Monday 20 August
One of the photos in my last blog post set alarm bells ringing on Friday. Whilst I was initially pleased to see the two "gallows" brackets installed in the kitchen, I noticed they didn't look right when posting the photo.
Over the weekend, I've had the opportunity to look at these brackets in detail and now I know that my gut feeling was correct. There is a problem. The design is not as specified; the brackets are larger than they should be, and they haven't been installed correctly. Although the thought of more delay fulls me with horror, the brackets will have to come out, be remade to the correct specification and installed properly.
After a restless night pondering how to deal with this, I contacted the man in charge early this morning to tell him about the problem with the gallows brackets. I've asked him to meet me on site to discuss the solution and how to get the build back on track in line with the revised programme so that works are completed by the start of October. Bearing in mind that the project was originally down as a 10 week build starting on 4 June, that's not an unreasonable request. He replies to say he'll be here later this morning.
I've have been patient and understanding up to this point. But we are now 12 weeks into what was supposed to be 10 week build, and already a fortnight behind where we should be based the revised programme in which works are due to finish on 1 October.
My patience has run out. No more Mr Nice Guy. Time to put my foot down. They will need to find ways and means of making up for lost time to get the project back on track. I have a few suggestions as to how this might be achieved, but the man in charge will have to bring in more people to make it happen.
Another sign that the build has gone awry was the unexpected arrival of the skip lorry first thing this morning. No one had told me it was coming. The existing skip isn't full (an indication of how slowly things are moving at the moment) and it couldn't be swapped out in any event, as there's no space on the street for the truck to park behind or in front of the skip to lift/replace it with an empty one. That only happens if I have advance warning of a skip changeover and can arrange with neighbours to move their cars so I can save a space on the street.
When the guys arrive at 9.30am to start work, I ask if the man-in charge has been in touch. He hasn't. I tell them that the gallows brackets are wrong and will need to be replaced, so not to do any more work in that area today. Instead, it looks like they are going to install the lintel over the existing French doors into the garden so that they can be replaced by wider and taller "slide and fold" frameless glass curtain doors.
We look at the structure engineer's report and the architect's drawings, and check measurements on site. At first he thinks he will have to cut into the first floor joists to install the lintel at the right height. I ask him to check again, reminding him that the existing floor finish will come off and we both heave a sigh of relief when he confirms that the lintel will slide in neatly tight under the joists at the right height to install the new doors without cutting anything. And it can be installed whilst leaving the original smaller and lower French windows in place for the time being so I won't have a gaping (or blocked up) hole in the end wall of the old kitchen in the interim.
I'm now sitting here waiting for the man in charge to arrive, and listening to noises off downstairs which don't seem to be related to installing the lintel for the new garden doors. But I can't face going down there at the moment to see what they are actually up to; I have work to do (although what I' really want to do is catch up on a broken night's sleep!)
I sent a text to the man in charge first thing to let him know that the steel flashings for the roof lights in the extension roof have been delivered but not the windows themselves which were ordered and paid for at the same time, so that he can chase up the supplier.
It was a good opportunity to remind him about contacting the supplier of the main window and garden doors, as well as the replacement windows in the loft. In reply he said he had already contacted the former and that the order for the loft windows would be placed today, with a lead in time of four weeks...so I can expect this work to be carried out around 18 September, all being well!
Good as his word, the man from the window company turned up this afternoon, measured the window openings and sorted out with me which side I wanted the windows hinged and what colour handles I would like. Things are moving forward on the loft works at long last!
By the end of the day, things had moved forward on the ground floor too. The remains of the chimney breast in the old dining room are now completely removed, and a first coat of filler applied over the exposed brickwork.
"Bricking in" has taken place above the steel beam to support the retained chimney breasts on the upper floors and a sheet of ply has been nailed in place to support the solid hearth in the room above. I assume this is a temporary fix until something permanent is installed.
Progress has also been made for the installation of the steel lintel which will support the external wall at first floor level when the big new wide sliding folding doors are installed.
I'm told the rest of the propping and the lintel will be put in place tomorrow as one operation, as there wasn't enough time to do it all today.
Last but not least, the last little bit of timber beam has been removed from the ceiling of the old kitchen, along with the prop which had been holding it in place. It turned out not to be structural at all, so could be removed without a problem. If the floor above flexes a little now, it can be strengthened within the ceiling void.
Wednesday 22 August
Having finished yesterday feeling positive, its been downhill again today. Knowing that the guys intended to put in the steel lintel above where the new garden doors will be, and mindful of the problems with the manufacture of the gallows brackets, I thought it prudent to check that the steel for this lintel has been fabricated as per the structural engineer's specification.
Oh dear....it hasn't....there are supposed to be steel stiffeners every 450mm or so along its length, but there are none.
Another email went off to the man in charge to alert him to this problem and ask whether these stiffeners would be welded in place by his people, or whether they should have been attached as part of the fabrication.
It was also an opportunity to ask about the concrete padstones that the ends of each steel beam is supposed to sit, as none have been installed as yet, and query whether the steels had been connected with cleats as per the structural engineer's specification.
In response he said the padstones would be delivered today (and they were) and that his firm had installed a number of these types of beams in the past and none of them included stiffening plates.
Rightly or wrongly, it felt to me that he was trying to wriggle out of dealing with the problem....so I asked him to go back to the structural engineer for advice on whether the absence of stiffeners would compromise structural stability and, if so, whether there was any way to deal with this on site rather than have to wait for the steel beam to be re-fabricated. I also mentioned my concern that Building Control might not sign off the structural steelwork if it has not been installed according to the specification.....
Later in the day he copied me into an email he'd sent to the steel fabricators pointing out that both the gallows brackets and the steel had not been made in accordance with the drawings provided. Either the beam would need to be replaced and the old one removed, or someone would have to come to site to weld on the stiffening plates. He also asked for the gallows brackets to be remade as per the structural engineer's drawings.
Ironically, these bits of structural steelwork have been here on site since 27 July. Had they been checked on delivery, this problem would have been picked up straight away and and sorted out. Now here we are nearly a month later and facing yet another avoidable delay. Worse still, if I hadn't picked up these things, the structural steelwork might have gone in as delivered rather than as specified, with potential safety risks as well as undesirable impacts on the appearance of the finished scheme. Here's hoping it's sorted out quickly now.
In the meantime, other things have moved on. The man in charge sent me a copy of the order for replacement windows in the loft to check before he sent it off. Good job he did...wrong shade of grey specified and no note about which side the windows should be hinged on. Still, at least those points have been picked up before the event rather than after the windows have been made.
The guy downstairs has been working away on his own for most of the day. It turns out he's been installing the steel that needs the extra bits welded on, or a replacement provided. Hope all his effort isn't wasted and that the steel fabricators can send someone to site to add the stiffener plates so that the beam can stay in place.
I can't get into the garden this evening - the props are right outside the outward opening kitchen door and I don't feel like climbing in and out of the old window, so that plants will have to fend for themselves.
I'm not sure what will happen tomorrow. Maybe the padstones will be put in place, rather than sitting in a pile on the floor waiting to be installed...
However, I've had a bit of fun marking out on a wall where the new stud partition will go in the old dining room to subdivide it into a kitchen area on the garden side and a WC/utility room and coat store on the other side...just to get a better idea of the space. I think it will be alright....I hope so!
Thursday 23 August
According to the revised programme, work should have started on alterations to the loft today. Although the order for replacement windows on this top floor of the house has been placed, nothing else has happened. I emailed the man in charge at lunchtime to ask when the team would arrive to start the strip out and construction works, and replace the flat roof on the dormer extension which is well past its sell by date, having been erected in 1989. I reminded him that he said he would let me know on Monday when all this would start, and I was still waiting....
The good news is that the Velux windows for the roof extension have been dispatched today. They should arrive in the next 2-3 working days - tomorrow or after the Bank Holiday on Monday. I hope the builders are here when they are delivered. I have things to do away the house and can't wait at home all day tomorrow or Monday...
I have left the guys to get on with whatever they have been doing today, while I've been otherwise engaged. It didn't sound like much was going on compared to the noises off over the last couple of days, even though they were here for longer than usual.
When they left, I took a peek to see what had happened during the day. They have been working on the opening for the new garden doors. Some of the props have been removed now so I can get out in the garden. They have started putting in a brick "soldier course" over the opening, in front of the steel beam.
That surprised me to say the least! This is the steel beam that had been fabricated without the stiffening plates specified on the structural engineer's drawing. The man in charge had copied me into an email sent yesterday to the fabricator asking for a replacement beam or someone to come to site by the end of this week to weld the stiffening plates in situ.
I hope they send someone tomorrow, otherwise there will be no room to insert the stiffener plates if the bricklayer carries on with the soldier course...either that, or the whole lot will have to be taken down and replaced if a new beam is delivered. Sometimes I wonder whether the man in charge of ordering materials and liaising with clients and the man in charge of the workforce talk to each other...it would seem not on this occasion.
So I send another email to the man in charge with the photo above so that he knows what's going on, and highlight the risk that work carried out today on the opening may have to be undone again. The out of office reply came back. He will have to deal with it tomorrow. I will have to be patient until then.
Friday 24 August
Another roller coaster of a day on the house project.
Feeling up when I see that the replacement gallows brackets have been delivered and left in the front garden. Feeling surprised when I find there are not one but two pairs of brackets, and then relieved to see that they have been fabricated to the correct overall dimensions, even though not exactly as per the structural engineer's drawing (but good enough).
Feeling down when I find that the stiffener plates delivered at the same time as the brackets are definitely not the right size or shape. They have been cut to fit neatly into the steel beam above where the new garden doors will be installed. However, they are supposed to be shaped so that that they will span both the steel beam and the wider plate which has been weld to the bottom of it, to stiffen and strengthen the joint between the two.
This is the second attempt to get it right and there are still problems! Why don't people look at the design drawings when they are asked to make a one-off item, rather than assuming they know what's wanted? So frustrating...
I let the man in charge know the good and bad news, and am copied into his email to the steel fabricators asking that the stiffeners are made again to the correct specification and brought to site on Tuesday when a welder is coming to fix them in place, in front of the steel beam which has already been installed.
I'm feeling up again now that everything seems to be back on track, only to go down again at the end of the day when I see that the guys on site have finished the brick soldier course in front of the steel beam on the garden elevation.
This is exactly where the new stiffener plates will be welded on to the steel behind and the plate below the vertical brickwork in the photo above. Some, if not all, of the recently layed bricks will have to be removed before the welding can take place next Tuesday. What a waste of time and effort, especially when they could have been getting on with other work...
All the more frustrating as I had given the man in charge a heads up about the soldier course a couple of days ago. Another example of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. I'd assumed he would tell his man on site not to do any more on this brickwork until the stiffener plates have been welded, but the message hasn't got through, even it was sent....
The other "down" event was the quote from the frameless glass curtain people for the new garden doors which will sit below this beam and open into the garden. It's more than double the expected price. The man in charge and I are looking for other suppliers to see we can find something similar closer to the budget.
If not, it looks like the new garden doors will be ultra slim aluminium framed pivoting/sliding doors which operate in the same way as frameless glass curtains but have very slender frames. These are only 19mm (less than an inch) - wide so will have minimal impact on views into the garden when closed. At least we have a Plan B...
Saturday 25 August
Today marks the end of week 12 of what was supposed to be a 10 week build.
The revised programme agreed over two weeks ago gives the new end of works date as 1 October. However, that programme has already slipped a fortnight, the structural work is still ongoing and the house has not been weathertight for more than 3 weeks. That didn't matter during the heatwave/drought, but the cool nights, wind and rain over the last few days have made living here rather uncomfortable...on top of not having running hot water other than a shower, no kitchen or laundry facilities and not being able to use my home office as the floorboards have been up since 7 August.
This is what it currently looks like on the ground floor:
No work has started in the loft - just replacement windows ordered.
At this rate we will be well into October before everything is finished...not a pleasant thought given that it all started back in early June.
One last post script to today...I was disturbed this morning by the sounds in the street and when I went to look, it was a man loading my old tumble drier and washing machine into a white van. When asked what was going on, he couldn't tell me who had told him to take away these items, and put them back in the skip. I have no idea whether they were a bunch of cowboys hoping to make a bit of money selling someone else's scrap metal, or bona fide people sent by the builders to remove items that the skip hire popped won't take.
Maybe I should contact some scrap metal dealers to get a price of these goods and the redundant copper piping from the kitchen. The extra money might to help pay for the garden doors!
One of the photos in my last blog post set alarm bells ringing on Friday. Whilst I was initially pleased to see the two "gallows" brackets installed in the kitchen, I noticed they didn't look right when posting the photo.
Over the weekend, I've had the opportunity to look at these brackets in detail and now I know that my gut feeling was correct. There is a problem. The design is not as specified; the brackets are larger than they should be, and they haven't been installed correctly. Although the thought of more delay fulls me with horror, the brackets will have to come out, be remade to the correct specification and installed properly.
After a restless night pondering how to deal with this, I contacted the man in charge early this morning to tell him about the problem with the gallows brackets. I've asked him to meet me on site to discuss the solution and how to get the build back on track in line with the revised programme so that works are completed by the start of October. Bearing in mind that the project was originally down as a 10 week build starting on 4 June, that's not an unreasonable request. He replies to say he'll be here later this morning.
I've have been patient and understanding up to this point. But we are now 12 weeks into what was supposed to be 10 week build, and already a fortnight behind where we should be based the revised programme in which works are due to finish on 1 October.
My patience has run out. No more Mr Nice Guy. Time to put my foot down. They will need to find ways and means of making up for lost time to get the project back on track. I have a few suggestions as to how this might be achieved, but the man in charge will have to bring in more people to make it happen.
Another sign that the build has gone awry was the unexpected arrival of the skip lorry first thing this morning. No one had told me it was coming. The existing skip isn't full (an indication of how slowly things are moving at the moment) and it couldn't be swapped out in any event, as there's no space on the street for the truck to park behind or in front of the skip to lift/replace it with an empty one. That only happens if I have advance warning of a skip changeover and can arrange with neighbours to move their cars so I can save a space on the street.
When the guys arrive at 9.30am to start work, I ask if the man-in charge has been in touch. He hasn't. I tell them that the gallows brackets are wrong and will need to be replaced, so not to do any more work in that area today. Instead, it looks like they are going to install the lintel over the existing French doors into the garden so that they can be replaced by wider and taller "slide and fold" frameless glass curtain doors.
We look at the structure engineer's report and the architect's drawings, and check measurements on site. At first he thinks he will have to cut into the first floor joists to install the lintel at the right height. I ask him to check again, reminding him that the existing floor finish will come off and we both heave a sigh of relief when he confirms that the lintel will slide in neatly tight under the joists at the right height to install the new doors without cutting anything. And it can be installed whilst leaving the original smaller and lower French windows in place for the time being so I won't have a gaping (or blocked up) hole in the end wall of the old kitchen in the interim.
I'm now sitting here waiting for the man in charge to arrive, and listening to noises off downstairs which don't seem to be related to installing the lintel for the new garden doors. But I can't face going down there at the moment to see what they are actually up to; I have work to do (although what I' really want to do is catch up on a broken night's sleep!)
******
The man in charge has visited. He's agreed to get the gallows brackets remade to the correct specification and installed in the correct position, so no more work in that area for the time being.
We also discussed how to deal with drainage from the first floor bathroom, which had been planned to run in a boxed-in pipe along the floor of my office (far from ideal, but best option at the time). However, the unplanned removal of a ceiling/floor joist parallel to the external wall between ground and first floor levels has opened up the possibility of running the pipe in the void between the ground floor ceiling and floorboards on the first floor, with vertical connections to the bath, WC and wash basin above.
This work can be carried out before the replacement floor joist is installed, floorboards replaced, and carpet re-fitted. Then I will have my home office back again - yay! The external flexible waste pipe from the loft will have to run elsewhere (probably along at eaves level on the rear wing) before discharging into the new soil vent pipe on the rear elevation, but that's OK with me.
All this work (plus dealing with the end of one steel beam which will not be enclosed in the roof section) will have to be done before the roof can go on the extension, openings for new window and garden doors measured up and the items ordered.
The knock on effect on the revised programme is significant, so we have looked at how to make up the lost time in other ways.
The obvious solution is to bring forward works in the loft which are totally independent of what's going on below. These works include replacing the flat roofed area of the loft dormer (a job that will be easier to do with a scaffold up the back of the house before the extension is roofed over); replacing rotting timber windows in the loft room and stairwell with low maintenance aluminium frames which I can clean from the inside; repositioning the door into the loft room to make space for the new shower cubicle; removing non-structural partitions and plasterboard on structural partitions which will come out when the new purlin is put in place to open up the eaves space. We have a skip. We might as well fill it up!
I also stressed that once works start in the loft, my wifi router and cable which are located up there are sacrosanct. I need to stay connected at all times, particularly while I'm working remotely with colleagues in Guernsey.
Before he left, I gave him a sheet of paper prepared in advance that covers all these items (and a couple more I didn't have time to mention before he rushed off to his next meeting) so he has a record of what needs to be done to sort out existing problems, make up for lost time and get the build back on track. He promised to come back to me later today to confirm when works are starting in the loft. I wait with bated breath!
******
True to form, the man in charge has not got back to me. However, our discussion this morning feels like it has cleared the air and work has progressed on site this afternoon.
One of the brick piers which was originally part of the chimney breast in the old dining room has been taken out, and they have built up the brick work above the steel beam so that chimney breasts on the upper floors now sit on something strong to give them support. The solid hearth which projects in front of the chimney breast upstairs still needs some additional support but that process has started, so I don't think there's any risk of collapse.
The first two props have gone in above the existing French doors into the garden from the old kitchen, given an idea of how much taller the new sliding/folding doors will be compared to what's there at the moment - right up to ceiling level. The taller the opening, the greater the skylight component and the lighter the room. The big open plan room will be beautifully light and bright when it's done!
The first bits of the roof lights for the new extension have also been delivered - flashing kits for the Velux window surrounds, but no windows as yet. I must let the man in charge know, as both were ordered at the same time and should have been delivered together.
The old washing machine and drier have gone into the skip - sadly, too far gone to pass on to anyone else as originally intended without fear of donating a fire/flood hazard. The old boiler is in the skip too, and building materials have been re-stacked so the guys a lot more room to manoeuvre now. I can actually see what's left of the floor, for a change...
Tuesday 21 August
I sent a text to the man in charge first thing to let him know that the steel flashings for the roof lights in the extension roof have been delivered but not the windows themselves which were ordered and paid for at the same time, so that he can chase up the supplier.
It was a good opportunity to remind him about contacting the supplier of the main window and garden doors, as well as the replacement windows in the loft. In reply he said he had already contacted the former and that the order for the loft windows would be placed today, with a lead in time of four weeks...so I can expect this work to be carried out around 18 September, all being well!
Good as his word, the man from the window company turned up this afternoon, measured the window openings and sorted out with me which side I wanted the windows hinged and what colour handles I would like. Things are moving forward on the loft works at long last!
By the end of the day, things had moved forward on the ground floor too. The remains of the chimney breast in the old dining room are now completely removed, and a first coat of filler applied over the exposed brickwork.
"Bricking in" has taken place above the steel beam to support the retained chimney breasts on the upper floors and a sheet of ply has been nailed in place to support the solid hearth in the room above. I assume this is a temporary fix until something permanent is installed.
Progress has also been made for the installation of the steel lintel which will support the external wall at first floor level when the big new wide sliding folding doors are installed.
I'm told the rest of the propping and the lintel will be put in place tomorrow as one operation, as there wasn't enough time to do it all today.
Last but not least, the last little bit of timber beam has been removed from the ceiling of the old kitchen, along with the prop which had been holding it in place. It turned out not to be structural at all, so could be removed without a problem. If the floor above flexes a little now, it can be strengthened within the ceiling void.
The space is beginning to open up at last. Things can only get better....
...Look at the photo below and try to imagine the sash window and areas of brick below and to the left of it have been removed, along with the entire wall in the room beyond (the one with a patch of turquoise paintwork) then add in much wider glass doors right up to the ceiling instead of the timber French doors with their small panes, and an extension with a tall, open sloping roof and three roof lights running down the right hand side of the photo, beyond the old sash window...all this will be part and parcel of the big open plan dining/living space, plus the area in the foreground where the new kitchen will be....Welcome to my new kitchen/dining/living room, very much a work-in-progress but getting there!
Wednesday 22 August
Having finished yesterday feeling positive, its been downhill again today. Knowing that the guys intended to put in the steel lintel above where the new garden doors will be, and mindful of the problems with the manufacture of the gallows brackets, I thought it prudent to check that the steel for this lintel has been fabricated as per the structural engineer's specification.
Oh dear....it hasn't....there are supposed to be steel stiffeners every 450mm or so along its length, but there are none.
Another email went off to the man in charge to alert him to this problem and ask whether these stiffeners would be welded in place by his people, or whether they should have been attached as part of the fabrication.
It was also an opportunity to ask about the concrete padstones that the ends of each steel beam is supposed to sit, as none have been installed as yet, and query whether the steels had been connected with cleats as per the structural engineer's specification.
In response he said the padstones would be delivered today (and they were) and that his firm had installed a number of these types of beams in the past and none of them included stiffening plates.
Rightly or wrongly, it felt to me that he was trying to wriggle out of dealing with the problem....so I asked him to go back to the structural engineer for advice on whether the absence of stiffeners would compromise structural stability and, if so, whether there was any way to deal with this on site rather than have to wait for the steel beam to be re-fabricated. I also mentioned my concern that Building Control might not sign off the structural steelwork if it has not been installed according to the specification.....
Later in the day he copied me into an email he'd sent to the steel fabricators pointing out that both the gallows brackets and the steel had not been made in accordance with the drawings provided. Either the beam would need to be replaced and the old one removed, or someone would have to come to site to weld on the stiffening plates. He also asked for the gallows brackets to be remade as per the structural engineer's drawings.
Ironically, these bits of structural steelwork have been here on site since 27 July. Had they been checked on delivery, this problem would have been picked up straight away and and sorted out. Now here we are nearly a month later and facing yet another avoidable delay. Worse still, if I hadn't picked up these things, the structural steelwork might have gone in as delivered rather than as specified, with potential safety risks as well as undesirable impacts on the appearance of the finished scheme. Here's hoping it's sorted out quickly now.
In the meantime, other things have moved on. The man in charge sent me a copy of the order for replacement windows in the loft to check before he sent it off. Good job he did...wrong shade of grey specified and no note about which side the windows should be hinged on. Still, at least those points have been picked up before the event rather than after the windows have been made.
The guy downstairs has been working away on his own for most of the day. It turns out he's been installing the steel that needs the extra bits welded on, or a replacement provided. Hope all his effort isn't wasted and that the steel fabricators can send someone to site to add the stiffener plates so that the beam can stay in place.
I can't get into the garden this evening - the props are right outside the outward opening kitchen door and I don't feel like climbing in and out of the old window, so that plants will have to fend for themselves.
I'm not sure what will happen tomorrow. Maybe the padstones will be put in place, rather than sitting in a pile on the floor waiting to be installed...
However, I've had a bit of fun marking out on a wall where the new stud partition will go in the old dining room to subdivide it into a kitchen area on the garden side and a WC/utility room and coat store on the other side...just to get a better idea of the space. I think it will be alright....I hope so!
Thursday 23 August
According to the revised programme, work should have started on alterations to the loft today. Although the order for replacement windows on this top floor of the house has been placed, nothing else has happened. I emailed the man in charge at lunchtime to ask when the team would arrive to start the strip out and construction works, and replace the flat roof on the dormer extension which is well past its sell by date, having been erected in 1989. I reminded him that he said he would let me know on Monday when all this would start, and I was still waiting....
The good news is that the Velux windows for the roof extension have been dispatched today. They should arrive in the next 2-3 working days - tomorrow or after the Bank Holiday on Monday. I hope the builders are here when they are delivered. I have things to do away the house and can't wait at home all day tomorrow or Monday...
I have left the guys to get on with whatever they have been doing today, while I've been otherwise engaged. It didn't sound like much was going on compared to the noises off over the last couple of days, even though they were here for longer than usual.
When they left, I took a peek to see what had happened during the day. They have been working on the opening for the new garden doors. Some of the props have been removed now so I can get out in the garden. They have started putting in a brick "soldier course" over the opening, in front of the steel beam.
That surprised me to say the least! This is the steel beam that had been fabricated without the stiffening plates specified on the structural engineer's drawing. The man in charge had copied me into an email sent yesterday to the fabricator asking for a replacement beam or someone to come to site by the end of this week to weld the stiffening plates in situ.
I hope they send someone tomorrow, otherwise there will be no room to insert the stiffener plates if the bricklayer carries on with the soldier course...either that, or the whole lot will have to be taken down and replaced if a new beam is delivered. Sometimes I wonder whether the man in charge of ordering materials and liaising with clients and the man in charge of the workforce talk to each other...it would seem not on this occasion.
So I send another email to the man in charge with the photo above so that he knows what's going on, and highlight the risk that work carried out today on the opening may have to be undone again. The out of office reply came back. He will have to deal with it tomorrow. I will have to be patient until then.
Friday 24 August
Another roller coaster of a day on the house project.
Feeling up when I see that the replacement gallows brackets have been delivered and left in the front garden. Feeling surprised when I find there are not one but two pairs of brackets, and then relieved to see that they have been fabricated to the correct overall dimensions, even though not exactly as per the structural engineer's drawing (but good enough).
Feeling down when I find that the stiffener plates delivered at the same time as the brackets are definitely not the right size or shape. They have been cut to fit neatly into the steel beam above where the new garden doors will be installed. However, they are supposed to be shaped so that that they will span both the steel beam and the wider plate which has been weld to the bottom of it, to stiffen and strengthen the joint between the two.
This is the second attempt to get it right and there are still problems! Why don't people look at the design drawings when they are asked to make a one-off item, rather than assuming they know what's wanted? So frustrating...
I let the man in charge know the good and bad news, and am copied into his email to the steel fabricators asking that the stiffeners are made again to the correct specification and brought to site on Tuesday when a welder is coming to fix them in place, in front of the steel beam which has already been installed.
I'm feeling up again now that everything seems to be back on track, only to go down again at the end of the day when I see that the guys on site have finished the brick soldier course in front of the steel beam on the garden elevation.
This is exactly where the new stiffener plates will be welded on to the steel behind and the plate below the vertical brickwork in the photo above. Some, if not all, of the recently layed bricks will have to be removed before the welding can take place next Tuesday. What a waste of time and effort, especially when they could have been getting on with other work...
All the more frustrating as I had given the man in charge a heads up about the soldier course a couple of days ago. Another example of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. I'd assumed he would tell his man on site not to do any more on this brickwork until the stiffener plates have been welded, but the message hasn't got through, even it was sent....
The other "down" event was the quote from the frameless glass curtain people for the new garden doors which will sit below this beam and open into the garden. It's more than double the expected price. The man in charge and I are looking for other suppliers to see we can find something similar closer to the budget.
If not, it looks like the new garden doors will be ultra slim aluminium framed pivoting/sliding doors which operate in the same way as frameless glass curtains but have very slender frames. These are only 19mm (less than an inch) - wide so will have minimal impact on views into the garden when closed. At least we have a Plan B...
Saturday 25 August
Today marks the end of week 12 of what was supposed to be a 10 week build.
The revised programme agreed over two weeks ago gives the new end of works date as 1 October. However, that programme has already slipped a fortnight, the structural work is still ongoing and the house has not been weathertight for more than 3 weeks. That didn't matter during the heatwave/drought, but the cool nights, wind and rain over the last few days have made living here rather uncomfortable...on top of not having running hot water other than a shower, no kitchen or laundry facilities and not being able to use my home office as the floorboards have been up since 7 August.
This is what it currently looks like on the ground floor:
No work has started in the loft - just replacement windows ordered.
At this rate we will be well into October before everything is finished...not a pleasant thought given that it all started back in early June.
One last post script to today...I was disturbed this morning by the sounds in the street and when I went to look, it was a man loading my old tumble drier and washing machine into a white van. When asked what was going on, he couldn't tell me who had told him to take away these items, and put them back in the skip. I have no idea whether they were a bunch of cowboys hoping to make a bit of money selling someone else's scrap metal, or bona fide people sent by the builders to remove items that the skip hire popped won't take.
Maybe I should contact some scrap metal dealers to get a price of these goods and the redundant copper piping from the kitchen. The extra money might to help pay for the garden doors!
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