Countdown to Freedom

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Sounds heavenly Tilly. Have a lovely break x

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Afternoon, warm but cloudy day. Gas bottle sorted out and being delivered on Thursday.

Looks like we won't need to knock the house down and rebuild, a renovation and extension will be ok. Underfloor heating, new wood burning stove, three ensuites with one shower room/guest loo, new kitchen.

I can reuse some of the kitchen cupboards in utility area but they will be painted, currently dark brown - real wood.

We will end up with three bedrooms/en suites, guest shower/loo, a TV/study/bed settee room, sitting/dining room, kitchen, plus garage/pump room.

Kitchen will be smaller but as I think it's far too big right now, that's fine.

Workmen pitched up today not tomorrow and have started work on the roof. There is a problem with solar hot water and timer.

Guys coming this week to quote for fencing job. It's a four acre plot and already fenced but on one side the cement uprights have come adrift a little and we have a slight 'leaning tower of Pisa' thing going on. I'm getting two quotes and the work will be 'famous last words' complete by end of March. As they will need to bring a digger, the whole lot will be fixed in the same day.

New water softener is fitted

Kitchen will have windows on two sides and u shaped, with space for a small table. Sitting room will be pushed out to incorporate the hall. The fireplace is offset at the moment and increasing the size will mean we will have room for a big dining table from the UK, and the fireplace will be a feature in the sitting end of the room. No TV - that will be in the study type room.

All internal walls will be changing apart from the main load bearing one. The bedrooms all have built in wardrobes which are ridiculously huge - they are coming out. As the bedrooms are all fairly large, reducing them will help to make them cozy, give room for shower rooms, and mean they will all face the garden.

Patio area will be extended with a pergola as well as the current over hang. New patio to be built with better/thicker slabs.

Bread/pizza oven to be built with a work surface and BBQ. Current BBQ/shower/loo area will become a storage room for the veggie garden.

I'm meeting an architect to discuss the internal changes and he will handle the approvals.

We can't move until I'm 55 and take my pension but we can get all the plans complete and approval process started in the meantime. If things go according to plan, I may be project managing it.

I'm thinking hard about the kitchen and shower rooms - easy access to fix things when they break, rather than rip tiles off for example. Plus we don't want fancy suites - if something fails we want to be able to pop down to the DIY shop and buy a 'bit' to fix it, not call in plumbers.

Right, that's all for now. I need to make coffee for the boys on the roof.

Tilly x x

brizzledfw

Wow Tilly - all sounds great.

And love the idea of a summer kitchen/oven thingy

Xx

Watty1

Loving the sound of the plans

Polly_Wolly_Doodle

Sounds wonderful Tilly, what about a maid's room, you'll need one for all the cleaning!! I'm just jealous xxx

Karmacat

It sounds so wonderful, Tilly! All that space (and those oranges ) and the idea of being able to fix minor things yourselves is brilliant. Definitely agree with an outside processing area - thats what my relatives in Zimbabwe did, and my smallholder friend in eastern England.

muddywhitechicken

Wow - it is going to be glorious Tilly :cool:

MWCx

apple_muncher

If you do incorporate a maid's room, I'd like to apply for the job . (Though my portuguese is a little rusty...)

Thistlewhistle

Sounds idyllic. Relaxation! Now I could do with some of that!!

Tx

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

This MFW lark really does bring choice and I am extremely grateful to have found it when I did.

Just back in from dinner with friends. German friends yesterday, South African tonight, English Wednesday. I am feeling quite cosmopolitan :rotfl: My German is rusty but I found it improved after a few glasses of grape juice.

Oooh a maid's room - nope, definitely can't have one of those, Mr T would put me in it :rotfl:

I'm off to check out cars on Monday. Not to buy one but Mr T has asked me to do some price checking and the dealerships are handily, all in one road. That should keep me busy for a while.

Tomorrow night I'm staying in. I'll be lighting the fire, making butternut squash soup and I have a girlfriend coming over to watch a film.

I'm going to have a glass of port, catch up on NCIS, then off to bed.

Night Tilly x x