A self build house project diary
by Oliver Cannell

The beginning of the end

The interior spaces are starting to look like livable rooms.

Now that the house is watertight - all the windows are in - and all the 1st fix plumbing and electrics have been done, the guys can start working on the interior walls.

There is a huge pile of plasterboard sitting in the living room and a mountain of adhesive and skimming plaster. Work has begun on plasterboarding out the house and it's starting to make the rooms look like real livable spaces.

Until now, all the walls have been breeze block grey and the ceilings have been raw timber. But things are starting to turn white, as the sheets of plasterboard are screwed to the ceiling joists and battens... and the boards are dot-and-dabbed to the walls with adhesive.

We did originally talk about wet plastering (is that the right term?) all the walls, to give a more solid feel to everything, but economics have dictated that we use boards instead, as it's quicker (cheaper). I don't mind that too much, as I know the guys will do a good job.

The bathroom is the most complete room at the minute and it's great to actually see a white room - almost how it will look when finished. The amount of light in the room, provided by the Velux roof window is much better than expected.

The next week or two is going to be a fun stage.

Next entry: Why is it so hard to buy stuff? (Friday 16th January 2015)

Previous entry: Fiddlers on the roof (Wednesday 14th January 2015)

Hi, I have been reading your blog from the beginning and I have to say uts been a real page turner, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching and reading the progress. Now, there’s no more! Please can you finish the updates??? I really want to see the finished product. Kind regards Simon

Simon  on  Wednesday, 11th January 2017  at  18:50

Hi Simon,
Thanks a lot for reading the blog. I’m really pleased you have been enjoying it and want more. 😊
I’ve been struggling to find the time - and motivation to keep writing - although it’s always in my mind to keep going.
Don’t worry, I’ll get on it again soon, as I should have more ‘spare’ time this year. I’ll see if can do more entries this month.
Thanks again,
Oil

Oli  on  Tuesday, 17th January 2017  at  22:40

Really enjoyed reading your blog and a very exciting design compared to the original. Sorry to ask but would it have been cheaper to move the sewer rather than have all the groundwork removal of soil etc.
Looking forward to seeing the finished house
Regards Richard

Richard  on  Friday, 27th January 2017  at  16:28

Hi Richard,
Even though we were quoted thousands of pounds (5-figures) to move the sewer pipe, it did ultimately cost a lot more to do all the groundworks, redesign the house and complete the process in the way we did. That said, we’ve ended up with a massively better home and also saved having to redirect the sewer while the works were being done. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I’ll be looking for a simpler site next time (if we do it again!).

Oli  on  Sunday, 29th January 2017  at  18:17

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