Extension Day 71: I Spy With My Little Eye

I don't know how he managed it but the storm damaged end panels that we feared were destined for the fire have been turned into a lovely strong rear fence, ready for the trellis to go on top.....amazing job!

The front outdoor light has been put into the new porch and we have a shiny new spyhole in the front door for security.

The bathroom is coming along too and has four new spotlights and an extractor fan, now we just need to do our bit and fit the new bathroom, do the tiling and the painting....hmmm do you think the builders will come back to do that for us too??? 

Building work on the kitchen has finished now too as the filler has been sanded down all ready for painting. Final pictures will be posted after the painting has been finished.

It has been an adventure getting to this point, but so worthwhile. Already our family life is starting to revolve around the kitchen and I just love having so much space (and most importantly...storage)!

Thank you so much to Steve and Matt at Branchways Construction for bringing your expertise and can do attitude to our project.....as always it has been a pleasure! Thanks also to Lee and Trevor (our brickies), Karen Gordon (our kitchen designer) and everyone else who has helped to make this house our home!

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Extension Day 70: A Pain In The Post-erior

I don't think today was much fun! The final skip was removed from the end of the garden today so now work began on putting a fence post in to secure the end fences and make the garden secure again. An hour trying to dig out the concrete proved fruitless, so a trip to get a kango was in order....though not sure it was much easier even with this. Eventually though the two posts are in and the fence can be reinstated tomorrow.

Extension Day 69: I'm Gutted

Today was working through the final few jobs. The porch has had the concrete floor finished off and the guttering on the porch is now in place. The boundary wall where the sheds were taken down has had the protruding bricks knocked down, a render and a coat of paint and it will look as good as new!!

Extension Day 68: Finishing Touches

After spending the weekend putting the first coats of paint on the walls, sitting back and letting the builders pull together the finishing touches was actually quite enjoyable. Today was a whirlwind of action and saw quite a few jobs ticked off the final to do lists. Most importantly for us the electrics are up and running (though being finalised tomorrow), so the new fridge freezer is now in use and I am in love with the American style one we chose. The wall and ceiling lights have been installed and look absolutely amazing, really setting off the kitchen. We have had the remainder of the skirting finished in the old dining room as well the extractor fan being put into the downstairs toilet. 

Outside saw lots of work too with the concreting in of the sides of the roof tiles as well as putting a finish on the areas around the porch where the old top had been removed. The fence between our house and our immediate neighbours has been fully reinstated and secured and the pipework outside has been connected to the main soil stack (alas I missed Steve by inches when the sink waste pipe was open). A few more jobs left on the to do list for tomorrow although the concrete floor in the porch has been started today, but in the final days now....just can't believe we're almost there and how beautiful it looks!!

Extension Day 67: And Then There Was Light

We definitely had a houseful today with both the builders and the electrician (managed not to trip over anyone except the dog).  Best of all we now have lights in the kitchen so no more cooking by candlelight and the powerpoints are in place and will be connected on Monday.  Guttering has been added to the extension now, not a great job to be doing in the pouring rain! 

In the old dining room we have had a new radiator added and the house is so much warmer already.  The fillering has been completed to tidy up where the original back doors have been opened up and we now have a lovely smooth finish on the opening ready for yet more painting (it's gonna be a long weekend)!

Finishing touches are being added to the kitchen and the breakfast bar has had the legs put on and the sliding recycling bins have been fitted in the cupboard ready for use......not long now!

Extension Day 66: Making An Entrance

Final day of plastering, this time it was plastering the newly boarded bathroom ceiling as well as finishing off the new porch, which also has a fetching new black floor. Inside the kitchen trim was added to tidy up the boxing in and the skirting was put in the old dining room to keep the two room flowing together.

Extension Day 65: Slamming Doors

A challenging day finishing the porch, which has now been plaster-boarded inside as well as having a new inside door to the house. I can't believe how much warmer and quieter it is in the hallway now. There is actually a surprising amount of space inside and just need to plan the storage for coats, shoes, gloves, scarves etc.

In the kitchen we have had all the soft close hinges added to stop the kids (and the big kids) from slamming the doors. 

Extension Day 64: Roof Roof

A tale of two ceilings today! The porch has now had a shiny new roof put on and the original front door has been removed ready for a new one to be put in tomorrow. The porch is such a good size space, I can't wait to get the storage in there so I can declutter the hallway. 

The second ceiling was the replacement of the old ceiling in the bathroom which had been damaged by historic leaks and is being redone as we are also replacing the bathroom - may as well get all the building work out of the way at once!

Extension Day 62: Revolving Door

Today was finishing up a few of the final big jobs in the kitchen. The old kitchen door had to be unhinged and rehung to open the other way to prevent collisions with the new toilet door plus the new wraparound counter next to the fridge has been completed. The whole thing just looks amazing now that it's almost finished.

Extension Day 63: The Only Way Is Up

In the kitchen all the finishing touches are now starting to really make the difference. The upstands are in which set off the worktop perfectly and the boxing in has been done to cover the pipework under the boiler ready for painting.

Outside, the old slab above what was the front door has been removed and the wood for a new roof has been added. We also have a shiny new front door in place looking so much better than before and you can already feel the reduction in the draught in the hallway.

Extension Day 61: Spice Up Your Life!

I thought I couldn't get any more excited about seeing my kitchen after a few days away until I saw today's photo instalment. The finishing touches are making a lovely looking kitchen into something spectacular. The downstairs cloakroom is now fully functional with the soil pipe having been boxed in and a windowsill and more importantly, a door have been installed.

And for those of you that appreciate neat & tidy woodwork - here's some hinge porn...

To help keep the warmth in the original part of the kitchen on colder days we have had a plinth heater installed.

We have also had the windowsill installed in the main kitchen and another fun feature with the top of cabinet coloured lights, which just look stunning (or at least will do once we have properly painted).

Again however, it is the simple things in life which being the most pleasure and our builder has put his skills to good use in utilising a very shallow cupboard over the  old external wall to make us a cupboard spice rack - I love it!!!

Not much longer to go now until it is all finished and although I will be ecstatic to have my new kitchen finished, I am almost sad that I will not have the unveiling of the day's progress waiting for me on my return from work - it has been an adventure.

Extension Day 60: Ain't That A Kicker!!!

Wow, just wow, what an amazing day!!! The kickboards have now been finished, which really sets off the new flooring and the toilet has been fitted in the new downstairs cloakroom.  Really excited too as my huge American fridge freezer is in (even I might struggle to run out of space now).

Most surprising though, is that all this is not even the best bit today, all were overshadowed by the fitting of one of our 'fun' elements (the colour changing lights under the breakfast bar). The kids love them as you can either pick a colour or have a fast disco change or slow mood change effect, I will have to remember to hide the remote!!