Grade II New Build With Basement

Finally, the new electric pole has been erected in the back garden of our existing cottage, after months of waiting for E-ON.  When they did arrive to do the job, it was in full force: we counted six vans in the village and lost count as to how many E-ON personnel – certainly over 15. The job is neat and our neighbours were not inconvenienced too much, but whether that warrants the thousands of pounds E-ON charges is dubious!

The external roof is now complete and the scaffolding removed leaving a house nicely proportioned to its surrounding neighbours. To avoid damage to the new roof tiles, the TV aerial has already been installed.  Internally, the roof insulation being packed in is impressive – both glass fibre and insulation foam boards are neatly slotted in.  We anticipate this will reduce our energy bills compared to the current cottage, where thick stone walls and a thatch are the prime, but limited, means of insulation.

The electrician, David Green of Brackley, has started the first fix.  In order to produce a tender document, we were asked by our Architects to roughly map out our lighting and socket requirements a year or more ago.  Looking back at our shopping list, we didn’t make a bad stab at it, but a number of changes have subsequently emerged. Nick, our Architect running the job, meticulously went through each room with us - it was amazing how many recessed lights we had managed to plan into what are pitched ceilings and how we had created one or two switching nightmares.

Likewise, the electrics for the EvenHeat underfloor heating system and for the water have to be included – manifolds on each floor and thermostats in most rooms.  J T Heating of Banbury is liaising with the electrician direct; this aspect of the build is proving stressful, as we appear to be out of the communication loop. The original tender document provided insufficient detail, and so we now have to ensure that what is installed meets our requirements and the original budget. Having already refused to have one particular boiler, having read its shocking write-ups on the net, and insisted on a Vaillant, we are probably not being as acquiescent as our builder would have liked, but they won’t be living there!

We’ve also had a couple of set-backs concerning the drains and the dividing wall.  Due to the new house being at a lower level than the existing cottage, the dividing wall between the two properties is going to be some two metres on the cottage side, but significantly more than that on the new house side, retaining the ground to the extent of the difference in height. This has required a structural review of the wall, not originally envisaged, to incorporate intermittent pillars and internal steels.  The drains from our existing cottage are also an issue, as it turns out they would be above ground level, where they cross into the new garden! We now have a revised plan to relay them.