The Sun Shone in February

Little jobs got done: the utility room was built, which provided a mini-kitchen so that the actual kitchen could be gutted and the downstairs loo was moved in order to accommodate this - accordingly, the upstairs facilities were working.

The oppressive ply wall came down and our living area moved south into the new extension. Larger, lighter and brighter: oh joy! This enabled the ceiling and walls in the original lounge area to be tampered with (pulling down the ceiling before it fell of its own volition, moving the doorway from the lounge into the kitchen, closing off the doorway from the kitchen to the hall).
 

The outside walls were rendered. We "celebrated" 6 months on the job. During March, the downstairs shower room/loo was tiled and fitted (except for the whb which was completed in April, more about that later) and the kitchen was plastered and prepared ready for the units and appliances.

2008: it gets worse before it gets better

January 2008. Having built the outer shell, it was time to knock down the original load-bearing back wall of the house. At this stage we are wondering why we decided to do this ...


First, the lounge was reduced from 12 x 14  to 12 x 10 by the erection of a plywood wall to keep some warmth in and some dirt out, meaning that the family living room was cramped with 3 sofas, a TV and no windows. The photograph shows the ply wall, also artily reflected in the mirror. (Can you see the green-brown carpet? Leafy-swirly survivor from the '70s!) Oh, and those plants didn't survive.

Another photograph shows the other side of the ply wall with the supports that were erected to keep the roof up while a very long double steel beam was inserted between the two pillars to support the weight above the "open plan living" gap. The old lounge and new extension will form an L-shaped living/dining room, open to the new kitchen (which we stupidly ordered in spring 2007 and they've been trying to deliver since before Xmas).

The third photograph shows the trendy cheesecloth curtain, swept aside to reveal the remains of the kitchen! There was a cooker but no sink - the only mains water was from the outside tap!

We ate out quite a lot while the place was in such a mess. God only knows how the TV, the old PC and the CD player didn't grind to a spluttering halt with all the dust.

The bifolding-sliding doors and tilt-n-turn windows were in (there's a new web site, www.sunseekerdoors.co.uk/) and the month ended with the plasterers doing their thing.

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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Final Stages of Preparation for the Main Extension

The builders left the roof of the old lean-to for as long as possible, to provide shelter while they worked, removing the existing groundworks so that modern methods of insulation can be laid: it seemed to me like a mix of a different type of rubble plus cement plus layers of polysomething and silver foil (biodegradeable? I think not. How will that affect future generations?) plus rusty old metal and more concrete on top.

The lean-to roof had to go and therefore a door opening was made into the garage so the builders could sit in there for their teas. A sheet of plastic roofing was used as a makeshift door. We are near the end of September now so the weather could be a bit unpleasant.

The walls were now being built so a decision was made regarding the bi-folding door system. Having solicited various quotes from prominent companies on the Internet, we discounted those who could not install within six weeks and those who could not also supply the particular windows we wanted. We had also decided that the integral venetian blinds were a must-have so out went the contenders who did not accommodate them. From 8 companies, we were down to two - prices were similar, both were based in London's home counties. We chose SunSeeker Doors, based in Luton, who showed us an installation in our home town and who had the shortest lead time. Additionally, it turns out that SunSeeker Doors not only manufacture their own bifolding doors (which we were invited to see by appointment) but the aluminium they used for said doors was also manufactured in England, yay us! If you are interested, visit www.sunseekerdoors.co.uk (I mentioned that their web site was a bit naff and another one is under construction for Spring 2008). We opted for the 8ft opening (3-door bifold system) and two very large tilt-and-turn windows either side of the door opening, all with integral blinds (requiring no dusting and guaranteed for a few years); we played safe and stuck to standard white for the blinds and the aluminium window/door frames.

Intro - how it began...

Not again, we decided, firmly, having lived in building sites at three lovely locations. This time, we shall take our time and find a house we like as it already is, then relax. But it wasn't to be. Even looking significantly upwards of our price range (just for the hell of it), we were unable to find our ideal house in the location that we needed. We caved. Once more unto the bricks ... and here we go again!

Background

The house we lived in for eight years was purchased as a single storey, four-room shell. Whilst renting elsewhere, we appointed an architect, acquired planning permission and appointed our trusted builder who worked for us on a similar project a few years earlier (see below).

We don't have any photographs of work-in-progress but, basically, at the front of the bungalow, we kept the two front rooms, built a porch to accommodate a cloakroom and replaced the bathroom with a set of stairs. At the back of the house, we kept the kitchen and extended the lounge into the garden. 

The bungalow became a chalet-bungalow by removing the shallow roof and replacing it with a higher pitch, which enabled us to accommodate four double-bedrooms, an en-suite and a family bathroom.

After we moved in, we added a small side extension that provided a study and W.C. (easily accessed by a side door) and a utility room. Oh yes, and we added a pool. Here are some photographs from when we sold it ... 

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The previous house that we renovated with the builder mentioned in the next few posts was purchased with no heating!!! It was a two-storey, three bedroom house with a litchen/diner and lounge, untouched for many years but with great potential. 

We developed it twice. The first time was just a ground floor extension and the second time added an upstairs so that's another 'story' haha! Below are some before, during and after photographs; the first and last are about ten years apart.

Moving on to the next post...