housebuilding – St Anne's Build

Week 83

Posted on November 13, 2017 by admin

The garden is almost done. Mark and Sam have finished off the back path and porch by pointing it all together. Amazing how much of a difference closing in those lines makes. The Contractor is due to return next week and fix the drive in the back amongst other things, so there’s no point in risking putting up a fence while they’re taking up concrete etc. I need to go back there and set a line for this fence over the weekend so everyone knows where they are.

house2017.11.13 - 2 — the benches are to keep people from wander in freely

Just a bit of tamping down at the front, some hedging at the back, and voila!

The yellow pipe remains, and hopefully will disappear shortly. I’ve been in touch with Trevor the plumber again whom we’ve asked to cut it to length for the fire pit.

Screen Shot 2017-11-13 at 12.08.39 — plan

This fire pit is becoming a little like the fireplace: too long to decide on the design, and the installation is now all out of sequence. And Clinton is truly sick of talking about it with me. I had no idea the natural gas option was so dang expensive. My favourite are these cast concrete things, and they’re special because if you make them out of normal concrete, the relatively high water content within the material expands in the heat of the fire, and they tend to go bang in a catastrophic kind of way. So, really nice fire pits are made of a mix of stuff to get the water levels right down….and the price goes right up. Time to investigate options. I’ve thought about making one from the bits of leftover oak and a large bit of stone on top, so I’ve been talking to a guy in Southampton that makes the burners (one of the only UK guys to do this–they’re super popular in the States, why not here??). He’s got me to refine my design with a few important tweaks. Luckily the position of the pipe, which was a complete guess, vaguely works in the plan once we’ve populated it with a likely combination of furniture and safe distances from the raging inferno. Time to spend the cash? Don’t know, jury is still out.

Screen Shot 2017-11-13 at 16.36.31.png — fire pit idea

Trevor is due to send Sid to us back onsite anyway because there are a few plumbing hiccups occurring. You’d think that checking and re-checking before they carry out any checks at all would be the way forward after all the drama in the summer, but sadly, no. Maybe these things just pop spontaneously? Anyway, today’s issue is that the hot water is irregularly tepid sometimes which is most unpleasant after an early run in the -1 ºC. Added to the list are the already noted issues of the throne of a toilet in the master ensuite not flushing with any verve, and the heating controls in the hallway (always off = brr) and kitchen (always on = lava) don’t work at all bearing no resemblance to the temperature on the control panel.

Is this normal to have so many things go wrong, or at least, not quite right?

It’s much more fun to see changes in the landscaping side. We spent this weekend moving Stuff from the front to the back corner to get it off the drive. I’m pretty desperate to get this house looking less like a building site and more like the home we intended to build. This Stuff consists of: lovely old pieces of oak ready to be turned into something fun, lots of unused bricks of various shapes and sizes, tiles, tiles and more tiles, and the extra paving slabs shipped from deepest Yorkshire. We’re still got 9 old (“vintage” right?) railway sleepers and a bunch of aluminium downpipe offcuts out the front too. But Mark and his gang are due to finish this week, so their Stuff will disappear too.

The next job outside is the planting. Structure first. There’s a bit of box blight going around in Surrey at the moment, so I’ve been warned off planting any. Ilex crenata is a good solution, grows about the same pace and will look good, dense and verdant. It’s even called “dark green” which bodes well in an optimistic way. Trees are on the menu too and it’s getting round time to make some orders.

Back to the house, today’s list included phoning:

Steve the electrician–the lights outside are still tripping OMG, and I need yet another date for when he’s going to fit the replacement broken stuff from last week
Trevor–see above
Alyson–where is the building control certificate? trade warranties?
Peter–will he be the next CA?
Toby–has he received Clive’s fireplace drawings?
Graham–a furniture restorer for the kitchen table that is looking a little tired
Luke–when is Envirovent coming to fix the SpaceX-soundalike of our ventilation system

So a quiet day really.

Week 22

Posted on September 9, 2016 by admin

First off, here are a bunch of stills of animal life onsite:

stannes00007 stannes00008 stannes00006 stannes00005 stannes00004 stannes00003 stannes00002

This week has been interesting in terms of staff changeover when lots of things are going on all at once. Welcome to Paul who is looking after the site while James is on holiday after taking over from Nic (phew).

The biggest event was the arrival of concrete plank flooring for the first floor on Thursday. Paul had his work cut out in organising minimal parking at the top of road so the crane and lorry loads of planks could make the turn, and kept his team at either end of the lane while the planks were offloaded. We’ve already had one angry neighbour on the phone concerned about access and the possibility of needing an ambulance should the need arise (?). When these things happen, it does make me wonder rather why on god’s green earth, when we’re the residents who have been here the longest of any of the 12 houses down the lane bar one, we’re investing our future in an area that is becoming increasingly less and less tolerant. Does civility have to be the price we pay to live here? I hope not, and I remain firm in trying to rise above the pettiness and try to see the good in people even when they’re struggling and perhaps at their worst. But the the guys did a fantastic job, the road wasn’t blocked, and only the bus from one of the local private schools opted not to travel the extra distance to the end of the road. So all in all, a success!

Dulux was back from the initial demolition, doing his best to fend off potential parkers from the top of lane, and he was chuffed to see how the build was coming on. Hopefully we’ll see him again soon.

But before that, the last minute adjustments to the steels were put in place on Wednesday. The last minute adjustments quickly turned into a last minute replacement of every piece, but it was finished by the end of the day. The bricks team couldn’t be onsite with this much action, so it was a good time for them to take a day doing another job and the scaffold team raised the level of the boards while the steels-crane swung over their heads.

2016.09.07 - 1.jpg — crane positioning a steel over the living room on Wednesday

2016.09.07 - 2.jpg — beauty in scaffolding

The weather went from oppressive and overcast in the morning to weirdly-oppressive and gloriously sunny in the afternoon on Wednesday.

2016.09.07 - 3.jpg — raised scaffold all ready for first floor planks

2016.09.09 - 3.jpg — second crane in a week, this one for planks on Thursday

The team worked seamlessly with one guy on the truck sorting the lifting chains and two guys on the roof putting the planks in place.

Week 21

Posted on September 4, 2016 by admin

We’ve come a long way in this build….

The guys had a lot going on after the bank holiday: steels, cranes, personnel changes, rain. They’ve been steadily going upwards and we’ve been cracking on with decisions. We’re mostly there on bathrooms, kitchen, fireplace and roof tiles. We’re getting there on flooring and wall tiles.

The steels arrived on Wednesday. There are over 50 pieces in this build. There is a slight hiccup with the sizing of some pieces in manufacture, and after much checking some of them will need to be re-installed next Wednesday before the upper floor goes in.

The overhang on the west side of the front elevation is coming along nicely, and the steel is placed on the piers to take the load for the upper brickwork.

2016.09.04 - 4.jpg — overhang from the living room

2016.09.04 - 5.jpg — front elevation of the living room

The overhang on the west side of the house near the garage is larger and leaves a gap from windows to piers big enough to walk under. I’d better get on an plan the landscaping out the front in case we want some raised beds before it all gets paved over.

2016.09.04 - 6.jpg — west front elevation

2016.09.04 - 7.jpg — bird’s eye view looking into kitchen

2016.09.04 - 9.jpg — the garage in all its glory

2016.09.04 - 10.jpg — more steels across the entire build

Roof tiles are very difficult to choose. We’ve spent some time looking through brochures and spent about a week developing a good mix of shades to make the whole project seem weathered–like it had been there for decades. When we presented our carefully considered combination to the builders, he said we were nuts. Why spend all that extra on something a) you won’t see, and b) will fade within a year? So we have decided on a single dark tile for the roof and another single reddish tile for the hanging bit on the west flank. Tick.

2016.09.04 - 12.jpg — we’re going for the left hand bunch

Week 20

Posted on August 30, 2016 by admin

Friday

We say goodbye to Nic and Justin and thank them very much for everything they’ve done for us. They’re great guys, keeping the build rolling along all together despite significant challenges that would flummox any mere mortal, and they still manage to make us laugh. Best of luck in the future, guys.

2016.08.28 - 8.jpg

Welcome aboard Tim and James!

We created a test panel of roof tiles to see if a mix might be better. Generally, the panel of vertical hanging tiles is lighter than the ones on the roof on most houses, and we’ll choose these if the price is right. At the moment, we’ve got to come up with a decent percentage blend so Tim can go and have it priced.

2016.08.28 - 6.jpg

Up until now, we’ve been trying to fit an AV system in the living room which is perfectly normal you might think, but the challenge is to wedge it in above a fireplace. We’ve stalled out over the past few weeks in trying to get advice about combustable materials and convection venting grills, and as a result we’ve kept the team from building the far wall with the chimney. We’ve now made enough decisions to let the guys crack on with the wall. But the final design is still up for grabs!

2016.08.28 - 7.jpg

It’s awesome to see scaffolding up and steels in. The first floor planks are due to arrive in the second week of September with any luck.

Thursday and before…

Apologies for losing a few weeks in here.

The view out the family room will take some TLC…. It’s not exactly jaw-dropping at the moment and probably not good enough to prompt the kids to avert their eyes away from the TV. The garage makes a super tea-hut/meeting room, but it makes an awful window.

2016.08.28 - 2.jpg — view out the family room

The oak frame is busy getting built in deepest Sussex and will go up at the end of September. In the meantime, the guys have finished all they can do on the porch.

2016.08.28 - 3.jpg — the front porch is looking nice

I’ve learned a LOT about chimneys, flues, regulations and what’s on the market. We’re aiming for a cassette woodburning fire. This requires a 150 cm flue and a Class I chimney. A traditional open fire would require a 9″ flue and a much larger chimney. Given how close we are to the fence, it’s obvious that we’ve had to limit our choices in this area.

2016.08.28 - 1 (1).jpg — chimney is covered in insulation with the red tags.

2016.08.28 - 5.jpg — rebuilt rear bay–notice any difference?

Paul brought a sample of the oak subframes for the bronze windows to the last meeting. It’s enormous.

2016.08.28 - 9.jpg — sample oak subframe

Week 17

Posted on July 27, 2016 by admin

Thursday

All hands on deck.

Russell and Chris the Farmer (gotta love spellcheck; he’s a Framer) came to site to check it out for delivery, progress, etc etc. The poor dog was left in the car, but we checked him at regular intervals. We should install a kennel during the build! Dave and Paul came up for their monthly architectural check and also to give Paul the opportunity to have his first look at the project. Dave said he hadn’t been on site when it was sunny yet–the last time he was here, the place was a swimming pool on that torrential day with fire trucks and neighbours getting flooded. Of course Nic, Ben and Justin were there too, so donuts were bought, the sun was shining and we (they) sorted out a few rough edges to fitting the oak frame.

This included lots of hemming and hawing about connecting the existing brand spanking (gorgeous) new brickwork with the oak in the rear bay. Any little change has enormous ramifications on windows and roof, then with steels and oak as well. So it’s good to have as many eyes as possible checking the build to ensure no Grand Designs moments.

The structural oak should go up in the first week of September. That implies the build will be up to roof level. That’s a lot to do in four weeks! We took Russell up the road to pick his brains and have a good look at the larger new-build with a similar design. He pointed out a few good things like some shifting and splitting at the peg holes. It’s comforting to know that he’s doing his best to avoid these things. He said that our structure is a self-supporting piece, and this is different from the facade that is on the larger house. It’s a design departure with a few more chunky bits of oak sticking around, but it is a more honest approach to what the building actually does. Kinda goes with the ethos for the rest of the house.

Wednesday

A cheeky evening visit to check on what can happen in a day.

2016.07.27 - 1.jpg — We’re missing a few super-specials, but Nic will track them down

2016.07.27 - 2.jpg — going up in the study

2016.07.27 - 3.jpg — have finally chosen the fireplace so the guys can carry on with the blockwork

2016.07.27 - 5 — the first door in the study at the back …

It’s great to see the first dummy doorframe up!

Tuesday

Really? Week 17? The original timescale was 36 weeks. Everyone agrees that was optimistic, but still, we should be almost half way there in theory. Reality is a little behind, but the gap is closing. The biggest landmark is: The Windows Arrive 5 December [capitals necessary]. This is a line in the sand, and I wouldn’t want to get anywhere near messing Martin around! They go in close to last because he doesn’t want to get any plaster, paint or damage on or done to these bad boys. Neither does anyone else I’m sure.

house2016.07.27 - 2.jpg — rear bay up to plinth

This week is a great week for progress as the brick work is getting up to the plinth which is one of those details that are not cost effective, require a bunch of extra effort and expense, but which make the house really special.

house2016.07.27 - 1.jpg — a lovely set of jointing

The jointing is slightly different in the special bricks to avoid any water collecting and freezing and finding its way into the building.

We’ve got expansion joints in the brickwork too. And you can see the insulation panels pinned to the brickwork using the red pogo-stick ends. These joints sit behind the rainwater pipes that sit in the brickwork nooks and run through the plinth. Complicated brickwork or what?! We’re really pleased with the choice of bricks, and I’m sure the skill in laying all these brings the whole thing to life.

house2016.07.27 - 3.jpg — expansion joint in nook

In the background it’s a whirl of decisions. Everyone says this and I didn’t quite realise that it’s as relentless as it is. A real Surrey-Struggles moment I know. Ben, Dave, Justin and Nic are being super patient with our general slowth. It’s serious Scout season as well and half the family was awol planning the trip last week and is currently roaming the wilds of Dartmoor until Saturday. So, just to make myself feel better, we’ve done roof and hanging tiles, a bathroom schedule, preliminary M&E design, garage door, and fireplace (finally, hooray). We’re almost ready to close out the design of the drawing room, the kitchen contractor, and the flooring and joinery schedule including the front door. Just keep swimming.

Been learning Sketchup to get a handle on the fireplace options. We are doing none of these:

Week 16

Posted on July 19, 2016 by admin

Sunday

house2016.07.24 - 6.jpg — front with piers and porch

house2016.07.24 - 5.jpg — looking down on the porch

One good decision made early on with the second (third time’s a charm!) architect was to angle the door to the study.

house2016.07.24 - 4.jpg — hall looking from left to right at the loo, study, and utility room doorways

house2016.07.24 - 3.jpg — the smallest room

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Tuesday

The walls are growing!

house2016.07.19 - 1.jpg — from the back door looking north

The guys have even delineated the interior walls. Here’s a tour:

Screen Shot 2016-07-19 at 22.09.59.png — it’ll be a little cooler tomorrow

house2016.07.19 - 5.jpg — damp proof course at the front of the house

Monday

Week 15

Posted on July 12, 2016 by admin

Friday

Nothing much has happened on site for a number of reasons, but it allows me a chance to catch up with the pace. Who would have thought there would be so much detail in a fireplace? And how does one address skirting around it? Garage doors–they need to know the size of the frame now so they can build the brickwork around it. There’s enough going on in life outside the build what with the family business busier than ever, me starting in it (again!), the usual end of school shenanigans, Pokemon Go taking over the world and Britain voting out of it, horrible weather, and keeping up with invoices, that actually this hiatus might be a godsend. Hopefully we’ll see more activity next week.

In the mean time, I’ve been playing around with a new app.

Enough of that silliness.

Ben brought his drone around in the afternoon to take a few snaps.

Tuesday

How did we get to week 15??

It’s been raining and the brick gang have been doing other things elsewhere. The dummy window frames have arrived along with some concrete lintels and a load more insulation. Nic will measure all the frames to make sure they match the windows exactly. The bricks will be laid around them.

The foundations for the front porch were poured yesterday. These are only 1.5 metres deep, and that’s it for concrete foundations! Whoop whoop!

house2016.07.12 - 1.jpg — window frames to measure and match

house2016.07.12 - 3.jpg — more and more and more and more rain

It’s great to see the window frames evident in the interior blockwork. Hopefully we’ll get up to first floor this week?? Maybe next week in reality….

Week 14

Posted on July 5, 2016 by admin

Friday

Thursday

Wednesday

Met the bricklayers today. They’re doing a fine job with all the symmetry and cuts aligned, and the deep raked joints making the whole thing come to life. It’s glorious weather (finally), and perfect for laying and getting the all-day pub quiz in. These guys are total trivia wizards. So, can YOU name all four American presidents that were assassinated? Who were they and what was their demise? The only thing for it is to arm myself with an arcane fact or two before going to site so I can keep up with the banter.

Tuesday

Waze all fired up, podcast on board, and it’s time for another scenic drive through deepest Sussex to see Russell at his yard. I adore this journey. I took a minute to nobble some photos of a house that I remember driving by in February when I was here last. This time, I met the gardener who said it was ok to take photos; he didn’t think the owners would mind, because the house had just had its Yellow Sign open garden scheme day last weekend where plenty of people were snapping away. Anyway, the house is a lovely example of oak subframed windows with timber structure.

After reversing out of the Bluebell Railway yard, again, same error as last trip….. I made the correct turning, passed the restore-a-Porsche garage and assorted other small businesses (I’m sure the sign out the front said there was a brewery. Must check that out.), and arrived.

house2016.07.05 - 3.jpg — someone’s pride and joy

house2016.07.05 - 4.jpg — just remember to knock

house2016.07.05 - 10.jpg — It’s always beautiful here

The trip wasn’t just an excuse to gawp, although we did plenty of that. Ben, Justin and I were inspecting the oak for the structural frame. Ours is the organised stack in the middle of the yard above.

house2016.07.05 - 6.jpg — the future St Anne’s

house2016.07.05 - 1 (3).jpg — it’s a big job so there are two stacks

It all looks great. The moisture content varied a little throughout many pieces in the yard, not just on ours. It didn’t seem to matter how old the wood was. It was surprising that even the recently cut 300 year old piece of timber from another job was sitting at 18%. Moisture content is a big deal, and we’re using 5 year air-dried as opposed to green oak. This should limit the amount of movement when the frames are built.

Each timber is awaiting a bunch more work to be done. First, each is inspected for knots and defects. Then the two non-facing sides are cut and the two facing sides are sanded. This retains the character of the wood while keeping the sections to the correct size. Tenons are cut from the ends and the whole thing is pieced together in the yard. In about 5 weeks, they’ll ship it out to us and assemble it onsite.

This is the finished product from another job.

house2016.07.05 - 12.jpg

house2016.07.05 - 14.jpg

house2016.07.05 - 15.jpg

house2016.07.05 - 16.jpg — want to pick out a newell post or a fireplace mantle?

house2016.07.05 - 17.jpg — burglar alarm

house2016.07.05 - 20.jpg — cutting a plank from a very old section

We tested the water content from the cut in the photo above and it was super high. You could see the water weeping through about 20 minutes later and it felt tacky. But tomorrow it will have dried to about 20%.

house2016.07.05 - 21.jpg — very very very old workshop door

Monday

Week 13

Posted on June 28, 2016 by admin

Friday

Last year it was 37 C and people were convinced global warming was to blame. This year it’s 17 C with torrential rain and people are convinced global warming is to blame. Makes it tricky for laying bricks, but the guys are cracking on.

The walls of the house will be filled with this insulation. It’s foil backed and gets slotted in between the brick layers. Cozy!

house2016.07.03 - 1 (1).jpg — insulation tower

The site has been so soggy that they’ve built a raft out of pallets for the brickies to stand on while they build. I think it’s a nice feature that we should consider in the landscaping….

house2016.07.03 - 3.jpg — the whole site from the front

The 6mm raked joints take a bit longer to build, but they look lovely in the sun. The bricks look more irregular than we thought which is exactly the style we’re after. The original-many-moons-ago spec called for reclaimed bricks, but they’re bonkers expensive and sized with imperial measurements! Ours were always a compromise, but it’s been a good one. I hope we make as good a decision with the roof tiles. The rainwater notches look great–can’t wait to see the plinth detail bring it to life.

house2016.07.03 - 5.jpg — the whole site from the back

Thursday

Site meeting about 2:00 with Nic, Ben and Justin in our used-to-be-garage which actually makes a nice meeting room. Ben and I met Trevor the M&E guru. We sited boilers, gas spurs and foul drains and discussed the merits of separate manifolds for underfloor heating and towel rails. All good stuff. I’ve got some homework to do this weekend in making some final decisions before the floors are laid and the pipes are literally set in concrete (or below it anyway).

house2016.07.03 - 1 (2).jpg — where would YOU site the gas meter?

But my main homework is to sort the fireplace so we can tell the masons how big to build the hearth. I’m late and it’s not good!

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Lucky 13–now that the awful weather has changed for 30 seconds, we’re seeing progress. The bricklayers have arrived!

The brickies will run the outer walls all the way around the building, then Lee and the ground-guys will lay the DPC. Clearly the DPC is VERY important given the events of last week. Then, I gather it’s all systems go for some serious vertical progress.

In the meantime, Grandma’s yellow rose is still hanging in there, and we’ve got another guest tonight.

Week 12

Posted on June 23, 2016 by admin

Friday

Team meeting at the contractors’ this morning, so not much occurring on site. A few deliveries and some tidying in the afternoon between raindrops. Looking forward to the brick layers arriving on Monday at long last!

house2016.06.27 - 2.jpg — electrical ducts, water input, soil pipe, garage slab and dpc

house2016.06.27 - 3.jpg — 18 square metres of concrete?!

house2016.06.27 - 4.jpg — loads of well-organised stuff

Thursday

The heavens opened today.

Screen Shot 2016-06-23 at 19.14.00.png

And closer to home…

house2016.06.23 - 6.jpg

house2016.06.23 - 4.jpg — garage slab and swimming pool

house2016.06.23 - 5.jpg — pipes on one end…

house2016.06.23 - 3.jpg — … and their other end

house2016.06.23 - 1 (1).jpg — monster double-whammy pump

I can’t believe our gorgeous lovely neighbour was flooded out of her house around the back of ours. She called the fire department early in the morning, but they said that they couldn’t help unless the water was in the house. It rose and rose all morning until Nic and the gang arrived at 7:30 and they were horrified. At 9:00, we called again to say the water was up to our ankles. We tried to save ornaments and curtains, but walking around the house was like walking on a waterbed with a rising lake under the carpets which are now ruined. Hopefully, with Nic, Lee and the guys moving countless numbers of our bricks to jack up her furniture, she might have salvaged some of it. The guys were incredible and we’re very grateful to them for stepping up and giving her a hand.

house2016.06.23 - 2.jpg

By evening the waters had diminished a little, but the pumps will be on, through the site, for some time. You can hear them in the background. There were three crews of firemen working on this and the other neighbour’s house.

Wednesday

Lots of stone rubble delivered and breaking up of the shuttering around the garage.

Thanks for moving the kitchen soil pipe, guys! Changing our minds yet again on the design…

Tuesday

Monday

All the sub contractors need to have the site prepared adequately before they work. Brick layers need to have a flat place to stand when they lay the bricks. So today was about site prep. We also had the massive pour for the garage just after break, and the finishing pour late in the day. It’s soggy work.