The other 'alf

I love the plans the architect has come up with. It will be really beautiful!

We have looked closely at them over the weekend and have no real major issues (cos it's just what we wanted!) I think however a few pictures would help to show what I am imagining.

I really don't like rooms with no windows so I imagine the dressing room to be a bit like this.... the torso wouldn't be a deal breaker..

This is kind of how I saw the stairs - for me, almost nothing is more.. This is another imagining.. if only two of us lived there it might be feasible but I can see smudgy finger prints everywhere... This is beautiful though.

Still waiting for the other 'alf's ideas/vision.

What If

The suspense over the last 2 weeks has been almost too much. Waiting to see what our "dream" home will actually look like after the architect had pulled together a set of plans has been quite tough. And the plans are everything we expected them to be.

But...

The "what ifs" have started...

For example, the stairs are as we expected but we aren't now sure if the stairs should have a "solid" back, or glass sides, or open tread. A solid back would allow us to "hide" away coats and boots and school bags. The glass and open-tread options would (potentially) be more stunning but less practical!

The dressing room has no natural light (as it is a walk-in wardrobe, to be honest). There is a strong desire from one half of the client pairing to put a slightly tilted Velux-style window in the ceiling of the dressing room!

And on the subject of light, the same half of the client pairing would like a window in the utility room, even if it is opaque.

And then there are the minor details. Will the new fireplace in the extension be capable of supporting a back boiler and the installation of a wood/multi-fuel stove? Does the walk-in larder need to be insulated to ensure it stays cool? Will there be enough light in the front bedroom? Do we need to decide on the colour of the window frames for planning approval? Black? Dark Grey? How do the doors work in the Master Bedroom and Kitchen (as they seem to be width and a half)? Are the windows in the Master Bedroom full height?

And then there are the cost issues. We are still furiously trying to estimate the total cost. Does the use of Zinc for part of the roof add a significant cost? How much will all that glass at the front of the hall cost?

Much to discuss and get decided.

The plans reflect our vision. But our vision is constantly evolving. That evolution, however, needs to come to a close ASAP. No show-stoppers though and everything is looking pretty cool (and the gang) so far.

We're Banking on it!

Well, we signed on the dotted line and I posted the mortgage application forms to the bank. Pity I didn't put a stamp on it (just realised as it dropped into the post box) . After a week it hadn't arrived and we had to call in in-person to re-sign. Anyway - job's a good one and we've got some money to pay for the house!

Now we're just playing the waiting game.... solicitor and architect....can't wait to get started!

Design Struggles

"It would be good to have a pool table somewhere" I said. "And where are we putting the piano?"

Innocent comments you would think, but they lead straight to "Stress City". Where, indeed, are we going to put the piano and where can we squeeze in a pool table. 3D Home Planning software hasn't really helped us lay things out in a manner which makes us thing "Yes - That's what we want!"

"I want to be able to work in the kitchen AND look out at the garden."

Sounds reasonable.

"I want a walk-in larder."

Okay.

"I want the living space in the extension to be beside the all-glass wall."

Yup. Got that one.

"I want a pool table."

"I want."

"I want."

Does this mean we have to extend further (with the obvious increase in costs)? Or do we have to sacrifice the downstairs utility room/larder combo? Or do we have to "cram" things in? Or is there another way to achieve everything that is on our wish list?

This may be one for the architect - we've hit an inspiration-free zone this weekend.

Talk of the architect reminds me that at least the hosue has been measured up for the production of the current plans. So progress is being made.

In other news, however, I seem to be struggling to find an insurer who will insure the building during the construction phase. Most companies are refusing to provide a quotation. Aviva stated that 30 days of non-occupancy would prevent them from quoting, for example. Must start phoning round some insurers this week.

Financing The Deal

It's nice dealing with people who are eager to help and I do understand the give-and-take nature of dealing with suppliers. They're nice to me. I give them business. To use a well-worn phrase, "simples".

Yesterday was a day for ensuring that my supplier of financers for my project was dealt with and what a painless process that was. Admittedly the meeting took about an hour longer than I was expecting but I'm terrible for underestimating these things.

By comparison, however, I wasn't expecting the following:

The bank, rightly, wanted an independent valuation of the property and we had a phone call from the aforementioned valuer as we were driving home from our meeting with the bank. That sounds very efficient to me! The valuer arrived at the property three hours after the bank meeting and took all of ten minutes to give the property the once over (and his blessing).

So, all that is now required (I believe) is a signature somewhere along a dotted line.

Now, if only the minor "issuette" surrounding the title deeds of the property can be sorted! Oh, and the architect finds the time to come and measure up. Oh, and we can find a builder who can perform the necessary in the required timeframe at the right price.

80s Stone Cladding - the Good, the Bad or the Ugly

Ugly methinks or maybe baaaad, never good. Tis gone from around the fireplace. I'm loving it!

On the slightly less good news front - some tiles fell of the bathroom wall and knocked a radiator off the wall. Keith has drained the system to prevent a flood! Ooops!

The pine panel ceiling has now been removed from the downstairs bathroom and I could see today that there appears to be insulation in the sloping roof. Lots of draughts though as there are a lot of little gaps too!

A Modern Home

I'm into my IT - it's what I do for a living - so it makes sense that my new home will be equipped with the latest and greatest gadgets. I currently enjoy a 50mb cable line into my home which comes in very handy with the work that I do, for example.

When it comes to home networking, I like the idea of having CAT5e/CAT6a cable running into every room in the house (with the possible exception of the bathroom, of course). Do I need to do this though? Won't wireless "cut the mustard"?

As I see it, I would like to future proof the house as much as possible. If I want to stream HD video, CATxx cabling would be beneficial. If I want super-fast backup capability for each laptop, CATxx cabling would be beneficial. If I want to play about with home automation technologies, CATxx cabling would be beneficial.

And then there is the option of using the home's electrical wiring to carry data signals using those spectacularly good 200mbs bridge devices - I use one at present and it works a treat!

So the options are:

• stick with wireless
• use the electrical system
• run dedicated CATxx cabling to each room

And when I get to thinking about it, I'll probably want to think seriously about a wired security solution and get that installed from the outset. I see ADT offer a solution for £450 with a £20 a month fee for remote monitoring and alerting though this is for a standard 3-bedroom house. Might need to spend a bit more time looking at all the options for both networking and security.

The Imagery Evolves

The artist in the family has been at it again. This time, it has been mocking up some more sketches of the front elevation and the upstairs floorplan.

We're basically settled on the idea that the dormers will be removed and replaced with Velux windows and that the study will have two long windows inserted instead of the small one that is in place just now. And, we are basically settled on the idea of a sloped front extension rather than a flat-roofed one (as long as the stairs can handle it internally).

The upstairs floorplan, however, has been revamped ever so slightly as there is now a room for a washing machine and tumble-drier. Not exactly a radical evolution but at least it matches the way that we actually live our lives. Why take clothes downstairs just to wash them and cart them back upstairs?

Where are we now

Haven't been able to get up to see where we are but I am reliably informed that the utility room at the back of the garage is empty, the tiles have been removed from the kitchen, attic emptied, ponds drained, garden waste gone, doors, frames and skirtings removed. Basically - anything removable has been! Will update after tomorrows visit.

The Latest Floorplans

Until the architect gets us a decent set of plans, the best we can offer just now are sketches on graph paper. They are mighty good sketches, however...

The downstairs layout rarely changes with each iteration of the sketch. A large extension out the back of the house will be for the new sitting room and kitchen and the downstairs bathroom gets converted into a WC and an ensuite.


Upstairs, the plan seems to evolve somewhat more. The extension will provide a master bedroom with ensuite and the bathroom "grows" into the main supporting wall with the landing moving from one side of the wall to the other.


Of course, the architect could say that the plans are rubbish or impossible. But it is a start.

Well - It's The Time Of Year For Bonfires

Today was another hard day's labouring. The bulker skip that was filled over the weekend was removed from the site and replaced with an empty skip. The second shed came down after much huffing and puffing and the two sheds combined managed to fill the second skip (with the help of some internal doors, carpets and other bits and bobs.

With the spiralling cost of skips starting to make our original budgets looking quite pathetic, it was time for some DRASTIC action. The trees and branches that had been taken down to provide access to the site were piled up in the back garden and a match set to them.

The result? A fantastic bonfire that burned for seven hours!



Without my brother, I wouldn't be anywhere close to having a cleared site but as it stands, the house is almost empty, the ponds have been drained, the sheds removed and most of the "overgrowth" dealt with.

Team Falling Into Place

Friday was a busy day:

• Skip turned up (provided by Ace Bates Skip Hire)
• Met with my new solicitor - Joseph Greyston of McCann & Greyston
• Architect turned up - Alan Bennett

The Skip
The skip was filled within an hour meaning that the quantity of stuff that needs to be removed may make it an economic challenge to continue to use skips. The flip side, of course, is that it is an economic challenge to remove the stuff using trailers as the cost of petrol/diesel is so high these days. The clearance will be more expensive than original estimated.

In a way, this is a good thing. It's best to see how costs can escalate so easily at this stage of the project!

The Solicitor
The solicitor was great - what a gentleman. My one hour chat covering conveyancing, second mortgages, stamp duty and wills was relatively painless compared to my expectations!

The Architect
Having informed discussions with professionals is always a bit of an eye-opener I reckon. For example, I have in my mind and budget of 'X' and the architect reckons 'X + X/2' is more realistic. I have in my mind a moving in date of June 2010 and the architect reckons September 2010.

I'm in no position to say that he is wrong or even to believe that I can prove him wrong. After all, he is the professional who does this kind of thing day-in/day-out and, as with the cost of skip hire, it is better to have an understanding of these issues now rather than be surprised further down the line.

However, the budget I have in mind was based on a couple of factors:

• Costings I had pulled together for each detailed alteration plus buffer
• A budget which would allow us to remain mortgage free after the sale of our current home

My thinking went along these lines:
£45K - Extension work (basic build)
£15K - New Kitchen
£10K - Roof works
£10K - Sliding doors in extension
£10K - Flooring
£10K - Driveway
£10K - Bathrooms (x3)
£10K - Windows
£7.5K - Re-wiring
£6K - Minor Works (blocking up walls, lengthening windows, CAT6 cabling, etc)
£5K - Underfloor heating
£5K - High Pressure Water System
£5K - Replumb
£5K - Solar Panels
£4K - Stairs
£3K - Doors (Internal & Skirting)
£1.5K - Doors (External)

That all comes in at about £160K! I'm sure there are savings that can be made in there but I'm also sure that I've probably under-budgeted in some places. I'm not a quantity-surveyor after all and some of the above can be classified as "nice-to-have" rather than absolute necessities.

The long and short of it is that, in a very short space of time, I should have a realistic idea of how much all of this is going to cost. It would seem that I won't be in any position to retire in the foreseeable future!

When the extreme gardeners have gone

It's not easy to see but this is all the shrubbery which has been cut out ready for the biggest skip in the world which arrives on Friday

The Ex-kitchen...

The original kitchen colour can be seen on the remaining cupboard door. It was the height of fashion in its day.

Amazing what can be done by one strong man!

I am exhausted and I only did 2 hours today (I have children to look after too!). The old dark brown kitchen is gone - apart from the sink in case we need a drink. Keith did all the hard work - sledgehammer job and everything taken to the dump. The wall tiles have been removed now too. Need to remember to take up the camera tomorrow.

The room is significantly lighter now - you can actually see the light hitting the wall rather than being absorbed.

Kitchen tiles to be taken up, doors, skirtings and carpets to be removed. Pond to be drained and still a lot of "stuff" still to be binned or packed.

I Only Turned My Back For A Moment

Well, I actually jumped into a plane and headed off to work rather than turning my back for a moment. Regardless, in my absence the old kitchen in Carnhill has been removed. I'm actually quite pleased that it has gone and a little disappointed I wasn't there to see it. Having said that, I'm now looking forward to getting home to see how big the kitchen looks without the units.

The images I've been sent via camera-phones are encouraging!


I'm intrigued to know how the above was achieved. Was it a considered approach to the removal of the units or was it the sledgehammer approach. And I'm busting to see what the other side of the kitchen looks like!

I'm led to believe that the large ponds in the back garden are being "drained" this afternoon. I wonder how many carp corpses will clog the pump?

White Goods Gone

My brother is too good sometimes. While I sit in front of a PC and do my day's work, he's ensuring that things are progressing at Carnhill by single-handedly taking the washing machines, dishwasher, fridge freezer and oven away to the recycling centre. The kitchen is almost empty - just the units to be relieved of their duties now.

It's amazing how much progress can be made in such a short period of time with the right people and the right equipment!

On Friday, a 'bulker' skip will arrive for the garden waste to be loaded into it. Apparently this bad boy is HUGE but I'm still concerned it won't be big enough to take everything that was felled yesterday.

Friday will also see me meet up with my new solicitor. The solicitor was given a glowing recommendation by a friend of mine - in fact, they were one of only two solicitors that anyone recommended!

It feels that things are starting to move after a period of stagnation. Now, all I need are plans and planning permission/building control approval!

Tree Felling

It's always disappointing to take trees down but sometimes it has got to be done. This weekend was a weekend of trying to get a grip on the over-growing back garden at Carnhill. The 40' tall Silver Birch was sited right at the corner of the new extension so it had to come down. About a third of the garden was hidden from view behind trees and shrubs which had to come down. And the hideous monstrosity that was the hydrangea was removed much to my delight - I hate those things!

The garden now seems really quite large now that there has been a bit of a clearance but it also highlighted that there is at least another week's work in the clearance process! Trees may have been felled, but they haven't been removed. I need a skip to arrive on Monday to help with that process.

Also, there are old wooden sheds that are falling to pieces which need demolished and taken away.

Thankfully, my brother has stepped into the breach to help with the clearance process. This will speed up progress dramatically.

This Week
This week will be a relatively busy week:

• Garden clearance continues
• Garage contents to be sold
• Meetings with solicitor & architect (hopefully)

I'm away in Donegal next weekend - fishing! Bad timing I'm afraid as it seems there is still a lot to be done.

The Imagery & Inspiration

Current House

So the house we will be renovating is almost 30 years old and a fairly standard house for the time. The original drawings have been found (albeit they are quite old and have faded) and show the house's front elevation looking like this:


In reality, it looked like this:

The Mockups

The idea, however, is to remodel the front of the house to accommodate stairs being moved internally. Also, the rather old-fashioned looking dormer windows would be replaced with velux-style windows and the roof tiles replaced with something a little less "red". Mock-up sketches have been drawn to help explain the plans to whatever architects we can find to do the work:


This should allow the stairs to swing from the rear of the house into something like this:


The next idea was to try to get a decent master bedroom with en-suite, swing the living space to the rear and have a full-height glass "wall" looking out into the garden, like so:



This would give us a downstairs floor plan which is much more usable than the current floor plan and a kitchen which is integrated with the living space.


The kitchen would be kitted out with no cupboards above the working space (as the kitchen should be large enough to accommodate all necessary storage requirements below the working space. We think it gives us a great space to entertain as well as relax while looking out on to what should be a great decking/patio area in front of a well-manicured lawn!

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Is That Really Me

For a really scary sight though... check this image out. Can you tell which child is me?

Exciting News

Great news today - the bank are willing to give us a 90% mortgage over 26 years! In this financial climate that is such good news and means that we are ready to rumble. Need a solicitor asap to get the ball rolling. Need to remember to get the place insured too...

Dirty Deeds

Today was a day for hacking down trees which were over-hanging the pond. The pond is a health hazard when there are children running about so removing the trees and cutting the grass so little people can actually see that the pond exists had to be a priority.

The tree removal also allowed the corner of the site to be seen (at last). Unfortunately, the tree remains are piled high in a heap in the garden and will need removed. My little 6x4 trailer will not be able to carry it in one load. It must be time for the skip.

The remains for last weekend's hacking in the front garden were taken away today. The front still looks messy, but a lot less messy than before.

The real excitement today, however, took place indoors. There is still plenty of "stuff" to sift through and it was while sifting through some old photographs that I came across two fantastic finds. The deeds! And the original house plans!

Oh joy - the architect (when I find one) will be most pleased to have the original plans. This, in effect, gives us the all clear to proceed as failure to find this documents was going to be mightily troublesome.

On the architect front (and builder and solicitor)... I sent an email to those people I have the utmost respect for and asked them for recommendations. I've only had one response so far and it is for the position of builder. I do hope I get recommendations for the other positions soon.

How Do You Select An Architect

I will readily admit that I'm not very good at selecting suppliers. Whether they are builders, architects, financial advisors, solictors, gardeners or mechanics. I'm pretty good at selecting laptops and cameras and toys and anything that doesn't have an emotional brain in it. But suppliers?

So, how does the average Joe go about selecting a supplier of a service? I need an architect and I have a problem. I want value for money and I want imagination. To re-use a well-worn phrase, SIMPLES. Except for two small issues:

• I don't understand architects' costs
• I don't know how to determine if an architect is imaginative enough

I've been given the names of a couple of architects and I've gathered the names of more from the "interweb". Would it be fair to send them a basic house plan, tell them there is a budget of £100,000 and ask them for a sketch of how they would approach the job? That seems pretty fair to me, to be honest. A "Proof Of Concept" if you will. But will they go for it?

And as for solicitors!!! Is there any such thing as a good solicitor? Should I just go with a recommendation? To be honest, I've had just one recommendation for a solicitor. ONE! You solicitors out there are not doing a good job when it comes to repeat business it would seem!

Anyway, I need to phone these "suppliers" this week and get the ball rolling. I hate engaging with these people. Wish me luck!

Our plans

Where to start.... the existing bungalow has downstairs - sitting room, 2 bedrooms, study, bathroom, kitchen and dining room. There are stairs in the dining room going up to the first floor where there are 3 more bedrooms and a bathroom. So it is a substantial house already. It was built by Stephen's father and mother in the 1980s and was their family home.



However it does have a few issues eg. you have to go through the sitting room and then dining room to get upstairs. So one basic thing we need to address it the siting of the stairs, they need to be in the hall ideally. To get the space to do that we need to remove the study and the upstairs small bedroom - that creates a nice big hall and also gets the light into the corridors. Might still need a wee extension out the front.

Overall we want to try to get some benefit from solar gain - our new extension which will house a kitchen diner will be south facing so this will be the main living area - provided we can get planning permission. I am hoping that there will be little overshadowing to our new neighbour.

This is all probably very hard to imagine - need S to publish the existing floor plan!

Size matters!

More discussion between S and myself last night. We want to make the house as "exciting" as possible but bearing in mind that we are not millionaires. There are very few existing features as the house is a 1980s chalet bungalow, so how do we get some features in there which wont cost the earth. Hmmm. I have decided that we will be using basic building materials eg. block work and simple plaster. There is also an issue with light - there's not enough! So - to kill 2 birds with 1 stone I'm going for lots of windows.

During our wee chat last nite it transpired that S would have liked a games room. It could either be bolted on as a single storey at end of the kitchen extension - or as part of the garage rebuild. Going to go cost it now.

The Paperwork

Last week, the guest bedroom and living room were "emptied". There wasn't much in them, to be fair. Some lamps, curtains, old clothes, VHS tapes (remember those?) and other bits and bobs that nobody in their right mind would want.

Yesterday, I bought a Ryobi strimmer in order to tackle the overgrown lawn. That was good fun except for the sight of the frogs jumping out of the way. I've no doubt that some frogs met their end and I've only completed 10% of the garden thus far.

Today, it was the turn of the old study. It was difficult to even get into the study as it held that much "stuff". Seven bin-liner bags of "stuff" were removed and there's probably another three to go (as well as the furniture). Seven doesn't seem like a lot, but there was the added complication that there was a lot of paperwork to get through. What do you do with paperwork? Bin it? Or sift through it?

Unfortunately, the right answer is to sift through it. Just in case. I came across birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, bank pass-books and wills. Thank goodness I sifted. However, the problem with sifting is it is VERY time-consuming. A one-hour job took three hours!

Anyway, the current clear-out process now reads as such:

Complete

• Living Room
• Bathroom
• Guest Bedroom
• Dining Room
• Bedroom 1

Nearly Complete

• Kitchen
• Study
• Bedroom 2
• Lounge

So... progress is being made.

Next Steps
There are 4 more rooms to empty and a garage which is stuffed full of woodworking equipment. Outside, there are sheds filled with more "stuff". So, I need to get a skip. More importantly though, I need to arrange the following:

• Speak to a solicitor
• Arrange a mortgage
• Get an architect on-board
• Arrange for planning permission
• Source a builder

This week, it will be the solicitor, mortgage lender and architect. Hopefully.

Blog Purpose

This blog will be my online diary recording the details of the purchase and renovation of a house.

The house hasn't been bought and architectural drawings have not even been started. Planning permission hasn't been sought (yet) and the house, in it's current state, is a bit tired.

Some decisions have already been taken, though. The purchase will happen, the house will be renovated and we will move into it. Apparently.

Think of this as an online version of "Grand Designs". Think of me as your Kevin McCloud!