The roof is now almost finished, the next stage will be to baton it and get it watertight (can you spot Dad?!)
My Uncle Clive also came to see the plot, he hadn't been since it started so it was great to be able to show him around
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Week 10 - Family come to visit and we're still smiling
It's been stressful at times and there is more to come but we are still smiling!
The roof is now almost finished, the next stage will be to baton it and get it watertight (can you spot Dad?!)
My Uncle Clive also came to see the plot, he hadn't been since it started so it was great to be able to show him around
The roof is now almost finished, the next stage will be to baton it and get it watertight (can you spot Dad?!)
My Uncle Clive also came to see the plot, he hadn't been since it started so it was great to be able to show him around
Week 9 - The roof arrives
A few days later the roof trusses arrived and we could finally see how the upstairs would feel in our 'chalet bungalow' - this is something that I have been particularly nervous about as I was worried that the rooms would have a useful space running down the middle where you would be able to stand up but the you would bang your head if you moved outside of that corridor (unless of course you were Hev!)
I went up to the site with dad who is 6'2" and it was a big relief to see that actually the rooms all felt really spacious and it is only the last half metre of the rooms where you are likely to bang your head!
We have made the decision to go for vaulted celings in the half of the house which contains the master bedroom, with the Glulam leams exposed - this helps to make the rooms seem bigger and creates a great focal point. It is also nice to leave part of the frame exposed, it is after all part of the provenance of the house.
As the roof conitued to form it became clear just how complex it was!
You can now see where the dormer windows will be
Mum was a little scared to come up on the scaffolding so instead stayed on the ground and picked herself some flowers from our garden! (note: Rape Seed flowers do not like to be picked and put in a vase...the wilt instantly!!)
I went up to the site with dad who is 6'2" and it was a big relief to see that actually the rooms all felt really spacious and it is only the last half metre of the rooms where you are likely to bang your head!
We have made the decision to go for vaulted celings in the half of the house which contains the master bedroom, with the Glulam leams exposed - this helps to make the rooms seem bigger and creates a great focal point. It is also nice to leave part of the frame exposed, it is after all part of the provenance of the house.
As the roof conitued to form it became clear just how complex it was!
You can now see where the dormer windows will be
Mum was a little scared to come up on the scaffolding so instead stayed on the ground and picked herself some flowers from our garden! (note: Rape Seed flowers do not like to be picked and put in a vase...the wilt instantly!!)
Week 8 - The first floor arrives on site
Today we got up bright and early to watch the first floor walls arrive on site at 8am. A very skillful crane operator handled the pieces of the roof (there are a LOT) onto the first floor - between all the scaffolding poles and under the electricity wire!!
Standing on the first floor feels a little surreal as the walls and other parts of the first floor frame get piled up around you
The lorry was unloaded pretty swiftly and the guys started putting the second half of the jigsaw together!
It wasn't long before we could see what the dormer door from our bedroom was going to look like
Having never really seen a house being built before, and certainly never having the opportunity to go round a house at this stage it is suprising how 'flimsey' it feels in places.....can these 3 posts really become a bedroom wall???
It's not quite the house for 'hide and seek' yet!
And for the last time you can stand up at the edge of the rooms upstairs - once the roof arrives we will be able to see how the sloping ceilings will affect the head height upstairs.
P.s Do you like our stairs?!
Standing on the first floor feels a little surreal as the walls and other parts of the first floor frame get piled up around you
The lorry was unloaded pretty swiftly and the guys started putting the second half of the jigsaw together!
It wasn't long before we could see what the dormer door from our bedroom was going to look like
Having never really seen a house being built before, and certainly never having the opportunity to go round a house at this stage it is suprising how 'flimsey' it feels in places.....can these 3 posts really become a bedroom wall???
It's not quite the house for 'hide and seek' yet!
And for the last time you can stand up at the edge of the rooms upstairs - once the roof arrives we will be able to see how the sloping ceilings will affect the head height upstairs.
P.s Do you like our stairs?!
Week 8 - The first floor
I will start this post by apologising for my absence over the past couple of weeks - I have been taking photos and kept meaning to sit down at the computer and update my blog but various excuses kept me away (namely the gorgeous weather we have been having and the chance to top up my tan when I am not in the office!) - Anyway at least one person out there is reading this so here you go Uncle Dunc....I pulled my finger out!
Week 8 continued with the first floor going on...apparently glued together with some special PVA glue which goes hard and yellow.
With the floor on you now get a good sense of what the rooms downstairs will feel like.
This is the stair well, I am on the lookout for a some great lighting pendants to hang at the top of the stairs to highlight this full height space....
The first floor starts to arrive tomorrow and Jud and I have the day off to watch it be craned onto the site.
In the meantime we have to chose our bricks, slate tiles for the roof and cedar cladding so that we have have them "approved" by EDDC.
Week 8 continued with the first floor going on...apparently glued together with some special PVA glue which goes hard and yellow.
With the floor on you now get a good sense of what the rooms downstairs will feel like.
This is the stair well, I am on the lookout for a some great lighting pendants to hang at the top of the stairs to highlight this full height space....
The first floor starts to arrive tomorrow and Jud and I have the day off to watch it be craned onto the site.
In the meantime we have to chose our bricks, slate tiles for the roof and cedar cladding so that we have have them "approved" by EDDC.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Week 7...The Timber Frame Day 1 (part 2)
I returned to the site at 4pm and wow what a difference a day makes!!!
We had a ground floor that you could walk around and look out of the windows....amazing. I can't really believe it is real, seeing the actual house appear from what was just piles and piles of soil, only a few days previously, is quite overwhelming.
Jack however was thoroughly unimpressed and promptly peed up the side of the frame so he got resigned to being tied up to the scaffolding!!
Luckily Mum was a little more enthusiastic at the progress made - even needing a sit down in the kitchen...you had better get used to the "seats" we won't be able to afford any once the house is built!!
Half an hour later and Jud got home and although I saw far more enthusiasm the day he taught Hazel to jump up into his arms!! I think even he was left a little speechless at what we had achieved so far...
Welcome to my Blue House (it is a breathable membrane FYI!)
Fish and Chips for tea to celebrate I think....But Rome wasn't built in a day and tomorrow we are meeting Mr D with lots to discuss and decide on...lets hope the sun keeps shining on us.
We had a ground floor that you could walk around and look out of the windows....amazing. I can't really believe it is real, seeing the actual house appear from what was just piles and piles of soil, only a few days previously, is quite overwhelming.
Jack however was thoroughly unimpressed and promptly peed up the side of the frame so he got resigned to being tied up to the scaffolding!!
Luckily Mum was a little more enthusiastic at the progress made - even needing a sit down in the kitchen...you had better get used to the "seats" we won't be able to afford any once the house is built!!
Half an hour later and Jud got home and although I saw far more enthusiasm the day he taught Hazel to jump up into his arms!! I think even he was left a little speechless at what we had achieved so far...
Welcome to my Blue House (it is a breathable membrane FYI!)
Fish and Chips for tea to celebrate I think....But Rome wasn't built in a day and tomorrow we are meeting Mr D with lots to discuss and decide on...lets hope the sun keeps shining on us.
Week 7...The Timber Frame Day 1 (part 1)
The hottest day of 2011 dawned and our timber frame arrived on site at 8am...I had a lump in my throat driving up to the plot this morning.
The guys who would be erecting the frame were pumped up and ready to go....hmmm...
...but within minutes work began and our biggest glulam (structural beam) was unloaded first (only one hairy moment when the scaffolding looked like it was about to fall over). It was soon safely stored for use at a later date on top of the scaffolding.
Look how big it is...
The rest of the ground floor soon followed and the lorry was unloaded in about half an hour.
The lorry then returned to Exeter to pick up load 2 of 3 and the guys began putting up Our First Wall!! Wall No. 1 for prosterity was the utility room...aka Jack's room!
The rest of the pieces of the "life size jigsaw" were quickly put together...
...despite some vertical shortcomings they worked like a tactical SAS team!!
Quick check of the plans and one whole side was done. Easy does it with the living room wall - it is mostly window, which you would think made it lighter, but apparently not!!
At this point I had to return to work to earn some pennies to pay for all this timber so I had to leave Andy and his team to it, after a quick detour via Drew's for an 11am treat (warm from the oven!!)
I then spent 4 hours at work trying to concentrate whilst counting down the hours until I could return to see the progress......
The guys who would be erecting the frame were pumped up and ready to go....hmmm...
...but within minutes work began and our biggest glulam (structural beam) was unloaded first (only one hairy moment when the scaffolding looked like it was about to fall over). It was soon safely stored for use at a later date on top of the scaffolding.
Look how big it is...
The rest of the ground floor soon followed and the lorry was unloaded in about half an hour.
The lorry then returned to Exeter to pick up load 2 of 3 and the guys began putting up Our First Wall!! Wall No. 1 for prosterity was the utility room...aka Jack's room!
The rest of the pieces of the "life size jigsaw" were quickly put together...
...despite some vertical shortcomings they worked like a tactical SAS team!!
Quick check of the plans and one whole side was done. Easy does it with the living room wall - it is mostly window, which you would think made it lighter, but apparently not!!
At this point I had to return to work to earn some pennies to pay for all this timber so I had to leave Andy and his team to it, after a quick detour via Drew's for an 11am treat (warm from the oven!!)
I then spent 4 hours at work trying to concentrate whilst counting down the hours until I could return to see the progress......
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
The night before the house arrives....
Twas the night before the timber frame arrived...and unfortunately tempers were frayed and stress levels were high.
Building a house is not easy...
There has been some confusion today about whether the timber frame would actually arrive as planned on wednesday morning due to transport issues but Andy, who is coordinating our timber frame erection, pulled out the stops to ensure that tomorrow at 8am our house will be delivered to site.
I think some of Drew's famous pork pies will be required as a thank you!!
Jud and I had hoped to watch this milestone together as it seems like a pretty special event in the course of the build.....watching the lorry pull up loaded up with all the pieces of wood which will go together to make our home (crazy!!), unfortunately he had to rearrange appointments when we thought the timber frame wouldn't arrive and now we will only be able to have a few hours off in the morning...it is disappointing but I will be armed with my camera to document the process and will hopefully be able to leave early to catch up with the guys at the end of the day.
Not sure how much will get 'built' tomorrow so we are having some time off on thursday too to watch the process and meet Mr D to discuss cladding/bricks/slates etc....
I will report back with photos......
Goodnight
Building a house is not easy...
There has been some confusion today about whether the timber frame would actually arrive as planned on wednesday morning due to transport issues but Andy, who is coordinating our timber frame erection, pulled out the stops to ensure that tomorrow at 8am our house will be delivered to site.
I think some of Drew's famous pork pies will be required as a thank you!!
Jud and I had hoped to watch this milestone together as it seems like a pretty special event in the course of the build.....watching the lorry pull up loaded up with all the pieces of wood which will go together to make our home (crazy!!), unfortunately he had to rearrange appointments when we thought the timber frame wouldn't arrive and now we will only be able to have a few hours off in the morning...it is disappointing but I will be armed with my camera to document the process and will hopefully be able to leave early to catch up with the guys at the end of the day.
Not sure how much will get 'built' tomorrow so we are having some time off on thursday too to watch the process and meet Mr D to discuss cladding/bricks/slates etc....
I will report back with photos......
Goodnight
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