A Little African Magic: October 2012

Yes,the past two weeks have been a blur of concrete dust all over the house,workmen in and out of the house at all hours of the day,a few mind boggling mishaps prevented.., some not ,while the contractors were only present for a couple of minutes each day and I found myself having to watch out for the tiler,carpenter,builder etc all trying to bumble up at every opportunity they got...The contractors finally got the message about them not supervising their job as I went about pulling up very expensive porcelain tiles after the tiler as he went bumbling about his job! I had them prodding holes in the new (skew) cornishes with Cules' bow arrows to make it clear to the carpenter as to what needed fixing too! They tried to tell me that our old house has skew walls,then I went and showed them how their builders built the skew wall! I did it all with amazing grace and dignity...yeah!

When people tell you to budget for about 15-25% more than what you carefully figured out your makeover will cost,believe it! It really,really does work like that! I did right from the beginning and at least there was no shocker there too!
If you are renovating while living in the house,the most exciting part of the whole exercise will be buying the new sanitary ware and tiles! After that step,all excitement faints away into a cloud of concrete dust and workmen bumbles...
If building new walls etc is involved,very,very carefully think your plans over and make sure it is workable.
Take your time before starting,I went to our local CTM store 3 days running and spent about four hours there every day looking at tiles,baths,basins,taps etc (had an excellent salesman there who pulled me away from the Tivoli taps and showed me why I should go for taps with a 40mm cartridge to cope with our hard water and lower water pressure on the farm) After spending time there with the salesman and the very helpful contractors, I made sure to also send them all away and look and think things over on my own with a clear head...Cules made sure to give me free rein and not go anywhere near the hardware store which was a very good thing really! All he said was that as long as we had a decent,huge shower I could choose any slipper bath I wanted! Yes,yes!
DO get in the bath in the shop and lay there awhile,it's amusing to see the expressions on the salesman's faces...They have to earn their money and are their for your convenience.....Be sure you drag your daughters there and make them climb in the tub too..
Never pass over tiles you like because it is not your "style" and then go for something you don't really like because you think you know your "style" I would never in my wildest dreams have thunk that I would end up with a contemporary country,Zennish style bathroom ever!! That is the first bathroom that is almost finished now with the shower. Everyone in the family loves the feel you get walking into that space now. We decided to use the shower for at least three days,then decided to not install a glass screen/door, which makes it feel even more spacious and Zen like! The whole thing came together amazingly well. Beautiful,restful with clean lines...just what a farmer and his wife needs after a long dusty day! I never thought I would see my husband shower three times a day!! I KID YOU NOT.
It is one of the most expensive makeovers in your house,after the kitchen,so do go for the things you want to have,even if it is a little more expensive than what you think you should probably spend. You are going to spend a whole lot of time in that tub thinking about the one you would rather have wanted!!
Make sure your contractors know what you want,talk to them,ask stupid questions and keep them on their toes in a good way!! You could always nail them over the head with a hammer on the last day when they leave and you are sure everything is working well...or go about it in a more lady-like fashion and offer them a beer laced with a good dose of brooklax on their way out...
If you are not happy with a tiling job,tear it up yourself before the tiling cement dries! That way you won't have to buy more tiles!! It is the contractor's job to insure the job is properly done!
I have learned that if I ever have to do over a house again,I would live outside in a tent...