Site diary · Extensions · 5 min read
Wetherby Road · week 4 of 11
The day the back wall comes out
Week four of a rear extension is the one everybody dreads. Here is what actually happens between the props going in on Monday and the dust sheets coming up on Friday.
Every rear extension has one week the owners remember. On most of ours it is week four: the new walls are up to ceiling height outside, and the old back wall of the house is still standing inside them. By Friday it has gone.
Monday: the props
Before a single brick comes out, the load above has to go somewhere else. We cut small holes through the wall above the opening, slide steel needles through, and stand them on adjustable props either side. On a semi that is the whole back of the first floor and a slice of the roof, so the props go down onto boards, never straight onto a floor that might move.
Tuesday: the steel
The engineer sized the beam months ago; the merchant cut it to length last week. It comes in through the garden on a lifter, goes up onto the padstones at each end, and is packed tight with slate and dry mortar. Building control inspects the bearings before anything else happens.
Wednesday and Thursday: breaking out
This is the loud bit. The old wall comes out under the beam, course by course, and the rubble goes straight into the skip. Dust sheets go up on the inside, taped at every edge, and the door into the hall stays shut.
Friday: the room appears
Props out, needles out, holes made good. For the first time the owners can stand in the old kitchen and see the whole new room. It is still blockwork and concrete, and it still looks like a building site, but the shape of the house has changed and it will not change again.
The dusty week is short on purpose. Everything that can be built outside is built before the wall comes out.
If you are weighing up an extension and want to know what your week four would look like, book a site visit and we will walk you through it on your own back wall.
Quick answers
Can we stay in the house during week four?
Yes. The kitchen is usually out of action for five to seven days, so we help you set up a temporary one in another room before the week starts.
How loud is it?
Two days of cutting and breaking out, mostly between 8 and 4. We tell the neighbours the dates a week ahead.
