Foundations Day 1

Having removed enough of the wall to make digging a viable option, I marked out the line for the foundation trench - 150mm outside the line of block-work.

I still need to remove the existing brickwork on the foundations by the party wall, but until I could get a good look at the end of the existing foundations I wouldn't know how much to remove or whether or not the existing concrete could be re-used.

So I started with the side next to Jean's house, removing the fence panel I had so carefully erected last year (actually it was August 2013) and having boarded the sides of the remaining bit of lawn I started shovelling the spoil into the barrow to be tipped.

The trench needs to be 600mm (2') wide and 1m deep - that's a lot of soil to dig out if you think about it.

11m long x 1m deep x 600mm wide = 6.6 cubic metres of soil

 So by the end of the energy I had reached about half way and cut the concrete in front of the garage with an angle grinder,  It may be that I have to take all of the existing concrete up, but for now I simply need a trench line to dig to.

 




Additionally the architects got back to me to say that it was not a problem that the remaining wall by the drive was only 10" thick - it can be insulated on the inside - but they were more concerned about the number - or lack of wall ties - but as the window will be in the middle of it I can't see this being an issue so we're good to go.

Demolition Day 4

A new day dawned bright and sunny, and after a trip to empty the trailer at the tip, more bricks came down and the final part of the roof was removed and burned.

 The inside wall came down without a problem. and the roof, once loosened, came down using little more than gravity.

 I cut the outer wall in line with the end of the bricks using an angle grinder so I didn't dislodge the bricks with the breaker.  It worked well.

 The cavity however, is only 2" (50mm) wide with no insulation, so I have a feeling that I may not be able to retain this wall and it may need to come down.

 This would probably also mean taking up the foundations and laying new ones, 50mm wider to accommodate the wider wall.

Finally an email from the architects to say the confusion about the glass area had been resolved and we are now clear for starting the project - just as well really - I'd hate to put it all back together again now!

Demolition Day 3

It takes much longer when half the time is spent clearing up all the debris so you can carry on.  I really don't want to pay for a skip before I'm ready, so storing all the bricks and other rubble is important.  So with the glass gone and the wood burned I need to sort the usable from the rubbish as I go. I think a trip to the dump in the morning to get rid of the doors and other bits and pieces may be in order.

With the roof off, the party walls came down today.Many of the commons will be reusable, though the smaller bricks were just too brittle to salvage.  I heard though that there is a real shortage of bricks in the country and someone told me that she was going to have to wait 40 weeks to get enough to build her new house.  Glad we're using concrete blocks.  I wonder if they'll become scarce if people start switching to them when bricks are hard to come by.

Once the party walls were down and clear, I started on the old utility room - increasingly aware that I will need to disconnect and cap the washing-machine water supply before I can remove the back wall.  I am also aware that the existing wall alongside the drive, that I am hoping to retain, only has a 2" cavity and is not insulated.  I fear i will ultimately need to remove it and start all over again.  This will probably mean digging up the existing foundations and laying new ones.  I suppose if I want to do it right I ought to start well.  The door to the utility room seems to have a large, concrete lintel over it - for no good reason - I reckon it must weigh 30kg at least.  I am not looking forward to catching it!

Demolition Day 2

The remaining glass panels took a couple of hours to remove with a lot of scraping and cajoling, but were finally laid in the trailer

The wooden beams came off well and the main bearer was eased down.  The only piece that gave any real resistance was the end that I had repaired a few years ago - I will remove it when the wall comes down.

All the timber was cut into manageable lumps so it could be burned in the fire-pit.

The large window broke (inevitably) and needed a lot of clearing up before the frame could be cut out.  the the dwarf walls were felled with the sledge hammer.  I salvaged as many tiles as I could from the small roof and will do the same with the bricks.

There are 2 different types of brick used: Commons for the internal walls - strong and re-useable; and a small red - only 2" thick for the facing brick.. These are very powdery and break when being removed.  I doubt I will be able to save more than a handful of these.  The commons will be useful or the build though and the mortar is coming off them fairly well.

 

 By the time i got the demolition hammer out to remove the party wall it was getting late so i made sure it was safe and called it a day.

Demolition Day 1

Well actually it was only half a day - Saturday, May 23rd because I went to do the Eaton Park Park Run but after 3km bursitis in my left hip made it impossible to continue.

It also made the rest of the day rather harder work than it needed to have been.

First the electrics needed to be disconnected.  A whole raft of wires and connection boxes sat above the kitchen door which needed careful dismantling and insulating.

Then a general dismantling of shelves, hooks, etc to see what could be salvaged before the messy stuff started.

Eventually I began to attack the georgian wired class roof.  there are ten 8' panels, all puttied in and sealed with a self-adhesive silver waterproofing tape and small nails.  it was very messy and by the time I the Eurovision Song Contest (won by Sweden with a totally forgettable song) started, I had removed 3.

On Sunday it rained.   Still, on the bright side, it may keep the dust down when I start to break up the concrete and bricks.

It's only just beginning

As with all good stories there is a beginning, a middle and an end.  Before the beginning of our extension came the leaks and the rotten wood of the old conservatory.  It has to go, so we need a plan - or in fact lots of plans.

The whole process started in July 2014 with an initial visit from the architects and some debate about what we wanted and what would work.  Ultimately we came to some sort of agreement and put the plans forward for approval.  Structural Engineers came and checked the foundations and pages of calculations followed.  Approval was granted and with another cheque sent off, Building Regs were passed.

So fast forward to the Easter 2015 holiday and the work could start.

1. Empty the Conservatory
1. Before that I had to build a Summer House to take the cane furniture and give us a sanctuary from the impending mess
2. And I had to build a new potting shed/garden store to take all the garden tools from the conservatory and garage
3. And we had to have the leaky washing machine repaired so when it was moved from the conservatory to the kitchen it didn't leak all over the floor
4. And I had to disconnect the dishwasher and replace it with the washing machine - now repaired - from the conservatory
2. Then I have to move the exiting soil pipe from the bathroom toilet.  Well, as it is attached to the back wall of the house, which will be in the middle of the new kitchen, it needs to find a different route.  Easy enough really - instead of the toilet pan connector taking the pipe straight through the wall, a right-angled connector would take the 110mm soil pipe along the inside wall of the bathroom, behind the wash-basin, below the radiator and out under the bath. Trouble is the radiator pipes are too far out from the wall to allow the pipe to pass in front of them and behind the basin pedestal - so a new, 300mm high radiator needs installing.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. The drains were prepared directly below where the hole would be drilled in the wall.  So now all there is left to do is:
1. drain the central heating
2. remove the radiator
3. remove the drain from the basin
4. hang the new radiator
5. connect the pipes to the new radiator
6. bore a 117mm hole in the wall under the bath
7. feed the soil pipe into the hole from outside
8. cut off the old pan-connector and block the hole in the wall with filler foam
9. fit the new pan connector
10. mark where the basin waste will enter the soil pipe
11. bore a 38mm hole and fit the band and boss
12. connect waste pipe to soil pipe, soil pipe to pan connector and support at regular points to ensure an even fall
13. cut and connect the soil pipe outside to the existing drains
14. Refil the central heating
15. hope for the best - no leaks
16. box in all the new pipework
17. decide how to use the now-redundant drain pipe run into the main gulley
18. remove the old cast-iron soil pipe from the back of the house
    
    New radiator, soil pipe and overflow pipe all installed - box work is in the garage awaiting painting before being fitted.
    
    
    
    
    

Before the onslaught

Before we could start the main feature we needed to have a sanctuary at the bottom of the garden.

So during the February half-term holiday the summer house came into being.

After a shocking £2500 quote from a local company, from a pile of 2" timber, some vague mental pictures and a lot of hard work, a shell emerged.

Loglap board from Mitchell's Reclamation yard formed the outer covering - slightly smaller than had been planned for - hence the rather strange window mullion arrangements - oh, well, next time...