Floors and Doors

The ground floor has now been beautifully screeded over the underfloor heating pipes and we've received samples of flooring and door finishes and chosen the ones we'd like. Because of 'new build' rules, every home must include a downstairs w.c. that is easily accessible by people with walking difficulties, including wheelchair users. This access rule also applies to the front door. It means minimum widths and flat floor access. We also noticed that, on the plans, the ground floor doors are wider than the doors upstairs. Apparently, approximately 2% of people in Britain are wheelchair users. 

Originally, we were looking to use engineered hardwood throughout the ground floor, which is around 100 square metres. Having looked at prices and compared them with good quality laminate (shown above), we decided to save several hundreds of £££s. Without fitting costs, underlay, etc., the price of hardwood averaged about 4x the price of laminate.

The small sample in the image is the door colour, the dark grey-ish oak will be used throughout the ground floor and we chose a lighter finish for upstairs floors. These are all suitable for bathrooms and kitchens.

The stairs we've ordered are wooden and will be stained to our colour choice. At this moment, what colour this will be is a mystery!

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Other work that has been going on in the house includes: loft insulation, more plumbing and some carpentry. With the plumbing and electrics in place, the plasterboard will be going up and we'll get a real feel for the inside of our future home. The carpenters will be building the framework for built-in wardrobes and cupboards. 

We have only been visiting the site at weekends when there are no work teams there. All instructions we need to give them have been by email. Interesting times... :) 

Link to next instalment...

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.

Out with the Old

Pictures from inside the remains of the "Crittal" metal-framed lean-to (the house was originally built in 1960 with Crittal window frames and quarry-tiled window-sills, typical of the era, but PVC replacement windows were installed sometime in recent years). Amazingly tidy for a building site, don't you think?

One picture looks across the kitchen window/wall (notice the outside tap which will soon be inside) towards the garage, where a bit of wall has to be removed for a personal door from the house. The other picture shows the thermo-tiled floor that was inside the lean-to and the 'building blocks' like large grey Duplo, waiting to be used above the damp course. We still hadn't chosen the folding doors at this stage and a decision would be needed fairly quickly.

The area which is to be the inside floor has to be taken up so that it can be relaid with multiple layers of inorganic insulation to comply with current regulations (which, in my opinion, clash somewhat with current thinking on "green" issues).