Northfield House Renovation

The builders were on site early today and once the final wall had been prepared with strongboys, the bricks started to come down. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Its taken somewhat longer than we expected but it feels like we've finally reached a milestone where all the groundworks and structural changes have been completed. Photo 6 Meanwhile, I was covered in dust trying to clear up the attic room. Previous Next

The builders were on site again, and by midday the corner post and an internal beam B4 had finally been installed. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3  By the end of the day, the entire side wall had been removed. Photo 4 Photo 5  The new extension now finally seems connected to the existing house. Photo 6 Photo 7 Photo 8 Photo 9 The vertical sash box completely removed. Photo 10 Strongboys in position for removing the rear wall. Photo 11 The post in position, this should be bolted to the concrete pad that is sits on. Photo 12 This is where the beam B2 is welded to B4. Previous Next

The removal of plaster continued in the attic today. Photo 1 Photo 2 I could have left the partition wall as it is, but as we're in the process of removing the old plaster, I thought I should remove all of it. The wooden laths will also be removed so all that should remain is the partition uprights. Photo 3 Photo 4 As the clocks have gone back an hour and no lights working, work had to stop at 5pm. I was expecting to see some steel beams in position today but unfortunately although the builders were on site, they identified another issue. The back wall that is to be removed to accommodate beam B3 doesn't have a cavity as previously assumed and shown on the drawings. So the spacing of the flange plates where B3 bolts into B4 needs to be reduced. Fortunately, the steel fabricator can fix this and will be on site tomorrow morning. Previous Next

As we await for the steelworks to be completed, we decided to make a start on the internal rooms. The attic bedroom where the chimney was removed, shows there is no insulation in the roof. So the plan is to remove the existing plaster from the walls and ceiling and then to insulate. Photo 1 Photo 2 We managed to remove all the plaster and wooden laths. It was a horrible job. The nails still need removing from the rafters. We also made a start on the adjacent room. Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Hopefully by the end of tomorrow this room will also have its plaster removed and all the rubble cleared up. Previous Next

No work has happened for the last two days as the fabricator could't be on-site till today. Unfortunately, we've had a break-in... Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Looks like someone came looking for anything of value. They managed to remove the wash-basin from the bathroom but left it on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. They smashed the vanity unit in the bedrooms and attempted to remove the copper piping. Photo 4 Photo 5 They don't seem to have taken anything and I'm just grateful they haven't damaged the property. Once the steels are installed, I'm going to have to add some boarding to deter access. Just as I anticipated, the beams were short. However, the structural engineer has agreed that by welding an extension on with supporting plates, it will not affect the structural integrity. Hope he's right, else our house will not be standing for long. I can't understand how they managed to get the measurements wrong, its a catastro...

No progress was made today. My assessment of the steels that have been delivered are that they are going to be shorter than what is required but the builders keep assuring me that is not the case, they have measured it correctly. I still have my doubts. Photo 1 Photo 2 The builders are awaiting the steel fabricator to be on site to weld and bolt the beams together. Feel.s like the work has really slowed down and the builders were due to finish this by the end of this week. I just can't see that happening and its getting somewhat frustrating. Previous Next

Photo 1 To prepare for the steel B4 to be fitted, the builders decided to remove just the inner skin of the wall first and to get the first beam in place. Once B2 is then bolted to B4, they will place the second beam in place and bolt both together. Photo 2 Photo 3 Photos show inner skin of the wall partially removed to facilitate installing the B4 beam. Photo 4 B2 has been fitted but needs to be secured to B4 once it goes in. Previous Next

Steels arrived today. Photo 1  The rightmost steel is the vertical post that will be positioned where the corner of the house is. Photo 2 The drawing above shows the position of the steels with double beams used on the exterior walls. Our architect seemed to miss the requirement of 2 beams (B5 and B6), one that supports the joists above and another that supports a wall that goes up to the 2nd floor. Fortunately, the builders identified the issue before removing the walls and after confirming with the structural engineer, the correct steels were ordered. Photo 4 Photo 5 Photos 4 and 5 show beam B2 being installed. Previous Next

Not much has happened in these last few days. The steels that were due to arrive yesterday are now being delivered on Monday so work has effectively stopped. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Just a little clean up in the kitchen area Previous Next