house update

I thought you might like an update on the whole house falling down business.  Today is the start of the third week in what was originally a 2-week job before we found another wall falling down.  Of course, when the builders have finished, the plaster, electrician and plumber come in and my Uncle will carry on with the kitchen refit that was aborted in April...  I can almost taste the real food from a real oven...

We came back from our holiday to find that someone had stolen part of our house.  I took the picture in the dining room, looking into the kitchen.

On the left is the basement stairs, the right is the dining room.  Mr CA likes it like this, all open plan and wanted to keep it.  Unfortunately that would also mean keeping those steel pillars which are holding the rest of the house up.  I said no.  Understandably.

Last week they got working in earnest.  This is the dining room/cellar wall, the one they discovered was falling down whilst we were on holiday.

You can see the difference between old, Victorian bricks and modern ones.

Whilst trying to replace the lintel that ran across the doorways leading to the dining room and the cellar from the kitchen, the builders discovered that the lintel also holds up the doorways in my neighbour's house.  That is not normal at all.  A new plan had to be made and the cellar entrance is being bricked up and the doorway moving to the dining room. The kitchen is the smallest room in the house so that's actually quite good news.

This is what I came home to on Friday!  It's starting to look like a house again.  Despite the bare brick walls, the two remaining steel props, the plastic sheeting nailed to the ceiling and the brick dust everywhere.  I'll be glad when this is over.