RSJ is moved into place

They use a winch to lift half ton of steel into position.

The walls have come down

After a day of banging and drilling the side walls of the kitchen are finally down.


The house is now held up by four wobbly metal poles - eek!

The ingenious drainage construction that serves the bathroom sink and shower.

We are now waiting for the steel beam to be put in its placed....

The kitchen is now a building site.

The washing machine and sink have been moved into the dining room and the cooker is in the skip. It's beginning to take shape and we can see how it's eventually going to look once it's all over. This picture doesn't show it but trust me, I can see it.

In the next few days they will be putting the roof on and already they have erected the wooden joists for the side pitched roof.
The sliding doors and kitchen units have now been ordered, it's just tiles I have to decide on. It's coming together faster than I expected although the neighbours might not agree with me here. I think we might have to make up to them after it's all over.

Men at Work

Today two 20 feet long steel beams weighing over half a ton each came through our front door!

We also had 7 men to help with the tricky task of moving these two heavy weights into the kitchen.

These will eventually support the house when we take the two existing sides of the kitchen down.


Vlad, the main man on site had bad news for us today - the timber joists running along the bathroom roof needs replacing as they were looking pretty rotten. Oh dear - that's the contingency budget depleting.

The kitchen is dismantled!

I didn't think I would ever feel sorry about this old kitchen coming down and I'm right. I am glad it's finally had it's day.


The boys have taken a sledge hammer to it today and it's coming down, or part of it at least. They are putting in a steel beam across the back to support the floor upstairs and by next week, you will not be able to recognise the place.

The walls are going up

Finally, we are building!

The old bathroom has come down and the new Celcon Solar block walls are going up. We've had issues with drains like most of our neighbours but that seems to be the norm around here. Hopefully, Kevin will sort things out and divert them away from the house. The last thing I want is a man hole in a new kitchen extension and any problems that could arise from that.

Wrong building materials!

Ooops - stop right there! That is not what I ordered!

Just in the nick of time I've realised that they have delivered the wrong type of building material and it all has to go back. I wanted Thermalite Turbo and they have supplied Thermailte Shield. It was all agreed and confirmed with Kevin our man and the supplier only yesterday. Not a lot of difference in the U value but enough to make a difference and it's what the architect suggested we use in order to achieve a better insulated wall.

I think it's important to get this bit right don't you?

Foundations are dug

One week to the day since the work started and the foundations are dug deep ready for the concrete. As the builder pointed out, due to current building regulations " over time the main house may move but this extension ain't going anywhere".

The work has started!

The work has begun, we managed to sort out our worries and it's all full steam ahead. We are now looking at a massive hole in the back of our house where the old bathroom once stood...

The Builders have arrived!

After an almost sleepless night we wake up to an early morning knock on the front door. The builders have arrived! Oh God it's all about to kick off and we've got the jitters. What if they don't do a good job? What if we get stung for loads of extras we didn't calculate for and have we chosen the right builder? Questions to make anyone nervous.

Watch this space...

Eco Build 2011

With less than two weeks to go for this years Eco Build 2011, I am gearing up for a fascinating day out to this years event taking place at Excel from 1-3 March.

If you are interested in learning about energy efficiency in buildings, understanding the benefits of the Feed in Tariff, seeing live demonstrations on solid wall refurbishment, modern glazing solutions, existing loft insulation and finding out about the latest technology in harnessing solar energy, energy efficient lighting, urban planting, bee keeping plus much much more, then sign up for your FREE pass at.
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/index.html

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing the seminar on Freecycling and a complete interior makeover for £0.00 This could give me some useful ideas for my Victorian refurb.

Kitchens

Designing a kitchen can take longer than you imagine. This is an important space in the house and it has to be right. There are also a myriad of various possibilities and functions that have to be taken in to consideration, everything has to be carefully thought out.

It took me several days of drawing and redrawing to get the right layout and to decide where everything was going, how the space was going to be used and what happens to clutter.

I spent between 6-9 hours with various kitchen companies getting comparative quotes. Eventually, I decided on a shaker style design with all built in appliances from a high street manufacturer that came in within budget.

The Concept

Getting the interior space just right was going to be very important for us and this is not always an easy task.

Firstly, there are two people to consider (myself and my husband). There are so many things you need to think about, such as how you are going to use the space, how you want to feel in the space and lastly how you want the space to look.

We both had our own vision for the house but it was a clash of ideas and opinions. I started with getting David's ideas. I wanted five adjectives of how he would describe his ideal home. Then I wrote my own and considered words that were similar or meant the same thing to both of us. Using these words I developed a concept board to visualise how the end project could look.

The Plans

We have now been living in the house for over two months and in that time we have got used to its peculiarities, idiosyncrasies and had a feel of each room.

I think it's quite important to live in a space first before making any major changes, as once you make a change it can be expensive and difficult to rectify. The bathroom upstairs for example is bathed in sunlight and warmth when it's sunny whilst the spare bedroom is dark and cold. There was no place to hang coats and leave shoes as you walk in to the house without cluttering up the hallway and the lighting throughout the house was badly designed.

I started drawing my plans for the house early on to see how the various rooms could work for us. We wanted, above all, an open plan kitchen/diner/family area. This is where I see myself spending most of my time and so it had to be just right. Even now in our dark kitchen this is where you'll find me tapping away at my computer. We also wanted to maximise the sunlight coming into the house and to be able to use these rooms to maximum advantage. By the time we appointed an architect we had already worked out our plans. But as they say, two heads are better than one and David of Andooi Design suggested we put in a luxurious master bedroom with a dressing area and en suite. This did mean sacrificing a double bedroom but by converting the loft we would gain two further bedrooms which would make the house a four bedroom property.

Snow in Balham December 2010

Clapham Park
Nightingale Square


Ramsden Road.

The Project

We are planning on doing a whole house renovation including converting the loft, side extension to the kitchen, re-configuring the bathrooms, putting in internal wall insulation, re-wiring, plumbing, installing solar PV and decorating.

It was important to us that we made this house as energy efficient and sustainable as possible within our budget. One of the key measures we had to do in order to achieve this was insulation of our solid walls and floors. Luckily, there was already over 250mm of loft insulation put in by the previous owner after they had a new roof installed.

We are also considering Solar PV or solar thermal panels for generating our own electricity and hot water. Given the favourable return on investment now available with the Feed In Tariff for solar PV, I looked into the viability of having this fitted.

The orientation of the roof is naturally of paramount importance as this determines how effective the panels will be and if it is worth installing them in the first place. We were looking for a house with a south facing garden but ultimately were happy to settle for one facing south-westish with just enough roof space for 6 solar PV panels after a loft conversion. We discussed this with our architect at the design stage so it can be included in the drawings.

I spoke with several solar PV panel providers and found that a lot of them were either too busy to come out and give me an estimate or dismissed our request as being not worth bothering about as our roof space was too small. In the end, I had to speak to over a dozen companies to find two I was happy dealing with and who were able to think creatively to provide a solution to our lack of south facing roof space. More to follow on this at a later stage.

Moving In

At last, after many months of looking and searching for our perfect home, we finally moved into a house we were both happy with on the 20th of September 2010.

We particularly liked this house for its central location in Balham and the fact that it needed work doing to it. I wanted a project I could get my teeth into and a house we could renovate to our specification. This meant, doing as much as possible within our budget to make the house as eco friendly and energy efficient as possible.

The house was built in the 1870's. It has a large cellar, two reception rooms on the ground floor, kitchen/diner and a downstairs bathroom. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms a bathroom and a separate loo.

Until we bought it, it had been occupied by the same family for over 40 years. In that time, the house had gone through a lot of changes including at some point, having every original Victorian feature taken out and replaced by 70's style deco. The bathrooms were also all in the wrong place blocking out natural light coming in to the house. Despite this, the house had a few good features, it had a new roof with lots of insulation and double glazing!

We decided not to replace the original features but to restore it to a 21st Century standard home.