Lockdown

[Sean Regan]

It's no more golf for me for four weeks at least after Thursday, So as it will be raining tomorrow and I won't bother, Wednesday will be my last game for a while.
For me it's not the end of the world as I can always fill my time with other hobbies, shopping for essentials and a bit more housework, etc.,.
But for some, if we believe what we see on the BBC news, it's a major problem. Much of it can be attibuted to many people not abiding by the sensible rules already in place fo the protection of us all.

I had a chat with my wife and we've decided that I'll decorate the kitchen. We've been putting off getting someone in to do it for months, because of Covid. Otherwise it's unlikely to get done this year.

It's half tiled, so it'll be just the ceiling a bit of painting and papering. We've had the wallpaper for months, but I'll go to a "shed" tomorrow and get the stuff I need.

 

[Sean Regan]

I went into Homebase this morning and bought the emulsion, paint and a few other bits I'll need to decorate the kitchen, so no change out of seventy quid. Still doing it myself will save a lot of money, but more importantly it'll at least get done.

It seemed quite a few other people were of the same mind as they were all buying similar stuff.

It was still "good to go."

 

[DirtMechanic]

I am sad that uk has such central control but its from the great war and they believe they can help in my opinion.

 

[Sean Regan]

The Covid situation hasn't really affected my purchasing habits. I did the weekly shop this morning as usual, (Waitrose are currently offering £12 off £60 until mid-November, they sent me six vouchers). For everything else "domestic," I look on line and particularly eBay.
I've a Humax HDR 2000 recorder and in the last few days, the "on/off" button on the remote has stopped working, all the other buttions work, but I have to turn it on and off at the set. So I ordered a new replacement remote on Ebay, £6.49 with free postage.

 

[Sean Regan]

I started on the kitchen today.

My wife suggested that I just do a bit each day, she said it doesn't matter how long it takes.

So I took her advice. I stripped the wallpaper this morning and tarted up places with some polyfilla, like redundant screw holes etc.,

It's half tiled with only three floor to ceiling lengths, near the doorway. But the rest is fiddly. To get at the walls behind the floor units it was a case of standing on the worktops and crouching down like a coal miner to attack the walls with a stripper. I'll do a bit of rubbing down, clean the ceiling and paint it tomorrow and hang the paper on Saturday.

Done and dusted by Sunday!

When it's finished it won't look much different to how it was in 2005 when we had all new units fitted, after I'd fitted a false ceiling and installed floodlights. I then did the tiling the laminate floor and the wallpapering.
We've chosen a similar wallpaper. It's a darker red and will match most of our small appliances.

This was our old boiler. The units were fitted round it. It's just a fillet to the right.

But we had it changed three years ago and were left with this.

The "boxing in," I'd built over it had to be ripped out for the boiler to go in.

My wife was hoping for a new kitchen, but I was able to rebuild the unit in front of it. But the new boxing in has remained undecorated since then. It's pure luck but you can tell that the boiler is either on or off as you can see the green or blue panel light between the new door and pelmet.

I made a narrow double cupboard for a few cookery and instruction books. The "L shaped" new tiled fillet like the smaller old one can be swung away and with this boiler, part of the new pelmet below can be removed so the panel in the front of the boiler can be swung down for servicing.

Since 2005, all our appliances have had to be replaced, the oven, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge/freezer, toaster and the tumble dryer, twice!
Some under guarantee, like the fridge/freezer, washing machine and Kitchenaid toaster.

But the quality standard of domestic appliances seems very poor now.
on.

I'll finish rubbing down the walls ready for papering, clean the ceiling and paint it. Plus two small lengths of skirting board where there aren't any units.
On Saturday I'll hang the paper.

(I'm, good at clearing up after myself)

So by Sunday my time will be my own.

As things are going so smoothly, (my wife has been "banned" from helping, that would be just offering "unhelpful hints"), she's now talking about me repapering the bedroom!
When before she was so set against it, insisting we got someone in again like last time we had most of the house apart from the kitchen done.,


Watched some American Football on the TV in the afternoon, I deserved it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

"she said it doesn't matter how long it takes."

I enjoyed this so much I mirthed. I will reread your post when I compose myself!

 

[Sean Regan]

I've washed down then painted the ceiling. I gave it two coats. It's dried quite well with a nice even coverage.

Using a roller I find is the best way, but you do have to cover everything, as if you get "carried away" it can spray fine drops everywhere. But I did all the edges and around the light fittings with a brush first.

I used paper/polythene dust sheets, you can cut them up into a few different sizes to cover worktops etc., then throw them away .
I used a conventional dustcover for the floor, One of several I bought in Aldi for a ridiculous price several years ago, ready for when we had the whole house decorated, which we never got round to.

Tomorrow will be paper hanging day. But I'll give all the pelmets over the units a good clean first, so as not to get any muck on the paper whilst i'm hanging it. Also a final check for anything that might show up as a tiny "bump" in the paper, it can happen.

Then after it's a case of a clean down of the units and the tiles.
There should be time enough left in the afternoon to tackle the fallen leaves in the garden as it should be a nice day. It can't wait til Sunday as it's going to rain.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Hate taking wallpaper off. Good for you. Looks good. nice color choice next to the wood.

 

[Sean Regan]

Hate taking wallpaper off. Good for you. Looks good. nice color choice next to the wood.

These days, stripping wallaper isn't so hard. I peel of the top layer by hand, some of it will come off in strips, leaving its backing paper.
This just needs wetting down then scraping off with a paint scraper, I used a new one as they have a decent edge, this too comes of easily enough if it's well wetted, mostly in strips. It's even easier in our kitchen as at one time, soon after it was built and before we bought it, the walls were painted with a gloss paint.

The new paper is darker than the old, more the colour of the kettle. It'll look more like a nineteen fifties American diner, though that's not intentional, we just wanted a contrasting colour to the grey metalic finish tiles.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

its always good to go opposite the color wheel for contrast . sounds lovely. I took off ours as you described. still a pain. have no more in the house. Just painted the walls.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Somehow I have been drawn into remodeling our bathrooms. I have re-plumbed one shower, now for the other two. Painted this time, no wallpaper. I bought DW a steamer. But that is as close as I get. Its funny how well I can remember 20 years ago saying this paper is going to be a problem later.

 

[Sean Regan]

Things didn't go to plan

This morning I decided the ceiling needed a third coat. My wife said "No one will notice". But I saiod that I would.
I did some shopping while I waited for it to dry. Consequently, no gardening got done in the afternoon.
Anyway, it's done now.

Even the boxing in over the boiler, though more than two years since I re-made it.

 

[Sean Regan]

Because the stuff I needed for Friday, I went to Homebase on Thursday, but usually for a lot of things I purchase, I look no further than e-Bay. But I've been doing it for years and have had over 500 transactions, with never a problem. I'm sure a lot more people will be moving to on-line sales at the present time and not go back to previous shopping patterns.
At the moment, having finished the kitchen, one of the eight ceiling lights are out. I could get the car out, go to Homebase tomorrow, a seven mile return trip and mess about with a mask, get "navigated" around the store and find a 50w halogen bulb. I do see on their website they are £2.50 each or a pack of 4 for £12.50, probably be the same price in store if they have them, but I did notice their stock was very depleted on Thursday.
But I don't mind waiting a few days, I've just ordered 10 Bitish made lamps from a firm with 99% plus feedback over 7000 items, for £9.99 post free. There's just no argument is there?

In the last few days I've ordered from eBay and received, post free, a new remote control for my Humax HDR tuner/recorder (£6.49) glue for my wife's card making hobby, a USB stick, a replacement glass for my car's wing mirror, somebody broke, (£5.25) a roll of wire fencing for the garden, a Daniel O'Donell CD for my wife and also for he, a Contour legacy leg pillow (£8.69, they are £19.99 in Asda).
it's saved me a lot of money.

 

[Arden Sage]

Great job, well done. Your good lady must be very happy with the result and the speed you achieved it.

From my observations, this isn't a Lock Down ... more Mock Down.
The roads are just as busy.
People are still out and about on the seafront with their dogs/bikes/gathering with friends (no face coverings); the chippies are doing a roaring trade - as I'm sure other take-aways are.
The supermarkets are just as busy (many people without face coverings and not caring about social distancing).

It is a joke! I wish more people would take this seriously; sadly, the longer it goes on, the more careless people are proving to be.

 

[Sean Regan]

Because of my wife's disabilty (MS), we haven't been "anywhere" much for a few years. In the last twelve months she's left the house twice, once to vote at the general election last year and more recently to the doctors for a flu jab. Because of her depleted immune system due to the drugs she's on we don't encourage many visitors. Of our three kids only one lives locally and his partner is a sister at the MRI in Manchester. They've both had the virus, but as she could be incontact with patients with Covid at any time, it would be unwise for them to visit.
It;'s not really a problem for me, although I'm missing my three games of golf a week. I'm quite philosophical about it. At the beginning of the first lockdown I'd just bought a new electric golf trolley, so wasn't able to use it for four weeks and the complete new set of woods and irons I'd bought a few weeks ago are stuck in the garage for now. But even when I was playing I'd come in to the club for a drink an a meal with my partners, but wouldn't stay at the club for more than half an hour, as I felt I needed to get home, in case there were any problems.
At the moment I'm reduced to just going shopping a couple of times a week. But we don't see the situation as a big deal. We can find enough things to occupy ourselves to not get board.
I smile when people talk about the effect on the "mental health" of younger generations, the restrictions are bringing.
My response is, "They can use their phones from home, they don't need to be out of the house to spend hours on them."

There's been so many problems caused by selfish people not following simple rules. But that's down to a lack of discipline among some, for which I blame the parents. In fact for a few decades, I've been saying many peole were never trained to be parents.