Day 75 (104) - The Final Straight

Well it's been 4 weeks since my last post, mainly because there has been so much going on both on and off site that I just haven't had the time to update on a daily basis.
In my last post (20th June 2013), we had the last remaining steel lifted in to place and this marked the last of the "heavy" structural work needed allowing for the completion of our roof at the rear.

Rear gable end roof and existing roof showing
breathable membrane and battens

Our roofing work was carried out by Portrait Roofing based out of High Wycombe, and who are members of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
As the front of our house would be more visible to both neighbours and passers by, we used the existing tiles from the central rear section to tile the side extension roof at the front. We then sourced recycled tiles matching our existing contrite tiles for the remaining roof area.

Tiles on the left hand side blend in seamlessly with existing roof tiles

Whilst the roof was being tiled we also decided to take advantage of the scaffolding to replace the front fascia and soffit to which new guttering would be affixed. The result was a crisp, white finish which will require very little maintenance in the years to come.

New soffit and fascia detail

Once the roof was finished off, the next stage involved the installation of the windows. For now, only the additional windows to the rear and side extension would be fitted; the replacement of the existing windows would be done at a later stage as the priority was to weatherproof the property.
Our contractor sourced the windows from Seven Day Windows and for the rear of the property (where 2 of the bedrooms will be) we opted for Pilkington acoustic glass to cut down on noise and improve on thermal insulation.

Rear Elevation showing installed windows

Once windows were installed by Glenn and Ryan, they then moved on to laying down the flooring in the rear and side extensions. Nowadays, unless the floor is being exposed as a final finish, traditional floorboards are now replaced with chipboard. We opted for Caberfloor Chipboard Tongue And Groove Moisture Resistant Sheets (18 x 2400 x 600mm) which is FSC certified. The main benefit of this material is that its quick and easy to install and adds to soundproofing.

Once the outside was secure, the next phase was in knocking through from the new part of the house into the existing. This would prove to be quite a slow and delicate process, not to mention a dusty one!

Half of this will be part of our new master bedroom
the other will be part of the new 4th bedroom

By far the most exciting day though, was this last Wednesday (17th July 2013) when we had our bi-folding doors installed at the rear of the house in what will be our kitchen diner. 

4-panel bi-fold doors leading out to the garden

We had sourced our doors independently from a local manufacturer called Origin Easifold Doors based in High Wycombe. The main reason for choosing these premium doors is that they carry a 20 year guarantee.The installation was carried out by an approved local installer called Cookham Conservatories based in Marlow and was carried out expertly by Charlie and Bob in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees centigrade!

The finished result!

The week ahead will see some real progress internally as the stud walls separating the bathrooms and bedrooms upstairs will be built and then the walls dividing up the existing kitchen and dining room will also be removed. We will also see the beginning of the first fix for electrics and plumbing.

All very exciting!!