Our Victorian/industrial/canalside new build thread...
Discussion
OK, so that's all the brickwork done! Gable ends, corbeling and chimney now complete, and the roofing started...
Looking more complex inside...wood everywhere. Also wierd not seeing sky any more...however not sure that will still be the case in the morning...it's bloody howling outside...
And I've actually done some work myself...I'd not done anything since clearing the site! The central part of the loft space in the garage is now boarded out...it will be a really useful storage space...
...and I've also plasterboarded the garage ceiling. Walls next, then time for a professional to skim it before I paint it, and fit coving, skirting and flooring. Never done anything like that before so quite happy with the result, it's a bit of a pain to do, but a good mate helped me out. Started slowly but by the time we'd got halfway we'd worked out quite a system involving a ladder wedged between two chairs, a broom, some cushions, and banging screws in pronto with some of DeWalt's finest cordless man-tools!
Garage doors are test fitted too. Frames/arch fillers will be "Gardenia" (a slightly creamy white) and the doors will be battleship grey.
Power goes in on Monday all being well and hopefully the roof slates start to go on...
Looking more complex inside...wood everywhere. Also wierd not seeing sky any more...however not sure that will still be the case in the morning...it's bloody howling outside...
And I've actually done some work myself...I'd not done anything since clearing the site! The central part of the loft space in the garage is now boarded out...it will be a really useful storage space...
...and I've also plasterboarded the garage ceiling. Walls next, then time for a professional to skim it before I paint it, and fit coving, skirting and flooring. Never done anything like that before so quite happy with the result, it's a bit of a pain to do, but a good mate helped me out. Started slowly but by the time we'd got halfway we'd worked out quite a system involving a ladder wedged between two chairs, a broom, some cushions, and banging screws in pronto with some of DeWalt's finest cordless man-tools!
Garage doors are test fitted too. Frames/arch fillers will be "Gardenia" (a slightly creamy white) and the doors will be battleship grey.
Power goes in on Monday all being well and hopefully the roof slates start to go on...
Minemapper said:
Always amazing to watch how fast these things happen. I know it doesn't feel like it when you're neck deep though.
Very much agreeing with the first part of the sentence...it's gone up super quick so far. It's pretty sobering really, OK so there's been some Makita drills and a petrol powered cement mixer and brick cutter and of course a JCB, but the rest of it is not much different to what the Romans would have done, carry stuff brick by brick up some scaffolding and laying each one by hand and eye. Seems amazing that's how we still build most houses! Yet it's still gone up really fast and I see big changes every time I visit site (currently live 5 mins walk round the corner so I see it most days)Dave_ST220 said:
Bet your glad the roof is on with the recent weather! IME it seems to slow down when the work starts inside then all of a sudden it's time to move in 
The inside seems to be where the budget gets spent quickly too!
Yes, I can understand that. Once the shell is up and watertight it doesn't really change that dramatically any more...you know what the finished house will look like from the outside and although kitchens and bathroom and woodburners are exciting, plug sockets and hot water cylinders aren't! The inside seems to be where the budget gets spent quickly too!Although man cave flooring and coving will be VERY exciting!!
OK another update...
We now have power so I've been in in the evenings doing more plasterboarding and installing the loft hatch...ready for the plasterer who will be in sometime next week. It's been quite a big job...the garage measures 7m by 6m, so with battens at 400mm and five concrete screws per batten, that's a lot of drilling. Having "n+1" electric drills has been useful here to save constantly changing bits...240v hammer drill to do the holes in the blockwork (although in practice you really don't need it on hammer setting and even a very slow speed if fine), one of DeWalt's cordless items to drive the torx headed concrete screws in, and and Aldi special on plasterboard screwdriving duty.
I've also installed a Fakro loft hatch...nice piece of kit, and it reminds me of the crew hatch of a Vulcan bomber! Once the plasterer has been I'll sort out a surround for it (and try to resist painting it camo...)
It gives a useful garage loft storage space...for me there's almost standing headroom in there so it's going to be quite handy.
The roof is now finished and the guttering installed...
...and the plumbing is going in as well as some serious insulation for the wet UFH system. The floor screed will go in before Christmas to give it plenty of drying time.
And another milestone moment today...the scaffold has come down. Seems totally different now, and we are really pleased with how it's looking. Can't wait to get the windows, doors and porch on it!
Please excuse crappity crap iPhone pics, and the dull British winter. The photos make the bricks look a bit odd...in reality they are much redder then that and the black bits much less obvious (it looks much more like the close up of the gutter/slates).
We now have power so I've been in in the evenings doing more plasterboarding and installing the loft hatch...ready for the plasterer who will be in sometime next week. It's been quite a big job...the garage measures 7m by 6m, so with battens at 400mm and five concrete screws per batten, that's a lot of drilling. Having "n+1" electric drills has been useful here to save constantly changing bits...240v hammer drill to do the holes in the blockwork (although in practice you really don't need it on hammer setting and even a very slow speed if fine), one of DeWalt's cordless items to drive the torx headed concrete screws in, and and Aldi special on plasterboard screwdriving duty.
I've also installed a Fakro loft hatch...nice piece of kit, and it reminds me of the crew hatch of a Vulcan bomber! Once the plasterer has been I'll sort out a surround for it (and try to resist painting it camo...)
It gives a useful garage loft storage space...for me there's almost standing headroom in there so it's going to be quite handy.
The roof is now finished and the guttering installed...
...and the plumbing is going in as well as some serious insulation for the wet UFH system. The floor screed will go in before Christmas to give it plenty of drying time.
And another milestone moment today...the scaffold has come down. Seems totally different now, and we are really pleased with how it's looking. Can't wait to get the windows, doors and porch on it!
Please excuse crappity crap iPhone pics, and the dull British winter. The photos make the bricks look a bit odd...in reality they are much redder then that and the black bits much less obvious (it looks much more like the close up of the gutter/slates).
Edited by Hard-Drive on Friday 11th December 17:26
5potTurbo said:
That looks great!
The design seems really sympathetic to the style of the times/location, which doesn't always work out.
+1 That looks like it's been there for years, top job The design seems really sympathetic to the style of the times/location, which doesn't always work out.
Glad to see you have the gutters on, seen loads of self builds where the roof goes on yet the gutters get left off, cue pissing of rain down all the wall for months on end!Thanks for the encouragement guys. Even though it's all gone very smoothly so far and the planning nightmare seems a distant memory the whole juggling the day job/year end at work in a sales role/this project/other huge forthcoming life events/two mortgages/scary numbers/etc etc, can get pretty full-on so it's good that the PH collective approve of this gamble! 
I'm fairly sure that the plinth bricks are purely for show and it just adds complication and expense! The red bricks are stepped back over a larger cavity at the bottom of the wall, plus there's a lot more wall ties, different thicknesses of insulation, and a lot more of a potential for a measuring or bricklaying screw up. But it's been absolutely worth it, it does really set the building off. Our architect and builder (father/son team) are very into a big blue brick base...in fact I asked them to take one course out as I wanted at least two courses of red under the stone cills to give it a bit of balance. It also reflects the corbeling at roof height so gives some more balance there.
One other detail I only spotted the other day was that the pointing on the blues (which are a very square/sharp edged) is super smooth and almost flush with the brick, where the pointing around the reds, (which have very rough/chipped edges by design) is much rougher/more rustic. Our brickie has been great, highly recommended.
I'm fairly sure that the plinth bricks are purely for show and it just adds complication and expense! The red bricks are stepped back over a larger cavity at the bottom of the wall, plus there's a lot more wall ties, different thicknesses of insulation, and a lot more of a potential for a measuring or bricklaying screw up. But it's been absolutely worth it, it does really set the building off. Our architect and builder (father/son team) are very into a big blue brick base...in fact I asked them to take one course out as I wanted at least two courses of red under the stone cills to give it a bit of balance. It also reflects the corbeling at roof height so gives some more balance there.
One other detail I only spotted the other day was that the pointing on the blues (which are a very square/sharp edged) is super smooth and almost flush with the brick, where the pointing around the reds, (which have very rough/chipped edges by design) is much rougher/more rustic. Our brickie has been great, highly recommended.
Hard-Drive said:
Even though it's all gone very smoothly so far and the planning nightmare seems a distant memory the whole juggling the day job/year end at work in a sales role/this project/other huge forthcoming life events/two mortgages/scary numbers/etc etc, can get pretty full-on so it's good that the PH collective approve of this gamble!
I can relate to that, I lost so much weight doing ours I ended up with T&E cable holding up my trousers as my belts were no where near! It's all a distant memory now & worth it in the end, I can assure you that! I have plenty of pictures to remind me of the hell though should I ever feel silly enough to do it again 
Dave_ST220 said:
I can relate to that, I lost so much weight doing ours I ended up with T&E cable holding up my trousers as my belts were no where near! It's all a distant memory now & worth it in the end, I can assure you that! I have plenty of pictures to remind me of the hell though should I ever feel silly enough to do it again
Haha! Well I look forward to this unexpected benefit of the project...because trust me the only thing that is getting rapidly skinnier by the day right now is my bank balance!Davey S2 said:
That's a 360 Spider surely?
House looks great. When are you hoping to move in?
Correct, it looks like a Fezza, however it was the closest "sports car" the CAD program had to a Boxster. Yeah, in my dreams, I know...House looks great. When are you hoping to move in?
Hopefully moving in around March. Anyway, a bit more progress and also dissapointment...I've been working away for a few days so I missed the opportunity to photograph the wet UFH system and see where all the pipes went. But the insulation and floor screed are now in, and the manifold is in what will be the understairs cupboard.
That's probably it now on the house until after Christmas to let it all dry out ready for first fix, however the garage gets plastered by a pro tomorrow, then I'll be painting it, coving it, skirting it and laying the rubber floor over the break.
Update time!
I've been busy on the garage, painting the walls and ceiling, adding rubber flooring and fitting the skirting (which needs priming and painting). It's getting there and I'll be kitting it out as a proper man cave soon...various bits of motoring memorabilia have been coming in from eBay!
Floorboards, stud walls, services and other bits going in upstairs...
From day 1 we'd wanted an L-shape to the house, with bifolds into the kitchen/diner and lounge from the outside, oriented to be a sun trap. We really love "outside living" and want the patio to almost be another "room". The bifolds are now in and it's going to work really well, with a nice big table out there and possibly an awning for chillier evenings, it will get loads of use. It's also bordered by the garage to give an almost "courtyard" feel.
I've installed a load of Cat6 cabling, with advice from another PH thread. It might be overkill, but far better to have too much than too little! Cabinet, 48 port patch panel ready to go and 48 port unmanaged switch going in too. I know the world has gone wireless but bloody wireless printers never seem to work, wifi signal can sometimes be infuriating, and this just leaves a load of options WRT media servers, HDMI over ethernet, smart devices etc (yes there's even a port behind the fridge!)
And lastly the levels are starting to be made up, ready for a proper driveway and paths etc so when the plasterers move in, the inside of the house won't look like the Somme. Windows and stone sills arriving soon...that will make a massive difference.
I've been busy on the garage, painting the walls and ceiling, adding rubber flooring and fitting the skirting (which needs priming and painting). It's getting there and I'll be kitting it out as a proper man cave soon...various bits of motoring memorabilia have been coming in from eBay!
Floorboards, stud walls, services and other bits going in upstairs...
From day 1 we'd wanted an L-shape to the house, with bifolds into the kitchen/diner and lounge from the outside, oriented to be a sun trap. We really love "outside living" and want the patio to almost be another "room". The bifolds are now in and it's going to work really well, with a nice big table out there and possibly an awning for chillier evenings, it will get loads of use. It's also bordered by the garage to give an almost "courtyard" feel.
I've installed a load of Cat6 cabling, with advice from another PH thread. It might be overkill, but far better to have too much than too little! Cabinet, 48 port patch panel ready to go and 48 port unmanaged switch going in too. I know the world has gone wireless but bloody wireless printers never seem to work, wifi signal can sometimes be infuriating, and this just leaves a load of options WRT media servers, HDMI over ethernet, smart devices etc (yes there's even a port behind the fridge!)
And lastly the levels are starting to be made up, ready for a proper driveway and paths etc so when the plasterers move in, the inside of the house won't look like the Somme. Windows and stone sills arriving soon...that will make a massive difference.
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