9th Feb 2013

Now that the snow has thawed and the weather has improved a little the roof is nearing completion. The first photo is of the back where we have chosen to use the new tiles.

On the end of the apex we have opted to use these plastic shields to help prevent water damage to the mortar that the tiles are bedded down on. Whilst up close they might not look to great, they do make the finished roof line look smarter in our opinion.

On the front of the property we chose to reuse the tiles from the old garage roof as this will be more obvious from the road hence the initial impressions of the property.

The front roof just needs some final tiles around the roof above the main window. Steve the builder believes we should have enough tiles, I trusted him about the bricks a while back and he was right, so I trust him again with the tiles.

It is getting to the point of needing to do something with the satellite dish again, we seem to be getting a poor signal these days, but we think that might be because someone has built an extension roof near by. Its currently sitting on top of the scaffolding and will be moved to the gable end wall with the cables being run inside the roof rather than externally on the wall.

We have been thinking about using some light tubes to allow natural light through to the landing which has no windows. Unfortunately these have proved to be significantly more expensive than we first thought so we have decided not to use them at present. We may in the future still use them, but it will not be part of this project for the time being.

Whilst the costs and therefore decision were unknown the ridge tiles have not been laid yet as we would have needed to take them up again to install the light units. This isn't that obvious in the photos but when taking a closer look at the roof line, there is a drop about half way where the old and new meet. This will eventually be a straight line all the way across.

I think the photo below is probably the best shot to illustrate the overall look of the extension so far. Overall we are happy with how it is coming together.

3rd Feb 2013

I have some grave news that I must convey today. We have had an event which may derail the entire progress of the extension, it may even lead to the various trades walking off site.

First though, a very quick update. The Electrician has been busy with the first fix, the wall where the consumer unit is to be located is already starting to look like spaghetti. For those familiar with the original house layout, the picture below is of the wall opposite where the original back door is located.

The blue sheet to the right is covering the new kitchen window at the front of the house, with the soil pipe for the front en-suite upstairs.

So, now on to the serious news update. Whilst I was just taking a few pictures I happened across the scene of an accident. No one had alerted me to this accident, which I find a little surprising. It has obviously occurred recently, and has the potential to cause all the trades to down tools and refuse to work until a work around has been identified and put into place.

I would have thought we may have to get the HSE (Health & Safety Executive) or at very least someone with a valid NEBOSH (National Examination Board Occupational Safety and Health) to review the situation, unfortunately my wife's certification has expired. I can only see this adding unforeseen costs to the entire project.

Anyway, to the dire matter at hand. Someone has melted the Kettle, when I queried Steve the builder this evening he alleges that it was someone else. Rather ironically, someone who was not here today to defend themselves. I don't know who to believe, but at least Steve now has something to throw at the next individual we find rummaging through the skip for scrap metal.

25th Jan 2012

A fairly big update this time, there has been a lot happening her in the last week. The plumber has been busy in order to get the new boiler and tank up and running. The gas has been connected, it is running through the yellow armoured pipe you can see below to the main gas feed in the far right hand corner near the existing back door.

The cold water supply has also been connected, it is under the boxing and insulation in the picture below. Eventually both the gas, and the water pipes will be buried beneath the flooring.

The hot water is currently connected from the new tank to the existing services in the two pipes shown below. In the fullness of time these will be removed and the final copper pipes will be used.

Finally on the plumbing front for this update, a picture showing the boiler and all its temporary pipework up and running.

There is still some finishing off to be completed, and the power is still running from a temporary supply rather than the final design. The house is warm and the showers all work, a job well done and we were never without hot water. Most impressive.

Way back in the update during June or July 2012 I pointed out a shelf in the garage for some data cabling. As we are now in the middle of first fix for plumbing and electrical services, the time is right for doing the first fix for the structured data cabling. I work in networking for an IT company, and believe that if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well. To that end I am planning to install 72 Cat 5E data ports throughout the house. This has been likened to an office installation by the Builder and the Electrician, even the Plumber had a laugh. Never the less, here are the 72 cables with patch panels ready to be laid throughout the house.

It is only when we get into the loft, which is 2 floors above the picture below it becomes apparent quiet how much cable I have to terminate later in the build process. The keen eyed ones amongst you may have noticed two more cable drums in the loft. One is twin-shot cable for the satellite dish to receiver, the other drum is for the UHF (TV) signals we will be using.

The picture below shows the new bedroom, the data cables at the back wall are staying and run between the shelf and the loft, the cables in the middle of the room are just temporarily hanging back down from the loft into the garage whilst I was doing some testing.

The stud walls and the rear windows are also in place now. Not fully completed but the rooms are definitely taking shape.

The new en-suite for the master bedroom is very easy to visualise now the wall positions are visible. With the large window it should be a bright room.

The new office is about 2.5 times the size of the existing office, it will be nice to have enough space for everything I try and keep in there. Hopefully with enough power and data points it will not have so many trailing cables either.

The final room in the new extension is the en-suite for the new bedroom, this is a similar size to the first en-suite but is orientated differently so looks smaller.

19th Jan 2013

Here we are in the third week in January, and we have to first fix for the new boiler and hot water tank in progress. The tanks existing location will soon become the corridor between the house and the extension, the boilers existing location is on a wall that will be taken out to increase the size of the kitchen.

Work is still in progress, but the tank and new boiler are in place and the maze of pipework is next to be completed.

Not that the boiler install has been planned this way, but as the picture shows below it is fairly cold out there at the moment and we have had 6 days of snow. Fortunately the plumber has managed to do all his work so far with minimal disruption to heating or hot water services.

The satellite dish really stands out in this picture stuck up there on the Heath Robinson contraption fixed to the scaffolding. It will soon be time to move the dish again to the gable end wall, to its final position. The new windows can be seen behind the scaffolding.

4th Jan 2013

Here we are at the start of the new year. I've been talking about having a go at laying a brick to Steve the builder for ages, I'm fast running out of time and opportunity though as most of the brickwork is now pretty much complete. However, there are a few left and today is the day. So here I am stood at the top of the scaffolding on the outside gable wall, and believe me it is high. Technically this was after I had complete my introduction to brick laying, though I don't think I will be able to give up the day job any time soon.

When you compare me in the picture above, with Steve in the picture below, I don't know if I should take this personally or not, but I'm sure he has given me a small trowel to hold. You can tell he is a professional, just look at the size of his.

Fortunately Steve was able to tidy up the gaps and sort out the few bricks I was involved with so they match the rest of the extension. I left him to it and went back into the warmth, despite the clear blue sky, it was very cold and a bit windy up on the scaffolding.

The coloured bricks below are the ones I had a hand with.

It just remains for me to thank Steve for putting up with me letting me have a go at brick laying. The date stone was especially appreciated, we hadn't discussed this, it was something Steve arranged and surprised me with.