Heating for this winter weather

The electrician finished connecting the underfloor heating before he went on Friday.  Luckily for us Friday night was forecast to be really quite chilly, so we set the controls to full to see what happened.  Next morning the house was actually quite warm and you could definitely feel a difference in the floor . . . . . more that they weren't cold rather than that they were warm.  But what a relief!  I don't think I'd quite realised how much at the back of my mind I was thinking that it might not actually work.  For months when we ordered it all, we had real, real trouble with the company with them not being able to tell us what length/type of cables we needed, then sending extra cables/wrong cables/unlabelled cables.  You then lay the cables (and test them) then slap 2" of screed on top (and test the cables again), but it is all a bit of a leap of faith that they'll work at the end of the day and it really would be a major pain if for some reason they didn't!  Last night we left it on full again and again it was warm this morning.  So, we have now turned it all down to about a quarter capacity to see what happens . . . . . hopefully, it either won't come on at all (I think the weather is supposed to warm up tonight) or it'll just come on for a very short time.  Now I'm thinking 'What if it comes on for the full time again?  That'll mean that the controller doesn't work'.  I'm a bit paranoid about this heating, but that comes from the company not giving us faith in their product and their ability right at the start - it'll be fine!?!

We now have all the lights working, but need to do a fair bit of sorting out where light bulbs are concerned.  The move to low energy bulbs and the dictatorial way the industry is regulated now means that it is really difficult to sort out bulbs that actually do what you want them to and it is all soooo complicated!  We have a light in the bathroom that takes so long to warm up that it should just be bright enough to see by when you've finished having a wee, washed your hands and made a cup of tea - useless.  We have a light in the hall which is OK and is bright enough, quick enough but has writing all over the collar which is easily visible and looks horrible.  We have several light fittings which need a nice-looking bulb as part of the overall look, but you are no longer allowed to buy globe-shaped opaque bulbs.  There are possibilities out there, but of course you need to try them out in-situ . . . . at about £7 a go that could work out expensive.  Oooh dear, I've just realised what a moan I've been having, sorry!

While the electrician was here Bob kept out of the way by fitting some of the window catches upstairs which looks so much better than the little blocks of wood we used to have there.  Most of the windows just open on one side, but this is our bedroom window and has to open both sides to provide a fire escape.  This means that the left-hand side needs bolts to secure the window.  This window now makes us laugh a bit - it's a little busy with fixtures and fittings and really looks as though we just ordered one of everything in the catalogue and whacked it on!  I think there's a bit of space in the top corners which I'm sure we could fill with some sort of ironmongery!

I put the silicon around the shower tray and in the corners and as predicted made a real mess of it - I should be able to do it, I can ice a cake so what's the difference?  So, one of my jobs for next week is to try and sort it out.  Luckily I didn't do the bath in the same manner and so should hopefully have learned from my mistakes.

We have had the weekend off again as my son, Ben and his girlfriend, Lucy have been here for a few days.  Ben helped us move the woodburner over a couple of inches which was a great help - it is just so heavy and a real dead weight.  So, it's staying where it is now I think.  Yesterday we went for a good walk around Hawkstone Park which is full of Victorian follies in the shape of caves and pitch black tunnels right through rocks, meandering paths and worn, wonky steps, a tower with over 150 steps leading to fantastic views over the Shropshire Plains and little huts half built into the rocks.  Something different around every corner and a good way to spend a few hours.  We were going to look round the local annual antique show today before Ben and Lucy went home, but it has been pouring down non-stop so we have done nothing at all.  It's not good for you!  We feel shattered after doing nothing but cooking a fry-up and reading the paper.  Back to work tomorrow.  We have a new work schedule for the time before the plumber comes.  Tomorrow involves some roof work.  When they put the frame for the solar panels on the roof they disturbed the ridge tiles and very quickly put them back and pointed them.  The temperature then was way below that recommended for lime mortar, so we need to check the state of all that and re-do it if necessary.  We also need to silicone around the rubber grommets where the pipes go through the roof as you can see daylight through which probably isn't good.  We are also going to paint the bright orange rubber grommets black with some tyre paint to try to make them blend in a bit.  They are all fairly quick jobs, but it'll need both of us - one on the roof and the other passing things and checking what it looks like from the ground.  I did most of the ridge tiles in the first place, so I might do the roof bit if I'm still brave enough to get up there!