So we've got another hiatus which is entirely our fault.
We needed to purchase the Beco insulated concrete forms before concreting the floor. This is because the first few layers need to go down and be filled with waterproof concrete.
We were waiting for my redundancy money to come through as Beco require full payment for orders under 10k. There was also a 4 week lead time so hence the waiting!
In the meantime, we have been to the Swindon Self Build show to have a look around.
Whilst there, we got a chance to see a full demonstration of how the Beco product works and speak to them. It's very easy - even I can do it! As part of the price they also come to site and give full training.
Andy has decided he wants to bring the roof height in the extensions down so it's not as imposing on the original roof. We were going to be taking about 8 layers of tile off the original roof and that would have been a shame as the roof is one the best parts of the building.
By taking a layer of Beco away, this meant our roof height in the living room, bedroom 2 and bathroom was going to be about 2 metres.
Andy was desperately trying to persuade me to get a roof lantern put into the living room to make up for the reduction in height, and add more light (most of the windows on that room will be north facing).
I wasn't convinced as I also thought they would be expensive. Whilst at the show, we went to take a look at them.
For those who don't know what they look like, here is an example:
As you can see from the pictures, you get extra head height because of the window poking up, and the ceiling/roof part that is otherwise concealed with insulation and rafters.
They are also actually not too expensive! The sizes we want were about 1500 each (that's not that expensive - honest!).
So he persuaded me! For symmetry reasons, we also want to put one in the master bedroom, even though there isn't a head height issue there (the room is dug down). You can get blackout blinds for them so that will be ok.
The other thing we have decided to change is the way some of the internal doors work. Below is the floor plan:
The doors opening into bedroom 2 and the bathroom are an issue.
We want to put a sofa bed in bedroom 2 for guests, so when it's pulled out, you won't be able to open the door!
In the bathroom, the shower and bath will be in a different position and the door will hit the bath.
Having them open out into the hall will look rubbish and just be a pain.
So we thought the only other alternative would be a sliding door.
I had a quick Google and came across these lovely looking doors:
They're hung from the top and you can get them curved which is perfect! I also like how industrial they look. It's another nod to the origin of the building (A pump house).
The other thing I've been doing is designing the bathroom. We need to buy our bath soon and build the walls around it as it will be too tight to go around the corner to the hall and through the door.
So basically I need to work out where everything is going to go in preparation for this.
We downloaded a free program called Sweet Home 3D which lets you create 3d buildings/rooms and place furniture and decorate. Think the Sims house build mode! I won't spoil the surprise by showing you what it's going to look like, but I will show you the picture that gave me some inspiration!
So...fairly uneventful update! Next one we should hopefully have some walls! Or at the very least some walls and floors!
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