Beams

These beams:

These bloody beams.

Bit of a backstory, so the house originally had traditional archways upon entering, but were already removed by the time we had acquired it. This worked in our favour as it created more of an open space without us having to do anything. The question was, what were we going to do with the yellow, flaky beams?

Our first preference was to box them up with wooden encasings to give it a rustic feel. The second option was to box them up in gypsum to give them a more streamlined look. However, both options presented a challenge, because of the electrical wiring:

Pictured: a nuisance

Pictured: another nuisance

Boxing the beams would mean having to make them particularly wide to properly cover the wiring, and there was also the headache of having to create some form of access to them for maintenance purposes. Embedding the pipes into the ceiling was not an option as no one wanted to risk the structural integrity of the ceiling. There were a lot of back and forth discussions with our carpenter, electrician and gypsum guy, and we were getting nowhere.

Then, one day, we visited this recently refurbished place, that had similarly exposed beams that were simply painted the same colour as the ceiling. And it looked great. Not only did it look great, having the beams exposed created options for hanging various decorations for different holidays throughout the year (I'm thinking floating candles for Halloween).

And so, the end result is up there in the first picture. All it needs now is the light fixture to complete the puzzle. 

Things Suppliers Do #3

Step 1: Have your website include the ability for clients to choose a delivery date for your products.

Step 2: Don't be aware of this ability, and wait for the client to call you himself a couple of days before the chosen date.

Step 3: Ignore the requested date, choose your own.

Apertures, Pt. 1

The rainy season has now been long upon us which, although I generally enjoy, inflated my general anxiety this time round. We had spent many weeks with gaping apertures throughout the entire house, draped only by loose sheets of plastic which can only hold back so much.

 

I was quite literally crossing each day off the calendar until the installation date arrived for the rear-end doors and windows. Morning came, the installers called us at 7.00 and half an hour later they were onsite. It took a full working day, but thankfully it went mostly smoothly and just in time for the rain later that very same evening.

While we are bound by UCA rules to have wooden apertures for the facade, we could use PVC for the back.

Aside from keeping away the rain, the flapping plastic was very noisy on windy days. I was conscious of how disturbing it might have been to the neighbours, so thankfully (aside from a couple of windows in the facade) most of that is gone now.

We wanted to maintain a French-frame theme throughout, to compliment the overall style of the house. Quite happy with the result.

A special shoutout goes to Prodoor Malta for their fine work.

Bathroom Tiles

It’s official: no more earth to step on, anywhere in our house, anymore. Tiles are ready, everywhere.

While the bathrooms are (obviously) the smaller rooms, they sure make up for their size with the complexities of designs (our fault) and the fittings (also our fault). To explain:

 

Pigeonholes

What we did not want: mounted shower/bath caddies that stick out, take up space and deteriorate with time.

What we wanted: oversized pigeonholes which do not take up space.

 

Tile Trims

What we did not want: white plastic trims that yellow and deteriorate with time.

What we wanted: aluminium trims that complimented the overall colour scheme of the room.

Shower Floors

What we did not want: shower trays that yellow and mould with time.

What we wanted: walk-in showers.

Feature Walls

What we wanted: subway tiles. Lots of them.

 

Bonus Bit: The Outside Stairs

Starting to hide away all that grey membrane.

Through the Trenches

“Hello?”

 

“Permit’s out.”

 

“Great, when can you start?”

 

“I’m here.”

 

“….wait what?”

 

I don’t think we’ve ever experienced both ends of the spectrum as we did when obtaining the road works permit to trench for our drainage system. But starting the process coincided with the start of the new scholastic year, and new procedures implemented by Transport Malta meant that what was typically a quick process was now a really dragged out and bureaucratic one that took weeks to sort out. And when the permit was done, the works were done that very same morning.

Nothing glamourous about digging a hole in the road. So here's our guy in an orange shirt next to a green cement truck instead. Very glamourous. 

One Year On

The years feel shorter as you get older, but it has felt like an age with all the things that took place since we signed the contract exactly one year ago.

There is still a lot to be done - I still chuckle when I recall the real estate agent saying we'd be done in six months - but I take this as an opportunity to look at what we've achieved so far. The gears for the start of the second year of home ownership are in much faster motion than the start of the first year (there's quite a bit going on right now in the background). I will say this though: furnishing and finishing a place is not for the faint of heart. I don't know if it's a Maltese thing, but it is incredibly draining to see a task out from beginning to end. The biggest challenge is dealing with the contractors (as evidenced by my recent string of posts); unfortunately you have to learn to tread that fine line between being stern with them and making sure they don't flip you off and simply tell you to go find someone else. By the end of it all, we'd know exactly who to recommend and who to stay the hell away from.

I am taking this anniversary as a chance to mentally reset. We know many others who are currently going through what we are right now, and they have very similar challenges with contractors and delays. It seems to be the norm, so knowing that we are not the only ones grinding through it does bring a bit of comfort (misery loves company I guess?). 

I am taking this anniversary as a chance to remind myself that, I would much rather be going through this than going through the Storm before the Calm. 

Things Contractors Do #6

Step 1: Support a rival football team.

Step 2: BANTER ON THE WALL