End of Week 21

Ok, apologies for missing last week. Time got away from me as per.

Basically done now @ Syston.

Vinny finished painting Tue with all the gloss looking spot on. I've had to do the bedroom cupboard shelves so these will obviously be the best part! We were going to seal to gap between the skirt and floor with silicone/caulk. Did a test piece and I thought it looked poor so we knocked that on the head. It would have stopped water going under the skirts when the floor is mopped. I've already ran a bead under the skirt anyway. The floor shouldn't be getting that wet either when mopping. So was unnecessary. 9 days in all to paint, bit heavy but there was a fair amount of woodwork internally and it all had three coats.

Tiling is all grouted as of today. few sockets to screw back and some silicone to seal the joints. Shower enc needs sealing up also.

Turfed the garden and gravelled everywhere else. Only gardening that needs to be done is mowing the lawn.  Appears to be taking well so fingers crossed. Great grass growing weather this week, sunshine and showers/worst storm i've ever seen.

Carpet man measured up this week, got to go in tomorrow and pick the carpets.

New front door panel is in and hallway is massively lighter! Looks the part too.

Air tightness test was last week. Achieved a ridiculously good result of 2.72 only be told that it's almost too good which is when you start needing extra mechanical ventilation. I don't understand how you can strive to achieve air tightness to then be told you did too well. Me and the bloke walked around after and he had left 2 trickle vents open (or Vin had opened them). He offered to re do the test but as my target was 6.8 I didn't see the point. I can see air bricks being installed at some point, unless people use the windows and trickle vents properly. SAP/EPC calc man is happy anyway, and heating bills should be very low. Paranoia on my part obviously paid off.

Had the big cleanup yesterday, everything is nice and spotless with all the rammel in the lounge. I may need to now invest in a shed.

So this week consists of choosing carpets, meeting the Architect Tue for sign off, Building inspector when it suits both of us for sign off and getting on the case of the bloke doing the dropped kerb in front of the drive. Bit of fence to paint as well.

Will stop the weekly updates now but i'll be back with any updates and final pics.

Clever 3x3 post with auto latch to hold gate open.
Bt duct & rope poking out under lounge window for connection

Gravel on tarp to use after fence painted

Level threshold and access to back door as well as front

Wet grout on bottom tiles to bath

Doors off while grounting & silicone

'Wetroom adaptable'

Too much flash, hides the cream

Ditto

End of Week 19

I have now made a list of all the remaining jobs inside. Crossed a few off already but when they're all crossed off the house is done. Dropped kerb to be done infront of the drive (possibly after BT connect) then ready to be signed off by building control.

Plumber just has to connect gas and sign off then he's done. Bathroom is fitted but I forgot to take a pic. Dimensions worked out well.

The List Is-

Kitchen

-silicone bottom of plinths and w/top joint with tile splashback.
-pelmet around boiler housing (after electrician and plumber)
-tile below boiler housing
-Silicone door threshold to floor.

Bed 1

-Shelf put into wardrobe (after it's been glossed)
-Chrome hanging rail underneath
-Threshold at door (after carpet)

Bed 2

-Both shelves into wardrobe (after glossing)
-Chrome hanging rails underneath each
-Threshold as bed 1
-RH cupboard door plane more clearance
-Bedroom door as above

Bathroom

-Tiling to finish around WC, bath and mosaics upto shower frame.
-Silicone shower enc, bath and wall to floor tile joints.
-Chrome towel rail above rad
-Chrome loo roll holder
-Mirror?
-Tighten shower riser rod

Lounge n/a

Hall

-Celotex ontop of loft hatch (done)
-Plastic trim at bot front door
-Silicone door threshold to floor.

Gloss painting still to be done and a good clean then that's it...

BT duct trench

Kitchen

End of Week 18

All the walls and ceilings are on this week, paint wise. All neutral throughout, as previously mentioned, i'm no interior design expert!

Flooring to the kitchen and hallway done. Still waiting on the thresholds for where the floor finishes at the bedrooms. Pleased with the floor overall. Could have ran it either way through the kitchen as the room is pretty square and has a light source on 3 walls. Spun it 90 degrees to the hallway. You can get an underlay with built in DPM, since i'd already got some underlay I bought a DPM (polly sheet) to put ontop of the concrete slab. To be honest if i'd of had a moisture meter i'd have bet that floor would have been dry enough to do away with the DPM. It certainly isn't going to get any 'damper' now.

All architraves are now on and all but 2 or 3 skirts where I need to finish the ends of the kitchen units first. I ran a bead of sealant on the bottom of the skirts before I butted them down to the floor all for this silly air test. Also sealed where the plasterboard met the stud work before I started the floor!

About a day or so left for me inside fiddling with a few snags, finishing kitchen etc. May also do the prep work for the glossing. Then its onto outside. Fix one downpipe, put up side fence, tidy up front fence, hang 2 gates, finish off gravelling, bury duct which bt have dropped off,  seed lawn, bark planter. That should be it after that.

Plumber was supposed to come Sat to see what he needed to do this week. Let me down. It's a bit out of your hands when subbies let you down. Here's to hoping I get the plumbing done this week. Sparky back for half a day or so after that. Front of the boxing finishing near boiler after the plumber. Few odd bits of tiling after the suite has been fitted. Glossing after that. Carpets fitted, then job done.

End of Week 17

White ceilings this week. Vin's got a couple of coats on today and will start the walls tomorrow. Just getting the emulsion done then off till I'm ready for the glossing.

Seen plumber Friday, says he will be able to come and finish off after next weekend (i.e. week 19) Gas meter due for this Thursday. The fitter who came a few weeks ago had a dodgy meter apparently.

Knocked all the gravel about today. Levelled off around the back and side, got rid of the remaining sand, covered in landscape fabric then gravelled over. 4 Tonne in all but needed one more. I'll have to pick one up loose. I was planning to gravel in the planter too but may bark now.

Spoke to someone about an air test late last week. Apparently behind kitchen units and bath panel are the most common points of failure/leakage. I'll keep this in mind when i'm finishing off the kitchen, i've already gone mad with silicone and boards behind the bath.

Shower has come together. How ever long you think it takes to assemble a shower enclosure, double it! Very fiddly. But went into the space perfectly. All level and plumb. Just needs the mosaics finishing up to the enclosure and sealing then it's done. These had to be left out as they are slightly proud of the rest of the tiles (ceramic against natural stone). Anyway, happy with my carefully planned, wetroom adaptable bathroom.

So this week shall book air test in for when 2nd fix is finished, may finish off fence and gates and hopefully get a chance to seed the lawn. Debating whether to do floor before or after plumbers been back...
 

End of Week 16 - ie 4 months

Wa'hey, an on time post this week. Albeit 11:30 at night.

Had a list of jobs to do today (before I go away for a few days). Got through all I wanted to and started on the decorating prep work.

Loft hatch was first job. Used ex 4 x 1 1/2" timber and put a 15mm rebate and draught proofing slot into it. After cutting to size and building up I used rubber draught seal (same as windows) so that the hatch is air tight. Has a secret latch to keep it closed.

Hung the kitchen door which is slightly twisted. Loose stop rebates so I have 3 options. Fix stops to twisted door, try to take twist out of door and tell the merchants to swap.

Just general snagging and odd jobs for the rest of the day such as fixing a downpipe etc etc

Tiling has come on in the bathroom. Just needs the suite fitting and grouting now. The kitchen has been started and is looking good.

Met Vin the painter and he can start either this week or next, depending on another job.

Gas meter was fitted Fri but apparently had a leak and he didn't have a spare on his van - long winded!

So if I cant get the floor and 2nd fix joinery finished next week when I'm back i'll go on the garden. May rotivate and seed the area to have turf. Seed being the cheaper option! The rest will want some landscaping sheet putting down and covering with about 5 tonne of gravel.

Fence painting is halfway now.

End of week 15 (and a 1/2!)

Neighbours Drive and Manhole

Neighbours Manhole, now adopted by water board. Indirect connection made from bungalow.

Missed last weeks post and am late with this one! At least a few bit have changed now.

As of today all 3 main services are connected Gas, Water and Leccy. I need the meter installed before I can use the gas which will be on Friday. These utility companies have money to burn. When I got there this morning a chap from the water was there delivering some barriers for the water board. There was still a gaping hole in the path at this point from the Gas board. Gas was connected late last week. Anyway, gas board turned up to reinstate hole. They were told the water were coming later but they said they had to fill the hole in as it's their job. So no sooner had it been stoned, and tarmaced than the water board turn up with a digger to dig it straight back up. Obviously it would not be easy for these companies to liaise. The majority of the time it may also be awkward to all use the same area of the footpath and just have the single re-instatement, but in this case it was totally called for. Ohwell eh...

So the drive is done. Still need to get the kerb dropped but that's being subbed out anyway. Pleased with how the drive looks, perhaps wouldn't have gone so big next time, then again, people like off road parking.

All but one of the doors are hung inside. Merchants wont have the kitchen door in till Thur. Joinery wise I've just got the floor left, then the skirts and arc's in hall & kitchen. Pelmets and cornices on kitchen units after tiling then end panels down to the floor. Job Done.

Tiling starts tomorrow, few days of that then should be done.

Will have rest of bathroom suite by next week then it's when the ever busy plumber can get to me to finish off.

I'll see if I can get the walls and ceilings painted before I put down the new floor, makes life easier then.

After all the above it's just air test then carpets. Should be around 3 weeks away now depending on how painter and plumber perform. It could have been quicker towards the end had I of had different sub trades in at the same time but I wouldn't say it has dragged out at all.

Enjoy pics...

End of week 13

Another slightly late update. Soon enough I'll be able to merge 2 weeks into one.

Outside is now all stoned up and ready for slabbing, blocking and gravelling. I've put a level access at the back (kitchen) door as well. I don't see the point in following all the Part M Building regs with regards to wheelchair access, to the expect someone in a chair to wheel out the front door and round the side if they want to go into the garden. Was also going to have a 600mm path with 150mm gravel but am now going to have a 900mm path all around. Do away with the gravel, the slabs will have a slight fall away from the house anyway.

I've fitted the majority of the kitchen. I'm waiting for the plumber to put a gas feed to the hob before I fix the worktops. I've also spaced out that run of units slightly differently to squeeze another 200mm wall unit in next to the cooker hood. I'll leave the pelmet and cornice till the sparks is finished and the splash back is tiled. Still have to choose the tiles for there. Interior design doesn't come naturally.

All the skirting's are cut as well as the majority of arc's. Have left all the hallway and kitchen ones off till after I've put my floor down as I think i'm going to go with an engineered Oak floor. Should match the worktop, easy to clean and not as cold as tiles. Both the bedrooms and the lounge are on. Bedrooms just need shelves inside the cupboards and a hanging rail. Will get on with the doors and floor once the tiling is done in the bathroom.

So this week patio and path should be done, sparks should be second fixed, and should start to see some tiles down in the bathroom.

End of Week 12

Progress is at a bit of a 'stutter' at the minute.

Plastering was finished Wednesday. All looking good just dying out.

Power was jointed Thursday but I don't get my meter till this coming Thur, then it's bye bye to the old genny. Plumber didn't get there Friday, but should start tomorrow. Sparks is going back in late week to coincide with getting the meter and mains electric.

As plans stand now i'll probably be fitting the kitchen late week, minus end panels and plinths, which will go on after the finished floor. Still, there will be plenty of other second fix joinery to go at with the skirting's, arc's and cupboard shelves.

Have chosen the bathroom tiles and a picture is below. Using a ceramic 'stone effect' tile on the floor and up the walls, with the travertine mosaic as a border and for the shower floor. Need to get the shower enclosure ordered and on site before any bathroom tiling. As it's an offset quadrant shape, the tiles around the shower will have to be cut to the metal profile of the enclosure. The joint between the ceramics and mosaics will then be underneath the enclosure. Obviously grouted and done neatly, so if anyone ever wanted it as a wet room suitable for a wheelchair then all they would have to do is unscrew the enclosure and replace with a curtain.

End of Week 11

No post last week, not a great deal had changed and time was at a premium. Bad combination for updating this blog.

Anyway, plastering is well under way now. A couple more days and should be done. Plumber back Friday to start second fix. Will call electrician tomorrow and get him booked in.

Have dug a trench from where my electric supply runs into the house up to the boundary. Western Power will take care of the rest. Was going to buy the ducting for the electric cable but could only buy in 50 metre lengths. Instead I called up western power and asked them to drop me 20 metres off. Same old story - don't ask don't get. On for the connection this Thursday but wont be getting electric till the 3rd of May. Bit disorganised with regards to providing a supplier with my MPAN number there. Lesson for next time, they need about 10 days. Have also dug up my duct for where the water supply goes into the house. Took this through the footings and up through the slab in the early days. I'll organise for the water to be connected now the plastering is finishing. The way it works you pay a flat fee for building water unless you have a metered supply. The supply would of been metered if i'd of had the water connected early doors. With the amount of water that goes into building a house i've preferred to pay the flat building water fee and not worry about how much i'm using. Gas connection is 'in the pipeline' excusing the pun. Early next month sometime. Gas seems to be the cheapest and easiest out of the lot.

Sorted the soil vent on the back so can start backfilling against my retainer with any muck I dig out from the soak-away and where the hard standing to the side of the house is. I though i'd have loads of spare soil so had a 6' wide raised planter built. I was thinking 4' but talked into 6'. Looking at it now I'm not so sure i'll have enough to spread about! Ironic if I have to buy any. Have paid for about 6 x 20 tonne loads to be taken away. It's top gear as well, this ground used to be allotments years ago!

Got to start choosing & buying sanitary and tiles now. Don't think interior design is my forte'. Have chosen the kitchen and have tried to keep it light, simple and traditional. Have been offered some white gloss 'slab' door kitchen units but don't know if I can dull it down from the modern look that gives off. I'm paying a bit more to have 'shaker' style doors, but clinically, does it add to the property...probably not.

Have had the gyppos take away my 'white elephant' bright yellow, diesel stained water butt. Took a couple of stumps that refused to burn to the tip as well. A few of the smaller ones may have gone into the bottom of the raised planter. Starting to tidy up a bit now. All the hardcore knocking about will soon get swallowed up by the soak-away.

Did roll out the loft insulation last week and lay it 300mm all around. It is the absolute worst job I have EVER done. Low pitched roof and prefab trusses just made it hell. Wont be doing this again in a hurry!

End of Week 9

Plumber and Sparky finished their first fixes this week. Due to me wanting a couple of changes though there will be a couple of areas I can't board over yet. Sparks is away till Monday so beware last minute changes.

Got the ceiling boarded yesterday. Hired an auto-loading screwgun but it didn't work properly so went back to the normal cordless. Also hired a plasterboard lifter which was an amazing bit of kit. I'll never do any decent amount of ceiling boarding again without one. The time and agro they save is immense. Got the loft insulation and chucked it up into the roof space beforehand, 23 rolls later!

Start the walls next week. 25mm Acoustic roll in-between studs with sound-block boards both sides.