Home Improvement update

Last weekend we spent another long day in the apartment trying to get everything ready. Luc and Nachtvisser hacked away at some very uncooperative concrete, trying to drill holes (for new electrical outlets in the right place) and grooves (for water and electricity). Mom and I spent some time working on removing wallpaper, and I spent some time driving back and forth to the Gamma in Son to get supplies and rent more sophisticated machinery for extra damage bonuses.
(You attack a concrete wall. It resists. Score -5 on your attack roll and temporarily lose 1 wisdom due to adrenaline overload)

I had to drive Nachtvisser to the first aid in Veldhoven to get some stitches because he was smart enough to catch an angle grinder in his finger. He needed 2 stitches and a tetanus shot, and we put some chinese food in him to stop him from cutting a finger off while it was sedated...

I started out today by returning the three rented items to the Gamma, where the local rental clerk now knows my name. She (Heidi) also said she had just discounted some bathroom tiles, and how it might be a good moment to pick some out. We spent some time in the sanitation department musing over tiles, shower walls and mosaic designs.
I finally went with a dark grey mosaic tile (similar, but not what I actually bought) for the shower area, and a large grey tile for the rest of the floor. The big tiles were -35%, but the mosaic tile was € 54,- per square meter.
I also picked out tiles for the walls, but I needed 13 packs and there were only 8 still on the pallet. They checked whether they have more in the back, but I gave my back a break and decided to pick those up later this week.

By the time I was done at Gamma, trading in unused parts, returning rented equipment and buying tiles, my mom called and I was starving. It was 11 am and I hadn't had anything to drink yet, figuring I'd drive to Eindhoven and make coffee there. Shopping was a little unplanned and took longer than expected. I cut the conversation with mom short and went to Ikea for an early lunch. Tomato soup and some bread and two cups of coffee quite did me in, but there was more work to be done.
There were two parts of the kitchen they didn't have in the central Ikea storage facility, and I needed to pick those up at Ikea Eindhoven (Son), but by the time I figured out I needed to have a receipt made at the kitchen department I was already at the self-service storage way at the end of the store. I walked all the way back, meanwhile helping out Geeke on the phone who was working on the patterns and needed someone to spar with about the sizes for the new collection at work.
By the time I left Son it was a quarter to 1, but I had tiles, the missing parts for my kitchen and lunch already done, and I had called a local handyman for an appointment to get a quote.

In Eindhoven I dragged half the tiles upstairs, made coffee, and then dragged the other half upstairs. I tell you, getting Vespasius with his feet off the ground is easy, but dragging tiles is hard. It's the two flights of stairs that do me in.
I sweeped the entire apartment, blessing my decision to wear a dust mask several times, and then mopped the bedroom with a special mop for laminate floors.
I gotta say: I love Leifheit for their mop. I bought the Pico Bello at Blokker and a Pledge product for laminate floors, but this thing is sweet. I look forward to many more moppings. Of course, it's never going to be this easy when there's furniture in the way...

I also met the neighbour's father who is busy working on #87 and told me many enjoyable things about his Home Improvement. The hardwood floor that looked so tempting on the pictures but was really horrible in real life was laid right over some black carpet, which is glued down like there's no tomorrow. I helped him drag a cupboard up the stairs and we had an enjoyable chat, comparing progress on the apartments. He told me he will drill through the asbestos himself, having a professional mask to wear.

I left around four, feeling like a boss, and drove to Boxtel to order The Perfect Wallpaper at Joosten. As soon as I got home there was a hot shower and the first twinges my back is throwing me to punish me for a job well done.
(I am The Man for dragging tiles up the stairs. The man. +3 on muscle aches and a +1 testosterone high)
And then I called BrabantWater to correct their invoice and my Jazeker to confirm the insurances she calculated for me.

So, status:
Bathroom:
Water is all in the right place.
Waiting for faucet
Next up: fixing up the walls
Tiles for floor bought, tiles for walls picked out.
Looking for someone to help me drag tiles up two flights of stairs.

Bedroom:
All sweeped and ready for wallpaper and paint, but we need to finish all cutting work before we start on this.
Still need to pick out wall covering.

Kitchen:
Water is in the right place.
Still need to get electricity in the right place, but have called handyman to help with that.
Still need to figure out where to get a replacement for that asbestos plate, since no-one seems to order these in the right colour or size. Perhaps neighbour Theo will be willing to help.
Ikea will deliver on February 3rd. No date for installation set yet.

Living room:
Still need to sand some walls, but otherwise waiting for cutting work to be finished.