New year – new challenges

This much delayed update is not because of an extended Christmas/new year hangover (as might have been the case some years ago!) but due to problems on site, mainly our polished concrete floor which was poured in early December but couldn’t be finished before Christmas as planned. Unfortunately, a bit like the roof a couple of months ago, nothing else could progress until the floor was done.

Work restarted on the 2 January with the concrete guys back to do the grinding and finishing. Initially booked in for two days, by the end of the third day they’d managed to take off the top layer to reveal a speckling of aggregate, our requested finish, but had not been able to polish it off or seal it. After five days of trying to complete what should have been a two day job we were told the concrete was too damp and they arranged to come back for another two days in mid-January. In the meantime we installed dehumidifiers and heaters and at the third attempt they managed to finish the polishing but it was still too damp to seal, despite our best efforts.

In the meantime the builders, who were champing at the bit to get on inside, kept busy by putting up some of the weather boarding and digging a trench for the water and electricity which has increased the matrix layout on our lawn. We’ll need to keep a record of where all these trenches are once the lawn has recovered so we don’t accidently dig into one of them!

In the end we agreed with the flooring company that we’d protect the floor, finish the inside work and get them back to seal it when it’s drier and warmer and just before the kitchen is due to be installed. Not ideal but better than another two month delay. So we’re looking at March before we have our finished floor.

Once let off the leash our builders Ken and Joe have made massive progress this week and in just four days have the inside walls up and most of the kitchen plastered. They have been very careful to protect the floor with Ram Board, specialist cardboard on a roll which is breathable and allows the concrete to continue drying out while they work, only placing plastic on top to prevent unwanted stains while they plaster. It’s wonderful that they care about this project as much as we do.

The other massive leap forward this week was going ahead with installing the sliding doors that run along one side of the kitchen and open out onto the garden. Although this has also had its problems. The glass has bowed in the two sliding panels making them difficult to move which means the glass will need to be replaced. They’ll also need to repair a scratched frame. I’m now waiting for a date for that to happen. However, they look wonderful and really give us a sense of what it will be like when it’s finished.

Along with electricity and water we will also need gas to power the underfloor heating, hot water and hob. Our existing gas supply is too far from the extension to feed a new boiler and hob without increasing the flow or moving the supply. In November I started the journey to find the right solution. Starting with our supplier, British Gas, I put in a request for our local gas network distributor, Cadent, to carry out a site survey which was on 2 January. We agreed the best solution would be to move the metre closer to the new extension without increasing the supply and I submitted a second request complete with plans. Following a second Cadent survey I’m now waiting for the designs and then it could be another 12 weeks before the new supply is in place. It all takes time.

At least it should be warmer by then as we will be turning off the gas supply to the old part of the house when it is switched over to the extension. We always planned to move to a new heating solution in the old house so we can remove the boiler and all the central heating water pipes and radiators which are damaging the wattle and daub. This means we’ll need to bring that phase of the work forward and I’m now fast tracking my research into suitable solutions. The front runner is infrared heating and portable plug in electric heaters when we need a quick boost. Infrared heats things rather than air which should work much better in our old, misshapen house.

I’m in awe of people who manage projects like this and hold down a full-time job. I am fortunate that I’ve been able to take a break from work and can focus on all the details that will give us our dream home. Two funerals in the last week of two much loved, out going and fun loving individuals who died far too young have emphasised to me the importance of making the most of the time we have.