The house that Nadger (re)built.... well, sort of!
Discussion
nadger said:
dxg said:
Blimey! You've actually found a decent bricklayer!!!!
He was absolutely superb to be fair! He came through our builder, who was also excellent. We’re so glad we went with him as the whole build has gone so well. Thanks.
IanA2 said:
Great thread. I see you're Cambs. Would it be possible to let me have details of your builder? Local reccomendations are worth their weight in gold :-)
Thanks.
Thank you, and absolutely Ian! Will DM you. He’s South Cambs based, but his work is excellent! Thanks.
Edited by nadger on Saturday 5th June 14:43
nadger said:
IanA2 said:
Great thread. I see you're Cambs. Would it be possible to let me have details of your builder? Local reccomendations are worth their weight in gold :-)
Thanks.
Absolutely Ian! Will DM you. He’s South Cambs based, but his work is excellent! Thanks.
Once the roof trusses were up, it was then on with the roof which the builders managed in about a week remarkably! The weather was kind, which helped everyone concerned.
Next work turned to the inside and first fixes. The builders had left the external walls largely intact with the exception of sections they tunnelled out to fit the lateral supporting steels (which turned out to be a godsend through the cold snap - with the wood burner going it was warm enough in the house for us all). We’d had a long debate about whether to go with brick supporting nibs downstairs (as there are upstairs) or to keep to the original design and have steel upright supports as well. I’m glad we stuck to the latter now!
The upstairs inside before the internal walls came down.
The windows and doors then went in, and once watertight the old external walls could come down. This meant putting up lots of plastic sheeting.
At the same time as the walls were coming down, we were working on the new utility which we’d created by stealing the back part of the built in garage (sacrilege I know!). The kids and I must coated and painted it first.
And then fitted out the worktop, sink, cupboard and tap.
Once this was all fitted, I then tiled it (with the help of a £10 tile cutter I’d bagged on FB marketplace locally!). I’d never tiled anything before, and did cheat by using ore-mixed adhesive, but am very pleased with the outcome!
Next work turned to the inside and first fixes. The builders had left the external walls largely intact with the exception of sections they tunnelled out to fit the lateral supporting steels (which turned out to be a godsend through the cold snap - with the wood burner going it was warm enough in the house for us all). We’d had a long debate about whether to go with brick supporting nibs downstairs (as there are upstairs) or to keep to the original design and have steel upright supports as well. I’m glad we stuck to the latter now!
The upstairs inside before the internal walls came down.
The windows and doors then went in, and once watertight the old external walls could come down. This meant putting up lots of plastic sheeting.
At the same time as the walls were coming down, we were working on the new utility which we’d created by stealing the back part of the built in garage (sacrilege I know!). The kids and I must coated and painted it first.
And then fitted out the worktop, sink, cupboard and tap.
Once this was all fitted, I then tiled it (with the help of a £10 tile cutter I’d bagged on FB marketplace locally!). I’d never tiled anything before, and did cheat by using ore-mixed adhesive, but am very pleased with the outcome!
nadger said:
IanA2 said:
Great thread. I see you're Cambs. Would it be possible to let me have details of your builder? Local recommendations are worth their weight in gold :-)
Thanks.
Thank you, and absolutely Ian! Will DM you. He’s South Cambs based, but his work is excellent! Thanks.
AstonZagato said:
nadger said:
IanA2 said:
Great thread. I see you're Cambs. Would it be possible to let me have details of your builder? Local recommendations are worth their weight in gold :-)
Thanks.
Thank you, and absolutely Ian! Will DM you. He’s South Cambs based, but his work is excellent! Thanks.
Before we started the build we debated long and hard over whether we should go with bifolds or patio doors. In the end the decision was driven largely by budget, but we did spec the widest possible standard doors, which you can see fitted above. We’re absolutely delighted with them, they suit us much more than the bifold option (our friends have them and we’ve since had a go with them and found the folding process more of a faff). Initially the doors only opened to 90 degrees, which we thought was the maximu opening and were very disappointed. Thankfully it turned out I hadn’t taken off the restraining strap from the top, so now the open to 180!
I also came home to this one evening, which came as a surprise to me and my wife! Neither of us realised that a glass door had been specc’d to the side, but we’re really pleased with it now. One of our major concerns was that the rear of the house would be much darker than it had been before - due to the deeper structure. The reality is that it is so much lighter than it was! The large glass doors to the rear and side play a major role in this, so well done Mr Architect!
The rear wall’s removal left the upstairs as one large void, which seemed massive! I’m standing with my back to the rear wall for this pic -
And the downstairs space had a concrete floor poured.
Unfortunately after this was poured, I moved the white goods into the new utility which left a gap in the plastic sheeting. Winter the hound saw her chance for immortality, and ....
On the theme of wildlife, we’ve had quite a bit of excitement on that front recently. Firstly at least one badger has made the castle fortifications it’s home (if you click on the link it’s actually a video rather than just a picture) -
And we also have a muntjac which seems to live in our blackberry bushes occasionally. When she does it drives the dog mad, and on one occasion she managed to get in and chase the muntjac out. The poor thing then got stuck in the fence, leaving the hound with literally no idea what to do next! She sniffed its bum and then watched me try to free the terrified deer.
What did I get for my troubles? Kicked in the thigh - that’s what! Bloody well hurt as well - just as well I was wearing jeans as in anything else I reckon it would have drawn blood!
Finally, the badger clearly isn’t the first resident of that genus to have resided in our field, as whilst exploring behind the fortification and near the moat; my elder son found an old badger’s skull!
It was in the moat, under the water so I wouldn’t be surprised if the previous owner (who - judging by the crap that’s already popped to the surface of the fortifications since we’ve owned it) didn’t place a great deal of importance on the rules governing ancient listed monuments - probably wouldn’t have been bothered about badger preservation orders either!
And we also have a muntjac which seems to live in our blackberry bushes occasionally. When she does it drives the dog mad, and on one occasion she managed to get in and chase the muntjac out. The poor thing then got stuck in the fence, leaving the hound with literally no idea what to do next! She sniffed its bum and then watched me try to free the terrified deer.
What did I get for my troubles? Kicked in the thigh - that’s what! Bloody well hurt as well - just as well I was wearing jeans as in anything else I reckon it would have drawn blood!
Finally, the badger clearly isn’t the first resident of that genus to have resided in our field, as whilst exploring behind the fortification and near the moat; my elder son found an old badger’s skull!
It was in the moat, under the water so I wouldn’t be surprised if the previous owner (who - judging by the crap that’s already popped to the surface of the fortifications since we’ve owned it) didn’t place a great deal of importance on the rules governing ancient listed monuments - probably wouldn’t have been bothered about badger preservation orders either!
So back to the building!
Next up was first and second fix. Sadly budget was tight so we haven’t got anything fancy, beyond additional space, but the new rooms upstairs were formed and boarded out, then plastered.
I then started the laborious task of mist coating and painting the spaces!
While that was happening upstairs, the plastic sheeting was removed downstairs giving us an impression of what the space will be like -
And this is where we’re up to downstairs at present -
We’re really pleased with the ‘feel’ of the downstairs. It’s so bright and feels really open! Sadly budgetary constraints mean we can’t afford to do more at the mo, but once we’ve saved up enough I’ll continue to update the thread!
Next up was first and second fix. Sadly budget was tight so we haven’t got anything fancy, beyond additional space, but the new rooms upstairs were formed and boarded out, then plastered.
I then started the laborious task of mist coating and painting the spaces!
While that was happening upstairs, the plastic sheeting was removed downstairs giving us an impression of what the space will be like -
And this is where we’re up to downstairs at present -
We’re really pleased with the ‘feel’ of the downstairs. It’s so bright and feels really open! Sadly budgetary constraints mean we can’t afford to do more at the mo, but once we’ve saved up enough I’ll continue to update the thread!
rustyuk said:
Looking good! I feel your pain regarding the budget. Nothing empties your bank account faster than a house renovation!
Thanks Rusty, that’s very kind! We’re really pleased. I think there’s at least another 10k to sink in to the extension as yet to finish it off (we haven’t got a family bathroom as yet, or flooring downstairs or upstairs and also need to change the kitchen worktop to make it a peninsular) so there’s a bit of a way to go!The other area that needs attention is the garden, which currently looks like this -
So it’s been a while since I updated this thread, but thought it would be nice to record evens, even if only for my own sake!
Since I last wrote, we’ve had quite a lot of work done. First off was the bathroom. Unfortunately due to having to go twice as deep with the foundations as originally planned, we had to make budgetary sacrifices, and this meant we made the decision initially to not fit the bathroom and make do with our en-suite. After some saving, and a short term loan from my friend we scraped together the necessary capital to get the bathroom fitted out.
Nothing fancy in here - sink unit, toilet and shower over bath. We went with a floating sink unit from IKEA, and I’m really happy with the result! In order to make the bathroom stand out, my wife decreed that herringbone tiling was the order of the day, so (in my absolute ignorance of the challenge this presented) I set about the task!
This took me a whole afternoon!
The result of the first weekend’s work on this. The holes, etc, are covered with fascia plates and controls so you can’t see them.
It turned out that my wife and younger daughter wanted in on the tiling action (swmbo claimed that I must be having a lovely time on my own, and did all the easy ones once I’d set it all up at the bottom!)
They both got bored pretty quickly and left me to my own devices.
Aaaaand finished!
Then it was the grouting to be done -
After that it was creating a splash back in the same herringbone design(which I haven’t taken a picture of, irritatingly. Will take and rectify at some point) and I also need to mist coat and paint the bathroom, but colours are proving difficult to decide on!
Next is the update to the downstairs and the kitchen.
Since I last wrote, we’ve had quite a lot of work done. First off was the bathroom. Unfortunately due to having to go twice as deep with the foundations as originally planned, we had to make budgetary sacrifices, and this meant we made the decision initially to not fit the bathroom and make do with our en-suite. After some saving, and a short term loan from my friend we scraped together the necessary capital to get the bathroom fitted out.
Nothing fancy in here - sink unit, toilet and shower over bath. We went with a floating sink unit from IKEA, and I’m really happy with the result! In order to make the bathroom stand out, my wife decreed that herringbone tiling was the order of the day, so (in my absolute ignorance of the challenge this presented) I set about the task!
This took me a whole afternoon!
The result of the first weekend’s work on this. The holes, etc, are covered with fascia plates and controls so you can’t see them.
It turned out that my wife and younger daughter wanted in on the tiling action (swmbo claimed that I must be having a lovely time on my own, and did all the easy ones once I’d set it all up at the bottom!)
They both got bored pretty quickly and left me to my own devices.
Aaaaand finished!
Then it was the grouting to be done -
After that it was creating a splash back in the same herringbone design(which I haven’t taken a picture of, irritatingly. Will take and rectify at some point) and I also need to mist coat and paint the bathroom, but colours are proving difficult to decide on!
Next is the update to the downstairs and the kitchen.
Edited by nadger on Friday 24th December 06:15
Following on from the update above about the large family area at the back, we saved like crazy and managed to scrape together the money to do the flooring and the kitchen at the same time. So first of all I had to take out the kitchen, with the help (instruction!) of a handy mate and the Labour support of a not so handy mate.
This is the kitchen as it was -
Going -
Going -
Gone! -
I sold the old kitchen, rangemaster, hood, dishwasher and splashback on eBay/FB market place, and then immediately caught covid from school so had to isolate for 10 days of course! This left us with no kitchen for the duration, which was interesting! However, thankfully, all the tradesmen were really helpful and managed to shift things around so at 7.04am precisely on the morning of my first day of freedom, the flooring chap turned up and removed the old floor, and poured a self levelling compound/screed down -
They then cracked on with laying the new vinyl flooring -
We went with a grey oak finish, and we’re absolutely delighted with it.
My youngest has now discovered the joys of skidding in your socks!
This is the kitchen as it was -
Going -
Going -
Gone! -
I sold the old kitchen, rangemaster, hood, dishwasher and splashback on eBay/FB market place, and then immediately caught covid from school so had to isolate for 10 days of course! This left us with no kitchen for the duration, which was interesting! However, thankfully, all the tradesmen were really helpful and managed to shift things around so at 7.04am precisely on the morning of my first day of freedom, the flooring chap turned up and removed the old floor, and poured a self levelling compound/screed down -
They then cracked on with laying the new vinyl flooring -
We went with a grey oak finish, and we’re absolutely delighted with it.
My youngest has now discovered the joys of skidding in your socks!
So, onto the kitchen. The kitchen we inherited from the previous owners was dark and not to our taste at all. The worktop in particular was a hideous green colour! After we had taken away the walls we were left with a large open space, and so we decided on a peninsula unit. I was going to bodge this, but we managed to negotiate a bargain on a kitchen from Howdens, so went with that in the end!
Hopefully the pictures speak for themselves! It was only completed yesterday and we absolutely love it!
Old kitchen -
No kitchen!
New kitchen!
Hopefully the pictures speak for themselves! It was only completed yesterday and we absolutely love it!
Old kitchen -
No kitchen!
New kitchen!
nadger said:
The Moose said:
Kitchen looks nice. Black, blue, or green?
Is the fridge/freezer to the left of the oven stack?
Thanks Moose! It’s navy blue.Is the fridge/freezer to the left of the oven stack?
The freezer is to the left and the fridge is to the right.
The Moose said:
nadger said:
The Moose said:
Kitchen looks nice. Black, blue, or green?
Is the fridge/freezer to the left of the oven stack?
Thanks Moose! It’s navy blue.Is the fridge/freezer to the left of the oven stack?
The freezer is to the left and the fridge is to the right.
So today I finally got around to painting the new bathroom. I just coated the new plaster in a 50/50 mix of emulsion and water last night, then painted today in a proper bathroom paint. I’ve never bothered before, just used normal emulsion without issue, but the paint I used today was absolutely superb! I didn’t want to go with the usual pale colours we have tended to stick with in the past, so went for what I think is more of a statement colour. I think that, with the dark wood sink unit and herringbone marble tiles, it looks brilliant(but I am biased of course!)
Our builder is coming on Tuesday to attach the sides to the bath, and also refit the towel radiator, the out skirting on. Then we should be done, and will have to pay him (gulp!) :-)
Our builder is coming on Tuesday to attach the sides to the bath, and also refit the towel radiator, the out skirting on. Then we should be done, and will have to pay him (gulp!) :-)
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