House Build Thread As Promised
Discussion
Then the multi fuel stove went in
And the cold weather arrived!
This was the end of November and with Christmas also approaching work pretty much stopped.
At this point I should also mention that we had put our house on the market in October - hadn't had a sniff of a buyer until mid Dec when two people said they wanted it. One lot came for a second viewing on Christmas Eve (!!!! - who does that!) and made an offer for almost the full asking price (bear in mind this was 2010!) which we accepted. All then went quiet for the holidays and they came around again in mid Jan to take some measurements etc.
That's when he said he had sold his house to a cash buyer so they wanted to move things along quite quickly. Lovely I thought until I got a phone call from them on the evening of Jan 28th (a Friday) announcing that they would be moving in on Feb 11th - 2 weeks!
Couldn't take the risk of losing the sale so I spoke to my solicitor on the Monday, signed contracts on the Tuesday morning and exchanged in the afternoon. I then broke the news to the builder who nearly wet himself!
I should point out that, at that stage, we didn't have a staircase!
And the cold weather arrived!
This was the end of November and with Christmas also approaching work pretty much stopped.
At this point I should also mention that we had put our house on the market in October - hadn't had a sniff of a buyer until mid Dec when two people said they wanted it. One lot came for a second viewing on Christmas Eve (!!!! - who does that!) and made an offer for almost the full asking price (bear in mind this was 2010!) which we accepted. All then went quiet for the holidays and they came around again in mid Jan to take some measurements etc.
That's when he said he had sold his house to a cash buyer so they wanted to move things along quite quickly. Lovely I thought until I got a phone call from them on the evening of Jan 28th (a Friday) announcing that they would be moving in on Feb 11th - 2 weeks!
Couldn't take the risk of losing the sale so I spoke to my solicitor on the Monday, signed contracts on the Tuesday morning and exchanged in the afternoon. I then broke the news to the builder who nearly wet himself!
I should point out that, at that stage, we didn't have a staircase!
The staircase went in - the day we exchanged contracts - and 10 days before we moved in!
As you will appreciate, taking photographs of the build was not a priority at this stage so I haven't got any for the next few days - we were a bit busy packing and organising removal men (I should mention that my wife was waiting for a hip replacement and was on crutches during this time).
As you will appreciate, taking photographs of the build was not a priority at this stage so I haven't got any for the next few days - we were a bit busy packing and organising removal men (I should mention that my wife was waiting for a hip replacement and was on crutches during this time).
FFG - the lamp does indeed go back up - stick with the thread & you will see the finished product when I upload the later pics. It was an old gas lamp which came out of a factory where my dad used to work - the builders had a hell of a job moving it because of the weight & were worried about it being stolen. My line was that if they were big enough to move it I wasn't brave enough to argue with them!
My dad used to get 2s 6d per annum (by postal order!!) for the wayleave but sold it out for the grand lump sum of £5 - which he game to me - is came as a cheque so I had to open my first bank account - must have been about 1970!
Monthefish - tell me about it! One of the planning rejections came after the case officer agreed to approve it but his boss told him to reject it as it was "horrible" - I still have an e-mail to that effect! One of the reasons for earlier rejection had been "over development of the site" and another was "too many alterations to a traditional Welsh long cottage". But I'm not bitter!
My dad used to get 2s 6d per annum (by postal order!!) for the wayleave but sold it out for the grand lump sum of £5 - which he game to me - is came as a cheque so I had to open my first bank account - must have been about 1970!
Monthefish - tell me about it! One of the planning rejections came after the case officer agreed to approve it but his boss told him to reject it as it was "horrible" - I still have an e-mail to that effect! One of the reasons for earlier rejection had been "over development of the site" and another was "too many alterations to a traditional Welsh long cottage". But I'm not bitter!
We are now at January 2012 - and I had MY hip replacement so, again, photographs are few & far between but at least I was at home for when the decorators painted the outside. You will notice the lamp is now complete too.
and bought a patio set
and bought a patio set
Edited by BIGDAI on Thursday 30th October 22:35
Well, that's about it. Hope you enjoyed the thread - I must say it took nearly as long to load the pics as it did to do the build!
However, it was quite cathartic and has made me realise that I haven't taken any more pics since May 2012 so I need to rectify that as the garden has changed a bit now.
Thanks for looking.
Dai
However, it was quite cathartic and has made me realise that I haven't taken any more pics since May 2012 so I need to rectify that as the garden has changed a bit now.
Thanks for looking.
Dai
Thanks for the positive comments guys - much appreciated. If the weather is half decent over the weekend I'll try to take some up-to-date snaps.
Spud989 - no just plain white paint, a couple of shelves & a screed floor - toyed with the idea of some nice tiles of something but the doors open into the (very strong) prevailing wind & everything just blows in so I didn't think it was worth the effort and cost - might paint the floor one day if I can be bothered.
5potTurbo - tell me about it! The plot is around 2/3 of an acre so overdeveloment was never on the cards from my point of view.
Monkthefish - sorry, no idea. The builder flattened everything then a local farmer did the rest from weedkilling to rotavation to stone removal to seeding - and all at a VERY reasonable price!!
Hornetrider - yep, taht's mine too - another 3/4 of an acre or thereabouts. When I was a kid it was split in 2 with a house on the bottom half. When the old lady died the council condemned the house and flattened it. My dad bought it in around 1973 - mainly to stop anyone else building on it and ruining his view! I learned to drive on it in my mum's MOT failed Wolseley 1500!
Spud989 - no just plain white paint, a couple of shelves & a screed floor - toyed with the idea of some nice tiles of something but the doors open into the (very strong) prevailing wind & everything just blows in so I didn't think it was worth the effort and cost - might paint the floor one day if I can be bothered.
5potTurbo - tell me about it! The plot is around 2/3 of an acre so overdeveloment was never on the cards from my point of view.
Monkthefish - sorry, no idea. The builder flattened everything then a local farmer did the rest from weedkilling to rotavation to stone removal to seeding - and all at a VERY reasonable price!!
Hornetrider - yep, taht's mine too - another 3/4 of an acre or thereabouts. When I was a kid it was split in 2 with a house on the bottom half. When the old lady died the council condemned the house and flattened it. My dad bought it in around 1973 - mainly to stop anyone else building on it and ruining his view! I learned to drive on it in my mum's MOT failed Wolseley 1500!
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