what needs doing, and we will share the cost between us. 

 

Even more happily, we have reached an amicable agreement about the DIY metal structure, with its flock of plastic dinosaurs, which currently overlooks our bedroom window.   This will all be removed and the flat roof returned to what it should be - a flat roof.

So what does all this mean in terms of timing?  This is the current plan. 

The heavy works (“gros oeuvres” - the new roof, new kitchen annexe) are expected to be finished by 16 April, and the rubble cleared away.  The site will then be clear for the next contractor to step in and get started on the insulation, interior walls, the plastering etc.

Once this is underway, the bathroom, heating and electrics people can start around end- April.

The new windows at the back of house will be fitted in May.  The old windows on the front of the house - which are being repaired – are scheduled to be done mid-August.

Then it's a question of sanding of the floors, fitting the kitchen, tiling the bathroom and kitchen floors, and applying a few coats of paint.  Oh, and also some woodwork, like the internal stairs to the basement, the bookcase and a couple of doors.  This is all a bit more uncertain as we still need to sort out who is going that.  Hopefully this can be done in August, maybe even in July if we get ourselves organised. 

Sorry state

In the meantime, over the summer, I also have hopes to clear the garden, which is looking very sorry for itself, to level it, sow some grass and prepare a few beds for autumn planting. Finally, if we have the energy, we'd also like to get the green roof planted up with happy-bee plants on the kitchen flat roof.  These are more realistically tasks for the autumn. 

If that all works out, we could move in in September/ October.

What could possibly go wrong?

Justified & Ancient

(The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette, 1991)

Our quest continues to find more tiles to complete those we salvaged from the old kitchen.  Last week, we visited another salvage yard - Stefantiek, near Mechelen.  

Another impressive array of bits of old houses, including  

... hunks of pierre bleue

... entire staircases,

... lions (pre-wrapped, what indignity),

... but no joy in the tile department.  There was nothing to match ours, and nothing that we could imagine putting there instead.  The prices here were however much less unbalanced than the last place (which offered 5 eur/ square metre to buy, and 175 eur/metre square to sell).  Here, they would buy back ours for 20 eur/metre square and sell for 70 eur/metre square.  

 

The search continues...   all recommedations welcome!

A room with a view

The kitchen is now taking shape, or more precisely the huuuge kitchen window.  The size of it has surprised us - despite all the plans and models, we had not envisaged quite how high 3m70 really is.  Well, there'll certainly be lots of light.  I just wonder how we are ever going to manage to clean up there.

Meanwhile, the new concrete column is drying out...

... and work has started on the roof. 

To begin with, they have removed the rotten cornice (they will make an identical copy, salvaging pieces from the original one where possible).















 


... and some of the roof tiles, revealing a stunning view of the Schaerbeek Town Hall, floodlit at dusk.   We won't be able to see it so easily when the new roof is back on, so something to enjoy while we can.