Getting My Room Back!!

Loft Conversion: Day 33

Tuesday and Wednesday saw a wall to Cian's bedroom going back up again (as he was still sleeping in our room - leaving just a 15cm gap around the beds) and Glen plastered it (doing a great job).  By Friday the wall was dry enough that Cian could go back into his room - alleluia!!!

Steve (the builder) did say at the start that they would find little bits of storage here and there as they go along and they've definitely done that in Cian's room.  Originally we were going to move the wall back and have a bigger hallway, but they've kept the wall into Cian's room in line with the door to our room and we now have quite a good size little hidey hole for storage (right photo)....I was wondering where on earth I was going to put the Christmas Tree and Suitcases now we have no loft!!

Then if that wasn't enough for a week's work the windows arrived on Friday and were put in to the back bedroom, the shower room and the upstairs hallway....so much less drafty this weekend!!!

It's difficult to give a good idea of the layout so I've been experimenting with my camera's panorama settings... so here you go (my first attempts at panoramic photography).  The top one is the layout from the upstairs hallway and the bottom photo gives quite a good idea of the look of the front bedroom.

All Alone........

Loft Conversion: Day 32

Poor Glen has been left all on his own this week by a ruthless boss who has selfishly gone on his honeymoon!!  He really has worked like an absolute Trojan in his absence though.  He spent Monday finishing the plasterboarding on the partition wall ready for the plasterer who came on Tuesday.  The plasterer was really good and plastered both the front and back bedroom in one day doing a great job too.  The finish where the ceiling meets the sloped wall looks fantastic...how do they do that!!!

 

I'm Getting Married in the Morning...

Loft Conversion: Day 25
Okay, well not me - but one of my builder's is....  They have worked really hard today to get the start of the internal structure up so that Glen can continue while Steve is off on his honeymoon (it's alright for some)!!  You can see the rooms coming together now and it really looks amazing.

The left photo is taken from the back bedroom with the shower room in front on the right with the front bedroom on the left.

The right photo is taken from the front bedroom looking toward the hallway with the back bedroom on the right and the shower room in the far corner.

The Only Way Is Up!!

Loft Conversion: Day 24
Fantastic - we have stairs!!  I never have to go up on that scaffolding ever again - yippee!!!!  It is so strange as I've seen it in my head so many times I am now starting to see a hint of the finished product now.  It is very dusty in our house now though, so Cian and I are escaping down to the coast for a few days!

In Cian's Words.... "What happened to my room???"

Loft Conversion: Day 23
This is quite scary, the demolition phase has started and we have no wall in Cian's bedroom and no ceiling to the landing.  The stage is all set ready for the stairs to go in tomorrow.

The Spaceship

Loft Conversion: Day 22

The insulation has been going in today and is almost done, so our loft currently looks like the inside of a futuristic spaceship!!!

One of my favourite things of this conversion is the new view from our new back bedroom, you can see for miles.  It will be even further in the autumn when the trees start shedding their leaves it really is fantastic!!

Floored

Loft Conversion: Day 18
The roofer has almost finished now, though I didn't envy his job today as we had torrential rain on and off for most of the afternoon.  On the inside, most of the floor was laid today and it is really started to come together now.

Windows are the eyes of a home.....mine can see!!!

Loft Conversion: Day 15
The roofer arrived today and is doing a fantastic job of re-tiling the front of the roof and the rear dormer has been prepared for the tiling there too.

Loft Conversion: Day 16
The tiling continues and the two veluxes are in.  I must admit when I was looking at the rooms last week, I thought the front room would feel quite small with the sloping ceilings, but as soon as the two windows went in the space has completely changed - it now feels spacious, light and airy.  Aine seems pleased with her prospective new room.  It really would be amazing if we kept it as one room with an ensuite kept for us, but I think we will still go with the sensible option and have two rooms upstairs....tempting though!!!

Loft Conversion: Day 17
Tiling is really coming along well.  The original tiles have now been put back on the front of the house and tiling is proceeding well on the rear dormer - it's looking good.  I think the floor has been going down today, but I can't get up there now as Tom tells me the loft hatch has been covered over!  I think they must be going in and out of the rear window?

It's going to be busy this coming week, they're finishing off the floor this week (I think).  Then the plan is that on Tuesday (Monday being a very inconvenient bank holiday) they are breaking a hole in the ceiling and taking down the wall to Cian's bedroom (morning's jobs).  The afternoon's plan is the installation of the staircase - how exciting!!  The only slight downside of this is that our already crowded bedroom will now have another bed in it, so not sure exactly how we're supposed to move but hopefully it won't be for long. 

Then the inconsideration of our builder Steve reaches new heights when he has the gall to go and get married next Friday and go on honeymoon for two weeks (volcanic ash permitting)!!  The show must go on though and Glen is doing a great job, so will be carrying on in his absence..... the plan is that most of the main structure will have been completed by then anyway....we hope!!!

Use Your Imagination

Loft Conversion: Day 12

It is taking shape every day and today I even braved the scaffolding again to have a look at it first hand.  The rear dormer is finished, the roofer is coming on Monday to do the felting and Monday week will see the building of the staircase - it really is amazing how quickly it all comes together, the boys have worked really hard.  One added benefit of this work is that we are effectively getting a whole new roof, one less thing to worry about for a while longer!! 

These photos will give an idea of the layout from inside, so let me give you the guided tour of our new loft conversion....

May I present the shower room...

the front bedroom...

and last but by no means least, the rear bedroom...

I can see the pub from ere!

Loft Conversion: Day 8
Work on the loft conversion has been flying this week.  Monday saw all the RSJ's fixed into place (though I understand the air was blue getting the last one in)!!!



Loft Conversion: Day 9

The frame and supports for the front of the roof were put up today, though I don't think they got as much done as they wanted.

Loft Conversion: Day 10

Today work started on the rear dormer - oh my god it's huge!!!  I don't think I realised until I saw the frame quite how big this actually is. 



Loft Conversion: Day 11

The guys had a long old day today, they were here at 10 past 8 this morning and didn't leave until nearly 7pm tonight.  The timber frame for the rear dormer is pretty much complete and the ply is on the roof ready for the roofer who is coming on Monday to felt and tile it.  Apparently the view from what will be the back bedroom is spectacular, but I haven't braved the scaffolding again (they're putting the loft ladder back in tomorrow as the roof will be all sealed up- I can wait until then)!  It really is starting to take shape now and you can see how much room there is going to be up there, I'm so excited.

Loft Conversion: Day Four
The rest of the steelwork made its way up to the roof and the side and the front of the roof have been completely removed, we were in the lap of the gods today so thank goodness it stayed dry or that could have been nasty!

Loft Conversion: Day Five
The new roof structure has been started and the brickies came today and have started building the gable end wall, it's really quite amazing watching it all come together!!! 

Loft Conversion: Day Six

The gable end wall is almost finished, just some final touching up to do. 

 I can honestly say the guys have earned their money this week, they've worked really really hard!!  

It's funny really, as everyone has been telling me what a nightmare it is having work done, but quite honestly I'm loving it!!!  It's so exciting at the end of each day to see what they've done and how it's coming along, I can barely contain my excitement driving home!!! 

Bob the Builder meets Hercules

Loft Conversion: Day 3
The RSJs arrived today and I could not believe what I was seeing....  After giving me a piece of steel approximately 14 inches by 4 inches and just half inch deep which I could barely hold, I watched as my two builders managed to get the two larger steels in the picture below up to the top of the scaffolding and into place in the loft......... BY HAND!!!!!

......ooh they're gonna feel that in the morning!!!

There's a hole in my bucket....... (oops I mean roof)

Loft Conversion: Day Two
Two days in and the loft conversion is all systems go!!  The existing loft floor and the side and rear tiles have been removed and our new roof is a beautiful shade of blue with a lovely tarpaulin effect finish!!  Steels and a new wall are next on the menu....