Fifty Shades of Grey

I started this fortnight with putting some finishing touches to the black and white bathroom. There are still a couple of things to do such as the shower door and some better light fittings but it is now useable.

I decided that I had to christen the loo - well you've got to, haven't you? Anyway, while I was sitting there contemplating all my handy work, it dawned on me that precious little in the room was actually either jet black or pure virgin white and that the tiles and pebbles in particular were all various shades of grey. So, I have decided to rename the room '50 Shades of Grey'. All I need now is the book to go with it, which I can leave by the bath for bath time reading for the ladies.

I also ordered the glass doors for the shower, which will be ready on 1 July. I almost fell over when told the cost and thought a nice set of plastic curtains would do just fine. Sadly, I couldn't find any in black, white or grey so I'll have to have the glass doors.

The next task on the project Gantt chart is to get the North Wing up to the same level as the rest of the cabin (above the basement). The panelling had to be finished off and, where it was not dependant on the floor boards being in place, I also put most of the trim in place.

The aim of the first phase is to get it all ready for putting down the same larch floor boards that are on the floor of the ground/first floor.

I decided to split it up into three areas. The living space and the two bedrooms - 3 and 4.

The living space is over half the total area of the North Wing and it took me six days to get it straight. I brought the mitre saw up from the garage, which I used out on the deck and that saved a lot of time going up and down the stairs with pieces of panelling and trim. The contrasting colours and the proximity of the beams give these rooms a cosy feel and I can't wait to see them with the floor boards down.

The bedrooms are much smaller and by the time I had got around to them I had perfected a few techniques for speeding the process up and it took me only 2 days to complete each of them.

Bedroom 4 first and …. 

…. Bedroom 3 last.

After which, I gave the place a good vacuum cleaning ready for the floor boards sometime next week.

I then did a quick estimate to see if I had enough wood left over from the flooring of the Great Room and it was a mild relief to find that I have, with a little to spare.

With all my sawing and staining (of trim pieces) on the North Wing deck the robins decided to move from their nest and built a new one under the main deck outside the Great Room. By the looks of things I think they are now sitting on eggs. I haven't taken a closer look for fear of frightening them away and so don't know how many eggs there are.

I have been plagued by thigh muscle cramps at night this week which is probably a sign that I need a rest so I'm going to take tomorrow off and try to resist the temptation to do anything. Fat chance but, at least I'll try.

With the North Wing now ready to floor board, I have been able to get the last piece of scaffolding out of the house and I hope never to have to bring it back in. I will now return it to its owners with grateful thanks.

Today I threw away my last pair of old army green jeans. They had served me well. With the other pair, which I threw in the bin a couple of weeks ago, I've worn them nearly every day for the past nearly three years. They had worn so thin in parts they were almost see-threw and covered with appalling stitches holding them together and glue, stain and paint stains. Maybe I should have kept them as a memento of all the work I've done here - maybe not. I think the cabin can stand for that.

That is it for this fortnight. I hope next time to be able to show you the North Wing with all the floor boards down.