Extending the floor

After almost a month in New York, I'm back in London again. Now that the shower is finished (!), I'm going to shift my efforts towards finishing the remaining "heavy construction" so that we can try to wrap up the major work by the of the summer.

What that means is that I'll now be focusing on the preparations for the new staircase that will eventually go upto our new loft & dormer. This will include:

• Extending the floor so it meets the correct location of the new stair. Besides adding around 15 sq ft to the overall area of our flat, this extension will also provide the necessary floor area to locate the new door into the bedroom (currently, "The box"). So this extension is critical to the new layout & design of the flat.
• Re-framing the structural wall (adjacent to the staircase) so that the new door into the bedroom can be opened.
• Once the structural wall is re-framed, it needs to be sheathed in structural plywood and then covered in "fire-proof" plasterboard (1hr rated to be precise), as per the instructions from our council's Building Control officer.
• Build and install the landing for the new staircase - it needs to be built first because it will help hold up the stairs...also, it will give the stairs something to frame into
• If the above items go well...start building the staircase...!

The existing staircase (down to the flat's entry door), with the structural wood wall next to it

Before extending the floor, I needed to open up the existing floor and determine the exact location and level of the new beam that will carry the new floor area as well as the new staircase. Because this is the only remaining area of the floor that was not leveled, the contrast (between the old sloping floor by the stair and the new leveled sub-floor) became quite obvious...with a difference of over an inch!

Morning of March 26th - the existing conditions and original end of the floor.

Sub-floor removed, exposing the joists underneath

The level shows the extreme difference between the old sloping floor/joists and where it should be so it's level.

Because of the extreme slope of the old floor, I realized that it will be necessary to reconfigure the top of the stair to get everything level. This required pulling off the top step so as to fully expose the beam below. Once the joist was fully exposed, I was able to set-up a string line and determine the future leveled location of the new beam.

Removing the original top step to expose the beam below

The string line and level - note the difference between the string (which is level) and the slope of the old floor/beam!

The location on the structural wood wall were the new joist will go. Removing the plaster to expose the wall plate below where the beam will sit. (A wall plate is a horizontal stud within a wall - usually in between floors)

With the location of the beam determined, it was time to create the openings for it to go into and determine the structural support that will hold it. On the side of the exterior wall, I cut into the wood trim and exposed a wooden wall plate that holds the joists (the wall plate sits on top of the brick wall below). On the other side (at the structural wood wall) I also found a wooden wall plate that was conveniently at almost the exact location I needed to sit the new beam on. Once everything was opened, I cut the new wood beam and inserted it in place. It took some time to set it at the exact level, but I was eventually able to get there.

Afternoon of March 28th - locating the wall plate that will hold the new beam (at the exterior wall) and establishing the correct level there. This required a thin steel plate to get it to the exact height needed.

The new beam at the correct level (notice the difference between it and the old beam)

Once the beam was set to the correct level, a second beam was cut and they were fastened together (this is known as sistering) to create an extra strong beam. This double beam was then fastened to the old, sloping beam to help stabilize it and prevent any further settlement or sloping.

The double beam fastened in place

Now the fun part started...I was able to remove the old railing and start setting up for the actual floor extension. This again required using string lines to determine the correct location of the new joists (that will frame into the double beam). Once everything was worked out, I was able to to cut the wood and install special steel clips (called joist hangers) that help make the structural connection between the joists.

Morning of March 29th - The new double beam in place...then removing the original railing.

String lines locate the positions of the new joists.

With everything cut and the joist hangers in place, I was then able to insert the new joists and fasten everything together. Within a few hours they were structurally sound, and i was able to add a layer of plywood so we could walk on our new extended floor!

The joist hangers in place, holding the new joists

The completed framing

Adding a piece of plywood so we can walk on it...

Bathroom:Waterproofing the floor

The final push to finish the bathroom waterproofing has come down to today, which is a Sunday - my flight back to NYC is late tomorrow afternoon, so anything I need to do has to get done by the end of the day today.

 This will include affixing the waterproof tile backer boards (Marmox boards) to the walls and floor that will be tiled (outside of the shower). These are the final bits of waterproofing, and this will allow our tiler (Sean) to complete his work. Since I'm leaving tomorrow and he's still going, it's become apparent that his work will (unfortunately) only be finished after I've gone. This makes the perfectionist/architect in me nervous, but I've seen over the past week that Sean is very meticulous and we've spent a lot of time going over all the details and issues...so hopefully it will be OK. But "Aglaya" is going to have to step up and take charge after tomorrow!

Marmox boards lining the bathroom walls

Once the waterproofing on the bathroom walls had dried for 24 hours, I was able to apply the waterproof tile backer boards (Marmox boards) Sunday afternoon. Similar to the shower, after the boards are fixed to the waterproofed plywood, the joints are sealed with a waterproof silicone bead, followed by waterproof tape.

After removing the loo

After the walls were completed, it was time to focus on the floor - I had been nervous about this, as it involved removing our loo (toilet) in order to fully waterproof the floor below. Fortunately it went relatively smoothly and was easy to remove (with a little help from "Aglaya").

The plywood under the loo waterproofed, and the 1st batch of flexible tile adhesive ready to go

With the loo out of the way, I quickly applied the waterproof membrane to the plywood and after it was dry enough (could not wait the 24 hours this time!), I prepped for putting the Marmox boards on the floor. This involved pre-cutting all the boards so they would fit, and then mixing smaller buckets of the tile adhesive.

The first batch of the flexible tile adhesive spread out on the floor

It's worth pointing out here that I had ordered a special type of tile adhesive for the floors. Wood joists with a plywood sub-floor are not the best base for tile because they have a tendency to subtly move due to expansions/contractions in the heat/cold. In an old Victorian building like ours, movement could even be caused by large truck driving by outseide. These very small  movements have a tendency to make tiles -- or the grout lines between them -- crack, so one has to minimize the possibility of movement, while still accommodating for some movement. Here I had fixed the plywood with as many screws as possible to make the subfloor as rigid as it could be, and will then apply a flexible tile adhesive that is designed to go over wood subfloors. The adhesive will fasten the Marmox boards to the floor (minimizing the transfer of any vibrations or movement) while the Marmox board itself will provide a very rigid and inflexible base for the tile. The hope is that this carefully thought out system will minimize any cracking of our large, beautiful limestone tiles...

The 1st Marmox board in place on the floor - using some sacks to hold down the boards in a few areas

Yours truly placing the 2nd Marmox board in place

Spreading the next batch of adhesive

A close-up view of the adhesive - one uses a notched trowel so the adhesive grabs the boards better

Mixing smaller amount of the adhesive made it easier to work with, and within two hours I had all of the Marmox boards in place. Similar to the walls, beads of silicone are placed bewteen the joints, and then taped over with a waterproof tape.

The silicone between the joints (on the left); the silicone covered by waterproof tape (on the right)

After the work is completed, the loo is fixed back in place

By the end of the day (10pm!) the bathroom floors and walls were completed, and ready for the tiler to carry on with his work in the morning...

Tiling: The Shower (Days 4-6)

So over the next three days Sean (our tiler) plugged away at the shower - like everything else on this project, it has ended up taking him longer than expected! 

Looking at the work involved, though, and the level of precision required, I can see why it's taking so long. I'm also glad that in the end, we decided to get a professional in to do this! I have to admit, I'm extremely impressed with his work...and can't even imagine how much longer it would be taking if I were doing it.

Over these three days, Sean tackled some of the trickiest parts of the job: the niche, the arch and the floor. My only concern now is time, since I'll be heading back to NYC on Monday and I'd prefer if he was finished before I leave.

Morning of Feb 23rd

Tiling the arch, using posts to hold the tiles in place while the adhesive dries

Beginning the slate on the rear wall

End of the day

Feb 24th - by mid-morning Sean finished the rear wall. One can now see the "wrapping" effect of the slate...

The shower floor - had a long discussion on the spacing and location of cuts...

End of the day - montage of the shower...it's almost finished!

Late morning on Feb 25th - starting on the shower's final row (between the floor and 2nd course)

By the end of the day (Saturdays are 1/2 days), most of the course is completed

Tiling: The Shower (Day 3)

As our tiler continued to work his way around the shower, it had become apparent that the plumber needed to come back to install the faucet for the sink. Sean had started on the limestone, and would soon begin the rear wall of the shower - this rear wall is also where the sink's faucet is located, so once the more time-consuming shower was completed, the remainder of the bathroom was expected to go quickly.  Because the faucet is wall mounted, this became a critical issue as it had to be installed before the tile, so Sean could accurately cut the tile around it.

The limestone starts to go up

"Aglaya" and I had actually spent quite a bit of time deciding on the type of faucet (or tap, as it's known in the UK) - I was advocating a simple, modern wall-mounted one, whereas "Aglaya" was keen on a more traditional deck-mounted version. We looked at literally dozens of models trying to come to a resolution. So a stalemate ensued for a while..."Aglaya" wasn't necessarily inclined to give in, but I think when it became evident how much this particular design decision meant to me, she relented...I have always envisioned having a wall-mounted tap in my loo!


The tap arrived that morning, so while Sean was setting limestone, I was marking up the plywood wall to locate the faucet, so it would be ready for our plumber when he showed up.

Locating the faucet & cutting the holes

Fortunately everything was ready when the plumber showed-up - he immediately mounted the faucet onto the plywood, and then  began connecting the pipes to it. Because this was happening while Sean was tiling, there was a lot of activity, but fortunately no one got in anyone else's way. By the end of the day, Sean had installed most of the smaller limestone pieces, and our faucet was connected and ready to be tiled around.

To properly install the faucet, our plumber removed the plywood to do it

The plumber connecting pipes to the faucet

End of the day - limestone and faucet installed (faucet is in the bottom right corner)

Once Sean and the plumber left for the day,  I cleared out the bathroom floor and primed it for the rubberized waterproof membrane. After 20 minutes it was dry, and began painting on the membrane - the same waterproofing used on the shower walls. At the same time, I also installed a few pieces of the insulated waterproof tile backer board on the side wall. By the time everything was finished it was late at night, but fortunately the work had been silent...

The bathroom floor primed for waterproofing

Part of the floor waterproofed, and a few pieces of tile backer-board installed

Midnight - Yours Truly painting on the rubberized membrane

1am - the completed waterproof membrane on the bathroom floor

The Next Two Weeks...

So with our new focus on getting the heat working, that will be the goal of my next two weeks here in London.

It turns out that it's not just a question of getting the plumber here to finish his work - there are a ton of things to do before all the different parts of the system can become operational (déjà vu...). Each of those parts requires work that goes beyond the plumber - and so falls to yours truly.

One of the key issues will be to have the new radiators installed on the walls. The not so obvious problem here is that we don't have walls...yet. Well, not the final, finished ones, anyway. To get those up means hanging new plasterboard on the grotty old perimeter walls, plastering and painting - because once those radiators are connected to the plumbing we won't be able to get behind them ever again.

Initially, I had no inkling of how much would have to be done to get the heat working, but here's a quick list:

• Rewire the entire flat with new electrical wiring and a breaker box - needed to power the boiler (and everything else)
• Install the last section of the boiler's flue pipe (that vents to the outside)
• Level the floor where the old kitchen used to be (one of the radiators goes there)
• Order plasterboard, plaster, fasteners, etc. Then carry everything upstairs  :-(
• Dry-line portions of the old walls with new plasterboard (a lot more work than it sounds!)
• Spackle the joints of the plasterboard (for now, only behind where the radiators go)
• Paint the plasterboard (also only behind where the radiators will go)
• Finalize the heat calculations and sizing of the radiators - then order the radiators along with the valves and pipes
• Hang the radiators onto the walls
• Connect the radiators to the pipes along with the thermostatic valves
• Fill and balance the system
• Turn the boiler on!

Starting the Bathroom: SubFloor

With the roof done, the scaffolding down, the balcony cleared and the downspout finished, it's finally time start focusing on the inside of the flat!

The first line of business will be to build our shower - but of course there is lot to be done before starting work on the actual shower. When we were leveling the floors back in January and February, we left out a few areas and never finished the sub-floor in the bathroom. So the first task will be to build and level the sub-floor - once that's done, the wall framing can go up and the initial plumbing (called roughing) can go in, followed by the waterproofing and tiles...

August 11th -montage of the bathroom before starting work

As noted in our posts about leveling floors, the first task here is to set up level string lines and then cut leveling strips from wood that matched the level line. Once those strips are cut, they are screwed into the wood joists. After they are all leveled, the plywood sub-floor is measured and cut into place. So far so good. Once the plywood goes on it needs to be screwed into place - and that's where the drama started...

The area that needs to be leveled - the previously completed areas are to the right and left

August 12th - the leveling strips over the joists and plumbing

August 12th - the plywood subfloor cut and positioned in place

So before telling you what happened, let me just explain that driving a screw into plumbing is apparently a very common DIY mistake - even professional builders do it. It's so common that a few days later, our building control inspector sheepishly admitted that he'd done it a few times himself! So if you're guessing that I drove screw into a pipe while fastening the sub-floor....you're right...I was working my way through the sheet, when i suddenly heard a sickening hiss...not too loud, but definitely there. It stopped me in my tracks, and it was only about 30 seconds later, when the water started shooting everywhere, that I realized what I had just done!

So I quickly removed the plywood, saw the hole, ran to the kitchen and shut off the main water valve for the flat. Surveying the mess, I realized it was not too bad and quickly soaked up all the water with paper towels and rags. Our trusty fan-heater was positioned to help dry everything, and within 30 mins there was no sign of the leak. In the meantime I had called our local handyman Alan - who again (!) saved the day by repairing the hole in about 20 minutes - so we managed to get it done before "Aglaya" came home to a soaking situation...

The "hole"- just to the right of my thumb...

The patched pipe - gotta be more careful from now on

So after all the excitement and stress I decided to take the rest of the weekend off, and resumed work on Monday. To prevent another incident like this, I carefully located and measured out the locations of all pipes and then drew their positions onto the plywood. To be extra safe, I also marked the joists, and then heavily marked the areas to avoid. I think this will be a new practice moving forward...

August 14th - the danger areas drawn on the plywood

The finished sub-floor - approx location of shower wall shown by the 2x3 on the floor