Day 26 - Insulating the flat roof

Warm roof insulation being laid

I was in London today for a meeting and dropped in to the site in the afternoon. I really don't know how the guys cope in the cold, it really has been freezing the past couple of weeks. The insulation was being put down above my bedroom (under the terrace area) and then covered with boards. It was fantastic to be able to walk around on what will be the terrace. Although planning permission only allowed me to use half the flat area for the terrace, I could see that it will be a really useable size.

All the plaster has been chiseled off. A huge job well worth doing.

Yesterday they stripped all of the plaster from the walls of the living room. It adds to the cost but while I'm doing all the other work it would be a shame to compromise on the walls. I really feel for the neighbours as the guys had to use pneumatic chisels to get it off - very noisy and very dirty. The old plaster has mostly filled the last skip which will be collected on Saturday.

The loft bedroom with the door to the stairs on the right and the bathroom door on the left

In the loft bedroom they have put the doorway to the bathroom in the right place and it almost looks like a room. OK a very cold draughty room, but I was able to measure out where the bed would go and see how much space there will be around it. I drew a map of where I wanted all the power sockets and Ivan will make a start on that next week.

Day 24 - Partitions & Raising Party Wall

Partition walls have gone up

I dropped in after work this morning to check on progress. On the way I ordered the Velux windows which will arrive this Thursday. The guys had been busy putting up partitions in the loft. They looked great, other than the doorway being in the wrong place, but within minutes of pointing this out, it was being rectified. Nothing is too much trouble for them.

Party wall squared off with concrete

This morning they had laid some concrete on top of the party wall to give a flat surface for the three layers of bricks that will form the wall to the roof terrace. Finally we discussed the state of the plaster in the sitting room. It is quite loose and should really be stripped off completely and replaced with plaster board and plastered over. This will of course entail an extra cost so I need to sit down and look at the numbers before deciding if I can go ahead with it.

Day 23 - More Plaster Removal

Nick taking out the cornice

I had to go up to London today to get the guys some more parking permits. I can't believe they've worked a month already. They have taken out all the radiators because all of them need to be replaced. My new boiler will come with an unvented cylinder which works off mains water pressure so the old heating pipes will all need to be replaced along with the ancient radiators which are probably all full of sludge anyway. I found the guys hard at work stripping some plaster off the walls in the sitting room as well as the cornice round the top of the wall. The ceiling is all lath and plaster, and we're going to plasterboard over the top of it rather than rip it all out. It means losing a few inches of height but the ceiling is already very high so it won't be noticeable. If we didn't take out the cornice I'd lose even more height. I'll replace the cornice with something similar once the new ceiling is in. I'm in London tomorrow morning for a short job so will drop in after that to see how things are. I think the plan is to start laying insulation in the roof.

This plaster needed to come off as well

Day 21 - First Floor Bathroom Strip

Tiles, shower, basin, hot water tank on the way out

I wasn't on site today but Tom went up as the Building Control had another visit scheduled to inspect all the timber connections, insulation plans and steels. Everything was signed off fine and they won't be back until all the work is done for a final check. Tom sent me two photos of the first floor bathroom which was completely stripped out today, including the hot water tank, shower and dividing walls. They don't hang about!

This will be a utility room and WC once it's finished

Day 20 - Planning Loft Bathroom Layout

The roof terrace is the space beyond the red steel beam (loft bedroom beyond)

Another job for me in London today so I dropped into the flat to check on progress. The timber joists are now all in place above my bedroom and I was able to walk around on what will be the terrace (taking care not to fall between the beams). Nasco and I measured up for the steel staircase that will lead up to the terrace. That will start to be made next week. We also measured up space for the loft bathroom. This will be quite a compact space, although we can always make it a bit larger at the expense of making the loft bedroom a bit smaller. I need to spend a bit more time thinking of shower sizes and on which wall I want to place the loo and basin. Finally we discussed the different options for how to cover the flat roof. GRP or roof felt? I'm tending towards GRP as the lifespan sounds a LOT longer than roof felt, but will do some more research.

My bedroom almost has a roof

Kitchen stud wall is now out

Day 19 - Start of Week 4

Looking at the timbered loft space from the end of the terrace

Time has flown by and we're now at the start of week four of the building works. I was working in London yesterday and dropped in just before the guys left to have a look at progress. The loft space is now completely enclosed by the roof timbers (although they are open).

The first of the joists above my bedroom

Today I also was also on site after lunch and the guys have started putting in the timber joists in my bedroom ceiling. Also the stud wall between the kitchen and living room has been taken out so you can see the whole space. It's going to be a lovely large room with masses of room for a fairly large kitchen table.

Day 17 - We have stairs!

Stairs in place

I haven't been on site for a few days but I know that the guys have been working hard on getting the roof timbers in place. Also today they have been putting in the new staircase up to the loft level. Tom sent me a couple of photos to show me what it looked like. I'm glad we went for the pine rather than the MDF, it looks great. I'm working in London tomorrow so will have to drop in either at the beginning or end of the day to see how it's all looking.

Painted and carpeted they'll look even better

Day 15 - Roof timbers going up

Roof timbers going up. Blakey in the background trying to blend in with a hammer

It was a flying visit to the site today, at the start of week three. With me was Richard Blake (Lofty Blog Groupie) who had come along to check on progress. The guys were busy putting up the roof timbers. The last steels are in place in the roof of my bedroom to support the terrace (see below). The room will seem much larger with the built up wall. I need to get on with ordering the windows as the roof will be up in no time.

My bedroom with the steels to support the terrace now in place

Day 14 - Flooring and Walls

Bedroom walls almost built up to full height

Neither Tom nor I was on site yesterday hence the lack of update. I was meant to be going up to London today but the weather was so good I went flying instead! Tom was on site instead and sent me a few photos.I'll be going up tomorrow myself to see how it's all looking.

Loft Flooring going down

Bathroom window and bedroom walls

Day 12 - Bricking It

Dimitri loads the mixer while Ivan counts bricks

The cement mixer has been going all day today. I went up to the site with Tom to check on progress and lots has happened since Saturday. The living room has been cleared completely and now looks very large. The carpet is out and the archway has completely gone. When the stud wall to the kitchen comes down, we'll really start to see what the room will be like.

Archway gone. Stud wall next to go. Second doorway will be blocked up

The rest of the plaster in the hall has all come off and been taken back to bare brick, Ivan has bricked around the top bathroom window and built up most of the wall between the bathroom and the loft. He showed us that the existing exterior walls to the bedroom are not completely vertical but that is maybe to be expected in an old Victorian terrace. We discussed insulating the walls from the inside as there's no cavity. This would make it much warmer and is probably worth the loss of some interior space.

My bedroom without plaster. The wall on the right needs to be built up.

They will start building the roof tomorrow so wanted Velux measurements for the loft bedroom and bathroom. I have just been online looking up all the different options... there are all sorts of different sizes and specs. I can't wait to see what the space looks like with a roof!

The rest of the plaster in the stairwell has now gone

Day 11: Building Control

A cold snowy day with LOTS of wind. The team were hard at work though. I don't know how they do it. I wasn't on site today as I was recovering from a long, late job yesterday. Tom called me to say that building control came this morning and signed off the steelwork which is great news. The guys can start to lay the joists for the floor as well as continue with the brickwork. I'm going up tomorrow morning with Tom to check on progress. Sorry no photos today!

Day 10: More steels in place

The loft steels in place

Today being a Saturday was a half day. I went up to London with my mother to show her the progress so far. She hadn't seen any of the work and was impressed with the plans and progress so far. I was only going up today to measure up for the bathroom window as Ivan wants to start building up the outside wall of my bedroom and bathroom for the last two steels to form the flat roof for the terrace. Five of the steels are now in place, two each in the roof and floor of the loft with one post between them, and one to support the removed chimney breast. It's useful to see the headroom that I'll have in the loft. Once the floorboards, insulation and roof boards are in place, the ceiling will be at 2170mm which is plenty.

Nick laying bricks on the built-up party wall

Day 9: Rain and Steels Drilling

A lot of rain today but the tin roof meant that work could continue unhindered. I wasn't on site today but Tom was there to check on things. Further problems with the steels meant that some of the beams did not arrive pre-drilled as requested. I had tried a new steel company to try to cut the costs a bit from the one that Tom/Ivan normally use. I got a price that was several hundred pounds cheaper but with the extra I had to pay to crane them up yesterday and hiring a special drill and buying a drill bit today, the price difference was pretty much wiped out! I doubt I'll have much luck getting any money back from the steel company but will try. The beams in the loft were placed today, some more brickwork was laid and also another skip was filled with rubbish. Below is a photo Tom sent from site.

 

Fitting the post and horizontal loft steels

Day 8: Steels, Stripping and relics from the past

The steels arrived this afternoon. There were a few complications, starting with the driver refusing to use the crane to lift them to the roof because I had only paid for delivery and not crane use. Despite having asked for it, it wasn't on the paperwork so I had to go to the cashpoint so that they could be craned up. They are seriously heavy - no other way to get them up there, but with some heavy lifting from Ivan and Nick on the scaffold, they were soon in the loft space.

The expensive crane (and Dimitri!) in action

Ivan and Nick never stop working

The site looks very different to my last visit, for a start the upstairs bathroom is no longer there. The guys stripped out the bath, basin and loo, then stripped the walls of the lath and plaster, before removing the walls completely. All of the rotten plaster in my bedroom has been removed back to bare brick and the plaster has been taken off the lath in the hall. We really will be starting again from scratch but the new walls will be perfectly solid and straight.

No bathroom and very little plaster left. A blank canvas

The first floor passage minus plaster

Wide open

Whilst stripping the plaster in the passageway the guys have been finding old paperwork, letters and invoices, all dated in the 1890s. I didn't have a lot of time to look through them but it will be interesting to have a look at them in more detail.

Ivan finds another letter behind the lath

This one's dated 1897

Day 7: No site visit

I'm wondering what's been going on today on site as I stayed in Hampshire for the day and Tom was working from home. I had another skip delivered and yesterdays one will have been taken away. Ivan will have continued building up the party wall ready for the steels which arrive tomorrow.

I spent the morning calling the steel company to check that the steels had been made as required. Ivan asked me yesterday to get them to predrill one of the beams so that the rafters can be screwed into them. I also was trying to sort out the Building Control requirements. I submitted the form at the start of the week and today made a payment. I'm still five weeks late in applying but hopefully we can arrange a site visit soon by the Building Control officer to oversee the steels being put in. Finally I was deciding on where to put downlights and electric sockets in all the rooms.

I'll be up in London tomorrow so will drop in with my camera and check on progress. I'll leave you with one of Tom's photos of Ivan, the hardest worker I have ever known.

The headgear required by every patriotic Bulgarian in London!

Day 6: Brickwork starting

I was up in London at 7:30 this morning for a job in Westminster. I parked at the flat and went round for a quick look. The chimney breast in the kitchen had completely been dismantled and all the bricks were stacked in the hall. Up in the loft, the rubbish was all ready for the skip to arrive that morning.

Whilst at work, Tom sent me a photo of Ivan starting to lay bricks upstairs in the loft, building up the party wall on one side ready for the steels which arrive on Thursday. A lot more of the lath and plaster needs to be replaced with new boards and plaster than originally thought, in fact it's probably worth redoing all of it whilst the flat is in this state. I won't do it any other time and any I don't replace will stand out against the new walls. It adds to the cost but I think it's worth doing. I also need to decide on where all the new power sockets go.

After my job I went back to the flat for a look round. Another skip arrives tomorrow as there is a lot of waste still to get rid of. I'm looking forward to all of it going and all the demolition work to be over. Once we start building it back up it will start to look so much fresher and we'll be able to see it taking shape very quickly.

Happiness is laying bricks (photo Tom Clowes)

No more chimney breast

That far wall won't be there much longer... nor will that archway.

Starting to look tidier, or is it my imagination?

Day 5: Chim-Chimney

Day 5 in the House of Trouser. I was going to go up to London today but seeing as I'll be going up tomorrow for a job leaving at 5am I thought I'd stay in Hampshire and get some work done instead. I had to order the steels using Ivans measurements. They will be arriving this Thursday. Then I had to ensure that the skip would be arriving tomorrow morning... and another on Wednesday morning... and another on Thursday morning. There's lots to take away. Tom was on site again today and he sent me a few photos of what's been going on. There's lots of dust and soot in the air because they've been knocking down the chimney breast in the kitchen.

Losing the chimney breast will make the space a lot more useable

Temporary support!

Lunchtime Bulgarian style!

Day 4 : Quiet Work

Today being a Saturday it was time to give the neighbours a bit of a break and do some quieter work... clearing up. Ivan and Nick bagged up all the rubble and swept up as much as possible. Thick black dust had covered everything within reach. I was in and out all day taking out another couple of carloads of belongings. The packing up never seems to be completely over, but I'm getting there. The downstairs bedroom is the only place that I can leave a few things, all the rest has gone to a storage container in Wimbledon. Even though I've done none of the clearing up, I'm covered in black dust that doesn't wash off and am looking forward to the start of the building work and the end of the demolition.

The boys at work!

Bagged up ready for the skip

Day 3: The Blitz

This morning Ivan and Nick arrived at 8am and within minutes they were at work demolishing the ceiling of my bedroom. Ten minutes later and the ceiling was on the floor. We don't yet have a skip outside, (my fault as it takes 5 days to apply for a skip licence), and so there's nowhere to put the rubbish until it arrives. The guys will bag up as much as they can as they go, but once it comes on Tuesday, everything will go off site.

Start of Day 3

The same view ten minutes later. Ivan surveying his handiwork!

Now where's that vacuum cleaner

I left them around midday as I had to go to work and came home well after dark. As I pushed open the door to my flat, nothing prepared me for what greeted me. I couldn't help laughing out loud as I walked into what looked like a scene from the blitz. All my ceilings and most of the upper walls were now lying on the floor. Everyone had told me it would be messy but I really wasn't expecting it to be THAT messy! It is very exciting though... it's all happening so fast, I can't wait to see what happens next.

It has to look worse before it looks better