Engineered oak flooring found

Justin has found a bargain on Gumtree - someone selling brand new engineered oak flooring which is brand new, just surplus to requirements. We had almost decided to go for the B&Q Calando laminate flooring which was lovely but then Justin spotted the advert on Gumtree. The lady was selling nearly 18 Sq m for £450 but we negotiated and are paying £370, so it works out at approximately £15 per Sq m whereas the laminate was £12 per Sq m so we get a much better product for only slightly more money. The engineered oak we have got is 18mm of ply with a 5mm oak top which again is far thicker than some on the market.

Zinc roof finishing off

Today is Friday and Elite Lead arrived early to start work. All that is left to do is finish off the eaves, gable ends and put the ridge on.

Zinc roof work continues

Today the weather was set to be dry until lunchtime, so again Dale and his chaps arrived early to make the most of it.  The forecast was spot on and by about 1.30pm it was getting too wet to continue. Dale will be back on Thursday as Wednesday looks awful. They managed to get a lot done today though - the roof windows have been fully fitted around and the flashing kits put on plus the front of the roof was covered in zinc - understandably a much faster job! All that is left to do is put the G3 ridge on and finish the gable ends and eaves.  Without the ridge, we are still not watertight but the weather looks dry on Thursday.

Week Twenty Five - work continues on roof

We have a reasonable weather window early in the week so Elite Lead arrived Monday morning early to make the most of it. They carried on with the rear part which will take much longer due to the windows.

Roof started!

Today Dale and Shaun from Elite Lead arrived to start work on the roof. It was a dry day and relatively mild so ideal for laying zinc. Dan was here early having a tidy up too. Elite Lead worked on the back of the roof making a start fitting around he roof windows.

Week Twenty Four - date set for zinc roof

The zinc roof is going to be put on this weekend.  I cannot wait! The weather has been on our side and although currently cold, it is dry and warmer this coming weekend so perfect conditions.

Rooflite windows going in

The far side of the roof was boarded today and holes were cut in preparation for the Rooflite Nito windows. Dan is planning on coming back tomorrow  (Saturday) to actually get them in. The weather has been cold but dry so he is keen to get this part of the work done whilst he can.

Progress so far...

I thought it would be a good idea to have a look back at the progress since the project started!

18th August 2015

16th November 2015

1st December 2015

14th January 2016

Flooring thoughts...

We have decided to go for an oak effect laminate flooring for the ground floor level of the shed.  The oak floorboards used for the mezzanine are beautiful but are probably too expensive to use throughout the building but I will check on a price with Daniel.  I had a look at Wickes and B&Q laminate and was actually quite impressed with a couple of samples I saw.  Some are as cheap as £7.79 per m2. We will need 15 square metres so it will relatively cheap.

Options looked at so far:

B&Q



Collaris Harlech Oak Effect Laminate Flooring (Pack size 1.9 m²). £13 per sq m

Homebase:



Home of Style Bala Oak Laminate Flooring (Pack size 2.39 sq m). Half price at £7 per sq m



Home of Style Horsham Oak Laminate Flooring (Pack size 2.39 sq m) Half price at £7 per sq m.

 

Wickes:



Wickes Venezia Oak Laminate Flooring (Pack size 1.48 sq m) £17.99 per sq m

I was quite impressed with one of the B&Q ones when I saw it in store but as yet have not looked at the Homebase ones. These at the moment look the best in terms of price and looks, but I will investigate!



Decision made on mezzanine balustrade

I have found a website which sells everything I need for the mezzanine balustrade which was a great find. I found the company through looking for the 10mm glass clamps I need to hold the glass panels in place on Ebay. The company specialise in balustrades, handrails and balconies and seem very keenly priced. They offer a bespoke glass cutting service too and when I sent an email enquiry asking for a quotation, they came back to me within the hour with a price of  £85 for two panels measuring 600mm high by 900mm wide.

 

I plan to have the 10mm glass panels held in place with these stainless steel clamps:

 

Stainless steel glass clamp

Dan is going to put in newel posts which will be cut from left over oak from the frame. 

 

We are also planning to have a firemans pole drop which will be a bit of fun for the children and will probably be a lot easier to use to get down from the mezzanine rather than reversing back down the ladder!

 

10mm toughened glass

90 degree elbow joint for firemans pole drop

42mm stainless steel handrail to be used for pole drop

Wall rose flange to fix firemans pole to floor and ceiling



 

Zinc roof potentially going on at the end of next week!

I spoke to Dale at Elite Lead today to let him know that the roof preparation needed in advance of his work is now underway and we should be ready for him to fit the roof by the end of next week. Providing the weather is on our side he is hoping to come Thursday next week and work into the weekend. I cannot wait for this to happen as until the building is properly roofed, none of the finishing off internally can be done.

 

Left to do internally:

1) Insulate roof
2) Insulate walls
3) Plasterboard throughout
4) Panel out storage area underneath mezzanine
5) Second fix electrics plus install LED strip lighting
6) Install glass panel and oak balustrade

 

That will complete the work that Daniel has quoted for so any additional work that I need to budget for will include:

 

1) Putting self-levelling compound down onto the floor

2) Fitting flooring (we are looking at an oak effect laminate at present)

3) Fitting in new kitchen units around tumble dryer and freezer

4) Getting walls and ceiling plastered

5) Fitting blackout blinds to Rooflite windows

6) Painting door and window externally (colour still not decided)

Wall repairs complete

The wall between Laura and our other neighbour was repaired and looks fantastic

Week Twenty three - roof layers going on

Today was cold but beautifully clear and the forecast is good for tomorrow too so Dan made the decision to take the front part of the temporary roof off and put the boarding down in readiness for the zinc roof. Dan has chosen spruce boarding which is one of the compatible wood types for zinc. Dan and Jack fitted a fine insect mesh underneath the 50mm vertical struts which the spruce boarding will sit on and this will prevent any birds or insects getting access into the roof as it needs to be open to provide ventilation.