Day Thirty Two

More woodwork today.  Casings for the cupboard doors and the door frames were all completed.

One of the guys is now off to Tenerife for a couple of weeks.  Lucky for some eh.

Day Thirty One

Lazy Sunday afternoon.

Nothing happened today.  I was on call so sat at my desk most of the day.

The Gable end window should be going in tomorrow though.

Day Thirty

The past four weeks have certainly flown by.  I reckon by the end of October the whole thing will be completed.

I thought I'd do a quick recap of everything that has been completed so far;

Loft emptied
Scaffolding erected
Hole knocked in gable end to form new window
Steel installed above bedroom door to support new steels required to hold the new loft floor
Holes cut in internal brickwork to take new steels
Steels lifted in via crane
Steels installed and holding brickwork completed
New loft floor joists installed
Old loft hatch closed off
Old Office emptied ready for conversion work
Floor installed
Hole cut through ceiling into loft
Woodwork for new walls in
First layer of insulation in
First fix wiring and plumbing in
More insulation in
Yet more insulation in
Stairs in and fitted

Roll on next week....

Day Twenty Nine

First thing this morning the new stairs arrived.  It all got delivered in pieces like a huge 3D jigsaw.

The guys then spent a couple of hours locating all of the numbered pieces and getting them in order before putting it all together.

Luckily the radiator doesn't have to be moved.  That was my only worry.

Roll on next week.  All the windows will be fitted and the plasterboards are going up.  The scaffolding will go too...at last.

The downside was receiving an invoice from the Council for the Building Inspector.  Extortion springs to mind.

Day Twenty Eight

Seriously, how much insulation do you need ?   It's going to be like a sauna up there when they've finished.

At least the Roofer finally came around to see what needs doing.  He'll be putting some vented tiles in and also fixing the leak by the chimney.  It sounds like a quick fix though thankfully.

Fingers crossed we'll be getting the plaster boards tomorrow and also the stairs.

I'll take more pictures if it get's interesting.
 

Day Twenty Seven

This has turned into a very slow week.  One guy came today and finished off the insulation for the ceiling.

Really hoping there is more activity tomorrow.

Wasn't even worth taking a picture today !

Day Twenty Six

A very early visit from the Electrician to measure up for the lighting.  Nothing else.

So here's a quick before and after (well where we are now) photo.

All systems go tomorrow though.

Day Twenty Five

Got a call first thing from the Builders to say that they wouldn't be with us until Wednesday.

Although it sounds like the velux windows and gable end window might be ready this week.  It would be great to get those in as well as the stairs on Friday.  Fingers crossed.

In the meantime I have to put up with this little one.

She likes Costa !

Day Twenty Four

Another nice day to round off the weekend.

No chance of any Loft related work today with such nice weather.  Managed to get some time outside.

Summer is trying it's best to cling on but Autumn is taking over.

Day Twenty Three

Saturday.  A day off and an opportunity to enjoy the nice weather.  So, a quick spin around Llandegla Red route.  I was enjoying it that much that I forgot to stop and ended up heading back up the trails again.  This time straight to the radio masts at the top and then down the single-track across the moor.

Superb views from the top.  Only one crash on the way down fortunately.  Absolutely knackered.

Day Twenty Two

The end of another week.  Lots more completed and no issues to report.

Pretty much all of the insulation is in.  There are just the gable end walls and the partition walls for the bathroom to complete.

The gable end where the stairs are going may be an issue.  If it has to be insulated then it won't be flush with the existing wall below.  Hopefully the Building Inspector will agree to let us just put boards straight onto the wall.  He'll be around next week so won't be long before we know what we can/cannot do.  (The plans don't actually show insulation on the gable end walls so I think we'll be ok.)

I could tell from the guys this week that fitting the insulation (kingspan type stuff) is not the best part of the job.  It looked like it had been snowing up in the loft as every piece had to be cut and the bits get everywhere.

Lot's more going on next week.  There may be some plasterboards going up and the stairs are arriving next Friday.

Have a great weekend.

Day Twenty One

Three weeks in now, can't believe it.  The time is flying by and everything is going smoothly.  (maybe I shouldn't have said that )

The insulation is now being fitted to the ceiling and walls.  This doesn't make for interesting pictures I know but it'll be good to look back on once it's all finished.

All the insulation should be finished tomorrow, then it's another quick inspection before the boards can go up.  Heard today as well that the stairs should be here a week on Friday.

Day Twenty

Plumbers and Electricians today which means the custard creams aren't going to last long.

Decisions, decisions...a towel rail for £180 or a radiator for £18.  It wasn't just the cost that won that one, the radiator gives off 20x more heat than the towel rail !

We've now got all the wiring and pipework in place.  The gable end window has been measured and ordered.  The Stairs have been measured and will be ready a week on Friday.

The insulation should be going in tomorrow.

p.s.  and we found out some interesting information about Fire Doors...more to follow.

Day Nineteen

Well most of the woodwork is in place ready for the first fix and the Electricians made a start today getting all the wiring in for the sockets and lights.

One thing I have learnt is that the further you get into the project the more decisions there are to make.
Where to put the plug sockets, light switches, lights, extractor fan ?  Where to pick up the feed from ?  What type of bulbs for the bathroom ?  it goes on.

The Electrician will be back tomorrow and we should also have the plumber in to get all the pipework through to where the sink, toilet and radiators will be.  More decisions I guess, where to put the radiators ? how big should they be ?

Day Eighteen

I'm so glad all of the work is going on inside because the wind has been horrendous, not to mention the hale stones.

Work is flying along now and with each bit of sawing and hammering the new loft space is slowly coming to life.  All the frames for the partition walls are in place and some of the ceiling work is too.

We can also get a sense of size for the velux windows too, much bigger than I thought.

The gable end window will be enlarged tomorrow and hopefully the Stair man will come and measure up.

I'd been putting off the worst part of the project but today I finally got the spreadsheet up and totalled up all of the costs so far....definitely a bad move.  But it's going to be worth it.

Day Seventeen

Ok, so I said we'd be doing nothing today.  I take it back.

Today I worked out where we wanted all of the lights, light switches and plug sockets to go.  The electrician will be back soon and I wanted to get this done up front so we could get it agreed before he starts work.

The main issue was working out how many lights we'll need for each room.  It's not the sort of thing you can go and fix after everything has been completed.

All sorted now, so time to switch off and watch a film with the kids.  Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Day Sixteen

The weekend again so no work for a couple of days.

We've been out to buy a new toilet and sink for the new bathroom.  I didn't realise how difficult this was going to be, so much to chose from.  We didn't want to drag this out though so we quickly decided on a set which just happened to be in stock.

Now the Plumber can measure exactly where they'll go so he can finish off the rest of the pipework.

Roll on tomorrow (Sunday) when absolutely nothing will be happening.

Day Fifteen

...and I thought yesterday was busy.   Today has been crazy !  With all this going on while I am downstairs working (and trying to entertain a new kitten !) it's all getting a bit mental.

It's all starting to take shape now though.  The framework for the bathroom is in place along with the walls down either side.  Just another partition to do and it'll be ready for the insulation and then the first fix.

I must remember to give the Plumber a bit more notice this time.

It's a lot easier now to get a sense of the space we will have.  I've measured up and a Pool table will fit nicely along with a widescreen TV for the Xbox.  I'll work on that one, you never know.

We are now at the point were we need to finalise the remaining details. Such as the location of the cupboard doors for the storage areas, where the lights are going, exact locations for the toilet, sink, radiators.  Also the plug sockets and anything else we can think of.  

The route into the storage space above the main bedroom still hasn't been resolved.  Once the stair guy has been to measure up we'll have a better idea if the latest suggestion will work.

  

I really don't want to lose access to this additional space but it's looking more and more like I'll have to.

Tomorrow we're off to buy a toilet and sink, just what you want on a Saturday !

Day Fourteen

Organised chaos today, complete contrast to yesterday.  We've two plumbers and two chippies on site.

The pipework is being extended up into the loft for the new bathroom so that the floor can be laid.  While the pipework was being sorted the chippies worked on the supports for the new stairs.  Then once the pipework was completed they started on the floor.

It was a close shave with the connection to the existing soil pipe as it had to drop off at a certain rate and we only just made it over the steel joist.  For a moment there it looked like the toilet would have to be about three feet off the ground !!

The big challenge at the moment is how we get access to the remaining loft space above the main bedroom. This is being used for storing some things that we just can't throw away.  The original plan was to have a cupboard door in the new bathroom but it looks like the waste pipe for the sink is going to run right through the middle of that space.  There are still a couple more options to try but we won't know for certain until the stairs are in.

On the plus side though it looks like we'll be able to have a slightly larger window at the gable end.  The hole will be enlarged tomorrow and then measured for the new window.  We'll also have the stairs guy here tomorrow to measure up.

I still can't believe it's only two weeks since the scaffolding went up.  Now that the bulk of the structural work has been completed it'll be no time before all the walls are up etc.

Next job for us is a visit to the local plumbing shops to pick up a new toilet and sink.

Day Thirteen

The only activity today was me writing this update.

Normal service will resume tomorrow.

Day Twelve

It was a fairly quiet day today.  The electrician was here first thing to take a look at the job.
All looked straight-forward enough until he checked the main fuse box and advised us that he would need to upgrade it.

We then had a visit from Building Control who came to check the structural work already completed.  The steel work and floor joists were all fine so we are clear to proceed with laying the floor etc.

Unfortunately the floor will be delayed until Thursday as the plumber will be here and he needs to bring some pipework up into the loft.  Once he has done that we can then get the floor down.

So, all being well everything will start moving again on Thursday, which means it'll be peace and quiet at home on Wednesday....nice.

Day Eleven

It was certainly time well spent over the weekend clearing out the old office.  When the guys arrived this morning the first thing they said was that they were going to make the hole for the stairs today !

All in all another productive day.  There is now a huge hole in the ceiling where the new stairs will be.  The insulation for under the new loft floor has been laid and the remaining floor joists have been fitted.  We've also got all of the new floor boards up in the loft ready to be fitted.

I've settled in to my temporary office (the conservatory) which is much closer to the kitchen.

Roll on tomorrow when the Building Inspector visits to check the steel work and floor joists.
Once approved we can get the new floor laid.  We'll also have the electrician checking out the job.

We're getting more into the finer detail now discussing lighting, power points, plumbing etc.
They even hinted that we may be able to get the new window in soon which means we can get rid of the scaffolding.

Day Ten

Well we managed to find a home for everything in the office.  I've even got a temporary desk set up so I can continue to work from home and it's also a bit further away from the noise.

The office is completely empty now so we can hand that room over to the builders.  There will be a new set of stairs at the window end leading to the new loft space.  Also, the front of this room will be opened up to make it part of the landing rather than a separate room.

Story so far;
Loft emptied
Scaffolding erected
Hole knocked in gable end to form new window
Steel installed above bedroom door to support new steels required to hold the new loft floor
Holes cut in internal brickwork to take new steels
Steels lifted in via crane
Steels installed and holding brickwork completed
New loft floor joists installed
Old loft hatch closed off
Old Office emptied ready for conversion work

Day Nine

Saturday again so a quiet couple of days with no work and no builders on-site.

Used some of the time to start clearing out the (existing) office as there will be a lot of changes made to that room over the next few weeks.

This was taken part way through the clear out.  I don't know how but all this stuff has to find a home somewhere else.

Day Eight

The Floor joists were fitted today.  During which we lost use of the old loft hatch and ladder so it will be difficult getting pictures for a while.

The day started off well but around 11am it started lashing down.  Our Joiner is die hard though, he stuck it out cutting the joists to size etc outside.  He then got a couple of more guys around to lift the wood into the loft.  A bit of banging, cutting and drilling and the job was done.

The climb up the ladder wasn't very enjoyable but it was worth it for the view.

Nothing much will be happening over the weekend apart from picking a new sink and toilet for the new bathroom. 

 

The dent in the biscuit barrel wasn't too bad today either.

Have a great weekend.

Day Seven

Another day where everything went to plan.

The guys made light work of installing the steel.  It took no more than 30 mins to lift all the pieces into the loft space.

Then the steel was set in place ready for the floor tomorrow (friday).

I got a bit of video too

Day Six

The concrete pads are in and we're all set for the steel arriving in the morning.

I guess it'll be another noisy day !

Day Five

08:45 and the builders are here at last.

They had a good look around the loft checking everything on the plans and all seems to be good.  Then they got straight into cutting out the hole for the new window in the gable end.  This will also be used to get all the equipment etc in so they don't have to bring it all through the house.

What a difference a bit of light makes !  Just glad it's not raining.

They made good progress today.  The steel work above the bedroom door has been installed with very little disruption.  We were expecting the whole of the top of the doorway to come off but all they needed was this small hole.

The blocks have also been cut ready for the steelwork which will be arriving on Thursday.
The concrete pads will be put in tomorrow ready for that.

Day Four

Well the work was supposed to start but the builders have had to stay at their previous job for another day.  All being well they will be here tomorrow (Tuesday).

So, here is a picture of what we are having done;

In the meantime we've starting clearing out the current office ready for work starting.

Tomorrow (assuming they get here) they will be knocking a hole in the gable end.  This will be the new window and they will use it to get the steel work in for the floor.

Day Three

Car Boot Sales - love em or hate em !

Today we took the contents of our loft to the local Car Boot sale.  I'd probably say that it was my first (and last) go at this sort of thing.  It was certainly an experience.

We arrived at 06:45 and were directed to our pitch which was right opposite the burger van.  At that time of morning I didn't expect to see people buying cartons of chips  . . .  but they were !   I could go on about the people watching but I'll keep that for another day.

On returning home I got the remaining items out of the loft ready for building work to start proper on Monday.  The loft is finally empty.

We are now all set for 6-8 weeks of "disruption" !