Honestly how difficult can it be......... Rear extension

[scaffers]

Hi all

We recently moved to a place that needs work. I'm competent at DIY, plumbing, woodwork, electrics, bricks etc. We are adding a rear extension, planning approved for that and some other items. The extension 3m out one end, 10m long and 4.5m back to the house the other end. I've had a few builders round but as I only want the shell up (no electric, plumbing, plaster, glass etc) it seems they aren't really interested, or just quite silly rates like £1600 psm.

So I'm now thinking do it yerself, iI need to demolish a old lean-to, yep OK with that. Remove the patio, OK with that too. Dig footings was looking at hiring a man and digger who at the same time can level off a bit of the garden and dig a new watermain. Now it starts... I need to move the drain, currently approx 2m from house to about 3.5m from house to be outside new extension . It's my drain no one else connects to it but I need to make it so I can add the new downstairs bathroom to it (not in new extension) and 2 ensuits that will be added next year. I've not got a scoobie on this, looked online and am a bit confused the falls and how it sits through the new foundations to join existing. Pouring footings we have good access around so could get a lorry to within about 3m of footings or get a pump.

I'm going block and beam floor with insulation below and above and t&g above that. I'll get a brickie to lay the bricks and blocks, I have a m8 in windows and a roofer.

What do you think am I mad


Scaff

 

[GlenBoy]

No M8, I did my extension back in 2000 ish…. just got planning to put a bit on top of it that now needs to be done in timber frame. Like you I went out to the builders to get a price. Like you got some interesting ones back…. OOOOO wow I wish I could earn that kind of money. Why not go for it and as you say get some trades to do a bit for you. I do have to say even finding the odd person to do a bit at the moment is proving hard to find. It seems the boys have a pick and choose the best bits at the moment in my area of Essex. Good luck to you wish you well with it... I dug my footings by hand but I was 19 years younger and did the couple into the drains and the brickwork electrics and plumbing. Only trade apart from plaster was a roofer.

 

[Notch7]

Find a groundworker team with their own plant.

There are guys who just do drainage, founds, oversite.

Then you can get your brickie in.

The risk is you are project managing so you may not know....what you dont know.

 

[scaffers]

Good tip on the ground workers, I'll have a Google.

Thanks

 

[Notch7]

Good tip on the ground workers, I'll have a Google.

Thanks

Pop into your local builders merchant

Or drainage centre.

Have a look at the business cards and ask at the desk.

Lots of groundworkers wont be on the internet, many will work for builders or brickies.
Ask your brickie mate.

For trademen old fashioned networking is king.

Steer clear of the checkatrade type sites.....or do your due diligence.....those sites are where the cowboys live -most good tradesmen are too booked to pay for leads

 

[scaffers]

Cool, there's a couple of merchants not far I'll have a look Monday


Thanks

 

[scaffers]

Just an update

Had a groundworker round and to knock the lean-to down and clear site ready to dig foundations £2k, thats not including digging the foundations, concrete etc just clearing. Hardcore will remain on site, soil also so nowt to move away.

Thought that's a bit steep

 

[securespark]

Seems a lot....

 

[scaffers]

Got a man on board at a more realistic rate 3 days to clear area and dig foundations £250 a day.

 

[scaffers]

Made a start on the demo of the conservatory.

What we thought would be an easy job quickly turned out not to be anything like it. There was so much silicone and sticky stuff on the glass panels you couldn't get them out, all panels are double glazed Inc the roof. Nearly all the glass isn't safety glass either so when it broke it was shards of glass falling down, not good.

So I got up a ladder and tried to break the double glazed roof from above using a roofer hammer with a long point on the tail. It was a bit like smash a couple of panes clear it up, smash more clean up. The kick in the nuts was the edges of the glass were stuck to the alloy in the units and in turn they were stuck to the hardwood frame all hanging above you when clearing up.

It took 2 days to get the glass out and cut the hardwood frame so I could pull it down and away from the house.

Then the fun started with the bricks, I'm guessing there was a shortage of sand when this was built as it looks like a 1to1 mix with cement. Took a good while to get it going...... Thank god for breakers.

Look at the photos.......... See anything odd......... No, look again, see the pond that goes under the floor and inside the conservatory. 80s design at its best, no. There's a steel beam supporting the wall about 9" high that's gonna be fun to pull out.

Onwards and upwards, just the tiled floor to gun out and drop the base 3 or 4 courses, a good tidy up and be ready for footings

See the last pic of the angled brick are these any good to anyone?? I have about 6 or 8 of them if anyone wants them.


Scaff

 

[SpecialK]

...and now you have an outside socket! yey.
Keep us up to date please - I always like following extension projects (will do one myself....one day)

 

[scaffers]

No, the socket is dead.

It was a typical bodge job it had some flex and a 3 pin plug on the end which plugged into a socket in the lounge............ Madness

In the conservatory It had a ceiling fan and light plugged into it...... Plugged in not wired as a spur

When I rewired the house it was taken care off like most of the bodged electrics I found.


Scaff

 

[scaffers]

small update

the beam in the bottom is causing me real nightmares. i have spent hours getting the barrow of concrete they poured over each end off to find its bolted to the floor, but not to a flagstone etc, theres a poured concrete support thats soo hard the 15kg breaker i have just nips lil bits off it and no more. the bolts look to be high tensile, i tried to cut them with an angle grinder and it wont cut, just skimms along.

i got the tilled floor up and the concrete and hardcore base under that {no screed} only to find about 50mm of sand and stones and another concrete base below that .......aghhh

i think i need to take that up as well as im sure i dont have clearance for the block n beam floor, 152mm, insulation, 130mm, 70mm screed and the 150mm air void needed.

scaff

 

[VDubDan]

Nice work! I also found the demolition a lot harder going than I anticipated

 

[scaffers]

We got to work on it again saturday

I hired a man and digger, well worth the money and I can't recommend the man I got enough if anyone wants his no contact me he's in Ash in Surrey but does travel.

We dug a test hole and to everyones surprise we are on sand, good news

Then we started on that monstrous concrete pond under the conservatory......... It was a right git

Mr digger started to do what he does best and drank some tea while I got the flag stones off the patio.

He had to get the patio wall down and out on 2 sides, that was a lump and a half. Luckily it was all filled with sand and a bit of ballast..... Tons of it.

When the 2 sides were clear the pond was exposed, we hoped to fold it out flat and pull it out. No such luck, banging it with the digger a sledge hammer nothing. We broke out a corner to see rebar..... You dirty #@&¥€ the next 4 to 5 hours were spent on manually breaking this git out. The sides were 6 inch thick the bottom 9inch thick and 1m deep down and full of rebar. One side at a time with a breaker top to bottom then along the joint at the floor......back breaking especially holding up a 15kg breaker to get to the top of the wall.

Progress is being made, the pond is half out as we ran outta time, the garden is a mess, the neighbours are wearing ear defenders my dogs keep getting in the holes dug by the diggerman but progress is being made.


Scaff