The remainder of the week

I have left this update until Friday night as while progress has been good it has been repetitive and my updates would have been very much the same for Wednesday and Thursday.

One thing to say straight off is that today is a tough day for us all here at The Old School as it marks a year since my father's tragic accident. We miss him every second of every day, of course, but today marks a particular time of reflection and of course brings his passing home even more bluntly than a normal day. A difficult day, but we must keep on going.

An absolutely stunning sunrise

Sally finishing off his wall

Halil back to traditional methods of channeling

Desperate for a brew

Hand tools all the way

So what has been going on. Wednesday was a frustrating day as the electricity was out for most of it so I ended up taking the day off work, not earning anything. This also meant that while the men could get on with tasks (Sally filling in the gap at the top of his wall, for one thing) a lot of the jobs that normally have power assistance had to be done by hand, like chiselling out the channels for the electrics which Halil got stuck into with a will. I made brews with the old kettle on the gas. Myself and Bekir headed out on a shopping trip to look at air conditioning units and other items which was pretty successful. I've got a petchka now for the tool room downstairs.

Running cables through the partition wall

Halil creating a path for more cable

Sally finishing around the windows

Yet more channels

Cement over the newly run cables

Wednesday afternoon was more of the same; lots of time channeling out, but this time making use of power tools which sped it up quite a lot as the power returned mid afternoon. The day really did involve a lot of drilling and chiselling however we had a good laugh as Sally was chasing Bekir round; as soon as cable was in place there was Sally with his cement looking to cover it over. They are going at a very good clip indeed.

Sally making sure the window is square

A nicely finished off window surround

More cables to cover over

Covered van delivery

Cables in the play room

A smile as that beard takes ANOTHER picture

Thursday was a wet and miserable day; a day for working inside. Sally got stuck in early to squaring off around the windows in each of the two rooms while Bekir and I went out and bought not one but two air conditioning units, slightly smaller than originally planned, so there'll be one in the bedroom and one in the playroom and it'll be more efficient and comfortable and easier to control. It was also more expensive, but for Rosie what is "too much"? When we got back it was onwards with chiselling and chasing and then the delivery of extra wood, cement, plastboard glue and plasterboard arrived in a covered truck. The day ended much as the previous one; lots of cabling, and lots of cement over wires.

Rolling up the dusty old plastic sheeting

Digging out the floor again

Bekir showing his agility again

Insulation and reinforcement down

Father and son at the cement mixer

Sally laying a floor

And so we get to today. We are not going to complete the gym this round of work however it made a lot of sense to get a floor put down to at least reduce the dust, and allow us to move things in there for storage, and so first thing the room was cleared, the plastic dust sheeting rolled to one side, and lots of digging was done by Sally and Halil. While this was going on Bekir was very busy running all the cables for the lights and plug sockets. A went out with my mum and Rosie and was able to find some lovely tiles (due for delivery on Monday) and also get the extra electrical stuff we needed. In the gym the waterproofing, insulation and metal reinforcement went down and then the cement mixer was put to use and the concrete pour began.

Running the cables through the wall

Sally nearing completion of the floor

Halil making sure the mixer is very clean

Wires for plugs, lights and air conditioning in her bedroom

Runways over the fresh cement

Bekir was continuing with the electrical work, this time very creatively making use of the hollow bricks to run the cables. He has done this throughout and it's a tidy job. This wall will be completed soon, as we have no plan for a doorway there, and then the cables will be out of the way. Sally was really smashing through the floor in the gym and finished it entirely today, when he was done with the cement mixer Halil went out and gave it a very thorough clean. It's so good to have responsible people looking after the equipment.

All in all it has been a very productive week; next week we will take delivery of the tiles, the walls will be rendered and then painted, the air conditioning units are supposed to arrive and be fitted on Thursday if we're ready - we are rushing towards completion. This is VERY exciting indeed.

For my dad.