Let There Be Light, Pt. 2

After getting some insight into the volume of work involved in the first floor, we delved into the ground floor expecting more or less the same. Sure enough, the amount of pipework was equally impressive, however overall it was less time consuming. One reason for this was, ironically, the bigger open areas compared to the bedrooms, which made it easier to manoeuvre and therefore required less bending and turning pipes. And, despite fitting the kitchen with the most amount of sockets compared to any other room in the house, the ground floor had overall less to deal with.

 

One thing we wanted didn’t want to shy away from was the use of sockets with USB ports, like this:

 

These feature most in the kitchen and the desk area, aside from the bedrooms upstairs. In the future, I might replace a few to have both Type A and Type C ports, depending on how much more MEP Alex Agius Saliba wants to shake things up in Europe.

 

F*ck you, Apple.

Another practical solution we’ll be implementing is the location of power supplies for bulky appliances. For example, the power for the fridge and freezer will be connected directly to the wall behind them, but the wall switches will be strategically placed inside an easily reachable cabinet away from them. That way, we don’t have to reach behind the appliances themselves to switch them off.

We are, I would say, around 95% done with electrical works. Some final hole boring to install CCTV cameras and concluding touch-ups on the roof and we should be there.

 

This task was a mammoth one on its own, and I am hoping that it is going to pave the way and unleash a barrage of job commencements that had to be kept on hold until now.

Bella Sicilia

Even though a lot of people do it, and have been doing it for ages, I always found the idea of travelling abroad to look at fixtures and fittings quite farfetched. Even if you don’t actually travel, the notion of looking at a foreign catalogue and ordering online just seemed peculiar. Dealing with sales reps, getting exact measurements, aftersales services, delivery costs, etc.; it can get a bit overwhelming and make you just want to stick to local because it’s a lot more straightforward.

 

Well, after getting some inspiration from friends’ experiences, we decided to test the waters a bit, and got in touch with a provider based in Sicily. A couple of introductory video calls was all it took to get enough clarification and comfort to hop on a plane and dedicate a day at their office to walk through some designs and get some quotes. Within 48 hours, we were back home.

 

It’s something I wish we had done sooner. But when your mind is clouded with all the aforementioned unknowns and uncertainties, it does require that small push to take that first step. And when first contact is made, it’s just a quick snowball effect of new information and productivity. Had we done it before, we would have dedicated two days and covered even more areas. That seems to be the standard – a two-day session to go through everything. We couldn’t do that ourselves because the meetings are intense (you’re basically starting from the bare basics and end up finalizing the minute details to draw up an accurate quote), and with the kids in tow, one day was more than enough for them to bear.

 

All in all, it is definitely something I would recommend trying if you’re still in the early stages of finishing. Flights to Sicily are cheap, some providers would be willing to refund the costs if you proceed to order from them, and they are quite hospitable when you arrive (transport to/from airport, complimentary lunch, etc.). Prices are competitive, and even though I’ve always been one to support local business, sometimes you need to look out for quality of service elsewhere because ultimately you’re committing to something for the long run, and you want to get it right the first time.

 

I also never get tired of cow-spotting on the autostrada.