Noisy beggars!

Nod

Nod

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Nod (UK)
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Well, only while they were knocking a couple of bricks out! We're having a smallish (2.7m x 2.9m) conservatory stuck on and I got a call last evening asking if they could start today. A quick snap of the scene yesterday...

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and from about the same spot today...

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and from above...

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With a bit of luck, it'll be up by the time Mrs Nod gives up her day job but it'll need flooring before we can actually "move in" to it. They reckon it'll take a couple more days to get it up to dwarf wall level then once the glass starts going up, it'll be a couple more days. IIRC, they reckon to leave the walls and screed a week before glazing, which should be enough to let the screed dry. If it needs longer to dry before putting the laminate flooring down, it needs longer and we'll have to wait!

Fortunately, we stopped off at B&Q yesterday to pick up a few more boxes of the laminate - we only bought the stuff for the rest of downstairs a month or so ago but there was none out on the floor... The fortunate bit is that they did have 3 boxes up on the top level of the racking! We've got the other box we need in the loft, left over from the earlier works, as well as enough left over (we deliberately bought extra) insulating underlay for the conservatory.
 
It'll be worth it when it's all done, up and running Nod. We practially live in our conservatory in the summer, and it's great because there's deliberately no TV in there so we just hang around listening to music (including vinyl), and read books and stuff. I love it.

Show us when it's done!
 
Seeing as it's just the foundations going in, why not have an even bigger extension for a secret lair? Act quick and you'll be able to get one!
 
looking forward to seeing the finished project. by the way is that bird feeder also a thermometer?
 
The little feeder on the Irish Windows is just that, a little feeder. Outdoor temperature is dealt with by an outdoor sender which sends the info (temp and relative humidity) to a receiver beside my living room chair.

The bricks are arriving in the morning (paying a bit extra for a perfect match) and it should take long for them to get up to floor level. Plan is for the conservatory floor to end up level with the ground floor so we can (if we so decide) take the Irish Windows out and have either a walk through or bi-fold doors.

The lawn's a mess but after all the rain we've had recently, that's hardly a surprise! The worst parts are (obviously) the 2' or so closest to the trench and that area's going to be paved anyway. There was a small patio area/path under where the conservatory's going and I think that'll provide enough slabs to do the paving. Might need a couple more although the downhill side could be simply concreted if necessary.

Interior walls are up to what will be floor level and exteriors are up to ground level. Above that level, the matching bricks are needed, hence the wait. We're keeping it all bare brick inside and out - we did consider both rendering/plastering and plastic to the ground but decided that bare brick was better looking than plastic and also left us the option of render/plaster if we decided to go that route in the future.

Chomping through our stock of Tassimo Costa Americano! My fault for keeping on offering them cuppas. It's bloody cold out there though and I know from bitter experience how cold you get, even when working hard in the cold.

Will be posting updates at significant future stages - dwarf walls finished, floor screeded, frame up and completed and maybe one or 2 interiors once it's floored and furnished!
 
may be a stupid question but why Irish windows?
 
Indeed, a Mr Patrick O'Doors, generally known as Paddy!

Sand and aggregate just arrived, bricks will be here in an hour or so.

Not a lot of progress from the earlier pic from this angle but the interior wall is up to DPC level so once the mortar's cured, the floor can be levelled and poured. Not sure when the "erection" team will be here but as I said, probably a week or so after the solid stuff's finished. Since it's just over 2 weeks until my wife gives up her day job, we're hoping the new room'll be up by then!
 
Make sure they put the damp proof course in properly, it should tie in with the existing one or you will have problems in the future.

Realspeed
 
Tied in and taped and they'll be doing the same for the floor membrane. ;)

Bricks arrived just as the bricky had done the DPC bit so no delays. As I said in post #5, I've paid a bit extra for the bricks - well worth it, they're a perfect match for the existing. The mortar colours are less of a problem - the existing is in a few different shades anyway! The walls are only going to be 600mm above floor level (1000mm max [if that] above ground on the downhill side which we'll rarely see, let alone look at!) anyway. The plastic's coming from the same place as the windows so should be a perfect match.
 
After a little chasing, the fitters have finally turned up with the plastic and glass to finish the job. Here are a couple of shots of the slab and walls - will post more at significant points.

Typically, I thought they were arriving at 08:30 this morning so I had a bath at 8. I was just having my back scrubbed (NOT a euphemism!) when my wife asked me when they were coming. Before I could answer, the doorbell went - they were 20 minutes early!

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4 1/2 hours or so later and...

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I manscape for nobody!

The Camelia has been cut back a fair bit to allow the fitters access down the side and will be pruned more correctly after it's finished flowering. The Berberis might get a little trim at the same time (or later in the year when it's done its thing), although the birds like it bushy (see manscaping comment above!!!) for the extra cover it provides them.

Just need to get the threshold sorted and the laminate floor down then furnish it - sofa's being delivered by the charity shop on Monday, telly's in the spare bedroom (doubles as a computer monitor and photo frame), shelf unit beside my sitting room chair and yew slab table at MiL's (heven't told her we're nicking that yet!)
 
Nod that's coming on lovely!
 
All up and finished in a day - not bad going! One or 2 little bits need finishing but that shouldn't be a long wait - I haven't given 'em the final payment yet... Cat loving the new flap she has and getting used to the magnet that stops it flapping in the wind - her previous owner (Dad) used to remove the magnets to make her life easier - I,ve only built her a step to get her a bit higher on her way back in!

Got light and electrician's coming tomorrow or Tuesday to final fix - currently running TV and 'puter off an extension lead. Using this 'puter as a TV source - no aerial yet - in fact, the house aerial is rather iffy so need to get a man in to sort it all for Freeview. I would DIM but roofs and I don't mix well and I don't have a roofrack or clip ladder anyway.

It's a bit chilly at 04:00 (but we have a fan heater to use once leccy's here) but warms up fast once the sun hits it (which is pretty much as soon as it rises). Plenty of opening windows to vent excess heat in Summer too!

Inevitably, it is now called the cat house despite the connotation that has!
 
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