Kitchen Update

What a difference one week makes!  Today Ryan and I stopped by the house to meet with Charlotte and the builders.  The kitchen and back terrace are almost completely dug out.  It was a drizzly day, but the weather didn't stop any work from happening.

Originally there was supposed to be one very large window 2.8 meters tall at the back of the kitchen (facing the yard).  But the builders say it won't fit through the front door.  There is no access from the back and a crane would be ridiculously expensive. So it's time to get creative.

Garett has been working a lot lately, but we found time to celebrate his birthday this week.  Ryan made the cake and it was delicious.

Happy Birthday Garett!

View of the kitchen and the back of the house - they've started pouring the concrete

October House Update

As of last week, the party wall agreements are in place!  This means we can officially get going on the extension. We are about 6 months into the project and winter isn't far away.  The builders are racing to dig down in the back of the house.

Last weekend we looked at fireplaces - both new and reproduction.  Today we took a road trip to Adderbury, Oxfordshire to visit a bath and tile outlet.  We bought a sink for the powder room and a few other miscellaneous items.

Here are a few recent pictures from the build.

 

Front entry to the house

 

Garett and Ryan in the kitchen - all of the digging is being done by hand

Someday this will be a kitchen!

 

Future TV room

 

View from my hotel window on a recent business trip

 

Danesfield House Hotel in Marlow

 

Marble fireplace surround - Renaissance Fireplaces, London

 

Lots of stock to explore

 

Beautiful Victorian reproduction

Old pub sign

 

Meanwhile, back at the house...the ground floor looks like a bomb site

 

The digging continues...

End of September House Update

Today was a beautiful, crisp autumn day in London. Ryan and I walked up to Hampstead village this morning. In the afternoon we went over to the house expecting to see new windows...but they were nowhere to be found.  However, the builders have finally found a way to clean the exterior  brick.  They have also started installing the plumbing and the drywall.  The kitchen is at a complete standstill pending the party wall agreements.

Beautiful morning in Hampstead - Church Row

Under wraps - the brick cleaning has commenced

Our neighbors had their bricks cleaned - hopefully ours will look this nice

Ground floor window - the bricks already look better!

Back to School and House Update

Ryan is back in school and there is definitely a chill in the air.  The vines on the front of our flat have turned red.  The days are also a lot shorter...

We still don't have a party wall agreement on either side of the house (agreements with our neighbors about the proposed extension).  So nothing can happen at the back.  The delay is mainly due to the ongoing reviews by the structural engineer and surveyor.  Work is happening in the main house, but not always according to our instructions.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

First day of school (Year 7 / 6th grade)

Weekend outing on the London Eye

Shopping for lighting at a London furniture store

We asked the builders not to frame the floor in Ryan's room...(grr)

The reason is that we don't yet have approval to dig down and get more ceiling height in the kitchen

We also also asked them not to begin any electrical work...

As you can see, they complied with our request

Master bath...behind the partially framed wall there will be a walk-in shower on the left and a toilet area on the right.  A double set of sinks will be centered on the wall.

This is a section of wallpaper that we uncovered above the fireplace in the TV room

 Charlotte (our architect) and the builder discussing what to do with the back exterior

This area will become the kitchen and there will be a glass door on the left leading to the back garden

Late Summer

Summer is winding down and this weekend is the last bank holiday of the summer.  Last weekend we were in the Cotswolds with friends.  This weekend is the final lazy weekend before the start of school on Sept 2nd.  Today we checked on the house and there is finally progress...

Last weekend - lunch with Bill, Cindy & family

A sunny day on the lake

Garett's apricot tart

Standing in the future kitchen

The back of the house - to the left and right of the steel beam will be a glass wall and door

Garett on the top floor landing

Garett and Ryan on the 1st floor (2nd floor US) - TV room is behind them and guest bath is to the right

Structural Beams and New Floors

Quick post today.

Garett and I went to check on the progress of the house yesterday.  Luckily, there weren't any fires this week. Some of the structural beams have gone in and there is a new floor in the guest room. We've also been selecting the tile and fixtures for the bathrooms.  More on that soon.

Garett conferring with the builders on Saturday. You can see the new floor above.  The space where the builders are standing will become a powder room and a pantry off the kitchen.

My favorite Victorian corbels are gone (see below)

Hopefully we can recreate the corbels in the new version of the house.

Garett standing in the front hallway.  Eventually there will be walls separating the hallway from the reception room. It's hard to spot, but there is a random dresser in the reception room.

The front door and doorbell ("pull") to the right of the door.  We will probably replace all of this, but I'd like to keep the brass handle. Not sure about the letterbox.

House Update - Some Excitement This Week

Garett and I try to visit the house at least once every week to check on progress.  Today when we stopped by our neighbors asked if we'd heard about the fire on Tuesday. Um...no, we hadn't heard about the fire.  After Googling the story, it appears a car broke down and parked near our house.  An electrical fire started in car #1 and the wind blew the fire into car #2, which was parked directly in front of our place.  Cue a couple of loud explosions and a fire ball.  The neighbors were worried that our house might catch fire.  And for good reason!  Sadly, a dog lost its life. However, everything appears to be in order with the house.

Recognize the "Yes" scaffolding? This picture was in one of the papers.

Another picture from the paper.  Firefighters had it under control in about 45 minutes.

Possibly a few singed bricks and some melted material on the scaffolding. Otherwise, nothing appears out of the ordinary. Onward with the build!

They also delivered the steel beams this week. Ryan is testing one out.  The beams are laid end-to-end all the way into the back garden.

Ryan is looking from the kitchen up to his room while Garett checks out the test pit (to ensure the foundation holds when they dig down).

Another debate this week was over the staircase.  We haven't decided yet if we're keeping it or rebuilding it. We're leaning towards keeping/fixing it, but it's not in sound condition.

Apparently they don't build 'em like they used to.  No one has the skills to build a curved handrail anymore, so the only way to preserve the handrail is to keep the whole thing.

Stay tuned...