Day2Day

Pictures accompany this entry: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkida/195008918/

"What's this weird stuff under my foot?" I wondered as I stepped into the kitchen. Granted, we haven't swept the floor in a couple of weeks but they felt like incredibly big crumbs and they were right in the middle of the floor. I stepped closer to the counter to find that there were even more of them there, so I stepped back and switched on the light. My original plan had been to wander to the fridge, grab a cold drink and go back to the living room without touching the light, but now I was curious.

All over the floor were tiny little chunks of clear and black glass, almost cuboid in shape, like safety glass is. At first I thought that somehow one of our glass placemats had been swept off the table and shattered but it would have to be a very large one. So what else could shower glass all over the kitchen? I looked up.

"Um. How come our oven door has exploded?" I asked Tobes, carefully stepping back off the chunks of glass, reasoning that bare feet weren't a good plan for the kitchen.

We heard nothing, saw nothing. An hour ago the cooker was intact. It hasn't been used in two days. For some reason, though, it's simply exploded everywhere this evening. I guess it must be the hot weather but it's a mystery. If it had happened in the day I could understand it better - light could have been concentrated through the patio door onto the oven door causing a magnifying glass effect during the day. That, I suppose, would have the potential to make glass explode. Maybe. But it was dark and in a room with nobody in it to disturb anything and it just spontaneously threw glass everywhere. That's a bit dangerous, really, innit?

So now we have to figure out how to get that fixed, what it will cost, and whether the contents insurance is worth invoking. Hey... maybe it's under warranty. Time to dig through paperwork tomorrow. *sigh*

Now I know why the previous owners didn't bother to take their lawnmower with them.

I took it out of the shed and the handle dropped off. I secured the handle and plugged it in and it went zzzzZZZZZzzzz but nothing moved so I unplugged it and looked at the underneath and realised that it was pretty well rusted into place.
I managed to move the blades a bit, trapping my thumb in the process, but also in the process realised they are about as sharp as a plank of wood. So I think I need a new lawnmower.

If only I'd realised this sooner. We could have raced it last week!

It's hard to dismantle a wardrobe when the answer to "What's holding it together?" seems to be "Magic". But I did it. And I dragged the bits upstairs and rebuilt the wardrobe.

Then I built half a bed, came downstairs and put the living room furniture into place. Then I returned to building the bed. Right now it's awaiting the rest of a drawer and a headboard before it can be considered a complete bed.

My house looks like cardboard city and I'm utterly knackered. What am I going to do with all these bits of boxes? The dustbin was full three days ago!

Also, apparantly, kicking a hammer by accident when you have nothing on your feet makes the end of your toe fall off. It hurts.

Pictures! ( No, not of the toe )

I go to bed at around 11.30pm now. By midnight I'm asleep. My neighbours, it turns out, are quite noisy. I think there are two unruly teens next door. There are a lot of kids around the neighbourhood hanging out on bikes and scooters, playing with footballs and the like during the early evenings. By 11, though, it's all quiet and I fall asleep easily in the silence at 11.30pm.

At 1am last night there was a nosie that woke me up. It was a single loud click. It sounded (to me, in my paranoid state) like the sound you would get if you pulled down a door handle then let go so it sprang back into place. I was immediately awake and checking at the windows. There didn't seem to be anybody around, front or back.

Interesting that it should happen at exactly 1am. Perhaps something in the house switches over at that time. I thought perhaps the video I left running had reached the end and ejected itself. No. I'm not aware of anything the heating is supposed to do at 1am. I wondered whether the bag of rubbish hung inside the bathroom cabinet had fallen. No. So I still don't know what it was. Five minutes of investigation and I was ready to go back to bed. I'm going to wonder what that was for a long time, though.

Well the nap last night turned into an early night. I was more tired than I realised. However, I was up at 6.30am this morning ready to attack the house once again with my tidying-up hat on. I'm sure the fact that what I'm actually doing by 8am is sitting at the computer indicates something but at this point I don't care to consider quite what. And you shouldn't, either.

It could have at least waited until I was done unpacking...

Previously on LiveJournal I said "Bath or shower? Bath. But my hot tap doesn't work!"

I just found out how much it doesn't work. That nasty spluttering made as the water started to drip along the tap and collect on the edges of the bath and around the taps where the shampoo sits? Well, it wasn't just collecting there, it was dripping down to below, too. There's a concerning bulge in my kitchen ceiling now. I've torn the side off the bath to see what's underneath, only to find I can't get at it easily because of the way the bathroom mods have been done. I've managed to establish that it is just the hot tap failure that caused the problem rather than there being a leaking pipe or something similarly nasty lurking in there. I have shower sealant. I was going to use it. Then I realised I bought the damn stuff in a form that requires a sealant gun. A gun which, no doubt you've guessed, I don't have.

Plus there's the question of the puddle that is apparantly sitting on top of my kitchen ceiling. Will that dry up and go away by itself? Or do I have to somehow get to it and mop it up? Cos getting into the corresponding part of the bathroom will NOT be easy without ripping out the bathroom unit which in itself is a scary and difficult task. I know better than to touch the ceiling and have it collapse on me but at this stage I'm not quite sure what to do beyond avoiding using the hot tap on the bath. Not difficult to avoid since I'd already given up on it - but Natalie was fighting with it to bath Denver during the week and I had tried a few times to run a bath so I guess the water has collected but I didn't notice the damage until now. My parents had a similar problem with water leaks so I tried phoning them - no answer.

Any advice, anyone? Will the puddle dry up and go away by itself or do I have to dismantle my bathroom and rip up floorboards?

I'm not having a good day.

My new house rocks.*

NTL don't.

I've come into work for a rest.

*Not literally. Foundations are stable.

I got another call from Keith. He says the NTL bods are going to install the swep-T tomorrow so my appointment may still be okay. Yay!

Plus my solicitor called to confirm the release of the keys (previously she was unavailable so I talked to the Estate Agents who confirmed).

These phonecalls are just playing with my emotions. Fiends!

I'm a home owner!

And I owe the bank rather a lot of money.

The estate agents have permission to release the keys to me and I can go in and collect them whenever I want to. Huzzah!

For those who may care for more detail, here is some info on my house. Bear in mind it is written in estate-agent-speak and may require some translation.

Description: This well maintained modern terrace home benefits from gas central heating and double glazing. The accommodation briefly comprises: entrance hallway, kitchen/diner, lounge, first floor landing, three bedrooms, bathroom and separate w.c. Outside there is a rear garden.

Storm canopy with tiled slates. UPVC double glazed door through to:

Entrance hallway:
Stairs to first floor with understairs storage space and cupboard. Double radiator. Textured ceiling. Alarm sensor to corner.

Kitchen/diner: 17'10 x 10'0 approx.
Refitted range of medium oak effect base, drawer and eye level units with tiled worktop surfaces to compliment. One and a quarter bowl sink unit with mixer tap. Tiled splashbacks. Built in carousel under worktops. Built in electric single oven and fitted four ring gas hob. Plumbing for automatic washing machine. Breakfast bar to middle. UPVC double glazed window to front aspect. UPVC double glazed French doors to rear aspect. Two double radiators. Air vent to side wall. Alarm sensor to corner. Dado rail. Tiled flooring. Two central ceiling lights. Coving to textured ceiling. Archway through to:

Lounge: 13'10 x 11'10 approx.
UPVC double glazed window to rear aspect. Double radiator. Television point. Telephone point. Dado rail. Picture rail. Coving to textured ceiling.

First floor landing:
UPVC double glazed window to front aspect. Built in airing cupboard housing wall mounted gas central heating boiler (combination boiler). Smoke detector (linked to central station). Textured ceiling. Loft access.

Bedroom 1: 11'10 x 10'10 approx.
UPVC double glazed window to rear aspect. Single radiator. Coving to textured ceiling.

Bedroom 2: 11'10 x 6'7 approx.
UPVC double glazed window to rear aspect. Single radiator. Textured ceiling.

Bedroom 3: 11'10 x 6'0 approx.
UPVC double glazed window to rear aspect. Double radiator. Textured ceiling.

Bathroom:
Two piece suite comprising panelled bath with wall mounted shower and screen, vanity wash hand basin. Ceramic tiled splashbacks. UPVC double glazed frosted window to front aspect. Single radiator. Textured ceiling.

W.C:
Comprising low level w.c. UPVC double glazed frosted window to front aspect. Textured ceiling.

Outside:
The rear garden is laid to lawn with mature shrubs and flower beds. Rockery to one side. Paved patio area. Timber storage shed. Brick built wall to one side. Enclosed by timber fencing with gated side access.