The day started with the arrival of Paul. He's a family friend, whom my parents met many years ago whilst on holiday in Corfu. He lives locally and is a dab hand at tiling, so he was round to check do some minor demolition work on the bathroom to check a few things, including whether the floor is ply-boarded, and how the sink boxed in area was constructed. Facts found out, it was thence to Inverness to visit Topps Tiles. Neil and Murdo from Topps - and Paul - whom I still had in tow - were all extremely helpful in assisting in my choice of wall and floor tiles. I have the colour awareness of of a blind hedgehog in a paper bag, so any assistance is always appreciated in that respect!
The bathroom and hallway floors are to be tiled, and both will have under floor heating.
On return to Aviemore, I've checked out carpets, and chosen the same carpet/colour for both bedrooms. The chap at the store just needs a call to sort out fitting on the day of my choosing. They also stock beds, so eyed up and got prices on two single beds, which is what bedroom two will be having. The additional flexibility O'm seeking is to be able to fix the two singles together, and today I've learned that mattresses can be made that zip together, which sounds just what I need. The zipped together beds would make a super king size bed. Next step is to get do some proper measuring and head scratching to confirm that I'm ok for space. It will be a bit tight.
Next was the turn of the plumber - Andrew, from Ark Plumbing, Heating & Renewables Ltd the plumber - to get some advice re new bathroom suite, replacing electric shower, lagging and order of events re tiling etc. Quote awaited. Andrew was recommended to me by...
The electrician - Alistair "The Iceolator" Fraser popped by. I used Alistair last year to replace the consumer unit, and bring a few bits up to the new (and seemingly always changing) electrical standards, and was really happy with his work and after sales service. Alistair was originally recommended to me by The Rumblie B&B from Laggan. I had a right shopping list for him...
In the bathroom, the extractor fan needs to be replaced, heater removed (replaced by under-floor heating), electric shower to be replaced and 10mm cable to replace the existing 6mm cable so that a 10Kw+ shower can be installed. We also worked out the location for a heated towel rail.
In the kitchen, that's just a case of inserting a frost protection tubular heater in the sink area, which automatically kicks in at 5°C to prevent burst pipes, should the temperature drop that low. The door entry system to the apartment is not working, but there is some confusion about exactly what the current system is supposed to do. I have a replacement handset, but more research required to know how to get it fixed.
And finally we discussed heating options. Right now, there's a storage heater in the hallway, and that will go, being replaced by the underfloor heating. Each bedroom has a convector heater, but they take a lot of power (i.e. cost a lot to run) and are not terribly efficient. Those heaters will be going too, being replaced by combination storage/convector heaters. The benefit of these is that the cheaper overnight electricity in the storage heater part, releasing heat throughout the day, but can be given a boost as required by the combined convection heater as required throughout the day. The downside of this set up is that each bedroom will require an additional electricity supply cable, which will have to be retro fitted, meaning a line of conduit down the wall. The heat will make up for it tho.
In the lounge, the existing convector heater will go. There is already dual wiring in place for a combination heater, if required. However, I'm looking into infra-red electric heating, which is q new-ish concept, but looks awesome, and is made by Welltherm, based in Essex. Alistair is a fan of these heaters, which blend int the room's decor rather than being obvious heaters. More on this one when I decide whether to go down that route.
Today the decorating took a small step forward, with a second coat being added to one wall of bedroom 2, and first coat to two other walls. I should also have done the fourth wall, but just as I was about to start I nudged a sharp corner of a bedside cabinet into the wall, denting it. Thus filler required, drying time, etc etc, before I can do it. Doh! The ceiling and woodwork are left to do too, so a concerted effort needs to be made in the next few days to get things moving in the time I have available.
And finally, the day was rounded off by a take-away curry from the Royal Tandoori Indian Restaurant right around the corner on the main road. Lamb garlic chilli, with a chilli nan bread. Luvly!
The bathroom and hallway floors are to be tiled, and both will have under floor heating.
On return to Aviemore, I've checked out carpets, and chosen the same carpet/colour for both bedrooms. The chap at the store just needs a call to sort out fitting on the day of my choosing. They also stock beds, so eyed up and got prices on two single beds, which is what bedroom two will be having. The additional flexibility O'm seeking is to be able to fix the two singles together, and today I've learned that mattresses can be made that zip together, which sounds just what I need. The zipped together beds would make a super king size bed. Next step is to get do some proper measuring and head scratching to confirm that I'm ok for space. It will be a bit tight.
Next was the turn of the plumber - Andrew, from Ark Plumbing, Heating & Renewables Ltd the plumber - to get some advice re new bathroom suite, replacing electric shower, lagging and order of events re tiling etc. Quote awaited. Andrew was recommended to me by...
The electrician - Alistair "The Iceolator" Fraser popped by. I used Alistair last year to replace the consumer unit, and bring a few bits up to the new (and seemingly always changing) electrical standards, and was really happy with his work and after sales service. Alistair was originally recommended to me by The Rumblie B&B from Laggan. I had a right shopping list for him...
In the bathroom, the extractor fan needs to be replaced, heater removed (replaced by under-floor heating), electric shower to be replaced and 10mm cable to replace the existing 6mm cable so that a 10Kw+ shower can be installed. We also worked out the location for a heated towel rail.
In the kitchen, that's just a case of inserting a frost protection tubular heater in the sink area, which automatically kicks in at 5°C to prevent burst pipes, should the temperature drop that low. The door entry system to the apartment is not working, but there is some confusion about exactly what the current system is supposed to do. I have a replacement handset, but more research required to know how to get it fixed.
And finally we discussed heating options. Right now, there's a storage heater in the hallway, and that will go, being replaced by the underfloor heating. Each bedroom has a convector heater, but they take a lot of power (i.e. cost a lot to run) and are not terribly efficient. Those heaters will be going too, being replaced by combination storage/convector heaters. The benefit of these is that the cheaper overnight electricity in the storage heater part, releasing heat throughout the day, but can be given a boost as required by the combined convection heater as required throughout the day. The downside of this set up is that each bedroom will require an additional electricity supply cable, which will have to be retro fitted, meaning a line of conduit down the wall. The heat will make up for it tho.
In the lounge, the existing convector heater will go. There is already dual wiring in place for a combination heater, if required. However, I'm looking into infra-red electric heating, which is q new-ish concept, but looks awesome, and is made by Welltherm, based in Essex. Alistair is a fan of these heaters, which blend int the room's decor rather than being obvious heaters. More on this one when I decide whether to go down that route.
Today the decorating took a small step forward, with a second coat being added to one wall of bedroom 2, and first coat to two other walls. I should also have done the fourth wall, but just as I was about to start I nudged a sharp corner of a bedside cabinet into the wall, denting it. Thus filler required, drying time, etc etc, before I can do it. Doh! The ceiling and woodwork are left to do too, so a concerted effort needs to be made in the next few days to get things moving in the time I have available.
And finally, the day was rounded off by a take-away curry from the Royal Tandoori Indian Restaurant right around the corner on the main road. Lamb garlic chilli, with a chilli nan bread. Luvly!
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