Our Little Durham Restoration Project...
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As I said, while that was going on I had the Veuxes fitted. It poured down 5 minutes after the first hole was cut and 15 after the second, so the poor guys got completely soaked! A bit stressful, but once I'd tidied up and remove the wet insulation all was well.
Hole in the roof:
One in, second hole hacked in:
Two in, third hole bashed out:
Three done!
These really transformed the room, so much nicer to have daylight and ventilation when I'm working up there.
I wasn't expecting much in terms of the view, but actually, we're just looking across gardens to trees, so it's actually quite good:
The windows are top-hung so I can stand under them and watch the traffic go by. Shame I can't get the electricity wires put under the pavement, but you can't have everything!
Hole in the roof:
One in, second hole hacked in:
Two in, third hole bashed out:
Three done!
These really transformed the room, so much nicer to have daylight and ventilation when I'm working up there.
I wasn't expecting much in terms of the view, but actually, we're just looking across gardens to trees, so it's actually quite good:
The windows are top-hung so I can stand under them and watch the traffic go by. Shame I can't get the electricity wires put under the pavement, but you can't have everything!
We actually put the Veluxes on the Planning Application as something to concede during the process as they're on the front of the house, we're in a Conservation Area and several houses nearby and in the village have had front-facing veluxes rejected.
For some reason the Conservation Officer didn't make any comments, so we got them through. We paid the extra for recessed flashing kits to get them as low into the roof as possible, which was definitely a good choice I think. The house now looks like this:
Due to the height of the house they're not actually visible from the pavement, or much of the near area, though I think they look quite good. Need to tart up the front of the house at some point though, especially the eroded sandstone - acid rain from the steelworks I presume.
I'm at the end of my downloaded batch of photos now, this is a couple of months out of date now, but I'll aim to get fully up to date in the next couple of weeks. The back of the roof is next.........
For some reason the Conservation Officer didn't make any comments, so we got them through. We paid the extra for recessed flashing kits to get them as low into the roof as possible, which was definitely a good choice I think. The house now looks like this:
Due to the height of the house they're not actually visible from the pavement, or much of the near area, though I think they look quite good. Need to tart up the front of the house at some point though, especially the eroded sandstone - acid rain from the steelworks I presume.
I'm at the end of my downloaded batch of photos now, this is a couple of months out of date now, but I'll aim to get fully up to date in the next couple of weeks. The back of the roof is next.........
Actually, I'm not loads behind, so I've downloaded the rest.....
There's a dormer going out the back on one side and a new roof on the other as I extend above the bathroom as well, Dormer first, big thing later.
So we need a dormer. Here's where the dormer will go:
I'm going to need to get a hole in the roof and then it filled as quickly as possible in case it pours down, so the approach is to have everything ready and not need to measure and mess about where it's not necessary, so fixing a floor plate in to locate to is the first part of that.
Then we need a couple of sides and a front.......
There's a dormer going out the back on one side and a new roof on the other as I extend above the bathroom as well, Dormer first, big thing later.
So we need a dormer. Here's where the dormer will go:
I'm going to need to get a hole in the roof and then it filled as quickly as possible in case it pours down, so the approach is to have everything ready and not need to measure and mess about where it's not necessary, so fixing a floor plate in to locate to is the first part of that.
Then we need a couple of sides and a front.......
Then onto the front. This is a bit trickier, it's 110 degrees at the peak and will be glazed up the peak, so needs to be be strong!
These joints were draw on CAD and cut straight off the saw. Impressed with this!
The peak needed to be checked for centre though, no good it all meeting properly if it's not in the middle! The laser was perfect for this:
Plywood went on next, the peak isn't finished but it doesn't fit at full-height and it's too heavy to move around unless I really have to, so ply next:
On it's side, peak finished, ply trimmed up and the peak cut for the ridge beam:
Third side done the same way and pilled up like flat-pack furniture ready to go:
These joints were draw on CAD and cut straight off the saw. Impressed with this!
The peak needed to be checked for centre though, no good it all meeting properly if it's not in the middle! The laser was perfect for this:
Plywood went on next, the peak isn't finished but it doesn't fit at full-height and it's too heavy to move around unless I really have to, so ply next:
On it's side, peak finished, ply trimmed up and the peak cut for the ridge beam:
Third side done the same way and pilled up like flat-pack furniture ready to go:
Once I'd worked out all the fixings, connections and whatnot, a load of scaffold arrived:
At this point I had 5 days to sort everything ready for the roof to come off, so leave was booked, the fridge was stocked and some busy days ensued!
First the very front was reinforced where it's staying put and a plate was attached to but the dormer up against:
Four props went in so the purlins could be cut:
New rafter went in running up to the chimney breast:
Then this was supported on some spacers off the gable wall. The spacers will allow the dormer side to sit in the right place and to be supported off the gable:
At this point I had 5 days to sort everything ready for the roof to come off, so leave was booked, the fridge was stocked and some busy days ensued!
First the very front was reinforced where it's staying put and a plate was attached to but the dormer up against:
Four props went in so the purlins could be cut:
New rafter went in running up to the chimney breast:
Then this was supported on some spacers off the gable wall. The spacers will allow the dormer side to sit in the right place and to be supported off the gable:
Then a giant game of Ikea ensued!
First frame went onto it's plate and a few nails used to tack it in place:
The front was next, again tacked in with a couple of nails and screwed to the side:
Then the other side, more nails and screws:
The ridge beam was sat on a temporary plate at one end and then it dropped straight into the cut slot:
This was early afternoon on Thursday, it all went together super-quick:
First frame went onto it's plate and a few nails used to tack it in place:
The front was next, again tacked in with a couple of nails and screwed to the side:
Then the other side, more nails and screws:
The ridge beam was sat on a temporary plate at one end and then it dropped straight into the cut slot:
This was early afternoon on Thursday, it all went together super-quick:
Still a bit airey, so A load of pre-cu rafters were nailed in:
The roofers were sorting out lead soakers and whatnot for the rest of the day, while I tried to work out valley boards, valley rafters, jack rafters etc. That was a pain in the arse!
By Friday lunchtime we had that all sorted and the roof structure done:
Not sure who put the random length of C24 up there, that's coming out!
Here's the view from the peak as I cut the ridge beam to the right length:
The roofers were sorting out lead soakers and whatnot for the rest of the day, while I tried to work out valley boards, valley rafters, jack rafters etc. That was a pain in the arse!
By Friday lunchtime we had that all sorted and the roof structure done:
Not sure who put the random length of C24 up there, that's coming out!
Here's the view from the peak as I cut the ridge beam to the right length:
Saturday was felt, lead and slates, I did a couple of structural bits and pieces inside, like this:
But otherwise I was just feeding the experts with tea and biscuits. Which was handy as I was completely dead on my feet after 5 days flat-out!
Lead:
Lead and slate:
By Saturday tea-time it was all done, apart from the window and a few details. Really pleased with how it's turned out:
Had a sit-down for half an hour in the evening to admire the view before working out how to stop the rain getting in before the window goes in:
But otherwise I was just feeding the experts with tea and biscuits. Which was handy as I was completely dead on my feet after 5 days flat-out!
Lead:
Lead and slate:
By Saturday tea-time it was all done, apart from the window and a few details. Really pleased with how it's turned out:
Had a sit-down for half an hour in the evening to admire the view before working out how to stop the rain getting in before the window goes in:
So that's me up to date! Still tonnes to do, various structural bits, insulation, services, floor to fix down etc etc etc, but the priority is sorting out a window and getting ready for the last part of the roof work. We're aiming for the start of November for the last of the roof work, but lots to sort for that.
I've got a couple of jobs to do before the Scaffold comes down, so I'll get some finished pictures when it's all sorted.
Now I now how to do roofing, I've got this to deal with before winter too:
I've got a couple of jobs to do before the Scaffold comes down, so I'll get some finished pictures when it's all sorted.
Now I now how to do roofing, I've got this to deal with before winter too:
NorthDave said:
I love the way you attacked that dormer! 90% planning and 10% execution - looks like it went really smoothly and looks great. I like the lead cheeks in particular.
It went super smoothly, though it was very stressful making sure I'd covered everything in advance as normally I have 80% sorted and make the rest up as I go. For this I pre-drilled the base for nails and had them in their holes ready to be banged in and where I've bolted the sides to the front I welded the outer nuts onto the threaded rod so there was no risk of the thread binding on the inside and screwing the rod out past it's recess.The only issue I had was on the Tuesday I realised my ridge had twisted and when I tried to get it replaced I couldn't get a new one until Friday, so I had to work with the bent one. That cocked all the angles for the complicated rafters so I couldn't just measure them off Sketchup, I would have had my feet up a lot sooner if I'd fond the problem a few days earlier!
Little Lofty said:
Good work, I like the dormer. Don’t worry about the C24 it’s better than C16.
I think it's supporting the ends of some laths so the slates could be nailed in. I don't think it's fixed to anything other than those laths and it's fairly heavy, so now the slates are on I suspect it's doing more harm than good. It looks terrible too, I think I'll swap it for some ply and fix to the valley board too.I came home early today to check for leaks, I've boarded up the bottom part of the window and used plastic sheeting over the top to guide the water away. Nothing is getting in as far as I can see, so that's a relief.
Yes, the stairs make it feel like a part of the house now,even if it is just a large upstairs workshop! I've not done loads inside other than the stairs, the rest has been structural stuff, but there's just one last push on that then I can start turning it into a proper room. Aiming for more scaffold at the start of November if all goes to plan.
Yes, the stairs make it feel like a part of the house now,even if it is just a large upstairs workshop! I've not done loads inside other than the stairs, the rest has been structural stuff, but there's just one last push on that then I can start turning it into a proper room. Aiming for more scaffold at the start of November if all goes to plan.
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