Another Month has Dragged on...

We are almost a month further on, time-wise, but not much further than we were in our previous post:

The only things to be finished before we are able to move in are: 

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors;
• Installation of log burner;
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean;
• Sign-off by the Local Authority;
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT.

We have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. 

We're not sure why progress has been minimal but here is an update to the above:

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors - the guys doing the driveway are also going to put in some gate-posts and they decided that the posts need to be done before the rest of the drive can be laid. To get the sizes exact, they want to wait until the gates are delivered - the gates are on order but are not scheduled for delivery for another few weeks yet. However, they've made a great job of the round-the-house paving - see photo;

• Installation of log burner - YAY! Done - see photo;
  
  
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean - obviously the last thing is to clean and this is best left (apparently) until the drive is paviors rather than mud;
  
  
• Sign-off by the Local Authority - YAY! Building Regs are signed off, subject to a couple of provisos;
  
  
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT - in hand.

So we're still saying that we have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. (Do I sound just a bit fed up?) 

Anyway, the latest photographs are below.

More soon...

Our New Build House Project is almost complete!

The only things to be finished before we are able to move in are: 

• Outside access to accommodate disabled visitors;
• Installation of log burner;
• 'Walk-through' and deep clean;
• Sign-off by the Local Authority;
• Address registration with Royal Mail and BT.

We have our fingers crossed for the end of next month. At this stage, before furniture goes in, we intend to walk round with a smart phone and video the result of all the work to date. There will still be odds and ends still to do but these are non-essential and we don't want to wait forever so they can be mini-projects once we are living there. 

Other than that, the hold-ups are just long lead-times for the out-buildings we are ordering (e.g. the carport and a shed) plus the gates. These vary between 8 weeks and 14 weeks. 

Meanwhile, around the portaloo, we have pallets of paving ready to go down next week.

Plumbers, Electricians, Carpenters & more...

   * * * * *  

A quick check-list of what's been happening in the house over the past month:

• the flooring is down (see above)
• the doors are (mostly) in place
• the wardrobe doors have been fitted
• the bathroom units have been installed
• the skirtings have been delivered and are being installed
• the gas has been connected (finally)
• there are lights in every room
• the kitchen worktops are on order
• the window blinds for the bedrooms and bathrooms have been ordered
• the bathroom and shower wall panelling is being installed

The carpenters had to cut off a corner at the top of one of the wardrobe doors to enable it to fit in the eaves bedroom, therefore we had to source a solid wood door. The same guys have also been hanging the room doors, fitting the skirtings, installing the fitted units in the bathroom and putting up the shower panelling. They were working long hours and needed to be able to see what they were doing so the electrician was called in. 

 

Wardrobe Doors: cut to shape and size by the carpenters

Still to do: install the log burner and fnish off the hearth; order some more window blinds (for the ground floor rooms) and order a set of sliding doors to hide the boiler and hot water tank from the rest of the utility room. The hob, taps and showers need to be installed by the electrican and plumbers, once the worktops and walls are completed. Then we need to thoroughly clean throughout the house and bring in the decorator to give all the walls and ceilings a one (or twice) over. 

We won't be in for Christmas, unfortunately, as the covid situation has cost us about 12 weeks' delay. 

** Wishing you a Happy Christmas ** 
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We'll keep you posted!
P.S. This is a useful blog for crafty DIYers: catalogue of home ideas 

Current Building Project Update (pre-lockdown2)

The new stairs are in! It's so much easier than using a wobbly old ladder. 

Prior to the stairs being installed, the plumbers managed (I don't know how) to take the slipper bath to the first floor - it took them the best part of two hours! They've positioned the bath and basin taps and their next job will be to fit the Quooker and Belfast sink in the kitchen plus the tap and sink in the utility, as these have all been delivered.

Slipper Bath - Image from Supplier's Website

Showers

We are still unable to install the showers, for two reasons. We have the shower units but they can't go on the wall until the shower wall panels have been delivered. One shower tray has been on order for weeks and we have had the date moved back two or three times - they are now saying December. We can't trust this company not to delay it further so we are cancelling the order and choosing a new shower which we hope to have sometime next week.

The other shower tray has been on site for weeks. Unfortunately, when the plumbers began to install this one, the drain in the shower tray made it unuseable, as it was sited on two load-bearing joists. We have ordered a replacement tray but, unfortunately, the supplier does not arrange collections. Trying to send this back is proving costly as it is over 50% of the refundable amount so... would anyone like to buy a shower tray?

Kitchen worktop

We decided to use a local company that we have used before. Cawdor Stone in Knebworth is a family business, situated next to Lessiters (chocolatiers). Making a choice that complemented the white hob and mid-grey units was difficult but Graeme at Cawdor was very helpful (as well as knowledgeable), letting us take a few samples away to try out. It's only a few minutes from their showroom to the site so swapping samples was relatively painless. Their prices were reasonable too. We have booked a date for the templating and installation will be a week later.

Round-up of other items - our tasks

• We are meeting with the 'sparks' this week to finalise the lights and light-switches, a pop-up socket in the island plus any other visible electrical bits and bobs.
  
  
• There are no bathroom units, even though we have the basin and taps. We need to measure up tomorrow before the next lockdown so that we can get them on order. We'll probably use Howdens again.

• The built-in wardrobe frame is in place but we need to buy some doors - one of which has to be cut on a slant because of the sloping ceiling - we're seeking advice from the 'chippies'.

• We need to buy sliding doors to hide the works in the utility room - boiler, water softener, water tank, etc. We started with Magnet trade but have found similar doors for half that price elsewhere - we are currently looking further into this prior to ordering.
  
  
• The company who will be installing the log burner has already installed the granite hearth but we want the edges rounded, which we hope they can do without too much difficulty.
  
  
• We've started to look at aggregates/slabs/whatever for the driveway and patio. These must be porous in accordance with building regs/planning permission and must also enable people with mobility issues to easily access the house from a car (e.g. high piles of loose gravel is not suitable for wheelchair users).

In hand: Flooring is scheduled for the week commencing 17th November. The worktop is to be installed the following week. The internal doors - about 15 of them - will be hung after the flooring is completed.

Still to be addressed: As listed above plus chasing up other orders as supplies are getting tighter plus the company who were supposed to connect the gas didn't turn up, so we're trying to resolve this as urgently as possible.

 

There are probably quite a few more things that will come up on a daily basis. 

Next instalment scheduled for the end of the month!

Interior Designs

I saw an elephant crashing through an understairs cupboard and I really love it but, sadly, we don't have the room :(  

Meanwhile, we've been designing the kitchen/diner and utility room. After research and meeting with suppliers' designers, we have chosen Howden's. We don't yet know how they will work out but the initial meeting was encouraging. Other similarly priced companies want to install their kitchen units and leave gaps where they don't fit. Howdens, being primarily a joinery company, will ensure that the cupboards fit our kitchen, with infills where necessary.

The designer knew her stuff too - and we shared similar tastes, which always helps when trying to explain what's in your head.

We decided to install a Quooker system so that we can save precious worktop space by not having a kettle. We also want a couple of tambour doors to hide away other small kitchen appliances. Howden's doesn't supply these but we've found a couple of companies on-line who will supply kits to fit the space we have. Not cheap but not too expensive at under £300.

The water supply to the house, like the whole of Hertfordshire, is very hard water which shortens the life of everything, including shower heads, toilet cisterns, etc., therefore we are planning to install a water softener system.

We're looking forward (with everything crossed!) to seeing the kitchen design and hopeful that it will be within budget. 

Link to next post...

Ultra Slim Aluminum Framed Patio Doors have been installed!

The SunSeeker UltraSlim doors are IN! They look fantastic - better than bi-folds - such a shame that they are unlikely to get much use this year as everything else is being delayed. The electricity supplier and internal doors company, having agreed to August dates, want to delay to September and October, respectively.

We prefer the sleek, low maintenance aluminium frames to the comparatively clumsy wooden frames around the windows but we are trying to keep within our budget so compromises are inevitable.

 

The granite hearth has also been installed, ready for the log-burner.

The kitchen will be at least a month or so before installation can start but, to be fair, that's our fault. We have not been particularly happy with kitchen companies that offer fitted kitchens which then turn out not to meet our requirements (despite claims on their websites). We will try another company this week - some include a remote design service, which might speed up the process. We are trying to avoid bespoke as they are likely to take even longer and cost much more. If you know differently, please let us know in the comments, bearing in mind that the property is in Hertfordshire.

We shall also need fitted bathroom units. It would be great if the same company could do the kitchen and bathroom.

More news as it happens... 

Plasterboarding & Gas Works

We have finalised our choice of floors and received the quotaion. We have also confirmed the doors and their openings, including the mid-stairs and under-stairs cupboards and we've chosen the handles and locks. The stairs will be delivered 'unfinished' to be stained and lacquered when in place. 

Internally, the ceilings and walls are now fully covered with appropriate plasterboard.

Much of the work now has to be put on hold for a couple of weeks while the Gas supply is brought from the mains to the property. 

On the one hand, this is annoying because it will delay us moving in but, on the other hand, we'll have more time to choose units for the kitchen and bathrooms. We are having trouble buying off-the-shelf units for the small en-suite and are considering some bespoke work. However, we've spent more than we anticipated on a few things so we need to budget carefully. We knew this would happen, of course, we've been there before - twice.

We usually justify the overspend in our minds by relating the additional cost over the next ten years to the enjoyment of living with the results! If you love where you live, going away for holidays is not quite so important, so that cost can be off-set, too.

I don't suppose there will be much progress to report over the next couple of weeks so look out for the next update around the middle of August.

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...

Outside Brickwork Completed, Further Progress Inside

At the end of June, we almost have a house! Externally, everything on the property is in place except for the slide-and-turn patio doors with ultra-slim aluminium frames which are being manufactured ready for installation in July.

Here is a close-up view of the detail at the top of the chimney.

Internally, lots of background tasks are taking place. In the next photograph, you can see waste plumbing for the upstairs toilets, a mass of electrial stuff (this is where the consumer unit will be located, in the understairs cupboard) plus the pipework for the underfloor heating system.

We are tasked with choosing flooring, bathroom suites/cupboards and a new kitchen. We've been browsing the internet for quite some time but we really need to visit showrooms to see them for real, which is difficult during a controlled pandemic.

For example, how do we know if the floor will clash with the doors? Colours and finishes on computers are a simulation - we are viewing on both a Windows PC and a Mac and they are so different! Anyway, that's where we are at the moment. More news next update!

Mid-May New-Build Update

With most of the scaffolding gone, we now have bricks ready and waiting... 

Can't wait to see the result - below is the illustration of roughly how we expect the house to look.

Internally, some interesting stuff has been going on. We don't like radiators - they take up too much wall space - so we opted for underfloor heating and something referred to as mvhr. It's a mnemonic for Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, a system which continuously ventilates the property by extracting used, moist air and replaces it with fresh, filtered air. Whilst doing so, it maintains a constant temperature. It also means that we don't need to separately vent the bathrooms or have a cooker hood (horrible, noisy things!).

We've never experienced mvhr but we expect that we may have to top up the heat on cold days with the underfloor heating. On hot days, there are windows to create a cool breeze. We shall see.

The photograph above shows the complex bits and bobs related to mvhr.

Just wait till you see the outside of the house in the next instalment!

Building Progress During the Pandemic

Progress was very slow during April, as you can imagine. However small teams of a couple of people at any one time were able to carry on with their tasks. 

The external shots show the windows in place and the Cedral cladding.

The following internal shots are of the windows from Rationel.

Notice that in the above photograph, the electrical work has begun. 

Some of the photographs can be seen on Delta Project Management's Instagram, together with other projects they are managing.

For further progress on our new build project, go to the next update.

"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...

Going Up: Scaffolding & a Very Tall Crane

Still only January and scaffolding has been erected. The builders did not stand idly by while this was happening - they built a retaining wall!

Here is the very tall crane...

Panels are ready to go up on the external walls of the house...

Did I mention that it is still only January? In just three weeks, our plot is beginning to look like a house! Even the internal rooms have wooden beams where the walls will be.

And the scaffolders are erecting platforms to start the second storey... 

Fast or what? Next stage...

January 2020 ... All Systems Go!

A Plot and a Plan

The plot had detailed planning permission, which is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it would save us thousands of poinds in architect fees and, more importantly, about a year of obtaining various permissions. On the other hand, in order to get the build under way as soon as possible, we couldn't build 'the house of our dreams'.

For many years, we toyed with the idea of building a house and have researched the least painful way to proceed. Our skilled and trusted builder from three of our previous projects had now retired, so that wasn't an option. However, we looked thoroughly into using Potton to build the frame and were satisfied that this would be the best route for us.

David at Potton was very good at organising everything for us in the initial stages, providing lists of suppliers for internal/external doors, windows, heating/MVHR system, etc. plus contact details of some Project Managers who had experience of helping Potton clients build their new homes. He even gave us realistic price guides for the complete project.

Once the paperwork was out of the way, we chatted to a couple of recommended Project Managers and appointed Neil of Delta Project Management. In turn, he recommended a company to do the groundwork, and work commenced! Progress was rapid over the next few days - as can be seen in the series of photographs below.