My Extension and Garage Build Project
Discussion
Cheers for the replies all - and glad that this has been of interest, and I will continue to update as we add the last finishing touches!
In answer to the questions - I got the floor paint from Marl Coatings on eBay, it was about £60 for 20 litres each of sealer and paint (I used about 3/4 of the paint, but only about 1/4 of the sealer) - seemed to be a good price. I did make sure that I left it for almost a week without significant use before putting heavy stuff (car, toolboxes) onto it - so hopefully that has allowed it plenty of time to properly cure. I will see how it goes for durability as time goes on.
For the budget, the build cost (including all doors and windows, plastering and internal woodwork) was £70k, with electrics and plumbing coming in at another £10K and then kitchen, log burner and decorating on top. Overall, I think we are a bit under £90k all done (which should include bits of furniture, TV, decorating etc) - which had been my estimate for where we would be assuming that all went smoothly.
I have no idea where that would now leave us on value added to the house, but as this is our "forever house", this was never the plan - although I would expect us to get the majority of the spend back if we were to need to sell.
In answer to the questions - I got the floor paint from Marl Coatings on eBay, it was about £60 for 20 litres each of sealer and paint (I used about 3/4 of the paint, but only about 1/4 of the sealer) - seemed to be a good price. I did make sure that I left it for almost a week without significant use before putting heavy stuff (car, toolboxes) onto it - so hopefully that has allowed it plenty of time to properly cure. I will see how it goes for durability as time goes on.
For the budget, the build cost (including all doors and windows, plastering and internal woodwork) was £70k, with electrics and plumbing coming in at another £10K and then kitchen, log burner and decorating on top. Overall, I think we are a bit under £90k all done (which should include bits of furniture, TV, decorating etc) - which had been my estimate for where we would be assuming that all went smoothly.
I have no idea where that would now leave us on value added to the house, but as this is our "forever house", this was never the plan - although I would expect us to get the majority of the spend back if we were to need to sell.
Had a busy few days getting ready for winter - first job was to move one of my sheds, so that I had room on the sheltered side of it. Then once I had the space cleared, it was time to get creative with the big pile of pallets that I've been saving from the build, and do a bit of making it up as I went along to create a log store.
and then today had some wood delivered for winter - I hadn't been sure quite how much would fill the store, so played it safe, and only ordered a half load of barn stored hardwood - and it looks like that was the right choice - it has filled the store up two full layers deep, and about a third of a layer at the front of the store - which should keep me going for a bit! So now, we can bring on the bad weather - I'm all ready for it - just burning some scrap softwood last night got the new room up to 27C pretty quickly, so these should keep the cold off!
and then today had some wood delivered for winter - I hadn't been sure quite how much would fill the store, so played it safe, and only ordered a half load of barn stored hardwood - and it looks like that was the right choice - it has filled the store up two full layers deep, and about a third of a layer at the front of the store - which should keep me going for a bit! So now, we can bring on the bad weather - I'm all ready for it - just burning some scrap softwood last night got the new room up to 27C pretty quickly, so these should keep the cold off!
Nice job! I've mocked up something similar with pallets as well. Started off with a couple of crates that we had stone delivered in, but they're not nearly as substantial.
My problem is that once built, I'm going to have to split and stack my own wood, out of the pile of logs left over from the trees we took down to make room for the build. I suppose it'll help me work off the beer gut a bit.
My problem is that once built, I'm going to have to split and stack my own wood, out of the pile of logs left over from the trees we took down to make room for the build. I suppose it'll help me work off the beer gut a bit.
Cheers for the comments again guys - I am really happy with how the whole project has gone so far, as you can probably tell!
Today I have been having a slightly more exciting day - having finished off the build, I have been busy stashing away some cash, to buy myself the ultimate home workshop tool - which was delivered today. As I alluded to above, the plan was always to have a lift in the garage, and after looking at various options (I even wondered about building with enough height for a "full" lift - but that was a step too far!) and taking advice from my mate who owns a garage, I settled on the mid-rise scissor type. Having looked around, there seem to be several options out there that are similar - including Automotech, strongman and many generic Chinese options on ebay. I have gone for the BH Repairs option, as they appeared to have a good reputation, and they are being sold by a company that specialise in garage equipment (so as they service and repair lifts, they should be less likely to sell a dud). They are also quite local, so I thought that would help for future support.
The lift appeared this afternoon as promised, and I soon realised one difference between BH Repairs and the ebay options (and a benefit of being local) - the lift was delivered by BH Repairs directly, and had been removed from it's transport pallet, filled with oil and tested - and also had some slight mods to other options - including casters on the front-end of the lift for easier movement, which are easily removed one the lift is in place.
So we manoeuvred the trailer up to the garage, and simply rolled the lift off and into place, then the hydraulic hose was connected, along with the bowden cable for the safety lock (which the guy actually replaced in-situ as it had a slight kink in it - good attention to detail there). Then it was time to give it a go - so I backed the mini onto some timber to get it high enough (the lift is very low, but the mini is just a little too low to go over - some 10x2 timber does the trick), then selected the right pads, popped them under the jacking points, and up she went!
It is nice and easy to use, with the Mini it goes to a perfect height for working on brakes and suspension, and is just right to work underneath on your knees (or I can use my mechanic's stool) - it actually gives me much more height than I thought I would have, so I am a happy customer!
I had a little tinker tonight just checking over the brakes on the mini - the first real usage test will come over the weekend when I am planning to do a service along with discs and pads all round on my wife's clio 182!
Anyway - enough talk, on with the pictures!
Today I have been having a slightly more exciting day - having finished off the build, I have been busy stashing away some cash, to buy myself the ultimate home workshop tool - which was delivered today. As I alluded to above, the plan was always to have a lift in the garage, and after looking at various options (I even wondered about building with enough height for a "full" lift - but that was a step too far!) and taking advice from my mate who owns a garage, I settled on the mid-rise scissor type. Having looked around, there seem to be several options out there that are similar - including Automotech, strongman and many generic Chinese options on ebay. I have gone for the BH Repairs option, as they appeared to have a good reputation, and they are being sold by a company that specialise in garage equipment (so as they service and repair lifts, they should be less likely to sell a dud). They are also quite local, so I thought that would help for future support.
The lift appeared this afternoon as promised, and I soon realised one difference between BH Repairs and the ebay options (and a benefit of being local) - the lift was delivered by BH Repairs directly, and had been removed from it's transport pallet, filled with oil and tested - and also had some slight mods to other options - including casters on the front-end of the lift for easier movement, which are easily removed one the lift is in place.
So we manoeuvred the trailer up to the garage, and simply rolled the lift off and into place, then the hydraulic hose was connected, along with the bowden cable for the safety lock (which the guy actually replaced in-situ as it had a slight kink in it - good attention to detail there). Then it was time to give it a go - so I backed the mini onto some timber to get it high enough (the lift is very low, but the mini is just a little too low to go over - some 10x2 timber does the trick), then selected the right pads, popped them under the jacking points, and up she went!
It is nice and easy to use, with the Mini it goes to a perfect height for working on brakes and suspension, and is just right to work underneath on your knees (or I can use my mechanic's stool) - it actually gives me much more height than I thought I would have, so I am a happy customer!
I had a little tinker tonight just checking over the brakes on the mini - the first real usage test will come over the weekend when I am planning to do a service along with discs and pads all round on my wife's clio 182!
Anyway - enough talk, on with the pictures!
Thanks again for all the comments - had a go at using it in anger this weekend, giving the clio a service and discs/pads all round. No complaints on access, and other than having to grind out a couple of the disc retaining screws, all went smoothly!
357RS said:
That's very nice. Some jealousy has just set in. 
Can you post model details and the supplier please.
As mentioned earlier the lift is the BH Repairs mid-rise lift - http://www.bhrepairs.co.uk/ so far can't fault the service or the product. It also comes with a 2 year warranty from these guys too, which is reassuring confidence in the product.Can you post model details and the supplier please.
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