25/11/25

November has been a very stressful month. The insulation was finished and base coat completed but the weather really hit hard. The top coat of the render is a bit of a disaster. The rain in combination with gable copings not functioning correctly resulted in lots of damage. There’s alse blistering in places and signs of patches made to both base and top coats. This will need to be recitified to some degree but it’s got all the hallmarks of being an ongoing pain-in-the-ass until resolved amicably with builders and sub-contractors.



That said, it’s done. Finally. Not amazingly though. Bigger picture it looks nice. The West elevation looks awful when the light hits it an oblique angle. Loads of marks and scuffs and obvious patches. Really hoping that’s just a ‘certain times of day at certain times of year’ issue as for the most part you don’t see it. The dribbling rough render and blistering will need to be fixed though as it look shit. Some of the edges aren’t the straighest here and there. Which is frustrating. But is what it is. Have to resolve issues that are resolvable and move on.




Windows went in kinda ok. Some issues with some of the openings. Maybe the extension doors will need to be raised up when they return to fit the front door. The timber frames look amazing though and they should function effectively being chunky 48mm sealed glazing units. The skylight that had been sitting in the front garden since spring finally went in meaning house is now secure and watertight ater months of being open to elements (see mouldy timber beams and ceiling above).



Some pics above of the day one install. Hairy moments getting them down onto site. Wasn’t fun. The heatpump and water cylinder are also now on site and in the process of getting hooked up ready to run. Extension bathroom is pretty much ready to go. First floor bathroom tiling for the most part done as well. The tiled shower wall is a success. Just some more final plastering upstairs now that will contiunue down through the house. Maybe a week tops of that.


Tiling for the extension, kitchen, lobby and lower lobby area is then going to kick off. We had a bit of a think and opted to change the tile direction in places. We’d seen examples of this and it looks pretty cool. It means a chunky 10mm grout line to be able to turn 90 degrees and line things up but it should work nicely. Just hoping it doesn’t draw to much attention to the off axis walls and messed up nature of the house. Stairs are built apaprently and on their way to the house ready to go in once the plastering in the stairwell is complete.

25/10/02

25/08/16


It’s felt like a lot has been done over the last few weeks, but maybe not as much as we’d have liked. An issue with the cost of the EWI and render has been resolved and that’s due to start very soon. The first floor ceiling has been insulated and plasterboarded. This week should see the entire house being plasterboarded and/or bonded and skimmed depending on room. Outside the extension roof is finally insulated, finished and watertight, with only the decking and balustrading to be fitted a little further down the line. The gulley that runs along the top of this is formed and should move the rainwater to the sides of the roof and down into the guttering.


Now watertight (albeit there’s still no windows) it means the underfloor heating pipework has been laid in place on top of some thick PIR insulation Following that is the screed pour which should be incoming later this week coming touch wood. Then finally, we can tile. Tiles are sitting somewhere in Essex having arrived from sunny Spain. It will be fun lugging two pallet loads of them down the hill in to the extension.


In the main house, the UFH was laid and the floors have had 22mm chipboard glued and screwed in place. On top of this will be 6mm Hardiebacker tile board ready for the tiles. We’re running the tile board into the living room as well, despite only engineered wood going there. Reason being is to make up the difference in level where the wood will meet the tiles in the lobby. Plasterboarding about to being in earnest so there should be a tonne of change for the next update. Electric and plumbing work is ongoing elsewhere in anticipation of the plastering. Metal door frames will go in around now as well as they need to be plastered into place. We’ve heard rumbles the staircase is under way but not seen anything to date - this is now going to be Douglas Fir timber which is a nice upgrade from what we originally had in mind. The midway landing is now in place albeit in a basic form, hovering above the temporary stairwell landing that’s needed to do the lobby plastering. It looks like there’s still tonnes to do, but once the plastering is done, the flooring can go in and that’s kind of it until the the windows arrive (mid October). The moment windows are in, we can move in :)


Above is the general gist of what the materials in the kitchen will end up like. Ash veneered cabinets one side, HPL off white/beige the other. Ikea cabinets for the base units and doors and drawers from the very helpful people at HUSK, Bristol. The idea is to carry the ash from the cabinets to the side wall of the kitchen as big panels forming a wall of wood. That’s the theory. The Spanish terracotta tiles mentioned in an earlier post on the floor, that will carry on through into the lobby. Steel worktop. Hoping it all ties together somehow. The weird soil pipe in the far corner of the kitchen is the extractor pipe from the laundry room below. This will exit the side of the house and be hidden in the kitchen bench/steps out to the terrace.

25/09/15


Finally the insulation has started on the exterior of the main house. 200mm of mineral wool is being wrapped around. Over that will be the silicon render. It doesn’t help that the weather completely turned at the end of August and we’re now fighting strong winds and downpours. Little bit nervous as it needs to be completed prior to the windows going towards end of October. Fingers crossed.



Inside, the plasterboarding has been proceeding for a fortnight. Most of the house is now boarded and some rooms finished with the skim. The EzyJamb seamless door frames need to be fitter prior to some of the walls being finished - hopefully that will happen this week or next given they’re now on site. More electrics underway as well. 550mm cat flap tunnel installed into the kitchen so cat can have free reign once we’re in. 



The screed floor in the extension was poured and has set meaning once the plasterboarding is done we can hopefully get the tiling underway. The terracotta tiles arrived on site a couple of weeks ago so looking forwad to seeing them start to be laid. Paranoia kicking in as to whether we nailed the correct quantities.


We’re definitely reaching that point where we just want to get it finished and move in, whether it’s done or not, but have to be patient. It’s always nice to go there and enjoy the view and remind ourselves of the one redeeming feature of the house as it currently is. That and the fact that the odd deer sometimes pokes around in the garden from time to time.

25/07/19


The roof of the main house is now pretty much done for the moment. PV panels in and looking good. Incorrect concrete ridgeline tiles were installed that will have to be swapped out for slate. Annoyingly the ridgeline isn’t perfectly flat, which will no doubt annoy us for the rest of our lives. PV panels to be hooked up very shortly, with the inverter located in the loft space. Hopefully we’ll get a small battery at some point and install alongside. In the loft space, the two lots of pitch insulation is almost complete which is great. Floor boarded. Loft hatch fitted etc. Out back, the extension roof is also nearly complete. There’s a load of insualtion to be added on top of the silver membrane prior to it being finished with a grey rubber roof. Eventually we’ll lay a sedum green roof on one half whilst the other half forms the roof terrace. The skylight arrived and is temporarily perched in the front garden ready to be dropped into place.


There’s been a tonne of stuff happening inside but it doesn’t make for the most interesing shots. Lots more plumbing and electric has been completed. The UFH on the ground floor was installed albeit there’s an issue in the kitchen that needs to be ironed out. Living room has been chipboarded over ready for finish. Elsewhere the plasterboarding is shortly to begin. Doorways are being finished by the joiner ready for the frameless door system to be installed. Windows are touch wood being finally ordered after this weekend after a bit of back and forth. Cue 12 week wait. Can’t be avoided unfortunately. Must be patient. The black stuff in the shot below is hiding a load of wooden battening and building out that has been completed ready for the vertical timber cladding to be fitted. We’re still working out which wood to use but should nail that down soon enough.