# Our Conservatory Replacement Build Thread...



## Serkie

Evening everyone,

One thing we've had a love-hate relationship with since moving into our current home is the conservatory hanging off the back. In the summer it's unbearably bright and hot and conversely in the winter it's a cold space to be in. Most people that come to the house seem to love it but having lived with it for 3 years we made a decision late last year to replace it.

So we got the ball rolling, spoke to an architect, drafted some plans, went through the planning process and found the right builder. Many months later the project kicked off in August of this year and we're currently half way through a 12 - 14 week build. I've been trying to capture progress as we've go along and thought I'd share the build process and progress with you.

Hopefully this gives anybody else thinking of doing something similar some insight into what to expect…

So here's the conservatory in question, cleared and ready for demolition.



























An area was cleared in the back garden for access, skips and deliveries.










First day and the builders crack on taking apart the conservatory. They also built a temp wood partition wall to the kitchen including a lovely window as shown...



















Wasn't long before the foundations were being dug and being inspected by building controls…










That space we cleared at the back of the garden didn't take long to fill up…










Digger makes fast progress with the foundations, the yellow sprayed lines shows the new footprint of the extension…










Once building controls were happy the muck was poured, yey!…










Foundations left for a few days before we started to come out of the ground.




























Aerial plot view…










Ground works continued in preparation for the floor slab…




























Floor slab poured and left to go off…



















Whilst we waited for the first part of the structural steels to be delivered the builders turned their attention to removing a set of French doors and preparing the opening for some bi-folds. Cue the acrow props and lots of banging as each layer is carefully pealed away…

Note: Cracks in render were existing.



















Builders put up a temporary partition splitting our dinning room, this has really helped keep the dust in the house down. We also taped up all doors as well.



















Slab was now well dry, new lintel delivered ready for installation.










Opening prepared and ready for lintel…










Yikes…



















Lintel installed and brick quoins were rebuilt.



















All done and ready for door installers…




























After a weeks delay, the structural steel work finally begins…




























Quickly followed by the block work and things move along quickly again…




























Scaffolding goes up with the walls…



















Boom! A-frame is in and it's quite a bit bigger than we thought…




































Roofers are now able to start and make quick progress…





































Meanwhile, preparations continue for the steels that will be installed to open up the existing house to the new extension. As we're got to have a goal-post arrangement, the foundations need to be beefed up to support the frame. This entails digging under the existing foundations and filling up with additional concrete. I'll come back to this later…




























Starting to look like a room now…










In preparation for the big steels going in, the builders start to prop up the rear of the house. This entailed holes being made across the section being removed, which meant we lost a bedroom and bathroom.





































Beefed up foundations for steels were filled with concrete and left to go off over a few days.










Velux windows have arrived; we're having 4 motorised panels in the new roof.










Meanwhile, our existing kitchen was placed on eBay and sold for an unexpected decent price, which was a nice bonus. Buyer came and stripped it bare.



















The acrow props are starting to go in place and the holes created plugged...




























Steels are here and they're massive! One will span the opening the other is used internally, more on that later.




























With the acrows in place the walls were again carefully pealed back. ..
…





































Which brings us bang up to date.

More to follow…


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## andy__d

how many cat foot prints do you have in the concrete ?


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## Andyblue

Wow that’s an impressive build you’ve got going on 

Just a little different from the conservatory that was there :thumb:


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## RedUntilDead

Looks great, thanks for taking the time and effort to post. I love stuff like this:thumb:


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## Zetec-al

Just as i thought Detailing World was getting a bit quiet.. You start this thread!

Looks like a great build and I look forward to your updates.


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## davies20

That looks like it's going to be incredible!

Thanks for sharing with us. I find this stuff far more interesting than i'm suppose too!


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## Serkie

Thanks for the comments. 

We should reach a major milestone this week when the structural steels are completed. I’ll aim to post some updates mid-week.


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## mistryn

wow that looks amazing, great build, cant wait to see more build pics especially the bi fold doors


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## transtek

That is one big extension! Would love to get something like that done myself! Keep up the good work and the posts! (and you'll need all your detailing gear to get the house clean again once the builders have gone!)


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## gatecrasher3

Love watching projects like this progress.

Keep the thread updated please.


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## streaky

Well if your going to do it you may as well make it worthwhile.
Looks like you have a pretty compatent builder working for you.


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## Arvi

That looks great, thanks for sharing!

I want to do an extension which would be about double the width of your conservatory and 3 meters out but am paranoid about relying on builders and other tradesman as I haven't got a clue when it comes to these matters, but progress pictures like these are very motivating. 

Is there any practical experiences you can share to ensure I don't end up being kicked out by the wife? She wants it done as much as I do, but I'll be the one taking the blame and funding it!


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## Daz.

Oooft monster! Love it - hurry up and finish it!


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## Serkie

Arvi said:


> That looks great, thanks for sharing!
> 
> I want to do an extension which would be about double the width of your conservatory and 3 meters out but am paranoid about relying on builders and other tradesman as I haven't got a clue when it comes to these matters, but progress pictures like these are very motivating.
> 
> Is there any practical experiences you can share to ensure I don't end up being kicked out by the wife? She wants it done as much as I do, but I'll be the one taking the blame and funding it!


I'd say first start by having an idea of what you want the space to be used for and look like, Pinterest is a great resource to start from. You can get a good idea on colours and layouts that work best. Make a wish list.

We got an architect to provide a full package (plans, building regs, planning application, structural engineer) however in hindsight I don't think it was worth the fee they charged and I wish haggled harder there. Advice here is to shop around if you go that route.

On the plus side, we did get a full set of plans, including structural calculations from the architect that we could give to builders to quote upon. This did allow us to get detailed quotes with far fewer cost caveat in them that could potentially increase overall costs at a later date. This is good if you're working to a hard budget.

With regards to builders, good ones are generally always busy and you need to book in quite far in advance, we choose a local firm who are well known and established in the area. They weren't the cheapest but they are known quantity and I was pretty sure we wouldn't have issues with them. We got 5 quotes and prices varied massively, our dearest quote was almost double the cheapest. We got our builders recommendations from multiple sources including local Facebook groups, friends and also Checkatrade.

When you meet the builders you usually get a feeling for whether they know their stuff or a bit of a chancer fairly quickly. We had some people quote who literally spent 5 minutes in the house, didn't ask many questions and weren't particularly thorough going over the plans. These are the ones to avoid.

Be prepared for some disruption for a few months. Depending on the scale of the work, chances are you will lose areas of your house temporally. In our case we've lost our kitchen, dining room, spare bedroom and family bathroom. We've relocated the kitchen to our utility room which is a bit cosy and all other furniture has been moved to other rooms so we're cluttered.

Final point is neighbours. Make sure you're considerate to them and let them know when the build is starting and for how long. Some days we have 6 vehicles parked on site or outside with delivery trucks coming in and out also. Most people are fine but this has aggravated some people.


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## Serkie

Small update:

Roof tiles delivered...










Lintel and block work removed all the way across opening ready for steels to go up into.

The 2 steels you see will both go up next to each other (side by side) and then bolted and welded together. We're waiting on the structural company now to come and install them, hopefully in the next few days. Once they are in a soil pipe needs to be relocated and then we can start putting it all back together again.

First set of bi-folds are ready however we've put them off for a week or so as we don't want them getting damaged whilst so much is still going on.

The eagle eyed will see the ceiling is slightly different heights across the house which means a section of ceiling will need replacing to feather in the difference one its opened up between kitchen and dining room.


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## Andyblue

Great update, you can really see it coming on now


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## Darlofan

Arvi said:


> That looks great, thanks for sharing!
> 
> I want to do an extension which would be about double the width of your conservatory and 3 meters out but am paranoid about relying on builders and other tradesman as I haven't got a clue when it comes to these matters, but progress pictures like these are very motivating.
> 
> Is there any practical experiences you can share to ensure I don't end up being kicked out by the wife? She wants it done as much as I do, but I'll be the one taking the blame and funding it!


We're doing similar at moment except I'm doing it all myself!! Past 18mths I've been at it.
I'd say sort your budget and go from there. We didn't have a massive budget plus I am tight and have trust issues with tradesmen etc, I am however competent at diy etc. We had architect quotes but quickly saved a few grand by planning it ourselves. I drew the plans(failed art o level!) for planning which were fine 2nd time round, I missed a side view off!
Worst mistake I made, drains, they cost a lot and you can't mess with drains on your land if shared by neighbours without plans/permission, this costs(a lot). 
I've just finished first fix on electrics and plumbing and hoping to start plasterboarding this weekend.


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## Ducky

Looks awesome, seems like your builders are considerate too with you still living in the house, and doing a great job.

We're in the middle of doing our house, but unfortunately our builders were a nightmare (and have since departed) so ours is taking much longer then expected! 

Looking forward to the updates.
:thumb:


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## WHIZZER

looks great already -will have a really great space when finished


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## Arvi

@serkie thank you so much for the detailed response, really appreciate it !

Also thank you Darlofan. Wish I had the skills to do something like this. I think the furthest I can go is taking a sledge hammer to the current lean to!


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## nbray67

Fantastic thread/read/pics etc etc....

You'll love the extra space and I guarantee you'll love the bi-folds.

Replacing our wooden French doors with modern bi-folds has transformed our lounge and the look of the rear of the house. I was sceptical about them initially when my wife suggested them, now, I'm so glad we opted for them.

Like the other comments on here, well done and I can't wait to see the finished project.


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## Arvi

nbray67 said:


> Fantastic thread/read/pics etc etc....
> 
> You'll love the extra space and I guarantee you'll love the bi-folds.
> 
> Replacing our wooden French doors with modern bi-folds has transformed our lounge and the look of the rear of the house. I was sceptical about them initially when my wife suggested them, now, I'm so glad we opted for them.
> 
> Like the other comments on here, well done and I can't wait to see the finished project.


I'm glad you've said that. I am looking at 3 panel bi-folds and my dad said that was a bit OTT and to stick with UPVC dual french doors. My thought is if your going to do it, do it property and the extra light/visual space that it creates and how it looks will be worth it. Also been recommended a couple of sky lights as well.


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## nbray67

Arvi said:


> I'm glad you've said that. I am looking at 3 panel bi-folds and my dad said that was a bit OTT and to stick with UPVC dual french doors. My thought is if your going to do it, do it property and the extra light/visual space that it creates and how it looks will be worth it. Also been recommended a couple of sky lights as well.


I'll pop up a couple of pics of ours as they are currently open with this beaut weather, excuse the puppy pen though as we only picked up our new pup this weekend.

Hope that's ok Serkie, not trying to hijack the thread in anyway pal.


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## nbray67

Here you go Arvi.

Not the best pics as they don't do the bi-folds the justice they deserve.
BTW, the fitting of the new bi-folds massively increased the insulation properties of the house.

Old wooden 4 panel French doors.










New bi-folds, well, 3yrs now since they were fitted.

Too much sunshine affecting the pic from inside/out.










Pics from outside. Beauty is, you can open the single door or simply fold/slide all the panels with a single finger until they are fully open.


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## Daz.

What manufacturer bi-folds did you get?


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## nbray67

Daz. said:


> What manufacturer bi-folds did you get?


Great question, I'll find out as the boss took care of it.

He's a local guy who does quite a bit of work locally. He fitted our front door also, again, transformed the look of the house.
The internal an external finish is faultless with all of the old units disposed of by them, like the door, the bi-folds were fitted in less than 4hrs. Quality workmanship also imo.

Door was thru the books, the bi-folds were cash x £2300.

No idea if that's cheap/steep as I wasn't involving myself with it.


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## realist

If you get bi-folds get the blinds in the glass, best money I’ve ever spent, get remote skylights too&#55357;&#56397;&#55357;&#56397;


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## Serkie

Looks great nbray, massive improvement.

We’ve gone for Origin bi-folds. They were recommended to us by a number of people and builders. Good reputation, mid-price point and excellent aftermarket support.

We looked at the blinds in the glass but didn’t like it to be honest. We’ve got an idea of what we want with regards to blinds but will probably live with it for a while before fitting.

Steels are going in tomorrow, structural company are coming mob-handed so hopefully in and secured. All being well lots of progress planned for next week.


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## Daz.

nbray67 said:


> Great question, I'll find out as the boss took care of it.
> 
> He's a local guy who does quite a bit of work locally. He fitted our front door also, again, transformed the look of the house.
> The internal an external finish is faultless with all of the old units disposed of by them, like the door, the bi-folds were fitted in less than 4hrs. Quality workmanship also imo.
> 
> Door was thru the books, the bi-folds were cash x £2300.
> 
> No idea if that's cheap/steep as I wasn't involving myself with it.


I think the price is about right - We're trying to get our old sliding patio doors swapped out.


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## Serkie

Evening all,

Productive day, main steels are now in which is major milestone.

Next 2 week plan is as follows:

Carpenters back to finish roof. 
Roof tiler to cover in roof and finish. 
Scaffolding down end of next week. 
Doors and gable window installed. 
Electricians starting first fix.

A combination of muscle power and steel jack were used to raise the steels into position...


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## Andyblue

Cracking update


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## SuperchargedLlama

Looks great, and it looks like you've had some good builders in for the job to boot!


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## Jack R

Looking good.


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## Tricky Red

A Larger scale than ours but similar I think. Looking good so far


















Ours was 9m x 4m


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## Serkie

Evening all, time for an update...

Unfortunately things have been slower than we hoped due to a number of reasons. Main one being availability of the roofers which has resulted in a few days of no progress. The wrong flashing was ordered for the Velux's so that's stopped the roof being finished today.

Plan for the next week is 1st fix electrics, roof finished, doors and glass in. There is one wall still to take out which will commence the following week followed by the existing kitchen floor coming up and the walls and ceilings plastered.

Kitchen is currently due to be installed end of October but I'm starting to think we won't be ready. Hoping the builder can pull it off but with the lack of progress and man-power on site I have my doubts.

We're still heading in the right direction and hopefully should be done within the next 4 - 6 weeks.

So, after the steels went in the block work continued and the pad stones fitted.




























Meanwhile the gaps between the steels and existing brick work were starting to be filled. As you can see we've had some slippage resulting in a big internal crack in the plaster which will be filled at a later date.



















Padstones in and acrow props out (gulp)...




























Family bathroom slightly less of a mess but we've decided not to refit the old suite and will strip, retile and fit a new bathroom suite.










Spare bedroom is also a mess but won't need much more than some paint once the plaster is fixed.



















After a few days of nothing the roofers turned up to fit the facias and sofits.





































Anyway, that's enough pictures of white plastic boards...

Roofers have today started to get the roof ready for the tiles, felt was applied and battens fixed into position. Velux windows were suppose to go in but unfortunately the flashing ordered was incorrect. New flashing ordered and hopefully here tomorrow for fitting.


















































































...and that my friends brings us right up to date.

TO BE CONTINUED! :thumb:


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## Andyblue

Looking good :thumb:


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## Serkie

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been away with work for the week.

With that in mind, I left explicit instructions with the wife to take a few pictures each day I was away. So this week's photo update is courtesy of Mrs Serkie's rather blurry, over-exposed iPhone camera with a sprinkling of artistic flair... 

Since I last posted a lot has happened. In fact after a few weeks of stuttering progress things went ape sh1t with multi-trades on site, cars and vans everywhere and progress moving along rapidly.

We spoke with the builder and expressed our concerns that the project was slipping and the space wouldn't be ready for the kitchen (incoming end of month). Not sure if those words resonated with him or not but on Monday the site was buzzing, and it's been pretty much like that all week.

We've had a team of roofers finishing the roof, a trio of electricians installing 1st fix electrics, a group of chaps from the window and door company plus the regular builders banging away. By all accounts it was rather hectic, my better half described it as a mini DIY-SOS episode and in the spirit of the BBC show, she baked lots of cookies and kept the tea flowing. To be honest, I was quite glad to be away but at the same time nervous/curious to know what was going on.

Anyway, enough waffle time for some pictures.

Roof was partially finished for last weekend and subsequently finished Monday resulting in the following…














































I haven't seen them in operation but the skylights are electrics and will close automatically if rain is detected. You can just see the rain sensor here...










Ridge tiles need pointing to finish off but otherwise roof is done.










With the roof finished the scaffolding was promptly pulled down and the site subject to a tidy-up (it really needed it).



















The electricians then started 1st fix, placing all plugs, switches and AV cables into the walls




























Meanwhile in the kitchen, the old floor tiles were removed and any damage caused by the removal filled. The ducting you see assembled is being sunk into the floor, more on that later.



















Upstairs the family bathroom has been prepared for a refit, the existing tiles were removed and the space made ready for the plumbers to come and relocate the soil pipe. The soil pipe was removed for the steels to be installed and also ran down a wall that has now been removed. Relocating it has been a bone of contention throughout the project and I'm not 100% sure it's going to fit alongside the steel. Builder assures me it 'should' be ok but we'll see. If it doesn't fit we're going to have to get creative. Last thing I want is to install a macerator. More on this also later...



















Mid-week the window and door company were back to start installing the doors and window. This was a big milestone for us and also one of the biggest single outlays for the project. Thankfully they are rather awesome, very nice quality and look (IMO) great.




























The electricians had also been cracking on and pretty much gone as far as they could for now, there is still work to do once the final wall is knocked through.

With the cables all in the ceilings the builders started the process of insulating the roof.




























The 2nd and 3rd set of bi-folds were fitted at the same time. The feature window will be finished next week, which will complete the glass, for now. I say that as I'm stickler for uniform and the existing white UPVC windows upstairs look a bit out of place. Might be changing those soon as well then.
































































That's it for now, more next week.

Thanks for reading.


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## mistryn

I love reading this thread, it has given me so many ideas, love the bi folding doors, looks like the work is progressing nicely to come back into time table


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## Andyblue

Cracking update and really looking smart now. 

Just got a bit of info - you’ve got a dry ridge installed, so no pointing up required - that’s it finished :thumb:


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## Serkie

Andyblue said:


> Cracking update and really looking smart now.
> 
> Just got a bit of info - you've got a dry ridge installed, so no pointing up required - that's it finished :thumb:


Well there you go, thanks for the info didn't know that!


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## davies20

Bloody superb! I'm getting more & more jealous!


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## Zetec-al

Great update.

Looks like you have a good builder in for the job. Also, the bifolds look amazing especially along the back off the extension


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## Darlofan

Looking great, coming along nicely.


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## Tricky Red

We have roof similar pitch to your's and have a dry ridge also. I wish we had a pointed ridge really as we have had some water ingress at some point, not sure why and doesn't seem to have recurred. 

We have the solar powered Velux, great in summer and then we have the keyboards that you can preset for closure, ventilation etc. And the rain sensors do work! 

What are you doing for lighting?


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## Serkie

Tricky Red said:


> We have roof similar pitch to your's and have a dry ridge also. I wish we had a pointed ridge really as we have had some water ingress at some point, not sure why and doesn't seem to have recurred.
> 
> We have the solar powered Velux, great in summer and then we have the keyboards that you can preset for closure, ventilation etc. And the rain sensors do work!
> 
> What are you doing for lighting?


Good to hear the Velux's work. I believe you can also get an additional smart sensor now that sits in the room and monitor air quality levels. It will vent the room in case of smoke or toxic fumes which I thought was quite cool.

Lighting is a combination of spotlights and pendants with a smart twist.


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## Serkie

We reached a bit of a milestone today so I thought I'd grab a few pictures and update the thread.

Milestone namely being that all glass is now in!



















Meanwhile inside another milestone as the final knock through is pretty much complete.

As the glass was in and the doors secure, the temporary wood partitions were removed leaving us with an idea of the size of the new space.



















Once the wall started to be pealed away a few complexities were unearthed. Unfortunately this means we can't take out as much of the wall we wanted too. Essentially our house consists of an old part (1950's original house) and a new part (2002 extension) and to remove more of the wall will result in some major work to the electrics and plumbing.

We wanted to take it back to the where the plaster finishes however have agreed it's not worth the hassle for the extra 600mm.

We're thinking we can make it a bit of feature on the dining room side, perhaps put something into it like a bookshelf or even a bar unit.














































Meanwhile, in preparation for the relocation of the water stop-****, a trench is being created to run the new water pipe to and relocate near the sink area.



















Thanks for reading, more end of week.


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## Starbuck88

What an absolutely cracking thread and thanks for taking the time to show us and explain. It's coming along nicely and can't wait to see the finished result!

Couple of questions...what is a dry ridge?

and what does this upright tool thingy do?


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## Darlofan

Starbuck88 said:


> What an absolutely cracking thread and thanks for taking the time to show us and explain. It's coming along nicely and can't wait to see the finished result!
> 
> Couple of questions...what is a dry ridge?
> 
> and what does this upright tool thingy do?


Dry ridge is a way of fixing ridge tiles without using traditional mortar. Uses clamps and fixings instead.

The upright in the picture is a lift for lifting the steels up into place.


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## Arvi

Awesome progress. Thanks for sharing. Want to sell when your done?!


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## Tricky Red

Looking great - we also looked at having the extra glass above the bifold but decided against it due to cost and the fact that we did not have a full width bifold; thought it would look odd. Yours looks great though.


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## Serkie

Friday update time and things have been ticking slowly away this week.

Bulk of the work this week has been knocking through between the kitchen and dining room and preparing the area for the forthcoming steel. This has entailed moving some plumbing to ensure there was enough clearance and also cutting away between the floor joists.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we've had to compromise a bit and retain a small brick nib which wasn't in the original plan. This is the nib from the kitchen side...










...and from the dining room side...



















The new soil pipe has started to be located and once the steel is in will be connected back up to the family bathroom.










The soil-pipe will have to pass this section which will be very crowded once the steel is fitted. Still not sure how they will do it but we'll find out soon enough.










In order to make space for the steel some radiator pipes have been temporarily cut and capped off. The plan is to get the steel drilled slightly to allow the pipes to pass through.










The existing gas pipe to the old hob runs straight across the trench dug to fit the extractor conduit so it had to be cut and capped. It will be relocated to against the wall at a later date.










Meanwhile, the brickwork around and under the bi-folds has been filled...



















Up at the gable end the steels were clad in preparation for plastering next week.




























Electricians have been back today and continued with the 1st fix of the kitchen and dining room areas.










You might notice the coving has also come done in the dining room, this is in preparation for the ceiling being tacked out to run level with the kitchen ceiling next week.










Wall nib ready for steel, steel is going on top the pad stone at the top (last light grey brick at top of new engineering blocks)...










So plan for next week is to finish the electrical 1st fix on Monday, get the steel fitted, get the new ceiling up and hopefully start plastering.

Kitchen is due to be delivered next week with an aim to start the installation the following week. With this in mind, builder is concentrating on getting the kitchen area ready as a priority with the other areas following later.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.


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## Darlofan

Another great update. Progressing well. I trust that soil pipes not connected to anything yet? 😂😂😂💩💩💩


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## Andyblue

Cracking update, really coming on now


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## nbray67

Looking good pal.

The 5th pic from the end looking out towards the garden just shows how much of an impressive build this already is and is going to be.


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## Serkie

Thanks all for the kind comments. Glad you’re enjoying the story unfolding.

We’re around 4 weeks away from completion and starting to get really excited. We’ve got some ideas on how to inject some colour and texture into the space but will probably keep it pretty much white to start with. Watch this space...


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## RedUntilDead

Did you mention drilling holes in the steel for pipes? Always told to never do this as the integrity of the structure is compromised.

Project is coming along well and it looks fantastic stood in front of the bi folds:thumb:


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## Serkie

RedUntilDead said:


> Did you mention drilling holes in the steel for pipes? Always told to never do this as the integrity of the structure is compromised.
> 
> Project is coming along well and it looks fantastic stood in front of the bi folds:thumb:


I think it depends on the size of the hole and beam. In this case Its an 18mm hole for some 15mm pipe so no problem. Structural engineer has OK'd as well.


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## Tricky Red

We were thinking of colour but ended up with white ceilings and a very light grey wall. 

Strangely from seemingly a long way off, things do come together quite rapidly at the end.


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## Serkie

Evening all, time for an update as it's been a busy week here on site.

So, as mentioned previously the kitchen installation date was agreed 6 weeks ago between the builder, kitchen company and ourselves, essentially this meant the kitchen space needed to be ready for the 29th October. The weeks have past by and things have been ticking along on site but ultimately the space HAD to be ready for the 29th.

Our builder has been stressing about making the date as it only takes one outside trade to let you down and you're up against it. I guess he's learnt from experience and as predicted the structural steel company let us down with the final steel being delayed by a week. So this week has been panic stations in order to meet the kitchen fitting date.

The electricians and plumbers have been back finishing 1st fix, concentrating on the kitchen area in particular. In the background the builders have been doing everything possible to get the area for the steel prepared so it could be fitted quickly and the ceiling sorted. They needed the ceiling sorted as the plasterers were booked as well which has added to the builders stress. We've been impressed though, they haven't moaned and have been working longer days to meet the target.

Thankfully things have gone well since the steel was fitted on Wednesday morning and I think we're going to be ready. The builder has committed to working both Saturday and Sunday to make sure so we should be good.

So, here's some pictures of progress.

Electricians continued 1st fix which included provisioning for a floor box socket.
































































As you can see the ceiling has been over-tacked to get around the height differences between the dining room and kitchen...



























In preparation for the final steel, the floor joists were cut...










Outside, the cables have been run out ready for the lights. I've also got some cat 6 cable being run around to our lounge so we can extend HDMI from Sky around to the extension. Pink cable is for an outdoor speaker.



















The plumbers sorted the pipes for a relocated radiator, ran the pipes for the underfloor heating and also secured the hob extractor vent conduit.



















Finally the steel was placed in position on Tuesday evening, ready for welding on Wednesday morning.










Steel secured and welded into place...yey!!



















New floor joists sections were bolted to the old joists and located into the steel.




























As the ceiling needed to be closed, part of the soil pipe has been fitted and the rest will be fitted via access from above (floors up).










A new skip delivered and we're starting to get a bit less cluttered out back...










All channels cut in the floor for the vent, underfloor heating, radiator and water stop-**** relocation were filled.





































Boom...ceiling boards all up and ready for plastering...





































Today the plasterers started and have made great progress, they've concentrated on the ceilings and will finish off the final bits tomorrow. Sorry for the poor lighting, it was dark...









































































Kitchen was delivered today and has been placed under a big dust sheet. Yes...it's white!










That brings you bang up to date, i'll post some better pictures end of the weekend.


----------



## Starbuck88

Absolutely brilliant, looks great and what a great thread!


----------



## WHIZZER

Continues to improve with each update


----------



## Serkie

Busy day here so time for a quick update.

Plasterers have cracked on and pretty much finished, few small snags to finish but otherwise we're good to go.




































Plumbers have been back and cracked on with the underfloor heating in the extension. Celotex underfloor heating insulation laid before the piping ring was fixed down onto it. Screed goes down over this lot early next week so plumbers are back tomorrow to finish off and pressure test. Pump and control unit also fixed into position.

















Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.


----------



## Andyblue

Coming on really well now :thumb:


----------



## mistryn

making cracking progress, just a side question. Are you going to be upgrading the boiler or will that be running off the existing boiler?


----------



## Serkie

mistryn said:


> making cracking progress, just a side question. Are you going to be upgrading the boiler or will that be running off the existing boiler?


Evening pal, boiler was upgraded last year from 24kW to a 30kW (103K btu) to cope. 30kW is a bit overkill to be honest but better to be over spec'd than under.


----------



## Serkie

Evening all, thought i'd post a little update to bring you up to speed.

The kitchen fit has started and so far so good, no issues or stress. Kitchen fitter is superb and has been cracking on methodically. He's also into detailing so I know we're in safe (OCD) hands!

So the kitchen itself is a custom job we designed with a well respected local company. It's true handless and finished in alpine white perfect gloss. We've gone for Siemens appliances as you can see.

I won't give too much away now but all cabinets should be in by the end of the week. Worktops are then templated and it's a 10 day wait before we're almost finished.




























*End of day 1...*


















*Day 2:*

Today progress has continued both upstairs and also in the extension.

Upstairs the family bathroom walls were skimmed ready for tiling. Plan is to re-use the old bath as there was nothing wrong with it. The rest of the bathroom suite and tap ware is new and will be complimented by tiled floors and walls. More on this later.



















The floor screed was laid in the extension and has been mixed with a rapid setting/drying additive to accelerate things a long. Reason being we want to lay the floor on top of it in 3 weeks so this will help with curing and water evaporation.










Kitchen continues to progress...













[url=https://flic.kr/p/2cwT4aV]




I'll post another update end of week. Thanks for reading.


----------



## WHIZZER

siemens ovens good choice

its really coming on now


----------



## Darlofan

Progressing really quickly now. Would love to show the wife the pics but she'd up the nagging on our progress😂


----------



## Ducky

Looking awesome, second that on Siemens being a good choice of kit!

Who makes the underfloor system out of interest?

thx
:thumb:


----------



## Serkie

Ducky said:


> Looking awesome, second that on Siemens being a good choice of kit!
> 
> Who makes the underfloor system out of interest?
> 
> thx
> :thumb:


Believe it's this kit:

https://www.johnguest.com/speedfit/...vatories-extensions/underfloor-heating-packs/


----------



## Mad Ad

Really liking the build, Our kitchen/dining area is on the list to do for us as I want a wall to come down to open the space up from the kitchen to dining area (no where near as much as what work you have had done). It's nice to see the transformation can really see the light at the end of the tunnel. love the build :thumb:


----------



## Serkie

Evening all, small update as not much else will be happening with the kitchen install for a while.

Worktops are all being templated tomorrow so it's a bit of a waiting game after that but hopefully should be on within 10 - 14 days.

Kitchen furniture is pretty much complete with the exception of doors being fitted to the high-level cabinets above the sink and a drop down door for the AV unit.

We're having Quartz on all tops, including the AV unit, nothing too bold but it has a light speckle effect in it to add some contrast. More on that once it's fitted. 

Once worktops are on, there are a few final bits to finish but probably about a days labour.

We are almost there now, thankfully! Plan for the next week is as follows:

Finish family bathroom refit
Spare bedroom wall reinstated
Paint extension and kitchen
Start electrical final fix
Monocouche render applied to outside walls
Outside drainage hookup
Multiple other little snags
Floor laid

So onto the latest update...

Unfortunately plumber had to disturb the nice fresh plaster in the family bathroom to install a new concealed shower valve. D'oh.










As you can see the plaster work is still damp in places so to aid things along before tiling a heater has been placed in the room with the window slightly open.

Bath was put in position sealed at one end ready for the tiler.



















Soil pipe is finally in and connected. Not sure why I was worried as there was plenty of space in the end!


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










View from the spare bedroom...










Meanwhile in the kitchen, things are almost there. All units still have protective film on them hence the matt effect.



















AV unit and addition wall cabinets are in place. Each unit is 900mm so in total it spans 2700mm across the wall.
































































Cardboard worktops rock! 










Thanks for reading, more to follow Sunday...


----------



## Serkie

*Sunday 04 Nov 18 - Update...*

Evening all, time for another update from me.

Friday saw a tiler come in for the day to start the family bathroom. Unfortunately I didn't order enough floor tiles so he has to come back to finish that off as well as grout everything. We're really pleased with how it's come up.

We've gone for something quite traditional with a bit of a modern twist. Therefore floor are victorian style tiles, on the walls are good old metro tiles which in my opinion look great (think its the asymmetric pattern) and will never date. Trimmed the wall tiles with some satin stainless trims.




























Small box section build around soil pipe and tiled accordingly.










At the edge of the bath up the wall you can see a break in the pattern. Tiler did this because the wall is bowed and not straight. To avoid shadowing of the asymmetric pattern he's placed what he called a 'dog-leg' joint in to correct it. The joint will largely be covered by the shower screen so a bit of a compromise but will look fine.



















Today we've had some painters in to blitz the extension. They managed to get 3 coats of paint onto pretty much everything within 5 hours and the results are pretty striking. Amazing how fast good professionals work and a still achieve a finish I could only dream of if I did it.

There is some cutting in left to do in places but that's expected as the room wasn't 100% ready for painting. I'd say it's probably 95% done though.

My wife and I spent some time yesterday covering the glass and units so they could just straight on when they arrived hence the paper and dust sheets on everything.

I've also covered the island with cardboard to project it whilst we have trades coming in out.




























The door on the left is going, it looks odd with the 2 doors...























































Edging closer now! Thanks for following.


----------



## RandomlySet

Coming along well. Reminds me of our downstairs renovation last year, although not as grand (3 bed semi).

Good luck with the white units. Our lasses brother has gloss white in their kitchen and it'd drive me crackers. I always seem to only notice the swirls in the finish  So when we had our kitchen done last year, I was insistent nothing would be glossy :lol:


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## wish wash

Looks like you've had some decent lads in doing the work, instead of bob the bodgeit whose after minimum effort maximum profit.


----------



## Serkie

Quick update as things have been slowly ticking along.

We've now got power in the room, all lights and most sockets are live. There are still a few sockets to liven up but that will be done at final fix early next week.

We're going for copper touches throughout which will become apparent as we go along, however for now the first touches are the island lights. We're having 3 copper pendants, the height of which will be adjusted when the final light goes up.

Unfortunately the apprentice electrician working with the main sparky had a bit of a mare damaging a light and then cutting the cable too short for good measure. Hence only 2 hung.




























As you can probably see in the above pictures we've also got some colour changing LED lights recessed into the unit above the sink for a bit of ambience lighting.

Also livened up were the Velux's which are electrically operated and controlled from this little thing. It's quite nifty and can be programmed to open and closed at set times etc which will be useful in the summer.










Remember that door in the dining room that didn't look right, well it's now in the process of being filled and plastered over.

Carpenter made an interesting discovery whilst removing the door architrave, you can see it coiled up on the side, a big fat cable which thankfully appears to be dead. Last builders decided to hide it in the door frame! We suspect it's the old cooker feed cable for when the kitchen used to be in this section of the house (pre 2002).




























That's it for now, builder is working through our snags list and will be doing the outside soakaways and render next. Flooring goes down next week and hopefully the underfloor heating and rads connected up. We may be done by the end of November!

Thanks for reading.


----------



## nbray67

Looking better with every update pal.


----------



## Zetec-al

Looking good!


----------



## Cookies

Wow. What an amazing space!!! Looks absolutely brilliant! 

Cooks

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## Andyblue

Absolutely stunning and loving the copper downlights :thumb:


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## Starbuck88

That all looks so stunning, well done! It's going to be absolutely amazing when it's finished. As others have said, looks as if you got some real good tradies in.


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## Darlofan

Another great update. Almost there now and looking superb.


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## WHIZZER

looks great


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## FJ1000

Amazing work! How much area have you added?


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## Serkie

FJ1000 said:


> Amazing work! How much area have you added?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for all the kind comments.

Extension is 5 x 7 so around 35 square metres of space.

Old conservatory was 4 x 4, so approx 16 square metres.

I guess we're just over double the old space.


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## Serkie

*Update 14 Nov 18...*

Evening all, time for an update...

I'm pleased to say we're thankfully almost there! We're at week 13 now and to be honest, my family and I just want our house back now, we're tired of having people in and out and can't wait for completion.

To bring you up to speed, since my last update the following has been completed:

1. Monocouche render applied
2. Soak-aways installed
3. Soilpipe connection to existing drains made
4. Bi-fold door external trims fitted
5. Kitchen area floor latex levelled 
6. Flooring laid
7. Skirting boards fitted
8. Coving installed and painted
9. Final fix on decorating started (e.g. filling, smoothing, repainting, caulking etc)
10. Family bathroom painted
11. Worktops installed

What's left to complete:

1. Final kitchen fix (end of week)
2. Radiators reinstalled and underfloor heating commissioned (end of week)
3. Kitchen plumbing completed (end of week)
4. Family bathroom new suite fitted. (next week)
5. Spare bedroom re-plastered and made good (end of week)
6. Filled in doorway, plastered and made good (end of week)
7. Final electrical fix (i.e. outside lights installed and internal electrics completed) (end of week)
8. Garden tided up (next week)
9. Kitchen splash back installed (next week)
10. Final snags (next week)

All being well the above should all be completed before the end of November. Yey!

So here's some pictures...

The soak-aways were installed which involved digging up what remained of my grass. I wasn't at home at the time so here'e a pic from the CCTV to give you an idea 










Needless to say my grass is mullered after the digger being all over it. The soak-away was installed just over 5 metres away from the house and 3 metres from our neighbours fence.

The connection to the existing drain was made in preparation for the soil-pipe to be connected. As you can see we have very shallow drains as the siding of the house was never finished, hence the raised man-hole cover in the background. We need to put some scalpings down and perhaps some pea-shingle to raise the level a bit. Maybe a job for next year!










Next a chap turned up from the flooring company and began chucking latex everywhere, the kitchen floor was in a bit of state after the old tiles were lifted so this was needed to ensure the flooring went down nicely. Pretty amazing stuff and was solid in just 6 hours.










Early on Saturday morning (before 8am is considered early in our house) we were awoken by voices outside. A gang of three were busy chucking the monocouche render onto the walls. They were done pretty quickly and said there'd be back in a few hours to finish off. I was a bit surprised to find it looking like this...










Errr...it's bit rough isn't it?










They came back later in the day and used what looked like bits of wood to skim the surface and shave it flat. The results are pretty impressive and the finish very uniform. It's still drying and will lighten up a bit more yet.




























In preparation for the flooring being laid, we had to clear the floor which meant getting everything outside and sweeping up the dust and rumble.










One of our cats supervising proceedings...





































We were finally able to open our lounge doors and shoved what we could into what remained of the lounge.










Clear and ready for flooring!










Upstairs, I chucked some paint on the walls and ceiling on the family bathroom, nothing exciting just white paint but bringing it closer to refit.










Monday came and the flooring went down, finally! We've gone for the same flooring we have in the rest of the downstairs which is Quick-Step laminate. This stuff is pretty much bomb-proof and won't scratch or damage unless you try really hard. Feels lovely and solid underfoot as well.














































Today saw the worktops fitted, we've gone for Quartz in a what's described as Blanco Mist. It's not very blingy but that's not the look we're going for. We've gone for 20mm with a mitred edge (also known as waterfall edge) with a 300mm overhang to give us a mini breakfast bar.














































Quartz also went over the AV unit and grommet hole drilled so I can pass cables through to the TV.



















In the dining room, we've purchased a high-gloss white table and chairs. We've covered it for the time being to stop our cats damaging it. It's going to take some looking after. I've already coated it in some Zaino Z8 but perhaps a durable coating might be good to limit fingerprints and stains.



















We've rolled our spare sofa into the room for the time being but it's quite clear we could do with a big 'L' shaped sofa to fill the space.





































So that brings you up to date. Thanks for reading.


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## Jack R

Very impressive, looking forward to seeing it finished.


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## garage_dweller

Great work. We’ve got the same table, bit of a nightmare to keep looking good. Very very easily scratched. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WHIZZER

looks amazing topjob


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## mistryn

wow, love the gloss white furniture. I bet you cant wait for all the tradespeople to finish


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## Serkie

mistryn said:


> wow, love the gloss white furniture. I bet you cant wait for all the tradespeople to finish


Damn right, they've all been lovely and as considerate as possible but we want them gone now!

We have a bottle of champagne primed and ready for that day.


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## RandomlySet

Very nice so far :thumb:


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## Jimmy The Saint

Absolutely stunning pal :thumb:


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## davies20

Looking superb buddy!


----------



## Estoril-5

Just wow!!!!

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## Starbuck88

Said it a few times before and I'll say it again. Looking so good!!


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## Serkie

*Update 21-Nov-18...*

Evening All,

Time for another update and I'm pleased to say we're almost done. Yes really!

Just a few bits happening over the coming week but nothing major, finishing touches really.

The skip went today along with the portable toilet, fence panel goes back up tomorrow. I can see myself spending some time with the power washer this weekend cleaning windows, soffits, facias, paths and patio. Our grass is mullered so won't worry about that until the spring now.

So onto some photos...

Kitchen fitter returned to complete final fix which included installing the Siemens induction hob. We've gone for one with an extractor built in, it's vented under the floor and out of the side of the house. Was a little cynical how well it would work but so far so good. You can see it in action in this shot with the steam...










Installer also fitted a Perrin and Rowe Instant Hot Mixer. It does filtered hot and cold water and instant almost boiling water. We're loving it...



















Dishwashers aren't very exciting but the Siemens one we've had fitted is a little funky with blue led lights and a real time projection of run time and program stage onto the floor.










You've probably noticed it in a few photos but we've got an LED strip recessed into the cabinet and wired to the main wall switch. All very neat and colour controlled via a separate remote.



















Our cats are loving the underfloor heating!










Upstairs the family bathroom has had the units fitted and almost finished. We need a new bath panel as the old one is now too short as the previous box unit has reduced in size. We've gone a traditional style with a modern twist. All units and sanitary ware are Roper Rhodes kit.





































Meanwhile in the kitchen and extension we're done with the exception of the sink splash-black which should be installed in the coming week.




























High gloss white really is high gloss and reflects light well...










Probably going to change the plug on this side of the island to a flat faceplate type. The current one looks a little bulky.



















We've gone for some Edison style bulbs in the island lights...










Again, cat loving the floor heat....










We've got a floor box plug fitted by the sofa so we can have a lamp or plug in power supplies etc...










You may have also noticed a TV. Got a bit carried away the other night in Currys and came home with a Sony OLED. It's a thing of absolute beauty both on and off.










We like turning all the dimmers down on the spots at night which results in a lovely ambient glow in the room.



















Rads have been fitted now and work well to boost the heat in the room. Some decorating touching up to do where the pipe chases were filled.



















...and that my friends brings you bang up to date. Not many updates left I reckon but until next week, thanks for reading!


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## Alfa male

Looks great you must be pleased with the end result. I bet it totally changes the way you function as a family in the house too ?


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## Jack R

Looks wonderful very jealous, and could agree more with the plug socket it definitely needs swapping for a flush one.


----------



## FJ1000

Outstanding!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Cookies

That's a really lovely space now. The little touches are fantastic. I'm sure you're delighted with it!

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## WHIZZER

Looks fantastic will be lovely for Xmas


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## Starbuck88

Absolutely stunning! 

When am I moving in?


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## Darlofan

Starbuck88 said:


> Absolutely stunning!
> 
> When am I moving in?


I'm sure there'll be a DW housewarming.


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## Philb1965

Fantastic job! Love the British short hairs as well :thumb:


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## RandomlySet

Very nice.... Party at yours then?


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## transtek

That looks amazing!! You must be so proud, especially as you got it all done in time for Xmas.
I am half expecting George Clark to appear in one of the photos!


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## Serkie

Thanks all for the kind comments, we're really happy with how it's come together. It is indeed a lovely space and we're really enjoying getting to know it.

Small update as we've had a couple of things completed over the last few days but both quite significant.

You might remember some weeks back that when the doors went in we didn't like the chunky white UPVC upstairs. To put that right I got some slim-line UPVC windows ordered up. Frames are white inside and anthracite on the outside. Although not quite as slim as aluminium framed windows, these are 20mm slimmer than the ones they replaced. May not seem a lot but 20mm of extra glass combined with losing the Georgian style makes a nice positive difference light wise.










As you can see the outside lights have all been fitted now and we've gone for some Phillips Hue Lucca lights in anthracite. These can be controlled via a standard light switch or your mobile phone if you so please.




























Today the tiler came back to fit our splash-black feature tiles. We've gone for some Original Style Decorative Copper Leaf glass tiles to continue the copper theme.

As you can see they have a warm, textured, almost tarnished finish which we absolutely love.










Really happy with the look and they look stunning under the LED lights as well.





































I'm chipping away at some decorating jobs this weekend and tidying up the garden a bit. Next week the electrical work is finished and few final snags completed.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!


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## nbray67

Mate, that copper tiled splash back is a thing of beauty.

You and yours have a fantastic eye for detail.

Stunning build pal, simply stunning.


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## Alfa male

Wow those tiles are stunning. Googling them now...


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## Andyblue

Superb update and properly jealous mate - you had a fantastic job done :thumb:


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## NelsonS

Stunning mate! Looks really good!


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## Zetec-al

Stunning work love the space you have created


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## Clyde

Stunning mate. Loved reading all the updates


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## benj

Very nice, hope you enjoy it!


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## Ducky

Liking the Siemens time displayed on the floor, our kitchen supplier spec'ed a Siemens dishwasher also, have to make sure it has that feature! :lol:

Liking the copper splashback too :thumb: That's the first time I've seen a hob extraction done like that also.


----------



## SuperchargedLlama

LOVE that hob with the extractor, I've never seen one like that so didn't know they existed. Cracking build, as I said before, looks like you've got decent people in to do it too?


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## Jack R

Mother-Goose said:


> LOVE that hob with the extractor, I've never seen one like that so didn't know they existed. Cracking build, as I said before, looks like you've got decent people in to do it too?


There are other makes of extractors that can be mounted in the worktops some even raise up when cooking :thumb:


----------



## Serkie

Evening all, time for a little update from me.

I'm pleased to say I think we're pretty much done, I will post some final photos at some point soon to conclude. 

Builder has now pretty much finished all snags, garden cleaned and our fence panel back up. We've got our house and space back and we're loving it.

So a few final pictures of the last 7 days...

The main light has gone up in the extension. After months of deliberation we went for a classic Scandinavian style large pendant shade. It's custom made and measures 75cm in diameter and 25cm in depth. It's white with a copper lining. We also went for matching fittings and braided black cable to match the island lights. We love it!

Took a while to get the height right...



















Boom...height set...



















You may notice the KEF ceiling speakers have also been fitted...





































We've also had a HDAnyWhere box fitted which uses the CAT6 cable installed between the lounge and extension to beam Sky Q to the new TV. Works a treat. As you can also see, I need an AV amp to liven up the speakers.










So that's this week's mini-update complete. Looking forward to a weekend of not doing any DIY, in fact I might even give the cars a clean! :buffer:

Have a good weekend and thanks for reading.


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## Pinky

That is an amazing job well done and well worth every penny you have spent , I say if you are going to do something , do it right first time .
Only problem is if you don' like cleaning windows ! ! But you could get them coated with a cleaner .I use Rain Racer , and it is very good .(www.rainracer.co.uk)
I have all my house windows done with it .


----------



## Serkie

*June 2019 Update*

Holy thread resurrection!

Over 6 months now since my last post and I'm happy to report that the time, upheaval, effort and of course expense, was well worth it. It's a great space and we're really enjoying spending time in it be it working, relaxing or entertaining.

Although we're not planning on doing much work on the house this year, we've managed to tidy up a few bits and currently in the process of getting some quotes to tidy up the rear garden. Rather than create a new thread I thought I'd just keep updating this one as thing progress.

So lets bring you up to date…

First bit of decent spring sunshine in March we had a play with the doors to get an idea of what it was like all open.
































































We decided after living in it for a few months that the space needed some colour, something bright and vivid that was warm and worked with the warm copper tones.

We decided on a terracotta type colour and applied it via a big throw for the sofa. We're going to get a new sofa in the same colour eventually but figured the throw was the safer option to make sure we liked the colour first.

Once we lived with the colour for a while and agreed that we liked it, we ordered some Velux Electric Blackout blinds in a similar colour to continue the theme. The blinds are seriously cool and controlled from the same controller that we use to open the windows, really easy to fit as well. The room was quite bright during the day which made watching TV quite difficult. We can now at the touch of a button dim the room considerably, which is great for weekend daytime movie watching.














































As you may have noticed, the rear exterior render had developed some cracks with all the movement and knocking about. We decided to get the cracks sorted and the whole house painted at the same time.

All the cracks were raked out and filled over a period of a week to allow for sinkage and movement. It took 3 fills and several coats of stabiliser to get the cracks filled and new render from the build ready for painting.

This is the first fill and stabiliser applied….



















Some of the other filled cracks on various elevations…





































First coat applied, some more filler before final coats…



























Final coat applied, it's a bit wet hence the different shade to the extension…



























*August 2018*









*June 2019*









I'll keep you all posted on the garden work, thanks for reading. :thumb:


----------



## Zetec-al

Such a nice space you have created! 

I notice that the windows on the front of the house are still white and not grey like the back. Will you be changing them to match in the future?


----------



## Serkie

Zetec-al said:


> Such a nice space you have created!
> 
> I notice that the windows on the front of the house are still white and not grey like the back. Will you be changing them to match in the future?


Thank you pal.

Yes - I want to change the front windows to match the rears but the wife likes the Georgian Style. In my opinion, I think they look a bit dated in UPVC but SWMBO has other ideas!

I might just get them changed one day when she's out at work. :devil:


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## WHIZZER

looks lovely


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## davies20

Wow! Looks amazing bud


----------



## Arvi

That looks amazing. I remember following your thread during the build and its always nice to see it after with finishing touches.

A question if I may, with all the glass bi-folds and the velux windows, in the sun does the room get overly warm and in the winter overly cold or due to their thermal properties is the change in temperature minimal?

I am still waiting on quotes for an extension but one recently is to vary it to an orangery with a lantern glass roof and full width bi fold like yours. My worry is will it be too "conservatory like" either too hot in summer or too cold in winter. 

I think we will also spec blinds within the glass of the bi-folds so we can filter light and not have to use curtains. Any other practical advice on what to spec or look for appreciated as I really like what you have done!


----------



## Serkie

Arvi said:


> That looks amazing. I remember following your thread during the build and its always nice to see it after with finishing touches.
> 
> A question if I may, with all the glass bi-folds and the velux windows, in the sun does the room get overly warm and in the winter overly cold or due to their thermal properties is the change in temperature minimal?
> 
> I am still waiting on quotes for an extension but one recently is to vary it to an orangery with a lantern glass roof and full width bi fold like yours. My worry is will it be too "conservatory like" either too hot in summer or too cold in winter.
> 
> I think we will also spec blinds within the glass of the bi-folds so we can filter light and not have to use curtains. Any other practical advice on what to spec or look for appreciated as I really like what you have done!


Thanks for the kind comments.

1. With regards to room temperature, we didn't really have a harsh winter so don't know yet what it's like in sub-zero temperatures. However, the room was lovely and warm all winter largely thanks to the underfloor heating.

In hindsight, the big radiator in the extension is probably overkill, it rarely gets hot as the underfloor heating provides so much heat that the radiator TCV rarely opens. All the doors and glass provides thermal insultation (U-Value) as well which helps regulate temperature. Combined with the amount of insulation required by building regs results in a room that's rarely cold or overly warm.

2. We've not had too many really warm days so far this year, I think it was around 27/28'C last Saturday and the extension temperature was still much, much cooler than previously when we had a conservatory.

I did get a quote for A/C during the build phase and have provisioned services (power & drainage) for it outside already but wanted to see how hot it actually got before committing financially. Cost wise, to professional install a unit big enough to cool the space - we received a quote for £1700.00 which I didn't think was bad considering it was high-quality Daiken unit that could also be used as a heat exchanger in the winter to provide heat as well. Apparently more cost efficient than central heating as well!

3. We considered blinds inside the doors but didn't like how they looked when pulled up. They do reduce the visual impact of the large glass panels and in my opinion defeat the object of having large windows for maximum light. Of course if you're overlooked or lack screening into your house then they are probably a necessity but I would consider other options. For example, large roller blinds across the doors looks better and doesn't restrict light/visibility when rolled up (Google image search it). For example, we'd have 2 blinds across are largest set of our doors, they aren't cheap but probably still cheaper than incorporating blinds to the doors.

You can also go automated and if you incorporate the roller enclosure as part of your build you can hide them in the ceiling/pelmet box. Expensive but looks and work uber nice.


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## Arvi

Thank you for the comprehensive response, really useful and hadn't considered the visual hindrance of integrated blinds into the doors - which is another reason to go and visit the window showroom !

Thanks again.


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## Serkie

*Garden Update - October 2019.*

After what seems an age waiting our chosen landscapers started work yesterday. Shame it was raining all day!

*Day 1*

First job was to lift the old patio, didnt take long!

Before...










After...


























PS: The ballon chain in the window is leftover from a party at the weekend .

As it was raining they choose to work on our side path that was never finished since the house was originally extended back in 2001 (before we moved in). A membrane was put down and some simple shingle laid over it. Not too fussed about having a path down this side of the house.

We also had some rotten fence panels so they were replaced with some good quality closed-board panels.


















*Day 2*

WOW....It's not raining! Therefore out came the digger and the task of lifting the old lawn commenced.










What a mess!


































The estimated time to complete the project is about 2 / 3 weeks so more to follow...

Thanks for viewing


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## Serkie

Time for another update.

Things have progressed but it's pretty much still a mud pit!

So over the last 2 days they've been busy with the digger, dug out the old patio base and also started laying a new one.


















Prior to compacting:









Compacted:

























We're having some screening panels on one side of the patio which we'll probably dress with plants and lights over time. Gone for quite a modern design. Might paint these dark grey to match the doors.










We're reusing as much of our old Indian sandstone as possible but will still need new to cover the whole area. New stones starting to arrive:










We're also playing with the grass line, hence the yellow spray. We want curves but I think the wife got a bit carried away here 










Thanks for reading, more to follow soon...


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## Serkie

*22-Oct-19 Update...*

Evening all, time for an update since last week.

Steady progress has been made on the patio which was slightly delayed due to heavy rain last week.

The main footprint is pretty much complete however the stones need trimming to form an arc and the edging sets laid. This will hopefully be completed by the end of the week.

Some photos of the patio as it went down:























































Still lots to do, hopefully the prep-work for the lawn will start soon too.










Thanks for reading and more to follow soon.


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## WHIZZER

starting to take shape


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## Zetec-al

Looks great.

Are you going to be pointing the patio? if so, what will you be using?


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## Serkie

Zetec-al said:


> Looks great.
> 
> Are you going to be pointing the patio? if so, what will you be using?


Yep - sweep-in resin type jointing compound. It will be mid-grey colour to match the door frames.


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## Serkie

*23-Oct-19 Update...*

Quite a lot of progress today so time for a mini-update.

After some super high-tech marking out(using hose pipe) we worked out the angle of the arc we wanted and then the landscapers set about cutting the stones and fixing the edging sets into position.



















Some edging sets were also fixed into position. These will provide a border between the lawn and mulched beds.



















The prep for the lawn has begun ready for the topsoil. The remaining old path is in the process of being lifted.



















Thanks for reading, more to follow soon.


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## beambeam

That's absolutely cracking so far! Can't wait to see it completed with lawn in place!


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## Andyblue

Fantastic progress and really taking shape now :thumb:


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## bigbrother

Excellent job been watching this thread through out and all the building work and your fittings are off the highest standard you must be well pleased you found the right builder but being a landscaper i have to run a critical eye over the landscaping  I think the blocks to edge the slabs and lawn could off been laid better and it's a shame they didn't put the screen up after the patio then it would be inline with the patio.

But still a very good job all round well done :thumb::thumb:


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## Serkie

bigbrother said:


> Excellent job been watching this thread through out and all the building work and your fittings are off the highest standard you must be well pleased you found the right builder but being a landscaper i have to run a critical eye over the landscaping  I think the blocks to edge the slabs and lawn could off been laid better and it's a shame they didn't put the screen up after the patio then it would be inline with the patio.
> 
> But still a very good job all round well done :thumb::thumb:


Thanks for the comments and expert critique.

You're right, a few bits could be tidier. I'm told it's 'rustic'. :lol:

Rain stopped play today so not much progress to report. Looks like we're going to run a couple days into next week now.


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## Serkie

*26-Oct-19 - Update...*

Morning all, just a quick weekend update.

Unfortunately, the wet weather continues delaying the lawn prep. The chaps have managed to get some more topsoil in-between showers but with more rain yesterday turned their attentions to cleaning up the patio and getting the jointing compound in.

There are a few bits to complete yet so not the finished article but we're loving the colours of the sandstone. The re-used old slabs have come up really well.

Patio is wet here so obviously looks glossier than normal.





































We thought it would be nice to have another curve on the right side of the garden to follow the theme of the left. We're going to fill the bed with some shingle. I'm also thinking it might look nice to clean up the brick raised beds and paint them dark grey or black. Jump for the spring maybe!




























Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.


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## Andyblue

Really looking nice. Sure it’s going to be worth the wait / delays due to the weather :thumb:


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## Serkie

*30-Oct-19: Update*

Pleased to say the garden works are done. 

It's a case now of staying off the grass for around 6-8 weeks, then putting a roller over it.

The better half has created a potting plan and wants to now get some colour into the beds so I sense a lot of trips to the garden centre over the coming weeks.

Few tweaks to the layout already planned for the new year. As you can probably see there is no way to get onto the side path from the patio without stepping on the grass. So we're going to address this with some additional slabs and another mini arc. This is nothing major or urgent but it will add a bit more practicality.

So here are the finished pictures:

Before:









After:
















\
































































Before:









After:









Before:









After:









Before:









After:









Thanks for reading. :wave:


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## Darlofan

Looks superb, really enjoyed the whole thread. 1 question though, why the panels at the side of the patio? Looking at 1 photo I can't really see there's anything behind them that needs hiding.


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## Serkie

Darlofan said:


> Looks superb, really enjoyed the whole thread. 1 question though, why the panels at the side of the patio? Looking at 1 photo I can't really see there's anything behind them that needs hiding.


Glad you've enjoyed the thread. I hope it's provided some good insight into what to expect for anybody thinking of doing a building project at home. 

With regards to your question about screening panels, we live on a slight hill and as a result my neighbour's house is slighter higher than ours. This also means they can see into our garden slightly when stood on their doorstep hence the screening panels. Our houses are on two different roads hence their front is our rear if you get me.


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## Darlofan

Serkie said:


> Glad you've enjoyed the thread. I hope it's provided some good insight into what to expect for anybody thinking of doing a building project at home.
> 
> With regards to your question about screening panels, we live on a slight hill and as a result my neighbour's house is slighter higher than ours. This also means they can see into our garden slightly when stood on their doorstep hence the screening panels. Our houses are on two different roads hence their front is our rear if you get me.


Yeah that makes sense. Our last house, our neighbour was in next street and similar. 😀


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## WHIZZER

looking great that


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