Shower doors

I can report that having a second (working) shower has been really useful. Having it's own water heating system means that both can run simultaneously without any problems. The one thing that made it a little tedious was having to squeegee down the floor after each shower and waiting for it to dry before using the loo or sink in there.

We had always planned to get doors in this room but as the size wasn't off the rack we'd need to get them custom made at a cost of around £700. For the sake of £700 my view was to endure a few months of sgueegee-ing. The builders said they might be able to find a cheaper supplier, somewhere around £500 but this didn't eventuate - and £500 + fitting was still going to be a bit of a whack on top of the already depleted bathroom fund.

Then Rob found a 90cm centre-opening bathroom door system on eBay - brand new for £90 including delivery. They arrived the next day. As the bathroom is 92.5cm wide it would mean having a 2.5cm panel or plinth on a wall to make up the shortfall, or putting in really wide rubber in the central join. Then Rob somehow had a genius brainwave and bought another bathroom door system the next available width up - 95cm. The builders fixed one half of the 90cm panels to the wall and one of the 95cm ones and lo and behold, it fits perfectly. You can't even tell that one of the panels is slightly wider as the sink & cupboard are in the way.

£180 worth of doors and £50 to install them means a £700+ job is done for £230! If you have a 92-93cm wide shower room and you need some doors we have a set here - get in touch.

These photos show the doors fitted and in action... The kids and I have had showers there this evening and there were no leaks or splashes even after three of us tried to make lots of mess. Happy days.

Laundry room

I can't believe how much time I spend in the new laundry room. And what a pleasure it is that the floor is level with the hall - for years I've been stepping down to put on a wash. It's the little things actually that make a difference. Also, putting the clothes dryer on top of the washing machine was a revelation. As it's a condenser I can now pull out the water compartment easily and tip out the contents. When the dryer was on the floor I'd just about do myself an injury trying to extract the water vessel. (NB if you're going to put your dryer on top of your washing machine, ensure they are fixed together otherwise the dryer will wobble off at some point).

We haven't made it to Ikea to sort out a wall-mounted drying rack - or shelves to store the cleaning equipment - yet. But I did find a shoe rack which means no piles of little shoes to climb over every night. With all the rain the laundry room being close to the front door has been brilliant - we're able to strip down and chuck everything into the wash or hang it to dry instead of dripping through the house.

Leaks in the roof

The rain in the UK has caused flooding, so you can imagine that quite a lot of water has fallen the last month or two. With it comes an ongoing problem that we have from our otherwise superb glass extension: The three vents (aka windows) all leak. Not from the frame, but from the rubber seals in non-consistent places on all three.

Sometimes one does it, sometimes two, but never so far all three. We've had Sunfold Systems (who installed it) out four times to remedy the problem over the last couple of years. This usually results in some rubber getting cut to improve drainage, then a fella coming back to seal up the hole which is too large. Then a fella coming back to cut a hole in the seal when the vents start holding water, a bit like an overhead glass-bottomed boat feature.

This time though they decided to pull up the external rubber and replace it with a wider version which should channel any water (rain, condensation, overflow from washing the windows etc) into the holes. From here it trickles over the glass and down into a gutter. That's the theory anyway. And yes, apparently we're STILL the only people to have this problem.

The top photo shows the dining area sporting roasting trays on the floor to catch the drips.

UPDATE

Two of the leaks have come back, so Sunfold are coming back next week to have another look...