A safe choice in yellow
Well, not exactly a rime, but a thick cloud of sawdust currently engulfs the 'to be' nursery.
The work continues to convert what we considered when we moved in to be the room requiring least attention into a habitable nursery. As ever, the old problems have reoccurred.
Poor quality plasterwork has had to be repaired, This has been a major problem all over the house (although it's not so bad upstairs).
External walls 'insulated' with sheets of polystyrene beneath the wallpaper has had to be removed (this did provide a seasonal flurry of 'snow' inside the house for several days as flakes of polystyrene drifted around the bedrooms and landing, but why people insist on using this stuff is beyond me - don't you know it just traps damp inside your brickwork and plaster? What's more, you use so much adhesive to get it to stick, it takes days to prep the walls when you need to remove it. Aghhh!).
And finally, you get back to the 'original' paintwork on the walls. I'm convinced it's some kind of distemper - as you wash it down, it starts to come away on the cloth. Unless you clean it off thoroughly, it soaks through the emulsion you subsequently apply. And it's all painted in that horrible 'institutional green'. I'm sure the previous owners must have been decorators for the local schools and asylums.
Anyway, with the walls prepped, the holes filled, the distemper sealed in and a coat of white emulsion down, we finally decided on a pale yellow. Probably the safest bet for a new-born's bedroom. Anyway, we're not ones for stereotyping, even if we did know the sex of 'bump'.
So on to the next challenge for this room. This is where we sited the new boiler and water cylinder after we had the house replumbed 3 years ago. Ever since then, we've been planning to build an airing cupboard around the cylinder, and enclose the boiler to keep down the noise. Until now we really haven't had enough motivation to get this done, so like everything else, it's been on our list of 'things to do'.
We always knew we needed an airing cupboard, and building it in to the alcove on one side of the chimney breast was an obvious use of space - this was our plan from the start. However, always looking to capitalise on these opportunities, I felt it would be the perfect time to build in wardrobes in the other alcolve, and 'over bed' cupboards in between. After all, babies probably need quite a lot of storage, don't they?
So, I was back in my element. Planning a proper fitted wardrobe system, made out of real timber, with joints and everything. Excellent. It's like creating your own 3D jigsaw from scratch. In my usual DIY fashion, it's built to last with a secondary function of holding up the walls and ceiling. Alternatively you could say that it's been over-engineered, but that's my way.
It was also the excuse I've been looking for to go out and get that router. I've waited over 2 years for the right opportunity, and accurately cutting dozens of joints seems like as good a reason as any. As usual, although I like my power tools, I find it hard to justify buying 'the best' when they only get used for very specific jobs. Again I opted for on the B&Q's Performance Power Pro models (1250W) - ideal for occasional use. It's no DeWalt, but then it only costs £79. It got a fairly good rating from the Consumer's Association in a recent test. Having said that, the depth lock spring did break after only 10 minutes of use and I had to have the whole unit replaced.
The second unit has survived 2 whole days worth of use. The main structure of the airing cupboard in now complete, and one door has already been fitted. I still have shelves to insert and walls to clad, but I think the next job will be to build the matching wardrobe on the other side. Until then, I have to decide if it's really worth clearing up the carpet of sawdust currently coating the bedroom floor and walls like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption...
