Chamonix studio renovation - build thread

[Cartwheel]

Following this thread with great interest - hadn't realised you were shopping at Leroy Merlin or I would have suggested http://www.bricodepot.fr/annemasse-vetraz-monthoux... sooner.

Not up to much on the advice front - but cheaper by a fair margin and not far out of town. I think they're on the A road to Sallanches if you want to avoid the tolls.

Keep it up, great job!!

[Gruffy]

Thanks. I've only had a few things from Leroy Merlin. Sockets and switches mostly. Had to buy the bathroom tiles there as Carrelage du Mont-Blanc had closed for the week. They're not exactly what I wanted but should still look OK.

Beyond a bit of timber, some wall tiles for the bathroom and some aerated concrete for the fireplace, I think I have everything I need to finish the job now.

[The Moose]

0000 said:

The Moose said:

If you've got an ikea bed, you'll need an ikea mattress iirc. I'm think they're not normal sizes

Sounds like it's not relevant here anyway, but FWIW I think IKEA in the UK sell beds/mattresses in standard European metric sizes. Which aren't the same as imperial UK sizes. 200cm long vs. 6'3.

Fair enough. Those bloody Sweeds

[jinkster]

Gruffy,

I just bought a Netatmo thermostat which is Wifi and uploads to the internet to view on iPhone/ iPad/ android etc. Might be worth getting one of those eventually in order to view temperature etc at the house whilst your away. Have you looked at a wifi thermostat to control the heating whilst your away?

[Marcellus]

Gruffy said:

I appreciate the advice but I'm absolutely sure of our preference for one full-size mattress. We both hate having two single mattresses in place of a full double. That uncomfortable seam down the middle. And then while rutting the gap gets bigger and bigger until SWMBO disappears like Boba Fett in the Pit of Sarlacc and I'm left hammering away at thin air.

The weight difference between us is pretty huge (she weighs less than half what I do) but we have a cracking mattress back in London that you could jump up and down on and the other person sleeping wouldn't even notice it.

Thanks, I am still cleaning up the Cornflakes Mrs P spat out as she read this description!

[Gruffy]

jinkster said:

Gruffy,

I just bought a Netatmo thermostat which is Wifi and uploads to the internet to view on iPhone/ iPad/ android etc. Might be worth getting one of those eventually in order to view temperature etc at the house whilst your away. Have you looked at a wifi thermostat to control the heating whilst your away?

I'd definitely do this, only we don't have any heating to control beyond the underfloor heating in the bathroom, which is very low draw anyway. The apartments have communal underfloor heating on the ground floor (which I'm now told is useless) and we have a plug in electric heater and the bioethanol fireplace. Shame, as I'd quite like to be able to turn the heating on a day before we arrive.

[Gruffy]

Day 30

Lots of little jobs today. With the bathroom goodies now in my possession we can get on with drilling the wall to run the waste pipes through. The 100mm cutter we had was struggling so we decided to chain drill instead.



…which made it a doddle to finish with the cutter.



I grouted the kitchen tiles, but the grout is a bit crap and shrinks quite a lot once dry, so it'll need a second go.



After the weekend session in IKEA I now have the missing door, plus the tools I needed to hang the washing machine door. Just the blanking panels to go and that's the kitchen done.



It's been hammering down for days but the cloud lifted just enough at lunch to see how far the snow line has dropped. Winter is coming and the predictions are for a cold and wet winter. Awesome.

[Pixel-Snapper]

Senior moment! I've just realised that the units are white and not blue.

Thought the blue effect looked rather cool.

[jeremyc]

Pixel-Snapper said:

Senior moment! I've just realised that the units are white and not blue.

Thought the blue effect looked rather cool.

You are not the only one.

I put it down to Gruffy's impeccable design skills. Maybe we need to re-evaluate ...

[Gruffy]

Several friends on Facebook have delicately enquired about the bold choice of colour

[Wetwipe]

Gruffy said:

Several friends on Facebook have delicately enquired about the bold choice of colour

I think it fair to say that we all thought you'd bought a blue kitchen. Did wonder how the hell you would manage to find cushions to match!

[Gruffy]

The colour scheme is a very minimalist white, grey and wood, with some chrome accents. White walls, kitchen and wardrobe. Grey wood laminate flooring and stone veneer. Some lighter, warmer wood for the kitchen worktop and dining table. There'll also be some cow hide, because that's one ski chalet cliché material that I love enough run with anyway.

The place will look a bit bland to start with, but that's intentional as we have 3-4 spaces to fill with art. I've got a piece of my own in London that's work-in-progress. The other opportunities have ideas but no fixed plans yet. There's one decent sculptor that I know of in the valley, but his work is too expensive for my pocket. I may take inspiration from his general style though and produce something myself, but probably not until the summer.

[JimexPL]

Gruffy said:

That has reminded me though; we're looking to rent our Bermondsey place out for Christmas, NY and Q1 and would much rather it was a friend of a friend, or fellow PHer. A deal can be done privately, but you can check the place out here if anybody is interested.

1-bedroom apartment next to Bermondsey Street. 2nd bedroom converted to a comfortable office space. Huge roof terrace. Amazing location for City or Canary Wharf.

I've been checking back on this thread as I'd like to get something similar at some point, and find out that you live opposite me on Long Lane!
I had intended on doing a build thread on our current project, an old Wharf House in the Midlands, but never got round to it and four months later the project is nearly over. Next time...

[Gruffy]

It's a very small world, eh?

[M3John]

Gruffy said:

...... And then while rutting the gap gets bigger and bigger until SWMBO disappears like Boba Fett in the Pit of Sarlacc and I'm left hammering away at thin air.

[Gruffy]

Day 31

It's looking increasingly unlikely we'll be able to finish enough of this before I have to travel back next Wednesday. We can but persevere.

The cistern is fixed into place. The copper plumbing is in - just the last of the plastic to tackle tomorrow. The final blocks are mortared into place. With a bit of luck I can start to build the floor tomorrow.



The exposed wood of the mezzanine floor is painted to match the kitchen



Didn't manage to get the concrete blocks for the fireplace in time on yesterday's run so I made another visit today. This wasn't what I wanted to see.



I did manage to collect the laminate flooring and stair profiles. Fingers crossed nobody finds my stash in the underground car park. That'd be quite a setback!

[TonyRPH]

Gruffy] said:

<snip> And then while rutting the gap gets bigger and bigger until SWMBO disappears like Boba Fett in the Pit of Sarlacc and I'm left hammering away at thin air. <snip>

and there speaks the voice of bitter experience.

[Gruffy]

Gruffy said:

I need more paint but I refuse to buy French. It turns out I'm not alone and there's quite a market for UK paint delivery to France. I've gone with KIS-UK who are shipping me 15L of Leyland for €60. They quote 3 working days. Fingers crossed.

As it's been almost a week, and I'm getting a bit desperate for that UK paint, I shot an email off to KIS-UK to ask if they had tracking information with the delivery. 20 minutes later I get a refund via PayPal and a note that says he no longer stocks the paint I've bought. WTF is wrong with people!?

[E36GUY]

Gruffy said:

As it's been almost a week, and I'm getting a bit desperate for that UK paint, I shot an email off to KIS-UK to ask if they had tracking information with the delivery. 20 minutes later I get a refund via PayPal and a note that says he no longer stocks the paint I've bought. WTF is wrong with people!?

Ahh well. At least you have your lights

[Gruffy]

Yes, and I think they're going to look lovely. I've done the channelling and dropped the profiles into place. I'll be connecting them up this afternoon and then trying to do the neatest job I can finishing the ceiling afterwards.