Well at last we have started to see some real progress. The diner has finally been completed but not without some teething problems. Here are some technical details: All rafters are 200×50mm C16 grade timber with 18mm thick T&G boarding fixed over the rafters. Over the ceiling boards was installed a vapor barrier and 200mm thick Dow Chemical Roofmate SL-A extruded polystyrene insulation board. Then we installed a 0.7mm VM Quartz Plus Zinc laid  standing seam roof.

Diner rear wall is constructed.

Floor rafters are installed.

Supporting beams and roof frame completed

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Zinc standing seam roof installed.

We used a company called VM Zinc to provide the standing seam roof materials http://www.vmzinc.co.uk and they put us in touch with their sub-contractors to install the roof. We used a company called Bell Zinc and Copper Roofing http://www.bellzinc.co.uk . The installation was quick and carried out with incredible skill and perfection. The finished item looks really good.

The next task is to tackle the external insulation and cladding and this has presented a few problems, namely the length of the fixings. We initially had real problems sourcing the stainless steel ties of the right length to fix through the insulation and through the battens and insulation. But Ablerow persevered and after a week or two were able to lay their hands on the right fixings. All exterior walls needed to have all rendering removed to provide a good surface to attach the cladding. 140mm Dow Roofmate SL-A Insulation is then held in place with a polyurethane foam adhesive ready for fixing with stainless steel ties. On to this goes a breather membrane and then 50 x 50mm vertical battens fixed to the masonry wall through the insulation with additional ties. This will have a stainless steel expanded metal lath fixed over the battens and then rendered in a 3 coat 30mm lime render.

The importance of this stage is that without the insulation and cladding in place we can’t fit the windows and without the windows in place we can’t achieve a dry sealed house. This is essential before pouring in the screed floors on the ground floor ready for laying the electric cabling to form the underfloor heating. And only then can we think about internal decoration.

So the house stands with almost all of the windows removed and all of the old render removed ready for thermal cladding. From now on (fingers crossed) we should see some more real rapid progress.

Well yes we have been waiting for the electrical and pluming first fix to be completed and now they have. This means that we can get cracking on with all that lovely other stuff. But in the meantime I have been looking at funding again and thought I would take a look at:  http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk   the government funded environmental information site. It is packed with great information and environmental direction with easy ways to stop wasting energy to home improvements and create your own energy. But sadly not a lot of any real tangible funding or incentives. Yes you can enter your post code and it will return a number of funding opportunities but it rather depends upon you being unemployed or retired. However you are directed to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme website where you are invited to fill in a form which could get you up to £2,500.00 towards Solar, PV, Wood burning stoves etc but the supplier and installer do need to be certified by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. I have a form and I intend to fill it out once we have settled on our suppliers.

Hopefully next time there will be more pictures and progress.

So yes things do appear to have gone a little slow but rest assured there has been a lot of progress. The first fix pluming has been completed. All the roof has been tiled bar those bits that need leaving until windows have gone in and the diner has been built and pretty much all of the interior wood work has been completed.

The most recent work has seen the rear diner wall go up and the floor beams going in. Here we really start to get a feel for the finished project.

We should see the diner completed in the next week or so meaning moving onto the more exciting areas of the project.

In terms of what’s next we should be looking at the thermal cladding going on and all of the new windows going in. Next week we are having final planning meetings with the electrician so that he can start his first fix. This means we can start thinking about the underfloor heating.

Well we have had our hols and have been very excited about what we would find when we returned. A lot has gone on including tiling and defining room spaces where the kitchen, hall, toilet and utility room will go. All the main plumbing has gone in and the house is almost ready for first fit electrical work.

The roof no longer bows and is ready for the weight of solar panels.

Substantial wood work has gone in to define the internal space.

Once we have a dry house we can start on all of the internal work such as the underfloor heading and electrics to flooring, windows and plastering. The next main phases will include the thermal cladding and construction of the diner.

So all the wood work in the roof is finally finished. It has been a challenge to match up with the roof of the diner to be.

Next is to add the felting making the house waterproof for the first time in weeks.

The upstairs interior is also looking good. Walls have been strengthened and first fit plumbing has begun.

More excitingly now the piling has been completed we have been able to fit the steels into place. First of all concrete plinths were formed above the concrete filled pilled pillars.

And then steel pillars attached ready for the beams to lay across.

With the roof on and just awaiting tiling and the main diner support steels we are well on the way. By the end of August we are hoping to have the roof tiled and sealed and the diner construction well under way. Ablerow have really pulled the stops out and have managed to save me a lot of money which as been a good thing due to much additional work.

Well the last week has seen the continuation of the roof and my total move into the garage. I will post some new pictures soon. In the meantime we are getting closer to constructing the diner. At the moment the idea is to get a dry house before we can continue inside which will mean another week or so. Once the roof is completely back on then we are looking at electrical work, plumbing, finishing the underfloor heating, cladding and windows.

So onward we go….

So the piling continued up to six meters down through the bank and into the ground below. Some may say this is tad over the top but that was the recommendation of the Structural Engineer and the local planning control.

You can see the orange caps showing where holes have been drilled. A serious amount of soil had to be moved to allow the piling rig to get in to position.

Meanwhile at the roofing end of the project things were coming along in leaps and bounds. You can now see details of the flitch beam in situation.

Also the roof beams were all replaced. It is worth noting that most of this work is extra. Having exposed areas of the old house local planning insisted on updating to modern building regulations. While this is costing more I do know that all this will be well worth doing in the end.

It should not be long now before the completion of the roof and a sealed dry house. July has been exceptionally wet month and I am just not used to watching it rain in the kitchen.

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Here we start to see the gradual deconstruction of the older part of the house. This first picture shows the new floor beams going in to what will be the kitchen.

But then things started to get heavy. The next few pictures show the roof over the older part of the house completely removed.

You’ll notice that the immersion boiler is still visible and useable also you can see that the wall has been removed where the new front door will be.

This view looks through the hole created leading through to the diner from the kitchen. Just beyond the doorways at the back is the master bedroom. These up stair rooms have been striped back to the basic brick work. You will notice that the walls are only one brick thick.

This is the view from the landing looking down into the old kitchen.

The side wall has almost completely been removed and floor beams have been installed throughout the first floor providing a strong level surface. This makes way for a flitch beam to be installed across the whole length of the house. A flitch beam (or flitched beam) is a compound beam used in the construction of houses, decks, and other primarily wood-frame structures. Typically the flitch beam is made up of a steel plate sandwiched between two wood beams, the three layers being held together with bolts. In that common form it is sometimes referenced as a steel flitch beam. Further alternating layers of wood and steel can be used to produce an even stronger beam. The metal plate(s) within the beam are known as flitch plates. Only after this can the roof be rebuilt.

Yep that immersion boiler is still there.

Here the flitch beam is being prepared for installation.

Much earth has to be removed and a slope built to allow access to the mini piling rig. This will pile down 6 meters ready for the support steels to be put in.

Enter the piling rig. It has arrived and over the next few days it will drill up to 12 holes each one taking around an hour.

The company we have used is called Southern Piling.

Well this at last brings us up to date the date being 3oth July 2009. I will continue to update as progress moves.

So in summary we have built the shells for the two bathrooms, removed and replaced most of the roof, dug down half a meter in both bathrooms, living room and hall, replaced the floor beams in Luke’s room and spare bedroom. Which is amazing for under 5 weeks. But there has been a fair amount extra work done and still to do. As part of the house is a lot older it has thrown up some serious issues such as the second floor walls only being a brick thick and the lack of foundations. This has meant some clever thinking in over coming some of these hurdles. The planning officer has decreed that the diner extension can not add any wait to the walls of the older house and that the bank (as mentioned before) will need retaining and holes piled through the bank and into the ground below. This has meant bringing in a mini piling rig. Also we have had to remove the entire roof over the older part of the house and start again. In many ways this is easier for the builders.

The next group of photographs show this development.

Meanwhile life in the garage is bearing up. It is the late night return to the house and its only surviving room, namely our master bedroom, which can be a little miserable especially if its raining. Thanks Met office.