Hi, following my previous thread in Banter, i've dug out a few pics of when I built the fourth bedroom extension onto my house. They aren't detailed, thought they were for some reason, but it at least shows you the project in a before and after way.

The plans:



Before work commenced, there was a single storey side extension, which was the dining room.



Picture showing work in progress, old roof off, new walls half way up.



Picture showing the roof & tiling going on, I used pre fabricated trusses from a specialist company for the roof, these are easy to fit, just placing into position and nailing on required.



Picture showing the finished project externally. I created a balcony so that there was a holiday feel to it at the weekends.

The old glass of wine on the balcony. I bet Jan was sent of a shopping trip whilst you did the 60 minute makeover

Rodney's project is going to take 3 years and thats to plaster the walls

PS it looks really good, i bet Jan was pleased

Tasteful.

Brilliant mate, the balcony ads the final touch love it

Did you build on top of the original extention or did you flatten it and start again ?

Good work Mark !

Does Jan stand on the balcony shouting " Romeo, Romeo................"

She does, but he doesn't hear the "whereforeartthou" call as he's in Selsey pigging out in the Massive Helpings Cafe and larging it at the entertainment place on the caravan site.

" Whereforeartthou" ?


" I'm at the 'riviera' my love......havin' a large portion.....yessssssss "...!

Excellent beeech.Loved it.No wonder you are into the bard's lingo living as close as you do to Stratford-on-Avon.Never got him myself.Went once to a summer evening open-air theatre production of Two Gentlemen of Verona in the garden of a stately home.Never been so bored in my life.And bitten by midges.Departed at the interval.Call me a Philistine.Yes I know-I am a Philistine.

WirralScouse wrote:

Went once to a summer evening open-air theatre production of Two Gentlemen of Verona in the garden of a stately home.

That was at Farkham Hall wasn't it WS ? ( just outside SOA ) !............................

No it wasn't it was Sheldon Manor, Wiltshire.We went with all the other poseurs.Champers and canapes and inconsequential chit-chat on the lawns before the play.I could play the part in those days. But I love that Farkham Hall reference. Worthy.

Marks Extension to Champers on the lawn at Farkham Hall love it

Daryn wrote:

Did you build on top of the original extention or did you flatten it and start again ?

Built on top mate. Roof off completely, fitted the correct size floor joists in between the existing ceiling joists as they were too small to take a floor.

Will it be a wrench leaving the house at all, after all the work you have done on it mate?

I'm hoping not mate. Done a bit of soul searching before making the decision to put it on the market. 21 years is a long time, my kids have spent virtually all their lives here. But reached a conclusion that life is but a journey, and this part of the journey is over for now.
Onwards and upwards

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision.
We are traveling by train, out the windows,
we drink in the passing scenes of children
waving at a crossing,
cattle grazing on a distant hillside,
row upon row of corn and wheat,
flatlands and valleys,
mountains and rolling hillsides
and city skylines.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.
On a certain day, we will pull into the station.
Bands will be playing and flags waving.
Once we get there, our dreams will come true
and the pieces of our lives
will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.
Restlessly we pace the aisles,
damning the minutes - waiting,
waiting, waiting for the station.

When we reach the station, that will be it!"
We cry. "When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450sl Mercedes Benz!"
"When I put the last kid through college."
"When I have paid off the mortgage!"
"When I get a promotion." "When I reach retirement,
I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later, we realize there is no station,
no one place to arrive.
The true joy of life is the trip.
The station is only a dream.
It constantly outdistances us.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto.
It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad.
It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.
Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
Regret is reality, after the facts.


So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.

Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream,

go barefoot more often,
swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less.
Life must be lived as we go along.

The STATION will come soon enough

Dad, Dad are we there yet

No the blooming Donkey is standing on the level crossing and disrupting all traffic

I felt the same when my sister's & myself had to sell our Mum & Dad's house Mark. All 3 of us were born in that house, my old Dad died there & we all thought that it would see my Mum out as well, if you know what I mean. I have been past it a few times, but my sister's can't bear to see it again. Possibly in time, they might, but for now that is their way of coping with the loss.

Definitely a toughie Mick, once a house makes the transition from bricks and mortar into a 'home', then there becomes an attachment.

I can see where you're both coming from - but it must be exciting to think of making a new 'home' again...is it not ?

BTW......lovely verse from Dads...rep from me

It ticks a few boxes beeech.

Yes, a new project. But the equity also wipes the slate clean, so going into the new project with no debts and potentially no mortgage (maybe a small one to have funds to do the renovation work with) really appeals.