My Extension and Garage Build Project
Discussion
Having seen some of the amazing builds on here, I thought there might be some interest in my (rather more modest!) project to extend and modify my house. It might be relevant to throw in a little history here too - this isn't somewhere that I've just bought, or just come to know, I bought the house, which was built around 1895, 5 1/2 years ago from my mum - having spent most of my formative years here. My parents bought the house back in around 1983 (when I was 5), when it was pretty bare and needing a lot of work, and since then I have spent many days helping my dad to do various projects, until he passed away in 2002.
My wife and I then lived nearby for a few years until we bought the house from my mum in 2009 with the intention of making it our "forever house" - with the idea that familiarity with it would help to shape our ideas. So, having had two kids (the first 5 weeks after moving in!) and a bit of time to save some money and plan our thoughts, we finally got plans drawn up and approved last spring, when we started looking for builders. The plan was broadly to demolish the sectional garage and conservatory (dotted outlines in the plans) and build across the back of the house to add a generous garage, open out the kitchen into an open plan kitchen/family room, and add a study, utility, downstairs cloakroom and an extra bedroom. These plans would take up some of the rear yard area, but would leave the garden unchanged in area - but with the house substantially more usable - we had many, many iterations before settling on this, which will work well for us.
We selected our builders based on a number of quotes, but also the the chosen guys had just finished an extension a couple of doors away, and had made a great job! Unfortunately, having chosen them, the builders became tied up with another project, which came in just as we also wanted them, so we have had to be waiting for them for a while (we decided we would rather wait for the right people than go with someone else sooner). We did have a brief flurry of activity to set the ball rolling while they rejigged the upstairs layout over the summer in preparation (rearranging the bathroom and moving/bricking up the changed windows). We then had the back of the house looking like the pictures below (the blocked up windows will be going within the new structure, and hidden once we are complete)
So the first jobs were to take down the conservatory:
and then also the garage:
which all meant that we had an open area to be able to see where the building will go
Which all brings us up to this week, where we are finally beginning the build - the builders arrived this morning with their digger (much to the excitement of our boys!) and have got busy on digging out - having already filled one grab lorry's worth, we had a second which went early this morning. They are really starting to clear the ground, and make the scale of the build clear to see:
I'll look forward to your comments and suggestions along the way - and will keep the pictures coming, as we progress!
My wife and I then lived nearby for a few years until we bought the house from my mum in 2009 with the intention of making it our "forever house" - with the idea that familiarity with it would help to shape our ideas. So, having had two kids (the first 5 weeks after moving in!) and a bit of time to save some money and plan our thoughts, we finally got plans drawn up and approved last spring, when we started looking for builders. The plan was broadly to demolish the sectional garage and conservatory (dotted outlines in the plans) and build across the back of the house to add a generous garage, open out the kitchen into an open plan kitchen/family room, and add a study, utility, downstairs cloakroom and an extra bedroom. These plans would take up some of the rear yard area, but would leave the garden unchanged in area - but with the house substantially more usable - we had many, many iterations before settling on this, which will work well for us.
We selected our builders based on a number of quotes, but also the the chosen guys had just finished an extension a couple of doors away, and had made a great job! Unfortunately, having chosen them, the builders became tied up with another project, which came in just as we also wanted them, so we have had to be waiting for them for a while (we decided we would rather wait for the right people than go with someone else sooner). We did have a brief flurry of activity to set the ball rolling while they rejigged the upstairs layout over the summer in preparation (rearranging the bathroom and moving/bricking up the changed windows). We then had the back of the house looking like the pictures below (the blocked up windows will be going within the new structure, and hidden once we are complete)
So the first jobs were to take down the conservatory:
and then also the garage:
which all meant that we had an open area to be able to see where the building will go
Which all brings us up to this week, where we are finally beginning the build - the builders arrived this morning with their digger (much to the excitement of our boys!) and have got busy on digging out - having already filled one grab lorry's worth, we had a second which went early this morning. They are really starting to clear the ground, and make the scale of the build clear to see:
I'll look forward to your comments and suggestions along the way - and will keep the pictures coming, as we progress!
Edited by browno on Thursday 26th March 15:00
Time for another update with a little more progress:
The old concrete garage slab has been removed:
The remainder of the back end has been cleared, with just the concrete from the front end of the garage yet to be removed:
The fence and small wall that was on our boundary have been removed and foundation trench started on the end of the kitchen/family room:
This morning, the plan is to get more of the trenches dug out along the back of the kitchen diner, and around the garage - they were laying out lines for the garage and it really puts into context the size that it will be! A big improvement over the old one!
The old concrete garage slab has been removed:
The remainder of the back end has been cleared, with just the concrete from the front end of the garage yet to be removed:
The fence and small wall that was on our boundary have been removed and foundation trench started on the end of the kitchen/family room:
This morning, the plan is to get more of the trenches dug out along the back of the kitchen diner, and around the garage - they were laying out lines for the garage and it really puts into context the size that it will be! A big improvement over the old one!
Time for another dose of digging action - we have more trenches dug, with the outline of the back end coming together nicely. Also had first visit from building control who were happy with the depth and had no concerns so far, which is good! Chatting this morning, they were hoping to be able to pour the concrete tomorrow, but can't get the pump until Monday - so they are going to get the dig finished and we may have to wait for the concrete, which is a pity, as it would have been good to let it go off over the weekend really...
Anyway - here are the pictures:
what will be the back of the family room & study going out to the far end of the garage
The back half of the garage:
Wider shot of the area, with the utility wall and front end of the garage to be dug today (and the last section of concrete removed):
Anyway - here are the pictures:
what will be the back of the family room & study going out to the far end of the garage
The back half of the garage:
Wider shot of the area, with the utility wall and front end of the garage to be dug today (and the last section of concrete removed):
Now for today's update - we have finished the digging!
You can now see the outline of the garage space - should be a decent size!
We have hit our next snag though - when digging out the wall for the side extension (the utility/downstairs loo wall), there appears to be something lurking:
yes - that's a brick structure underground, that is large, circular and has a domed top...
if we take the boards away, and look at what has been excavated, we can see that this is actually a victorian rainwater harvesting system - this was the tank that stored the surface water that was then able to be pumped into the house for some uses. The builders were quite surprised to find this, but also discovered that it was full of building waste from when the house was renovated when I was a mere boy (they would have broken the top to run the drain pipes that are seen in the picture...) - they excavated all of that to discover that the tank is around 5-6 feet across by about 8 feet deep - it's a big old hole, and very nicely constructed... amazing what you discover!
Thankfully, the problem isn't too major - the builders got the building inspector out to take a look and have agreed that we can continue, as long as we fill the tank void with concrete as well as the trench - so we'll need a few extra cubic metres - but we don't need to change to a different foundation type! So, they are laying out the levels today, and had hoped to pour the concrete, but even trying earlier in the week, couldn't get the combination of mixer plus pump available for today, so we will be pouring on Monday, and filling up the gaping void!
You can now see the outline of the garage space - should be a decent size!
We have hit our next snag though - when digging out the wall for the side extension (the utility/downstairs loo wall), there appears to be something lurking:
yes - that's a brick structure underground, that is large, circular and has a domed top...
if we take the boards away, and look at what has been excavated, we can see that this is actually a victorian rainwater harvesting system - this was the tank that stored the surface water that was then able to be pumped into the house for some uses. The builders were quite surprised to find this, but also discovered that it was full of building waste from when the house was renovated when I was a mere boy (they would have broken the top to run the drain pipes that are seen in the picture...) - they excavated all of that to discover that the tank is around 5-6 feet across by about 8 feet deep - it's a big old hole, and very nicely constructed... amazing what you discover!
Thankfully, the problem isn't too major - the builders got the building inspector out to take a look and have agreed that we can continue, as long as we fill the tank void with concrete as well as the trench - so we'll need a few extra cubic metres - but we don't need to change to a different foundation type! So, they are laying out the levels today, and had hoped to pour the concrete, but even trying earlier in the week, couldn't get the combination of mixer plus pump available for today, so we will be pouring on Monday, and filling up the gaping void!
5potTurbo said:
Crikey!
Will all that extra concrete make a differnce to surrounding drainage, even though it was a covered hole/tank before?
It shouldn't make a difference - as this will all be under the new building anyway, and the tank was full of old building rubbish anyway - the builders have excavated it all back out... and it was all buried under 9" of concrete!Will all that extra concrete make a differnce to surrounding drainage, even though it was a covered hole/tank before?
Cheers for the comments all - hopefully this is of interest, and I'm trying to keep the updates coming as we keep moving.
Yesterday was the start of some upward progress - I got home from work to see our own mobile traffic calming measures outside the house:
that's 2 mixer trucks and a pump, which were set up to send the concrete up the drive
and then placing it into the trenches, and the big hole!
So with that done, we now have foundations, and had a delivery of blocks and blue bricks this morning, ready to start building up to floor level - at which point we should begin to get a better idea of the floor layout and space available!
Yesterday was the start of some upward progress - I got home from work to see our own mobile traffic calming measures outside the house:
that's 2 mixer trucks and a pump, which were set up to send the concrete up the drive
and then placing it into the trenches, and the big hole!
So with that done, we now have foundations, and had a delivery of blocks and blue bricks this morning, ready to start building up to floor level - at which point we should begin to get a better idea of the floor layout and space available!
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