CAT BURGLAR

Look out, it’s the paint inspector! 

 

I think you've missed a bit over there

Word’s obviously got round that Charminster’s own crazy cat lady is re-furbishing the neighbourhood diner and our house has become a moggie magnet for every passing waif and stray. Here’s a photo of the latest feline intruder caught red handed (or should that be red pawed since cats don’t have hands) sneaking into the kitchen whilst we were painting on Tuesday night.

Best take a closer look to make sure

Definitely an opportunist cat burglar if ever I saw one. After a victory lap round the freshly painted kitchen and a few loud miaows, it was promptly escorted off the premises by the Cat Police.

Watered down base coat to cover the plaster

Use old leftover paint but make sure its Matt emulsion

Second coat in Dulux Soft Fauna 4

You'd never know we had the room plastered

First on the Wickes delivery list, my new kitchen turned up promptly at 7.00 am this morning. I was barely out of my PJs before the lorry searching for the blue balloon tied to the front door rumbled round the corner. Twenty minutes later, a cardboard box mountain deposited in the middle of the kitchen ready for next week’s installation to begin. It’s so exciting!

Got it all in the room - just!

LESS IS MORE

There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There’s also paint all over my trainers as hours earlier I managed to poke a hole in the bottom of an old tin of paint and found myself submerged in a Dulux mini lake.

Unexpected hole in bottom of old paint tin

Super scrimpers take note. If you decide that it’s OK to use leftover paint to base coat dry plaster, best check there aren’t any rusty holes in the bottom of the tin before you start painting.

Plaster is all nice and dry after almost 2 weeks

Not all walls were re-plastered

Dry plaster is very thirsty. Almost as thirsty as I am as it’s been at least 4 hours since my last cup of tea. Less paint is more effective for base coating dry plaster and our builders recommended a diluted mix of 3 parts paint to 1 part water hence the thinking it might be best to use leftover paint for this first coat.

Working my way round the walls

And now for the fiddly bits 

It has taken all day to key in all the edges and slap a good coat of paint onto the plaster. My intention is to put 3 coats of paint on the walls, a base coat of leftover paint followed by a second coat of the good stuff then a final coat once all the units have been installed. A bit excessive perhaps but this will hopefully cover up any defects from plastering.

After many emails and web investigation, the search for Titanic Verde tiles turned up nothing so I’ve decided to buy the Dakar black/green tiles from Ebay as the closest match to my own floor tiles. Hoping the builders can lay these for me as part of the project.

Kitchen delivery is scheduled for next Thursday and I’ve no idea where any of it is going to go as both the dining room and lounge are now so full you couldn’t swing a cat in them (it’s OK puss, I’m not going to give it a try!).

SEARCHING FOR THE TITANIC

I’ve been on the trail of the lonesome tile since last week, chasing down every lead with the tenacity of a Rottweiler. Having tracked down a third party supplier via Topps Tile, I electronically pistol-whipped the poor bloke into confessing they’d originally imported my old Titanic Verde tiles from Spain.

Sample tiles received but only 1 is a close match

Time to put my rusty written Spanish to the test. Will Rocersa (a ceramic company based near Valencia) have a forgotten supply of Titanic tiles gathering dust under a sombrero somewhere? Only time and a good Google translator will tell.

Alas another cul-de-sac in the maze of my investigations but I did manage to get addresses for another 3 UK importers of Titanic Verde tiles. Chances of finding any are now on a par with discovering alien lifeforms working in the Co-op. (Right, so you’ve noticed that weird bloke behind the deli counter with the strange complexion and slightly spindly fingers too …)

Ragged edges where kitchen units used to be

A watched in-box never fills so back to the kitchen to figure out how we can neaten the ragged edges of flooring exposed by removing the old kitchen units. As tracking down matching tiles may not be possible, we’re going with the builders suggestion to create an elongated ‘door mat’ made from hard-wearing coir matting to fill the gap in front of the new French doors.

Straightened with a disc cutter

Anyone attempting to cut tiles that have been cemented onto a concrete floor be warned- this is a very risky business. Most floors once laid are not really designed to be taken up. You can’t just prise up the odd tile here or there. Cracks spread and before you know it, you’ll be pricing up a whole new floor – very expensive. But if you’re really careful and have a good diamond disc cutter, ragged edges can be straightened just enough to give a tidy finish.

Patio area in the daylight

Brick matching almost spot on

PHASE ONE COMPLETED

Well what do you think of it so far puss? Not bad going for a week and a half’s work. I know how picky you cats can be so no good wrinkling your little pink nose in disdain at the dusty mess and smell all round, it’s something we’ve all got to live with including you (even if you don’t exactly live here).

Where's my bowl going to be?

Perfect for a spot of bird watching

Looking past the detritus of builder debris and tools you can slowly begin to see the re-vamped room zooming into sharper relief especially now that the plastering is done and drying. In this warmer weather, I expect to be ready to put a first coat of paint on the walls in about a week’s time with a second top coat applied after the units have been fitted. No need to prime the plaster apparently, a watered down lick of paint should do.

Walls all plastered and drying nicely

Side wall minus the back door

Final shaping of the fireplace

Underneath its layer of brick dust, the patio has also taken on a whole new aspect. The corner where the back door once opened out now appears strangely larger and means we can move plants around or even add a few more (you can never have enough plants!). And at a first glance, Plan B (rendering the side wall to cover up any horrors) may not be needed as the builders have managed to recycle/colour match the bricks used to our existing old imperial ones. It’s pretty damn perfect and as a perfectionist, that feedback means the royal seal of approval.

Ooops daylight's gone but you get the idea

Not much luck in tracking down a match for the old floor tiles and with only 3 weeks until the kitchen itself is delivered, it’ll be a race against the clock to find a suitable colour or style that will blend in with the existing. I’ve managed to find a seller on Ebay with tiles that might be close but as beige or grey seem to be the flooring colours of choice these days then looking for dark green tiles is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Fingers crossed that the Ebay tile sample will be the answer to the flooring conundrum.