House Extensions

With the current economic downturn casting a gigantic dark shadow over us all, and with the current difficulty people are experiencing in selling their houses, home extensions are becoming an increasingly more appealing alternative to moving for those who need the extra room. The relaxation in regulations concerning the building of house extensions is another reason people are more inclined to go down this route. So what exactly is involved in building a bog standard house extension and what is the potential cost. The following,while only an approximation,will give a good idea of the costs involved

Item	Cost
Architects Planning Fee	£450
Council Planning Permission Fee	£150
Architects Building Regulations Fee	£350
Council Building Regulations Fee	£125
Council Inspection Fee	£260
RSJ Calculations	£80
Builders Cost	£23000
Inevitable extras	£2000
Total Cost	£26,415

When compared to the cost of moving and when all the expenses are taken into account it can make good economic sense to consider a house extension, especially for someone with a growing family. It can make even better sense to do it yourself and save even more money and this is a way of saving an absolute fortune while not having to worry about the possibility of ending up with "the builder from hell", as the responsibility will be entirely yours, and it may prove to be a stepping stone to a an even bigger future project when you may even decide to build your own home.... Just a thought........

Chimney Breast Removal

Chimney Breast Removal is something nearly every householder thinks about at one time or another. It has enormous advantages including making a room look larger and it also provides much needed free wall space for the insertion of a row of units or fitted wardrobes. Apart from being quite a messy job it is not that difficult to do and it is well worth the effort because of the benefits.The thing to remember is that gallows brackets have to be installed in the loft to support the stack.These are triangular steel supports which are bolted on to the wall on either side of the stack on top of which a wide steel plate or concrete lintel is placed to carry the weight of the upper stack. Prior to carrying out chimney breast removal you must always inform the local authorities and also the next door neighbour who shares the party wall with you.

During the chimney breast removal great care is needed because too much vibration could cause damage to the fixtures and fittings next door so a softly softly approach should be adopted. It is also advisable to hose down with water as the demolition of the breast is in progress so that dust is kept to a minimum. After the breast and hearth is removed the ceiling joists can be extended where the old trimmer used to be and the floorboards can be put in place and the ceiling areas can be plasterboarded ready for skimming. A couple of coats of unibond to the walls is neccessary here so that the render adheres to the brickwork.The skirting boards can now be fixed and also the coving and care should be taken here to ensure that a perfect match is achieved. The plaster should now be left to dry for about a week and it can then be decorated so that it seamlessly blends in with its surroundings.

How to lay bricks

Image by cwalker71 via FlickrLaying bricks is not as hard as you might think and with a little bit of practice you can be laying bricks like a professional in a very short time.The hardest part of laying bricks is getting the mortar bed right and even that is not very difficult anymore with a marvelous tool called" the bricky".This is a great little aid to laying the exact amount of mortar as a bed for the bricks. It comes in at under 30 pounds and if you want to do your own bricklaying this is ideal.
The first project you should undertake is a straightforward wall.Start off on a level surface and lay one row(known as a course) of bricks ensuring the bed joints and the perps(these are the mortar joints that go between bricks) are 10mm.
You can start at one end and introduce a half brick to obtain what is known as the bond.This is the arrangement of bricks
in a wall such that the end of each brick ends up half way in the brick of the previous course.This particular bond is known as stretcher bond and the other two most popular bonds are English Bond and Flemish Bond but the latter are mostly related to double skins of brickwork as opposed to stretcher bond which is single skin. Build up a corner on either end and ensure that the joints are exactly 10mm.When this is completed you can now run in the bricks in the middle using a string line as a guide to ensure that the tops are dead level. As the mortar is going off use a jointing iron to smooth finish the joints and use a very soft brush to clean the brickwork. Now just stand back and admire your handiwork.

How to lay brick pavers

Brick Pavers are very easy to lay and with a little bit of patience anybody can transform a grotty looking driveway into a thing of beauty, and as a famous poet said one time "A thing of beauty is a joy forever". Brick pavers comes in various sizes and colours and can be laid in various patterns such as "Basket weave" and " square herringbone" to name but two. They usually come in either 40x200mm 0r 50x200mm thicknesses .
Thorough preparation of the base is essential and usually 100mm of Type1 or crushed concrete is preferred, and this has to be well compacted with a Wacker Plate to ensure that it is well consolidated. A fall should be incorporated into the driveway at this point to ensure water run-off. A 50mm bed of sharp sand is laid on top and carefully screeded level. The first layer of pavers can now be set out in whatever pattern is preferred. At this stage it is best to ensure that the cuts leading into the edges will all be the same size to give it a uniform look.
When it comes to the cuts around the perimeter it is best to hire a block splitter or a table saw with a diamond tipped blade to ensure accurate cutting. When all the brick pavers are laid the joins should be filled with fine silica sand and then thoroughly compacted with the compacter plate.You should now have a driveway that is the envy of all your neighbours.