Finishing straight

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, just been busy as anything, getting down to the finicky details now, little jobs, but they take up an immense amount of time, time being a scarce commodity just now.

Tiling took up a considerable amount of the time, just that kind of work, lots of cutting and measuring, also, once fitted, they must be allowed to dry, before you can do the joint filling.

once the tiling was out of the way, we could concentrate on doing the cabinets for the kitchen and utility room, also the smaller cabinets and fittings in the bathroom and wc's.

KITCHEN

AT LAST, LIGHT IN THE KITCHEN.

CABINET FITTING UNDERWAY.

MORE CABINETS.

PREPARATION FOR CUTTING THE WORKTOP, SINK FITTING. Have a suitable shablon, mark it out on the surface.

Cut out the desired piece.

Go around the edges with silicon, this prevents any damage if there is any leakage from the sink joints.

Fit sink and using the brackets supplied, screwing it tightly to the worktop.

Dish drying cupboard, fitted directly above sink, we don't dry dishes in Finland, rinse and place in cupboard, although, with the advent of the dishwasher, this cupboard is almost unnecessary

Dishwasher, in its own niche, lifted off the floor to make usage easier.

Fridge freezer fitted into place, pantry cupboard with sliding mechanism for ease of access.

Dishwasher, cooker and sink fitted.

Closer view of fridge and pantry cupboard.

Cooker and hood.

Cooker hood, this is vented out through the roof, it has its own motor, not connected to the ventilation system in any way.

Also on the agenda, the Sauna panelling, probably the most important room in the house as far as Finns are concerned.

SAUNA

Start by doing the ceiling, the battens ensure there is an airflow behind the timber, allowing it to dry after using the sauna.

Ceiling, underway, Tarjas Juniper wood decoration fitted in place.

Special list for the corners, due to shrinkage in the wood, it is not advisable to do a mitred corner, it would be unsightly after a few months.

How the list fits with the panel.

How it looks in situ. It is important to start with a perfectly straight wall, first board is put on the bottom, about 10cm from the floor, just carry on putting panels on till you reach the ceiling, I fitted these using a small 18 gauge nail gun, the nails are almost invisible, it is not advisable to try secret nailing on sauna panels, the tension put on the panel at extreme temperatures would enable the panels to work loose at some stage.

Detail of wall, The tile wall will be host to the sauna heater.

Ceiling finished, ventilators fitted, lights working

Closer view of decoration.

Glass door, careful when fitting these, 2 bods are required, and something soft underneath, if not, then have a couple of plastic buckets handy.

Last, the heater, this is 9kw, soapstone electric heater, one of the methods of heating the sauna, some have a wood burning stove, electricity is just convenient.

BATHROOM

Bathroom ceiling, this has been done in Red Alder, same as the sauna, a little bit more expensive than Spruce, but it is nicer looking.

Shower cabinet and electric towel rail fitted.

Bathroom sink and cabinets.

Lighted mirror, fitted and wired up.

Glass door, from utility room to the bathroom, same rules apply when fitting this.

UTILITY ROOM

Integrated vacuum cleaner, fitted into its own cupboard.

Utility room cabinets, integrated ironing board and drawer units

Drawer units and baskets

The other side of the room is not ready until the plumber has come ad done his thing.

BEDROOMS 1 AND 2

A couple of the bedrooms have been given their laminate flooring, just the minor details left in those rooms now.

Had a late night trip to IKEA, oh that is always a bundle of laughs, just love shopping, we tried to order on the internet, unfortunately the delivery time is so long as the goods come from Sweden, therefor, it was quicker to visit the outlet, a 200 km round trip, made a long day longer, we bought the wardrobes for the bedrooms and the wardrobe for the hallway, should have checked every package, one of the cabinets was the wrong size, fortunately, IKEA is coming with the correct size next week, just adds a slight delay.

Main bedroom wardrobe, it is IKEAs Hopen series, Tarja had the pleasure of fitting all the mechanisms, baskets and shelves.

2nd bedrooms wardrobe, again IKEA, this time their PAX series, once again, Tarja did the honours with the shelving etc.

Bedroom 3 does not get any cupboards, it has a box room attached, this will be fitted out with a shelving system later.

WC

Furniture fitted, just waiting on the plumber, (again).

The fitter came and did our heat pump, electrician has been and connected us up to the mains, he still has a bit to do, should be finished his side of things next week, the plumber is due in next week to continue his part, namely fitting up the water heater.

Heat pump, inside unit.

Heat pump, external unit, please, don't ask me how this system works, it can extract energy from cold air and turn it into heat, (yeah right) the mind boggles, or at least mine does.

Pipes connecting the external and internal units in their conduit.