1870 Victorian Rear extension and full renovation DIY

[TomK]

Hello fellow builders. 

I stumbled on this forum few weeks ago and decided to join and contribute where possible and get a bit of help on our project as well. 

Me and my partner have a big job our hands and hoping to start this summer with the following:

 

1) Full internal insulation to solid 9'' walls (breathable woodfibre boards) and lime plaster to all external walls.

2) Floorboards up, sheepwool and UFH in, boards back down, sand them level, treat with osmo

3) New Utility room on ground floor(new water/gas connection, boilers, valves, cylinders etc.) and a small wc under the stairs with awkward plumbing

4) Add family bathroom to first floor with necessary plumbing, new soil stack outside

5)And finally when the main house is more or less in order and we have the family bathroom plugged in down comes the existing old extension at the back(currently kitchen/bathroom) and gets replaced by a two story timber frame extension. End result should be an open plan kitchen/diner downstairs and master bedroom with en suite upstairs.

 

Our aim is to do as much as possible ourselves, including design and works themselves. Gas/EL I will leave for others, but groundworks and framing/roofing we should be able to get done ourselves with occasional helpers.

I've spent almost 20 years in the industry mostly surveying, less housing and more heavy civils, but have picked up few bits along the way and feel confident enough to have a go. I will consult as many people as I can along the way and if I get stuck we'll need to figure it out.
Fully aware of the size of the job and effort involved and can't think of a better way to spend the next few years(Hopefully less, but I work part time) and very excited to get started.
I've put together some ideas on sketches and would appreciate any thoughts/criticisms.

I intend to add more details in the coming weeks and get things up to BC standard soon. At the moment I've just been sketching up as I see it

The ground is chalk, no trial pit done yet, but a reasonable bet would be strip foundation on solid chalk as shown on section drawing.
The existing house is suspended timber floor so we decided to do our extension same to minimize settlement issues as much as possible and prefer wood where possible. 

All new structures will be timber frame built on site. There is no access for any kind of machinery, everything needs to be carried in and carried out so premade crane lifted stuff is not for us.

Stick frame built bit by bit in situ I think is the way to go. 

We have considered blockwork and for a while it was 50-50, but in the end I think I'm just more comfortable working with timber and thats tilted it for me

Anyway, enough of me rambling. Any thoughts greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

Tom

Edited June 21, 2021 by TomK
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[markc]

Good afternoon and welcome, looks like an interesting project.

[Mr Punter]

Hi Tom and welcome.

 

From the elevations it looks like you share 2nd floor windows with your neighbour?

 

I like the loo / utility.  I have done similar in the past and it works very well.

 

I would be tempted to have an insulated solid floor throughout the ground floor, and masonry walls for the extension.

[TomK]

Hi Punter,

Indeed we share a window!

One of the oddities, many others

 

That would involve getting the old joists out and pouring a slab on existing oversite? 
I did think about doing the Utility/kitchen/Diner all concrete floor, but that leaves the ground floor lounge without cross ventilation for existing joists there.  Am I too cautious?

I don't know if I want to go down the route of pulling all the joists out if they are in decent shape.

But certainly an option to consider if I get the floor up and realize half of them are no good?