Monday, 7 April 2014

January: Insulation and Plasterboarding


Celotex - an absolute wonder of the modern house-building age. You'll know what I mean if your experience of "insulation" used to begin and end with that itchy, fibre-glass roll-stuff that sits in your loft between the joists ......not any more. Go and check it out if you need to insulate, piece of cake!






By the way, I just need to add that while I may be absent from many of the photos, who do you think took them.......?


.......ok, so apart from having to visit the most westerly part of Europe for a few days that is.....




Go west old man
A big hand to Dave the Plasterer for his great work. Just as soon as the sea-temperature is up around the 12 degrees mark we'll be heading down to the south coast for some much needed bass hunting. Oh yes.
Triffid-friendly plaster board

safe as 'owses that is
Cigar-friendly expanding foam








Early New Year - 2014

A lot of progress was made throughout 2013 and the build took shape very quickly.



However, going into 2014 with the focus now on on the internals - the wiring, insulation, plaster boarding, painting etc - it would mean very little change would be apparent from an overall outside view.







In through the out door

hmmm... not sure about those lights


Wednesday, 26 February 2014

The Lost Blogs .........Part-3, Windows & Christmas 2013

The November break extended throughout most of December, the main highlights of the build being the windows and doors .......


Lotsa Windas













Christmassy huh?
....... and "the kitchen" being used as The Kitchen for Christmas Eve .........


No, not Hell's Kitchen

That's me sorted, what are the rest of you having?

Franco's Kitchen Nightmares?

Don't mess with the chefs!



































Oh, and Frank Zappa came round for tea :O)





* MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUT THERE IN BLOG-LAND *




The Lost Blogs .........Part-2, November 2013

Putting that last brick in killed me (well what I mean is, "taking those photos up 20ft of scaffolding killed me...") so no work in November, but a bit of this instead:


Q: "did you catch anything?"
A: "what, fish? - don't be silly!"

At least I got a cuppa round Darly's ..........


The Lost Blogs .........Part-1, The Final Brick

A lot's been happening on the build since October (ok, ok - so I'm the worst blogger in the world ..........) but let me bring you up to date quickly.

The end of October saw the last brick going in:

Getting Close Now
Closer...


A Surgeon's Precision ...
One Left



Get In!

And Raffaelle gave the outside wall the finishing touches to blend the extension, with the main house: 

Like it's been there for years


Don't slip or you'll be on
 the 5.25 to Waterloo 








Monday, 28 October 2013

October's Here - Check out the Tiles!


With the roof up, the plan for the short term was to lay the tiles and complete the two gable ends (that's builder-speak for the walls with the sloping roof edges - ok, the front and back then).

We've been very lucky with the weather so far, it's hardly meant many days rained off, and if it continues as-is for a few more weeks, then we should be working on the inside comfortably by the end of October. Finger's crossed!


In the beginning ...
... and lots of other stuff ...



...there were tiles ....




A big thanks to Martin for the tiling and fitting the roof-windows (veluxes - is that a real word?).




"Ehh"

Alfresco
Franky getting high
























Ere, wot you looking at?



This view from the other side of the railway shows that because the inner block-walls are built from the inside, then it was a case of using simple trestle arrangements within the building to go higher. But the brickwork for the outer walls then, needed external scaffolding. We used the towers for the front gable but they wouldn't fit in the space available for the rear - so we had to build it all to suit.





Closing the ends up
You can see the tiles and some of the roof-windows here, but even though the tiles may look very "new" when compared to the main house, I guess that within a couple of years they should become more weathered and match a whole lot better. There's a lot of big trees around which should help. 

While it doesn't appear very high when looking "up", believe me, that when you're up there, simply reaching out to get something or just changing your position slightly, takes on a whole new level of balance that you take for granted when you're standing on the old terra firma. The guys that do this stuff everyday have my utmost respect.


The brickwork around all the new windows has been built to exactly match the same style as on the main house. This is also true of the concrete ledges which have been poured to include an underneath ridge which prevents water from running back towards the wall.

So, right now, it looks like an almost standalone orange building. When it's painted in the same style, the overall effect should be of having one complete house, end to end. Oh yes.



Now that, is looking good .....

Meanwhile, the Brosteel Ultra 60 was taking a well earned rest enjoying a spot of fishing, and some general horsing around ....... ney worries!






Tuesday, 22 October 2013

The rest of September: The Roof


Sorry folks, this latest post has been a long time in the works. The waiting's over, the job is done - we bring you the Roof!


"Ehh"
Work started early and it wasn't long before the roofers were up and running (under strict supervision from Franco of course).


The Last Beam


The Two Towers, 'Fredo







The speed with which the guys worked was amazing, and it wasn't long before it all started to take shape.


Glad it's not me





Nosey Neighbour View

Close-Up 1

Bear in mind that there was no permanent flooring upstairs - just the beams (and of course the noggins) - so there were plenty of gaps and it's a long way down when you are standing on scaffolding .......



Close-Up 2

Close-Up 3










Lucia a lot taller than I remember
Hmm, nice soffits

The Porch bit
Proper arty that pic mate

Overall, the job is going well and we are making great progress, but the question still remains:

"what is it actually going to look like, especially when we have no plans and when Franco isn't letting on?" 

So .....we contacted Farah-from-across-the-road - a well respected local developer - and we asked for her professional opinion:


Artist's Impression
A few more windows than I was expecting, but it has a certain symmetry to it that I like ...... love the landscaping .....

The building Inspector was having a day off. True to form, only doing what he wants to do:




By the way, succumbing to popular demand, watch this space for more exclusive photos of our old favourite, the can of Brosteel Ultra 60 - locations and poses like you'd never thought possible, no expense spared, coming to a blogsite near you ....oh, and a few tiles too.