Home improvements - time the house had some TLC!

[Drago]

You are a brave man. I good, maybe even a genius, with machines, but when it comes to anything like this I'm a master bodger. My entire hose5 is held together with PU adhesive and silicone sealant!

Watching with interest though.

 

[JhnBssll]

Brave man.
did you look into getting a ready mixed delivery? Was it much more expensive? There is a reason why builders get ready mixed concrete.

I did consider readymix but never got a quote as the amount I required was only a smidge over the minimum load they would deliver so assumed it would be pricey. After discussing with a builder friend he said he would hand mix footings this size and I should be fine doing it, so that was my decision made I later spoke with another friend who told me I was mad and he would go ready-mix every time, but he's also the laziest person I know

I hosed the concrete down earlier to help it cure, it's also been rained on a few times so it's keeping nice and moist. Seems I timed it rather well in the end, as much luck as judgement 😊

Some more groundwork prep to be done in the evenings during the week before the bricks and blocks arrive on Thursday - my front garden is only small so I'm having to do things in a seemingly random order as and when space is available I found the remains of a brick wall under the lawn, so I need to investigate how far it extends and dig up what I can of it before the area gets covered in more building material

 

[JhnBssll]

I've done a decent amount of digging over the past few evenings I'm pretty knackered now, plenty left to do though basically dropping the ground level across the whole front garden to minimise the slope when I come to lay the new driveway I think im nearly ready for another grab lorry visit

Its due to rain tomorrow evening so I might get a day off from digging

 

[classic33]

I did consider readymix but never got a quote as the amount I required was only a smidge over the minimum load they would deliver so assumed it would be pricey. After discussing with a builder friend he said he would hand mix footings this size and I should be fine doing it, so that was my decision made I later spoke with another friend who told me I was mad and he would go ready-mix every time, but he's also the laziest person I know

I hosed the concrete down earlier to help it cure, it's also been rained on a few times so it's keeping nice and moist. Seems I timed it rather well in the end, as much luck as judgement 😊

Some more groundwork prep to be done in the evenings during the week before the bricks and blocks arrive on Thursday - my front garden is only small so I'm having to do things in a seemingly random order as and when space is available I found the remains of a brick wall under the lawn, so I need to investigate how far it extends and dig up what I can of it before the area gets covered in more building material

Any further news on the wall you found. Is a proper "dig" being conducted to find out where it came from?

 

[JhnBssll]

Any further news on the wall you found. Is a proper "dig" being conducted to find out where it came from?

Fortunately the wall seems to have been the border for an old flower bed - it was only a couple of courses deep and sat on 50mm of concrete so came out pretty easily 😊 No more suprises so far, lets hope it stays that way My neighbours young granddaughter has started trolling me when they walk past, asking when the digger is going to arrive and why its taking so long

 

[Milkfloat]

My neighbours young granddaughter has started trolling me when they walk past, asking when the digger is going to arrive and why its taking so long

She has got a point.

 

[JhnBssll]

She has got a point.

Thats what makes it such high grade trolling... She must be about 7, genuinely impressive

 

[Ian H]

All I'm doing is repairing & painting the woodwork. We have scaffolding up.

 

[JhnBssll]

Had some bricks and blocks delivered on Thursday. I've managed to stack a few bricks on top of each other but its pretty slow going Still, it's my first brick wall and since it'll be painted below damp course I've got a chance to practice I made a bit of a mess of the bottom few courses but I'm getting neater with the mortar now Soon be up to damp course, then I'll build the internal block work up and partially infill the cavity with concrete

Once the insulation and slab is in I'll have a platform to work off to remove the existing porch canopy, then onwards and upwards with the face brickwork 😊 No need for wall ties yet due to the concrete in-fill and it being below ground level but I'll put some in the first course after DPC - I just hope I remember

 

[JhnBssll]

I had a few hours free after work today so I mixed a quick load of mortar and stacked some more bricks 😊 I'll get the block work built up next but waiting on another delivery after the Jewsons driver dropped half of the first batch and smashed them to bits

 

[JhnBssll]

Had a bit of free time between work and awful weather so I've made some progress on the build. Outer skin of brick is now up to damp course all the way around, and I've built the inner skin up to 225mm below damp course and filled the cavity with concrete. The rain has made a mess of the brickwork but it'll only get dirty again if I clean it now so it'll have to stay that way for the foreseeable 😄

Next I will block up to damp course on the inner skin before infilling with aggregate and an insulated concrete slab

It'll be a week or so until I get to that point though, as I need to dig more of the front garden out and get the rubble cleared before I have enough space for the next delivery I'm really pleased with progress so far, it doesnt look half bad for a DIY job

 

[Drago]

Top work. I didn't know that you were also a skilled brickist!

 

[JhnBssll]

I finished work at lunchtime today and did some more digging, approx. 5 hours of it in fact I haven't quite finished, there's the last small corner of paving to break up but I'm very nearly there now. I'm hoping to get a ride in tomorrow morning but may finish the digging in the afternoon if my arms have recovered enough from todays efforts

I'll try and book in a grab lorry to take all the spoil away early next week then I can get some more building materials delivered and get on with putting the floor down in the little extension 😊

The neighbours grandaughter trolled me again - "Seriously, when are you getting a digger?"

 

[JhnBssll]

I havent made much progress in the last few weeks but I'm hoping that changes in the next week or so. I got the last of the patio dug up and the spoil removed - another 14 tons lifted away, taking the running total to 21 tons I've dug out so far

I've also put another course of blocks on the inner wall to bring it up to damp course level, and started cutting some bricks out of the original wall so I could put the damp proof course down and lay the first few facing bricks...

I got a delivery of aggregate a few days ago, so I've now brought the ground level up inside and compacted it ready for damp membrane and insulation.

The building inspector is due round on Friday to check it over before I pour the concrete slab, then onwards and upwards with the walls!

 

[JhnBssll]

I've been away on holiday for 10 days, I got back earlier in the week and have managed to find a gap in the rain to get some more bricks laid

I've also torn down the old porch canopy, onwards and upwards! Not bad for DIY brickwork, im pretty pleased with my efforts