Pantry Build Part 2 - Dividing Wall

So the pantry has progressed some more this week. 

The stud wall is in, so the utility and pantry are divided.

My youngest was so funny when I first did it, he wondered round to the one side, tilted his head a looked at it, then went to the other side and did the same. Then comes up to me and says "I hate it, I want it as one!". Difficult to please everyone!

Pantry Build - Part 1 - Rip Out

Now hand on heart I can honestly say I haven't finished all the other jobs in the house.There's a lot of painting to do, but everything else is pretty much there. Painting can be done on wet horrible days and with a few hours here and there

For seven years this was it for a kitchen, seems so tiny now. 

So as the weather is good and I'm at a point with my paying work where I can take a short break from it, I decided to look at making a start with the new pantry area

Unfinished Plumbing

### This is a Collaborative post ####

We live in an unfinished house and I fear it may be like that for sometime... 

Nice place for a bath...

The cobbler’s children go barefoot and all that…

I’m not too bothered about it (although my wife might think otherwise), and I am slowly working my way through the list of jobs. Although the list does tend to get longer rather than shorter.

Quick Kitchen Tour

Short video of our new kitchen I've been building from scratch over the last few months. 

Not quite finished but it's nearly there. 

Can't quite see how we coped with the old tiny one now!

Sneak Peek In The New Kitchen

The kitchen is slowly taking shape. 

I'm determined to have it mostly done for Christmas day and to cook and eat in there!

Building A New Fireplace

Last week was another hard one, made worse by the fact I broke my toe! I just limped a bit - it was only my little one thankfully!

It was finally time to tackle the fireplace!

A little bit of me has always hated this old open fireplace. We used to hide it with an old bookcase I made my wife for Christmas years ago.

Trouble was it was built with the same iron hard bricks and mortar as the rest of the house - not easy to take down I can tell you!

Destroying the Dining Room

It's been a hard couple of day! 

After months of doing jobs leading up to it and lots of planning, I've finally made the big push and started to knock through to the extension downstairs!

It's been messy!

Rubbish Removal

This is a collaborative post

I've done pretty well for rubbish while building our extension. There hasn't been huge amounts of waste, we burn the wood on the fire and any hardcore has already been reused. There are certain items that are harder to get rid of though, things like plasterboard should be recycled and plastics if they can.

I drive what's classed as a commercial vehicle so I'm only allowed so many trips to the tip each year and when you do go they can be quite funny about plasterboard waste and I hate things going to landfill.

The other day I was saying to my wife that it might be time for us to get a skip. As well as the plasterboard, from the ceiling I ripped down, there is also a fair amount of plastic collected over the last few years. Things like ton bags and empty cement bags soon mount up, in fact I'd collected 4 bulk bags full.

The downside is our drive is quite tight so having to have a skip on it for a few weeks would be a real pain (no chance of having it on the field as it's far too wet at the moment).

 So I was chuffed when I came across clearabee and saw the services they offered.

I chose their "man with a van service" and a few emails and a couple of photos later I had a big van coming to pick up my waste.

There was three really friendly guys in the truck and they moved the rubbish in no time at all. I thought I was being a bit cheeky getting rid of all the ton bags but they took them without question, to be honest I don't think they would have fitted in a skip as they are so bulky but weigh very little.

 They also took all my plasterboard waste and some doors from a previous job that had glass in.

I know it's very sad to get excited about getting rid of some rubbish but I was so pleased to get it all from here. It's made the place look so much tidier and I hadn't expected them to take it all - I just kept grinning afterwards! It's the simple things that please me!




#### For this post Clearabee offered their services free of charge to me but the opinions and silly gleefulness once the rubbish was removed are all my own! ####

Destroying The Kitchen

My little man has started going to nursery for a few half days (well nine until two).

He's desperate to spend more time with other children, he's such a social animal! And this will give me a few valuable hours a week on my own that I can push on with the extension. 

All happy on his first day! He was so excited! Wouldn't even say goodbye! 

 So the first day I spent running some errands and painting the doors in the extension as well as setting myself up for day two - The ceiling!

I hate artex, but that's not the reason for this coming down. Unfortunately I need to remove it to run pipes and wires through to the extension so I can finish the bathroom before I knock through.

I'd sent some samples off to be tested and they came back clear for asbestos so I knew I could do it all myself.
I removed loads of stuff from the kitchen (and had a good sort out at the time) and then sheeted everything up.

I was against the clock from the start on this job. I knew I had to be finished and pick the kids up by two. I had a great plan of cutting between the joists and just pulling sections out with little mess.
Unfortunately when I started someone had already added another layer of plasterboard to the ceiling and glued it to the first.

 This meant things were going to to get messy! I just had to rip it down and get on with it and hope I could clean it up before the kids came home.

 By the time two o'clock came I was ready to pick up the kids, but only just! Two ceilings worth of rubbish and the previous trades men liked eating chocolate, leaving behind all their off cuts and not cleaning between the joists! There was a lot of rubbish up there and two washes to get it out of my hair!

I cooked tea in there last night and it wasn't too bad, I need to get the hoover up into the hard to reach places and give it another good cleaning. I also keep finding bits I've missed, it's amazing how far it travels!

Hopefully my electrician will come on Friday to get some lights upstairs in the extension.

What's the most messy job you've ever done in your house whilst still living there?

Extension Progress - Scaffold Down!

The house feels naked! 

The scaffold is finally down! 

Although it's a step that doesn't really move the house on or prevent work inside, I was still really excited when the scaffolders turned up this morning. 

When I left to go to play group this morning, with my youngest two, the scaffold was wrapping round the extension and some of the house, when I came back it was nude! 

It's always a real shock when the scaffold is down, it really changes how it looks.  I'm pleased with how the extension sits with the house and how it makes the overall place look, especially with the porch on the front as well. 

Now I've just got to push on inside, when (or if ) it dries up I want to get the last of the footings in for the retaining wall for the patio, then we can get outside sorted as well, I don't want another year where we struggle to eat easily outside!

What do you think?

Extension Progress - Floor In

After wasting a weekend being ill last week I managed to have a good go on the extension this weekend. 

I'd ripped up the temporary flooring a couple of weekends ago (some ply I'd bought cheap) and the upstairs was ready for having the chipboard put down. An easy enough job - but not very kind on your knees! I glue all the joints and I glue the boards down to the joist as well as using screws to hold them down, I hate hearing squeaking floorboards so I go with a full belt and braces approach. 

I've still left the hatch in the floor, which will be filled in as the upstairs gets finished, this means that I can now build the walls and get the whole bathroom ready before we knock through into the old bathroom. 

I also pulled in the chimney liner with the help of a friend. This is a bit of a mess around as I need to insulate it before the scaffold comes down. Trouble is I don't want to build out the fireplace yet (as it'll wreck our dinning room) so I can't terminate the flue where it is to finish. Instead I've wedged non flammable/combustible around the flue where I've broken out the chimney higher up. Then when I come to make the bottom section of the fire place I'll be able to insulate the last bit from inside. 

The down side to this was I didn't have enough insulation to finish insulating the flue, I was gutted, it's hard to work out what you'll need anyway as the dark depths of a chimney are unknown in size, I was about a bag short which I'll pick up in the week, just annoying not to finish the job I started!

Because the two counties where we live/the wife works have had different half terms, my wife is off next week doing all my jobs (school run etc) and I'll be working on the extension as well as a few little jobs for customers. 

This means I have a huge list of jobs to get through including, nogging out the floor and ceiling joist, finish the flue, install loft hatch, plasterboard the ceiling up upstairs, stud walls up for the bathroom/wardrobes/cupboards and plasterboard them one side. 

Should be a busy week hopefully! 

Extension Progress - Roof Tiled

This roof has been my nemesis lately. 

I've not managed to get out there and finish for a number of reasons, either the weather has been against me (to cold for the mortar to go off or too wet to not wash it down the roof), my wife and children have had different bouts of poorlyness or we've had things like birthdays to contend with.

So it's just sat there, in it's unfinished glory, taunting me every time I go to get in the car.

Yesterday I managed to get out there and even though it had forecast rain for the afternoon I'd thought I'd risk it. Luckily the rain never came and I managed to have a good run at it, I did think I was going to run out of tiles at one point but luckily I'd got just enough (about 30 or 40 left over I think).

Stepping back last night and look at it I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. All four of the hips I've had to do up there look really tidy and the lead work around the chimney does as well. A good, solid, waterproof roof, One that should last for many years. 

There's still lots for me to do up there (not today though as it's meant to rain all day). I've got to fit the gutters and line and insulate the chimney. The chimney is cause me a particular problem as I can't insulate it properly until I block the bottom off, and I can't do that until I know it through into the extension and we're a long way from doing that. I have got a plan though so we'll see how I get on! 

Also I've taken the my last two posts down. I've enjoyed your all your comments and they've been both popular posts, but I've decided that I'd rather talk to this woman face to face next time something like this happens. Rather than her reading it in a few months time if someone at school mentioned my blog (the dangers of using my real name). I've saved both posts and all the comments though so please don't think they were wasted. Thanks again for all your input.

Vlog Episode 3 - Roof On

Catch my third vlog on youTube now!

This one is only short, just showing what I've been up to in the garden and the roof on the extension. 

Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see next time! 

Also please share it with your friends! 

Extension Progress - Roof On

Sorry it's been a quite week on the blog - I've been really busy! 

Managed to get the roof on the extension!

It's now felted and battened meaning that it's waterproof from the top and ready to tile! 

I still have a few things to do inside the roof (which I'll do tomorrow - Sunday). 

Here's some pictures of some of the frame work - 

Cuts on the jack rafters

Hip and jack rafters either side

Beams as ceiling binders but also to form a truss to support the purlins in the roof

Feels good to put a lid on the place and to be honest it's been one of the hardest little roofs I've done just because of how it cuts intot he old one and that it has purlins, I don't think I could have gone for a truss one just because of how complicated it is. 

I've also had a bit of help over the last week or so, so big thanks to Andy, Dill, Nick and Dave who've all come at different times to lend a hand, the days on my own always seem very slow by comparison! 

If I finish off a few structural things in the roof tomorrow I'll be pleased with how half term gone! Just the job of tiling to go on the roof then (as well as fitting gutters, etc) but that's not straight forward either! 

Extension Progress - Roof Carcass Day 1

We made a good start on the roof yesterday. 

Dill had got the brick work finished the day before (which is a post in itself that I'll do later) so it meant that Saturday we could start the roof. 

Andy, pictured above, came to give me a hand. He's the man that trained me to be a carpenter many years ago!  

The roof itself is quite complicated as it's trussed and has purlins so some head scratching in a few places but I was really pleased with the progress we made in a day. My brother came over in the afternoon to lend a helping hand.

There's still loads to do but by the end of the day we managed to get all the heavy and awkward timbers in, leaving me with stuff I can do myself. 

I need to now finish the rest of the rafters, support the purlins, install the ceiling joists, fit binders to carry the ceiling, fasica and soffitt to fit, felt it, batten it, line the chimney, tile the roof. I don't think my week without the children will be enough to get it all done but it's a start at least! 

Extension Progress - Up To First Floor Joist

Things have been busy here. Dill got the brick and block work up to joist level by the middle of last week and I've been trying to get the floor joists in whenever I've got a spare few minutes. 

"Helpers"

Luckily mum came over on Thursday to help with the children so I go a few hours in then as well as a full day on Sunday (I had to work on Saturday unfortunately). I've also stole a couple of hours whilst my girls have been at playschool and school whilst my baby boy took a two hour nap, I have to seize every moment I can at the moment and hit the ground running! 

I've still got some more to do on the floor, noggins to go in and hangers to be fixed, then I can fit a temporary floor (bought for £45 so it doesn't matter if the rain gets on it) so we can build the next level up. The scaffolders (an old building friend) came on Monday and installed the first lift of scaffold so once I've finished the floor I can start loading out all the bricks and blocks which helps save a lot of money by doing the labouring myself.

I've also installed a temporary hatch in the floor (in the picture above), the idea behind this is that I should be able to work in the upstairs of the extension before I knock through. That means that when the old bathroom is destroyed to make way for the the corridor we should have another bathroom ready and waiting! that's the plan anyway, we'll see how it goes!

Hopefully more brickwork continuing next week and I should have the floor all finished by then! 

Shared Meals

My bricklayer, Dill, has been working hard on our extension and it feels that we're making progress now that we're out of the ground. I've even got the scaffold booked for a weeks time! 

The other day he was going to work late as he had to start late, so I offered him a evening meal with the family (he often has lunch with us when he's working here).

Focaccia from the other night

I like our girls (and boy) to eat with as many friends and family as possible, sat around the table I think it's really good for them and helps improve their manners. My youngest daughter is a little bit besotted with Dill anyway and has named one of her Duplo figures "Dill" who goes on lots adventures building towers. 

"Dillster" working hard! 

I also think it's essential that they treat people working for us how they want to be treated, a Polish friend of mine says that in Poland if you have builders working for you then they eat with you each lunch time. 

A really strong memory I have growing up is lots of people eating with us as a family, kind of like a stereotypical image of a farm kitchen. Anyone working or helping us on the farm on a Saturday used to have chips with us on a night time and dad even does this for his workers on a Friday lunch time now, my mum also does a big meal around Christmas for everyone that works for them (a great fun evening!) as well as a cooked breakfast on a Saturday. These memories are all noisy, fun meals filled with laughter, part of the reason I've always wanted a big family. 

I'd like to have more people eat with us, not for showy meals but for everyday run of the mill meals, and hopefully with a bigger house we should be able to do it more often. 

Do you like to have people round to eat?

Do you enjoy big noisy meals?

Extension Progress - Slab Poured!

My dad and I have had a few busy weekends wince the last time I wrote about the extension! 

Easiest to go through it in pictures:

The cavity under the ground level has been filled with a light concrete mix

Drainage has been added, pea gravel around all pipes.
I also built a man hole from scratch.

Drainage in the house surrounded by peas gravel and hardcore added to the slab

Wackered base

Sand blinding added so the plastic won't get damaged

Plastic added - this made a huge play pen for the youngest! 

6 inches of insualtion added to be under the concrete floor

Plastic to go between the insualtion and plastic as well! (build regs requirement) 

Wet concrete being laid - the grid pattern is the reinforcing in the concerete slab

Tamping the concrete roughly level - to lay the concrete we also had the help of one of dads workers Andy!
Got it mixed and laid in an afternoon.

Floating up the concrete late at night

A nice finish on the concrete - this will be the tiled floor of the kitchen eventually! 

It's certainly been busy around here! 

Yesterday and today are being spent getting ready for Dill the brick layer who is coming tomorrow. I've load the slab out with blocks, got all the starter bars in the walls, moved bricks so they're nice and close and made sure he's got plenty of sand and cement. Anything to keep him efficient and save me money! 

Exciting times now - can't wait to see this going up!