Finally...

....after 515 days (almost 17months) we moved in to our house. I eventually put my feet up at 23:30 and waited patiently for Claire to return home after going out with the girls to see Kaiser Chiefs in Brum.

There has been some great days, hard days, wowser days and only a few sad days

I never thought I would take on such a big project, but we did unearth some major things that we didn't see on the surface when placing an offer. The survey picked up some issues which reduced the price by quite a lot that enabled us to keep the house more in keeping with age on the front while turning it into a more energy efficient and user friendly abode elsewhere.

We were lucky enough to find a builder that was very reasonably priced, worked within our time demands and did a great job. They built an extension, laid a new slate roof, rebuilt the two chimneys and re-plastered the walls and ceilings top to bottom.

Central heating was put in throughout the house by the excellent Fern.

A couple more tradesmen were involved along the way to help us get in on our third extended deadline, other than that it was down to us. 

This last, successful move in date has allowed Claire to wake up in her new house for the first time on her Birthday, which I think was rather nice..

The project would be nowhere near complete and maybe never would be without the help of Claire's dad who has put in many, many hours of hard graft and has taught me many skills along the way. Claire's mom has really helped especially since Christmas with painting woodwork and making things look so professionally finished. Many days she would get back from work and go straight to the house for several hours to get things done, on the days she wasn't working she'd be there too. Her hard work really is one of the most noticeable qualities in the house.

I'm also grateful for the hours my pops put in getting covered in paint, the hours Gemma scrapped wallpaper off the walls which ended up being fruitless as all the plaster came off. Gemma along with Tyler last weekend helped immensely with the last push.

A big thanks to my mom and dad too for supporting us along the way and by stocking up the cupboards with nice gifts and essentials to set us on our way.

I'm looking forward to getting out on my pushbike with my old man now the big pressure is off making the house liveable. 

Thanks for following the journey that's not quite over (we are in but far from finished decorating and finishing outside work). 

Blip has been a wonderful tool for recording the biggest project of my life and already I look back on the days and smile at what we've achieved.

I now have to suffer nearly two weeks without the internet at home so please be patient, I look forward to making many new happy memories in our house in the middle of our street.

Mr Bo Hingles