Day 24 - Remaining underfloor heating pipes down

Just as we hoped, the lads managed to lay the remaining heating pipes & fix in place (on top of the insulation). Looking really good, and is now ready for further concrete pour on top. Weather has been good today, so if things hold out like this we should see the floor completed this week, as planned.
Although the heating was the main feature today, further rendering was completed with most of the lower walls having their top layer applied & smoothed off. Intend to have a final top coat with a colour pigment to match the existing house block work in due course.

Day 23 - Floor 'polishing' and render

Bit later posting this, but this was the progress up to Friday evening. Weather has been dreadful over the latter part of the week, but seems to be improving now at last (Sunday night). Hopefully it'll be a bit more settled now (!).
Anyway, on Friday the new top floor was polished up a bit, and then lower foundation walls were rendered. Intention will be to apply a smooth top coat to these middle of next week.
As well as all the cementing, the rainwater drains were further extended at the rear of the house - though I think this is going to have to change as the 'U' bend is sitting too high & I think will end up being visible. Will look into further next week with the builders.
Next week we should see the remaining heating pipework go in & the rest of the floor to go down & get polished up. Kit still due the week after next.

Day 22 - Top layer of floor going down

After placing the underfloor heating pipework yesterday, the top layer of concrete floor has been laid on the 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. Frames have been left unfilled to allow us to fit the wet room shower trays later (as they need to sink level into the floor before the tiles go down). Concrete has yet to be polished, but it's looking pretty good, with an even finish - despite the torrents of rain today. At least it won't likely crack !
Floor was also poured at the rear workshop, so that's now looking a lot tidier, and further work was also done outside Jenny's room (more backfill, concrete for the steps, and cut-in for access to the rodding point).
We should be completely finished with the heating pipes & floor by the middle of next week, when the plan was to commence erecting the timber frame. However the fabricator's been delayed, so looks like delivery will slip until the week after next, which is a shame. Still plenty other things to be getting after.

Day 21 - First of the underfloor heating.

Membrane, foam insulation and heating pipes installed in the bathroom, 2 bedrooms & ensuite today. Each of the rooms will have it's own zone valve, so means there are going to be quite a few pipes involved ! All the pipework is being tied back to the rear workshop inside wall, where we'll hide them in a cupboard.
Weather today has been a bit wet, with more forecast, so we'll need to see how we get on in terms of laying the top layer of concrete on the pipes. Hopefully to be done this week.

Day 20 - Drains trench back-filled

The huge trench across the drive was short lived then, and has been completely back filled, which is great. Looking between todays photo compared to yesterdays, it's amazing what's been done. New man way is also in place.
Further work also done on the rainwater drains header at the back of the extension, and the existing pipework has now been picked up.
Hoping to start work on the heating pipework tomorrow, so it'll be handy if the weather could stay fair (though the forecast looks grim). Also heard back from Scottish Water this morning, and the mains pressure regulator valve will be replaced by the end of the week. This means the mains pressure should be improved - hoping for at least 4 barg so the plumber won't need to install booster pumps (although the thought of a duty/standby pump set-up would be pretty cool !).

Day 19 - Drain pipe run to the septic tank.

A lot of work done on the drains tie in to the septic tank. As you can see from the photo, the drive has had to be trenched pretty deep to complete the pipe run. The branch & pipe work is in place at the tank end (the main drains line has been cut into now). Hopefully complete this tomorrow & get the trench back filled.
Also today the foundation walls were erected outside Jenny's room - this is where the new front door & entrance porch will sit.
Chat with Doug the builder this evening & confirmed where we're going to locate the underfloor heating zone valves & manifolds. Looks like inside the rear workshop will be the best place. Won't be losing any space really in there as the location in in the current wall rebate.

Day 18 - Concrete floor is down

As the title says, the concrete floor was poured today, and is looking good - although there are a couple of paw prints in it !! We'll be able to sort that out next week easy enough. Apparently it took 2 mixer trucks to complete the job. The floor area has been done in addition to the foundations going down in front of Jenny's room, so now we'll see some brick work there over the next week.
As well as the floor being done, some further work has been done on the drains, and I think the tie in to the septic tank will happen sometime next week.
Concrete is still damp, which is good I believe, and judging by the thunder & the dark skies I don't think there's any danger of it drying out too quickly & cracking !

Day 17 - Levelled off floor in sand

Ah well, we never got the concrete floor poured today, but all the preps have been done ready for it tomorrow. The floor area has been back filled with sand & levelled off ready. Not sure what time the mixer is coming tomorrow, but hopefully the weather will stay as nice as it's been the past few days.
As well as the levelling, further work has been completed on the sewerage drains, and the man-way at the house has been mostly backfilled. The existing drains pipe to the septic tank has also been further exposed ready to be cut into to install the other additional man-way & pipe tie in.
Front brickwork at the garage has also been sorted (some of it came loose), so that's looking fine now.

Day 16 - Rainwater drains

Progress made on the rain water drains today, and as well as the 'network' being installed at the front right area (around where the new back door is going), drains were also installed beside the garage in front of the rear workshop.
No work planned for tomorrow, but the lads should be back on Thursday with the intention of laying the first level of the concrete floor. Hopefully the whole floor area will be done in one.

Day 15 - Foundations complete

Had a day off today so was able to see the work progress throughout the day. Really good to see the foundation walls completed, and now it's clear to see the footprint of the extension. Once the brick work was complete, the area was backfilled & compacted. In addition there was further back filling completed at the front of the extension, though the drains aren't complete yet, so there's still access to the base of the man-way.
The architect was also round this afternoon, so it was good to have a chance to discuss the size of the bathroom amongst other things.
On top of that, Scottish Water were also round to clean out the septic tank - it was certainly needing done ! We were also able to confirm the drain & soakaway locations with the tank open too.
Weather has remained good today, and looks set to continue (mostly) for the rest of the week. Hopefully looking at the 1st layer of the concrete floor going down on Thursday.

Day 14 - Ensuite drains in.

Despite it being Saturday, Doug still worked through the morning, which was great. The drains for the ensuite have now been installed and the area backfilled. The 2 main drain headers now run North & West & tie together in the new drains branch at the front of the extension (with a manhole top to it). This will give really good access in the future if need be.

Day 13 - Tamping down foundations

That's the end of another weeks work on the extension, and looking back over the last 5 days photos it's clear to see the huge amount of work that's been done. Great job so far.
Foundation hardcore has been tamped down now at the bathroom, Jenny's room & the guest bedroom. Some of the backfill has also been removed to allow the foundations wall at the stairwell/study area to be built, and work continues to the front of the extension with only the long West wall to go in. Backfill has also gone back at the workshop area.
Drains manholes have now arrived on site, which will likely be sunk next week at the tee going to the septic tank, and also nearer the house. The stray electric cable is still trailing out the back door vent just now, but we'll need the sparky back to sort that out. In hand I think.

Day 12 - Hardcore backfill

Continued with backfilling what will be the 2 bedrooms and bathroom. Waste pipework has also bee set in the bathroom, however looking at the space we've really got there the plan is to ditch the bath & stick with the shower. A shame we missed that, but it'll be ok I think.
Rainwater pipework has also been installed along the South wall, however the electric cable still has to be trenched in.
Still a fair bit of foundation walls to be built at the study area and along the front boundary of the extension. Looking good though !

Day 11 - Some drains in & backfilling starts

Fantastic progress today, and the weather has been great too, which no doubt helped things along. More of the foundation brickwork has been completed, so we're really starting to see the shape of the extension appear. Also some backfilling done within the boundaries.
Some of the rainwater drains have been installed, and the rear of the extension has had the top soil backfilled, so it looks really neat.
Following the agreed changes to the bathroom & porch dimensions, the removal of the extra (redundant) stonework on the East gable end has begun. It'll give us an extra 10" or so. Not sure if we'll be into concrete pours tomorrow, but can't be far off.

Day 10 - Drains start to go in.

More sleet again today, but not too much in Banchory so things moved on ok today.Carrying on with the brickwork off the foundations, and this has concentrated mostly within the South & East boundary walls built yesterday. Aim is to get enough brickwork done by Thursday to allow the hardcore & concrete to go in for the new bathroom & 2 x bedroom areas.
Start made to the drains too, and the rainwater drain was cut into & tee'd off. We've now decided how the main bathroom layout will look, so this will govern the location of the grey & black drains. We've also had a chat with Doug the builder & looks like we can increase the main bathroom size by 10 inches by removing some more of the decorative stonework from the original house. This will make the layout a bit better, without reducing the size of Jenny's room.
Sparky was also here today, and power has been restored to the garage. The consumer unit removed from the workshop a few weeks back has been mounted in the garage, so the trip switches have been re-used.

Day 9 - Further Brick Work

Despite some snow (!) the South & East foundation walls are now complete, and work has begun on the brick work within the extension boundary. Still to build at the front of the extension, but the aim is to have this all complete for Thursday to allow drains pipework to go in & the hardcore to backfill. After this the floor will be poured.
There's a bit more of a height difference between the garage & the existing house (500mm), necessitating 3 steps going into the link hall between the house & the garage/rear workshop. Should be ok.
Bit of debate ongoing regarding the set-up of the main bathroom. The room dimensions aren't as big as we first thought (always the way I guess once you start filling it with gear). We'll need to make our minds up soon though, before the drains are set !

Day 8 - Walls start to go up

Well as promised, the block work was started today - and all done in glorious sunshine. Blocks now extend from the East side of the existing house and form a perimeter attaching to the garage/workshop area (East side). All looks pretty good.
Concrete foundations set ok, although part has been back-filled near the garage (not sure why yet).
As well as the brick work, a lot of the waste masonry has been crushed, so that'll be useful for hardcore moving forward.

Day 7 - Concrete Poured

The concrete was poured into the foundations today for the main part of the extension - and the weather even managed to stay fair enough to complete it ! Concrete still needs to set, but once it has we can get on with setting the blocks onto it.
The elusive main drains have also been found - bizarrely the pipe comes out under the living room (West side of the house) and the pipe then runs out to the septic tank. The new part of the house will tee into the main line under the driveway, on-route to the septic rather than tie all the way back to the existing feed. We'll need to mark the drawings up to show this.
The front of Jenny's room was also excavated today, but won't see any concrete for a couple of weeks (when the floor is poured). No probs there though as it's a relatively small area.

Day 6 - Trenching Complete

The trenching has mostly been done now ready for the concrete pour tomorrow as planned. Some great work done here and the condition of the ground is really good, so will provide a decent support for the house.
Blocks & cement also arrived on site today ready for brickie work around Friday.
Still chasing where the drains go, and some more detective work planned for tomorrow - hopefully we'll have a way forward & can avoid some further excavation on the driveway. Have also heard from Scottish Water, so we'll be getting the septic tank sooked out on the 17th - also be a chance of some photos (once it's cleaned !).

Day 5 - Foundations Trenching Starts

Work started again today following the Bank Holiday weekend - have also called this Day 5 so I can track progress in working days rather than start to finish dates.
As you can see from the photo, the digger was out again today and the trenches for the foundations started. Looking pretty good so far, and the intention is to be ready for pouring concrete by Thursday this week. The ground is looking pretty good, with some solid hardcore just over 1 metre down.
Drains pipework has also arrived on site, which is great. Not so great is that we're not sure where the drains run from the house to the septic tank. Have asked the previous owner that built the house if they've got some drawings. Fingers crossed there, otherwise it'll be the digger again !
We've also got a mini crusher in the field too now, so that all the waste masonry can be crushed up. Will come in useful for this build with some left over for the remaining stable relocation planned for next year.
As usual, more photos on the Flickr stream.