Build thread: Large extension and renovation
Discussion
Bit of a different one, wandered into the extension on Sunday morning to have a cup of coffee and think about what it will be like when we finally get to live in there and got a bit of a shock to find a Tawny Owl sat on the floor. The only place it can of got in is a small opening in the utility room door that had not been closed up. Bugger I though, better go and get the handle to open the sliding door to let it out. Came back with wife and camera, as soon as I wandered back in it took flight and went for escape through the window and promptly knocked itself out, poor thing.
So picked it up, in a jumper as its talons looked pretty wicked and thinking it could come round at any moment
Got it into a box and put it out onto the scaffolding
At this point it had sat itself up so obviously not dead
Waited for 15 minutes or so and it finally flew off about 200m to the forest at the bottom of the garden so obviously ok thankfully a good experience in the end.
Then spent 30 minutes bird proofing the place as there was also a little Wren in there so wonder if the Owl chased that inside. Should be no more in now though hopefully.
So picked it up, in a jumper as its talons looked pretty wicked and thinking it could come round at any moment
Got it into a box and put it out onto the scaffolding
At this point it had sat itself up so obviously not dead
Waited for 15 minutes or so and it finally flew off about 200m to the forest at the bottom of the garden so obviously ok thankfully a good experience in the end.
Then spent 30 minutes bird proofing the place as there was also a little Wren in there so wonder if the Owl chased that inside. Should be no more in now though hopefully.
Another quick update, still struggling on with the build however lack of money and banks not playing ball threatening to stop play very soon.
Some of the cedar has now been installed and the scratch coat put onto the blockwork and I'm thinking it's starting to look pretty good on the outside.
Other things that have been going on is most of the wiring is now done inside and I ran all the CAT 5e over the past couple of days for the extension, just the speaker cable and co-ax still to do.
Current plan is to carry on working through Jan and see if I can arrange some money and hopefully get the UFH installed and screed in during this time. If no money from the bank is forthcoming then it will be all stop until Summer which is a bit of a bummer.
Still, my digger man is coming in the next couple of weeks to shift the several thousand tonnes of soil left over from digging the pond so that should make the place start to look a lot better and if we get some hardcore down at the same time should make the place a fair bit tidier as well which will be good.
Some of the cedar has now been installed and the scratch coat put onto the blockwork and I'm thinking it's starting to look pretty good on the outside.
Other things that have been going on is most of the wiring is now done inside and I ran all the CAT 5e over the past couple of days for the extension, just the speaker cable and co-ax still to do.
Current plan is to carry on working through Jan and see if I can arrange some money and hopefully get the UFH installed and screed in during this time. If no money from the bank is forthcoming then it will be all stop until Summer which is a bit of a bummer.
Still, my digger man is coming in the next couple of weeks to shift the several thousand tonnes of soil left over from digging the pond so that should make the place start to look a lot better and if we get some hardcore down at the same time should make the place a fair bit tidier as well which will be good.
Not to much, build stopped early Feb and most of the harling was done and they started some plasterboarding inside. Since then I've been mainly working offshore to try and scrape some more money together.
Builders are back at the end of May and I should have enough moneyn for them to complete the extension apart from the ridiculously priced kitchen. I've just ordered all the UFH components so that will be the first thing for them to do when they come back followed by the screed so should not take that long to get the inside plasterboarded after that and have it looking fairly finished. Hopefully the bank will then see sense and lend me some cash.
On the plus side I have got 200 fish in my pond now so I've got something else to keep me occupied!!
Builders are back at the end of May and I should have enough moneyn for them to complete the extension apart from the ridiculously priced kitchen. I've just ordered all the UFH components so that will be the first thing for them to do when they come back followed by the screed so should not take that long to get the inside plasterboarded after that and have it looking fairly finished. Hopefully the bank will then see sense and lend me some cash.
On the plus side I have got 200 fish in my pond now so I've got something else to keep me occupied!!
OP well done for getting this far. I'm sure it'll come together eventually.
Wife and I are currently bumbling along with a renovation/extension type build and I find the whole thing frustrating....but know that we'll be in at some point and will forget all the "blood, sweat, tears" (and £....).
Wife and I are currently bumbling along with a renovation/extension type build and I find the whole thing frustrating....but know that we'll be in at some point and will forget all the "blood, sweat, tears" (and £....).
Time for another update seeing as people have been asking. I've not done much on this thread as the whole project is getting me down as I have a constant fight with the bank to try and get funding. The whole thing with the banks is a joke, they take weeks and weeks to get appointments with and then for them to make decisions where they come up with some other poor excuse at the end as a reason not to lend. None of them like to lend on a part finished project and the whole thing is becoming a nightmare.
But we are still struggling on and getting things done here and there.
External doors and garage doors have been fitted now from Hormaan, great product however not so great fitters and had to get my own builders to partially re-fit most of them properly. All the UFH has now been fitted however not tested yet and same with most of the radiators upstairs. Particularly pleased with the Aeon Ottoman we have just had delivered for our bedroom.
I now have most of the lights that we need for the extension courtesy of E36Guy and Ecoled. The only ones we have fitted so far are the plastered in trimless versions in the kitchen and games room and they are great, really strong even light and great build quality.
As you can see the whole place is plastered now and its really just the finishing's inside to do and put in the kitchen and bathrooms (the expensive parts). Outside the place is still a depressing mud bath which I was determined to get sorted before this Winter set in but its not proved possible. All the harling is now finished on the extension though and most of the cedar cladding up. The balcony steel work is also up ready to get completed.
The original house has not been started and wish we had never taken the old harling off so early as the place just looks a mess now. I've also got all the new windows for the original house but still need to fit them, another job I was really wanting done before Xmas but also looks like it will not happen now.
On another note, the pond had fish stocked in March last year, Carp, Tench, Bream,Chub and Rudd and they have come on great. The Carp were stocked at 1oz and am now catching them at over 2lb which is impressive for a year. What is not so good is that an Otter seems to have found the pond and I've seen evidence that it has eaten at least one of the Carp but probably more in reality.
But we are still struggling on and getting things done here and there.
External doors and garage doors have been fitted now from Hormaan, great product however not so great fitters and had to get my own builders to partially re-fit most of them properly. All the UFH has now been fitted however not tested yet and same with most of the radiators upstairs. Particularly pleased with the Aeon Ottoman we have just had delivered for our bedroom.
I now have most of the lights that we need for the extension courtesy of E36Guy and Ecoled. The only ones we have fitted so far are the plastered in trimless versions in the kitchen and games room and they are great, really strong even light and great build quality.
As you can see the whole place is plastered now and its really just the finishing's inside to do and put in the kitchen and bathrooms (the expensive parts). Outside the place is still a depressing mud bath which I was determined to get sorted before this Winter set in but its not proved possible. All the harling is now finished on the extension though and most of the cedar cladding up. The balcony steel work is also up ready to get completed.
The original house has not been started and wish we had never taken the old harling off so early as the place just looks a mess now. I've also got all the new windows for the original house but still need to fit them, another job I was really wanting done before Xmas but also looks like it will not happen now.
On another note, the pond had fish stocked in March last year, Carp, Tench, Bream,Chub and Rudd and they have come on great. The Carp were stocked at 1oz and am now catching them at over 2lb which is impressive for a year. What is not so good is that an Otter seems to have found the pond and I've seen evidence that it has eaten at least one of the Carp but probably more in reality.
OP - I've just had the same Hormann door fitted. There is no weatherboard on the bottom so when you open in any rain trickles down into the porch. That coupled with the fact you can lock yourself out with it I would probably have had a different door.
Cedar looks great. That's what is going on my house although I have to send a sample to the planner first. Where did you source it from?
Cedar looks great. That's what is going on my house although I have to send a sample to the planner first. Where did you source it from?
Amazed people are still remembering this thread. Well we moved into the extension about 15 months ago and been loving being in it, since then work on the original part of the house has ground to a halt due to lack of money and job security now that the oil industry has gone down the toilet. All we have managed to get done since moving in is some landscaping done, the drive partially finished and the decking just completed recently. In reality I think it will be another year before we make a start on getting the original bit of the house completed so another year at least only living in the extension.
I'll try and get some photos sorted out soon to put on. Only other bit of interesting news is that we have a new regular visitor to the pond, that being a Kingfisher, lovely to sit and watch whilst being unemployed!!
I'll try and get some photos sorted out soon to put on. Only other bit of interesting news is that we have a new regular visitor to the pond, that being a Kingfisher, lovely to sit and watch whilst being unemployed!!
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