Cable TV

Cable TV and broadband internet connection were the last missing stuff in the flat, over half a year after moving in. In the spring and summer months, when outdoor beckoned and time spent indoor in the evenings and over weekends was sparse, my low demand for such services was giving an excuse to put back installation. Hence I have got my act together to fix it just recently.

After a research done over a year ago I thought I would opt for Vectra, which was the previous owner’s operator, yet on the home straight I have taken the trouble to compare pricing of plans, content of packages and technical capacities and I have changed my mind to eventually choose UPC. The crucial factor, with similar prices of TV + Internet plans (same cost of PLN 80 per month) and similar content thereof, was technical advantage of UPC, whose CI+ modules (I refused to have another box and another remote control) are compatible with most new TV sets. On top, the operator puts on its website a list of certified TV models.

The very installation, though booked and specified in the e-mail sent UPC sales rep over 2 weeks in advance, has not gone smoothly. I endured three visits over one day. At first attempt a technician came with a decoder rather than with a CI+ module. At second attempt another technician turned up without documents. At third attempt all went fine, except for the way he installed (or rather hung loose) antenna socket in the wall (not his duty) – this had to be mended by me a few days later, upon borrowing a driller from my father (what’s the point of having my own if use it 2 o 3 times a year?).

While I saved on a few months of not paying at all for the TV + Internet (I used a data package from my company smartphone via Wi-Fi router or fell back on pre-paid LTE), my monthly rate is now higher (some PLN 20 per month) than it would be, had I contracted the service in a few months ago. Telecommunication services are one of those whose prices have risen markedly in 2019.

A broadband Internet is a must, especially if you want to make the most of video / audio contents (mere Youtube offers several full films or series for free) available online, but also to pursue home office if necessary. Benefits of possessing the cable TV are questionable. I over the recent 3 weeks I watched a few documentaries, films or TVN24 evening programs but nothing more.

Choosing a TV (I purchased 43-inch plain-vanilla, yet UPC-compatible LG for PLN 1,400) has made me realise what stride has been made technology-wise. The relatively inexpensive (yet prices 2 times higher than the simplest) TV set combines functions of a TV, a decoder, a video player / recorder and a computer (Internet browser built it). One thing I need to explore is Netflix which has a dedicated button on the remote control. But since I have not had an account on my computer, odds I get to grips with it before year-end are miniscule.

Film-wise, last Wednesday I went to a cinema to see “Boże Ciało” before it is withdrawn from the silver screens. I do not feel like reviewing it; the film deserves watching, but it has left me numb in a chair…

Remont - lessons learnt when it is over

Having nearly finished the process of furnishing and decorating the flat and having gone through the first (and surely not the last) remont ordeal in my life, before I rest my head, time to share what experience I have gained.

An old German adage says you build your first house for your enemy, the second one for your friend and the third one for yourself. I was doing my best to learn from mistakes made by my parents in their house and to avoid what was done wrong in two rented flats I dwelled in.

My first piece of advice – do not let yourself get carried away by purchase-related euphoria. I plead to have well underestimate the scope of works my flat required. Quickly after the purchase I realised it would not be just a thorough refurbishment and decided nearly everything would be ripped off, as brand new stuff would serve years. Cool down, take a deep breath, since all works need to be well-thought-out!

The second piece of advice – work out layout in advance – it pertains specifically to placing equipment and fixtures which require water and electricity connections (sink, kitchen, dishwasher, etc.) – rewiring and plumbing come first and should match how you want to get your flat arranged, not the other way round.

The third piece of advice – hire an architect if you lack time or idea to design your dwelling. With hindsight I do not regret not taking up one, but I see advantages of having a helping hand of a reasonable, experienced architect.

While being generally very satisfied with the outcome, there are some errors which could have been evaded.

The bathroom light switch location on the hinge side of the door is the paramount glitch and my mistake since I failed to notice importance of door opening direction (and ordered to swap the bathroom and toilet doors just ahead of the assembly). Actually if I am to be the owner of the flat when the next remont is done, light switches of the bathroom and the toilet will be combined and placed between the doors, on handle sides. I thought the solution would be peskier than it really is once I have got used to it.

I have chosen triple-glazed windows to get better insulation and noise protection. The difference in price was marginal but it turned out putting in internal rollers to it would be a problem (since the upper tube hits a wall while a window is being fully opened). Two companies refused to assemble it, the third one did it, after I signed a declaration I would not complain about the outcome. Actually the problem has turned out to be inflated (I had taken measurements before commissioning the assembly), however such buffers (made by my father) had to be stuck to balcony doors (the most frequently opened) and once it gets warmer, I will have to buy a sample of while paint to cover them.

The socket in the kitchen for the dishwasher (separate circuit) was placed before I worked up the layout of the kitchen, including where the dishwasher is placed. The upshot is that an extension cord (meeting safety criteria) had to be used. Just for the record, the previous dishwasher socket was just next to and below water valves!

The unpainted (this still needs to be done) has pipe is another example of minor glitches I have overlooked. In the hall one can spot the old fuse box, if the bespoke shoe cabinet was four centimetres deeper, more shoes boxes would fit it, compartment for ironing board and drying rack in the bedroom wardrobe should have been located on the outer side, and so on and so forth…

All in all, I have not underestimated the expenses (building materials, labour charges and furniture set me back nearly exactly 1,500 PLN per sqm), however grossly underestimated the duration of the venture. Seven months lapsed between the purchase and the moment I moved in. Location and layout of the flat are nearly perfect, the place feels like home, finally!

To celebrate it, I organise Easter this year at my place, a culinary challenge ahead, though at my parents’ insistence, we shared the work.

For the very ending, a series of snaps for the sake of comparison: October 2018 when the remont was at its worst vs. yesterday. Oh, what a makeover!

I have moved in

Finally back in Ursynów and in my own, not rented dwelling. Still getting to grips with the accompanying mess (especially given first guests pay me a visit today in late afternoon), so just signalling I'm alive and doing well (despite tiredness).

The flat - half year into...

Yesterday I deliberately (and without regret) missed the opportunity to celebrate half-anniversary of purchasing the flat. Having spent most of the Saturday running errands related to furnishing it, I did not even drop in on there (caught up today). After six months being continuously busy handling the endless restoration, the sound of the word remont makes me feel queasy.

In the purchase-related euphoria I have definitely underestimated the scope of works. Before stepping inside as an owner, I had planned something more than redecoration, with major refurbishments to be done in kitchen, hall, bathroom and toilet. As the day after the purchase I checked the technical condition of windows (and decided to order new ones), the list of things to be done once, but properly and for years began to grow longer and longer. The redecoration turned into a makeover, which actually was indispensable to a neglected 20-year-old dwelling. With hindsight, I believe a few works more could have been done as well.

The time frame for the venture has definitely been underestimated, I missed it by a long shot and my horizon of 3 months was extended to slightly more than 6 months. The major cause was the first crew of builders which had been postponing the onset of their works week by week, until I my father found new craftsmen (fortunately, they came in mere 3 weeks later). The remont has been a valuable lesson of patience.

Budget-wise, I have not summed up all expenses yet, however if I overshoot my target of 1,500 PLN per sqm, the overrun will not break the bank (annual bonus arrives in March).

Actually everyone who has had their dwelling refurbished experienced has learnt that:

- Murphy’s law works well on construction front (for the sake of caring about your mental health, worth distinguishing those mishaps you could have prevented, had you been more familiar with technical issues from those for which you should not blame yourself),

- nearly all builders and other professionals are a different breed (oblivious of concepts such as reliability, diligence, deadline, agreement).

While talking to people who have endured their remont a few years ago, most sympathise with me and recall their traumatic time. Mine actually has not been so ghastly thanks to involvement of my father who has spent hundreds of hours overseeing the process – otherwise I would have to seriously consider hiring somebody who would look after it.

Today, while at the scene, I forgot to take any snaps but:

- kitchen furniture have been partly installed (originally due to be completed by 8 February), besides a table and two chairs are the only missing elements,

- hall awaits wardrobes (due in the first week of March),

- bathroom is generally ready, but lacks a washing machine (a matter of a few days between an order and a delivery so I have been putting this purchase back for a few weeks now) and cabinet (due to arrive on Wednesday),

- toilet also awaits, but a cupboard,

- bedroom furniture to be delivered on Wednesday (hopefully) and the wardrobe to be put in along with the one in the hall,

- living room furniture have been ordered, but should arrive in late March.

Besides, several minor things still need to be done… I due course

Another set of remont musings after I move in. Sick and tired, but elated will I be then, by then just striving to carry it through.

Remont – home straight

A first report from the battlefield in 2019 after weeks of keeping curious readers in suspense. A lot has been done since then (glass half-full), but still a plenty of finishing works ahead (glass half-empty).

The kitchen is ready for assembly of ordered furniture. The initial assembly date was 23 January, but getting behind schedule is inevitable on the front. The dishwasher awaits installation along with kitchen furniture. A fridge and gas oven are due to be delivered the day after tomorrow. This is the only room thoroughly cleaned up.

Walls in the bedroom have been painted and floor panels will be laid next week. Pieces of furniture have been ordered (with lead time of 3-4 weeks they are due to arrive in mid-February). After the flooring panels get into place, wardrobe measurements might be taken.

Condition of the living room is akin to the bedroom, however I have not chosen furniture so far, though the concept has been in my head for a while. Furnishing this room is least urgent to inhabit the flat.

The toilet needs some fittings, including the most crucial ones, i.e. a washbasin and water flushing buttons. Still some work to be put in before the toilet can be used comfortably ;-)

In the bathroom, compared to how it looked out in mid-December, tiles have been laid, however much is to be done – shower booth, washbasin and several minor stuff need to be installed. But everything in due course.

The hall has thus become a clutter room, although the mass of stuff kept in the flat is targeted to be decreased if new pieces of equipment are to be brought in. Measurements of the wardrobe will mobilise to tidy up the place.

With so many tribulations along the way (recently unexpected goings on have been frequent), I don’t feel like envisaging the date of moving in…

Remont – some half way into?

Time to catch up with the first proper photo coverage since construction works kicked off for good. The crew of two builders (uncle and nephew) is diligent and solid, however at the expense of pace. On the other hand, a delay of a few weeks is worth enduring if it saves troubles caused by glitches in the future.

In the kitchen wall and floor tiles have been laid, yet crevices between them have not been filled with joint (the task is quite arduous and time-consuming if to be done properly). Walls and ceiling have been somewhat flattened with gypsum, but the work is not yet completed (green paint still visible). Next Saturday a kitchen-furniture-maker is coming over to take measurements and prepare a visualisation.

In the hall the scope of works is similar to what has been done in the kitchen. The carpenter who will put in wardrobes in the hall and in the bedroom might take measurements once floor panels in the bedroom are laid, which stands no chance to happen this year.

In the bathroom walls had to flattened with kilograms of mortar (why had I thought this blocks of flats had been built so solidly), or rather layers of it. No plumbing works done yet, accumulated stuff has been waiting its turn for two months.

In the toilet the makeshift toilet bowl might not necessarily be replaced by a new one (and this is positive, as the new one is not exposure to the entire construction site dirt and mess) this year. The toilet and the bathroom will be the most man-hour-consuming spaces in the flat.

The living room and the bedroom serve as storage areas. Walls have been flattened with gypsum, but only partly. Today I spent around three yours tidying up the flat (the crew is

generally precise and reliable, but in terms of keeping the place clean they could do with some more respect to what they already have done!),

such activity will be a part of almost each weekend by late January. The Christmas tide ahead does not help see the end of the remont, since the builders will most probably take a two-week break and return to the flat (having sobered up) after 6 January.

Far from the home straight, but not losing faith.

Hurriedly, moving on

It’s been a busy week. Lots of work in the New Factory – over the working week I spent more than 50 hours in the office, toiling away at full blast. Until now I am still among those who boycott the Kler which indeed has broken the turnout record of all times. Hats down to everyone who has contributed to that success (audience of more than 900,000 over the first weekend and more than 1,700,000 over the first week); I promise to mend my ways possibly quickly (a business trip to inspect a client’s facilities in Mazury will not help catch up).

The builders have walked in and the remont has kicked off for good. Part of tiles have been ripped off, besides, preparatory plumbing works are under way. The first batch of materials (toilet set, shower booth, all floor and wall tiles) wait in the living room. So far the flat is in a mess, but in the coming days order will begin to emerge from the chaos.

I am pretty confident the very refurbishment (laying tiles, bathroom and toilet fittings, laying floor panels, painting walls and other works) will draw to a close before the end of November, but by that time the flat might not be furnished well enough to inhabit it comfortably.

I have identified three critical points:

1. Wardrobes in the hall and in the bedroom – the measurements might be taken once tiles and panels are laid, the declared time between placing the order and delivery is three weeks. Here there is the chance that even with a headroom for delay they might make it – if wardrobes are put in, storage room for my stuff will be ensured

2. Kitchen furniture – there measurements might be taken once the tiles are laid and I believe lead time will be more than a month (especially after I saw the statistics of numbers of dwellings handed over in 3Q2018).

3. Bed – though I actually could do with a mattress lying on a floor for a while. The kitchen furniture looms as the most critical element, but time will tell…

Weather-wise, autumn is showing its clement face. Temperature yesterday in the sunshine topped more than +20C, today it is expected to be similarly warm as well. Forecasters herald such lovely weather shall continue for more than a week. Being quite short of time I cannot make use of the late-summer weather as I would wish to do so, but may the chill and autumnal gloom come possibly late!

Remont - towards the turning point

Time for a concise portion of news from the front. New windows, interior window sills, balcony door doorsteps and external blind roller arrived and were assembled on Wednesday, mere three working days after the promised deadline of 21 September. Except for the rewiring, done by my father, this is the first brand new thing completed in the flat during the refurbishment.

Yesterday the interior door frames were cut away (lot of noise and dirt inside the dwelling) and I finally cleaned the balconies (I had put it back since the purchase until the window replacement was done). Seeing the progress of works has lifted my spirits up, even though tremendous work is still ahead.

On Tuesday removing the tiles is to kick off; some fifty square metres of wall and floor tiles are bound to be ripped off in total. Today, I am heading to DIY shops to finally choose and order new tiles, a shower booth and a toilet set plus the construction materials necessary. The completion and moving in before the last day of November still seems conceivable.

Having a quite busy weekend, therefore I will have failed to boost the turnout in the cinemas during the first weekend of “Kler” (The Clergy) by Wojciech Smarzowski in the silver screen. Impatiently looking forward to seeing the film, but I am not sure whether I would make up over the coming working week. After I see it, I promise to share my impressions.

Remont - moving on

By mid-October I should switch to a more palatable topic, since there is life outside my construction site…

The milestone in the week ahead will be the arrival and assembly of new windows, sills and external blind roller in the living room.

The crew of (only two, yet trusted) builders will kick off with their work in the last week of September or in the first week of October (depending on when they finish off their current assignment).

The only leftovers in the flat that need to be removed are: bath, toilet and tiles. I began to rip off the very latter thing and I must say with a hammer and a screwdriver and a crowbar the task takes away a lot of time and energy. Needless to say, I have not ordered a container to which rubble will be dumped.

Still not half way into what everyone at some point in life needs to go through. Just for the record – I am busy enough not to find time to make the most of the endless summer. The weather this September has been more summer-like than autumn-like (although imminent advent of autumn is felt in the air). The above-average is about to continue, as temperature around 20 September is projected to peak +28C in afternoons.

Oblivious of how it all unfolds, for no apparent reason I sense we will witness an abrupt shift from late summer to the first whiff of winter, something akin to what happened in October 2009 (day-time high of +24C on 8 October 2009 followed by snowfall on 14 October 2009) and a reversal of sudden explosion of spring in early April this year.

Remont - further steps

Busy, positively tired and stricken with scarcity of time – it’s been me recently. Had to take two business travels this week, on Tuesday to Wrocław and on Wednesday to Kielce, after all more hassle than benefit. Besides, I visited the construction site nearly every day. Upshot: the flat is fully decluttered and by early next week I should make a choice between two crews of builders: one very solid my parents are familiar with, the other recommended by somebody and apparently doing a good job. Oddly enough, both declare they would kick off with works before the end of September (the one my parents know do job only to people they have known, the other have a client who dropped off because of a delay in completion of his new dwelling).

The living room currently is where all tools belonging to my father (whose does the rewiring on his own) and me. The cheap wooden floor panels have been ripped off (by my father and I) and are the only bigger remnant waiting to change hands.

In the bedroom the panels have also been ripped off. The room now only awaits the first crew which will change windows and sills. In the meantime, modification in electric installations are being made.

The kitchen is now empty. The dishwasher and the gas oven, and the rest of furniture were taken away on Friday and on Saturday by their buyers. Tiles will probably be ripped off by builders (hey, note everything so far has been done without paying a single zloty to any fachowiec)!

The bathroom has been emptied of the washing machine, washbasin and other pieces of equipment. The sale of old stuff has fetched a little less than 1,000 zlotys and has left me without a quandary what to do with useless clutter.

Now time to finish concepts how the flat will be furnished, choose the crew of builders and order the first finishing materials. The pace of works so far is dreadfully good, so there is some glimmer of hope I move in by the end of November.

Remont - the first days

Mere 10 days have passed since I took over ownership of my dwelling. Some people move in within such time frame. For me this happy moment ensues, I believe, in the last weeks of the year, since the flat needs a thorough, truly thorough refurbishment. After all the dwelling enchanted me with its location, layout and potential, not the obnoxious state in which it was up for sale.

The first steps made so far were:

1. finalizing all formalities related to changing place of residence,

2. selling most of the clutter, smaller and bigger, the vendor had not bothered to take away – this involved dismantling lots of stuff and a lot of hassle regarding servicing buyers, however now the flat is nearly empty and I have some pocket money (a few hundred zlotys matter as well),

3. setting about getting the dwelling ready for the crew of builders – since this job is relatively simple and can be done quickly with bare hands, my father and I have decided to do it ourselves.

What is in progress:

1. the gas oven, dishwasher, washing machine and bathroom fittings need to be uninstalled and change hands (please, do not kindly inform the tax office),

2. wooden floor panels in the living room and in the bedroom, as well as tiles in the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and in the hall await removal (do be done with bare hands, remnants to be sold for a song),

3. new windows, sills and outside blind roller have been ordered and down payment made (assembly due in the second half of September),

4. I have worked out a concept of how the flat should be furnished and today I plan to begin to write out a detailed description so that the crew of builders know exactly what to do.

The only part of the property which is inhabitable is… the garage and my car was parked there over the entire last working week, sitting there idle from Sunday afternoon until Friday evening, protected from elements of the weather.

Oddly enough, August this year was very busy at work, so the last four weeks were kind of challenging (I have taken four days off to arrange, handle or co-ordinate the property-related stuff). Recently my routine is to leave my rented flat (can’t wait to move out from here) early in the morning and return there after it gets dark (after popping in on nearby Biedronka), do the house chores, take a bath and go to bed. Weekends are kind of busy as well and until all renovation-related stuff is signed and sealed and the flat is ready for letting in the builders, I do not expect to give myself a whole day for relaxing. The September is foreseen to be marvellous weather-wise, but I shall fail to make the most of it. Business before pleasure.

On top, all the flat-related goings on drown out the process of getting over the break-up. Hard to assess whether it is good or bad, but definitely I have little time to dissect it.

I will keep you in the picture at least once a month.