We're on the level

So there was this gap in front of the fire, where the new hearth didn't quite come out as far as the old hearth. The fireplace fitter recommended self-levelling compound, as anything else would crack and to leave the gap there would cause the carpet to sag in front of the fire. He advised using a small tub, but the smallest one I could find was 5kg. Still, I thought, may as well mix it all up. I don't need it for anything else and I can just chuck away what I don't use.

There was about a teaspoonful left by the time I'd finished. It kept leaking away UNDER the new hearth. The daft buggers had just sat it there, on top of the floor, bridging over the old concrete plinth.

The compound also leaked through two or three small holes at the front as you can see here. I guess those leaks will have dripped through to the sub-floor. Luckily the holes weren't large enough for the whole mix to disappear before it set sufficiently to stop dripping.

All this does of course mean that we'll never be able to have bare floorboards in the lounge again (unless we fit new boards to this section) but frankly after years of bare floors - stripped pine in this house and laminate in the last - that's not a serious worry. We wanted it cosy, and that means carpet.

The final task for today was to apply the gloss coat to the skirting boards and door frame. This didn't have such a profound effect on the look of the room as yesterday when the undercoat went on. I knew that would be a watershed. Painting the last of the woodwork removed the only remaining rough edges and made the whole project look finished, with just a few bits of tidying up to do. Today's gloss coat just made it... err... glossier.