We’ve been busy shopping this week, and so far have a complete bathroom suite biding its time in the garden. The roll top bath was something I was keen on from the start, but we’ve struggled to find one cheaply second-hand. Eventually, one appeared at a suitable price. The toilet and sink came up even more cost-effective, being completely free. Our final purchase was actually round the corner from my parents, and my dad kindly collected it for us, with a friend’s parents getting rid of a nearly new dishwasher.

Back at the house we were pleased to see the floor had set. A little lumpy, but it should flatten out as we grind it down. Firstly though it needs to dry for another month.

So we set about installing the last two PVC windows. The first went in relatively easily, though it took quite a while to break up the two large stones either side of it, in order to get the lintle in place.

The next window was surprisingly difficult. Taking out the old window didn’t take long, as it was so rotten it fell apart in my hands. Although Chris had previous installed a new lintle on the interior of the wall, as well as in the center of the wall, we needed to replace the outer wooden lintle too. Getting acro props in place Chris started to notice the stones above slipping and had to further support them. Either side of the window, much of the stone the new lintle would sit on had dropped out, the mortar too old and weathered to hold together. It took some time to rebuild everything enough for the window to be put in place, and even then drilling into the rock risked dislodging everything. Finally, in the wind and the rain the window was secured.

Although it will have to be moved again to polish the concrete, we decided to set up the kitchen units, to check we had everything we needed and work out the best arrangement. After much juggling around, we think we’ve landed on the final design, with several units spare to use in the utility room.

Chris continued his work building the stud wall with reclaimed wood, including installing a new socket. He then carried on his electric work in the kitchen.

I continued tidying the downstairs, filling the car with another load of rubbish for the recycling center. Cleared out the house looks significantly larger. Hopefully all this cleaning will be worth it, giving the valuer the right sense of its worth so we can get our mortgage moved across.

Out in the garden the snowdrops have gone over, but in their place we have a few daffodils to enjoy. I particularly like this bizarre cultivar. No good for pollinators with all its fancy layers, but still very fancy-looking. Hopefully we’ll have a house to match it one day, although a little more wildlife-friendly.