"March"ing on with our New Build Home

By the first week of March, all the wall structures for the first floor bedrooms and bathrooms were in place. The first picture also shows the Project Manager, Neil, doing his job! In the second photograph, the stairwell is shown with our temporary stairs (i.e. a ladder).

On the outside of the house, the roofers had added a waterproof membrane (?) over the insulation plus roof battons, ready for tiling. The tiles are stacked, ready, at the front of the house, as shown in one of the photographs below.

A couple of weeks later and here we are (below) with a fully tiled roof and velux windows in situ.

We wanted to go for genuine slate roof tiles but had to settle for a concrete substitute as there was an astronomical price difference. It's a shame but there's a limited budget, determined not only by our bank balance but also because we don't want the cost of the build to exceed the potential market value of the property (even though we are not planning to sell the house in the foreseeable future).

Things have started to slow down now as coronavirus has descended upon us. However, you'll notice good progress in the next post... 

Up the Ladder to the Roof!

During February, the ground floor had a secure ceiling (and the upper floor had a floor!) and the very tall crane came back to lift roofing materials to the second storey.

By mid-February, the roof trusses were in place:

A few days later the roof panels were (almost completely) in place:

It's getting quite exciting now. You can see provision for two dormers (bath/shower rooms) and a velux roof window. In case you're wondering... no, we are not having a silver house! These panels are the insulation to keep our home cosy in winter and cool in hot weather.

The fast construction continues...

Improving the old dormer window

The Dynamic Duo on the Main Roof!

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You may have noticed that our dormer window, whilst functional, was a flat roofed flop, aesthetically, sitting next to the neighbours' pitched-roof dormer.

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We debated whether it was money wasted (no extra benefit) or money well spent (eventually, when we decide to sell and potential new buyers might find the utilitarian flat-roof style unattractive. Who knows?) and the consensus was to create a pretty pitched-roof dormer.
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While the work was being done, an old broken tile was replaced as this had resulted in a leak and, it was discovered, a plastic bag had been inserted, possibly years ago, as a stop-gap repair. The guys also took the opportunity to do some necessary pointing whilst they were up there.

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Another neighbour just 5 doors up the street had some spare roof tiles and very kindly offered them but they were not the same.

October: The Roof is ON!

One photograph taken looking in, another looking out. Now you can see the size of the holes that the bifolding doors and tilt&turn windows will be fitted into. The Schumach tree in the neighbour's garden is glorious!

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We have had regular visits from the council during the construction of the extension and occasional visits from the neighbours. The "attached" neighbour takes a professional interest, as he is in the building trade; the neighbour of the adjoining garage is considering an extension in the near future and the neighbour immediately opposite is ready to begin a similar extension so is asking our builder for a quote (unfortunately, he'll be tied up with our job for a few months so is unable to take on a second project just at this time).

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The diggers/brickie have left and the carpenter (boss) has come on site full-time. The new enclosed space makes a lovely workshop for our carpentry/construction duo. They plan to do as much work on the outside as they can while the weather holds and, in any case, need to secure the outside before opening up the inside to all the elements. We hope that our late decision on windows and doors will not cause unnecessary delays.

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The flat roof is on the ground floor extension and was protected from the weather by the fetching blue groundsheet until the man who puts the black weather-proof stuff can come to finish the job.

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