28-30 july 2010 up goes the walls

even with our new arrival the work must go on, after all we love our home but it is just a 3 bed house, and now when all our kids are here there is 6 of them, so we are lets say desperate for the 2 new bedrooms in the garage.



what can i say apart from thank god i found CB Groundworks. Recommended by Collier and Catchpole (where I get my materials from) I have found someone who I can work with and together with, who I can trust and have a joke with. He is a dam hard worker and does a gr8 job. 3 days hard work and we have almost completed all the external brickwork. Still got to do the lintel and brickwork over the windows, but the internal blockwork has to be done 1st to provide the strength. also the ground slab still has to be layed, thats next week, so when thats done, up goes the blocks and the brickwork should be done, watch this space.

Thomas 18 July 2010

The building work has slowed down - reason - Thomas, 3lb 14oz, tiny bundle but worth every sleepless night :)))

July 10 - Drainage done

No pics as its a pipe coming through the wall and a little difficult to describe but here goes. Broke through the concrete floor in the down stairs toilet to find the sewer, disconnected the toilet and broke a hole through the side wall. Connected the new length of sewer pipe by a 'flexifit' connector and at the other end a 90 Deg bend to take it up to the new toilet (when fitted). It looks ok, but now got to wait for the inspector and fingers crossed it will be passed together with the brickwork up to DPC. So I guess its watch this space.
12 July, DPC and sewer works approved by Council. Made up a load of concrete at the weekend so filled up to 200mm below DPC between the 2 wall skins with concrete, sloping outwards. Also bedded the sewer pipe in concrete and the hole in the downstairs loo up to screed level. Had the plumber round today, 1st class service and reasonably priced, downstairs loo and sink gone, existing hot and cold feed pipes now extended through wall and capped off ready so at least once the extension is done there is a water supply ready. Now its hardcore time, time to break up my supply of rubble and move it from end of garden to extension area, its raining, its a filthy job, oh joy :(

july 10 finally up to dpc

2 months have past, Christ time flies, saved up like mad and went to Collier and Catchpole, never spent sooooo much money before at a builders yard, brought all the bricks, blocks, sand, cement, lintels, insulation, membranes, dpc etc, so now the bank account is empty and our front drive looks like a building company overspill storage yard. but it was worth it, collier and catchpole were so helpful and ready to give advice to an idiot like me. used reject bricks up to ground level then facing bricks up to dpc on the outside, found out that the garage side does not line up with the rest of the house so the brick courses wont line up but we wont see that bit anyway. got the dpc on and really pleased. borrowed a friends cutting machine and cut the slot into the existing dpc so the new one simply slotted into the existing brickwork. so now its drainage time as got to pick up the sewer from the existing toilet and extend it out into the extension part for the new toilet area. after that Ive got to lay the hardcore down and blind it with sand, should be fun.