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MOULDING WORK UNDERWAY
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08-May
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As an area of external plastering is complete the masons are busy with moulding work on the ground floor. The moulding replicates that on the original house. It will be painted white with blue highlights and will help to tie in the modern extension with the very old building.
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EXTERNAL PLASTERWORK UNDERWAY
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01-May
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As the internal plastering is almost complete external plastering on the front elevation is well under way.
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A LOT OF PROGRESS AT MANGO TREE HOUSE
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10-Apr
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Work is really coming on quickly at Mango Tree House. There is still a lot to be done, but now the external walls are almost complete and the frames are starting to go in we can really see what the end result is going to be.
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A LOOK INSIDE MANGO TREE HOUSE
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03-Apr
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As brickwork continues apace, it is good to be able to walk into the first room with all walls completed. There is still a lot to be done but it is getting really exciting.
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EXTERNAL WALLS TAKING SHAPE
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25-Mar
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Now that curing the second slab is complete it is really good to see the lower external walls being built and to get a glimpse of how the building will look.
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We were surprised that it was possible to walk on a newly laid concrete slab within an hour or two of it being laid and not entirely sure why we then had to wait for some time for proper "curing" to take place. If, like us, you've wondered what curing looks like, here's a photo to show curing of the second slab. Little ridges are placed around the slab which we then flood daily with water. The ridges keep the water in place which in turn ensure that the slab doesn't dry too quickly. This apparently improves its strength, durability, water tightness and wear resistance of concrete.
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SECOND SLAB COMPLETED
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28-Feb
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We are delighted to see the second slab laid today. It's really a milestone as it completes the main structure of the building. The above photo is taken on what will be the floor of the terrace and it's interesting to see that, despite being a two storey building, it's actually lower than the height of the original house. Although there is still a great deal of work to do, none will be as complicated and timeconsuming as getting the basic structure right and signed off by the Engineer. The first loads of bricks have already arrived and after another shortbreak we look forward to seeing the walls going up.
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PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND SLAB UNDER WAY
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21-Feb
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Most of the plates to hold the second slab are now in place. There are a few more to go and then the pipes have to be put in place for the power supply to the various classrooms over the weekend. All being well the slab will be completed before the month is out.
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REMOVAL OF THE PROPS
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14-Feb
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Once the first slab was cured it was wonderful to see the removal of the props and plates holding it in place and to walk around the ground floor of the structure. We can finally really get a feel for the size of the structure, where the classrooms will go etc.
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WORK ON THE SECOND SLAB IN FULL SWING
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08-Feb
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After a couple of rest days the team were busy back on site doing the steel work for the columns and making preparations for the second slab. As you can see, putting the wooden supports to hold the plates for the beams and slab, is certainly not a job for the fainthearted!
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COMPLETION OF THE FIRST SLAB
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04-Feb
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Work at Mango Tree House continues apace, and we are very pleased to say that the first slab is now complete and after a short break to allow for curing etc, work on the columns and stairs to support the next slab will begin. Here you can see the view from what will be the first floor, looking back towards the main house.
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READY FOR THE FIRST SLAB
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02-Feb
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We are very happy to report that we are more or less ready for the first slab. The supports are all in place and the date set for Saturday.
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WORKING TOWARDS THE FIRST SLAB
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23-Jan
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Since the plinth was completed work quickly moved on to preparations for the first slab. This involves putting a support structure in place to hold the weight of the concrete slab until it sets. It's quite an arduous task putting together the wooden battens and plates but its coming together nicely.
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COMPLETION OF THE PLINTH
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11-Jan
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We are pleased to have finally got to ground level with the extension at Mango Tree House. It may not look like much to have the concrete base completed but there has been a huge amount of work required to get to this point. Unfortunately, the plot was very sandy close to the house which meant a lot of additional steel, concrete and brick works underground, but the worst is now behind us and it's literally onwards and upwards.
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ALMOST READY FOR THE PLINTH
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05-Jan
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At last our site looks something like. Most of the excavations have now been filled in with rubble and beams and foundations are almost complete. The next stage will be to lay down the concrete plinth.
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MAKING PROGRESS AT MANGO TREE HOUSE
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19-Dec
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After a few delays due to unusual heavy rains and then some unexpected problems with soil conditions, which led to more extensive excavations than planned, we are finally making good progress with the extension. All of the work seen, apart from the columns, will eventually be below ground level.
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COLUMN WORK HAS STARTED
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12-Dec
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The Engineer has finally confirmed that the excavations are deep enough and steel work to form the columns and beams has begun.
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EXCAVATIONS CONTINUE
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07-Dec
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Our site currently looks a bit like a bomb hit it. Excavations continue and are proving a bit difficult due to much of the site being rocky. Hopefully it won't be too long before we are going up, rather than keep digging down!
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It was good to see the plot finally levelled today. It was very overgrown and on quite a rocky incline and as a consequence it was quite hard to imagine what an open flat plot would look like. Now we can see where we are going.
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EXCAVATION WORK BEGINS
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29-Oct
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After such a long time raising funds and making plans for the extension to Mango Tree House we were very happy to see the start of preliminary works on site this week. The plot has now been levelled and we look forward to work starting in earnest, after the Diwali holidays.
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FRONT PLOT LEVELLED
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22-Oct
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We are very pleased to see the front plot at Mango Tree House levelled following the demolition of the ruined house. In time, this will be a playground for the children and car park, but for now it will be fenced off and be utilised as the storage area for the building materials for construction.
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MAKING A START ON SITE
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08-Oct
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We are thrilled to at last be in a position to start onsite. Today we began breaking the compound walls so we can get vehicles in and out and fencing the whole site off.
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