Today the builders arrived (www.britton-joinery.co.uk/) to start work on my house. The idea is to build an extension to the rear of the property, the new room will be approx 3.5m x 8.5m in size and will double as a family room as well as my new photography studio. It has always been a dream of mine to have my own studio at home, now I will do in approx. 6 weeks time 🙂 The design of the extension and the inclusion of 5m of folding glass doors plus skylights will allow enough light to enter the room so I can have a natural light studio, but at the same time I will have black out blinds installed so I can have complete control of the light and allow me to use studio strobes also.

I intend to blog the progress of the build from start to completion and then finish with some shots from the first photoshoot.

To read more and follow the progress of the build please read on: –

Day 0

The day before it all started. I haven’t done any work to the garden. When we moved in the patio slabs were already there and even through the grass is on a slope the ground is always wet and muddy as the gardens soil is very heavy clay with no drainage, something that will need to be addressed at a later date.

Week 1 – Day 1

The builders arrived promptly at 7:50am and shortly after that a small digger was delivered to allow for the excavation for the foundations. Now the back garden does look like a building site.

Week 1 -Day 2

Another prompt start for the builder which saved our house hold from sleeping in and being late for work. Today was a day of deliveries and concrete mixing. The foundations now have their reinforced concrete base ready for the block work to start tomorrow.

Week 1 -Day 3

So today was the day that the first bricks/blocks were laid for the foundations. I have been told that this should be finished tomorrow and then the concrete slab will be laid.

Week 1 -Day 4

That’s the foundation retaining wall completed and ready for the concrete slab to be poured tomorrow along with the repositioning of the drainage rodding eye’s. The weather is not looking to promising for tomorrow, lets hope the forecast of persistent heavy rain turns out to be not too heavy.

Week 1 -Day 5

Well that’s the first week of the build complete now and it appears that everything is going to plan. Today the concrete slab was being laid to complete the foundations, the only hindrance being the good old Scottish weather. Now I have the makings of a swimming pool.

Week 2 – Day 6

Today we saw major changes with the timber frame being constructed and then erected, so we now have walls. Only when the walls are up so you start to get a real sense of scale to the size of the extension on top of that we can also see the apertures where the patio and bi-folding doors are going to be fitted.

Week 2 – Day 7

The weather today actually made you feel that summer was on the way with blue sky and warmish temperatures, a good day to be working outside. The building work progressed nicely today with more work being done to the roof and with the delivery of bricks the laying of the external brick walls started. Now we can appreciate the size and location of the 3 Velux windows that will be fitted into the roof.

On another note, one of the things that has always bothered me since we moved into this house over 1 year ago where the state of the eaves and guttering at the rear of the house. Not having a ladder tall enough meant these were always out of my reach until now that is. Tonight I was up on the new roof with my bucket and sponge and a smile on my face, was this the real reason to have an extension built? Come to think about it a new set of ladders would have been far cheaper option 🙂 Can you spot the difference?

Week 2 – Day 8 & 9

I missed some of the progress over the last 2 day as I was away on business; however i was glad to see that the felt and windows have been added to the roof giving some form of protection against the wet conditions we have had over the last 2 days. The brickwork is still progressing and slowly enveloping the wooden frame. I was also surprised to see the roof cladding in place which reminds me I need to organise the installation on the exterior down lighters now while there is still relatively easy to access, a job for me at the weekend.

Week 2 – Day 10

Well that’s the first 2 weeks of the build complete and the extension is wind and water tight (to an extent). The bi-folding doors and patio doors have still to be fitted in their absence some nailed on boards will suffice. The roof although not tiled yet is water proof now that the Velux windows have been sealed in. Next week see the start of the electrical wiring and the start on the interior elements and the continued laying of the exterior bricks.

Week 3 – Day 11

I was glad I work indoors when I saw the weather that we had today, sunshine, rain down pours, sleet, hailstones and I even hear a rumble of thunder, not the type of weather you would want to be outside in putting roofing tiles on or laying bricks, I really felt for the builder today. The rain was so bad they have even improvised and created a makeshift shelter so that the bricks could be laid without get too wet. I am so glad the roof is on and water tight, otherwise it would have taken weeks for the interior to dry out. Tomorrow see the start of the electrical wiring, this is the area I have probably given the most  thought about, I am a stickler for cabling so now that I have the opportunity I want all of the entertainment related cables neatly routed behind the plaster board. So far I have HDMI x 3, ethernet, component, usb, co-ax, speaker wire, optical x2 and a VGA so I hope I have not forgotten anything 🙂

Week 3 – Days 12/13/14

I have been away on business for the last few days and only had progress reports via telephone, but it was good to get back and see things for myself. There is still work being carried out on the roof with the installation of the lead flashing to ensure everything is completely water tight. Other exterior work includes the almost completion of the brickwork, the installation of the guttering, external soffit down-lighters, external tap and kitchen extractor venting. There has also been a substantial amount of work completed on the interior, the ceiling installation and plaster board has been installed along with the end walls. I was really happy to see that my cable required for my planned entertainment system have also been routed behind the plaster boards which will give me the clean installation look I have been stressing over for the last few months. Building control also visited to assess the progress and are happy with the quality and progress to-date.

Week 3 – Day 15

That’s use exactly half way through the planned build time. Today we got a floor installed 🙂 and more plaster boards installed. On the outside work continues on the brickwork and roof installation.

Week 4 – Day 16

This is a big week, bi-fold doors being fitted on Wed and then on Thurs the real turmoil will start when the builders break through into the kitchen and dinning room. Today the work on the roof is completed and the interior finishing is almost complete now getting ready for taping and plastering.

Week 4 – Day 17

Today saw the completion of the external brickwork and the installation of the new lintels which will support the enlarged opening to the kitchen. Prep for the internal finish also started today with the taping and jointing of the plaster board walls and ceiling. Tomorrow will see another milestone with the installation of the bi-fold doors, should look better than the boards currently being used to fill the gap.

Week 4 – Day 18

I had a nice surprise when I got home from working in Birmingham today, the bi-fold doors had been installed and they were all I was hoping for. The have instantly transformed the extension  into a light and airy room, just need to get some blinds organised now. Tonight we were empting our kitchen to make way for the kitchen and dining room walls breakthrough, so I am expecting a lot of banging and dust tomorrow, but you know what they say you cannot make an omelet without cracking some eggs 🙂

Week 4 – Day 19

Today we had a lot of hammering and dust making. Thankfully the building team took great measures to seal up doorways and cover areas up before commencing the “break through”. So both sets of original patio doors have been removed and one placed into the new extension. It is great to have all the doors in place, so now both water tight and secure. The kitchen walk through had now been widened, the kitchen window has been removed and there has been a start made on the kitchen hatch. The electricians were also on site today so there are now working sockets and lights switches and the external down lighters are all in and working. Now that all the glass is in and the walk ways opening up the extension is starting to look a whole lot bigger. Once everything has been painted white and the flooring installed I think it will appear even bigger again.

Week 4 – Day 20

All plasterboard installed and taping completed, just needs some final touches before the painting starts tomorrow. We have went for white both the maximise the feeling of lightness and to reflect as much lights as possible hack into the rest of the house. I cant believe we now have doors ways where I cannot touch both side at the same time 🙂

Week 5 – Day 21

Bank holiday Monday so everyone have a well deserved day off

Week 5 – Day 22

Back at work fully recharged. All the painting has been completed now, just a few little spots to be touched up after everything has been completed. The exterior was completed today with the side soffits being fitted and the gutter being connected to the down pipes and being routed into the main drainage pipe. The garden (if you can call it that) got a bit of a clear-up today and Stevie did well filling a full skip. Tonight Denise and I were busy emptying the kitchen as tomorrow is the start of the kitchen refit so we will have a few days without one. The kids are very excited about the thought of take-a-ways for the next 3 days. Lets hope the the kitchen that turns up tomorrow is the one I think it is , its been so long since we ordered it that I am no longer quite sure.

Week 5 – Day 23

Well the extension is almost complete, the finishing touches were being done today with the external door trim, the skirting boards and the roof lead flashing cleaned up. There was a start made on the kitchen today with the old one being quickly removed and dismantled. Looking forward to seeing the new kitchen come together tomorrow. Tomorrow should be a busy day not only with the kitchen going in but the electricians are back on site to finish all of the electrics, the plumber to remove and fit a new radiator and the mastic man to mastic things.

Week 5 – Day 24

There were lots of tradesmen working in the house today, a kitchen fitter, two electricians, a joiner, a builder and a plumber, oh yes and not forgetting the mastic man.  Things in the kitchen are starting to take shape with all of the electrical work now done and the radiator removed. All of the kitchen units are now in place so should see the installation of the black granite sink and black hob tomorrow along with the door/drawer fronts and handles, who know maybe by the end of tomorrow we will have a working kitchen again, if not it will be pot noodles for dinner again :). Other things that happened today the last 2 external down lighters were fitted to the side of the extension, the recycled set of patio doors were all cleaned up and brought back to an almost new looking condition and the brickwork was washed down with brick acid to stop the efflorescence (the white marks) oh yes and not forgetting Mr mastic who I didn’t actually see, but must have been here as everything is all nicely sealed now. Yet another successful day.

Week 5 – Day 25

Well that week 5 complete, this was always scheduled as a 6 week build so should be finished a few days early 🙂 Today was all about the progress of the kitchen. The worktops and units are looking great, unfortunately the plumber got held up today so never made it to connect the gas to the hob (thankfully we now have a working oven) or connect the taps or dishwasher, thankfully we have a sink in the utility room otherwise the dishes would have to go in the bath with the kids :). Some of the final bits of electrical work was carried out today also including the installation of my wall lights and their touch sensitive dimmer light switches. The underfloor heating was ordered today so at last I will get a chance to do something by myself as I am fitting the heating and laying the flooring next week.

And some time later

There has not been any regular updates recently basically because everything that was left to be completed was now up to me. So whenever work and photography have permitted I have been busy working on the extension. I have been busy filling, sanding and painting all the walls and woodwork. I have installed the underfloor heating and fitted the new floors in the extension, the kitchen and utility room. I have been running yet more cables this time TV aerial and networking cables. Now that all of the cables are in place the final thing to fit in the room, and for me the thing that took the most planning was the TV (almost a whole day to install, crazy). I was a bit sceptical of the TV wall hanging bracket as it was just basically two hooks and a piece of wire as it has been hung just like a picture; the good news is it hasn’t fallen off yet :). Last night was the first night we were able to sit in the new room and watch something. So far all of the furniture has been donated from other areas of the house so that will be the next challenge finding furniture we both like. I have yet to take any pictures in the new studio area however I want to get the back garden and patio sorted first; hopefully this was be started on Wed. So here are some more pictures of the finished room, I jest when I say finished because from my experience house maintenance and decorating is never finished 🙂

Phase 2 – The Back Garden

The second phase of the build work started this week. The transformation from piles of earth and waist high weeds to slabbed patio and landscaped garden is now under way. Not strictly part of the studio however something that must be complete before I even contemplate starting work in the studio. I must say that working from architect draws is far easier than working from a rough sketch I made on some graph paper, but hopefully everyone is on the same page and the end result will match my vision. What make things doubly difficult is that most of the work will be completed while I am away working in Holland next week, I will be anxious the whole time I am away 🙁

All Done

The garden and patio is complete now and I have just cut my new grass for the first time, long may it continue to look to lush and green 🙂 As with everything things are never complete as I have now been tasked with getting some more “new” patio furniture as the old furniture looks “too old” and I just had to treat myself to a new BBQ, so hopefully the summer is not over and I will get a chance to use it sometime soon. Now I can concentrate on kitting out the studio so I can get on with the whole purpose of the build in the first place. Thank for following my blog