Three weeks of progress

Underfloor heating manifold downstairs

Lots of activity since the last post, much of it hard to capture with a photograph.

The first fix plumbing is complete, including the underfloor heating pipework. The screed for the floor was poured and there is an ongoing discussion about how long it will take to dry sufficiently for tiling to take place.

The remaining external walls of the original structure has been wrapped in 100mm of insulation and sprayed with its acrylic finish. This is supposed to have a permanent colour that will not need repainting, just cleaning. I will believe that when I see it.

The same company is "blowing in" insulation to the cavity walls of the new build extension. This is 200mm of insulation. Combining this with triple glazed windows we should be quite cosy in the wild winters that are no doubt to come.

Kitchen dining area with insulation

Internal insulation is being inserted in the rafters of the roofs (rooves) and is nearly complete. They started this about two weeks ago and I am amazed at how long it is taking to complete. They tell me it is the fiddly bits that take the time.

Last Monday the kitchen company were able to survey the site to get precise measurements to prepare the technical drawings and put the kitchen into production. If things go to plan they will begin the installation on November 11th.

As I may have mentioned before, the height of the vertical walls, in the kitchen dining area, is lower than expected and this has meant a couple of modifications to the kitchen plan and the lighting plan. Still waiting to see the final estimate/sales order from the kitchen company to see if has made any difference to the expected cost.

Position for the consumer board

First fix electrics are all but complete but we need to get things to the position where the electricity can be reconnected so that when the heating system can be finished and commissioned - but then we need the plastering to be done before anything like second fix gets on the way - and the floor tiles need to go down...

So many opportunities for this to grind to a halt.

A glimpse of the "demand control ventilation system"

An unexpected appearance in the utility/plant room is the "demand control ventilation" system venting tubes. This has been much talked about but the reality of it has not been clear until now. There are six pipes, one in the utility room, one in the kitchen, one in the upstairs toilet and, one to each of the three shower rooms. All arrive to a box that is hidden in the space to the left where the blue tubes disappear into the roof void. From the box is a 20cm exhaust that can be seen running across the top of the aperture that will be the door into the upstairs loo. 

Three-way site meeting at 2.30pm today (Thursday 19th September) to resolve an argument about gutters and drainpipes and to try and nail the critical path sequence to get everything lined up to complete by the end of November. I reckon the progress is a week behind but if we can hold it to that I will be happy.

Saturday Update

The flat roof guys were back today and so I am hoping they will be finished. Inside the sub-floor insulation is laid on the first floor and in about a third of the ground floor. This needs to be finished so that the underfloor heating pipes can go down.

All getting very tight.







Here's a video compilation of the progress of the last couple of weeks.

August 23rd - first fixes

Today sees the completion of another two weeks of continuous work on the site. That is seven weeks so far.
Significant work has been made on the roofs (rooves?) but a couple of days heavy rain has prevented the completion of the flat roof which, in turn, has held up work on getting the slates on the main pitched roof areas. Three of the pitches drain on to the flat roof so it has to be finished before they start putting on the roof tiles.

The roof-lights are in the flat roof and that completes the building's fenestration.

A good portion of the electrical fist-fix is done and the heating and hot & cold water first fix is also done.

The heat pump location is by the back wall of the garage. The "Aquapump" is located in the garage. This requires a couple of buried insulated pipes bringing the hot and the cold water into the house. They has completed the work and filled in the trench before I got a chance to photograph it. 

This array of pipes, mostly for the underfloor heating, will be hidden under the flooring on the ground floor. The area in the photograph will be the coat cupboard near the staircase.

Today - Friday, August 21st promises to be dry and so fingers crossed that the flat roof guys get over and finish the job.

August 9th

Another five days of work on the site, that makes five since the resumption. Work continued of the roof(s) and, very key, the windows and front door were delivered and installed. This was completed by Thursday evening and so we set off for Westport on Friday morning - having checked that the workers were on the site that morning.

We won't be back in Ballyferrier until next Monday so we only can hope that work continues without us being there to chivvy them along. According to our understanding of the schedule, this week should see the first fix for the plumbing and more work on the roof.
Cheers

Fingers crossed

Frontage of the original house

New door in the wall of the extension, creating a new location for the "front door" 

Living room windows looking over Smerwick Harbour and Mount Brandon

The three "new" windows in the upstairs of the original structure. The old house had three windows of (more or less) this size but the were positioned about 60cm lower so you had to stoop to look out if standing. Moving the apertures through the roofline was the main cause of contention with the builder that caused close to a three-month delay.

A quick update

Tuesday, July 30th
Three workers on site today and I was able to access the 1st floor to discuss the position of two rooflights. I grabbed these three photos
Aperture now ready for the living room window

Opening between the living room and the dining/kitchen now framed out

The opening at the top of the stairs has also been framed out. This snap gives a good guide to what will greet you as you reach the top of the stairs - not bad eh?

Obviously, the clutter should be gone and the floor swept.

Week four of the resumption

At least two workers were onsite every day last week and they always seemed to be doing something We had a site meeting with David (architect/project manager), Denis (the contractor) and Frank - the electrician. We finalised the electrical requirements and he is supposed to get on with the chasing out this week. w/b 29/7.
Had a not very satisfactory discussion about a revised completion date. We told Denis that what he proposed was unacceptable and if he wants to keep the job he needed to think again, and fast
No pictures this time as there is nothing much to show by way of change. So here is a photo of a tractor - guess what the parade was celebrating.

Week three of the resumption

Well, we have rafters on the roof of the extension.

Workers were on-site for three of the five days. One of those days was when the carpentry firm doing the roof was on-site and they achieved all this on the one day. Not sure what was being done by the others on the other two days. I am not too enthused by the work done over the last three weeks and am currently a bit pessimistic about a completion date.
On the positive side, it does look as the structure will be ready for the window installers in the week beginning August 5th.

Before and now on July 13th

Not quite the same viewpoint

A second week of work

We are still keeping our expectations on build progress at a low level but we have seen work happening every day this past week. Importantly they have progressed the two key issues that have delayed things.

Here is the first - the creation of three window opening in the roof line at the front of the original house.

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The key to this was to create windows that you could look through while standing. The second picture gives a hint of the reason and result. You can just about make out the view of the Three Sisters through the scaffolding. Before the change you would have to be sitting down or crouching to get this view.

The second "roof problem" was the need to connect the new extension to the roof of the original building. Again this needed to be done to create a full height doorway from the kitchen area to the pantry and utility room.

The the first picture below shows the progress on this from the outside  and the second shows it from the inside.

Still plenty to do. The wall level of the original house needs to be built up to join the new flat roof. The aperture to the front right of the photo is where the new staircase will arrive into the dining / kitchen area. As you look into the picture three walls will go up. The first, furthest from the point of view will create the pantry. The second, moving towards the point of view will create the utility room that will be accessed via the pantry. The third wall will span the new extension from front to back - joining the new at the edge of the top of the stairs. The room created by this will be the upstairs WC. You can make out the apertures in the roof that are for three skylights, one on the pantry, one in the WC, and - the nearest one is over the staircase.

Last - now getting a sense of the form of the  house, first from the Dun Quin side

 Second from across the road. 

Cheers

Have we made progress?

As reported by Sheila, we have had more than three months of nothing being done on the site. This week some activity returned, as evident by the erection of scaffolding.

What can't be seen is that they have taken the step that has delayed things for so long, that is, breaking into the roof line of the original structure to facilitate the connection of the new to the old as well as the enlargement of three windows in the kitchen / dining area.
What has also been completed is the demolition of the section of the side wall that creates the gap through from the new living room in the extension to the dining / kitchen area. Two more sections of wall have been demolished to create access from the kitchen to the pantry and utility room and to allow access to the dining area from the top of the re-sited staircase.

Three months ago the main contractor was adamant that doing this would cause serious problems with the original roof structure. It didn't.

Let's hope the resumption of work continues to next week.

Meanwhile...

If only I was a shepherd...