SOAKAWAYS

Men are from Mars, women from Venus and some tradespeople are from Disney as they’re always taking the mickey… 

Not that I’m complaining about ours as he’s doing a grand job digging what is called a ‘soakaway’ in the back garden but sometimes I fail to understand builder logic.  Why wasn’t this done earlier in the project before the monsoon season started?  I would have dug this out in July/August or after all the guttering on the extension was fitted.  This is definitely not the time to be doing anything outdoors.

 

Working in very damp conditions

Whilst I’ve been devoting time to painting up the extension, our garden has become a movie set piece for a remake of The Great Escape -  there are holes everywhere! 

Soakaways act as large drains enabling rainwater to be carried away from your house to soak away under the ground in a huge pit filled with what look like giant milk crates (also known as SUDS – sustainable urban drainage systems).

 

Soakaway crates

Very, very big in size

It appears you can’t connect your gutter downpipes to existing sewers or waterways but instead have to dispose of your own surface rainwater in the garden.  Current building regulations state you have to have a soakaway at least 5 metres away from your property which is essentially almost in the middle of our lawn.

 

Must be 5 metres away from the house

In by gone days, soakaway pits were either filled with stones/gravel or constructed like a honeycomb of bricks rather like a bee hive but in this modern age, plastic crates that are then covered in a special membrane are used. 

The membrane wraps around the crates to prevent any soil from trickling in and bunging up the works over time.

 

Crates wrapped in special membrane

These crates are very big so a pit almost as deep as a grave is dug.  The hole in our garden was so big I thought it could double up as an outdoor swimming pool and with this weather it wouldn’t take that long to fill!

 

Digging a pit for the crates

You're gonna need a deeper hole

Large brown pipes connected to your gutter downpipes then feed into the sunken crates.  More deep trenches across the lawn. 

 

Pipe running from the back of the house

To connect to the soakaway

Eventually after the muddy mess has dried out, the original grass turfs will be replaced on top of everything but I don’t expect to see a pristine, bowling green flat expanse when I look out the window.   After this little lot, our back lawn is never going to look quite the same again.

 

Not exactly properly replaced

Charlie Dimmock would definitely not approve!

SOFT FAUNA PAINT JOB

Whilst the freshly grouted tiles are drying in the kitchen, focus returns to the extension which is now ready for its final paint job.

 

Preparing to paint the extension walls

The tiled floor has now been finished and skirting board fitted all round. 

 

Tile drama resolved and floor finished

Interestingly, I noticed that our builder has used primed MDF skirting instead of timber skirting.  Not really an issue but I suspect that this may have been a cheaper option than a nice bit of pine.  As long as it paints up well and remains durable then that’s OK but something to bear in mind for your project – if you want premium materials (real timber) then make sure you clearly specify this and budget accordingly.

 

MDF or pine skirting?  Spot the difference

Our builder was kind enough to fit brackets so that our heavy Art Deco mirror could be hung on the feature wall.  Not the easiest mirror to hang but he’s done a fantastic job in getting it positioned right in the spot where we had our cardboard template.  Spot on!   Almost made me cry with delight when I saw it.

 

Cardboard mirror template to mark the spot

Art Deco mirror hung

Fast forward to a few hours later when the walls are getting the first coat of Dulux’s soft fauna 5 matt emulsion paint. 

 

Starting with the fiddly wall

This colour is my favourite retro shade.  It provides a good contrast to black furniture and always looks fresh, light and fashionable.

 

Working my way round the room

I’m tempted to use the same colour in a satin finish for the woodwork to add height to the room but as the rest of the house has white coloured skirting then probably best to keep consistent.

 

Beginning to come together

Looks great after just one coat.  You get a better sense of continuity between both rooms now that they’re both painted the same colour, they just seem to flow together to form one lovely large space.

Looking in from the kitchen

Both rooms now the same colour

TONS OF TILES

For months I’ve been dreaming of tiles, tons of tiles.  Wall tiles, floor tiles, metro tiles.  There are bargain tiles and there’s tiles that will cost you a month’s salary for a square metre.  Tiles that look like wood and tiles you can use both inside and outside.  Patterned tiles in a myriad of designs or colours.  So many to choose from both online and on the high street.  And therein lies the problem, too much choice. 

Eventually I bought the wall tiles for my kitchen having whittled the list of potential contenders down to these last four:

My top 4 tile choices

Top of my wish list was Lampas Peacock from Topps Tiles.  A luscious deep bluey green colour but needing a lusciously deep purse to pay for them.  Allow around £500 plus for 7 square metres.

 

Lampas Peacock - Topps Tiles

Running a close second and considerably cheaper at around £300 for 7 square metres was Crackle Glazed Peacock a metro sized tile from Tile Mountain.  Beautiful rich deep colour and likely to be purchased for the downstairs toilet refurbishment.

 

Crackle glazed peacock - Tile Mountain

Third place goes to Aurelia Kingfisher from Homebase.  Lighter in colour than the first two tile choices and flecked with black to add interest.  Often on a buy-one-get-one half price offer, bringing the price for 7 square metres down to a modest £262.50.

 

Aurelia Kingfisher - Homebase

And last but not least the Opal Emerald from Porcelain Superstore.  A beautiful jade green tile and very reasonably priced at £256.20 for 7 square metres.

 

Opal emerald - Porcelain Superstore

The prize for best kitchen wall tile has been awarded to Aurelia Kingfisher which co-ordinates very nicely with Dulux’s soft fauna 5 paint that I’ve used on the walls.  

How your tiles are to be placed on the wall is yet another decision dilemma.  Do you go for a standard brick pattern or the more complex and costlier herringbone effect?  Remember - the fancier the design, the higher the cost of tiling so what you desire and what you can afford may be poles apart.

 

Beautiful herringbone tiling

I asked Google ‘how high should my tiled area be? And got about a million different answers.  At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter if the tiles are only 4 high or if the entire wall is covered, it’s a matter of choice, budget and what might look best with the overall look of the kitchen that you’re trying to achieve.

 

How high should the tiles go?

As high as you want them

Tiled splashback 4 tiles high

In the end, I’ve decided to go 4 high and trim the top edge in polished chrome to co-ordinate with the sockets.  I feel that a painted border space at the top of the tiles frames the cabinets and adds an opportunity for the space to be used for other things such as hanging cooking utensils, cup hooks or rustic shelving.

 

Tiles topped with a polished chrome flat trim

Then there’s grout.  Boy, oh boy, yet another minefield to navigate.  Think about whether you want your grout to contrast or compliment your tile colour and don’t forget practicality when making your choice.  How many of us have struggled to scrub tomato splashes off white grouting in the kitchen?  It never looks quite the same afterwards.

 

Grouting colours - which to choose?

And so as the days slowly tick down to the festive season, the tiles are going up in the kitchen.  Here’s a sneaky peek of the un-grouted tiled kitchen splashbacks.

Tiling round the boxed pipes

Corner finished and ready for grouting

Tiled hob splashback

ELECTRICS - 2ND FIX

For weeks there has been no power in the kitchen - just a series of empty holes where sockets should have been or cables sticking out of walls/ceilings.

 

No electrics & no kitchen

We’ve had to make do with a single socket, extension lead and the builders tripod lights in order to fumble our way round trying to maintain as normal a routine as possible for things such as laundry or washing up.

 

Goodbye old friend

Our sparkie has now returned to do what is termed the ‘2^nd fix’, the final wiring up of power sockets, switches and light fixtures. 

In keeping with the rest of the house, the kitchen’s power sockets and switches are Scolmore ‘Click Deco’ in polished chrome and black obtained online from a company called Switch Lighting.  Look lovely but show up every finger mark so be prepared to continually wipe with your sleeve as you pass by as they won’t remain spotlessly shiny for long. 

 

Scolmore Click Deco supplied by Switch Lighting

There are so many gorgeous lighting fixtures available these days, it’s a devil to pick just one that will be both functional, fashionable and fit in with the overall theme of your kitchen design.  Keeping to the dark side of our kitchen’s colour scheme, I’ve opted for something similar to my old kitchen lights – a trio of modern, black metal shades hanging from a central pendant.

 

Vampsky ceiling chandelier - Amazon

Purchased from Amazon, this light fitting was described as a Vampsky vintage loft ceiling chandelier with black metal shades lined with mirror glass.  

Very glitzy but a fingerprint magnet

The chandelier can be used with those gorgeous old style Edison bulbs although I’ve found that for cooking, those bulbs often don’t provide sufficient light so I’ve used something brighter.

 

Low hanging lights - good for low ceilings

Good for rooms like ours that are lacking in height, this chandelier has a drop of 32 cm which means those of you that are not vertically challenged like I am won’t spend your time dodging the pendants.

 

Ready for our clam chandelier

At last a fitting new home for our old Art Deco wall lights and clam chandelier both of which have been wired up to provide a touch of bygone glamour in our new dining area.  The cardboard template is where our geometric mirror will be fitted once the walls have been painted.

 

Wall papered and ready for lighting

Wall light back plates fitted ready for clam shades

Outside the building, a pair of black exterior wall lanterns to light up what will be the new path linking the patio area to the side of the house and an exterior power socket for the lawn mower.

 

Outside lights fitted

Searchlight Outdoor Wall Bracket

Electrics completed – tick.  Allow a budget somewhere in the region of £1,200 to £1,500 to cover all your electrical needs and don’t forget to include the outside of the building as well when drawing up the specification list for your project.

DO THEY KNOW ITS CHRISTMAS?

It’s Christmas!  Santa’s arrived at Chichester canal, fir trees festooned with twinkly lights adorn the town, the shops are crammed with festive goodies, every other advert features a flying fairy magicking up presents or delicious treats and it won’t be long before our ears are assaulted by an endless loop of crimbo tunes. 

 

Only 46 mince pies until Christmas

Magicking up some late night wallpapering

Deco Paradiso feature wall in the extension

Confused?  I know the clocks have now gone back but seriously, Christmas is still a month and a half away! We don’t need all this commercialist clap trap for the next 50 odd days - it’s a sure fire way of killing the magic of Christmas.  Shelby’s so bored of it all, she’s having an extra long nap behind the sofa.

 

Wake me up when it's all over

I may only have half a kitchen but now that the new oven has been connected I’m making the family Christmas cake, a tradition that’s been followed for decades.  It wouldn’t be crimbo without one of my extra special fruit cakes laced with Southern Comfort and wrapped in tons of marzipan. 

 

Mama's got a brand new oven

Putting the new kitchen through its baking paces

Not having a proper kitchen can’t be used as an excuse for not bothering to bake so excuse me whilst I jingle all the way to the Neff having stirred up my booze soaked dry fruit and sampled a wee dram or two to make sure I've got the recipe correct.  Bottoms up!

Mmm - does this fruit need a bit more booze?