Joists!

Joists!
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

Rihoys have almost finished adding the first wooden joists to the steel structure in the existing part of the building. They've also doubled up on the number of joists under the future first floor bathroom, so theoretically we should be able to stand on the joists and get an idea of how big the bathroom and bedroom will be. Tempting.
In other news, most of the concrete pads for the remaining steelwork have been cast in situ, so they'll be ready to receive the beams when they arrive. Exciting because the ones in the living area are supposed to be very substantial.

The first steels go in

The first steels go in
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

Like it says - the first steels have been fitted in place and are now awaiting the engineers to come in and fine tune the placement. Rihoys have done the lion's share of the work putting them in and adding hangers and joists - double joists for the upstairs bathroom.

Bricks!

Bricks!
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The brickwork is catching up to the level of the blockwork on the extension - it's looking good. Also the lintels for the windows and doors are starting to appear in place.

Steels

Steels
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The first steels have arrived on site - run of the mill RSJs. The bigger ones come later.

We were going to have matt white tiles in here - but...

wetroomvisual2
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

We've now got a stone floor and a colourful mosaic. I'm thinking that a darker tone will work better.

Mosaic design for wetroom

Mosaic Design
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

Imagine this - with more of a distinct top to bottom wavi-ness created with the lines of mosaic tiles - and less dinstinct horizontal wavi-ness as I blend the colours more. The white dots are tiny mirror tiles. This will be 2 x 1 metre and created in small pieces which will need to be stuck together.
Maybe...

Living area's shaping up

Living area shaping up
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

More progress on the living area section of the build. At this rate the blockwork and brickwork will soon be done.

Mmmm, doesn't look quite right

We think this is the wrong size
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The new window cavity being built in the East elevation of the living area wall is too small and the door too large. On the face of it, it looks like since Brian has left the site, there isn't any structure to the supervision of the works. We'll be addressing this first thing on Monday - it's a good stage to point out the problem as it only means removing a couple of blocks. Good thing we noticed.
Eric, the brickie in this picture, has opted to work a seven day week. I'm not too sure why, but I'm sure that Rihoys aren't complaining - and if the walls are all in the right place, we don't mind either.

Blockwork's about to start on the extension

Blockwork about to start
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The slab has dried and the blockwork is about to start. The external aspect of the site is starting to come together and it's really beginning to take shape. We were told that the blockwork will go up very quickly.
Worryingly the foreman, Brian, has apparently gone into hospital. We're not too sure what's happened to him, but he's not a young man. I guess we'll find out soon. In the meantime the build still carries on.

Slab

DSC_2727
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

We went down to the site to catch up on progress (we hadn't seen it for two whole days). The concrete was being poured into the extension to create the floor slab and they were almost finished. We were told that the slab was due to be poured on Monday, but was being delayed 'till today (but gave no reason, not really a problem as we see it).
It's yet another pointer as to the size of the living area, which, in reality, we will not be able to properly judge until it is painted lit and furnished.

Same size and shape as the new gable

DSC_2678
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

This is the old roof shape - but the new one is the same. Very interesting (and exciting) to see.

Window colour testing

DSC_2723
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

We're going to get dark grey aluminium windows. This is a test on the existing windows to see what grey looks like against the brickwork. It was wet here - the actual colour is lightly darker.

Decisions decisions decisions...

wetroomvisual
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

It's a period of intense decision making at the moment. It seems that while the house is still a shell we have to order everything. Current demands are for electrical, lighting, flooring, ironmongery, windows supplier / style / colour, kitchen, bathroom sanitary ware... all done from imagination.
This is a visual of the wetroom shower corner. In the next couple of days we'll need to go and source the exact tiles - these colours are not definite - just a rough idea. The good news is that Meriel gets to do the mosaic panel at the back of the shower.

Hey, it's shrinking

019 Saint's View, hey, it's shrinking
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

Well, that's not right, the house is supposed to be getting bigger, not smaller!
Rihoys have taken the roof back further in anticipation of the gable addition. You can see that the line drawn vertically down from where the roof stops is now just shy of where the gable will begin.

No more chimneys

017 Saint's View, no more chimneys
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The second chimney is almost gone, although the chimney breast is really large, so they'll be doing more on that tomorrow.
Brian, the foreman, reckons that he's had 20 skipfulls taken out of the site. Blimey.

Choices choices choices...

bathroom plan
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

I'm suddenly aware that we keep publishing the stuff that makes for interesting photos (OK so that's a matter of opinion) - but that's only part of what's happening at the moment. We spend most evenings talking about taps, showers, flooring, staircase details.... the list goes on. It's very strange making aesthetic decisions for such things when we haven't seen the space they go into. So we focus on the functional and our imagination - Meriel does sketches aplenty - I'll put some up soon. The problem with brochures (on and offline) is that they lead you astray. Our bathroom spec has become far more luxurious since we began (and more expensive of course to). Here are the latest specs for the 2 bathrooms. Click them to see in more detail.

On top...

DSC_2666
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

If someone puts scaffolding on top of your house it's impossible to resist the temptation to climb up onto it. So we did. Here's Meriel at the top and Dan half way up.
We went to check that our plans for the living area will fit in the deceptively small area which is now visible at floor level - they will - so that's good news.

More scaffolding up, chimney comes down

015 Saint's View, Scaffolding up, chimney down
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

One of the chimneys has been removed and the other will follow next week.

In other news the roofing felt and battens have passed their sell-by date, so we'll probably be replacing them. It's an additional cost, but the peace of mind we'll get from having a totally new roof covering built to modern specs will be worth it.

The bricks are here

Bricks are here
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

The bricks to be used to form the outer skin of the extension have arrived and they're a good match, although a few years of weathering will probably help them to blend in more.

Aaaaaah someone's nicked the end of our house

012 Saint's View, aaaaaah someone's nicked the end of our house
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

Or so it would appear. On closer inspection we find that Rihoys have removed the Southern wall of the house exposing the size of the living area at last. Meriel went to the site today and said that it looks pretty big - which was nice.
Things are still cracking on.

Living area dug out

Living area dug out
Originally uploaded by Lenny & Meriel.

I think this means that they are nearly ready to knock down the side wall and create the new floor slab.

Work starts again tomorrow.