Just a quick post tonight to let everyone know that we got through our final building control inspection today so we have now reached a very significant milestone in the build and there won't be too many more postings to the blog in the future.
We will be working on tidying things up a bit this coming week and doing a bit more decorating to get things feeling abit more home like. We also have our things coming out from storage on Tuesday which will make things feel even more home like.
Will post some pictures when we get back to Copenhagen to show everyone how things have turned out
Friday, 11 October 2013
Friday, 20 September 2013
Utility room units installed
Catching up from some work completed a couple of weeks ago here when I was back in Aberdeen for Offshore Europe and extended that into a weekend work trip.
The main thing on my agenda was installing the utility room units and work surfaces. I was also meant to install the sink but ran into a problem with that. In addition to the utility room I also finished off building the log store, installed the solar tube in the family bathroom and fitted the remainder of the gas line from the cylinders to the house.
The joiners had basically finished installing the handles to the doors and had made good progress on installing skirting board. they have had some issues with cupping of the wood for door stops so these are cut but are resting before being planned flat and then installed
Heidi is currently over at the house painting, wax oiling and installing a new sink unit (with the help of dad) and taping and filling in the garage - next update when she is back with some pictures. As long as we can get the plasterer to turn up again we are stilling looking good to be done by the end of September and have our final inspection completed mid October when we are back as a family.
The main thing on my agenda was installing the utility room units and work surfaces. I was also meant to install the sink but ran into a problem with that. In addition to the utility room I also finished off building the log store, installed the solar tube in the family bathroom and fitted the remainder of the gas line from the cylinders to the house.
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| Utility room units looking towards the pend |
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| Utility room looking towards the kitchen |
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| Log store |
Heidi is currently over at the house painting, wax oiling and installing a new sink unit (with the help of dad) and taping and filling in the garage - next update when she is back with some pictures. As long as we can get the plasterer to turn up again we are stilling looking good to be done by the end of September and have our final inspection completed mid October when we are back as a family.
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Doors
Back from another long weekend of work on the house and things are progressing nicely towards having the house finished in early September before we move onto finishing the garage.
It was a mixed work scope over the weekend. Installing the large family bath one day (along with new bath taps), master en-suite mirror, electrics in the boiler room and gas line (yes I had some help that day from mum & dad!), putting in insulation in the garage the next and then some carpentry with dwangs, stud walls and plywood areas for mounting sockets and central vacuum units and also on the log store.
The internal doors have also been going up and there are now about half of them hung. The remainder should go in this week and then its handle to be fitted, door stop and then onto the skirting and architrave. The only other large outstanding job in the house is then fitting the utility room units and works surfaces
It was a mixed work scope over the weekend. Installing the large family bath one day (along with new bath taps), master en-suite mirror, electrics in the boiler room and gas line (yes I had some help that day from mum & dad!), putting in insulation in the garage the next and then some carpentry with dwangs, stud walls and plywood areas for mounting sockets and central vacuum units and also on the log store.
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| Family Bath |
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| Master en-suite mirror & vanity |
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| Gas cylinders |
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| Garage stair cupboard first wall goes in |
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| Log store |
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| Dining Room doors |
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| Master Bedroom door |
Monday, 12 August 2013
Stairs complete
Well we are back from another intensive week of work at the house again and things are definitely starting to come together now.
The two most obvious changes to what I had seen 3 weeks previously was the installation of the stair being complete. The glass balustrade was installed and the LED lights in the underside of the tread bull noses were working. The overall effect with the low iron content glass balustarde has definitely been to maintain the openness of the hall area.
The oak flooring was down in most the areas on the first floor and Heidi got busy hard wax oiling these floors to start with along with the stair. Although it is a clear finish the wax oil does give a darker finish to the wood but it all looks very good still. The downstairs rooms were finished while we were there so these got their two coats of wax oil as well.
Heidi was also busy with the painting working away on the hall, recreation room and guest ensuite. She was assisted here by Evelyn when the children were delivered back up the road after a few days at nana and grandad's.
With internet now operational at the house the iPads were out in force keeping the boys entertained when they were on site
While Heidi was busy with various brushes and rollers I was back on plumbing duty working away on the bathrooms grovelling under bath frames and chasing leaking towel rails around the house. The end result of this is that the master ensuite bath is now installed as is the family bathroom shower ensclosure (complete with large glass spalsh back panels) and the powder room is hooked up and functional. One problem we did have was with the deck mounted bath taps in the family bathroom that had a leaking diverter valve. this meant that the bath couldn't be installed and a lesson was learnt. You get what you pay for - these had been a cheaper tap set and you could tell the quality wasn't as good as the Vado set we had for the master ensuite but had cost twice as much. A new tap set from a more reputatble brand has now been sourced.
Plumbing works also included running water pipes out to the garage for the sink out there and the outside taps. This water is coming from the rain water harvesting system so that also meant commissioning that system. All this was sucessful and all toilets now have water to the cisterns.
After getting as far as possible with the plumbing attention turned to the garage wiring, insulation and getting a couple of sheets of plaster board up for the data company to get the last sockets up and speakers in. With help from dad I got the wiring pulled - our electricans are happy for us to do that as they will check things during second fix. Insulation works were progresed with the ground floor being finished and gable ends upstairs being filled in. Still some work to go here before its ready to board but getting close.
When some better weather appeared at the end of the week I took the oppertunity with mum and dad being around to get the foundations and corner posts for the log store set. Its much easier doing this type of work with two sets of hands to hold things vertical and square. While I had the cement and sand out I also set the slabs for the gas cyclinders to sit on.
Looking back on things it was a very varied week of work and a number of items were ticked off the to do list. You would think the house would be starting to empty of materials now but we still seem to be getting as much coming in. We are looking forward to the day very soom when we can remove all the protective covers from the floors, bathrooms and kitchen and really see everything in its full glory.
This week sees the start of the door framing and hanging work and it's going to be very exciting to see things at the weekend as I tie another work weekend in with a business trip to Aberdeen. All things going to plan this will be one of the last two such trips. The train is fast approaching sown the tunnels and its probably just as well as it get harder all the time to keep the motivation and energy levels going as we progress to completion. The journey hasn't been excessivesly long but its been tough managing it from afar and also doing so much of the work myself but I am looking forward to planning something other than the next work weekend!
The two most obvious changes to what I had seen 3 weeks previously was the installation of the stair being complete. The glass balustrade was installed and the LED lights in the underside of the tread bull noses were working. The overall effect with the low iron content glass balustarde has definitely been to maintain the openness of the hall area.
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| Balcony & stair from Ewan's bedroom |
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| Stair from balcony |
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| View from hall to Fraser's bedroom |
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| Stair from dining room |
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| Balcony from Fraser's bedroom |
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| Lounge |
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| Master bedroom |
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| Recreation room |
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| Fraser's bedroom |
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| Ewan's bedroom |
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| Dining room - freshly oiled! |
Heidi was also busy with the painting working away on the hall, recreation room and guest ensuite. She was assisted here by Evelyn when the children were delivered back up the road after a few days at nana and grandad's.
With internet now operational at the house the iPads were out in force keeping the boys entertained when they were on site
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| Entertainment central |
While Heidi was busy with various brushes and rollers I was back on plumbing duty working away on the bathrooms grovelling under bath frames and chasing leaking towel rails around the house. The end result of this is that the master ensuite bath is now installed as is the family bathroom shower ensclosure (complete with large glass spalsh back panels) and the powder room is hooked up and functional. One problem we did have was with the deck mounted bath taps in the family bathroom that had a leaking diverter valve. this meant that the bath couldn't be installed and a lesson was learnt. You get what you pay for - these had been a cheaper tap set and you could tell the quality wasn't as good as the Vado set we had for the master ensuite but had cost twice as much. A new tap set from a more reputatble brand has now been sourced.
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| Powder room |
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| Family bathroom toilet |
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| Family bathroom shower |
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| Guest en-suite |
After getting as far as possible with the plumbing attention turned to the garage wiring, insulation and getting a couple of sheets of plaster board up for the data company to get the last sockets up and speakers in. With help from dad I got the wiring pulled - our electricans are happy for us to do that as they will check things during second fix. Insulation works were progresed with the ground floor being finished and gable ends upstairs being filled in. Still some work to go here before its ready to board but getting close.
When some better weather appeared at the end of the week I took the oppertunity with mum and dad being around to get the foundations and corner posts for the log store set. Its much easier doing this type of work with two sets of hands to hold things vertical and square. While I had the cement and sand out I also set the slabs for the gas cyclinders to sit on.
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| Back of garage with start of log store hiding by the trees |
Looking back on things it was a very varied week of work and a number of items were ticked off the to do list. You would think the house would be starting to empty of materials now but we still seem to be getting as much coming in. We are looking forward to the day very soom when we can remove all the protective covers from the floors, bathrooms and kitchen and really see everything in its full glory.
This week sees the start of the door framing and hanging work and it's going to be very exciting to see things at the weekend as I tie another work weekend in with a business trip to Aberdeen. All things going to plan this will be one of the last two such trips. The train is fast approaching sown the tunnels and its probably just as well as it get harder all the time to keep the motivation and energy levels going as we progress to completion. The journey hasn't been excessivesly long but its been tough managing it from afar and also doing so much of the work myself but I am looking forward to planning something other than the next work weekend!
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| The boys "fishing"! |
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| Add caption |
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| The football pitch! |
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Bathroom second fix under way
Lots to report this post (well lots of pictures anyway) after a week of hard work. Having left the family in South Carolina with Heidi's parents I (Tor) had a full week with my dad working on bathrooms and finishing off the kitchen. With 5 bathrooms to do (including the powder room) there was a lot to get through especially the rooms with baths and showers. Good progress was made however although not one room is finished yet due to various small issues or needing additional parts to hook everything up. This is of course somewhat disappointing as it just adds to the feeling that everything is half done but there is lots to be happy with and all the rooms are looking great.
On Friday we had the wooden table and glass splash backs installed in the kitchen and after 5 days in the bathrooms I took a break on day 6 and finished the plumbing in the kitchen. This room is now complete :) and looks great. The ruby red splash backs really add an extra dimension to the room and the wooden "egg" table doesn't take up as much room as I had though it would. There is still plenty of room and a good flow around that end of the island.
On day 7 - no I didn't create the earth! - there was more work in the bathrooms and a distraction of installing the solar tube in the powder room. This works very well indeed giving a good amount of light in this room without any windows.
We will be back as a family in only a couple weeks time again for another big push to get things finished off and move that bit closer to completion.
This week the joiners are back in laying the oak flooring so the house will look a lot different when we are back
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| Master en-suite toilet and shower |
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| Family vanity and towel rail |
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| Powder room (artificial light) |
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| Shower room towel rail |
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| Shower room shower screen |
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| Master en-suite vanity |
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| Guest en-suite shower & basin |
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| Kitchen "egg" table |
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| Kitchen from dining room |
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| Powder room under natural light |
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| How the light gets there |
We will be back as a family in only a couple weeks time again for another big push to get things finished off and move that bit closer to completion.
This week the joiners are back in laying the oak flooring so the house will look a lot different when we are back
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Granite Counters Installed
Just back from a busy 4 days onsite. Over the weekend Tor & Bill worked away on the rain water harvesting (RWH) system, MVHR system and UFH system on Saturday & Sunday.
This included wiring up the submersible pump in the RWH tank that will supply water to the toilets and the pump controller along with a bit of dangling upside down in the top of the tank as well to hook up the pump.
On the MVHR system the remote control panel was wired in, the final valves installed, connections made to the unit and insulation installed on the exhaust and intake ducts.
For the UFH system two of the control centres were wired up and actuators installed on all four manifolds.
On Monday the MVHR system was commissioned with the flow rates to the various rooms being set and correct function of the booster switches and remote panel confirmed. While this was on going I worked on some of the plumbing in the master en-suite. The other big thing on Monday was the delivery of the oak flooring for the house. We rented in a forklift to offload the pallets from the lorry but it all had to be carried inside by hand. This took me all afternoon to do - well it was 690 boards ( or 4.5 MT/ 10,000 lbs) after all!. Before leaving that day I also leveled various floor areas in preparation for laying the floor. Phew, no wonder I was knackered that night!
Tuesday was only a bit quieter, but no much. early in the morning the granite counter tops arrived as did the electricians. After getting the sparkies started I helped move the large island granite top into place and checked on the installation in general. The granite tops look as good as we expected and the whole colour scheme work well.
After the counter tops were in I spent a couple of hours sorting out the fittings for the electricians and then got back to the master en-suite plumbing again. Still a bit more of this to do but I think I have broken the back of it now
This included wiring up the submersible pump in the RWH tank that will supply water to the toilets and the pump controller along with a bit of dangling upside down in the top of the tank as well to hook up the pump.
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| RWH pump controller |
For the UFH system two of the control centres were wired up and actuators installed on all four manifolds.
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| Utility room UFH controller |
Tuesday was only a bit quieter, but no much. early in the morning the granite counter tops arrived as did the electricians. After getting the sparkies started I helped move the large island granite top into place and checked on the installation in general. The granite tops look as good as we expected and the whole colour scheme work well.
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| Granite counter top being installed |
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| Installed counters on bow fronted units |
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| Whole kitchen |
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| Kitchen sink |
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| Island with drop down area |
After the counter tops were in I spent a couple of hours sorting out the fittings for the electricians and then got back to the master en-suite plumbing again. Still a bit more of this to do but I think I have broken the back of it now
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