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But IT DOESN'T FIT !!! The lift is built to order, and we gave exact measurements for the purpose built shaft, which is 1250mm deep. But the engineer said he needed 1270mm. The lift platform was catching on the nearside wall. The drawings give a tolerance of 20mm either side of the platform...

WEEK 16 The Lift is installed. I like trucks, so imagine my delight when the lift arrived on this beauty.. Who knew that lifts came flat packed? Then the installation begins. The guide brackets are fitted to the wall to take the guide rails. Rails are attached and the central piston...

The old garage flat roof has been removed and the media room finally revealed. The media room ceiling will have 2 heights, to create a lit up recess. But this makes the ceiling timberwork appear complex. You can also see that the blue sarking membrane and roof battens have been added. We...

WEEK 15 The big reveal! This week walls were knocked down, the old garage flat roof removed and the space opened up. Here's a shot of the utility room before... And after... These are the new openings to the lift (right) and stairs to the media room (left). The electricians are coming...

Not the roof finish I was looking for, but I think it will mellow in.. Work has started on the old utility room. The downstairs loo is the new temporary washing room.. The old utility room ceiling/roof from above. Note the pathetic attempt at insulation in 1973! Now you see it... Now...

Ooops! Not a great start to WEEK 14... A block of wood bounced out of the skip and into my car. Should have parked it further away!

Ironwork has been added to the new roof rafters, beams, and wall plates.

The media room floor/garage ceiling is now in place. As seen from below... And from above.... The original garage flat roof is still in place and being used as a working platform for the new roof. Hence the 6x2 support struts.

Work has started on the lift shaft. The lift runs on vertical rails, powered by a hydraulic jack. The rails need to have solid fixings as there will be significant rotational moment forces applied. The existing wall bricks are a silica type and a bit soft/crumbly so the lift engineer advised us...

WEEK 13 The roof is starting to take shape. long Legged Joist hangers will be added to the junction with the beam.

WEEK 12 Steel Beam no.1 is delivered. And put in place. The roof is starting to take shape. From inside to see the ridgeboard and sidewall apex.. More deliveries. This time the rafters. Mind my car!

WEEK 11 And it continues to grow... With another level of scaffold.

Progress viewed from the side... The outer bricks piled up are a different batch from those already used, with much greater contrast between reds and orange.

Thanks Ian. That's a good suggestion. I'll get one of their tester pots and give it a try. I'll post pictures for all to see. The Builder had suggested using a natural alternative of gutter gunge and water.

The honest answer is that the brick matching is a bit disappointing. We had various sample bricks and selected what we thought was a good match. However, the reality is that they are quite a different shade from the existing 1973 bricks. They will mellow in over time and the existing ones are...

WEEK 9 Meanwhile, up on the garage roof, it's all set for a massive game of Jenga. Shame to lose the view. The roof profile is now taking shape.

Scaffolding has gone up so work can start on the 2nd storey. The diagonal wooden batten shows the line of the new roof, at the front. Scaffolding goes all the way round to the rear extension. And the view from inside shows the utility wall outer leaf has been removed. The whole wall will...

WEEK 8 Beam 2, Which supports the media room floor, has been put in. Nice blockwork, and floor made good...

The view from the side. Now with garage window removed.... The existing window to the garage has been made smaller. It will sit at floor level to the media room, and will be the alternate fire escape route. We had 3 options for dealing with Fire Reg. requirements for the media room...

WEEK 7 Work continues in the garage with the internal leaf block wall. Blockwork almost done. ET has left his bike. The Steel for the media room floor is ready to be placed in position. It will sit in the recess behind the bike. We have reused the steel above the garage door. It has been...