Finally… work has started on the extension!!
Bit of anticlimax when I got home from work on day 1. I was expecting holes and mud to be everywhere..but it appears the digger didn’t show up, so all that has been done today is fences ripped down and big plants cleared. And the huge metal fence has been erected between the 2 driveways, between nasty neighbours and us. This is part 1 of the plan to ‘protect’ the nasty neighbours property, part 2 is to cover said fence with blue tarpaulin right in front of their living room window.
So its taken some time to get to this point, unbelievably we were granted planning permission way back at the end of May. And it’s not until 4 1/2 months later that we start work. Its taken this long to sort out legal issues with said neighbour who had threatened us with party-wall injunctions. Basically because our extension will be 2.7m away from their garage they have us on a legal loophole and a party-wall agreement has to be set up. We are nowhere near their house….This has cost us time and money, £1200 to be exact. We’re not happy, but alas you get on with things and get the extension up.
After 2 days loads was done!! They made up for the digger not arriving on day 1. The back garden has been completely cleared and levelled, and we finally have a normal sized garden where the boys can happily kick a football around. And the extension area to the left hand side of the house has bee cleared and prepared and a very big hole has been dug. We are clearing as we go, so all the earth goes into the ‘grabber’ every day. The front garden is to be used as a storage place for building stuff, but will then be our new driveway. There is mud everywhere, hallway carpets are pretty trashed, but I can cope with that when I see how much progress the builders are making every day.
Yesterday on day 3, my hubby and Josh and Jack were at home. apparently the ipad wasn’t touched all day, Josh spent the entire day watching the building work, diggers, grabbers, tipper trucks. He loved it, even got his bob the builder yellow hat down to get involved. Just the one slight disaster to date where the bigger went through the gas pipe. But luckily hubby knows people in the know and we had a man around within 3 hours to get it fixed. Day 4 the footings will be completely dug out, the building inspector is booked in to visit. And then the concrete mixer truck arrives this afternoon to fill the hole. £84 per cubic square meter apparently and that is a good price according to hubby. That is one expensive hole to fill. I think we need around 40 square metres of the stuff. I will double-check that, but we only pay for what we need, the big lorry comes and fills the hole and we pay via hubbys trade account at his work.
Brick work starts on day 4 as well, building the brick wall in the back garden, as the grassed area will be around 50cm higher than the patio. And we need steps built up to the garden. Slight issue being the Tudor bricks we need are not in stock, despite ordering them 2 weeks ago. Am sure the project manager, the hubby will resolve it 🙂
And the budget? Well its still over budget, but we’re saving money everyday. And it’s just got to come down to things like I maybe can’t have my nice John Lewis dining table and chairs 🙁 But one of our friends who is an interior designer has offered her services and has said she’ll find me a similar table for much cheaper. Along with flooring, blinds, curtains.
We’ll find the money somehow. Maybe the dining table will have to wait 🙂
It’s all so exciting, I can wait to have 1) A new kitchen with nice cupboards, self-cleaning oven and storage and work surface space. 2) A downstairs bathroom 3) A lovely open plan kitchen/dining/family room 4) A utility room for the mounds of dirty washing we produce. I rally am excited to come home everyday and see the progressing work.
10 Responses