The Forever Home: Extension News 1 {The First Month}

It’s been almost a year since we received the planning permission for the new extension to our home and even though we’re now four weeks into the build it still feels very surreal that it is actually happening.  We have spent so many hours planning, discussing, making decisions, it is really exciting to see things starting to actually happen.

We have always loved our house but with two growing boys and a fully open plan layout downstairs it was starting to feel that we were a little on top of each other.  The extension will bring us a large kitchen/dining/family space at the back of the house with bi-folding doors to the garden on the ground floor and will extend our bedroom on the first floor with the addition of a new balcony overlooking the back.

We are still weeks (hopefully not too many months) away from it being completed but let me fill you in on what has been going on.

Week 1

This is what we started with, a mostly unused conservatory that had become a dumping ground for anything there wasn’t space in the house for and a balcony off the bedroom that I was starting to question how safe it was to stand on.

And by the end of day one the conservatory had gone and the foundation digging had begun.

The rest of the week involved a lot of digging!

Week 2

The second week saw the initial steelworks being concreted into place (which later needed moving 5cm to the right!) and the beginnings of some walls.  I think it was at this point that we started to panic that it wasn’t going to be big enough which is silly because it  is really quite big but it is hard to get perspective on the space whilst it’s so unfinished.

Week 3

Week 3 brought a floor and bigger walls, making it start to feel like a real space.

 

Week 4

Week 4 brings us up to date and despite the best attempts by the weather to delay things we only lost a day.  In the past week we have gained more walls and a lot more of the steelwork has gone in to support the second layer of the extension.

The builders have been fantastic and are working at an impressive rate and whilst there may be a whole heap of mess outside the house (I think our neighbours must hate us) the inside of the house is mostly untouched which makes the day to day living with two little boys a whole lot simpler.

There is mess and only room for one car on the drive but it will all be worth it when we get to summer and are relaxing with a glass of wine, with the doors open watching the kids play.

Pop back in a couple of weeks and I’ll be sharing our designers images of what the finished look will be if your fancy a nosey, plus there’s lot of update on Instagram too including a few behind the scene shots of my stories.

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15 Comments

  1. March 7, 2018 / 6:57 am

    Extensions are my dream! I’m planning on buying any house and have one built! Haha! No, seriously, I bet you must be very keen on it being done. I can’t wait to see it finished myself! x

  2. Jess Soothill
    March 7, 2018 / 9:17 am

    Gosh it looks better already; as in, you can see how much more space you’ll get! Looks like a lot of disruption but oh wow it’ll be worth it 🙂 Can’t wait to see more! xx

  3. March 7, 2018 / 1:33 pm

    OHMYGOODNESS!! I am SO excited for you!! We have similar plans for our house — I’ve found an architect and we’ve been talking about trying to get planning consent but, as our house is Grade 2 listed, we’ve got a long, long way to go before we get to the stage where you’re now at. So excited to watch how things progress — can’t wait to see all your updates! Cx #HomeEtc

  4. March 7, 2018 / 3:11 pm

    Oh how very exciting, what an amazing space it shall be, those builders are working at a great pace xxx
    #homeetc

  5. March 7, 2018 / 4:31 pm

    I have been enjoying your updates on Instagram – it is so exciting. We too are falling over each in our house and having the discussions of should we move or try and extend. I am looking forward to seeing how you get on.

  6. March 8, 2018 / 9:41 am

    Oh wow this is going to look so incredible! It’s very exciting and I’m sure the mess will be worth it! #homeetc

  7. March 8, 2018 / 10:48 am

    We did this a few years back and it was the best thing we ever did!!! I’m so excited for you and can’t wait to see the next instalment xxx

  8. March 10, 2018 / 8:26 am

    Oh how exciting! It looks like there’s going to be loads more space once it’s all done. Impressive that so much progress has been made considering the rubbish weather recently too. Looking forward to the next instalment 🙂

  9. March 12, 2018 / 9:04 pm

    Ooh so fabulous and just what I needed to read! We’ve recently just got finance approval to remortgage which means we can finally get going with our groundfloor extension hopefully later this year. So excited to follow your progress X #HomeEtc

  10. March 13, 2018 / 8:15 pm

    Oh how exciting this must be. I always think the building site versions of rooms look tiny but when they are finished there is tons of room. I’m sure yours will be plenty big enough. #homeetc

  11. Jenny Taylor
    March 13, 2018 / 9:16 pm

    Oh how exciting. This will be me soon building upward in the roof/loft but I long for an extension out the back to give me more space and light. I can’t wait to see it finished. I bet you can’t either. hahahah So exciting. #wrc

  12. March 16, 2018 / 11:30 am

    Its really exciting to see how it will looks. I want to tell you, I am also getting a single story extension built and the builder has used breeze blocks outside and inside wall.
    He is quoting 17k.

  13. March 16, 2018 / 2:32 pm

    Oh the mess will totally be worth it! You might think it looks small when you just see the footprint but once it all goes up, it will feel HUGE. Trust me. Looks like it’s going to transform your house. xx

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