The Coach House

Well life’s not got any less stressful since the last blog post but I won’t go into it except to say there was minor fall out with chief builder which caused quite a stressful week last week but big hugs were exchanged on Tuesday and all is well again. I have underfloor heating and a nice level screed-board on top.

It’s time to get my head round the final stages which is a headache to coordinate. As my builder puts it “it’s just plastering left” which is kind of true. However there’s still niggles left to sort out which will delay plastering if not done in the right order. The door is too low by 15mm, there’s still a bit of damp proofing to do and a few odds and ends. There’s also no stair case yet, which is quite important.

We now need to line up final flooring and second fix but need to predict when we’ll be ready for it so my mind is constantly whirring with jobs to be done.

I’ve taken to habitually chewing the skin from the inside of my mouth which is a nervous habit I’ve not done since my 20’s. It’s safe to say I am more stressed than I have ever been in my entire life. But it’s ok – or at least it will be because now I can start to assemble the things we’ve been accumulating in boxes for the last year.

So every day I take myself off and quietly build a drawer or a cupboard or a chair. It’s pretty therapeutic. I’m still chewing though!

It’s been such a long time since I wrote the last blog – frankly I haven’t had the time, energy or inclination. Self-building is exhausting emotionally and I’m fed up today so I suspect this won’t be the most chipper of entries but I felt like writing today so here goes.

 

There has been so much progress since the last blog – we have essentially got a house, it’s just a bit of a shell at the moment. The frame is finished, the roof is on (well mostly, Jonny’s studio isn’t quite there yet), the windows are nearly all in.  We’ve got plasterboard, we’ve got first fix electrics and first fix plumbing starts next week.  Excitement should be building, but it isn’t.  I am extraordinarily sick of waiting.

 

Waiting for deliveries, waiting for the next job to be finished, waiting for quotes, waiting for tradesmen, waiting to unpack our lives from storage.

 

The move in date has slipped and slipped, so we’ve booked the housewarming regardless before the end of summer. Weather we’ll be in or not…I don’t know. I think so but I’ve thought so before about earlier deadlines.  I think I become used to disappointment, which is worrying.

 

I have mainly one topic of conversation at the moment as I don’t do much else apart from think about the house. But it’s also the last thing I want to talk about.  I only work part-time but the build is taking up all of the rest of my free time.  When I should be drinking coffee with old friends or making new ones I’m waiting in for National Grid or chasing quotes or Googling toilets and downlights. I’m bored of my own company to be honest.

 

We went to a party recently, so many of our friends were there and we’d been really looking forward to it. Being good friends and lovely people they all asked “How’s the build going?” a great intentioned question. But after the 6^th person has asked you that in an hour you get tired of hearing your own answers.  I try to be optimistic and non-moany.  God how lucky am I that we’ve got the chance to build our own home how we want and that it has been designed so beautifully and build so expertly? How lucky am I that we’re living with patient family next door while it’s being done and not in some muddy caravan? Despite our inflating budget, it’ll still be a stunning home and we could never have afforded to buy a house like this one.  But I’m tired of trying to be upbeat and optimistic and I’m finding it really hard to keep thinking of the lucky.

 

So friends please bear with me, don’t stop the invites just because I’m lousy company, don’t stop asking “how’s the build going” but do please move on and tell me all your news and adventures when my answer is fairly dull. I really need to hear it at the moment and soon we’ll be back to old ourselves.  In the meantime here are some pictures of the progress.  Just waiting for heating and flooring and plastering and bathrooms and kitchens and skimming and painting and unpacking and moving on. Metaphorically of course, I’m never leaving once we’re in!

Sarah

So much has happened since the last blog post that the pictures I posted seem barely recognisable already.  The second timber frame is now mostly constructed so you can see the proportions of rooms very clearly now.  I had no idea that my veranda would be so big or that the decked area along the whole building would be so wide.  I have no budget for outdoor furniture, I may need to rethink this!

We’re currently getting roofed too – the double storey timber frame is tiled bar ridge tiles, the old coach house has Veluxes and there is scaffolding everywhere.

This week however has been a week of frustration and excitement.  It feels like months ago that we ordered the windows (which is because it was months ago) but this week was the week.  Its half term and Jonny and I are splitting the childcare so I was a bit gutted when the delivery company called to say that the windows would be here on Tuesday, the day I was working and Jonny was at home.  However I consoled myself that Jonny would have to deal with the stress plus childcare and a day in the office felt really quite a relaxing option in comparison.

At the very beginning of this process we applied to Grand Designs but were rejected (I suspect our budget just isn’t grand enough).  However, the whole process has played out like an episode what with groundwork having to go deeper, disappearing builders and mounting costs. Because of this I wasn’t massively surprised that the delivery of the windows turned into somewhat of a saga. I’ve watched enough episodes to know that windows are troublesome.

Tuesday came and went – no windows appeared.  I dealt with builders the window company and the delivery company from work (so much for my easy day).  The delivery company said they would come the next day which in fairness they did.  When they called to arrange delivery initially they told me the windows would arrive on an articulated lorry (a massive one to those of you who like me are still learning the terminology to describe non-standard motorised vehicles).  They also told me there would be no lifting gear and that I’d need a crane or a fork lift.  I, having neither of these items squirrelled away in my garden shed, told them I’d get my building company to talk to them.  This all happened – we were assured that the windows would arrive on an appropriate vehicle with the appropriate lifting gear.  Guess what? Yup, articulated lorry complete with Polish driver arrive at 7.30 AM.  Neither the window manufacturer or the delivery company man their phones until 8.30 – so it took until nearly 10 before said lorry,  Polish driver (who was very pleasant and not at all perturbed and did valiantly attempt to back it into the driveway much to the delight of the rush hour commuters on their way to work) were send with windows still on board to the Manchester depot.  Goodbye windows.

But today my hours of phone calls were finally rewarded with windows! They are beautiful, possibly, no definitely, the most beautiful windows I have ever seen. They are also massive!  I’ve lived in Victorian terraces all my life – this house is going to be so amazingly different but I think I’ll get used to it.

 

So hurry up CJS and finish the frame and the roof – I want to see my windows properly!

 

 

You wait ages for one then loads turn up all at once. At least that’s what we’ve found since the last blog.  December was a sloooooow month.  It seemed that builders were disappearing by the day and Jez was soldiering on all by himself some days. The crux of the matter was a Christmas deadline it seems – everyone wants things done by Christmas, mine was no way going to be but others were so my builders were slowly being syphoned off onto other projects.

Progress is very stop-start. A flurry of activity leads to huge visible progress and then it seems like weeks and weeks of nothing.  In reality it’s not actually weeks and weeks but time has a habit of standing still when you are eagerly anticipating things.

By Christmas I was about ready to tear my hair out and was decidedly un-festive. The sewerage sage lingered on – the permit application was lost in the post so another was needed.  The entire building industry downs tools for 2 weeks at Christmas and so in the end did I.  I put utilities out of my head, stopped looking out of the window for progress and ultimately relaxed.–

It turned out it was what I needed. I was getting more and more stressed and this process is not supposed to be quite so agonising.  Plus it’s pretty hard to concentrate on being cross with a multitude of service providers when you’ve two crazy boys counting down to Santa’s visit. A bit of total down time was well needed. We even found the energy to shop for a new sofa and kitchen.

But the New Year has seen lots of progress. I’ve talked (rather sternly at times!) to Nigel about deadlines and finish dates and so far we’ve had builders & joiners a-plenty. The snow hasn’t even stopped progress (yet!).  The floor of the second timber frame is nearly down there are rumours of sandblasting and scaffolding is up ready for roofers who I’m told will be arriving later this week.  However, as I’m told a lot of things that don’t always transpire I won’t get too excited until the first slates are laid.

 

 

Ok so I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  I am HATING organising the utilities.  No one seems to fully understand what’s underground and where, stuff can go wrong and everybody involved seems to require a fee to produce some sort of permit or licence.  Frankly the crux of the matter is that I don’t know what I am doing. It’s an extra application I thought was part of another package of work and I didn’t know enough to check the specifics.  It’s no bad thing to know your failings when it comes to something like this – you have to learn as you go as there isn’t another way – but I’m not a big fan of feeling like I’m not in control (as those of you who know me would no doubt be willing to confirm).

 

Today we were all set to connect sewers but Groundworker John has discovered that we don’t have all the permissions so here I go again with the form filling and waiting for new dates.  The sewers are lower than the electricity cables so need to be done first so poor Kay from Northern Powergrid has once again had to reschedule my date (I think I probably owe her a bottle of wine by now!).  She was once again very lovely which is the silver lining in all this.  The saga of utilities continues but we have time on our side.  One side effect of my utilities terror was that I started the process almost as soon as we got planning permission so we’re nearly at the end of the road…which ironically lies under the road.

 

Meanwhile quietly and without causing me any stress the timber frame is going up.  I’ve nicknamed the joiners the “Z” team as they are Daz, Jez and Wes.  They’ve been barraged with the full force of mother nature this week and still have smiles on their faces.  They have reached the roof on the double storey frame and hopefully will be moving onto the single storey frame very soon.  Timber frames go up fast! It’s the best feeling to be able to walk around rooms.  Wes built an extra step so I could climb up and have a look at what will be the boy’s playroom and bedroom and it was the best moment of the build so far.  The boys will have a fantastic view!

So if this rain ever eases up I may have a little venture up there again later to remind me why I have to do all the tedious form filling in.

Sarah

CJS have been on site now for almost 3 weeks and boy do we know it!   The transformation so far has been astonishing. We’ve gone from muddy half-finished hole in the ground to floor level footprint and it can’t move quick enough for me.   The initial digging and concrete pour was done in the first week and the boys even managed to blag themselves a small digger-driving lesson at the same time (happy happy boys!).

It’s been great watching the process and having a whole team of people coming and going from the site. One thing that struck me today was the legacy of skills that the build is helping towards. We’ll get a home at the end of all this but there have been several apprentices on site and they are learning a trade which one day they will no doubt teach others.

I am learning too.  I wasn’t a total novice at the start – after all I had a ladybird book as a child about how a house was built so I’ve been aware of the need for foundations for several decades now.  Buts that’s about it!  However having watched the whole process unfold I will have a great deal of respect for the house and the underground trickery that will keep it upright. We have a clay base and geological surveys tell us what is underneath that.  Then there are 2 lorry loads of concrete which has a steel mesh inside forming a solid raft.  On top of that breeze block walls are laid on the outside and where the staircase will be.  Then a concrete beam and block system has been laid which officially takes us out of the ground.  Not many people can describe exactly how their foundations work so I’m pretty chuffed that I can and I will probably bore people with this knowledge for decades to come…sorry.

Its been a long time since our last blog post which is mostly because we haven’t had anything to report…nothing at all.  Well nothing we felt ready to write down without a large quantity of profanities.

Not long after our last post Andy went AWOL.  Architect Steve and I tried emailing, phoning and texting but heard nothing from him.  After a week or so of trying we made the difficult decision to terminate our contract with him – it seemed the only option left to us.  It wasn’t a nice thing to have to do but we felt we had been left with no choice. Utility providers who were set up to connect were cancelled and the building inspector was told thing were on hold. Everyone concerned was very understanding.  In particular, Kay, my designated project manager from National Powergrid deserves an award for her amazing customer service skills and cheery manner – I went from tearful to laughing during the 5 minutes I spent explaining the situation to her.

One thing I’m learning quickly about self-building that they clearly edit out of Grand Designs is that it can be exceedingly tedious – there’s a lot of waiting.  Steve was straight on the ball arranging a new quote for completion of the groundworks but it all takes time.  Jonny and I spent the summer looking over at our muddy hole in the ground really quite depressed about it.  Our “In-by-Christmas” plan went from optimistic to impossible.  We didn’t look at the plans much or talk about what it would look like much, it all seemed too far away.

But as Autumn approaches we’re again seeing progress.  The company who are lined up to build our timber frame CJS arrived on site today to do the groundwork.  They had quoted originally but were a lot more pricey than Andy’s quote.  In my gut I knew I should have gone with them in the first place – it just felt right and I liked John, the groundworker, instantly. But we went with our head over our hearts and you live and learn. There’s no point looking backwards.

A bigger digger was delivered yesterday and by 4pm today the site was once again spic and span and ready to go. They’ve estimated 3 weeks to finish the groundwork and as soon as the foundations are in final measurements for the timber frame can be made – as CJS will be making it we might just claw back some time.  But in the meantime, we’ve made alternative arrangements for Christmas – ho ho ho!

 

I was woken this Saturday morning at 4 by the huge storm with quite the noisiest thunder I have ever heard. When the storm died down I found myself awake and worrying about the many issues we are encountering at the moment – the biggest of which is The Man – but back to that later.

Last week we had a date fixed for the last of the concrete for the foundations, the timber frame had been signed off by Building Control and it was all progressing, moving forward and so I could begin to let myself think about inside, and this week’s topic was bathrooms. My main concern was toilets –or specifically the upstairs toilet which the boys will share. The space is narrow and the people at Bath Store said it couldn’t be done. Never before have I given cisterns a second thought – taking their rather wonderful and hygienic engineering for granted. Those days are over. It seems you can even get cisterns now that are only 8cm wide and will fit into an internal wall – someone needs to tell Bath Store this.

Today the world of toilets seems very far behind me. Yesterday was a trying day. I worked every day last week so couldn’t be on site at all – I was installing an exhibition which is always stressful and tiring. Yesterday it was the final day of the install – too many little jobs to be done, lots of stress and not enough tea by far. This was when The Phone Call came.

It was Andy, my groundworker. The Man, AKA the Building Inspector, had been and he was not happy. My trenches are insufficient it seems and the soil is too soily – the trees are too close so they must be deeper to ensure not roots can get under the new timber frame. The current foundation plans (the ones passed by planning) are not good enough and must be done differently. This is where my amateur status lets me down as in between profanities Andy explained the new system The Man had requested, I didn’t fully understand but it involved the phrases 6 feet deep, raft and more concrete, and in reality meant that Andy would have to re-dig. I’d have been swearing too if I realised that my work in 30 degree heat had been wasted. He is quite annoyed as am I – I can’t really blame The Man, after all he just doesn’t want my house to fall down. Although it must be said that the trees have not moved closer since his last inspection and the groundwork plans have not changed. I suspect it’ll cost us time and money and a few more hours of sleep lost to worry.

I know in my heart of hearts that we will get there but my god groundwork is so very depressing. As much as I have enjoyed making tea for Andy and Tina and hearing from Tina of Andy’s many antics I will be glad when they have finished this stage. I suspect we’ll see them again for internal walls and landscaping but I absolutely cannot think that far ahead today – I am too tired and must concentrate on my other job – Mumming. So for now I’ll sit in a splash pool feeling slightly chilly watching the boys pile down water slides and then traipse around pretending to get enthusiastic about vintage cars. Just don’t make me talk about concrete ‘til Monday.

PS. I feel I must add a little thank you and sorry to my hard working colleagues and specifically the one who was up a ladder adjusting lighting at the time The Phone Call came yesterday – I’m sorry I was talking foundations whilst being in charge of your safety up said ladder, I promise I was still holding it tightly!

Today I have 2 separate contractors on site and it is all feeling very proper so I thought I’d jot a quick blog.

It’s very exciting to have our ground-worker Andy on site and start seeing progress. Actually ground-worker is a bit of a misnomer – Andy is doing a lot more than digging foundations. He’s preparing the original coach house for habitation as well. So far it has been mainly destruction! The garage – a 1980’s recent addition to the coach house – is gone. No mean feat, it has a reinforced concrete ceiling but because of its proximity to the remaining walls it had to be removed by hand (and a very big hammer) with no machinery.

We’ve had floors and ceilings removed, doorways blocked up and new doorways are in the process of being put in. This was the first real nerve-wracking moment as the wall they are going onto bows significantly – both me and Andy were nervous despite the structural engineer having visited and assessed the wall twice, giving it the all clear. So far it hasn’t fallen down so that’s good.

So far my most despised part of the whole process has been arranging utilities. I had no idea what to do and how so have muddled my way through somehow with lots of phone calls where I explain that I am not a large building developer and have no idea what I am doing. The process is painful, expensive and pretty tedious with lots of boring and confusing decisions to be made such as “Will my gas meter be in the ground or on the wall?” “What type of joint will attach my sewerage pipes to the main sewer?” nail-biting stuff.  I can honestly say I have no strong opinions on any of these issues but I’d quite like power, clean water and flushing loos. I have discovered however that the people who work for Northern Powergrid, Yorkshire Water and the National Grid are all very lovely and helpful and don’t laugh at you when you ask them to put what they have just told you in writing please so I can get my builder to translate.   So that’s a relief. It’s also happening a lot sooner than I thought – the electricity people have visited site today and given me a date 4 weeks from now for electricity connection so I may not have my timber frame yet but I will have a meter. I’m just hoping that doesn’t mean I start getting bills!

It’s been almost a year since our last blog post – we thought things would happen a bit more quickly than they have but we finally have a start date for the build so it seemed like a good time to write an update.

As most of you know things haven’t gone entirely smoothly since moving in next door to the Coach House.  Things got off to a great start, the kids school places got sorted very quickly by the fantastic team at the Council.  We got settled into Chapeltown life with Jonny and his dad Dave moving the summer house to a new position further down the garden out of the way of the build.

Then we were hit with the unexpected tragedy of Dave’s sudden death in August which left us all reeling – obviously we did nothing for a few months on the build.  It was not part of the plan – Dave was supposed to see this through and be Granddad next door for many years to come.  His heart had other plans.  It was the hardest thing either of us has ever had to go through but we didn’t go through it alone because we were still living with Alan and Lynn, Dave’s oldest and closest friends and who definitely count as family.  This helped.  As did a lot of other people, and we are grateful to you all for your cards, flowers, beer, damp shoulders and general wonderfulness.  We know we are lucky.

Steve, our architect, was understanding enough to leave us be and crack on with finalising planning conditions.  When we finally started thinking about the house build again in November, Steve informed us that there had been a big error by the Council’s planning department.  It seemed they were supposed to have told us to undertake investigative drilling to ensure we weren’t about to build upon an old coal mine.  They had neglected to do this and the report had sat around for about 3 months.  I swore a lot during this phone call with Steve and Jonny swore a lot when I told him.  However, there’s nothing like a bit of grief to provide perspective (and a bit of swearing also helps).  It was an expensive hoop we had to jump through to get what we wanted and it took time to organise and plan.

Christmas came and went, we got quite disparaged, we looked at sofas and kitchens to cheer ourselves up and to remind ourselves once again of the dream.  I bought cushion fabric (and yes I know how ridiculously premature that is!).  We put pretty things on Pinterest.  We sent a lot of emails asking about drilling.

Finally in March the lovely Ian turned up with his enormous drill – he was a most welcome sight!

It took just 2 days to drill two 25m bore holes which revealed 15 meters of solid rock (a most excellent base for a house!) plus an untouched 2m deep coal seam (handy to know in the event of a total zombie-apocalypse style infrastructure collapse). Ian was happy, Stuart our Geological expert was happy and me and Jonny were over the moon.

Today the planning department have confirmed all is well we’re heading to the starting blocks.  Our builder Andy starts in 2 weeks – I think we may put up bunting for his arrival, or at the very least bake buns.

We look forward to updating you all more regularly!

Sarah