Day 54c: Bathrooms and Kitchen

This is the last instalment of news from Day 54 (27th March). The toilets and bathroom taps have now been fitted, and thus the small bathroom (above) and the shower room are complete.

In the shower room, there's a sink, the shower and a toilet, which is just visible in the lower-right corner of the photo. Also lights are readily fitted here and also in the sauna.

One of the most important ingredients of a Finnish house is the sauna, and of course that needs a stove ("kiuas"). While we have seen the stove previously, now it's been filled with stones. Now everything is in place for the first proper "löyly," i.e. the throwing of water onto the hot stones and the subsequent filling of the room with steam vapour.

Finally the kitchen is almost complete. Unfortunately there was some communication issue somewhere down the line, and the kitchen has been delivered one cupboard shorter than ordered. This will be fixed in the near future as soon as a new work surface in the correct length has been delivered.

Nonetheless we are happy with how the white kitchen stands out against the dark-brown wall. Making some bold choices with colours always bears some risks, but here (and also with the green-and-white bathroom above) our ideas are spot on – at least for us, the rest is a matter of taste.

Day 51:Furniture Fronts and Bathroom

On Day 51 (21st March), the furniture got its fronts, meaning doors and drawers were installed, and even the kitchen appliances appeared. Above the small bathroom with sink, drawers, and mirror. The camera flash created an interesting pattern on the rear wall.

The utility room is pretty much finished now. The tall empty slot under the ventilation system is reserved for washing machine and tumble dryer. The tall closet contains two big and one small baskets for laundry, which is very handy right next to the washing machines.

The wardrobe in the entrance area now has doors and the final look became apparent. Lots of storage space here.

Finally a huge improvement on the kitchen, compared to the previous day. All doors installed, and cooker, hobs, sink, dishwasher and drawers installed. Also the tiles have now received their white grouting, the extractor fan is installed, and its "exhaust" pipe is hidden behind some neat white box.

Also the wooden strips in the corners between walls and ceiling is now finished in the much of the living room and half of the hallway. It's all coming together rapidly.

Day 50: Kitchen, Wardrobe, and Bathroom Furniture

Big things happened, on 20th March (Day 50), the kitchen furniture went in. The doors are still missing, and the tiles have not received their grouting, but it very much is taking shape. Also, the wooden strip between ceiling and wall is now in place on the left wall in the photo above.

The wardrobe for the entrance area also appeared, which will provide lots of storage for our clothes and coats etc.

Finally, the small bathroom now has its sink installed. The toilets are still missing, but they will probably be installed together with the taps and shower by a plumber, which will come at a later date.

In a month's time we will already live in Our House. Exciting!

More Stuff Arrived

On 15th March, no work was done at the house, and therefore we do not count this day. However,  more stuff appeared on the yard. The palette above contains a pile of doors and door frames. One of the most important items for the whole project is in the unremarkable small white box on top of the doors, the content of which will be revealed in the next photo.

Yep, it's the sauna heater, or "kiuas" in Finnish. There's also a box of stones to fill the heater with. Yes, we'd also like a bath, but a sauna is a decent start anyway for now.

More essentials were delivered on another palette, two toilets, toilet seats, and sinks. All of these new deliveries will be installed in the near future, starting next week. In between we have some more painting to do in order to finish the fireplace. More about that tomorrow.