Nearly there - progress continues on our pre-loved conservatory DIY project with help from The Skirting Board Shop.
My husband is amazing. There are very few DIY jobs he cannot turn his hand to with the result that I have a beautiful gazebo he built for my 40th birthday party, a cute pergola with a grapevine climbing over it to remind me of happy days in Cyprus and a kitchen he installed to name a few.
Most recently he has been working on a garden room/conservatory project. Well, I say recently. He started the project in 2014 when we were offered a conservatory-type frame to create extra space on our cramped home.
The conservatory ( I call it that but it seems an inadequate description) had been built by my friend's late father in law many years before but was being removed to extend the home- my friend offered it to us.
The conservatory needed taking down and transporting, we had to look into required permissions and do lots of measuring to make what had been this custom built room fit our house.
(It was so lovely of the family to offer it to us and I hope they know just how much we love and appreciate it. You can see it below being removed from my friend's house here)
With lots of help from friends, some pictured, some not, we got the frame and glazed units home and dug foundations. Then the unthinkable happened.
My husband had a serious accident. The ligament attaching his thigh muscle to his knee sheared completely off requiring emergency surgery. He was left wheelchair bound, unable to even dress himself.
He was a self-employed scaffolder. No work= no pay. The DIY was the last thing on our list of priorities. The wood and glazed units sat in the garden and I feared the materials would fall prey to the weather.
But did I mention my husband is amazing?
He defied all expectations relating to how long it might take him to recover and how well. He limps, he's unable to work as a scaffolder but because he has the strongest work ethic I've ever seen in anyone he found a part time job in our local supermarket just 6 months after they told us he probably wouldn't be able to walk properly for a year or more.
And he started working on the extension again. Slowly but surely, again with help from friends, our new space materialised. Another friend offered glazed units to fill the space where there had originally been a wall - we effectively had to swap two sides so one set of doors didn't lead into our hedge!
On Easter Monday the room was declared watertight and we enjoyed a celebratory meal with friends in it.
It was dark and cold - no heating or light - but truly felt more than just a room warming. It felt like confirmation that our family might be returning to normal. A new normal but better than the bleak prospect we had been facing.
My husband has continued to work on the room and we are into finishing touches now and we have been delighted to work with an amazing company who supply so many vital pieces for anyone undertaking house renovations, new projects or repair or enhancement work.
The Skirting Board Shop is an amazing resource for top quality products for all budgets. And don't be fooled by the name - they obviously stock a great range of skirting boards but the site is also a one stop shop for architraves, door linings and casings and window sills.
There's an array of styles, colours and finishes and we had so much fun browsing the website. Yes I know it sounds sad but if you've ever been involved in a DIY project you'll know how exciting and important these finishing touches are!
We chose American white oak windowsill - the room will have quite a wide window sill to cover the tile sill the windows rest on, the breeze blocks, insulation and plasterboard. Builders might be a bit puzzled by the way we've made the walls but it's all down to making someone else's project fit our house!
I'm looking forward to wide sills - plenty of room to display my beloved vintage bits and pieces!
We've gone for a small fully finished white painted shaped skirting board. I'm very glad I don't have to paint it!
We found the site very easy to navigate and there's lots of information to help you make the right decision. You can order free samples to make sure you are happy with your chosen finish and there are even fixing and decorating guides on the site and downloadable printable guides on how to fit window sills and skirting boards.
You can shop by size, colour, style or finish and there is a handy helpline and "help" email address if you have any questions.
Delivery was quick and easy - we were delighted with the service throughout.
My husband is doing bits and pieces to prepare the area for the addition of sills and skirting board in between shifts at work and we hope to have the finishing touches done ready for a big reveal any day now!
In my next post about the project I will talk about costings (so far the project has cost just under £2,000) how to update/modernise an old wooden conservatory and where to get your own free/cheap conservatory.
Disclaimer: Our project is being supported by The Skirting Board Shop who have kindly supplied skirting board and window sills for the purposes of this review.
Most recently he has been working on a garden room/conservatory project. Well, I say recently. He started the project in 2014 when we were offered a conservatory-type frame to create extra space on our cramped home.
The conservatory ( I call it that but it seems an inadequate description) had been built by my friend's late father in law many years before but was being removed to extend the home- my friend offered it to us.
The conservatory needed taking down and transporting, we had to look into required permissions and do lots of measuring to make what had been this custom built room fit our house.
(It was so lovely of the family to offer it to us and I hope they know just how much we love and appreciate it. You can see it below being removed from my friend's house here)
With lots of help from friends, some pictured, some not, we got the frame and glazed units home and dug foundations. Then the unthinkable happened.
My husband had a serious accident. The ligament attaching his thigh muscle to his knee sheared completely off requiring emergency surgery. He was left wheelchair bound, unable to even dress himself.
He was a self-employed scaffolder. No work= no pay. The DIY was the last thing on our list of priorities. The wood and glazed units sat in the garden and I feared the materials would fall prey to the weather.
But did I mention my husband is amazing?
He defied all expectations relating to how long it might take him to recover and how well. He limps, he's unable to work as a scaffolder but because he has the strongest work ethic I've ever seen in anyone he found a part time job in our local supermarket just 6 months after they told us he probably wouldn't be able to walk properly for a year or more.
And he started working on the extension again. Slowly but surely, again with help from friends, our new space materialised. Another friend offered glazed units to fill the space where there had originally been a wall - we effectively had to swap two sides so one set of doors didn't lead into our hedge!
On Easter Monday the room was declared watertight and we enjoyed a celebratory meal with friends in it.
It was dark and cold - no heating or light - but truly felt more than just a room warming. It felt like confirmation that our family might be returning to normal. A new normal but better than the bleak prospect we had been facing.
My husband has continued to work on the room and we are into finishing touches now and we have been delighted to work with an amazing company who supply so many vital pieces for anyone undertaking house renovations, new projects or repair or enhancement work.
The Skirting Board Shop is an amazing resource for top quality products for all budgets. And don't be fooled by the name - they obviously stock a great range of skirting boards but the site is also a one stop shop for architraves, door linings and casings and window sills.
There's an array of styles, colours and finishes and we had so much fun browsing the website. Yes I know it sounds sad but if you've ever been involved in a DIY project you'll know how exciting and important these finishing touches are!
We chose American white oak windowsill - the room will have quite a wide window sill to cover the tile sill the windows rest on, the breeze blocks, insulation and plasterboard. Builders might be a bit puzzled by the way we've made the walls but it's all down to making someone else's project fit our house!
We've gone for a small fully finished white painted shaped skirting board. I'm very glad I don't have to paint it!
We found the site very easy to navigate and there's lots of information to help you make the right decision. You can order free samples to make sure you are happy with your chosen finish and there are even fixing and decorating guides on the site and downloadable printable guides on how to fit window sills and skirting boards.
You can shop by size, colour, style or finish and there is a handy helpline and "help" email address if you have any questions.
Delivery was quick and easy - we were delighted with the service throughout.
My husband is doing bits and pieces to prepare the area for the addition of sills and skirting board in between shifts at work and we hope to have the finishing touches done ready for a big reveal any day now!
In my next post about the project I will talk about costings (so far the project has cost just under £2,000) how to update/modernise an old wooden conservatory and where to get your own free/cheap conservatory.
