iNterior progress
Now that the building is weathertight, Charlie turns his attention to the interior of his self-build project, starting the interior fit out and first fix
We’ve now reached the stage where we’re starting the early stages of the interior fit-out, including first fix plumbing and electrics. Some of the internal walls are also being built. In particular, a timber studwall has gone up which has made a huge difference to the kitchen, dining and living space; this was previously one big open-plan area but the studwall has helped to sub-divide this space.
It’s also one of the only bits of timber stud in the whole building. In the future we might add a sliding door because there’s no acoustic separation between the spaces, but not yet. The wall is absolutely fine being built as a lightweight partition because it’s not there to stop noise. The rest of the building is constructed in load-bearing concrete block which gives real acoustic separation and thermal mass, as well as a really solid surface from which to hang pictures.
We’ve started doing the cement rendering, which is the plaster finish we’re going for. The last thing we wanted to do was dot and dab the walls with plasterboard so that you end up with a hollow sound — I want something that’s really sturdy.
We wanted to make our concrete blockwork airtight and the way to do that is a two-coat cement render. The first coat is scratched up and battened with 12mm timber battens to help get the levels nice and straight. Then, the battens come out and the channels are filled before the second coat of sand and cement goes on.
The walls are going to have a trowelled, sponged finish rather than struck plaster. The sand-cement
mixture is grittier so there’s a real texture to it. I wanted the walls to have a handmade feel to them; it provides a contrast to the expansive, smooth concrete floor and flat plaster ceiling.
The commencement of the first fix work has made the biggest difference to the house inside for months, and it has been thrilling just to see the cement going on and the whole room getting plastered; even just with the first coat you start to feel the spaces as they’re going to be and that’s hugely exciting.
Next moNth: FiNishiNg the iNterior plasterWork