Stu and I started the week in Peterborough by creating a larger opening for some friends of mine in their kitchen/diner.  Kitchen/diner openings are all the fashion you know!  Our first job was to take out the door and the door lining and then set about using some metal acros and strong boys to support the wall while we removed some brick work to make way for a new lintel.  Once we had the lintel in place, we pointed up with some cement and left things to dry and settle over night before moving on with the next stage.  The following day we set about removing the remaining brick work so as to create the new sized opening.  While I had a tidy up and tried to sweep up as much dust as possible, Stu put up some new plasterboard.  That was the job done, with John coming out on Saturday morning to do the plastering.
 

On Wednesday we were back to our single storey extension to action some snagging points which were putting down some more screed so as to join up the new extension floor with the existing floor.  While Stu was doing that I was plastering a few small returns which John and J had left due to time constraints the previous week.  By lunch time we were all done, and as England’s final group game of the World Cup was on that afternoon, like the rest of the country, we downed tools and headed off to find a TV.
 

On Thursday and Friday Stu was laying the new laminate flooring and finishing off with the skirting which finished off the last of the jobs we had to do on the extension, and the Building Inspector duly carried out his final inspection and was happy to sign off the job as completed.  While Stu was doing his thing, I drew up some plans and a shopping list of materials for the raised decking area that we are to put in.  On the Friday in scorching sunshine and high temperatures I had the pleasure of boreing out holes by hand to sink the decking posts into.  The sweat was pouring off me and I was drinking a litre of water an hour trying to keep refreshed, but I was certainly lacking my usual get up and go in those conditions, the hot weather just sapping your energy.

After our working day on Friday was rudely interrupted by the beginning of The World Cup which we had to go home and watch, we set about finishing off the installation of the bi-fold doors now we had the correct hardware to get the job finished.  By the end of the day we had all the doors in, and to my surprise everything was working as it should do.  I don’t mean that in a way that we don’t normally do a good job, but normally doors of any kind need alterations making so they open and close properly and with all the various different components that make up five moving doors I was expecting a few issues, but everything was working as it should do and the doors really set off the look of the extension.  On Tuesday Stu carried out the finishing touches to the doors while I started doing the first fix electrics and running in the cables to the various switches, lights and socket boxes.  In the afternoon we went out to pick up all the plasterboard and associated materials so we were ready to go the following day.

On Wednesday and Thursday we were plaster boarding all the interior walls and roof area, and come the end of Thursday we had it all finished and everything was ready for John and J the plasterers to come in on Friday and skim all the walls.  While John and J were plastering on the Friday, Stu and I were staining the neighbours facias and soffit which was a little job we had picked up while on site next door.

We started the week by doing all the finishing touches to the roof.  The first job was to cut all the roof tiles around the Velux roof windows.  As usual things don’t always go in our favour, and with all the tricky cuts we had to do to get the roof tiles in and fitted, this was one of those times.  Once that was done we set about fitting the top edge abutment kit which is a specialist roof ventilation system, then Stu set about finishing the guttering and down pipe while I made a start on cutting the lead flashing to length.  I woke up to heavy rain Tuesday morning and the weather forecast didn’t look like things would improve greatly throughout the day, so on safety grounds we took a day off.  On Wednesday I set about fixing the lead flashing into place while Stu pointed up the tiles on the two gable ends.  We actioned a few minor snagging points and then that was the roof all done and finished.
 

We had a set of three metre long, 5 piece bi-fold doors delivered to site earlier in the week which came in a kit form, and we made a start on putting things together.  The first job was to make the frame up.  Having gone through all the parcels when they had been delivered we couldn’t find a set of instructions or a tick off list for what we should have had delivered.  I contacted the manufacturer and they emailed me over a set of instructions, but unfortunately they were for a three door installation, but the principles seemed the same.  We soon realised that we were missing some of the specialist screws which were of a particular size.  We tried some similar screws that we had on the van, but they weren’t up to doing the job.  So we had to take a trip to a stockist in Peterborough where we could get the screws in singles rather than getting a box of 200 when we only needed two.  All this extra time and hassle just because someone hadn’t put the required number of screws in the box!  As we progressed we soon noticed that the number of hinges didn’t match the number of doors that we had either?  But as we had no check off list, we couldn’t confirm this.  I contacted the manufacturer again and explained our situation.  After some oohing and arhing we were told that we must have a three door hardware kit and not a five door kit, but as we hadn’t flagged this up within the first 48 hours they were trying to wash their hands of things.  I did explain that we didn’t receive any instructions, a check off sheet or several key parts so they weren’t exactly in a position to play the high ground.  I took up my case with the retailer who was really helpful in the circumstances and would be able to get us a new hardware kit that we could pick up first thing Monday morning.  Not ideal but the best it was going to get.
 

After all that, we couldn’t progress with the doors, so on the Friday I put in the roof insulation while Stu ran in new electric cable feeds to meet up with the existing.  Once that was done, Stu and I did think about what work we could do for the afternoon, but as the World Cup was about to start at 1pm and it is only on every four years, we thought it only right to go home and watch the football!  Come on you England!

It was an easier week for Stu and me this week.  It started off with a Bank Holiday Monday which is always nice, followed by a half day on site due to the rain as we fixed the baton down and made a start on laying the roof tiles.  The rest of the day I spent catching up on paper work.  On the Wednesday I had a meeting with a potential new client and in the afternoon put a price together for the works.
 

Thursday was a busy day.  First job of the day was fitting the two large Velux windows.  Between the both of us we got the two frames into position and fixed into place.  I then fixed the two flashing kits into place while Stu continued to lay more roof tiles.  Once the flashing was all fixed it was ready to get the windows up into the frames, which were about 3.5 metres up in the roof timbers.  On the nice installation drawings it shows a cartoon man casually lifting and fixing the window into place.  After the sweat that came pouring off me and Stu as we grappled with a window 800 wide by 1200 long trying to get it to drop into the frame, and fingers crossed not onto the floor below!  These cartoon tradesmen make it look so easy.  Fortunately the second window did go in nice and easy.  In the afternoon we fitted an exterior UPVC window, and then fitted a sheet of damp proof membrane followed by foil backed insulation sheets ready for John and J the plasterers to come in and screed the floor the following morning.  John and J arrived at 8am, and as I had all the materials ready on site for them I left them to crack on with things. By lunch time the floor was screeded, job done.

After our week in Cambourne near Cambridge Stu and I were back to our extension build to continue with works there.  Our main focus was to complete the brick and block work on the two gable ends. While Stu and I were enjoying our working conditions on the Monday of clear blue skies, nice warm weather and plenty of sunshine, I don’t think the same could be said for Dean our electrician.  Dean was out at Cambourne doing the second fix electrics on the loft conversion en-suite so everything was up and running for Stu and I’s return on Tuesday to complete the work.  Doing the electrical work wasn’t the issue, but working up in the confined loft space area was?  This is because in the nice sunny warm weather outside meant the area Dean was working in was near enough a sauna!  When Stu and I were there on Tuesday it was cooler than Monday, and we were both getting a good sweat on, so reports of Dean looking like he had stepped out of a shower were not probably far of the mark.

On Tuesday we finished off the last bits we needed to do on the en-suite.  We checked that the new digital shower unit was up and running, the new down lights were ok, the towel radiator was working properly, plus we had had a good tidy up and clean down before our departure.  Mark and Hannah the clients were very happy with the finished job and the work we had done.  So much so that we received this glowing reference:

“This is quite simple, if you want a superb job being done this is the company to go with.  Blueberry was one of seven builders who gave us quotes for our en-suite wet room.  It was a very easy decision for us.  Not only were they very competitive but Richard was easily the quickest, most efficient and professional builder we contacted.  During the build Richard and Stu were again superb.  Accuracy, build quality and all round attention to detail was excellent.  During the whole build communication between builder and client again was superb.  Richard would give me daily updates on progress and would involve me in design decisions.  The finished en-suite wet room is superb and exactly what we wanted from the start.  I would recommend Blueberry to anyone and would be happy to be a reference in the future.  I’m sure we will use the boys again.”
 

For the rest of the week we got the gable ends on the extension completed and also put up the facia, soffit and guttering, so we were ready to make a start the following week on doing the roof.