|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 9:17:17 GMT
I opened the bedroom curtains at 7.35am today and the workmen had already arrived!!! The VAST skip was delivered at 8.25am and the guys then started work. Block paving has been removed but at the time of writing (9.15am) they are already on a tea break!
LP was thrilled that they arrived and started before she went to school and can't wait to tell her teacher about the skip (it's 16ft long apparently!) and wants the porch to be finished tonight. Hum - I don't think that's going to happen!!! Fingers crossed it will be finished by Christmas (I need a fingers crossed smiley!!!!!)
|
|
|
|
Post by Jonah on Nov 20, 2006 11:27:50 GMT
Hope it all goes to plan Plocket.  Just spare a thought for me, OH is building our porch, he's been at it for about a year and a half! It is now sealed from the elements and in constant use, but when he asked what I wanted for crimbo the other day, in the back of my mind was 'well the porch and hall plastered would be nice...' Maybe I ought to get in touch with DIY SOS!  He blames it on me keep having all these children that get in the way! |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 11:31:53 GMT
Mine begins in a fortnight, plocket, and includes a new bay window and 3 upstairs windows in the job ....gulp! I must be mad getting it done at this time of year Keep us up to date on progress wont you? It might be fun to keep a score of those T breaks too...... ;D |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 11:43:25 GMT
Oh Jonah you need one of these:  Tell him to pull his finger out otherwise mine will be built before yours!!! Actually I wouldn't let my OH anywhere near building materials - he's absolutely hopeless when it comes to DIY! I'm usually the one who puts up shelves and stuff in our house!!! Don't get me wrong - he works very hard and is brilliant at his job, but keep him away from tools!!! ;D Oooh good luck with yours Sweetleaf - sounds like a chilly job! We've put the window replacements on hold until next year - IF OH gets a bonus!!! I got home from shopping at 11.00am and the workmen were gone! The foundations have been dug but they've left everything so neat and tidy that I don't think they are coming back today!!!!! |
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Nov 20, 2006 11:55:12 GMT
Ooooh how exciting you guys, everyone seems to have the builders in for one thing or another. They do like their T, OH and nephew are builders, they crack me up when they get on about what the T is like that customers may or may not make for them  My nephew expects it, told him he shouldn't ;D. Your windows should be pretty quick Sl it's amazing, they are made to measure and just foamed in, the finishing off takes longer Nephew got 2 days off so amazingly got OH at home doing jobs for me today  , GH glass, some trellis and posts I can't do, hopefully the poly on my converted kennel. Got a list a long as my arm but don't want to over do it with him he does work very hard. |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 12:04:35 GMT
I cant put the work off any longer as I bought my house from the council, and they had done nothing at all to it since it was built in 1938, apart from getting rid of the old outside loo Its nice enough inside though and these are the last windows to be replaced and they are on the landing at the top of the stairs. The bay window, being the most expensive was the one that got put on hold. We laid the foundations for the porch ouselves, but the rest is for the windows company! |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 12:25:02 GMT
The workmen are back! And they've already had two brews of tea from me but they don't eat biscuits - and I bought some specially!!!!!
Sounds as though the windows lasted well Sweetleaf. A couple of ours need replacing because the wooden frames are rotten, but we are going to have the window at the top of the stairs done too - it doesn't open and is frosted, and as it looks over trees and the canal I want to see out of it. Some air in the summer up there would be good too!
The porch came first because M&D are helping financially, and we are hoping that it will stop a draft coming through the front door and up the stairs.
|
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 12:42:12 GMT
We have been doing one window a year for ever it seems, (and we had one for a wedding prezzie after I discovered what looked like split lentils growing out of the wood!)  when the house is finally finished, Ill probably be so old Ill have to move into care...................  Plocket, it looks like youll have to eat all those biscuits then ....what a shame  |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 12:44:31 GMT
Oh don't talk like that Sweetleaf! We actually decided to have three windows done at once because it worked out cheaper than having them done one at a time. They'd charge for a day's work anyway, no matter how many windows we wanted - or so it seemed! The lentils sound different - what were they really then? Or don't I want to know? |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 12:52:18 GMT
Some kind of wood fungus, Plocket, apparently the spores are really bad for the lungs, so I was using bleach on them until they were removed with the frames just a natural part of the breakdown of wood, but not too good in my bedroom  Love these new smileys btw.  |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 13:30:19 GMT
OMG that sounds horrible Sweetleaf! I'm going to start worrying about my wooden frames now, and the ones that are looking decidedly soggy in M&Ds spare bedroom.
The workmen have gone now for the day but are getting the bricks ready to start doing the wall tomorrow - things are progressing. I just hope it doesn't rain too much this afternoon or tonight so the cement can set!
|
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 13:39:17 GMT
I think the rot set in during the previous tenancy, Plocket, the old lady who lived here would not allow workmen inside, they had to wait till she was hospitalised to do the minimod and bring the toilet inside!
She died at home, in my room, having lived here since it was built (and alone since the end of the war, as her OH died in the final weeks.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 15:29:05 GMT
Oh bless her!
|
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 20, 2006 18:35:24 GMT
Close of play today:   I hope those foundations are deep enough - there's a foot (I guess) of concrete - does that sound about right? |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 19:01:45 GMT
It should be fine, Plocket, it doesnt really have to take that much weight! Our foundations are about the same. ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Nov 20, 2006 19:25:47 GMT
I hope those foundations are deep enough - there's a foot (I guess) of concrete - does that sound about right? It should be fine, Plocket, it doesnt really have to take that much weight! Our foundations are about the same. ;D If the council were involved for building regs they would make you go at least a metre deep |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2006 19:53:44 GMT
Oooh, at least they've started Plocket. Hopefully it'll be done by Christmas. We were supposed to be getting a conservatory but with the current uncertainty over my job, we've had to put it on hold for a while. Hopefully as soon as things are decided work-wise we can get on with it (we've had 3 quotes and we know who we want to do it) but at this stage, I have no idea when things will all be sorted out.  FA x |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Nov 20, 2006 21:10:06 GMT
How big is the wall going to be plocket?
Metre deep foundations are for load bearing walls arent they BB?
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Nov 20, 2006 21:30:10 GMT
Metre deep foundations are for load bearing walls arent they BB? No, it's to do with movement and building on solid ground. Most ground has a layer of soft like top soil then you get a firmer layer etc etc, footings should be dug down to solid ground so there is no chance of movement, usually a metre is adequate. In extreme weather conditions like a hot summer you can get shrinkage in the ground and this can make foundations drop if not built on solid ground. Unfortunately some builders don't dig adequate footings where there is no involvement of the council. Sorry, hope I've not worried you guys |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2006 22:09:22 GMT
How big is the wall going to be plocket? Metre deep foundations are for load bearing walls arent they BB? My neighbour has just had a single storey garage built, with a pitched roof, the footings were a metre deep, he has also had his conservatory extended to make a larger kitchen, with a flat roof, the footings again were a metre deep. |
|
|
|
Post by Susie Snowdrop on Nov 20, 2006 23:40:57 GMT
I'm so excited for you P.......I remember when we had our conservatory built last year I'd rush home from work every day to see the progress S x |
|
|
|
Post by JennyWrenn on Nov 21, 2006 7:10:26 GMT
Oh poor Plocket have just been reading this Thread - I think we have all had builders in for some thing or another Do they have their own Port-a-loo? If not where do they "go"? j w xx |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2006 8:15:23 GMT
I too will have works this week, I am getting some new windows and a new inner front door. Sara |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 21, 2006 9:15:50 GMT
I'm worried sick now Busy Bee, but they are working according to the plans and the quotation so I guess they must know what they are doing. The foundations were deeper than 1ft though - my neighbour said it looked like about half a metre.
I hope you get your conservatory sorted soon FA - I did mention having a conservatory built to OH but as the house has already been extended quite a bit we probably wouldn't get planning permission. And it would take up more of my garden!!!
LP and I are both very excited by the progress Susie: she rushed home yesterday and loved having to walk across the little plank to get to our front door. This morning it was even more exciting for her because we had to go out through the garage to go to school!!!
They don't have a portaloo Jenny and as yet they haven't asked to use our toilet. I do wonder if they just wee into the bushes if they need to!!! They did vanish for an hour late morning yesterday so I wonder if they go off and get some lunch and sort themselves out then!!!
Oh good luck with that work Sara - why is it we seem to get these sort of jobs done in the winter??? ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Nov 21, 2006 10:01:35 GMT
Sorry if I've worried you Plocket, I couldn't sit here and say nothing when you said they were only a foot deep. OH is a stickler for things being right and they may have dug deeper than you thought, I'm sure it'll be ok  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2006 10:52:45 GMT
No need to be worried over the foundations. I work in a School of Construction at a local college, and asked some colleagues to verify the required depth of footings. Since the loading is small for a porch, the depth will be 450mm (18 inches). This is recommended to protect from frost penetration, which is presumably what they have decided. Deeper footings are only used where there is a risk of ground movement, due to tree roots, etc. Hope this stops you worrying |
|
|
|
Post by Plocket on Nov 21, 2006 11:15:47 GMT
I've had a chat with them Busy Bee and the depth is 45cm, and Derek's post has reassured me too - thank you both!
They are doing the cement floor at the moment - it's looking good. I've just got to keep LP off it when she comes home from school this afternoon!!! ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2006 12:07:18 GMT
They are doing the cement floor at the moment - it's looking good. I've just got to keep LP off it when she comes home from school this afternoon!!! ;D Let her write her name in it Plocket ;D |
|
|
|
Post by sleepysunday on Nov 21, 2006 12:09:07 GMT
And a hand print. She won't get the chance again.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chuckles on Nov 21, 2006 12:13:34 GMT
Let her write her name in it Plocket ;D And a hand print. She won't get the chance again. And her foot, what fun ;D |
|
My nephew expects it, told him he shouldn't ;D.
