Day 116 - New garage door

The new door was fitted between the garage and the rest of the house today, which marks a moment ! We've used the oak foil door type here again, though a bit denser. Decent mortice lock fitted to this one too. It's got a bit of a gap underneath right now, but that's deliberate as there's a threshold to go in yet (this one will have a draft excluder of sorts on it).
Joiners were also busy today fitting the skirting boards to the work room (Wendy had already pre-stained them the night before), removed the door from the airing cupboard & also made a start to fitting the bannisters to the staircase.
Painter was here today and stained a batch of skirting boards (oak colour). No progress made on rubbing down the incorrect coloured windows though.
Slaters were also here and completed the gutters (except for one branch), and also fitted the finial - however it looks a bit high & squint, so some more work required on that one.
Tomorrow should be more of the same, then by Wednesday we should see the start of the oak flooring being laid (as long as the underlay gets here in time !).

Day 115 - Watchman !

Plumber was back today and fitted the watchman to the oil tank, so now we have a remote reading - ace ! He also had a fiddle with the underfloor heating, and all the zones are on - just got to fathom out how the controller works. Toilet has also been fitted into the ensuite & the waste pipe also replaced in the main wet room (so not leaking now).
Joiners completed the triangular window upstairs, and it's now all boarded in. They also got the finishing plaster board up around the stairs. The work bench/cupboard was also completed in Wendy's work room cupboard (looks very neat).
Nobody expected over the weekend, but on Monday at least one painter will be here to get after the windows & other wood work.

Day 114 - Staircase fitted

The staircase is now installed - not the finished article as yet, but look great ! A real pleasure being able to walk up to the first floor without fear of a ladder falling over ! Still a few bits to secure, then the spindles & bannister can go in.
The triangular window in the upstairs dormer was also fitted today, so we're almost 'air-tight' upstairs for the first time. Still some finishing to do on the window, but the view out of it has now got bigger !
Joiners were also working in the work room today & fitted the door facings (and put the glazed door back on). They also made a start to the work bench on the cupboard.
New door was fitted to Katy's room, and the one removed was put between the kitchen & laundry, so at long last we can shut the door in the kitchen to stop the draught when the back door's open. Sounds like a small thing, but it's been a pain from day 1 here.

Day 113 - Workroom laminate floor complete

The maple flooring is now complete in the workroom (including the large cupboard off). Looks great & brightens the room right up. The lads have also levelled out the door threshold to the garage hall so that the laminate can be completed under the door & terminate at the top of the internal stairs.
The joiners also started putting the main stairs together. The top flight is upstairs now and has been assembled. There are some glued joints involved, so has been left to set overnight. The lower flight has also been assembled & is sitting in the hall. Hopefully we'll see some of this in place tomorrow.
The remaining windows also arrived today from NorDan, which is great news. Doug has even painted the exterior of the dormer one ready for install tomorrow. This one together with the ones being fitted to the front entrance will finally make the house tight, so we can leave the heating on in the new areas without the problem of it al escaping though tarpaulins.
Other jobs done today were some floor screeding in the outside workshop, garage hall & the main hall where new meets existing building. Doug also completed the silicon sealing in both the wet rooms (very neat job).

Day 112 - The stairs arrive

Just as we hoped, the staircase arrived today along with the smaller steps for the garage hallway. A bit of planning is needed before the main oak staircase can be installed, but the wood looks really good & well finished. The smaller 3-step stairs have been installed from the garage hallway into the workroom. These are really neat. Both sets of stairs were made locally by Strachan's in Stonehaven.
Joiners have been busy today and have completed the wardrobe internals in the guest room and mostly completed the hallway cupboard. New plasterboard was also installed in the laundry and the back door surround fitted. As well as that a start was made to laying the maple flooring in Wendy's workroom. Once this is done the skirtings & door facings can be installed prior to painting.
There was also a fair bit of cementing completed today with render going on outside at the front & rear, along with some further cementing work in both the garage (round the windows) and in the garage hallway (down at floor level).
The architect was here today too, as planned, and we got some agreements for how the graded the area towards the new back door will look. Some additional work is required to the DPC at the back door area, but this was expected.

Day 111 - Underfloor heating commissioned

The day has finally arrived & we've got some heat in the new floor ! The sparky arrived as planned & fitted the room stats, main control box, zone valve actuators and separate control clock. We've got heat into the workroom & Jenny's room so far, and will no doubt run the system up in the other rooms over tomorrow. Don't want to warm things up too much though given that we're still missing a big window upstairs (plus we need to be careful with the concrete floor initially) !
The joiners carried on with the skirting boards, and also completed the internals to Jenny's wardrobe - looks good, and we'll replicate in the guest bedroom. The old damaged plasterboard was also removed from the laundry, and will be replaced in the next day or so (this will neaten things up somewhat).
As well as the detail work, the joiners also replaced the damaged chipboard flooring around where the old bathroom was. This has made a difference, and needed to happen before the wooden flooring is layed.
Outside the graded 'ramp' was tidied up a bit more, and round the outside of the extension was also cleaned up. Some cement works done outside round the drains & also in the workshop around the window. Same with one of the garage windows.
A lot of stuff ticked off through today, and you can really see things coming together. We've got the architect coming tomorrow lunchtime, so we'll get the whole graded piece sorted out.

Day 110 - Ground grading at the front

Doug was back with the digger this morning & graded the driveway towards the new rear entrance - this is to satisfy Planning Regs for wheelchair access, and is a real pain. We're still not convinced that this is going to look ok, so Andrew the architect is coming by on Tuesday so we can run through things.
Doug also cleared up a lot of the gear that's been lying around the drive for the past few weeks, so things looking a bit neater now.
One of the joiners was in this morning, and has completed the skirting in both Jenny's & the guest bedrooms.
The plumber also came by & finished the 1st floor radiators (all 3 working now) and installed the 2 toilet vents through the roof. His sparky will be here on Monday to get after the electric work required for the underfloor heating & the hot water loop pump.
Also today we got the WC cabinet worktop from Atlantis (the one we were missing) and await the replacement vanity unit worktop & a replacement mirror cupboard for the ensuite. Should get all that within the next 14 days, but it's not holding anything up.
I also completed all but 2 of the media points in the rooms (Jenny's, family room & hall cupboard), so only a couple more to do - just need to get the necessary faceplates, as the sparkies put the wrong ones in for some reason.

Day 109 - First skirtings go up

As the title says, the joiners started putting up the skirting boards today - only the rooms that will be carpeted are getting this done, as the wooden flooring needs to go down first in the other rooms. Start was also made to putting in the door surrounds, with the Guest & Jenny's room being the first to get this.
Plumber was also here today & installed the cistern in the ensuite, along with the shower. Unfortunately there's not much else that he can do in there until we get the vanity unit worktop (about a week away for that).
Some of the lads are back tomorrow, so I would think we'll see them progressing on with the skirtings. Had thought that the stairs would have arrived today, but no. Maybe early next week for them then.

Day 108 - Rails etc

The main wet room is now mostly complete, and just needs the final plumbing bits done on the WC and the sparks to install the mirror light & shaver point. Once that's done there's some silicon to go in, then the shower screen. (Mind you we still need to get the WC vent piped through the roof & the window wood stained before we can get much use out of it !).
The joiners also carried on with the ensuite, and as well as the towel rail etc being installed, the WC cabinet is in place & the wall unit is up. Unfortunately the mirror unit for the ensuite was damaged in transit so we'll need to get a replacement. Not great at this stage of the game.
The weather stayed decent today though, so it looks like the cladding outside is now completed - though there are a couple of planks that look like they need lowered near the new front entrance, and we still have a water leak problem at the new back door, though Doug is onto that one.
Don't know who's coming tomorrow, but it would be good to see the plumber's electrician to get after the underfloor heating work.

Day 107 - New back door

The weather was dreadful most of today, which meant that he lads got on with the work inside (mainly). However they did manage to replace the old back door off the laundry. The new one looks great & at last we have a window in the door that's sealed (the last one fell out). We now need to be strict with the dogs to make sure they don't jump up on it !
In the main wet room the mirror cupboard was installed, with just a few adjustments to be made. The push flush was also fitted to the toilet unit. The plumber didn't come out today due to the mistake with the worktop yesterday. It's going to be a week till we get the replacement top, so don't think he'll be back till them.
Joiners also made a start on door facings (Jenny's room was first to get this) and the remaining window sills upstairs (have even started putting the wooden bars underneath).

Day 106 - Garage harled

The rest of the squad were back at work today following the long weekend. The slaters were also here, which was a boost. They harled the garage & completed the details around the garage windows & boiler exhaust. Looks really good. They also put up the bulk of the gutter downpipes, though one at the back of the house is blocking the outside socket, so something will need to give !
The joiners continued with the cladding, and the area around the new rear door is completed, including the detail work up by the soffits & under the eaves. They also carried on inside & made a start to the ensuite units - though there's been an error in the worktop, so we'll need to replace that unfortunately.
The tiler was also here for a while & completed the grouting in the ensuite, so that should be him I think (though there's some grout to go in at the wall in the shower area).
Tomorrow the plumber is back, so we should see the main wet room completed & a start made on the ensuite brass wear. Still no idea when the plumber's sparky is coming - we need him to get the underfloor heating sorted out.....

Day 105 - Ensuite tiling complete

Despite the Bank Holiday, the tiler came out today & completed the ensuite. Still needs to be grouted, but that won't take him long. As we stand we just need one more border tile for the main wet room, and that will be all the tiling complete in the extension (we still need tiles down on the laundry floor, but that's later on).
The rest of the squad are back tomorrow, hopefully refreshed after the 4 days off.....

Day 104 - More outside lights !

Sparkies were back again today and did a fair bit. They installed all 3 of the outside door lights (the stainless up & down type), and they look really good. These are the IP44 type ones, which is just as well as all of them have been soaked with the heavy rain today. They also got the BT socket moved from the diningroom to the front hall, so finally the lump of wires across the door has been moved. Finally they sorted out the lights in the kitchen & diningroom - got rid of the hideous down lighters & installed ceiling pendants. We'll change these later for different units, but fine for now.
Joiners sorted a few more doors out - the door from the dining room to the front vestibule is in, and the original front hall cupboard door has been modified & put back in. The vanity unit in the main wetroom has also been completed with the door & drawer now fitted.
Plumber was also here and has (mostly) plumbed in the WC. Still needs bolted to the floor & the vacuum flusher needs fitted yet (was some confusion over that one today apparently). The sink is also plumbed in, but the waste isn't what I expected. The sprung plug is different & the bottle trap hasn't been used. Will need to find out what's happened there.
The lads are now off for the bank holiday weekend (yes, another one !), so won't be back until next Tuesday. Guess that gives us some time to catch up on other things....

Day 103 - Wetroom units going in

Joiners & the plumber set about the main wet room today & have started installing the units & brasswear. The shower is in & working, the wall hung vanity unit is also in place, along with the toilet unit. Sink & pan are in place, but wastes need to be connected up yet. Plumber seems to be having a bit of hassle with the waste off the sink, but should hopefully get it sorted out tomorrow. Tap looks really good, and has a nice solid feel to it.
Tomorrow the lads will carry on & we should hopefully see it complete. Still got a mirror cupboard to install, a smaller wall unit, electrics and bits such as the towel rail etc.
Sparks were also here & fitted all the outside soffit lighting. Also did a bit more work inside sorting out switches & sockets. The new BT phone point is also in place in the new hall. They're back again tomorrow too.
Joiners were again carrying on with the larch, but fitted another new door to the new hall cupboard. Still a few doors to do yet..
As well as this activity, the laminate for the work room arrived (the stuff that cost almost as much as the delivery charge !). Also ordered another WC unit counter top from Atlantis, as the original order had missed one out (for the ensuite). Cat6a wall sockets also arrived, so will be able to get after some of them in the coming days - though still waiting for some F-Module satellite connections.

Day 102 - Tile grouting

Tiler was back today and grouted the main wet room almost completely. Still a couple of border tiles to install yet, but we're waiting on delivery of them (end of the week). Not a great deal done in the ensuite, but intention is to get after this when he's back next week. However the work done will let the plumber get in now.
Joiners carried on with the larch outside - taking in the corner near the new back door and the outside of the front entrance. Also more internal doors done, and we've even got a door now separating the back hall from the laundry.

Day 100 & 101: More of the same going on

One of the joiners worked on Saturday & got the new porch internal door fitted at the new back door, along with the double glazed doors being fitted in the diningroom.
Monday has seen the tiling almost completed in the main wet room - grouting tomorrow. The ensuite hasn't seen the same action unfortunately, and we'll be losing the tiler for a week or so after tomorrow to another job, so important we get at least one of the wetrooms functioning.
Joiners have been carrying on with the larch cladding outside, and have also received & fitted the replacement internal door for Jenny's room.
Slaters were also here today & have fitted most of the gutters, started the pointing above the new front entrance (and fitted the 'fold over' tiles), as well as putting the first cement render on the garage outside walls, ready to start with the harling.

Day 99 - Roof tiling over new front entrance

Slaters returned to site today - wasn't expecting that one ! They almost completely tiled the roof over the new front entrance, and are ready to put up the edging pieces. They've got some fancy 'over-hang' type ones for the front of the steep roof. Should look good. Slaters also did some more flashing work at the back of the top floor & hung up the gutters at the rear too. The gutters are pretty smart - Marley ones as you'd expect, but have gone for the deep flow type, and they also come with a coating to help prevent UV damage - we'll see how that goes.
Plumber was here & has sorted out the plumbing for the washing machine. It's now in the right place. He also got rid of all the redundant pipework & tidied a few things. He'll be back next week to get into the wet rooms.
Tiler carried on in both the wet rooms, and now we have tiles in the shower areas, and most of the detail (border) tiles in place. Looking good, but unfortunately we need a couple more borders (in addition to the extra ones I got today) and also some more finishing strip. Looking at the progress I think we should be mostly finished the tiling by Wednesday evening.
Finally the joiners - they were busy today on the internal doors, and also assisting the slaters upstairs. In between times they carried on with the external cladding.
For myself, I installed a power socket in the laundry so that the washing machine will operate. Managed to pick up a spur from above the room, and get it down beside the machine. Only a couple of holes in the wall to plaster over !

Day 98 - Cladding upper level

Decent weather today has meant that the larch cladding has started on the outside of the first floor (West). Starting to take shape there now. Joiners were also working in the house doing the internal doors, although there's a problem with the one at Jenny's room as the dowels have come loose. They'll sort that out tomorrow no doubt.
Tiler also carried on with the wet rooms and has got half way up the walls. Will carry on tomorrow with the detail tiles & then extend the areas at the showers. Few more days work in the rooms, but we should move onto furniture installation by early next week I'd think.
Plumber was also round today and got the new radiators plumbed in in the diningroom & the front entrance vestibule. He also got the hot water circulating pump installed, though it's not wired in yet. Old pipework & drains have been destructed from the hall (where the old bathroom was) and plumbing has ben added to the  laundry - unfortunately the pipes & drain have been put in the wrong place, so that'll need done again....

Day 97 - First internal doors are hung

Work started on hanging the internal doors today. Doors in place now for the workroom (x2) study, guest room & the outside workshop. Even though the edges/trim aren't in place yet, they look pretty smart. One of the doors is also glazed (work room to hall), and it's definitely been the right choice as it brings extra light into the hall.
Tiler was back & has completed the 2 wet room floors, as anticipated. The shower areas have a mosaic tile in place that slopes towards the drains - it's quite gradual, but will do the job. Grouting tomorrow I think, then it'll be time to move onto the walls.
No other trades today, so not clear when the roof will be complete or the sparky work progressed....

Day 96 - Tiling starts

The tiler arrived on site today & started with the wetroom floors. Looking good already, although there's obviously still some way to go yet. The walls have been marked out for the tile heights, so he should get after that tomorrow.
Joiners were busy outside today (it didn't rain for a change). They've now completed the cladding on the South & East sides, and have started on the West (facing the drive). This has also meant that the flashing has finally been installed at the base of the house round the hall & workroom areas, so we should finally see an end to water leaching in there during heavy rain.
Hassle of the day must go to Screwfix Flooring, who want a stunning £95.00 to cover delivery of some laminate flooring because they think Aberdeen is in the Highlands (indeed anything with an AB postcode). It's free otherwise. Really annoys me & will likely cancel the order just out of principle. They were probably surprised to find that I had a mobile phone given that South of Carlisle tends to think we live in trees up here !