I will fill you all in with the planning officer in a minute but I will have to say I woke up on Tuesday and my body has never ached so much in my life. I could hardly walk, everyone at work found this remarkably funny but feeling better today which is just as well as I am off work tomorrow and plan to do more moving of concrete. So I do not know what I will be like on Friday!!
The dreaded planning officer.
Well she turned up on Tuesday morning and I took her round the back of the house so she could see the back elevation and then we reviewed the plans with her. There are only three amendments they would like us to make before it goings towards planning, this should mean we get passed first time. Two are not what I would have wanted and one is. I think I mentioned earlier that we wanted a gable end above the garage but she has expressed that this must be a hipped roof, this will mean we will lose the space we were going to use for the en suite in the loft room and Christine's walk in wardrobe (hopefully this means that Christine will not buy as many clothes in the future LOL), the dormer on the roof has to be 1m away from the neighbours party wall the reason I do not know but it is better to obey as opposed to fight. But the good news is that we do not have to step back 1m for the room above the garage, this means that we can enter from the main 1st floor hall via the current study (this room will be sacrificed to accommodate the stairs). The good news here is that we will not need an entrance hall into the room as it is not directly off the stair case. This means we gain 3m2 because of not stepping back and also 1m2 because we do not have the entrance hall so some good news there.
Our architect flies off to Singapore on Saturday so he has to have the amendments in before he goes or the plans will be refused!! So he is working hard to get them done by Friday, so hopefully we will have the plans done and passed ASAP.
This means I need to get started with some quotes for groundwork's, I was originally going to dig the foundations myself but because I would be digging next to our neighbours rear extension, our other neighbours garage and the moving the man holes I figured it would be better to get the pros in. That way if anything goes wrong it will not be my fault or cost!!!.
More to follow tomorrow hopefully
Garry & Christine
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Monday 25 February 2008
My Week off Work
I have just had a week of work so you will all be expecting to hear that I have done loads of work in the garden but the truth is I have hardly done anything.
The problem has been that the skip company did not pick up the skip on Friday 15th or Sat, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday, even though they promised to pick up on all these days. So I have not been able to do anything until today when they actually did manage to change the skip.
So what did I do on my Hols
Sun, cleared the garden and garage of all the rubbish trees etc
Mon, Worked @ Work
Tues, Nothing, waited around for skip company
Wed, Went to Stratford
Thurs, Spend whole day at Stratford
Fri, Came back from Stratford
Sat, Went to Catherine's (Christine's sister's)and helped Chris fit her kitchen (still got loads to do there)
Sun, pulled out the Kango Christine had picked up from SPEEDY hire to start breaking up the concrete and it never worked!!! So I decided to buy a cheap version from Screwfix so I could get started. Then it began to rain!!
So up until Sunday I had done nothing!!! (gutted)
However, Today I was off work as I worked last Monday and things actually started to happen. Skip has been changed over (at last) and I have broken up all the concrete and skipped 1/3 of it so getting there.
I also had a phone call from the planning officer who is coming to do a site visit tomorrow so things are moving in the correct direction.
Will try and get some pictures added soon.
Garry
The problem has been that the skip company did not pick up the skip on Friday 15th or Sat, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday, even though they promised to pick up on all these days. So I have not been able to do anything until today when they actually did manage to change the skip.
So what did I do on my Hols
Sun, cleared the garden and garage of all the rubbish trees etc
Mon, Worked @ Work
Tues, Nothing, waited around for skip company
Wed, Went to Stratford
Thurs, Spend whole day at Stratford
Fri, Came back from Stratford
Sat, Went to Catherine's (Christine's sister's)and helped Chris fit her kitchen (still got loads to do there)
Sun, pulled out the Kango Christine had picked up from SPEEDY hire to start breaking up the concrete and it never worked!!! So I decided to buy a cheap version from Screwfix so I could get started. Then it began to rain!!
So up until Sunday I had done nothing!!! (gutted)
However, Today I was off work as I worked last Monday and things actually started to happen. Skip has been changed over (at last) and I have broken up all the concrete and skipped 1/3 of it so getting there.
I also had a phone call from the planning officer who is coming to do a site visit tomorrow so things are moving in the correct direction.
Will try and get some pictures added soon.
Garry
Thursday 14 February 2008
White Van Man
Hi All,
When I say all it would seem it is only my aunt and uncle who are reading this.
Anyway I had a day off work today so the oppertunity to do more work on the garden. I have cut down the last of the trees at the bottom of the patio so I now have a massive amount of trees and bushes to remove.
So I had a skip 3/4 full today so I did not want it to be picked up before I had filled it to the top I thought if I phoned the company in the morning, get the skip removed in the afternoon, I could fill it in the morning have it picked up then keep on filling the rest of the day. However I phoned them and they could not pick up until tomorrow so I could only work in the morning. The skip is now full and waiting for pick up.
So in the afternoon I went out and bought a white van, that I will pick up at the weekend. This means I can clear all the trees from the garden, remove all the timber in the garage and the sofa that is in the front garden can be taken to the tip. Hopefully I will be able to use the van to get materials etc as I do not think Christine would be too happy if I used the car!! The plan will be to sell the van at the end of the project.
Our new White Van
When I say all it would seem it is only my aunt and uncle who are reading this.
Anyway I had a day off work today so the oppertunity to do more work on the garden. I have cut down the last of the trees at the bottom of the patio so I now have a massive amount of trees and bushes to remove.
So I had a skip 3/4 full today so I did not want it to be picked up before I had filled it to the top I thought if I phoned the company in the morning, get the skip removed in the afternoon, I could fill it in the morning have it picked up then keep on filling the rest of the day. However I phoned them and they could not pick up until tomorrow so I could only work in the morning. The skip is now full and waiting for pick up.
So in the afternoon I went out and bought a white van, that I will pick up at the weekend. This means I can clear all the trees from the garden, remove all the timber in the garage and the sofa that is in the front garden can be taken to the tip. Hopefully I will be able to use the van to get materials etc as I do not think Christine would be too happy if I used the car!! The plan will be to sell the van at the end of the project.
Our new White Van
Sunday 10 February 2008
Digging
Birthday Boy
It was my birthday last week for anyone who does not know me, and for my birthday Christine bought me an electric screwdriver and her sister got me a wheelbarrow, so next year it will be a Dyson for Christine's birthday and a toster for Chatherine!! However, joking apart I have used them both already and will be a great help during the extention. but it just goes to show that once you start something like this it is all everyone accociates you with but never mind.
Holes
Today I started to dig away at the old patio to get the true level of the ground for the foundations and also to see if any thing would crop up and low and behold it did.
As you can see I have found a new manhole. I have not got a clue where this collects water from as I have tried all the outlets in the back garden and nothing runs into it. So more investigation will be needed. but I am sure this will also cost more money as it will need to be re located, I have read on some one else's blog that this could cost £2k to be done!! I can not believe how easy it will be to spend money on this extension (outwith Chrisine's ability to buy the most expensive item in the shop) but £2k to make a hole and I have got to do it twice!! (There goes the kitchen).
Still half the patio to dig up and then I will have to break up the concreate slab that the Lean-to was on so I am sure that there will still be more skips to come.
Thinking
When I came across the manhole issue I have been thinking about how when you watch of the property programs on TV and they talk about budget and time lines. People alway manage to over run both and the presenter makes a fool of them. I have decided that that will not happen to me so for any presenters out there,
Budget
It will cost what is costs
Time frame
It will take as long as it takes
So from now on I will always be on Budget and on time, less pressure!!!
Picture of manhole
And again
And some trees I have cut down
It was my birthday last week for anyone who does not know me, and for my birthday Christine bought me an electric screwdriver and her sister got me a wheelbarrow, so next year it will be a Dyson for Christine's birthday and a toster for Chatherine!! However, joking apart I have used them both already and will be a great help during the extention. but it just goes to show that once you start something like this it is all everyone accociates you with but never mind.
Holes
Today I started to dig away at the old patio to get the true level of the ground for the foundations and also to see if any thing would crop up and low and behold it did.
As you can see I have found a new manhole. I have not got a clue where this collects water from as I have tried all the outlets in the back garden and nothing runs into it. So more investigation will be needed. but I am sure this will also cost more money as it will need to be re located, I have read on some one else's blog that this could cost £2k to be done!! I can not believe how easy it will be to spend money on this extension (outwith Chrisine's ability to buy the most expensive item in the shop) but £2k to make a hole and I have got to do it twice!! (There goes the kitchen).
Still half the patio to dig up and then I will have to break up the concreate slab that the Lean-to was on so I am sure that there will still be more skips to come.
Thinking
When I came across the manhole issue I have been thinking about how when you watch of the property programs on TV and they talk about budget and time lines. People alway manage to over run both and the presenter makes a fool of them. I have decided that that will not happen to me so for any presenters out there,
Budget
It will cost what is costs
Time frame
It will take as long as it takes
So from now on I will always be on Budget and on time, less pressure!!!
Picture of manhole
And again
And some trees I have cut down
Tuesday 5 February 2008
Our soon to be non garage
This is what I did on Sat and Sunday had a easy day Sunday but never mind.
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