Garage / Porch build

Author
Discussion

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Monday 3rd August 2009
quotequote all
OK, it's been a long time in coming!

Moved in a couple of years ago. A rear extension had been built in the last 10 years involving the partial demolition of the old prefab concrete garage.

The plan was to demolish the rest of it, build a new one (bit wider and longer than standard), redo the very old drive adding extra parking space, and build a porch!

Things have taken a while but earlier on this year we finally had the money, the builder, the planning permission, etc., and he started 3 weeks ago.

I'll just put up a few pics to show progress so far and then keep it updated if anybody is interested!

Before he started:





After a week of work, garage is gone, concrete broken up, part of drive broken up, foundations dug and some concrete for garage foundations:



Toys! But no keys left frown





End of week 2: Damp course of garage laid out, whole of drive dug up, hardcore being laid, cables laid (power, phone, 2x CAT5, alarm)







End of week 3: hardcore down at side of house, concrete garage base laid, side fence removed to resite fence posts avoiding draintop, foundations for porch laid







Today the skip has gone along with the dumper truck and the hardcore has been laid level at the front along with the damp course of the porch laid.

Hopefully see some walls going up this week!



pmanson

13,387 posts

266 months

Monday 3rd August 2009
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
Love the cat flap! hehe

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Thursday 20th August 2009
quotequote all
Well, it's coming on. Mid way through week 6, the garage walls are nearly done and wood is here for the roof trusses. Porch walls going up too.






sleep envy

62,260 posts

262 months

Thursday 20th August 2009
quotequote all
cavity walls in the porch!!

blimey, he's not doing things by halves!

Busamav

2,954 posts

221 months

Thursday 20th August 2009
quotequote all
get on to the builder quick ,


he missed a lot of mortar render on the 5th brick from the right biggrinwink

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Thursday 20th August 2009
quotequote all
smile He seems a really good bloke and as far as I can see is not cutting any corners. The disadvantage is that progress is slow, but I'd rather that than a quick bodge job!

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
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End of Week 8:






jamesc_1729

470 posts

202 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well, it's coming on. Mid way through week 6, the garage walls are nearly done and wood is here for the roof trusses. Porch walls going up too.

Congrats with your project and I do agree from the pics that the majority of the work looks to a very good standard... with the exception of the above pic.
Whats holding that line of blockwork up exactly??? No lintel whatsoever. Ok so no roof bearing on that part of the structure but still.
Are you getting a local building regs office completion certificate for this. If so then fair enough ignore my question.

James.

eliot

11,845 posts

267 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
jamesc_1729 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well, it's coming on. Mid way through week 6, the garage walls are nearly done and wood is here for the roof trusses. Porch walls going up too.

Congrats with your project and I do agree from the pics that the majority of the work looks to a very good standard... with the exception of the above pic.
Whats holding that line of blockwork up exactly??? No lintel whatsoever. Ok so no roof bearing on that part of the structure but still.
Are you getting a local building regs office completion certificate for this. If so then fair enough ignore my question.

James.
lintel will be behind the bricks - you can see it on the left side and also look in above the window on the right.

jamesc_1729

470 posts

202 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
eliot said:
jamesc_1729 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well, it's coming on. Mid way through week 6, the garage walls are nearly done and wood is here for the roof trusses. Porch walls going up too.

Congrats with your project and I do agree from the pics that the majority of the work looks to a very good standard... with the exception of the above pic.
Whats holding that line of blockwork up exactly??? No lintel whatsoever. Ok so no roof bearing on that part of the structure but still.
Are you getting a local building regs office completion certificate for this. If so then fair enough ignore my question.

James.
lintel will be behind the bricks - you can see it on the left side and also look in above the window on the right.
Yeah I can see the two 4" concrete lintels spanning the window frames on the right hand side, its the front opening I'm asking about.
I'm not an expert, just a DIYer who is currently completing an extension and working with local BCO at the moment to approve my little project. Sorry to re-iterate I am merely asking the question rather than being an arse.

Edited by jamesc_1729 on Saturday 5th September 16:31

Autonotiv

2,673 posts

237 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
What he will have done is;

Get a scaffold board and cut it to the correct length then proped this up with 4x2 then built the blockwork, then the next day you remove, then carry on taking the gable up then jobs a done.

Slagathore

6,013 posts

205 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all

VxDuncan

2,850 posts

247 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
jamesc_1729 said:
eliot said:
jamesc_1729 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well, it's coming on. Mid way through week 6, the garage walls are nearly done and wood is here for the roof trusses. Porch walls going up too.

Congrats with your project and I do agree from the pics that the majority of the work looks to a very good standard... with the exception of the above pic.
Whats holding that line of blockwork up exactly??? No lintel whatsoever. Ok so no roof bearing on that part of the structure but still.
Are you getting a local building regs office completion certificate for this. If so then fair enough ignore my question.

James.
lintel will be behind the bricks - you can see it on the left side and also look in above the window on the right.
Yeah I can see the two 4" concrete lintels spanning the window frames on the right hand side, its the front opening I'm asking about.
I'm not an expert, just a DIYer who is currently completing an extension and working with local BCO at the moment to approve my little project. Sorry to re-iterate I am merely asking the question rather than being an arse.

Edited by jamesc_1729 on Saturday 5th September 16:31
Span like that would likely be a steel lintel, not a concrete one hence hard to see. Unlike a compressed concrete lintel, a steel one lies in tension, with the blockwork above providing compressive strength. Perfectly normal, as long as the lintel is acro'd while the mortar is setting, otherwise you get a bit of sag redface)

http://www.buildstore.co.uk/materials/catnic.html

jamesc_1729

470 posts

202 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all

Thankyou to those who have offered advice to my question about this build thread. I am currently planning an extension to my own house via an application to the local BCO and am learning alot about building regs. good luck with your project.

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
Thanks for the input guys - there is a metal lintel which the blockwork sort of sits in, see here:




mgtony

4,116 posts

203 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
Autonotiv said:
What he will have done is;

Get a scaffold board and cut it to the correct length then proped this up with 4x2 then built the blockwork, then the next day you remove, then carry on taking the gable up then jobs a done.
I do hope you're not serious about this type of construction. This method may be suitable for an arched opening where the bricks will be in compression and self supporting.
Can't think of much more of a disaster waiting to happen than an opening with no lintel, even with a window in place it's still liable to fail,especially when someone decides to replace the window.

V12Les

3,985 posts

209 months

Saturday 5th September 2009
quotequote all
fk me...some people will belive anything.
On the whole the build seem ok. Cant figure why go to the expence of using 9" solid Thermolite blocks, also , shouldn't bond brickwork to lightweight blockwork, joints will crack sooner rather than later.

Autonotiv

2,673 posts

237 months

Sunday 6th September 2009
quotequote all
mgtony said:
Autonotiv said:
What he will have done is;

Get a scaffold board and cut it to the correct length then proped this up with 4x2 then built the blockwork, then the next day you remove, then carry on taking the gable up then jobs a done.
I do hope you're not serious about this type of construction. This method may be suitable for an arched opening where the bricks will be in compression and self supporting.
Can't think of much more of a disaster waiting to happen than an opening with no lintel, even with a window in place it's still liable to fail,especially when someone decides to replace the window.
Yea do it this way all the time just did a 3.5m opening like this on friday, drop the boards / props on monday and jobs a good un.

eps

6,494 posts

282 months

Sunday 6th September 2009
quotequote all
V12Les said:
fk me...some people will belive anything.
On the whole the build seem ok. Cant figure why go to the expence of using 9" solid Thermolite blocks, also , shouldn't bond brickwork to lightweight blockwork, joints will crack sooner rather than later.
But that elevation will be rendered no? So is all Thermolite, now bonding to brickwork.. It's easier for the builder to put up, therefore cheaper on labour cost...

NiceCupOfTea

Original Poster:

25,336 posts

264 months

Sunday 6th September 2009
quotequote all
It will all be rendered. The reason it's brick on the one side is because it is on the boundary of the property and done so as to get it as far over as possible so the door aperture is offset as little as possible from the passage down the side of the house.