Day 7 - Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve 2008.  Time to wrap up work for a week or so and take a well-earned break!  Simon was here first, very early - just as I left for work - and they were down to work straight away.  We haven't been up there today, but they took some photos for us to show progress.  The uprights for the purlin wall in the study are in place, and the rafters are tied together at the top.  That really brings down the ceiling height, and defines the width we're going to have there.  They've taken out the temporary supports and the old piece of wood that used to span the loft at chest height, getting in the way.  So it's all open, if a little low.

They tidied up well and knocked off at midday.  They've left it so that I can get in fairly easily for my aerial project (and to take a look!), but they've put the tiles back more securely than normal so as to avoid an leaks while they're on holiday.  I think they're going to be away, so there won't be an option to call them in if we start getting drips through the bedroom ceiling.  I'd better be careful putting those tiles back again!  Here are some of the pictures they took:

Day 6 - We Take a Peek

Tuesday, and we couldn't hold our enthusiasm back any longer.  Marcus turned up at normal time and I asked him to show me how to get in.  He demonstrated which six tiles you need to remove and we were in!  I'm going to need to get access to complete the telly aerial installation, so I'll be going in there after Christmas while the builders are taking a break.  They've been making some steady progress - joists are down at the front of the house.  They'd had to removed some of the support for the purlins, so there were various other props and a big piece of wood tying the two sides of the roof together.  Apparantly they can bring the stairs out directly above the existing stairwell by the addition of a large Velux window, and he showed me exactly where the landing will be.  I didn't think that was going to be possible, but we won't know for sure till the stair men come and measure up.

Nicole also went up there later in the day, despite of her fear of ladders.  They needed to discuss where the Velux windows will go in the study end, so there really wasn't any option.

Other encouraging news - I've finally got all the paper-work sorted so that the insurance for the rest of the house is still valid.  Also, the mortgage company have agreed that we do have permission to proceed.  Good thing really!  I was wondering what I would tell them if they said no!

Day 5 - More of the same

M&S working again on the floor joists.  Usually they would be taking the roof off and building the dormer, but there isn't enough time before Christmas to do that and make it secure, so the floor joists and insulation are being worked on instead.  We discussed having another window in the study area as there is not a lot of headroom in there and having windows helps with this.  So that would bring the number to 3.  Noise levels are low, you know they're there but it's not particularly noisy.  The wood is being cut on the scaffolding outside (scary!) so it looks like it's snowing when the wind blows the sawdust off!  As we said yesterday, access is only via the scaffolding, so unless they happen to come down or are out on the scaffolding and I go outside, I don't see them - which means not much coffee making duties.  I'll make up for it when the stairs are in.

Day 4 - Access Denied

After all the excitement of the start of this project, Friday brought a shock withdrawal.  The next phase of laying floor joists involved covering over the loft hatch with joists and fire-proof insulation.  Now we have no access to our loft, and no way to see how it's progressing.  The only way in is via the scaffolding and the hole in the roof.  At the end of the day the builders left the roof carefully sealed and waterproof so as not to let it leak over the weekend.  That was good, but it did mean that we had no way of inspecting progress.  Oh the suspense!  They did take a few pictures for us so we can see what's going on.  It won't be until after the new year, when they take off the back slope to build the dormer that we can get in and see what's really going on.

Day 3 - Steel Beams

M&S and Sam (labourer) arrive bright and early (07:40) to finish what they started on Day 2 before the steel beams arrive. However, the steel beam man arrived early too (07:45)! We then had fun trying to trace the owner of a car that was in the way of the very long lorry/crane turning the corner and getting down to our house. Eventually lorry/crane and building materials were parked outside. Andy (the crane driver) got himself sorted and the first beam was being lifted up towards the side of our house. David and I took loads of photos and the boys watched too. I took them in to school late as this was a bit of a special occasion! After the first beam, the second and third beams went in smoothly and then all the materials were unloaded (ie. timber, insulation, velux windows). The timber was also lifted up and right over the house to the scaffolding at the back. After bidding farewell and merry christmas to Andy, M&S&S had a break and then proceeded to carry on with such things as bricking up the holes and other stuff (I can see things have happened with bits of wood).

So far a very pleasant experience. They are very easy to have a chat with, will down tools to discuss the project whenever I appear with the coffee and questions, and again, cleared up beautifully at the end of the day (including sweeping the patio).

T.V. Aerial

Another side-project that isn't strictly part of the loft conversion, but I'm doing it at the same time for a couple of reasons: firstly the old aerial downlead comes between the tiles and through the loft, so it's got to be re-wired at least; and secondly it's one of those jobs to do when the scaffolding's up.  I thought it was going to be a simple case of getting up to the old aerial and putting up a decent new aerial and downlead. Then I started doing some research...

Bishop's Stortford is a real dead-spot for both radio and television signals.  Our transmitter is Crystal Palace, over 50 km away, all the way across London.  We've got high spots at Buckhurst Hill, Harlow and just up the road at Thorley getting in the way of the signal, not to mention all the sky-scrapers in between.  There is a relay station in Stortford, but it on broadcasts at about 30 W, so even if you have a decent aerial you need a booster to make the picture work - and they're not planning to relay all the digital "muxes" even after the switch-over; they're not relaying any of them yet.  So the solution is to get a really decent aerial, put it on a really long pole, point it at Crystal Palace and hope for the best.  So that's what I've done.  I bought the big 16 bay X-beam group A aerail from ATV - and what a monster it is!  When I put it together it reached from the floor up to the ceiling - about 2.3 metres.

The problem with my original plan is that if I put it up on the old pole then it will blow down in the first strong wind, taking the UPVC facia with it, as that's where it's attached.  So I've also bought a great big alloy pole, 3 m long and 48 mm in diameter.  That will go up on a couple of brackets bolted to the wall.  That's where the scaffolding comes in.  Once the steels go in tomorrow and they've bricked it up again, I'll be able to get it up there.  Then we'll see if it's worth the money I paid.  Here's what it should look like when finished.

Incidentally, the ATV website is one of the most authoritative websites I've found on the subject of TV aerials, and I would recommend reading their site if you're replacing your aerial, especially with the digital switch-over looming.  Their prices are pretty reasonable too, and with next-day delivery I would certainly recommend this supplier. 

Day 2 - Building Inspector

I'd asked Marcus for a site meeting on Tuesday morning, so he was here bright and early before 08:00 to discuss some details.  They then got busy making more noise, completing the jobs that Simon had started the previous day.

The building inspector had booked a visit today.  This is early in a job, but as he hasn't worked with Elite before, he wanted to meet Marcus.  His main concern was the lack of a structural wall to support the new floor in one area - but Marcus was ahead of him and had already ordered an extra steel beam to take the load.  Inspector was very happy with that - he's a very nice man.  They also discussed insulation and agreed how it was going to be done (each council has their own preferences for insulating a loft conversion).  There was, however, a slight fly in the ointment, so to speak.  Our plans for a separate, closed off study seem to meet with disapproval under the fire safety regulations.  The study would be classed as an "inner room" as you have to go through the bedroom to reach the stairs.  That is not allowed in 2nd storey room as in the case of a fire in the bedroom, you could be trapped in the study. (Until last year a fire escape window would have overcome this problem, but the regulations have changed and it's no longer allowed.)  Marcus is putting such a window in anyway, because he always does.  The building inspector says he'll check if there's any other option, but we may have to leave the study area open-plan to the bedroom - i.e. make it all one room.

After the inspector left they went off to buy some spreader plates for the steels to rest on (which weren't strictly required, but Marcus seems to be a perfectionist)  and came back and bedded them in.  They then cut some more joists, which seems to have left them worried about the support for the roof - they put in some extra props (see picture above) before finishing for the day.  This entails tidying up the loft, sweeping the stairs carpet and returning all coffee mugs to the kitchen.  Very impressive!  They're taking tomorrow off while they wait for the arrival of the steels on Thursday - there's no more that can be done until they're in.

Day 1

Monday morning and Simon turned up before 08:00, just as expected. As they had been on Friday to leave tools, he didn't have to mess around setting up before he started. By 08:10 he was making holes in the party wall. We had been warned that this would be the noisy bit, but it's difficult to be prepared for exactly how noisy. As soon as he started, the whole house started to vibrate. There was nowhere in the building that we could go to get away from it. Every time he stopped using whatever tool it was, we could hear debris falling down inside the cavity walls. I had warned the neighbours that this was happening and they had decided to extend their weekend and stay with friends on Sunday night, so they weren't in. That was a very wise decision.

Having made three nice neat holes in the party wall, they then proceeded to do matching holes on the external wall on the other side of the loft. This time he didn't stop at the cavity. These holes go right through to the fresh air outside. That is how they will getting the steel beams into the loft. However, while we are waiting for those to be delivered, we have big holes in the wall - so they filled them up with the most abundant substance in the loft - insulation. He then proceeded to cut a channel through the ceiling joists so that the steel can sit lower and give us a lower floor and therefore more headroom. Having completed this, Simon left the loft looking like this for the night...

Builders Arrive

Last week it was "We'll start on Wednesday afternoon, or defininitely on Thursday."  This week it was "We'll ring you Thursday evening".   Come Friday morning, I got bored waiting and gave Marcus a call.  He was waiting for the building inspector at his last project to get the final sign off, then he was planning to come over to ours in the afternoon.  Finally, around 15:00, they turned up to bring their tools and start measuring up.  They marked out where the steels are going and sussed out how they were going to start the job, before leaving at 17:00.  One of them (Simon) is coming on Monday to cut out the holes for the steel beams.  Then Marcus will be here on Tuesday to get final measurements and order up materials and to meet with the building inspector.  I've also requested a meeting to go over a few details with him first thing.  There may be a day or two delay before they get the steels delivered, and then they'll be underway.  Unfortunately they'll then be stopping for Chirstmas.  I hope they can leave it weatherproof before taking a week and a half off.  And I hope we don't get too much wind and rain during that time.  We'll wait and see.

Scaffolding

Today the scaffolders came and went. It took them just over 4 hours to put up what was required. It takes up the whole of the patio area and it is also down the side of the house. It even overhangs our neighbour's garden. I had to go round and ask for (retrospective) permission, but they were very understanding. David has been brave enough to go up and have a look - in the dark. I'm not so brave! And the boys have been strictly forbidden to go anywhere near it.

Final Weekend

The weekend just gone was the last we had a loft of our own.  This week the work starts on the conversion and it will belong to the builders for a couple of months.  The weekend was spent clearing out the last of the things we had stored up there.  It was incredible how much stuff was still in there.  We’ve spent the last month gradually moving things down and storing them in one of our bedrooms, but the amount of rubbish still needing to go to the tip was quite incredible.  However, it is now all done and we’re all ready for the builders to move in.  Here are some pictures of how it looks empty – a view of our loft we haven’t seen since the day we moved in to this house.

Not So Nice Surprise

A few weeks ago we received the "final" drawings for the conversion.  However, for some reason the structural engineer didn't believe what the architect had told him about the measurements of the ridges to our roof, and the drawings were completely wrong!  Just as well we know what we're talking about and have measured and remeasured everything ourselves.  The way the drawings are laid out, we would lose our little seating area in the bedroom (and I've already bought the sofa!).  So a phone call to the right man has put the drawings back on the drawing-board and we are awaiting the next "final" set.  

The Not So Nice Surprise however is that having been told the conversion could start earlier than planned, now it can't.  The last two jobs the loft converters have worked on have overrun by two weeks each!  (The reasons for the delays are usually the client changing things as they go along.)  That puts them a month behind.  So, now we have a start date of 2nd week of December and therefore it will not be finished by Christmas.  Oh well.  We are getting ready anyway.  We now have 3 children in one bedroom so that we have a spare room to put all the loft contents into.  And, we have plenty of jobs to keep us going, such as putting up shelving in cupboards and, of course, Christmas to think about.  Fingers crossed for the drawings.

The Gasman Cometh

"Twas on a Monday morning the gasman came to call..."

Happily, not because the gas tap wasn't working.  On Monday last week a couple of gas fitters came round to fit our new boiler.  As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the largest (literally) obstacles to our loft conversion is the fact that our loft is home to a very large header tank which drives our hot water system.  To be able to start the conversion we had to install a new heating system that doesn't need the header tank.  We decided to have a "combi" system - one that heats the water on demand and works at mains pressure, removing the need for either a header tank or a water cylinder in the airing cupboard.

I did a bit of research into boilers and came to the conclusion that there are only two makes that are recommended by just about everyone, and one of those has an aluminium heat exchanger which could probably corrode.  So I decided to get a Vaillant boiler with stainless steel heat exchangers.  I also discovered that one of the Vaillant boilers - ecoTec 937 - comes with a small store of hot water built in, which allows it to deliver a bath-full much more quickly than a standard combi boiler.  It is one of the most expensive combis on the market, but if you're paying a couple of thousand pounds to have something installed, you might as well spend an extra few hundred and get the best.

So I put in an order with Harpers Central Heating and Plumbing - they were actually the only people I could get to quote.  The plumber recommended by the loft conversion company never sent us his quote, and another chap who I'd used before didn't even turn up to do the estimate.  There was a 3-week waiting list, so I booked them in for the 20th October, and waited.  The first thing that happened was that the old boiler broke down - 2 days after I'd spoken to Harpers.  With only 3 weeks to go I wasn't going to spend hundreds of pounds on getting it fixed, so we made do with immersion heater and dimplex room heaters for the duration.  When we got to the 20th I was expecting to be waiting around for the fitters to turn up - but not a bit of it.  At 07:50 a van pulled up in front of the house, and before 08:00 I was showing them where I wanted everything.

It took them 3 days to complete the job.  That included taking up floorboards in two bedrooms and the landing, digging up the screed floor in the kitchen to find the gas main, and removing the old hot water cylinder.  After all that, I have to say that the new system is extremely good.  There's high pressure, high volume hot water whenever you want it.  The central heating is working fine and all I have to do now is work out how to use the controller.  Vaillant boilers may have a reputation for quality, but their instruction manuals leave a lot to be desired.

I've now removed the central heating header tank, and pushed the water system tank out of the way into the corner.  The loft is looking much bigger already.

A Nice Surprise

The telephone rang on Monday evening and it was the loft man. He said that one of his jobs has decided not to go ahead until some time next year, which means that he could bring our job forward. Yes, yes, yes! Instead of a start date of possibly just before Christmas, but most likely the New Year, he can now start in November. If all goes well they should be finished by Christmas. Fortunately we have already been sorting out all the stuff in the loft (although loads still to do) and buying various bits and pieces that we are going to need so we are fairly on top of things (quite literally really - floor space is rapidly decreasing!). However, we are now going to have to get our skates on - time runs away from you really easily. Our main worry now is the boiler. We're still waiting for another quote before we settle on someone and then we have to wait for them to do it. One plumber has said he couldn't fit us in for four weeks. The boiler HAS to be done before the loft conversion starts. The water tank in the loft has to be gone. Fingers and toes are now firmly crossed. Can't wait for it all to happen. We are getting very excited now!

Water Softener

Not strictly part of the loft conversion, but very closely related. Two of the biggest things in the loft currently, taking up our valuable space are the header tank for the hot water and the central heating. They have to go. We have two options: 1. we tuck them away under the eaves; 2. we change the central heating and hot water system to one that doesn't require header tanks - we've gone with option 2. We're going to get a combination boiler installed, which heats the hot water straight from the mains and uses a pressurised system for the radiators, removing the need for a tank. The only issue is that Stortford has extremely hard water - total hardness of 345 mg/l - which could cause problems for such a boiler. There are magnetic gismos that are supposed to prevent the limescale from sticking, but as this boiler is going to cost in the region of £1000 and another couple to have it fitted, I don't want to take any chances. So I've bought a water softener, which I installed last weekend. I have to say that I wasn't too proud of my work - I had to re-solder at least 4 joints, and it took me an entire weekend to get a satisfactory job - but I now have a working water softener under my sink and we are benefitting from lovely soft water everywhere except in the kitchen. Next task is to get the plumber round to tell me exactly what that boiler is going to cost and when he can fit it.

The Architect

Well that was an interesting meeting. He rang to say he'd come on Sunday morning and turned up right on cue. He spent almost an hour measuring the whole house and funnily only spent a short time measuring the loft! He was all set to go - so I had to ask him to have a seat and discuss the ideas with him that we were planning. He seemed a little surprised. Bizarre - seeing as we are the client and paying him (albeit via the loft company). Anyway, thanks to some good advice from someone who has already had experience with an architect, I had to make it absolutely clear to him what we wanted as he was all set to do what he thought we wanted. He seemed surprised that I wanted to make the loft as big as possible! Considering how much money we are going to have to spend on it, it makes perfect sense to me to get the biggest we can. Anyway, he turned the plans around very quickly. We have a couple of adjustments we wish to make, but these will be down to the structural engineer to make the final decision on. All in all, a postive experience so far and hassle free. Let's hope this continues.

We Reach A Decision

On Monday we went to visit our preferred choice of loft company at their current job. From what we could see it is excellent. Speaking to the owner of the house, she was very pleased with them. We then went to see the man's own loft conversion that he did to his house some years ago. Again, brilliant and those little extra touches that others would want extra money for, he does as standard (an example being swivel spot lights in the ceilings). David parted with the deposit money there and then and we are now booked in for sometime in December. If it gets a bit close to Christmas though, they'll start in the new year. Can't wait!
Of course, now I just want to get on and get things sorted. Currently we have a futon bed, very low to the ground and therefore no storage underneath. We decided that as we will need all the storage we can get, we would have to buy a divan bed with four drawers, hopefully off ebay and not spend too much. Well, as luck would have it, yesterday one came up on freecycle. Only 1 year old and they would throw in a headboard too! Spookily it was the headboard that I was eyeing up in Argos. I whacked an email off straight away and we got it! David picked it up last night and we had spent our first night on it. Will need single beds for the girls and again, as luck would have it, 2 came up on freecycle and we collect them on Saturday! Let's hope everything will be as easy as this.

Setting the Scene

Well here goes - our Loft Conversion Blog.
Is a house with 4 bedrooms enough for 2 adults and 4 children? Of course NOT!!!!! Can't afford to move so the only option is UP. Currently our big T shaped loft is being used to store the usual stuff and the usual junk. But, with a bit of imagination, pots of money and lots of giving and throwing away, we can create a big master bedroom with ensuite and a study. So far we have had 6 companies come to do a survey with 1 more next week. They all seem to be saying the same thing but the last one thought there would be a problem with the stair headroom. However, no-one else does and nor does David! As this is a big decision money-wise, we have been doing an awful lot of talking about it and, in my case, drawing up possible layouts on the computer. I even found a free 3D drawing website and I can tell you that it will look fabulous. As far as benefits go, there are many. As far as drawbacks go, only the money. Apart from the staircase, we will need a dormer that runs the length of the back of the house (6 m) and velux windows in the front section (study). Today's photos show a very messy loft as I have started to sort out the stuff to get rid of.



View of back of house where the dormer will go.













Same view from the inside (looking back towards the garden).

















Looking to front of house. This will be the study. Low ceiling height unfortunately here, but we would be sitting at our desks so it doesn't matter!













The right of this picture is part of the study again. This shows how the roof structure is currently.