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

What about that Downspout?

In the last days our Marathon, I realized that if i wanted to catch my flight back to NYC something had to wait - something that was not critical (and something that would not leak or cause any trouble) had to be put on the back burner for when there would be more time. I ended up deciding to hold off on installing the downspout for the gutter that would be located over our (now reclaimed) balcony.

The completed dormer...but no downspout for the new gutter

Of course...it turned out that not having that downspout did cause a leak! Before we reclaimed the balcony it was full of debris - and because the downspout was letting water fall onto the balcony, the water ended up pooling as it could not drain properly (with over a ton of debris in the way!). Of course right where it decided to pool, was exactly where there was a hole in the old flashing around the balcony door....so the water leaked into the building's stairway ceiling. Since I was not around, our local handyman came to the rescue (again!!!) He determined what was causing the leak and  cleared a path to allow the water to drain, while "Aglaya" temporarily patched the hole in the flashing...

Because of this little incident, installing the downspout became a priority. We had to order a proper ladder in order to do this task safely, but once it arrived I was pleased to learn that I would actually be able to reach the gutter! The actual work was relatively simple: locating where the pipes would run, setting the angles, cutting the existing downspout to the correct length, drilling holes for the anchors, cutting the new pipes to length and then finally installing the pipes...

After some geometry, the existing downspout is cut to the correct length

Setting the angle for the pipe

Positioning the pipes so they aligned

Reclamation!

After a month in New York "recovering" from finishing the roof and that mad dash we called the Marathon , I'm back in London for more. Happily this trip won't involve too much continuous labor as tomorrow we'll be heading out of town for a friend's wedding.

The Dump: AKA our Balcony

Today's goal was to reclaim our balcony and the loft: the balcony had been our main dumping ground for roof debris over the last few months; the loft was suddenly so completely full of debris in the scramble to clear the scaffold before my flight last month that we literally could not walk through it!

Our poor balcony viewed from the Dormer above

The Loft - drowned in debris

Rather than hire a skip (known as a dumpster in US) we decided to go with a company that brings a truck with two guys to help for roughly the same price as a skip. Considering how much debris we had to remove - and that we don't have a laborer - this turned out to be a great deal. We also had an extra set of hands as our house-guest (AKA my mum) was back, and eager to help.

So we ended-up working in two teams - my mum and I were up on the balcony (one person pulling things off the pile - the other bringing them down to the 2nd floor landing), and the guys from the rubbish removal company brought everything from the 2nd floor down into the truck.

Pulling things of the pile of rubbish

It must have taken about 2-3 hours, but we completely filled their truck with probably 9 cubic yards of debris - that's probably 1-2 tons! So after these exhausting few hours...we had our balcony back!

Look - the balcony actually has a floor!

The view from above

After returning from our trip, we were finally able to enjoy the fruits of our labor...quite literally!

So long, scaffold

Taking down the scaffolding was such a big job that the crew started it last Saturday, but couldn't finish it that day (they were also hampered by terrible weather). So they came back today to complete the job.

So by this afternoon, finally - 252 days after it was put up!! - the scaffolding is gone.

It's hard to describe what a huge relief it is to have finally reached this point. The first practical point is that getting rid of the scaffolding will ease the financial strain on us considerably, since we have been spending hundreds of pounds a month for the scaffold's continued hire. Also, the flat will be more secure now.

But it's also a very big deal psychologically. Finishing the roof means that we've closed a vey critical chapter in this project. It's an enormous accomplishment, given the massive scope of work that was done. I still remember my initial panic when our labourer, M, walked out in a fit of pique five months ago, and how utterly gobsmacked I was when Andre decided that he could - and would - finish the roof single-handedly. That we have reached this point and can now move on to re-constructing the interior of the flat is really a testament to his determination and stamina.

And yet... in a very strange way, I actually felt a twinge of nostalgia as I saw the last of the scaffold dismantled and the truck drive off! Can it be possible that I actually sort of miss the scaffolding?! It was up for so long that I suppose it basically started to feel like part of the flat. And it was amazing being able to climb through windows, and, most of all, to spend time at roof level.

The Anniversary

Today is a momentous day for us: exactly one year ago, we got the long, long awaited phone call from our solicitor to say that our purchase of this flat had been completed. It's a natural moment to reflect, and to take stock of where things are.

A year ago, we thought that by now the renovation would be long finished and we would be enjoying our beautiful new home. We never imagined that a year later, we would still be living on a construction site! (If we had known - would we still have pushed ahead with the purchase?! Well, we can't re-write history, we can only speculate...)

So on the one hand, it would be easy to look at everything that has gone wrong, and lament some bad luck and the circumstances we find ourselves in owing to things we had no control over. But on the other hand, when I think about how far we have come, setbacks notwithstanding... it's hard to believe. Even having lived through it, it's hard to comprehend. Looking back at where we began last year, with demolition, or even at what we were doing six months ago, is sort of mind-boggling - much more so now, in retrospect, than at that time, because at the time we were just struggling and racing to get through it - no time for reflection then!

I'm disappointed that Andre is in New York right now, because The Anniversary feels like an occasion that we should mark with a drink! But as it happens, the occasion is being marked in another way.

Having survived the final incredibly intense days to finish the roof work, on Wednesday, the day after Andre left, I was finally able to make a long-anticipated call of my own: to the scaffolding company, to tell them to take the scaffold down!

As it happens, the crew arrived this very morning, of all days, to begin striking the scaffold down. It feels like a hugely satisfying way to mark one year - even if it's not the way we had imagined The Anniversary would be when we bought the place.

The Marathon: Finishing the Roof!

After six months of hard work - that sometimes felt would never end - this is the last day we'll be up on the roof. As mentioned in the previous post, this is bittersweet moment - but we're ready to move on.

This is also the last day what of we're calling the marathon - our mad dash to get the roof finished so we can take the scaffold down before I fly back to New York. With my flight rescheduled for the end of this afternoon, there's a hard deadline with much to do by then.

The day started with completing the dormer's lead flashing, so once that was done, one of the last tasks involved installing the exterior vents for our boiler, bathroom and kitchen. These needed to be done before the scaffolding came down because otherwise there would be no way to access the portion of the rear brick wall where the penetrations needed to occur. Fortunately these large 4" holes were already done - when the plumbers were doing their initial installation they had drilled the holes at that point. Installing these vents required clearing out the rough holes, removing and repairing any loose bricks, fitting the pipes & vents, and then packing mortar around the opening so they would be fixed in place.

One of the holes drilled through the bricks by our plumbers

Making sure it fits - Testing one of the pipes and vent plates in the hole

An overall view - had to remove the end planks to get to the work area.

Starting to fill around the pipe with mortar. You can see the completed boiler flue/vent in the background

The vents completed

The next task involved installing the railing for our new Juliet balcony. The support posts had been aligned and set when the concrete was poured, so this was relatively fast and easy - fortunately as there were only two hours remaining before heading to the airport! The railings were ordered and delivered as a kit-of-parts, so each railing piece was fastened into place with four steel brackets that bolted into the posts - relatively easy.

Before setting the railings

The first railing piece in place

The railing installed - can also see the completed dormer

With the railings completed, the final task for finishing the roof involved cleaning the scoffolding of all the debris, unused pieces of wood, and the stacks of old, original slates that we'll sell to the roofing company (apparently they can be re-used on historic preservation/conservation projects). With only an hour to clear all the debris, this was truly a mad dash, but was able to get it done. Before leaving the scaffold for the last time, I took a number of final pictures and soaked in the view for the last time...

The completed roof - view from the front

The completed roof - view from front corner

The completed roof - view from the rear

The Marathon: Final Flashing

So this is it...the last two days of our marathon to finish the roof and get the scaffolding down. It's been a huge push - working 10-12 hour days and even with that, extending my trip by several days to get everything done. While i have loved being up on the roof (except when we re-framed the joists in the dead of an English winter) and seeing London from this unusually serene perch, I'm ready to finish and move on...

There are a lot of small things to finish before we can take the scaffolding down, but the last "big" item is to finish all the flashing around the dormer and along the edge - again, a tricky detail to span both types of roofing: traditional slates and modern membranes.

So I started up on the flat portion of the dormer by installing lengths of heavy lead - known as "code 4 lead" - to cover the edge of the flat roofing membrane that wraps up to face of the brick wall.

Where the roofing membrane meets the brick wall

Before inserting the lead, one has to cut away at one row of mortar joints, so there's a gap for the lead to go into - fortunately I had done this messy job several weeks ago, so installing the flashing here went relatively quickly. that is (of course!) except for the tricky bits, which were at the various corners towards the edge of the dormer. That proved time consuming, but I had it done in time for a late lunch.

Late morning of July 4th - the rows of lead flashing installed

This area is the trickiest - several corners and an overhang from the coping stone

It's not too clear, but the corner flashing pieces are installed

I then spent several hours working on some of the other tasks (see next post) but by the early evening I was able to start on the final flashing task, which involved installing the lead along the edge of the dormer. This flashing detail was worked out about a month or two ago when I was finishing the slates on the dormer. This is the tricky flashing detail I've mentioned several times: it has to span two very different types of roofing.

My sketchbook where I worked out the flashing details - the one in the center of this page is the final version for the edge detail of the dormer - a wooden drip edge wrapped in lead that works over the slates and the membrane.

 Because we had previously treated and painted the wood structure, I was able to start attaching the lead right away. To further enhance the durability of the detail (and because we had a lot of extra pieces), I decided to add a row of "soakers", which are folded sheets of stainless steel used to prevent water penetration at any 90 degree intersection of slates. These "soakers" helped seal the top of the wood and were then wrapped in the code 4 lead. The lead is held in place by a series of straps that are nailed into the wood, but are cleverly covered by the flashing - a great traditional detail used for hundreds of years.

This work was only completed the following day. The last tasks involved cleaning the roof for the last time, applying a protective patina coating on all the lead, and inserting a special caulk into the open joints where the lead is inserted into the brick. This caulk prevents water from going into the brickwork, and under the lead, while allowing for the naturally-occurring movement between the brick and lead without cracking.

In the early evening able to start the edge flashing - fitting the first pieces

The stainless steel "soakers" with the lead clips awaiting the final piece of lead flashing

The completed assembly - looking up

The completed assembly - looking down. Here you can see the all-important drip-edge taking shape

Morning of July 5th (final day) - preparing to flash the edge along the flat roof

Ready to install the roughly formed lead

Here you can see the stainless steel "soakers" ready for the lead

A detail view of how the clips will be covered by the final piece of lead

Flashing finished - cleaning the roof for the last time!

View of the finished roof & flashing - her you can see the detail where two roofing types come together, with the recently completed edge flashing in the distance

Final view of the upper roof - flashing completed, lead has it's patina coating, caulking done.

The Marathon: more painting

The past week has felt like a marathon; the finish line is being able to make the call to the scaffolding company to say that we're ready for them to take the scaffold down.

We've been working full-tilt – André was in fact supposed to fly back to New York today, but we're not quite where we need to be so he's postponed his trip by a day. It's important that we get the scaffolding down now - mostly because it's very expensive to keep renting it, but also because psychologically, we are really ready to move forward. And I think that at this point we owe it to our neighbours to get it down, too!

Today we finally finished something on the long to-do list for getting the scaffolding down: the rest of the exterior painting. André and I had worked together last weekend to paint the first window, and yesterday I started working on the other windows. In order to get everything done as quickly as possible, I had to do it on my own because André was working upstairs, at roof level.

The front windows before scraping and painting

Like last weekend, the work was quite involved - I had to prep the windows by scraping off as much of the old, peeling paint as possible and fill in any rotten areas with putty before painting.

A detail of the window's condition

It all went a lot faster than last weekend because these ones are in better condition (and my technique got better as I went along). But all told, on average it still took about 3 hours per window!

Meanwhile, André had been spending ages over the previous few days prepping the exterior of the dormer for painting – he had to apply an exterior conditioning treatment and then putty over all the screws. Once the putty dried, it had to be sanded  so that the dormer would have a smooth, even finish once painted..

June 25th - Applying the wood conditioner - will make the wood ready for the exterior elements

June 27th - After waiting 2 days for the treatment to dry, patching all the holes & joints with an exterior grade filler putty

June 30th - All the screw holes and joints had to be filled with putty - turned out to be a huge job

Once the dormer was ready, I primed and painted it in between working on the windows. This was a carefully planned tag-team operation, because we were supposed to wait 16-24 hours for each coat to dry - and we found ourselves running out of time! So the primer went on the dormer early Saturday evening; the first coat of paint on Sunday morning; and the second on Sunday night.

July 2nd - Starting the primer...

André touching up the primer

July 3rd - Starting the first coat of exterior paint

André insisted on three coats of paint, so I had to wait til getting home from work today to put the final coat of paint on! In the evening I also painted the balcony posts and the clips that will attach the railing to the posts (André had painted the balcony railing during the day).

It's been an absolutely exhausting three days. We've made huge progress, and it's an amazing feeling to finally be able to step back and look at something that looks finished! But there are still so many things to be done before I can make that phone call…

July 4th - The painting completed!