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Our Conservatory Replacement Build Thread...

43K views 145 replies 37 participants last post by  WHIZZER 
#1 ·
Evening everyone,

One thing we've had a love-hate relationship with since moving into our current home is the conservatory hanging off the back. In the summer it's unbearably bright and hot and conversely in the winter it's a cold space to be in. Most people that come to the house seem to love it but having lived with it for 3 years we made a decision late last year to replace it.

So we got the ball rolling, spoke to an architect, drafted some plans, went through the planning process and found the right builder. Many months later the project kicked off in August of this year and we're currently half way through a 12 - 14 week build. I've been trying to capture progress as we've go along and thought I'd share the build process and progress with you.

Hopefully this gives anybody else thinking of doing something similar some insight into what to expect…

So here's the conservatory in question, cleared and ready for demolition.






An area was cleared in the back garden for access, skips and deliveries.



First day and the builders crack on taking apart the conservatory. They also built a temp wood partition wall to the kitchen including a lovely window as shown...





Wasn't long before the foundations were being dug and being inspected by building controls…



That space we cleared at the back of the garden didn't take long to fill up…



Digger makes fast progress with the foundations, the yellow sprayed lines shows the new footprint of the extension…



Once building controls were happy the muck was poured, yey!…



Foundations left for a few days before we started to come out of the ground.







Aerial plot view…



Ground works continued in preparation for the floor slab…







Floor slab poured and left to go off…





Whilst we waited for the first part of the structural steels to be delivered the builders turned their attention to removing a set of French doors and preparing the opening for some bi-folds. Cue the acrow props and lots of banging as each layer is carefully pealed away…

Note: Cracks in render were existing.





Builders put up a temporary partition splitting our dinning room, this has really helped keep the dust in the house down. We also taped up all doors as well.





Slab was now well dry, new lintel delivered ready for installation.



Opening prepared and ready for lintel…



Yikes…





Lintel installed and brick quoins were rebuilt.





All done and ready for door installers…







After a weeks delay, the structural steel work finally begins…







Quickly followed by the block work and things move along quickly again…







Scaffolding goes up with the walls…





Boom! A-frame is in and it's quite a bit bigger than we thought…








Roofers are now able to start and make quick progress…









Meanwhile, preparations continue for the steels that will be installed to open up the existing house to the new extension. As we're got to have a goal-post arrangement, the foundations need to be beefed up to support the frame. This entails digging under the existing foundations and filling up with additional concrete. I'll come back to this later…







Starting to look like a room now…



In preparation for the big steels going in, the builders start to prop up the rear of the house. This entailed holes being made across the section being removed, which meant we lost a bedroom and bathroom.









Beefed up foundations for steels were filled with concrete and left to go off over a few days.



Velux windows have arrived; we're having 4 motorised panels in the new roof.



Meanwhile, our existing kitchen was placed on eBay and sold for an unexpected decent price, which was a nice bonus. Buyer came and stripped it bare.





The acrow props are starting to go in place and the holes created plugged...







Steels are here and they're massive! One will span the opening the other is used internally, more on that later.







With the acrows in place the walls were again carefully pealed back. ..










Which brings us bang up to date.

More to follow…
 
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#97 ·
Update 21-Nov-18...

Evening All,

Time for another update and I'm pleased to say we're almost done. Yes really!

Just a few bits happening over the coming week but nothing major, finishing touches really.

The skip went today along with the portable toilet, fence panel goes back up tomorrow. I can see myself spending some time with the power washer this weekend cleaning windows, soffits, facias, paths and patio. Our grass is mullered so won't worry about that until the spring now.

So onto some photos...

Kitchen fitter returned to complete final fix which included installing the Siemens induction hob. We've gone for one with an extractor built in, it's vented under the floor and out of the side of the house. Was a little cynical how well it would work but so far so good. You can see it in action in this shot with the steam...



Installer also fitted a Perrin and Rowe Instant Hot Mixer. It does filtered hot and cold water and instant almost boiling water. We're loving it...





Dishwashers aren't very exciting but the Siemens one we've had fitted is a little funky with blue led lights and a real time projection of run time and program stage onto the floor.



You've probably noticed it in a few photos but we've got an LED strip recessed into the cabinet and wired to the main wall switch. All very neat and colour controlled via a separate remote.





Our cats are loving the underfloor heating!



Upstairs the family bathroom has had the units fitted and almost finished. We need a new bath panel as the old one is now too short as the previous box unit has reduced in size. We've gone a traditional style with a modern twist. All units and sanitary ware are Roper Rhodes kit.









Meanwhile in the kitchen and extension we're done with the exception of the sink splash-black which should be installed in the coming week.







High gloss white really is high gloss and reflects light well...



Probably going to change the plug on this side of the island to a flat faceplate type. The current one looks a little bulky.





We've gone for some Edison style bulbs in the island lights...



Again, cat loving the floor heat....



We've got a floor box plug fitted by the sofa so we can have a lamp or plug in power supplies etc...



You may have also noticed a TV. Got a bit carried away the other night in Currys and came home with a Sony OLED. It's a thing of absolute beauty both on and off.



We like turning all the dimmers down on the spots at night which results in a lovely ambient glow in the room.





Rads have been fitted now and work well to boost the heat in the room. Some decorating touching up to do where the pipe chases were filled.





...and that my friends brings you bang up to date. Not many updates left I reckon but until next week, thanks for reading!
 
#108 · (Edited)
Thanks all for the kind comments, we're really happy with how it's come together. It is indeed a lovely space and we're really enjoying getting to know it.

Small update as we've had a couple of things completed over the last few days but both quite significant.

You might remember some weeks back that when the doors went in we didn't like the chunky white UPVC upstairs. To put that right I got some slim-line UPVC windows ordered up. Frames are white inside and anthracite on the outside. Although not quite as slim as aluminium framed windows, these are 20mm slimmer than the ones they replaced. May not seem a lot but 20mm of extra glass combined with losing the Georgian style makes a nice positive difference light wise.



As you can see the outside lights have all been fitted now and we've gone for some Phillips Hue Lucca lights in anthracite. These can be controlled via a standard light switch or your mobile phone if you so please.







Today the tiler came back to fit our splash-black feature tiles. We've gone for some Original Style Decorative Copper Leaf glass tiles to continue the copper theme.

As you can see they have a warm, textured, almost tarnished finish which we absolutely love.



Really happy with the look and they look stunning under the LED lights as well.









I'm chipping away at some decorating jobs this weekend and tidying up the garden a bit. Next week the electrical work is finished and few final snags completed.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
 
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