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Sunday 10 July 2022

PROJECT MANAGER !!! ..........



Sorry ..... it's been a while { slight understatement ! } ..........


My excuse ? I have taken on the role of Project Manager ! It is now getting close for the building works to start on our new conservatory. The builder should be starting in August  ..... SHOULD being the operative word ! The builder said he would be popping round last Wednesday ..... he rang and said he was caught up and would come on Thursday ..... I haven't seen or heard from him since ! I rang him ..... no answer, nothing, rien, nada, niente, nichts !!! Lets hope I hear from him next week  🤞




This is our present conservatory. It's over thirty years old ..... it's rotten and leaking and, if you've got a spare half an hour, I'll tell you why it's rotten and leaking. Thirty years ago we thought we would have a conservatory. Through a friend, we found this guy who , we thought, could interpret our ideas . He was a great admirer of William Morris and knew a lot about the period. I wanted it to look a bit Gothic and not look like the ' run of the mill ' type of conservatory and to blend into the rest of our late Victorian house. I showed him what I wanted like the gothic windows and he suggested a few things and we agreed that he should do it.  He got someone else to do the footings and the brickwork and they did a wonderful job. 





See that return between the conservatory and the kitchen wall ? That wall is going to be knocked down and opened up into the kitchen. That return is just a damp waste of space. It will become part of the conservatory.




This is the William Morris look a like !!!




The brickwork completed, he came back and, after paying him a third { which we thought was fair as he had to get materials etc. } he did the window  frame work 




This is what he did ..... and then, he buggered off for 18 months leaving the woodwork exposed to the elements ! We think he spent the third of the money that we gave him on his debts and then had to do another job to get the money for the materials for our job ! ..... and thats not the end of it. Now, thirty years ago it was the ' thing ' to have stripped pine in old houses so, I wanted the inside of the windows to be wood and the outside painted green. When he finally returned, he said to me, " wouldn't you prefer the green to be on the inside ' to which I replied " NO ". I didn't think any more of it until we realised after he was long gone, that he had obviously painted the wrong side of the windows so, he put them in the wrong way round which meant the glazing bars were on the outside and all of the rain and snow sat on them, which, after a few years rotted the wood ! There were lots of other things ..... cracked glass that he hid with beading to name but one !

AND THEN .....

he had the nerve to come back and demand more money as he didn't think he charged enough !!! Needless to say, he didn't get any ! 
But, considering all of this happened, it did last over thirty years { sort of ! } 







Fast forward thirty years and this is an artists impression of what our new conservatory will look like. As in all projects, nothing ever seems to run smoothly and, driving home from meeting a friend, I got a phone call from the Conservatory company. They said that this has never happened before {?} but, because of Covid and Brexit, our conservatory, which was due to be erected mid September, will have to be put back ..... they have had trouble getting supplies and joiners etc. I thought she was going to say it would be months but, at the moment, we are looking at October..... I could never be a property developer !!! 

So, therein lies the tale of our conservatory !
Oh, and , just to show you so you get an idea on the inside, here's a photograph and explanation ... ish ! 



In this photograph taken from our breakfast room, our kitchen is on the right and the conservatory is on the left. Those cupboards and wall behind them in the kitchen will be knocked through into the conservatory so that it will all be open. 
We will be having a new kitchen but thats another story !!!

Also, so sorry for not commenting much lately ..... being a project manager takes up a lot of time !

XXXX







Jackie

23 comments:

  1. Exciting. The house I was brought up in had a huge conservatory. Warm on the coldest of winter days if the sun was shining.

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  2. I feel for you dear Jackie. Over the years I've heard so many similar stories where contractors up and leave with the money never to be found again - who would want those despicable so-called thieving professionals anyway! Hoping so much that the delay will not be too long - yes, COVID is definitely part of the current problem for builders and materials - and that your dream conservatory/kitchen will be done this year.
    Your house and garden are really charming - we should do projects here too but just can't face all the upheaval. . . . . . and I definitely don't want to be a project manager, or even the 'tea girl' haha!
    Thinking of you, sending hugs XX

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    1. All was going well with the new conservatory until last week Mary ..... I'm still waiting to hear from the builder ! It's far too stressful to be a property developer ..... so many things go wrong. It is SO hot here at the moment ..... it's possibly going to hit 40C at the weekend !!!! Sending love from the UK. XXXX

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  3. Good luck with the new conservatory and kitchen. I like the sound of the design for the all in one. xxx

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    1. Yes Rachel..... as much as I love old houses and don't like to mess around with the layout too much, I think I'm going to like the open plan kitchen/conservatory. Lets hope the builder hasn't gone AWOL !!! XXXX

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  4. Your artist's rendition is beyond delicious! Fingers crossed for you with this grand adventure - one excellent outcome of your previous contractor's sorry story is that you'll know what to look out for and be hot to trot as project manager on this new one and won't fall for any monkey business!

    Can I also send appreciation for the second fabulous hair pic on my blogroll this evening? You and Britta have let your locks down tonight!

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    1. I loved that the conservatory company did the little water colour of it. Pip I will probably frame it and have it on the wall in the conservatory. We haven't had many large building works done on any of the houses that we have lived in ..... the old conservatory was the largest and we were a bit green about it all. Hopefully, this one will go to plan🤞. I've had my hair like this pretty much all of my life ..... long and its so straight and easy to do that I couldn't change now. Maybe I'm a bit old for it now but, who cares !!! XXXX

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  5. Sadly, contractors and builders have a reputation that can be validated. The shams they come up with are ever evolving. Given your knowledge and experience, as project manager, you can keep them accountable. Your renovation sounds and looks amazing. October is not to far away. Building supplies are a legitimate problem everywhere.

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    1. Tell me about it Susan !!! I feel that this conservatory company are good and think the builder is too but he has gone AWOL but its only been a few days .... he might have Covid or he might have gone on holiday 🤞. I think they all have problems at the moment re supplies and workforce. Here's hoping I can contact him soon. XXXX

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  6. I'll pray for you- you may need it? :D

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    1. I think that I will need your prayers Z ! XXXX

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  7. It is important to survey builders; keep up with what they're doing. With many, when you turn your back they cut corners. The new conservatory looks spectacular. What larks.

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    1. My trouble Cro, is that I'm too nice and they probably put me to the bottom of the list because I don't moan ! But, I only take so much !!! I think it will be lovely when its all done ..... I'll keep you posted as it goes along. XXXX

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  8. Your William Morris lookalike seemed a happy chappie; shame he was a cr@ppy chippie!

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  9. Wow, Jackie - if I only look at the photo of the conservatory, I would say: wonderful, charming! Reading your story of course I feel with you.
    And hope oh so very much that the craftsmen come in time and everything will be ready and well! Here is the same shortage in supplies and craftsmen -- I asked a painter for my kitchen walls in Bavaria - he said: "One year you will have to wait!" As it is only a kitchen wall I might renuscitate my own craft from the days when we were studying - I mean: painting a wall is not rocket science... A conservatory is a hundred times more difficult - you need professionals.

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    1. Although they have set it back a few weeks, I was prepared for things not to go exactly to plan ..... these things always happen when you have work done don't they Britta ? I think its getting very difficult to get building supplies and I think that many of the workforce came from Eastern Europe so, that has made things difficult. Her's hoping it will get started soon .... I will post updates when they start ! XXXX

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  10. What a work to do…I hope it will go by plan 🍀🍀🍀 good luck !…love Ria 🍀💗🐾🍀 and Leaf ofcourse

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    1. I think we might need a bit of luck Ria ..... 🤞 XXXX

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