Jump to content

MikeGrahamT21

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1883

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by MikeGrahamT21

  1. MikeGrahamT21

    Snug and Dining room

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Final Touches
    More or less done these two rooms now, which after finishing the bathroom were basically just flooring and decorating, making a bit of furniture and then moving some other furniture I already had which was always destined for the dining room.
     
    I’ve got planned some bench seating for the wall side of the dining table to make it more space efficient, but not any time soon.
     
    I think this will be the first time, certainly in the last 10 years, where I have no outstanding ‘filler that just needs sanding down and painting’ kind of jobs, everywhere has skirting board which is painted… the little things in life.
     
    Everytime I walk in the bungalow and see the French dresser, it just melts my heart, knowing that my late wife would have loved to see it where it is now, we did buy it while she was still alive as they were stopping making it and was perfect for the look we were going for, managed to bag the dining table off eBay from the same range for around £200 I think brand new, and the chairs were ones we had from ikea which I upholstered and painted white to match.
     

     

     

    I know the plug sockets need covering, managed to locate them just slightly too high!
     

    The bookcase is to be backlit with an LED strip light (awaiting Black Friday being the right bugger I am!) and then will be filled with all my books, photo to follow at some point.
     

    The hallway has also been redecorated and the floor sanded and reoiled - out of anywhere this small passageway has suffered the most during the works bringing everything in and out, so was nice to get it back to 100% again
  2. MikeGrahamT21

    Bathroom finally completed

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Bathroom
    Just been reading through my last post from end of May, and thinking how on earth did it take me so long to get to this one 🤣
     
    A lot of blood, sweat, tears and swearing later, and i've finally finished the bathroom, which has exceeded what I imagined i might be able to create, I still keep walking in and thinking, naaa this can't be my bathroom. So another room brought to a close 🙂
     

    Those panels on the wall were actually meant for the living room, sound absorbing panels for the home cinema, but despite having ordered 'Natural' and them looking off white on the internet, they came with a blue tinge to them so wouldn't have gone. When i asked for a refund, they didn't want them back and just sent me the money, so I thought they'd be useful in the bathroom, and have massively dampened the echo in there.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Aside from not plastering the sloped ceiling, everything else you see internally i've done myself, including the cabinets, which I really enjoy making, i took woodwork at GCSE but was at school at the time when IT was just getting going and consequently we were all pushed down that route.
     
    Walls are painted with F&B Ammonite, and the ceiling is F&B Wevet, mixed by Johnstones Trade
     
    Best success? Probably trusting myself to measure 4 times, cut once, and actually get it right for once...The solid oak top on the toilet/sink back, £130 alone that cost me, but it came out bang on!
     
    Total cost for everything was just a shade under £4k.
     
    Onto my new snug next which is actually well underway, but i'll post another entry when its all done and dusted in a month or two's time!
  3. MikeGrahamT21
    Thanks to the relatively mild weather this winter i decided to start chipping away at the bathroom project, which is being extended into part of the extension which was finished over a year ago. This gave me the opportunity to install the bath, sink and toilet in the new bit, at which time I’d totally disconnected the old bathroom allowing me to strip it out and that’s worked really well for my as I struggle to do more than 4hours in a single day so I could keep doing a bit and stopping when I’d had enough.
     
    didn’t fancy tackling the ceiling for plastering in the new bit so got a pro in to do this bit for me, all done in a couple of hours which was nice.
     

     
    and made the most of the space and got the painting done after putting a layer of 10mm marmox board down ready to accept the underfloor heating mat
     


     
    Next job was to start making a frame to hold the toilet frame and the sink and cabinet
     

     
    Decided on making my own cabinet rather than paying silly money for an MFC one, got pine furniture boards, a pocket hole jig and a new router and came out with this which I’m pretty happy with 
     


     
    that all got painted and the sink installed, wall mounted tap and the wet room panels that I’m using both for this and for the walk in shower area all installed.
     



     
    got to work cutting the OSB backing and wet room panel for the toilet in prep for the final big push to disconnect the old and commission the new, that was a hard days work!
     

     
    And then bath and toilet all installed
     

     
    once the shower area is complete the bath will be disconnected again to lay the underfloor heating, self leveller and the flooring before being put back in place, and eventually building the wall and plastering it.
     
    Made a start on stripping the old bathroom out
     

     

     

     

     
    Next job is to patch up the loft insulation where the old spotlights were, new wiring in place for a single light fitting this time, airtight membrane adhered to the walls and then battens before reboarding it ready for plastering. Floor is coming up also to be replaced with 22mm chipboard to match new bit.

  4. MikeGrahamT21

    Battery Storage Update - 2 years in

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Battery Storage
    Where on earth has that 2 years vanished?
     
    So coming up on the 2 year installation of the inverter and single module battery, and as with most things these days, the gradual improvements to firmware over time have made a huge difference.
     
    So at the last update I'd managed to get the power leakage down through an offset, and the whole system was a lot more accurate, but nonetheless still had a small amount of leakage throughout the day which was averaging around 0.5-0.6kWh, certainly not insignificant.
     

     
    It turns out that not long after i bought this setup, Solis released a Version 2 of the inverter, which came with an external RS485 Meter, to connect the CT clamp to, and i believe this was done to improve accuracy, gutted i missed out on it, and theres no way of adding it without swapping the inverter, so thats a definite non-starter. I got back in touch with them to see if there was anything more they could do, and it was decided that I would move away from the firmware which supported the fixed offset (A1 branch), to the generally available firmware and ended up on version 17014, which was clearly much improved as now the leakage looks like this...
     

     
    At the end of september I decided to move over to Octopus Flux to take advantage of the cheaper rate during the night to charge the battery up.
     
    To compare both scenarios i have taken the same December - January Period (clearly at this time of year, solar input will be minimal), last year and then this year.
     
    Neither of these include any standing charge, this is purely for energy alone.
    2022
    Electricity 8th Dec. 2022 - 31st Dec. 2022 - Total amount after reimbursement from goverment £44.45
    Energy Used 141.3 kWh @ 48.45p/kWh £68.47
    Energy Price Guarantee 141.3 kWh @ 17.00p/kWh -£24.02
     
    2023
    Electricity 8th Dec. 2023 - 31st Dec. 2023
    Energy Imported
    15.15p/kWh 130.2 kWh £19.731
    25.26p/kWh 17.8 kWh £4.491
    35.36p/kWh 3.4 kWh £1.188
    Total consumption 151.3kWh @ 16.79p/kWh (Average unit rate)  £25.41
     
    So taking into account the government reimbursement from last year, the energy pricing on standard variable tariff this year is around 4p cheaper than the same period last year. I've not included the amounts for export, as they are minimal at this time of year also. Otherwise the battery has saved me almost £20 in that single month, by being able to use cheaper electricity, and in effect shift my load.
     
    Maybe another month, or thereabouts and I should be able to stop charging from the grid again until autumn, and rely wholly on the excess Solar PV to run the property. The better months of the year for Solar should be really interesting, as at the peak i'll likely be able to totally drain the battery, and still charge it up enough after peak export period to keep me til the next morning, should be able to accrue a good amount of credit from export. I shall report back in the autumn!
  5. MikeGrahamT21

    That'll do for 2023...

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    External Wall Insulation
    Properly chuffed with myself how far i've progressed this year, but its a good time to take a break i feel, before the last huge job of doing the new bathroom, hopefully next year.
     
    Finished the external wall insulation off in the courtyard area, and got my new set of water butts all connected, should provide enough for the front garden and car washing (when i have the energy!) during a prolonged dry period. Just got the silicone to do on the corner and the join.

     

     
    Probably the most important job was the lower parts of the roof, to ensure the insulation was all good, and to stop any mice from getting in, which has been an issue the last couple of years around this time. Took off 3 rows of tiles and pushed the 4th row up, which got me to the natural overlap of the second row of felt, allowing me to take off the old battens, and put a new layer of felt under the overlap and down to the bottom. Also replaced the end of the dry valley, with a correct formed end, tiles need a little tidy up at some point, but its watertight.

     

     
    This was the mesh i used. It was then fully packed with insulation and overlayed with some ventilation trays which i didn't take a photo of.

     

     
    And the front was even worse, including the weather, of course it decided to pour it down the second i had the old felt off. Front existing felt was in very bad condition, and one of the battens appears to be fire damaged, no idea how

     

     

     

    The valley needs repointing, still on my to-do list.
     

    And a small indulgment, a bit of colour for the driveway, also filled with spring bulbs so hopefully will remain colourful right through to next summer
  6. MikeGrahamT21

    Another few jobs off the list

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    External Wall Insulation
    I'm kind of glad July hasn't been too warm, as its enabled me to get more done than i would have otherwise, but the rain has been the main issue, and surprisingly, hedgehogs which have been running all over the front garden, until they mysteriously all died, why i've no idea, felt very privileged having them here.
     
     
     

     
    First bit done whilst the hedgehogs were still around, the bit i've been wanting to do the most, around the boiler and gas box, where the worst damage to existing masonry was. June brought boiler service time of the year, so while the plumber was here, he fitted a new longer flue, and also a new gas pipe from the meter to the boiler, to accomodate the thicker walls. Around the flue, I have applied the required dual density rockwool wall board, heavy but really nice to work with, with the remainder done in the usual EPS. Fascia was also installed badly by a contractor many years ago, so i took the bad bits off to replace later on.
     

     

     
    Fascia repaired, brick slips applied and gas box has been resprayed and refitted. I still need to silicone around here and fit the boiler flue rubber, along with cutting the waste pipe down slightly to fit nice and snug.

     
    Rear of extension has been boarded, and mostly rendered, the top part is also fixed now, and just needs a render basecoat on, and brick slips.

     
    Front is also complete, and i have since popped a trim above the window to cover the foam, this also needs a bit of silicone when i get a tube. Below the DPC on all sections of EWI, i've got a tub of black render to finish this off, which i'm going to do all at once at the end.

     
    Really pleased i've managed to get this far, i've still got to take off 3 rows of tiles front and back of the original bungalow to put some mesh in to stop mice getting in the loft, ensure the insulation is bang on, and vented, replace the latts and felt and tiles back on, a nice autumn job i think when its a bit cooler still, minus the rain!!
  7. MikeGrahamT21
    As promised, here are my completed (I hope) drawings for building control, which I've just submitted to the local council. I'll post back on here with what they come back with, any changes required, and also any restrictions imposed.
     
    I know some were asking what was required for BC plans, so hopefully this will give a good guide for a masonry cavity wall build.
     
    Side Extension Drawing BC.pdf
  8. MikeGrahamT21
    After the worst of the cold weather was out of the way, i decided to start chipping away at my huge jobs list this year, some is finishing off, and others additional bits.
     
    Started getting the block paving back down again, as i was fed up of bringing sand in on my feet all the time, was very time consuming as each block needed individually inspecting for chips, and cleaning of its old sand and sealer around the edges, but kept doing a bit every other day.
     

     

     
    Level is a little higher than i would have liked, but i was down to a lot of concrete, so couldn't really go much lower whilst being able to put a bed of sand down, decided to seal the walls with Nano Drex Protect in order to mitigate any splashback, and I have since filled the gap with geotex and 20mm gravel.
     
    Eventually many months later, i've removed any damaged blocks and replaced them, jetwashed it all and re-sanded with Dan Sand then sealed.

     
    I've not finished it all yet, still got behind the extension to finish, sand and seal which is one of my next jobs.
     
    3 external wall insulation areas to complete, around living room window including swapping the bow window out for a flat window with 40mm triple glazing, around the boiler and gas box, and behind the extension off of the small bedroom.
     
    Beginning with the horrible bit, digging down to the foundations:

     

     
    Followed by leaving them for around 2months to fully dry out, which took longer than expected with the rain we kept having, but got there eventually.
     
    Plinth insulation installed, trench filled with loose fill and all of the damaged block pavers.
     

     
    Living room window also had timber glued and screwed to the wall and starter tracks installed on this photo

    plus a myriad of heavy duty angle brackets, and i had 5 spare so I added those too before i insulated it. Also added another piece of 4x2 above the window, which sits half on the brickwork, and half on the wall timber, screwed to it, which i'll screw the window to, along with the side fixings, and some window straps to fix to brickwork inside.
     

    Wall insulated and old bow window removed...
     

    New window in, and insulation added to top the timber, and wrap the edges of the window.
     

    basecoat render completed. Next step is adding the brick slips. Above the window also needs expanding foam, and a trim to close the gap, I ran out of foam!
     
    Really happy with the look of the new window, from both outside and in...

    Inside has since been taped to the wall with Tescon tape, cavity closer to the top of the cavity, also taped down, and the exposed brick needs plastering at some point, before a new window board.
     

    Area round the gas box was dug out and prepared with plinth insulation as best as i could. Gas man has since been and put a new gas pipe in through plastic tube where i core drilled, so the remainder of the plinth can be installed now. Gas box was spaced away from wall by 120mm, and a new longer flue has been installed ready for the wall boards to go up.
     

    has morphed into...

    few more pieces to go on, but need to finish block paving off so i've somewhere flat to setup my work platform.
     
    and last but not least, swapped out the MVHR filters, previously G4 and F7 for another G4 and H15, spot the before and after...

     

     
    More to follow, hopefully soon, but probably not that soon! 
  9. MikeGrahamT21

    Battery Storage - 7 month update

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Battery Storage
    As promised another update, following many tweaks and a firmware upgrade from Solis.
     
    So the existing problems were:
     
    Whenever the battery isn't at 100% SOC, it pulls an amount of power from the grid, somewhere between 60W and 100W Even when the battery is actively charging, it still pulls the same 60-100W from the grid, regardless if there is enough PV power to charge the battery and cover loads at the same time. Once the battery is 100% SOC and im generating PV more than my load, I import 0W. Pulsating loads (such as induction hob) the unit can find hard to track, due to their pulsing nature, and the delay in reading the CT clamp and acting upon it.  
    The firmware upgrade was to fix the pulsating load issue, it doesn't completely resolve it, however it is much better tracked now. Solis reduced the polling time for the CT, so it is polled more often than before. The problems with the excess import of between 60-100W remained, however Solis put some variables in the new firmware which allowed them to place an offset, we tried many different values and eventually stopped at a 65W offset, now the grid connection fluctuates between +40W and -50W which overall has fixed the issue as good as can be without draining too much of the battery power.
     
    Oddly since adding the second US3000C module, my overnight usage (no PV input) has dropped from around 0.35kWh to 0.2kWh, why i'm not sure but no complaints from me there!!
     
    Now have 6.6kWh of usable capacity, to note the original US3000C module had just dropped to 99% SOH, manual states to use the newer module as the master, which I did, so its now once again showing 100% SOH, and the 1% drop of the older module is handled internally. Upon connecting the new battery, the old battery appeared to receive a firmware upgrade, as it restarted a few times before staying on.
     

     
    Current yearly graph is looking good, still exporting a lot of power, but at least I'm using what i can now:
     

     

     
    Shown above is a daily example of the battery charging and discharging. This was after a particularly cloudy day which only just saw me reach 100% SOC for a mere moment. The negative battery power denotes power draining from the unit, with positive being a charge.
     

     
    This is the corresponding grid data for the same day.
     
    Previously (March 2022) I reported total import of 48.3kWh. Clearly its impossible to compare with another month, and we will have to wait til March has been and gone once again, however here is the monthly data from April onwards:
     
    April - 41.2kWh May - 18.4kWh June - 17.1kWh July - 18.9kWh August - 18.1kWh September (So far) - 18.0kWh  
    The tweaks to the system were finalised on May 5th, just checked my emails from Solis and that was the last contact, so April shows another month before the changes. Full credit to Paul Carpenter, the European Engineering Manager as Solis for sticking with me on all these changes til we found the sweet spot!
     
    Hope this provides some good info for someone out there thinking of installing battery tech.
     
    I'll post another update at the 1year point, though probably 1year from the tweaks, so May next year, and then I'll also be able to comment on my AQ for the import.
  10. MikeGrahamT21
    Just a few progress photos of the inside and how its been moving along since the builders left after completing their work:
     
    First job was the warm roof, literally just to get some of the 100mm boards used up as i had no where else to put them
     

     
     

     
    I was also trying to get as much of the dusty bits out of the way before opening this room up to the rest of the bungalow, so removed the outer bricks from under the bathroom window (the blocks will be done later down the line, as the new bathroom needs creating first so i'm not without showering and toilet facilities).

     
    Cleaned up under the floor and removed the old kitchen window, door and brickwork.
     
    2 new windows went in, triple glazed, with just the bow window to swap out for a standard casement window later down the line.


     
    Next task was to get a firm floor to work off, so I set about getting all necessary pipes in, and also got the electrician in to sort the sockets out, and finally another load of insulation, trying my best to use up all my bits rather than skipping them
     

     

     

     
    A further 50mm to the roof and 20mm under it:

     

     
    Followed by airtight primer and tape round all of the edges

     

     

     
     
    Started working on the box section at the top of the roof which will house the ventilation pipes and cover up any thermal bridges from the timber wall header
     

     

     
    At this point the building inspector came, and asked me what on earth the pipes were for?! Told him they were for the mechanical ventilation and he looked nonethewiser, but otherwise was happy for me to carry on
     

     

     
    Another satisfying job using up all my odds and ends of plasterboard this time! Before the front of the box goes on, i need to cut out the 125mm holes for the vent pipe to come through, and install the plenum at each end.
     
    Also found a use for the spare render beads i had from doing the dining room (part 1), trimmed them down with the planer to 11mm, which will give me a perfect level base to work from when i put the bonding coat on.
     
    Fingers crossed the next time i post, it'll be more or less done, minus the bathroom end.



  11. MikeGrahamT21

    Battery Storage - Nearly 2 months in

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Battery Storage
    As promised a little update on the Battery Storage. Firstly i'm very glad I bought when I did, as everything battery storage wise has skyrocketed in price since, even the prospect of adding a US2000C seems unlikely for now, though to be honest, going on my usage I don't think it would add a great deal of benefit.
     
    So I'm running the Solis 5th Generation AC Coupled Inverter, which does have a couple of niggles, which at present are reducing its savings potential. Those issues are:
     
    Whenever the battery isn't at 100% SOC, it pulls an amount of power from the grid, somewhere between 60W and 100W Even when the battery is actively charging, it still pulls the same 60-100W from the grid, regardless if there is enough PV power to charge the battery and cover loads at the same time. Once the battery is 100% SOC and im generating PV more than my load, I import 0W. Pulsating loads (such as induction hob) the unit can find hard to track, due to their pulsing nature, and the delay in reading the CT clamp and acting upon it.  
    Now my base load is around 45W, so that means that since i've had the battery, i'm actually consuming more during the nighttime than i did previously, which is a negative. I got in touch with Solis UK Support about this issue, and they say they are aware of it, and are going to be adding 2 offset values which will be user configurable to combat this problem, and they've told me it will be available in around 2 weeks time, so we shall see. So although it will be a static value, i should be able to get much nearer to 0W import from grid whilst ever there is charge in the battery, but its not at 100%, and its not over its maximum demand (around 1.8kW).
     
    To better news, aside from the issues above which should get resolved, the system is essentially running off grid now, and has been since the middle to end of february, pretty much every day without fail, just with the odd bit of import for things like kettle and oven, to cover above the 1.8kW if the Solar isn't generating enough at the time, which is getting an ever smaller occurence.
     

     
    So the graph above is from March, with the Red bits on the top graph being the bits of import. The bit at the top showing 22kWh import, the majority of this was during the early february days after install when solar PV wasn't doing an awful lot. As you can see I'm still exporting ample amounts to the grid also, not that it would make any difference at this stage. Until I get the full years amount, its almost impossible to say how much this will have reduced by.
     
     
     
    Today I've done a load of washing and then dried it in the heat pump dryer, and following that I ran the oven on its Pyro clean cycle, and come tea time, i'll be fully charged again and ready for the evening (Thai Curry if you were wondering!).
     

     
    This one I'm keeping an eye on, obviously we know that these inverters will never be 100% efficient, but from those figures i've sent 177kWh to the battery, and only been able to get 124kWh back out again. Some of this will be down to the BMS consuming power to keep the battery healthy. So the inverter is 94.0% efficient at charging (100kWh sent to the battery will yield 94kWh of charge in the battery), and 94.5% efficient at discharging (1kWh being discharged from the battery will yield 945Wh). Please correct me if my maths is off! Entirely possible as I've got the plague at the moment!
     
    For how much its changed my import amounts, another tricky one which will have to wait for the end of this month, or maybe even next. I didn't get the smart meter installed til the end of March last year, but as a comparison:
     
    March 2021 (18th to 31st) - Imported 46.9kWh
    March 2022 (1st to 31st) - Imported 48.3kWh
     
    And this will drop further with the firmware upgrade.
     
    Will keep you posted in another couple of months time!
     
  12. MikeGrahamT21

    Another section of External Wall Insulation Completed

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    External Wall Insulation
    Forgot i'd done this for some reason 😂
     
    Been a long time coming, but finally decided to get on with it, heres a few before and after and during pics, I did use wall anchors too but for some reason didn't bother taking a photo at that point.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    Pleased with how it came out, not only looks better than before with the conduit for the wire which is now buried, but should also save some £££.
     
    The plinth insulation will get rendered at some point in the future in black, but the tubs are of a size where i kind of need to be able to do all my sections at once.
  13. MikeGrahamT21

    Extension completed on the outside

    By MikeGrahamT21,


    Side Extension
    What a journey that was, lying builder and a few no show days caused the finish date to slip, and following a 2month delayed start, but I got there in the end!! Good things come to those who wait eh.
     
    So the outside shell of the building is now completed, and yesterday I started work on the inside.
     

     
    The lean-to roof was extremely close, but just squeezed it in with a slight pitch modification. This leaves me with essentially 3 sections of wall to clad: Near side will get done with EWI and brick slips, and the flue will get extended through the EWI, far side will get EWI and brick slips right up to the soffit, and that will leave a triangle with 1 missing corner above the extension. This will get clad with timber, and insulated to match the EWI spec. The EWI will likely get done first, the timber later.
     

     
    Downpipe is to be fitted yet, and will temporarily get routed down the soil stack. I'm going to get several large water storage tanks, but as you can probably see i've got a mountain of block paving to shift first!!
     

     
    Really pleased with my size choice for the windows, had worried they weren't going to be big enough, but think they are spot on!
     

     
    First day of me on the job, got the first layer of insulation in, 100mm PIR. Need to hit it with the expanding foam, there is then a further 50mm to go on top of this, and then 25mm under the rafters, before the plasterboard.
     
    Hoping the new Windows for the front of this and also an upgrade for the kitchen to triple glazed will be coming tomorrow, and planning on fitting this bank holiday weekend if they do.
     
    Other developments:
    I also made the decision to invest in another battery, a further US3000C module to take me to around 6.6kWh of usable, and unlock the full 3kW output of the inverter, and given the current outlook to import pricing, I think i made the right choice.
     

     
    Very pleased with how the battery system is performing even how it is currently with only a single module.

  14. MikeGrahamT21
    So after 2 years since the planning permission was granted, and a 2month delay from the builders I'm finally underway on what will be the last major building work on this bungalow.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Having real trouble finding a joiner who's available to do the roof, so I may end up having to do that myself. The one bit i'm unsure on having never done a lean-to roof before, the wood plate which goes on the wall, is it fixed using thunderbolts?
     
  15. MikeGrahamT21
    After pondering battery storage for many years, and then the energy prices rocketing this last year, i finally decided to give energy storage a shot, working out how it would sit financially was extremely difficult, and a little bit of a finger in the wind, but as the batteries have a designed lifetime of 15years now, and energy prices rarely go down, I figured it would pay for itself with some profit over the long term, whilst also reducing my carbon emissions and reliance on the grid.
     
    As i'm just dipping my toe in, i've decided to just get a single US3000C Pylontech Battery for now, meaning that the max discharge W is around 1.8kW. I will see how this fits in, which will cover most of my loads, and if I see fit I can add a US2000C later on to give the full 3kW discharge. Went for a Solis AC Coupled 5th Generation Inverter, the graphs it produces are really informative.
     

     
    Will get round to taking the rackmount bits off at some point.
     
    Example of the graphs available:

     
    I will add bits to this thread over time about electric consumption. My annual consumption at the moment is looking to be around 1200-1300kWh before the battery, Export sitting around 2400kWh as excess from the solar farm, so be interesting to see what these figures do over the next 12 months.
     
    Cost so far £2450 including installation which was £650. An additional US2000C will be £748 if i decide to go ahead.
  16. MikeGrahamT21
    So, as promised, here are the plans I drew up for submission to the local council, which these days are subject to strict criteria which last time I managed to 'wing'. So the plans all have to be drawn to an approved scale, here is 1:50 at A0. Also required is a Location Plan at 1:1250 and a Block Plan at 1:500, which last time I submitted plans I used the land registry document, but you aren't allowed to do that and have to buy them in, so that added about £25 to the cost. £206 for planning permission and then a further £30 service charge for using the central planning portal (which you can't usually avoid as the council don't accept them any other way).
     
    Side Extension Drawing.pdf
     
    So the waiting now begins to see whether they pass straight through, or not.
     
    Whilst I'm waiting for this, I'll get the additions and technical details put on these drawings for Building Control approval...and I've got a new Kitchen to install into the new Kitchen extension (which isn't really new anymore, its 10years old!) ready so I can remove and re-route the external drainage pipes to make way for the foundations to do in for the extension.
     
  17. MikeGrahamT21
    Wow that took me a long time, what a difference a year makes!
     
    I did always know that it was going to be a difficult room to do, and also the largest in the bungalow, but I have reached completion, apart from the carpet which is on order.
     
    So firstly there was the repair to the area under the window, which needed the brickwork rebuilding and then replastering...

     

     
    Next I started work on the acoustic wall, comprising of a metal framing system filled with Ultrawool, sheeps wool insulation, and topped with a soundblock 12.5mm board, no photos of the wool, as it was a bit of a battle to keep it in place ?
     

     

     

     

     

     
    After all the planning, the old chimney breast for my media kit was looking rather tight, but luckily tape measure didn't let me down!
     

     
    All painted up...

     

     

     
    Gypsum cladding installed, alcoves painted, and TV installed...

     
    And finally, window reveal and window board painted (window board at the moment is just the ply holding the bow window up, as at some point (maybe next year) this window is being replaced with a 3G flat window, so this will be removed), curtain pole and radiator reinstalled...

     
    Will put a final photo up once carpet is in and all furniture is back. What a push all that was!!
     
     
  18. MikeGrahamT21
    Having not had the best of years health wise this year, which has unfortunately made the decision for me that someone else will have to build the side extension, i thought i'd get a bit more work done, but rather than the norm of a room taking me 3 days tops, i've spent weeks on this one, slowly picking it apart and now putting it back together (admittedly it is the biggest area of the bungalow). This is the last room which needed everything out, so I can finally say goodbye to woodwormed timbers (and this one didn't disappoint).
     
    This one was quite a bigger task than some others, as I've reopened the chimney breast, which I'm going to board out and put my AV receiving, and bluray/tv box, and in a few weeks when i've had a rest, i've got an acoustic partition to install which will cut sound down between mine and my next door neighbour.
     
    Heres how far i've got up to now...
     

     
    This was a before after i'd taken the fireplace out (to be relocated into the to be built dining room) and opened up the chimney breast
     

     
    Discovered a LOT of soot, one of the owners must have had a coal open fire at some point, so cleared as much off as I could and washed it all down. Will put a tube from under the floor into the chimney stack to provide a ventilation source, chimney pot is capped, but has ventilation built in.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    This room is probably the worst for rubbish out of them all, so a good clean out...
     

     

     
    Quick re-wire, and new joists in place...
     

     

     
    Base layer 20mm insulation...
     

     
    And topped up...
     

     

     
    The top layer was re-used from what was down, hence it being a bit worse for wear, but the 20mm layer is well sealed below. Some of the bits have popped back up a little from when i foamed them, but i couldn't move at this point my back had totally gone, so will sort it out when i do the next stage.
     
    Next to do is airtight membrane, and then the chipboard back down which was taken up. The floor in the chimney area will be formed when i've done the main floor, life without a TV is slightly boring lol! So yeah more to follow when i can actually move again and do the work 
     
  19. MikeGrahamT21

    Kitchen Completed

    By MikeGrahamT21,

    So finally got round to finishing all the decorating over the Christmas break! The front window will be getting swapped for triple glazing at some point, but other than that and a tiny bit of skirting board its complete.
     

     

     

     

     

     
  20. MikeGrahamT21

    MVHR!!

    By MikeGrahamT21,

    Sad I know, but really excited for my bargain MVHR unit to turn up today. Given it a quick test, and all is OK, will be a while before I get everything else sorted out, but hoping to have it all installed before the winter comes this year.
     

     
    Don't think it was too bad for £420, and I had £25 in vouchers to use from Nectar points!
     
    Its getting installed in a cupboard in the new dining room, and then all the pipe work and manifolds will be in the loft space of the bungalow.
  21. MikeGrahamT21
    Bit back to front this, will take some photos of first half when I’ve done this bit, at minute it’s chockablock with kingspan boards.
     
    ive turfed all of the insulation out, binned the very old collapsed stuff, shook all the crap off the remainder, hoovered everything.
     
    at the minute I’m just working on uncovering the rather dangerous looking electrics, but putting kingspan boards in where I can just to get them done and out the way.
     
    this is one for the electricians out there, a before shot, how this hasn’t gone up in flames I’ll never know!
     

     
    the majority of that isn’t in use anymore since moving the kitchen, so it just all needs tracing and disconnecting, at which point I’m getting an electrician in to redo the lighting for the dining room, and it should look a hell of a lot emptier and a lot safer.
     
    pics to follow in coming weeks
  22. MikeGrahamT21
    Wasn't going to post this one, as in the grand scheme of things its fairly regular and a bit boring, but there is a few interesting points which may be of use to others...
     
    The photos are panoramic, don't worry the floor isn't bent! ?

    This was a before photo once all the fitted furniture was removed
     

    Everything stripped out, and underfloor fully cleaned and hoovered
     

    New timber put in which has been post-delivery treated (bloody builders merchants delivered wrong stuff and then couldn't get hold of them to complain!). All plug sockets also rewired.
     

    Majority of insulation in, and foamed with flexible FM330 foam.
     

    Airtight membrane and floorboards installed. Perimeter plastered to cover where the skirting board pulled old plaster off during removal.
     

    Everything decorated, and curtain rail reinstalled.
     

    Job complete!
     

    And the reason behind stripped all of this out!
     

    A couple of days later I found this crawling up the fridge unit in the kitchen!! Pretty sure its an adult woodworm beetle.
  23. MikeGrahamT21
    So now the new kitchen is in, it was time to renovate the room which was the old kitchen in to the first part of the dining room (I say first part, as the second part is going to be in an extension which i'm hoping to build next year).
     


     

     
    And then the real messy work begins
     

     

     
    This is the house that keeps on giving! Found two redundant (but live) gas pipes buried in the plaster on the wall I knew nothing about, to go with the other two which have been made redundant over the years (1 for back boiler and 1 for hob). Plumber is coming this afternoon to service the boiler and put a brand new gas pipe in direct to the boiler which will get rid of all of these.
     
    There was also a really ancient plug socket which was mounted in the skirting board, I always thought it was dead, but no, its live, and part of the ring main. Well, I say ring main, it would be a ring if another cable I found was actually connected... Picked it up, could see it had some fabric tape wrapped round it, and it just fell apart in my hands. Stuck some Wago's on just to protect it, and when i turned electric back on, both sides were showing as live, so they need reconnecting at some point, but will go into a new plug socket on the back wall.
     
    Once the remaining 3 joists are out, i've got a new wall to build to support the new joists, and I also need to relocate the water meter, next to the old cupboard, which is going to be made bigger to house that, and the MVHR unit.
     
    The old joists were very bad as predicted, and full of flight holes from the dreaded woodworm, so another room ridded, and I've fully vacuumed under the floor as thoroughly as I could. New joists have come without treatment (despite me paying for treated wood!! Builders merchant won't reply to me since querying it!) so I've bought some treatment which I will paint on before putting the insulation in. Hoping to have the floor down by end of next weekend, just praying that the main stop tap at the end of the driveway will move, it has been moved by Yorkshire water in the last 10 years so I have hope. Won't be able to completely finish the floor til Yorkshire Water have been to inspect the meter, which hopefully won't take too long.

  24. MikeGrahamT21
    So this one has been 10 years in the making, which is when I originally built this extension, and not long after i'd built it, the outdoor bunny became an indoor bunny! So the glorified rabbit hutch has now become the kitchen it was intended to be. Worktops just been installed. Will crack on with tap, dishwasher, hob, and oven later this week. Really pleased with it all, just need to choose some paint, but will sort that in the autumn, as I've got the old kitchen to rip out and the room to bare brick, and floor to replace first!
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
  25. MikeGrahamT21

    And it begins!

    By MikeGrahamT21,

    After years of less extreme renovation, i've decided to get back on the waggon and build the third extension on the bungalow where I live. The last few years have been really tough, some of you will know that my wife has been seriously ill, and that eventually led to her death last June, for a good while doing anything more to the house just seemed pointless, but I see it as a way to focus my energy on something positive.
     
    After many years of having in mind to install EWI on the gable end of the bungalow, i decided to think of other things I could do, to perhaps give more than just a warm wall. I calculated roughly how much the EWI was projected to cost (around £2500), and then calculated how much a small extension would cost (around £7000), and it instantly made sense to me that I should go down this route, whilst I will still need small areas of EWI, they will be very small compared to what might otherwise have been.
     
    I've done a rough 'fag packet' drawing at the moment, just to have a think about different things:

     
    So the intention is to make a larger dining room, and bathroom, and creating a courtyard infront of the utility for things like bins, water storage, and the inevitable ASHP equipment, which will keep it all out of sight. Making use of the already ample openings, will save any major structural work, however the roof timbers on the extension (which is going to be a mono-pitch lean-to style roof) will likely have to sit on a steel lintel, as the bathroom window opening has no lintel on the outside brick layer, the dining room opening has an angle iron, but who knows if its strong enough to hold a load of concrete tiles and a triple glazed roof window, I will be putting all this through a structural engineer to get a final decision on this. Having the side extension also fulfils another thing which is to prevent overheating. That side of the house faces south, but in winter doesn't get hardly any sun as its shielded by the house next door, so having the side extension with only roof windows facing south (which can be covered with awnings), should prevent a lot of overheating which was become very common on the hotter days.
     
    Construction is going to be block and brick cavity, but going with Xtratherm CT/PIR full fill PIR insulation in order to achieve sub 0.16U on the walls, and this is a true self build, as per my other extensions, even the foundations i'll be digging by hand, as where its situated is where all of the foul water drains are, which all need unpicking and re-routing, about time I had some exercise! lol. Going with a large roof window in dining room, and a small one in bathroom, with large window in dining facing to the left hand side (which is the road side), and no further windows in the bathroom, unless planning say i've got to, roof window should give enough light in there.
     
    As I've already used my 1 free pass for permitted development, this one requires planning permission, so my next task is to draw up some plans, and submit them at some point this year, QCAD being my tool of choice. I used to use draftsight, which I was hoping to do again, and just build on what I had, but turns out they've revoked the free version, and the files it generates don't open in anything else annoyingly, so its a start from scratch job!
     
    Would love to hear any opinions on if you would do anything differently, always like considering different ideas. Will post the plans for both planning and building control when completed, to show an idea of what is required to get approval (which may take several goes, its been a few years since i've done any plans!)
×
×
  • Create New...