Adding functionality to the Utility Area

As I mentioned in the first post in this series about making my new house disabled friendly, after I bought the house but before I moved in, the family organised builders to do some work before I moved in. Here's a list of what I remember them doing (there may have been more)

• take away the 'step' level in the living room, replacing the laminate at the same level (ish) as the rest of the floor
• organise plumbing for a dishwasher (taking out a kitchen cupboard to do so) under the draining board, which also meant reorganising the external waste plumbing out to the back of the house near the
• redo the external plumbing from the upstairs bathroom as the piping/collection was rather old and cracked
• create a Utility sink area and cat flap down near the WC in the utility area.

And it's the Utility Area that this post is about.

What the Utility area looked like BEFORE

Utility Before - the photographer closed the WC door

 And what it looked like AFTER

Utility After - I left the WC door open

The Utility area is essentially the old 'services' area for the original house, it's got no heating other than an on/off towel rail, I'm pretty sure the roof is not insulated, and two thirds of it is on the same level as the rest of the house, with one third a step down. The WC toilet and sink takes up part of that lower level space, the rest had plumbing and electrics for a fridge freezer and washing machine and dryer (including vent to outside).

So why change it?

Well, the sellers had a fridge/freezer that fitted into the space, and a separate washing machine and tumble dryer. Me? I have a super tall fridge/freezer that wouldn't fit and a washing machine that has a dryer in it already. So the whole area was potentially going to be wasted space because it's down one step so couldn't be used for disability equipment.

What were my needs?

I don't like sharing the WC sink (where I washed and also cleaned teeth etc when I slept downstairs having no stairlift) nor the kitchen sink with the two cats.  If I am well enough I want to do 'wet' crafts like dyeing fabrics or making papier mache etc which again I don't have space for in the WC and aren't food safe so I don't want to do them in the Kitchen.

In an ideal world, the Utility would be all on one level, but that would involve raising the roof line and need planning permission and significant building work.  Also in an ideal world there would be fold away seating for me to use when preparing the cats' food and medications twice a day.

I also needed a cat flap for Ivorcat, as he's mostly an outside cat, and an area that Tabithacat couldn't get to, as his meds are bad for her and her meds are bad for him.  

Ivorcat - prefers being outdoors at will

Tabithacat is also ancient, arthritic with no road sense so I didn't want her to have access to the cat flap very easily. On the other hand, Ivorcat is getting old so the remodel needed to be able to be changed in future for his needs if he gets a bit wibbly from old age.

Tabithacat - Ancient and arthritic with no road sense, needs supervising outside

 If money were no object what could I have done with that space?

1. Knocked it down entirely and rebuilt as an extension either on the same footprint or also including the patio. This could have included a ramped access at the back for wheelchair access and essentially have been a Utility area with Conservatory/Winter Living Room area. 
2. Raised the roof level at the far end so that there's no longer a step down to the WC/Laundry area.
3. Put a door in at the bottom from the patio allowing direct access by scooter from the garden level, with one step up to the main house, also allowing my scooter to be housed inside with access to electricity for recharging. That would mean I'd need to move the WC and laundry completely into the two thirds of the Utility that's currently open space.
4. Made the whole of the lower level into a shower room moving the laundry area to the upper level that's currently open space, or reinstated the corridor and make the upper level into a shower room with the lower level as a laundry area (with or without outside access for the Scooter).

However, having bought the new house before we sold the old one using a bridging loan from the parents, I was a bit short of cash, so compromises were necessary.

I decided to

• Leave the Utility upper and lower levels as they were with the WC layout in situ.
• Create a countertop with cupboard for storage and washer/dryer underneath and a sink with drainer on top
• Use the dryer vent hole in the wall for the catflap at draining board level (so he has to walk over a towel so his feet are less muddy in bad weather)
• Get cat steps made for outside so the cat can access the flap

How did we do this?

Firstly in the Kitchen there was a hole where the sellers had an undercounter fridge, and a kitchen cupboard that was in the way, I needed the space these occupied for my disability equipment.

Cupboard on the left on the back wall was reused in the Utility

 So we took the cupboard out of the kitchen, and reused it as under sink storage in the Utility area. The builders used some spare tiles the sellers had left to fill in the flooring gaps in the kitchen to make a smooth surface for my wheeled equipment.

The building firm (Lockwoods of Gainsborough) provided an offcut of laminate kitchen top, to support the sink and we used a black sparkly waterproof shower panel instead of tiling around all 3 sides of the sink area as it's easier to clean, finished with a nice clean stainless steel style edging.

The builders also installed an outside tap on the other side of the washing machine as I can't use a watering can, they're too heavy but I can drag a hose around for watering pots etc.

I bought a cat flap that uses the cat's microchip for access, and extension parts for the tunnel to make a seamless easy to clean access point for the cat and the builder carefully positioned this in the interior and exterior walls before then cutting the hole in the right place in the shower panel, using super stinky glue to stick the panel to the wall, before finishing the cat flap installation.

The builder had to take out one brick above the dryer vent hole and put it into the hole underneath the access tunnel to get the cat flap at the right height off the draining board for Ivorcat

 So shortly after I moved in, the Utility looked like it was going to work well, I had a working sink with easy to use lever taps (I don't have much grip), draining board, waterproof splashback area and a working catflap, all finished off with the edging.

Waiting for the washer/dryer to be installed

Then we had a disaster!!! The cupboard and sink had been installed before I moved in, the panel afterwards because the cat flap had to be installed in the right place heightwise for the cat's stomach level. So, I'd not been in the house at the time of installation. I noticed that the ceramic flooring rocked a bit where the washing machine was going to be installed, and asked the workman to just lift it up, make sure the floor was ok, and glue it back down.

Rotten flooring affecting areas under the newly installed cupboard

Ack!!! the flooring underneath the ceramic tile (done in the last 5 years by the previous owners) was boarding, with polystyrene blocks underneath, and no membrane as far as we could tell. The house doesn't have foundations as such, it's on bare earth (covered in concrete at a later date for the main house) then a void before you get floorboards. So on the plus side there was the polystyrene for insulation, on the downside, a previous washer leak had been unnoticed and spread.

A lot of sucking of teeth and cups of tea later, the builders and I decided we would bodge it, it would cost too much to take up the flooring and the cupboard and countertop and shower boarding out, and the workman would instead use slivers of wood to jack up the cupboard by enough millimetres to ease out the tile that was partially under the cupboard. New boarding was laid and chamfered against existing boarding because as it turned out there weren't cross joists (sigh) to attach it to. Then it was glued back down.

We're hoping this will last 5-10 years, which gives me time to save up to redo the whole floor area if necessary in due course.

So, once that was fixed, and yup I was rather cross as it was the building firm who didn't think oh there's a loose tile let's lift it up and see what's underneath before fitting the cupboard, so I got a discount on the cost of the remedial works, we had a Utility ready for the washer/dryer to be plumbed in.

Utility Laundry Area finished and regrouted repaired floor

Then once the washer/dryer was installed, the rest of the Utility was organised and ta da!!! first bit of refurbishment/renovations were complete!

Finished Utility/Laundry area with cat flap over the draining board (the candle is there cos of the stench of the glue used for the shower board offgassing)

However within a few days, the countertop got chaotically untidy

Untidy countertop

so I had a look on the internet and found some suction wire baskets for the shower panel that would keep the things I used twice a day OFF the countertop but within reach.

Because there wasn't a space to put seating near the sink, nor for a perching stool as the same space is used by the WC door, I need to use my FlipStick (like an urban shooting stick, a walking stick with a perching seat on it) to feed the cats, which means I can't open the cupboard door without having to move around, so everything that was used twice a day at the sink level, needs to have a home at the sink level.

Suction cup wire baskets and tidy easy to clean countertop!

Since then I've added suction hooks on the left hand side for a small towel and for a cleaning cloth.

What about the rest of the Utility space? the two thirds at kitchen level?

Well, it needs to be an open flexible space with a variety of seating options

Because the Mobility Scooter needs to be stored indoors in that space in the winter, I put an Ikea Shoe Storage Unit by the back door, which leaves just enough space for the Scooter to slot inbetween that and the WC end wall.  In the summer, there's a Georgian rush seated chair that is low enough for me to sit on without too much pain, for supervising the cats' mealtimes or just for having the patio doors open on a sunny day and sitting in the shade.  If it's summer but raining I've put my reclining garden chair in there with the doors ajar.

In the summer the mobility scooter lives on the patio covered by a tarpaulin and having a chair there means it's easier for me to put my shoes on and get organised.

Shoe cabinet and flexible space in the upper level of the Utility

Since then, I've also had a couple of hooks put up on the side of the boiler cupboard next to the patio door for the carer's coats and had the bottom louvre door of the boiler cupboard (immediately on the right before the patio doors) shortened so that the cat's litter tray can fit there permanently with the bags of litter on the shelf above. The cat baskets fit into the shelf above that in front of the boiler.

Bobble Pegs for carer coats and litter tray in the bottom of the boiler cupboard (louvre door not fitted at this stage)

 There's no autostop on these patio doors, so to stop them crashing around when it's windy I use a piece of string looped around the outside handle and one of the bobble pegs, with a shoe wedged in the door so that no cat is inadvertantly squished nor the door ripped off it's hinges! The doors leak a bit so eventually I'll save up and get them replaced.  I also need a form of fly screen for the summer as I love leaving the doors open but hate the wildlife that comes in because of the smell of catfood.

Bobble Coat Hooks

I found the coat hooks very cheaply at the local shop that does homewares and upcycled furniture Shabby & Chic.

What does it look like outside? How does the cat get up to and down from the catflap? It's so high!

The builder made me 'cat steps' out of offcuts of garden decking. Ivorcat loves them because he can sit and 'guard' the entrance to the house and also, as they're at different levels, get sunshine throughout the day.

Ivorcat on his steps for the catflap, washing line closed

 
 We also put a Brabantia Wallfix washing line on that back wall, so I have a washing line that stays clean and doesn't get in the way. I can't handle a rotary line, it's too heavy to open and close and cover up.  It all folds away into a discreet box when not in use.

Washing line open

What about when Ivorcat gets old? Or can't just up to the draining board height?
There's just enough space at the side of the washing machine for a 'chicken run' type plank to be fixed from the step to the draining board, and to still be able to use the washing machine. So at the stage at which Ivorcat needs help, he'll be fine. If he's not well enough to negotiate a plank inside and steps outside, I don't want him going out unsupervised anyway.

WC - sink and toilet area

At the same time the builder put up a frameless (ancient) Ikea mirror, glass shelf and towel rail in the WC

WC from door - mirror to reflect light and make it seem bigger

and a hook for 'guest' towels near the loo. Given I was living downstairs and using the WC as a bathroom I didn't want guests to accidentally use my 'personal care' towel, so I used my ScanNCut machine to cut out labels for 'Mine' and 'Guest' to avoid any accidents

Clear indication of Guest towel

Finally, the builders put up my hose reel. Yes in an ideal world I'd have one of those spiral springy hoses, but I already own this, it keeps the hose tidy and makes it easier for me to use the hose and put it away all by myself.

Garden tap and hose reel on wall.

You can just see the shed at the end of the garden and the new flowerbeds. In the foreground, we used a metal bowl and large ceramic planter with a solar powered fountain to make a small 'bubble' fountain for the base of the bamboo. Ivorcat likes drinking moving water and the insects like it too. I like the gentle sound it makes and it doesn't need much looking after as mum gave me some floating plants to keep the water clear. Overwinter the bowl is emptied, the plant goes back to mum's pond and it's reinstalled in summer.


Did I make the right decisions? Does it work?

Overall I'd say yes, it works very well.  I can use my FlipStick as a perching stool, the cats aren't stealing each other's food (with the wrong meds in), Ivorcat is happy using the flap, and his paws are forced to be cleaner because of the towel on the draining board.

One inconvenience is that the plumbing for the washing machine was already on the right hand side. If we'd thought it through better, I'd probably have had the washing machine on the left and the cupboard on the right, but we didn't and it is what it is. It does mean the washing machine door opens not quite far enough into the middle of the space and you have to stretch a bit to get the washing out.

There's lots of space in the Utility upper level that's flexible for the time of year, and I do enjoy sitting in there watching the clouds (my neighbour doesn't feel overlooked as it's higher than his window level and there's a big redcurrant bush in the way).

I absolutely loathe the WC door, it's a cut down cheap plastic laminate/hollow core door that's already discolouring and gets in the way of the sink. I've thought of several options for changing it - a bifold door (no space for a sliding door) but that doesn't really help for the sink, or a curtain or a Japanese style half curtain (like they have in doorways in Japan to stop flies) or saloon style doors before the step, but then it's not as discreet as a proper door and having a step at the same place as saloon doors is an accident waiting to happen. So at the moment, I'm leaving it as it is.

Eventually I'll need a new toilet in there, I had the flush mechanism replaced, but the seat support is broken and the cistern lid is too. In the meantime I plan to use gold paint on the very finely repaired broken cistern lid, as a reference to how the Japanese repair tableware with gold for reuse. But for now, it is what it is.

I am conscious that area is unheated, I need to change out the electric radiator for one that can be on a timer, or even find a way to put a small radiator linked to the boiler in there. I also suspect the roof isn't insulated and there's sufficient height to do so inside with reboarding the ceiling, but then that means the lighting has to change, so that's all for the future.

For now it works well and there's other things to spend my money on inside the house that are more urgent.

Learning curve?

Never assume that the builder is going to investigate something that may turn into more work/ clients cancelling the job. TELL the builder that if they suspect anything, that they have to raise it with you to work out if anything needs to be done.

If we'd realised the floor was rotten, I'd have got the whole of that floor level pulled up, properly insulated and relaid. However we did a reasonable fudge/bodge that should last sufficient time until I've saved up and also worked out if there's any change needed to the layout of that area.

Through the Patio Doors

Next Post - Stripping the old decor from the front bedroom and new electrics