Extention Catch Up - 3 weeks in!

As I mentioned in my last blog post, we are now 3 weeks in to our 'big build'.  So far it hasn't caused us too much inconvenience.  The main change is that we have to use our back door as the front porch was knocked down the first day the builders started and the inner door was boarded up preventing access.  So far though, no internal work has started.

Our house is a sixties build and can in no way be described as a pretty house from the outside.  In fact, it's quite fair to say it is ugly.  So here is a before - I was looking forward to seeing the end of that ugly porch! 

 

It was the inside space that sold the property to us (and the price being what we could afford!)  I think once it's finished it will have slightly more curb appeal but it still won't be pretty from the outside.  We would need a much larger (unobtainable) budget for that!

The main build progress so far is in the development of the extension structure.  The builder aimed to build the outer walls, roof etc. and make it watertight before progressing on to knocking down the old outer wall which houses the current (very cramped) kitchen.  This means that the extension has been built in isolation around our current house!  It has made the kitchen space very dark but it has meant we've not been inconvenienced too much in the early stages of the build.  If you look closely you can just make me out doing the dishes at our current kitchen sink!

Lots of excitement ensued when a digger arrived to dig the footings.  I didn't get a good picture of the process as I needed to let them 'get on' but once dug you could see the size of the new space...

 

Further excitement happened early one morning before school as the cement mixer arrived and filled in the enormous footings.  We all found this fascinating and watched closely from Little Man's bedroom window.  All the cement was firmly in place before we left for school at half 8 in the morning.  Not bad going eh?!

Once this base was dry, the walls went up super quick! 

The brick layer came over 2 weekends and the external walls were complete.

The final picture is how it looks at present - the roof is nearly (but not quite) complete.  The windows are being fitted later this week and then building work will start in our current kitchen - of which half will become a downstairs shower / toilet room.

The mess is beginning to wear on me - as is the knowledge that things are about to get a whole lot worse in the near future.  I keep telling myself it will be so worth it (I know it will) but it doesn't make it any easier during the difficult times when mud is walked throughout the house! 

I have set up a reasonable 'make shift' kitchen in our conservatory and we will be emptying the remainder of the kitchen cupboards this weekend.  I'm aiming to sell our old kitchen units and our appliances have found a good home so we're doing our bit for the environment!  Once the inner wall comes down I will have no cooker and no kitchen sink for 2-3 weeks.  I do have a camp stove and I have prepared a bit by cooking up batches of Bolognese and different sauces and frozen them so I don't feel guilty about not providing nutritious food for the kids.  If we can stretch to it, we will pay for school dinners two or three times a week over the peak build time so that it takes a bit more pressure off.  I'm also planning on using paper plates for a while as doing dishes in the upstairs bathroom would be physically challenging for me!

Brick dust do your worst... I am ready for you with gritted teeth and a forced smile.  The new space will be my saviour and will help with managing my disability.  I'm ready.  Bring it on!

I'll update when I've got more photographs of progress and when the internal walls come down.  Think positive thoughts for me!

Thanks for reading,
J9 x