Extension Part 40 - The End?

So it is our fourth anniversary of moving up here today and you may have thought with the lack of posts wrt the extension that it was all done and dusted.

Well, it almost is.

It was finally signed off by building control a couple of weeks ago. Most of the minor niggles we had (a list had been compiled) have been fixed. We still have a small leak in heavy rain through the bottom of the patio doors and rendering around the bottom of the utility room to be completed. And the lock on the utility room door is to be replaced. We have had the final bill but have a couple of outstanding queries on it to be clarified. But we are now using the sun room, having moved in the three piece suite we brought up with us. And the washing pulley in the utility room has been well tested.

So last week we moved our aging washer dryer from the kitchen to the utility room. And on testing it we found that it tripped the circuit breaker every time it got to the spin cycle. To be fair it had started doing that on occasions before we moved it and it was 13 years old...

Then we moved the dishwasher from its storage in one of our garden sheds in to the kitchen. On testing that it made the most horrendous noise. I guess the dishwasher was about the same age as the washing machine and four years in a shed haven't done it any favours...

So we spent some time on the web looking at kitchen appliances as we also want another freezer for the utility room.The one I had earmarked when we were planning the utility room is no longer available. Appliancesonline seemed to have a good selection of choices at reasonable prices.

Armed with a list we went to Curry's yesterday. They had none of what we had selected. However, they did have a dishwasher that I preferred to the one on our list albeit more expensive.

Unlike my previous experiences in such stores there wasn't a sales person in sight. Eventually a lady appeared. Paul asked her if their promise to beat any price found elsewhere by 10% applied to online sites. No. He ventured that we were looking to buy several appliances, giving her an opportunity to engage us in a sales negotiation. She didn't rise to the challenge so we left.

Back home we set about finding an on-line site for the new dishwasher. Pixmania came up trumps, and it was 50 quid cheaper than Curry's and 10 quid cheaper than our original choice from the web. With that extra tenner I have upgraded the washer dryer to a much better one - it was on special offer, reduced from 480 to 360 quid. They didn't have the freezer we had chosen but we decided that we could live with a smaller (and significantly cheaper) freezer that we had looked at in Curry's - there are just the two of us after all and it really is only needed to cope with the excess of gooseberries/strawberries etc. and for when we have people staying.

So the order went in yesterday afternoon. And, in a bizarre twist, we find that pixmania is a 'partner' of and it will all be delivered by - Curry's!

Back Home

Paul had been very sneaky in telling me that Chris (tiler) would be starting this week.

When actually he started last week.

And finished about half an hour before I got home today.

I decided that I was too tired to drive home from Colin's yesterday, having had only about 4 hours sleep on the planes having been up for the best part of 34 hours.

The slate tiles look great - really pleased that Paul finally agreed. The rusty colours complement the wood beautifully, and the variations of the tiles works well with the simplicity of the rest of the room.

The utility room is also finished. We went for 'some imperfections within the box' quarry tiles - we decided we could live with that for the utility room as they were much cheaper than 'perfect expensive' quarry tiles. They look fine.

The garden has got carried away.

It is impossible to see the rows of potatoes as they have grown so much and are now flowering.

The raised beds need weeding but it does not seem to have restricted the growth of the cabbages and lettuces.

The LB extension needs to be sprayed again - the weeds have had free rein.

Hopefully I will get out there this evening when it has cooled down a little.

Extension Part 39 and the Great Tile Debate

Two days later than advertised Alan has been, fitted the glass in the internal door from the sitting room and removed the plasterboard. We can now start getting the room back into some kind of order.

This should have been reason for great celebration.

But yesterday we noticed a crack in the wood of one of the window sills that will need replacing. And more importantly a split in the wood at the bottom of the external door out onto the patio...

Some more tile samples arrived yesterday.

My original claim that we would end up choosing the first tile we saw have proved wrong.

The problem now being that there is one tile that I feel passionately would look absolutely stunning...



.............................................................................and another that Paul prefers ->



I like the one that Paul favours and it does have advantages. Manufactured so uniform depth, will not need sealing or polishing, comes in several different sizes and is a little cheaper. I have offered a compromise. His in the sunroom and mine in the utility room. Can't say fairer than that. But Paul is worried that if my tile does look stunning he will never hear the end of it...

Comments welcome re tile choice - especially if you like mine best :)

Extension Part 38

The saga is drawing to a close.

The utility room is completed. Boiler in, sink unit in, wall unit in, laundry pulley fitted. Alan (joiner) here last Thursday/Friday putting in the window vents that our architect had noticed were missing from here and two of the windows in the sunroom.


Outside tap up and running cold water - already proving invaluable.


My only quibble is a couple of places at the bottom of the outside wall either side of the door that are not rendered...


All the outside lights are fitted and working.

The security light outside the utility room is very effective in illuminating the garden down to the gates.

The outside doors have now been completed with sills etc.

The roofers are due back sometime to fix a few leaks we have noticed in the guttering.

The sunroom is also almost finished. The only 'majorish' thing still needing to be done is the glazing of one half of the door between it and our lounge. We have been told that should be happening on Tuesday. And then we can have the grand removal of the plasterboard and reclaim the back of our sitting room...which will probably need redecorating because of the new doors...

We have started looking at tiles and getting quotes from tilers in earnest now. The whole of Friday was spent driving around Berwick and Berwickshire. I am also going to send off for some samples from the internet. I expect we will end up choosing the one we liked when we first started looking months ago...

Extension Part 37

It was all go this week - well, from Tuesday...

Roddy (painter) has been here. The ceiling has been treated with a fire retardant and walls painted.

Mark has been here working on the paving. It is all laid now, just needs pointing.

Alan (big Alan - joiner) has been here and we now have window sills and skirting boards in the sunroom. Still needs completing in the utility room.

Wally (electrician) and helpers were here yesterday and now we have some of the lights fitted and working.

Will it all be finished within the year - watch this space...

Extension Part 36

Progress at last!


Wednesday the floor was covered in polystyrene.


Thursday by a chocolate box insert and the heating pipes curved up and down around it.


Friday and it was all encased in cement.

I was very pleased to see that the lorry delivering the cement made it through our entrance, albeit very slowly and carefully, so hopefully the same will be true when we get the main bulk of topsoil needed for the rest of the garden...

Extension Part 35

It may be all go in the garden but it's all stop on the extension.

Thomas was here just over two weeks ago glazing the doors. Then he discovered a scratch in the glass of one of them and stopped. A replacement would need to be ordered.

Since then nothing, zilch, bugger all etc.

We had an email from Alan last week. He had a slipped disc and has been flat on his back. Apparently he should be fit after the Easter break. 

We have, however, sorted out the painter/decorator. The first quote we got was over twice the price of the other two. We have decided to go with our contractor's painter, Roddy, as the other two quotes were almost identical and Roddy will be doing the ceiling. But on Paul's suggestion to Tom that the ceiling could be done now while we are waiting for the floor we have heard nothing.

I think it is odds on now that it will be over a year from when the building work started. One month to go. Today is the anniversary of the roof being taken off the cowshed...

Extension Part 34

Since my last post there has been very little progress - in fact some things have gone backwards. If that's what happens after a good school report maybe I shouldn't blog good weeks :)

The only success has been the almost completion of the wall copes by Mark a week and a half ago.

The underfloor heating was scheduled to go in on Wednesday but Alan let us know the day before that they were not coming. He was warned that it would not go unnoted on here...

We have had one quote for the painting so far. It was noted that the ceiling in the sunroom should have been treated with nullifire but hasn't been. Paul phoned Thomas to find out what was happening with regard to that as it was specified in the plans.

We have had a second painter around today to get another quote. We hadn't been inside the sunroom recently, and it is clear that three of the windows are not weatherproof after the strong winds and rain we have had recently.

We are still waiting to see the painter used by our contractors - was meant to come on Friday but he phoned to reschedule.

On a more positive note I have started planning what fruit trees I want for the back garden. I fought the gales yesterday to measure the 'fruit tree bed to be' and then drew a scaled diagram. I think I should be able to fit five 'pyramid' apple trees spaced evenly along the lawn side of the bed, a 'fan' cherry at the side gate wall and a few pear/plum cordons at the outer wall. I now have a list of my wanted varieties/rootstocks. This is all new territory for me but I am getting quite excited by the prospect. Won't happen till next winter though at the earliest but hopefully that will give me enough time to get the area ready.

Extension Part 33

Well, where do I start.

Allan, Mark and Norman (previously known as A.N.Other) were here on Monday continuing with the paving. They were rapidly getting to the point where they could do no more until the utility room and wall around the path up there had been plastered.

What do you call it when you have your builders, plasterers and joiners on site at the same time? Answer: A miracle. It was rush-hour here on Tuesday!

Not only that but David and helper were also here to fit the railings and gates. It took them the whole day, and I think they look absolutely stunning. They have transformed the look of the whole garden area/walls.


Alan and Mark have started laying the copes underneath/around the railings/posts. The top of the steps up to the veggie patch and the base of the oil tank platform have been paved.



The plasterers started on the utility room and the inside garden walls. They were back today and have started applying the K-rend. It looks very dark at the moment but should become paler when it dries out to match better with the sun room. There is a small area just above the window that does seem to be more the colour we chose.

The utility room and lounge-sun room doors have been fitted. We have picked the required skirting boards - sticking with the same style as the lounge. The ceiling has been finished.

Wally was here yesterday doing all things electrical. We now have power sockets.

The roofers were here yesterday/today fitting the cherry on top of the sun room. Rather them than me - it was pretty cold and windy. I have to admit that I was expecting it to be flush rather than a lollipop.

We collected a few more tile samples from Pearsons and also had a trip to Gala this afternoon to look at some more.

I have also been doing my Blue Peter utility room interior design. Scaled drawing of the room and paper cut outs of freezer, washing machine, laundry pulley and sink unit. We have already determined that it will be better to have an upright freezer rather than a chest freezer and have gone for the smallest sink/drainer in the catalogue. One base unit under the sink, worktop continuing from sink to the wall and one wall unit above the so far unknown sized boiler that we are assuming will fit in its allotted space. So far no units on the other side of the room. We may just put up shelving. I have started making a list of things that should live in there, but Paul doesn't see the need for any more cupboards. Washing powder etc can live under the sink, dog food tins can live in the wall unit. I would still quite like a broom cupboard...

Extension Part 32

The sandstone paving was delivered on Monday morning.

On Thursday Alan, Mark and A.N.Other started on the patio. We were called out to say if we were happy with the proposed layout before it was set in concrete - or cement to be more accurate. Mainly grey with an occasional yellow just to break it up. Looked good to us.

Work continued on Friday on the paving around the back. Just hope the levels are correct and it meets in the middle :)

David phoned to let us know the railings and posts have been (re-)treated and are back with him to finish off.

When I called in on Penny earlier in the week she was determined to try to track down Scott the tiler for me. He was found working on a house just off the main square. The recession has not hit his workload and he is unlikely to be able to fit us in the near future, but he recommended the tiler from Opus at Swinton. However, I got some advice from him re tiles/skirting boards and he told us that Pearsons is now doing tiles - ask for Kevin and say Scott sent us.

We went down there on Friday. Pearsons also appears to be thriving - just opened a new shop area and still in a bit of disarray. Kevin cleared a load of stuff to get to the tile samples - I think they are still waiting for a lot more to come in. We picked a couple of maybes and then another four from the catalogues - Kevin phoned the company and hopefully samples will arrive next week. We declined the marble tiles at just under £120 per square metre - I have done a rough estimate and reckon about 30 square metres for the sunroom and corridor...

Extension Part 31

So the ceiling looks great. Other than the joiners ran out of wood on the eighth octant...only needed four more bits but we are still waiting. We are also still waiting for the bobble on the top of the roof to be completed.

Alan came round on Wednesday to discuss the paving. We are in agreement over 2:1 grey/yellow mix of the sandstone. Paul mentioned that it might be a good idea if the pipes into the utility room were sorted before the plasterers started in there.

So on Thursday Norman (plumber - Alan's brother) came and we now have water pipes via our fitted wardrobe down to the utility room.

Plasterers have been here on Thursday and Friday plastering the corridor area from the house to the sunroom and the utility room.

The underfloor heating has been ordered.

David phoned to let us know that the railings were made and had been taken to be powder-coated/painted. The posts have been sand-blasted ready to be re-treated. He will then need to paint the fancy insert panels, and hopefully they will be ready sometime late next week.

Our next job will be to select the units we want in the utility room. And try to get hold of Scott (the very elusive tiler) to discuss the floors.

We keep getting told there isn't much else to do but it doesn't seem like it to me...

Extension Part 30

Alan and Mark were here at the start of the week before last despite the snow, fixing the roof. I got summoned to take my camera out so that Alan could take a photograph of the offending area for my blog :)

We eventually made a decision on the copes for the walls after getting pricing for the stone ones and the man-made concrete ones that matched the sunroom. As the stone ones looked too big and we weren't sure how the concrete ones - which looked the perfect size - would weather we reverted back to the sandstone that was in the original quote. It wasn't worth spending a lot more money on either of the other two options when neither was exactly what we wanted.

Alan and Mark were back round on Tuesday with the grey sandstone - I got called to quality control which ones met my criteria of grey :)

We had noticed some paint had flaked off of one of the posts for the railings and had mentioned this to David. Now we noticed that most of them seemed to be having this problem. This meant that Mark could only do the coping for the part of the wall around the railing-less patio area

On Thursday a man came from the company that had done the powder coating/painting and removed them. He was very apologetic Paul said. It seems that some water had got between the layers. Luckily this problem showed up sooner rather than later...

The joiners were back this week and have been busy. They have now broken through into the house from both the utility room and sunroom. Jen has been a little upset by the bangs but Poncho has hardly batted an eyelid.

The last couple of days they have been cladding? the ceiling with wooden strips. Unfortunately I cannot get in there to photograph it as it is now all locked up. The photo of the doorway through to the back of the sitting room was taken from outside the glass corridor peering through...

We have also been making decisions on doors and door handles. Alan will be back sometime next week to discuss the paving for the patio/paths etc. It was quite scary when he calculated the area that needs to be done. But could have been worse - the original plans had an even bigger patio area.

Extension Part 29

No go on Monday and Tuesday, which was no surprise given the weather, but the plasterers were back on Wednesday and working in the sun room.

The sample of pebble-dashed render that I had spotted at the weekend was for the utility room. It was not what I had expected. On Thursday they brought some other samples which were different colours and more what I had imagined. We had a look at a couple and picked a colour that matched well with the stone. We have asked for an estimate of the costs of the two different types.

A problem has occurred with the utility room - there is a damp area where it is attached to the outside wall. This is very noticeable from the outside. The plasterers are on hold until this is sorted. Alan came round on Friday with some sample copes for the walls and we got him to look at it. The problem is that where the house was joined to the old barn there is essentially a flat roof, and with all the snow/rain we have had there is water lying. This has then drained down the wall and seeped through the wall of the utility room. There is no problem inside the house as the existing walls are so thick. I always wanted to 'tidy' up that area but it would be very expensive - scaffolding/removing/re-laying tiles. We have been given another option of having some sort of lining laid at a fraction of the cost and this is what we are going with.

Thomas was also here first thing Friday morning and we now have a door frame in the utility room.

My laundry pulley arrived on Monday :)

Extension Part 28

Well, after the great progress at the start of the year last week was a bit of a disappointment.

We were woken up early on Tuesday with a lot of loud bangs and at one point a noise that sounded like a stone being cut. And then it went quiet again. By the time we took the dogs out there was no-one there but a trailer was abandoned on site. Just before it got dark we heard people out there, presumably checking the state of play and retrieving the trailer.

The plasterer was supposed to start on Wednesday. 

On Friday there was more activity. I had been over at Allan's continuing our latest match. It was just past two when I returned home and I met Paul just after the bridge as he was setting off for a long weekend of playing bridge at Falkirk. We stopped and he told me the plasterer was here. I could hear a lot of banging when I got in. On checking progress yesterday there are metal strips along the edges of the plasterboard on five of the eight columns, and sacks of plaster/plaster adhesive in the middle of the sunroom.

I still have not got my laundry pulley. Fired off email to customer support yesterday enquiring about its status. No reply as yet...

Extension Part 27

Well, quite a lot has happened in just over a week.

Mark has repaired the hole from the cowshed demolition. It had to get worse before it got better. The removal of the very large metal spike proved that it was indeed holding a lot more of the stone in place...

The wall around the patio has been been finished. David has been here today putting in the metal posts ready for the railings. So now everything should be ready for the walls to be capped.

Tom (Thomas's dad) was here at the start of the week with the plasterer just checking out the state of play. We have been told that the utility room and inside of the garden wall can be 'dry rendered' which means that they can make it match the colour of the stonework without us having to paint it. This seems like a great idea, saving us a lot of future maintenance and the hassle of trying to pick the right colour of masonry paint.

Thomas has been here this week working in the sun room on the walls and inside roof.

Although taking a photograph from outside looking in gave this great optical illusion - roof? What roof?

We have emailed off our selection of light fittings. Because the utility room has been moved we now have two lights quite close together at the back. I have suggested we have one lamp to light that area and asked for advice in having more of a floodlight on the utility room to light the garden. We are still waiting to hear back.

No sign of my laundry pulley yet.

Extension Part 26

Work started up again on the extension while I was away last week. I was getting updates from Paul.

The windows and doors are now in the sun room, although still need finishing off - draught-proofing amongst other things. We have to make a decision at some time on what colour to paint the woodwork. Dark grey has been suggested and this seems like a sensible option given (hopefully) the sand and grey paving for the patio to be.

The electrician, Wally, has been this week. Yesterday he brought around several brochures for lighting - Paul had said he could not possibly take on such an onerous responsibility and has deferred to me. I am currently going with some aluminium modernish rectangular halogen uplighters for the sun room. Although I may change my mind and go for the rather neat looking adjustable spotlights...

We have also got to select outside lights. I am rather taken by a globe design for the front and a more traditional lantern design for the back. Wally said to let him know our options and he will price them up. I now have a shortlist of seven.

The wiring has now been completed amidst a few bangs and shouts, trying to get a cable from the far end of the house right the way along and out the other into the utility room, where we will have another fuse box. A little diversion through one of our fitted wardrobes was needed in the end. I ordered a laundry pulley for the utility room today - and after surveying where the light in there was to be have moved it about 6 inches nearer the window to be safe.

Mark was back yesterday and has started on the wall around the patio area. It was too cold and frosty for him today. The pillars now have caps.

We are eagerly awaiting what happens next.

Extension Part 25

No-one was here when we took the dogs out this morning.

About half an hour after we got back Tom senior (I have been corrected - plain Tom, Tom senior being his dad, as opposed to Thomas, his son and the joiner. We get lost as there are at least 4 generations of Tom/Thomas's) arrived to tell us that unfortunately flu has stopped play.

Work should start again on January 5th 2009 - hangovers, weather and health permitting - and it should be all speed ahead to get the job completed by the spring.

Extension Part 24

The first lintel of the sun room went in last week.

Monday and Tuesday saw the sort of completion of the sun room stonework. Looking good. The sills for the windows still need to be done but there is no point doing them until the windows are ready.



David came over on Tuesday morning with the pillar inserts for the gates, and now the pillars have been built up around them.

Work is progressing well on the stonework for the walls.

Alan reckons they will have done all they can by the time I get back.

Which may be in quite some time - see my previous post...

Extension Part 23

Alan and Mark returned last Wednesday with the first of the sandstone.

Mark was working on the new steps up to the veggie patch, and some was laid out as coping for the wall around the utility room leading to the steps. We had decided on sand and grey, but some looked very reddy/pink to me. I went back out for another look, and Alan said he could take them back and swap them for some more yellowy/greyish ones. I know when we first looked at the stone to choose it was quite hard to tell what colour was what, with the variations within the stones themselves, and a lot of the grey has a pinky hue!

A start of the remaining outside wall has been made, and holes dug yet again for the gate pillars. Unfortunately this was a little premature again. David had asked for a week's notice to get the inserts made, so they won't be ready until early next week. This caused a little problem on Monday for the lorry delivering the stone for the walls and sunroom, and I believe some refilling was required for the lorry to get in. It is certainly a lot of stone...

Work started on Monday on the walls of the sunroom. A lot of stone cutting was required for the bottom layer, presumably to get the overall height correct. Tom was here this morning fitting the fire stops (?) for the windows, and now progress with the walls is progressing a lot more quickly as less cutting is needed.

We have been told it should be about a week to do the sunroom stone work. They are not here tomorrow, but should be back on Thursday.

Extension Part 22a

Well, I was getting all ready to report this morning.

Zilch. Sweet F.A. B*gger all.

And unlike the last time I haven't had to change tack.

Nothing. Not a sausage. Not even a chipolata.