Our House. The Story So FarPosted by Shortland, 9/3/06 at 1:42:44 PM.
October 2005: Decide London living is not for us any more, and look at moving to Norfolk. A strange decision perhaps, but a logical one. Charley grew up there, and wanted to go home. I don't really mind where I live as long as it's got a nice pub.
November 2005: Charley has an interview, and gets the job the same day. We're definitely going. However, due to security checks, no start date is offered.
6th December 2005: Charley sees the plans for a brand new house in a small market town in the middle of Norfolk. Decides she wants to live there.
9th December 2005: See the insides of a different house on the same estate, and decide that this is the house we want.
11th December 2005: Put down the holding deposit on Plot 52, Norfolk Gardens.
23rd December 2005: Charley gets confirmation of her start date - 6th February.
24th December 2005: These are the fist piccies of the house.
Being a girl though, Charley is most interested in the whirlpool bath....
20th January 2006: I go for an interview in Norwich.
24th January 2006: Get offered the job. Start on the 6th February. We're definitely going now - there's no backing out with a house and two jobs in Norfolk!
28th January 2006: Get to go inside the house for the first time. Things are looking good.
except for the garden and garage!
(that big puddle on the right is our driveway and garage!)
6th February 2006: First day for both of us in Norwich. Feels a bit like going to a new school for the first time. The city looks a lot smaller than London....
11th February 2006: Choose all our options for the house - carpets, wall colours, kitchen units, the lot. Getting exciting now. Just want to exchange and move in.....
18th February 2006: Move out all our stuff from the London house into storage. We've been living hardly any of our things for over a month already, as they've all been boxed up ready to go. It's a bit of a pain, but these things happen.
28th February 2006: The rental lease on the house in London finally expires, and for the very last time, we leave the city where I've been living for nearly 8 years. Feels a bit strange, but in the grand scheme of things, a new adventure has just begun.
10th March (3-15pm): We're officially house owners. Contracts have been exchanged, and the house is defiately ours! A bit frightening really, but can't wait now to move in.
25th March: The house is starting to come on now. All the tiles have arrived for the floor and walls, and the kitchen units are almost finished. For the first time, it's beginning to feel like our home, rather than just a shell. Also, outside, the footings have been dug for the garage.
2nd April: The foundations of the garage are in place, and the walls are three bricks high. At this rate, it will be ready about February next year! We weren't able to get inside this week, so what they've done to it is a complete surprise.....
9th April: Typical. The house changes so much since we were last inside, but I don't have my camera. Sods law really. The kitchen and all bathrooms are tiled, both walls and floor, and looks lovely. The garage has it's floor laid now (the three brick high thing was just for the floor area, there are still no walls!) All the drainage for the site has been laid, and best of all, the whole of the back of the site has been levelled and cleared in preparation for all the driveways to be put in. It's so close now, I just want to be there.
29th April: The house is in the process of being painted!! The base coats have gone on, and in some cases, the whole room is finished. Outside, the garden has been cleared, paths laid, and fences put up. The block paving for the driveway and access roads have been finished, and the garage is just missing its roof.
Surely it's nearly finished now.....
6th May: The two week notice call failed to come yesterday, so it would seem that the 19th May as a move date is now not going to happen. I'm really frustrated now, as I'd built myself up to it being then (Charley, being pragmatic, didn't, and wasn't at all surprised!)
However, the painting is nearly finished - they were doing the gloss coats today. The garage still does not have a roof though, and, as always, is being the one that is lagging behind everything else.
One day......
10th May: Officially find out that we're not moving on the 19th. Gutted.
The reason is due to a water test failure, meaning that the builders can't get their certificates, so the house is still not ready.
10th May: The painting has been finished, but there are a lot of snag marks that have been identified, and need to be redone.
The garage has a roof structure, so that will be finished soon. The only hold up is the water. Apparently a new test was run Wednesday night, so the results of that one should be known soon, and then we can get our date.
You can tell it will be soon though, as the carpets have been ordered....
19th May: We should have been moving today. We're not. It's depressing.
20th May: The water passed it's final test, so it's all systems go. As soon as the builders get their certificates through, they can give us the 10 day notice. We don't need 10 days though - I'd move in the day they told me if I could! The latest will be three weeks time!
3rd June: The countdown is on. The carpets are in, and the house is in the final stages of getting ready. The lawn has been turfed, the fences are almost all up. Roll on next Friday!!!!!
Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is shining a bit brighter.....
7th June: A house with no water is a useless house. Anglia Water still have not connected us to ther mains. However, there is a deadline of Friday for it to happen. Squeaky bum time again....
9th June: And still the drama continues. Instead of being able to relax in our new lounge, the water is still not on, so we're not completing today. Back into limbo, as no one knows now when it's going to happen. Anglia are dependant on their subcontractors, who don't seem to care that there's people trying to move in today. Will it be Monday?
11th June: Feel a bit sad really. Today we scoured the house looking for all the bits that are wrong. I know it's important, so that it's all right before we move in, but even so. Concentrating on the negative things, especially when all you want to do is move in, is hard. Managed to fill about 8 sides of A4 with snags, from the small (a chip out the paintwork), the meduim (the kitchen has been put in by a five year old it seems - nothing is straight) to the large (the patio door is so wonky it's untrue, and to "fix" it, someone has just chiselled out the UPVC frame on the one side. It looks like someone was trying to break in!
14th June: Still no sign of any water being connected. Thoroughly upset now. The mortgage has had to be returned to the bank. No end in sight....
15th June - 11am : From out of the blue, a phone call. The water people are on site. Your's will be connected today. We're already to go, so rush home, eager to complete.
15th June - 3:30pm : They've been and now gone - England are playing after all! People can't be expected to work and fulfill contracts when England kick off at 5pm! The trouble is, they haven't actually got round to connecting our house up before they left. Assuances are made that they will be back first thing. Ours will be the first house on the list to be connected.
16th June - 10:30am : No sign of the water guys. Will it be yet another disappointed day?
16th June - 12pm : Still no sign, but the guarantee of it being done today still stands.
16th June - 1:15pm : The water is still not on, but as we've wasted so much time on it already decide to complete anyway. Even if the water doesn't go on today, it will go on next week at some point. At least we can get in and move our stuff in.
16th June - 4pm : Heard nothing from anyone. Ring the solicitor, and she's gone home for the weekend. "But we're meant to be completing" we wail...
16th June - 4.55pm : After much negotiating with the builders solicitors, we get the keys to our new home. We are officially home owners!
16th June - 5.05pm : The water is on. But the drama doesn't stop there. Turn on the boiler, and a dripping sound is heard.... Time for the 24 hour plumber to come round....
16th June - 6:30pm : The kitchen is flooded by a geyser of water. Turns out, some bright chippie has nailled straight through the lead water pipe to the boiler. At least the plumber man can solve it, and we can now live happily ever after.....
24th June : ...or so we thought. Find out that the en suite shower has a leak, which has run down through the roof into the spare bedroom. I'm not adverse to water features, but not inside the house, especially when you don't plan for them to be there in the first place!
24th June : Hurrah - another leak. This time from the main bathroom down to the lounge. Lovely... At least we know they will be fixed.
Piccies to come....
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