This time next year (Peckham townhouse renovation)
Discussion
CaptainSlow said:
OK, my guy may not be suitable though as he is more construction...extensions etc rather than kitchen/bathrooms etc.
eta
back to Peckham....
Sorry, there is extension construction work too just not a huge amount of it considering the size of house & project budget, hence my anticipated problem.eta
back to Peckham....
The additional floorspace added will only be about 20sqm in total over two floors but it is an unusual build and this will 'bridge' two separate parts of the house to offer, eventually, a large, unified space on both floors. At the moment the house, albeit a reasonable 200sqm, is much like a figure of 8 with a narrow touchpoint between the two 'wings' so has limited flow and a lot of wasted space.
Gruffy said:
Does anybody have a solid recommendation for a contractor? Only one of the three I put the tender out to came back with anything acceptable (one was way over and another was slow, sloppy and lacked detail), but I'm not entirely sold on this one either. I'm loathe to delay things as it's costing us money but better that than rush into appointing the wrong team.
If anybody has first hand experience of a diligent and dependable contractor they would recommend please let me know. I don't mind paying a fair price but what I do need is confidence and accountability in the figures. The other outfit are a bit too much 'trust us, we'll figure the details out once we're appointed'.
I wish I could recommend mine. He is amazing with figures/quotes (itemised spreadsheets), and his work is great. But he has failed to hit every single deadline we have ever set, and we are now 6 months' delayed. Nice guy, fair, diligent but totally disorganised.If anybody has first hand experience of a diligent and dependable contractor they would recommend please let me know. I don't mind paying a fair price but what I do need is confidence and accountability in the figures. The other outfit are a bit too much 'trust us, we'll figure the details out once we're appointed'.
loudlashadjuster said:
CaptainSlow said:
Where in Bucks are you? I'm having work done so maybe able to give you a name.
Amersham/Beaconsfield area. From what our architect is telling us the problem we'll probably have is convincing anyone decent to touch such a relatively 'small' project. There seems to be plenty of work from people with far deeper pockets than ours so our little bit of work (budget is 6 figures, but only just, and includes a kitchen, bathroom etc.) might not be of interest.Any suggestions welcome. Send me a PM if you can (assuming PH's messaging is having a good day).
Sorry for the thread hijack, Gruffy. As you were
If not my cousin (based in Ruislip) may be able to help - he's just finished a house / flat conversion
Received. Thank you.
I just got off the phone with the party wall surveyor. The neighbours I was unsure about have accepted and the neighbours I was confident about have decided to appoint their own. That's nerfed the timing in a way that means we won't be starting until January now, adding an extra 6 weeks of rent and another £1,700 in surveyor fees.
Trying to find the positive in this, it means I have time for extra due diligence on the contractor.
I just got off the phone with the party wall surveyor. The neighbours I was unsure about have accepted and the neighbours I was confident about have decided to appoint their own. That's nerfed the timing in a way that means we won't be starting until January now, adding an extra 6 weeks of rent and another £1,700 in surveyor fees.
Trying to find the positive in this, it means I have time for extra due diligence on the contractor.
Things are progressing well. Work began with site prep in the last week of December and then the scaffold went up and the place was quickly demolished in early January. By the time I paid my first visit (week 3) it was stripped back to bare brick, the roof was off and the excavation had been done on the existing footprint.
I was a little more prepared for it this time - after the Chamonix project - but it's still a strange feeling to see such a huge investment reduced to rubble. This was the sight that greeted me when I opened the lower ground entrance:
LGF
They included my Buffalo Bill pit. "It rubs the lotion on its skin".
UGF
1F
2F
More of that feeling when you discover your top floor temporarily become a roof terrace.
Above the old low ceiling line was that loft space which was joined with the neighbours (and old 'fire escape' concept), so this was bricked up and made weatherproof. They've claimed there was some water and dust ingress, though this is disputed by the contractor. The neighbours have asked for copies of all insurance documents and confirmation that we're not using 'illegals'. We're all above board so this has all been supplied and the fuss appears to have died down.
On the opposite side those neighbours insisted on a second PWS and checking engineer. That engineer had different ideas about the nature of the existing foundations and the steel structure required, and my PWS was quite slow dealing with it all so it was only last week that the PW awards were finally issued, just a few days before the steels arrived.
There's been a few extra costs incurred so far. After stripping off the plaster we uncovered a wooden joist between the LGF and UGF on the landing that's almost completely rotted away. The old extension was also very under-engineered so the ceiling and roof of that will be replaced. The coving came off with the plaster and ceiling (which I thought was obvious) and could not be salvaged, so there's a cost to replace that and the contractors will fit without charge. The main waste pipe was buried 3m below ground level so I've also incurred extra costs to dig down so far. The last cost, for now, is the damp-proofing of the excavated basement. The specialists have recommend a more thorough treatment than we'd allowed for.
Disintegrated joist.
Foundations in.
View of the garden from the top floor, with contractors cabin at the rear. The excavations have started for the new extension, reaching out to the line of the metal stairs. The digging on the right is for the patio area, which will extend 3m from the rear, across the full width of the garden.
Here's the outside of the top floor, showing the unusual curved facade and the window being propped up. You can also see the local school in the background; close enough but hopefully also far enough away. My office is on the opposite side so the school noise shouldn't be an issue. The grounds are used for football in the evenings though so I want to make sure the windows and doors are nice and noise-efficient for the evenings.
This week has been installing the steels; a job which will continue into next week.
The internal layouts and designs have had some more thought. This was mostly focused around location of the services, which is needed very soon. The kitchen island has grown in length and the master bathroom has a few new details.
My regular site visits are Wednesdays, but I'm not expecting to see much extra progress this week as the steels seem to be a slow job. I'll try to keep the thread updated on a weekly basis though, along with general discussion and cries for help/advice/inspiration.
I was a little more prepared for it this time - after the Chamonix project - but it's still a strange feeling to see such a huge investment reduced to rubble. This was the sight that greeted me when I opened the lower ground entrance:
LGF
They included my Buffalo Bill pit. "It rubs the lotion on its skin".
UGF
1F
2F
More of that feeling when you discover your top floor temporarily become a roof terrace.
Above the old low ceiling line was that loft space which was joined with the neighbours (and old 'fire escape' concept), so this was bricked up and made weatherproof. They've claimed there was some water and dust ingress, though this is disputed by the contractor. The neighbours have asked for copies of all insurance documents and confirmation that we're not using 'illegals'. We're all above board so this has all been supplied and the fuss appears to have died down.
On the opposite side those neighbours insisted on a second PWS and checking engineer. That engineer had different ideas about the nature of the existing foundations and the steel structure required, and my PWS was quite slow dealing with it all so it was only last week that the PW awards were finally issued, just a few days before the steels arrived.
There's been a few extra costs incurred so far. After stripping off the plaster we uncovered a wooden joist between the LGF and UGF on the landing that's almost completely rotted away. The old extension was also very under-engineered so the ceiling and roof of that will be replaced. The coving came off with the plaster and ceiling (which I thought was obvious) and could not be salvaged, so there's a cost to replace that and the contractors will fit without charge. The main waste pipe was buried 3m below ground level so I've also incurred extra costs to dig down so far. The last cost, for now, is the damp-proofing of the excavated basement. The specialists have recommend a more thorough treatment than we'd allowed for.
Disintegrated joist.
Foundations in.
View of the garden from the top floor, with contractors cabin at the rear. The excavations have started for the new extension, reaching out to the line of the metal stairs. The digging on the right is for the patio area, which will extend 3m from the rear, across the full width of the garden.
Here's the outside of the top floor, showing the unusual curved facade and the window being propped up. You can also see the local school in the background; close enough but hopefully also far enough away. My office is on the opposite side so the school noise shouldn't be an issue. The grounds are used for football in the evenings though so I want to make sure the windows and doors are nice and noise-efficient for the evenings.
This week has been installing the steels; a job which will continue into next week.
The internal layouts and designs have had some more thought. This was mostly focused around location of the services, which is needed very soon. The kitchen island has grown in length and the master bathroom has a few new details.
My regular site visits are Wednesdays, but I'm not expecting to see much extra progress this week as the steels seem to be a slow job. I'll try to keep the thread updated on a weekly basis though, along with general discussion and cries for help/advice/inspiration.
Wow! I thought we stripped our place in Streatham right back - but this is another level: especially taking out all of the internal walls!
That will be great for a properly bespoke layout: we largely kept the layout of our house above the ground floor.
You've done this before, so I don't mean to patronise you: but spend ages at this point really planning the services (electrical, plumbing and data, where you want stuff, what (if any) home automation you want to put in and how, and where access points will be to fix stuff if it goes wrong. Really worth it.
We're pretty much finished and ready for decorating inside, after 14 months - outside still not done. Long story that involves a useless contractor who whilst honest, and doing good work, may be the most disorganised person I have ever met. Hope your project goes better!
That will be great for a properly bespoke layout: we largely kept the layout of our house above the ground floor.
You've done this before, so I don't mean to patronise you: but spend ages at this point really planning the services (electrical, plumbing and data, where you want stuff, what (if any) home automation you want to put in and how, and where access points will be to fix stuff if it goes wrong. Really worth it.
We're pretty much finished and ready for decorating inside, after 14 months - outside still not done. Long story that involves a useless contractor who whilst honest, and doing good work, may be the most disorganised person I have ever met. Hope your project goes better!
Floor removed on the first level to install the steels. This one is being set in concrete under the LGF level. As we removed more and more material the external walls are getting a bit precarious, so we're tackling the steels and new joists a floor at a time to avoid going too top-heavy.
Questions were asked. I'm told this temporary situation is perfectly fine but it terrifies me. We're waiting on a steel that goes from basement to roof before this can be fully fixed into place.
The steels install is progressing. That's probably going to overrun by two weeks but we're making up that time by getting ahead on other areas. The walls of the new extension are going up at the moment.
Questions were asked. I'm told this temporary situation is perfectly fine but it terrifies me. We're waiting on a steel that goes from basement to roof before this can be fully fixed into place.
The steels install is progressing. That's probably going to overrun by two weeks but we're making up that time by getting ahead on other areas. The walls of the new extension are going up at the moment.
Harry Flashman said:
Wow! I thought we stripped our place in Streatham right back - but this is another level: especially taking out all of the internal walls!
That will be great for a properly bespoke layout: we largely kept the layout of our house above the ground floor.
You've done this before, so I don't mean to patronise you: but spend ages at this point really planning the services (electrical, plumbing and data, where you want stuff, what (if any) home automation you want to put in and how, and where access points will be to fix stuff if it goes wrong. Really worth it.
I'm still hoping to one day design a house with a clean sheet of paper. Although I've stripped it back to the bare shell it still shapes and restricts the design of the layout. That will be great for a properly bespoke layout: we largely kept the layout of our house above the ground floor.
You've done this before, so I don't mean to patronise you: but spend ages at this point really planning the services (electrical, plumbing and data, where you want stuff, what (if any) home automation you want to put in and how, and where access points will be to fix stuff if it goes wrong. Really worth it.
I have four weeks left to labour over the services layouts. With my regular design work I'm always focused on the human at the other end so I'm lucky that it's fairly natural to consider in detail just how we'll be using the spaces and where everything should be. It worked pretty well on a smaller scale with the Chamonix renovation. The number of permutations are a magnitude higher this time around but I feel I'm close to getting it. I'm also trying to preempt potential future desires too, given that we may be here for a long time. That means plumbing access for the office and services into the garden for any garden room down the line etc. I'm sure there'll be things I overlook and get annoyed about 'this time next year' though.
Harry Flashman said:
You've done this before, so I don't mean to patronise you: but spend ages at this point really planning the services (electrical, plumbing and data, where you want stuff, what (if any) home automation you want to put in and how, and where access points will be to fix stuff if it goes wrong. Really worth it.
I regret not getting outside taps front and back while it was easy to do.Those have been added to the list, along with external power (and an internal kill switch for the front power). I plan to clean bikes at the front as well as running irrigation systems front and back. I'm also thinking I want to be prepared for running services to any office/workshop/shed/cabin at the back of the garden in the future.
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