I'd planned to post this before Christmas but the last minute rush of presents and getting things organised for a few days away with family meant I didn't get it uploaded:
The timber frames look great - having had time to wander around our new rooms at the weekend it's amazing to see what they look like and get a feel for how the spaces will work. Weird that the slabs looked quite small but with the 3D structures on them they suddenly look huge.
They sat all exposed over the weekend, apart from the vapour barrier on the outside of the walls, but the builders have been back today and have fixed the waterproof membrane onto the rafters to keep out any rain that may fall over the Christmas break. So the timber is all safely wrapped up, ready for the roofing and cladding to arrive in the New Year.
Monday, 22 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
Timber
At long last, the timber frame has arrived! It's not been the best of weeks for it to arrive, with the days being so short, and with C being full of flu, so we've had very little time to see progress on site. Nevertheless there has been significant progress with the sole plates arriving on Tuesday and the bulk of the timber frame arriving and erected on Wednesday. Since then Crendon, the supplier, have completed fixing of the frame. So we now have the kitchen and utility structures up which is an amazing change compared to a few days ago when all we had were muddy concrete slabs indicating the building footprint.
Meanwhile, Paul the brickie and Terry the chippie have been continuing with the bedroom, working on the gables and the roof structure. I didn't get chance to take a look this evening when I got home but we should have something that resembles more of a building by now! I should be able to get some photos this weekend to update Flickr.
The builders are now on a 2 week Christmas shutdown so there won't be much to report over the holiday, but we are expecting the roofers on Monday to put a temporary felt & batten on the timber frame to protect it from the worst of the weather over Christmas.
Can't wait to have a good wander round in daylight tomorrow!
Meanwhile, Paul the brickie and Terry the chippie have been continuing with the bedroom, working on the gables and the roof structure. I didn't get chance to take a look this evening when I got home but we should have something that resembles more of a building by now! I should be able to get some photos this weekend to update Flickr.
The builders are now on a 2 week Christmas shutdown so there won't be much to report over the holiday, but we are expecting the roofers on Monday to put a temporary felt & batten on the timber frame to protect it from the worst of the weather over Christmas.
Can't wait to have a good wander round in daylight tomorrow!
Sunday, 14 December 2008
4 am
Saturday morning didn't go quite as planned.
It was the first weekend morning for what seems like an age where we didn't have much we 'had' to do, apart from get to Travis Perkins before midday to order the windows. So we were looking foward to a relaxed morning. The weather had other ideas.
I first woke at 2am and heard the torrential rain. Knowing that our temporary backdoor hasn't got a decent weather seal around the glass I went downstairs to put a few rags inplace to catch the drips. Got back to sleep very quickly.
I woke again at 4am, listened to the sound of the rain for a while, worried a little about the leaky door the finally dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. Just as well, as it wasn't rain I could hear but the Hillside stream which had paid us a revisit. Thanks to the builders digging up the hill and putting it back they've trashed the work we did in our first winter to stop the Hillside stream. The torrential rain had caused our very own flash flood which was pouring (along with a cargo of loose topsoil from a garden free of vegetation) into the courtyard and garage. So shortly after 4am I was outside in my pyjamas (and a high-vis coat and wellies) ensuring the drains were clear and doing what little I could do to stop the house from flooding.
Thankfully the drains coped and I was able to go back to bed. But our leisurely morning was spent digging an impromptu drainage ditch once it was daylight to limit the water heading toward the house. We did manage to get to Travis Perkins just before they closed at noon, so the windows have been ordered. We even managed to find a few hours to go Christmas shopping, even if I was more than a little fractious due to lack of sleep...
And we've left the topsoil and silt in the courtyard and garage for the builders to clear up on Monday. Hope they don't mind!
It was the first weekend morning for what seems like an age where we didn't have much we 'had' to do, apart from get to Travis Perkins before midday to order the windows. So we were looking foward to a relaxed morning. The weather had other ideas.
I first woke at 2am and heard the torrential rain. Knowing that our temporary backdoor hasn't got a decent weather seal around the glass I went downstairs to put a few rags inplace to catch the drips. Got back to sleep very quickly.
I woke again at 4am, listened to the sound of the rain for a while, worried a little about the leaky door the finally dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs. Just as well, as it wasn't rain I could hear but the Hillside stream which had paid us a revisit. Thanks to the builders digging up the hill and putting it back they've trashed the work we did in our first winter to stop the Hillside stream. The torrential rain had caused our very own flash flood which was pouring (along with a cargo of loose topsoil from a garden free of vegetation) into the courtyard and garage. So shortly after 4am I was outside in my pyjamas (and a high-vis coat and wellies) ensuring the drains were clear and doing what little I could do to stop the house from flooding.
Thankfully the drains coped and I was able to go back to bed. But our leisurely morning was spent digging an impromptu drainage ditch once it was daylight to limit the water heading toward the house. We did manage to get to Travis Perkins just before they closed at noon, so the windows have been ordered. We even managed to find a few hours to go Christmas shopping, even if I was more than a little fractious due to lack of sleep...
And we've left the topsoil and silt in the courtyard and garage for the builders to clear up on Monday. Hope they don't mind!
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Timber is on it's way
Paul the brickie is continuing to do a great job of the blockwork on the bedroom/garage. Despite the freezing weather (which is causing some problems with mortar not setting when it's below freezing) he is now doing the gable end so the roof structure should appear soon.
Meanwhile, we've just signed off the timber frame design so that should go into manufacture tomorrow for delivery next week. The scaffold around the kitchen/diner was erected today, which will provide the platform for the frame erectors to work off next week. Signing off the design is a significant milestone, not least as other suppliers said the structure couldn't be built as designed without significant changes but our supplier, Crendon, have made it work. Okay, so they have had to resort to one major steel beam, but other than that they've used conventional timber and a few Glulam beams.
Last week we placed the order for the folding/sliding doors and are due to order the timber windows soon, hopefully to limit the time the timber frame is not weathertight. Things are coming together but there's still a way to go, especially sorting out the interface between the timber frame and the existing house. It'll be good once it's all erected and complete and the work inside can start.
Meanwhile, we've just signed off the timber frame design so that should go into manufacture tomorrow for delivery next week. The scaffold around the kitchen/diner was erected today, which will provide the platform for the frame erectors to work off next week. Signing off the design is a significant milestone, not least as other suppliers said the structure couldn't be built as designed without significant changes but our supplier, Crendon, have made it work. Okay, so they have had to resort to one major steel beam, but other than that they've used conventional timber and a few Glulam beams.
Last week we placed the order for the folding/sliding doors and are due to order the timber windows soon, hopefully to limit the time the timber frame is not weathertight. Things are coming together but there's still a way to go, especially sorting out the interface between the timber frame and the existing house. It'll be good once it's all erected and complete and the work inside can start.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
