Our build thread, renovation and extension

Our build thread, renovation and extension

Author
Discussion

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
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That's not going to fit in the boot of the car...


Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
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No updates for a little while but I've been pre-occupied with another project which is taking up all my funds so things have been on hold for much of this year. Oh and I got married in September!

The front beds are starting to establish themselves and hopefully by next summer they will look nicely filled in. I have started to dig out the garage foundations for the slab but that's also on hold due to other commitments, likely until next summer.

I am however looking to get the patio done to give us a bit of outside space next year. I will be laying a foundation, some 9 inch blocks to raise the level up flush with the bifolds and laying slate tiles flush up to the doors and also cladding any visible sides with the slate, there will be a few LEDs dotted around too. I am keeping the patio area reasonably small (projects 2m at the bifolds and 2.9m from the french doors) as that area doesn't get the best light and the plan is to eventually have artificial grass so the table and chairs can be moved onto it during the summer to get the best light.

I am also intending to keep the layout reasonably simple as I want a decent area of grass, so that if there are any little ones on the horizon they have plenty of space to play.


richtea78

5,574 posts

157 months

Sunday 1st November 2015
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Only thing I'd say is that my patio is about that width and if I was doing it again I'd make it another metre because then it means you have more paving around the table if people move the chairs back. Might not be an issue for you though

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Sunday 1st November 2015
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We moved a whole load of bricks today, cleared the area and marked it out, our dining room is 3.2m wide and never feels snug even with a large table so I think it will probably be ok. When the weather is nice we will move the table onto the grass to get the best sun anyway.

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Almost finished the electric gates.

60x40mm box section that I got a local engineering firm to weld, I think drilled about 340 holes through it with a mag drill.

It's then clad in western red cedar, which has all the edges beveled with a router. It's then got a couple of coats of a UV protecting oil on.

The actuation is a 230v CAME system which I got a for a good price from Poland. I still need to finish off some of the wiring to the sensors which I will probably do next weekend.











Edited by Muncher on Sunday 14th February 20:40

CharlesdeGaulle

26,014 posts

179 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Looks great Muncher, but find a better place for your bin.

uk66fastback

16,429 posts

270 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Are you getting a double width drop kerb at the front there?

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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CharlesdeGaulle said:
Looks great Muncher, but find a better place for your bin.
It's only there because it's being emptied tomorrow and I wanted it the road side of the gates.

Yes the kerb will be done but I'm not paying for it to be done before the garage is built and heavy things like concrete trucks have stopped going over it. The same applies for the top surface of the drive.

Renovation

1,763 posts

120 months

Friday 26th February 2016
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Muncher said:
60x40mm box section that I got a local engineering firm to weld, I think drilled about 340 holes through it with a mag drill.
Tip for next time, drill 10x less holes by fitting timbers to the steel, then simply nailing the planks into them.

Aren't you going to get rust staining ?

Laurel Green

30,767 posts

231 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Renovation said:
Muncher said:
60x40mm box section that I got a local engineering firm to weld, I think drilled about 340 holes through it with a mag drill.
Tip for next time, drill 10x less holes by fitting timbers to the steel, then simply nailing the planks into them.

Aren't you going to get rust staining ?
...or Easydrive Self-Drilling screws.

Rocksteadyeddie

7,971 posts

226 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Muncher said:
More progress this weekend, I have scraped back the driveway all the way down to the garage at the right level and didn't end up with too much spare soil to scatter around the garden thankfully. The front flower beds are now all filled and leveled and have pretty much plant we had in a pot planted, it still looks quite sparse but will only get better with time. If anyone has any suggestions for good plants to pop in there and even better any way to get them without spending money that would be even better! The area gets quite a lot of sunlight and I would like evergreens with a bit of height.

I'm now also looking to build a storage container to hide the wheelie bins as they are quite visible and there for 4 of them.

something along the lines of this:



But in this kind of finish:



What wood would you recommend? Cedar perhaps?
Possibly a little out of date but you want Western Red Cedar from here: http://www.silvatimber.co.uk/fencing.html

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Saturday 27th February 2016
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Renovation said:
Tip for next time, drill 10x less holes by fitting timbers to the steel, then simply nailing the planks into them.

Aren't you going to get rust staining ?
I considered that but have an aversion to nailing anything if I can avoid it. This was a bit more effort up front but I think it looks better.

There shouldn't be any rust as the metal is fully galvanised and the fixings are all stainless.

richtea78

5,574 posts

157 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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Blinds down in 3 out of 4 Windows sets my OCD off! Couldn't leave it like that in my house!

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
quotequote all
richtea78 said:
Blinds down in 3 out of 4 Windows sets my OCD off! Couldn't leave it like that in my house!
The front room is the tool room until the garage is built, no pint putting the blinds up as they will get covered in dust.

VEX

5,256 posts

245 months

Sunday 28th February 2016
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what safety fittings do you have on the gate Paul?

regulations are getting really tight now with beam breaks, pressure pads and excess load back offs.

V.

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Monday 29th February 2016
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VEX said:
what safety fittings do you have on the gate Paul?

regulations are getting really tight now with beam breaks, pressure pads and excess load back offs.

V.
I've got beam breaks just in front of the line of the gates and just behind the opening arc. The gates will also back off when it hits an excessive load. As I understand things the more onerous regulations apply to professional installers, rather than DIY installs.

souper

2,433 posts

210 months

Tuesday 1st March 2016
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Just looking back through this thread, excellent work just a shame 90% of pics are now missing.

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Saturday 12th March 2016
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Garage kicking off at last!

Muncher

Original Poster:

12,219 posts

248 months

Tuesday 29th March 2016
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The hole has been dug, 20 tonnes of Type 1 have gone in and been compacted in layers on top of a terram membrane, the shuttering is in (apart from the front edge) and it is supported on all sides by quite a lot of 4x2 to take the weight of the concrete. The water supply is in and conduits for power and data are also in.

During the week I will have another load of type 1 delivered as we are a little low in places (slab is 200mm thick and 450mm thick at the edges).

Hopefully by the weekend we can then put down a layer of sand to protect the membrane, lay the DPM and begin to construct the steel cage.

I have a couple of questions if anyone could chip in with some useful input?

1. The concrete pour. We have about 15-18 cubic meters of RC35 to place for the slab. I know the easy option is to pump it, but that's £360 and I am tight. We can get a mix on site truck right up to the entrance of the garage but the chute won't go very far in as the garage is 11m x 5m.

We might have an option to use a concrete truck which comes with a conveyor belt boom, which would probably allow concrete to be placed in the middle of the garage and then spread manually, or using the digger bucket. I have placed concrete before using a mini dumper for strip foundations, which was ok, and I have pumped before where it was the only sensible option, but I could do with some advice on this.

2. The garage door. Ideally I was hoping to get a ready made sectional door on the cheap on eBay that had been made to the wrong size, but given I will need quite a specific colour I don't think this is now likely. Is there therefore any advantage in making the opening to a standard size as it will be cheaper, or are they like windows where they are all made to measure regardless so it doesn't matter?

3. The other door. The plans include a single door at the far end of the garage, but the more I think about it the more this compromises the internal layout (benches all at the far end) and the layout of the garden. Therefore I am considering getting rid of it and just using the main garage door. The question therefore is will a "good" garage door have sufficiently reliable fail safes to enable opening from the inside and outsides should the electrics or the opening mechanism fail? I am not too worried about whether that compromises security as the garage will be alarmed and is behind electric gates in any case.

Minemapper

933 posts

155 months

Tuesday 29th March 2016
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I would always have a secondary door into the garage. Can you locate it up at the front of the side wall, right next to the main door?