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Hi I was wondering if i could ask opinions! I have just started the brickwork to go above the ground floor windows although i'm concerned the brick may be overbearing for the front elevation. This pictured window opening has another 12 courses of brick to the first floor window. This is...

Over the last couple of years I have taken the odd picture of small insects; no particular reason, i just like photographing them to see what detail i can pick up. These were taken on an iPhone so i'm sure a better camera would show better. Anyone got any pics they've taken like this? This...

Hi Yep, it was noticed when I took the old extension down. The movement has been like that a while from what i understand (I believe the extension was done in the late 1980's. I have had a structural engineer visit and confirm the lintel is adequate to take the weight of the new extension...

That does sound ridiculous, I’d get a couple more quotes, on another post today, notch7 was saying how he did a piling job in the south east, approx 6x6m for about 9k + vat

The house and garage are likely built on piles because the ground wasn't good enough for standard strip foundations; it makes sense to pile the extension if your house is, IMHO. Have you had a quote for piling?

I thought so at the time, all we had to do was excavate the trenches. We are North West too, not sure if that makes a difference!

The company gave me a quote based on sending the piles down to 4m and then mine was £20 per pile per metre after that. I think three piles went to about 6m, the others were within the 4m. They quoted the concrete in metres based on the concrete pour being 450mm width x 350mm depth and mine...

I did think about making the opening in the house although it's bang in the middle of two bedrooms at the minute and then i'd have to go through the house all the time. I suppose the obvious option is the window, it's just whether it will cause issues when the scaffold goes up the next lift...

All good, keep us posted. What you using to do the time-lapse? Looking at the video... it only took a couple of minutes! :whistle:

Yes, that's where I made the biggest cost blunder! It cost me £2000 to get rid of the garage (£2000 to de-value my house!). The man with digger and three grab trucks cost £2200, then £4800 for the pilings and concrete! None of which anyone will see! Wow! Has he not been using grab trucks, a...

Brickwork to Window Lintel Height So this is pretty much up to end of April 2019. I have the brick an block work up to window lintel height. The lintels are installed, cavity trays and weep vents fitted with them.

Brickwork coming along The brick and block work is higher now. Not 100% happy with the bonding but hey ho!

Installing the gas DPC and starting the Block work Building control happy up to DPC so I started the block work early Jan 2019 (might even have been 1st Jan!) First to do was grouting the block and beam floor with a wet slurry mix as per the block and beam suppliers spec. Trusty £50 cement...

Drainage I started to dig some of my drainage channels although this ground is impossible! After battling with this trench for three days with a mattock I decided the rest would be dug by the guy with a digger! Trench to the foul drain, just need to core drill through that concrete at...

Block & Beam Flooring Next came the block and beam flooring. I drilled out the pockets in the existing house wall to sit the beam ends on, then came the tricky part; moving the beams from my driveway into place. I moved and installed the beams by myself (not something i'd recommend). The...

Finishing the brickwork to Block & Beam Level The brickwork nearly finished up to the block and beam level. A check with the laser level! Concrete lintels installed over the periscope vent locations and over the drain runs. Internal area levelled, weed killed, tough membrane...

Start The Building Okay, this is where I start properly now. I measured out the extension using a combination of measuring from the existing house and the 3,4,5 method to square up the extension. Once I had the exact corner locations i was able to set my gauge levels. First of all I worked...

Piling The next day, the piling guys came, installed the piles, concreted. It was the mad hot summer last July!

Dig the Foundations I was going to have the foundations piled on recommendation from various sources, including the building inspector so I used the guy with a digger for this bit too. It was funny actually, because I had the guy in my phone as "Martin Diggerman" and when my son saw it he said...

Demolition of the Small Extension The small extension was next. I didn't want to just rip this down with machinery, so I took it down slowly from the roof down. Lintels already installed to the last extension so i just stud walled the opening and covered with protective sheeting and...