Houseworks Step 4

It's all about the team, pre-imagineering, and setting reasonable start times.

Part of my Cleanest Greenest Home Series: demystifying eco upgrades, healthier materials, and smarter ways to live well inside the homes we already have.

Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash

Following on from Houseworks Step 3, I painted out half the wardrobe hinges, then just decided to take the whole lot out and start over — regrettably the infrastructure isn’t good enough for me to retain any of it, and such is my dedication to balance and harmony, I realised I was more prepared to get rid of some of my clothes than I was to max out the closets. It’s what I look at when I wake up after all!

But in other news, I am spending a lot of time standing in empty rooms trying to imagine how we’ll use them. At the moment all life (downstairs) for small and I is happening in two rooms, the kitchen and one lounge. The latter serving the brunt of all functions: from relaxing/reading (me), working (me daily, him homework); eating (both); and watching TV (occasionally both as small has his own playroom and prefers to retreat up there). He likes the living room but says it really feels like ‘my’ room not his. And he’s right. While we’re in the midst of disarray, it’s essential for my wellbeing that I too have a ‘playroom’ albeit one that functions more as a dust-free Sanctuary. It’s a tricky balance at present because it’s being forced to take on so many additional purposes (shortly also to become my bedroom!). But an evening routine of tidying away books, closing the laptop, and lowering lights helps to preserve its sanctity when it has to switch from HQ central to relaxed.

But back to standing in rooms. When it’s clear that actually we can survive quite happily in just two spaces, it means the purpose of other spaces needs to be very carefully thought through. Could an adjacent living space become the Sanctuary, and we leave the TV in the first room? Or, does the other room become the one where all our books are kept, so creating a quiet room for reading? Do we install a sound system? But if it’s next door to the ‘quiet’ room, how will that work? Shall I leave our lovely big dining table at one end of that room? Will I work there? Or will that move to the upstairs spare bedroom? If the bookshelf is to be wall hung, should I get sockets put higher up in the wall so lights can be fitted within it? And on it goes. It takes time. I seldom find I can feel it immediately. I literally have to occupy the room, sometimes with my eyes closed, and imagine it down to the smallest details.

Plus the determined use of one room has a knock on effect on others. Or at least it should do if flow is carefully thought through. For example, if the dining table stays in the second living/reading room, this will change how I plan the kitchen, as I’ve always enjoyed having our table there. Or would I move the small inherited table from the currently inhabited lounge (with the now oak-stained top) there instead? But I’m using this as my painting table… and might this dictate the flooring in the kitchen?

It all overlaps.

This is one of the hardest things about any renovation — for the best result, you need to plan the smallest details from socket sites to tap holes in order to make the big decisions (floor type, lighting and furniture placement). I don’t need to commission a joiner for the wall-hung shelving, or decide what wood to make it from just yet, but I do need to decide whether it’s wall hung or free-standing, and where I want the lights to go. The whole room will soon be stripped, re-insulated and re-plastered, so the electrician (and plasterer) need to know what’s what before a stroke of plaster goes anywhere near it.

I also need to engage a plumber. Radiators in the rooms being done must be removed, so while we’re at it, when we re-instate them, I want the pipework to be embedded in the walls, rather than coming up through the floor. In my bedroom the original pipes career cheerfully above the carpet, so I want those moved too. No-one needs to see pipework. But as is nearly always the case, the simplest-seeming tasks are more complicated in practise.

Removing radiators without changing pipework = easy. You simply turn the valves off and disconnect. Removing and fiddling about with pipework means draining the whole system, potentially pulling up floorboards and more. And not every plumber can be bothered it would appear. Some reply quickly, ask for pictures, say they need to visit then fail to show up. Some say they’re just too busy. Some like a chat but then are also clearly too busy to help even though they’d like to. As it stands, having spoken to what feels like half the plumbers in Kent, I’m bringing in someone from Brighton, a recommended mate of my brilliant electrician. It really is SO all about the team.

And it’s a lot. As a result I’ve slowed right down on any bits I can do myself in favour of prep, which has included clearing the entire garage ready for receipt of materials. Yet, as per my last Houseworks post, I also want it all done yesterday! I’ve decided too I can’t stand my bathroom a moment longer, so while they’re stripping the bedrooms (work started 9 March), and I have a plumber in to move the radiators, maybe I could bite the bullet and strip out the bathroom at the same time? But, potentially this way madness lies. It might be efficient, but is it kind to myself? I think not.

In the interim, back to insulation depth calculations! More on that in the next post. And meanwhile, here are my top tips to staying sane during building works…

1. Do not accept an 8am start time as default. Ask if you can move it later! It may have an affect on how much gets done in any one day (as they’ll still knock off at 4pm) but speaking for myself, that extra hour to myself in the morning is absolutely priceless.

2. Following on from the above, stick to your morning rituals and routines as best as possible. They will set you up for the day and work on the side of convincing your nervous system that everything is business as usual.

3. If very noisy work is going to be happening, vacate. Likewise any demolition. It can be emotional to watch as it’s inevitably messy. Vacate until they’ve had a chance to clean up. You don’t need to see this.

4. Dust sheet like your life depended on it (you can buy biodegradable ones now), and invest in the polythene ‘zip-up doors’ that can be securely double-sided sticky taped in place to more effectively seal rooms that must remain dust-free.

5. Keep your eye on the end result. It will finish. It will be worth it in the end. It always is. It’s just a bit like childbirth.

6. Oh, I almost forgot one. Remember it’s your home. Which means anytime you want to pop your head round the corner, check in, check up, or ask questions you are allowed to do so! Even I sometimes feel the fear on this one. I don’t want to intrude, plus it can feel like a ‘check-in’ implies lack of trust. But it’s not. Think of it as you simply seeking reassurance that everything is going to plan, and reminding them that you are available for discussion if it’s not. Bottom line, keep the lines of communication open as wide as possible at all times. It helps them get the best result, and you to feel happy precisely because they got the best result.

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