Renovations will not stand still…and neither can we!

You’ll be pleased to know that we thankfully resolved our differences…

Key lesson learnt: listen to each other and try not to jump to conclusions…reading between the lines is asking for trouble!

The roof changes started today…yippeee we are progressing again…it’s like a stop & start rollercoaster…hope I can keep up.

The weekend consisted of:

1. room prep for plastering and

2. kitchen appliance research!

I visited a local retailer Stellisons for ideas. Researched on ‘Which’ product reviews – The list is now ready, check with the husband and back to Stellisons to order, they even have a price guarantee which is fantastic news…when money is flying out the door with every turn!🚪😂🤣

Changing Theme

After a conversation (down-load) with a wonderful friend, I’ve decided my blog should shift gear and instead focus on the ‘Survival of a marriage during the McArdle House Renovations’.

Top tips of how to survive arguments, difference of opinions, workers not turning up, bad decisions and ultimately each celebration when things do go right.

Argument or tedious behaviour?

Well your thoughts are welcome on this one…

I return from a day ‘project managing’ at work, my husband had been busy connecting our new bathroom extractor fan.

I walk into the bathroom to view the work – he’s done a fantastic job and the extractor fan is absolutely wonderful because it’s silent. Big 👍🏻 thumbs up.

I stupidly say ‘oh my the bathroom is dusty’…husband reply’s ‘I did the best I could to clear up’….I laugh and say ‘that’s the best you could do’ 🤣😂🤣😂 of course I was joking as I know he could actually do a better cleaning job…He is a fantastic domesticated husband.

Anyway said husband takes total offence and refuses to come out for dinner with my mum & step-dad…the situation has escalated for no reason whatsoever…only to harm our marriage!

I tried to resolve the situation by telling him I was joking but no, the stubbornness of his temper has kicked in and there is no budging him…oh the joys of being joyous while doing a serious job of renovations!!! In his world it’s just not allowed, in my world it is….as it’s the only thing that will keep me sane! 😉

This is the offending brick dust😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 hope you can see it?

Hip to Gable End

It’s been a long 6 weeks since we received Council approval for our roof changes…this week we start the work.

My wish for Xmas is to have the scaffolding come down…oh the little things.

The main rear dormer is virtually completed and the back of the house has been painted…it’s slowly coming together.

Magical moment #1

Our bathroom is well on it’s way to being finished…am so pleased with how it looks…the 3rd photo shows before and after transformation

Back to the beginning…

Our renovation journey started back in March 2018, we progressed so fast and then we were forced to stop 🛑 for 4 months, anyway we are back on track and starting to make progress again.

So I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on what the house looked like when we first moved in…2.5 years ago!

Magical milestones

The latest on our renovations journey is we received planning approval for the hip to gable changes…just need to coordinate when this can be done.

While to wait, the Woodburners have gone in…am so pleased with them, the granite hearths look fabulous too.

The central pier has been built, just waiting for BC to confirm we can proceed…

Tiling in the family bathroom starts next week.

Celebrate each milestone…

In an effort to stay upbeat and focused I’ve decided we need to celebrate every step…

1. Steel hollow columns have been signed off by building control

2. Granite Hearths in place

3. Tiling has started on the rear Dormer

The house is looking good…👍🏻💗

Toxic!!!

As we patiently wait for our local council to decide the fate of our roof changes my relationship with my husband becomes even more strained…he referred to it as ‘toxic’ – I question, is this our relationship or the current state of our home?

Anyway, relationship strained or not we have to move forward, celebrating how far we have come and the vision of how beautiful our home will be when we finish.

Taking time for family moments is super important too…here’s one of those times.

Family mean everything to us, hence why we are improving our 🏠…’stay focused on the end goal…’a beautiful modern safe, warm, comfortable home’ for our family to continue to grow xx 💗💖

Having a ‘Blues’ kinda day…

Having returned from a relaxing holiday, I foolishly thought we’d come back and work would commence on the house again!!!

How wrong can someone be…I should have known that wasn’t the plan…first we needed to submit a new application of how we intend to change the roof structure to bring the loft conversion back within permitted development. The technical guide for UK householders was to become my regular reading material!! (TIP: should have read this before we started!)

The 2nd obstacle I faced was trying to project manage my husband, an impossible task, well for our relationship it is – I feel content when there is a plan but his idea is, one task at a time!!!! What makes it even harder is that I am a professional project manager, and having ‘no plan’ goes against everything I am taught about being successful – have we set ourselves up to fail? At this point in time, I do not know, I suppose only time will tell….if we had a timeline I’d feel a sense of excitement and good project Mgmt but again I am not allowed to talk about a timeline and when things will be done! That topic is off limits….like anything to do with the house.

Yes this is causing a big strain on our relationship…at the moment if anyone asks me ‘would I do this again?’ The answer would be a definite ‘NO’ never again for lots and lots of reasons.

On a positive note, I know I need to find ways to detach myself from the temporary state of the house…. so I am attempting to find things I enjoy, away from the home.

Any additional guidance or advise on how to cope would be truly welcomed?