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Building the bathroom walls and arranging for plumbing and electrics to be installed was next on the list. We found a plumber and electrician in the local newspaper and I can honestly say that after our last experience with tradesmen we could not have chosen nicer and more honest people, everything has been carried out to specification, on time and on budget, just what we needed really to restore our faith.
Meanwhile we carried on with insulating and plaster boarding ceilings working from the top floor down, the house now seemed to be coming to life and looking something like we had imagined.
After 6 weeks all the electrics were finished and we finally had flushing toilets and running hot and cold water, no more running tools and lights on extension cables from the large barn supply and no more sneaking off to the bushes.
We decided to concentrate on one room so that we could move in permanently. Living in a building site didn't really bother us, we were just so excited to get in and start living there. We moved in on 19th December 2007 to one room with an ensuite bathroom all finished except for the final flooring. Our own little haven in a cold, dusty house.
We managed to cobble together a makeshift kitchen to get us through Christmas consisting of a 4 ring gas hob mounted on a home made cupboard and green plastic garden furniture.
Luckily we had bought a couple of wood burning fires so there was one in the kitchen and one in our room but keeping them going all day everyday over the winter proved to be very hard work and rather expensive as this was the first heat the house had seen in approx 35 years.
The new year brought a refreshed push to get the house finished for the last week of June ready for family and friends to stay for our wedding.