First Fix and Completing Envelope Finishing

It has been a busy last few weeks. Our main contractors Bentley have been busy with first fix activities. It’s a fairly long list of activities this month. We’ve also been busy helping complete design for landscape, finishing and M&E.

See photos and videos below that are self explanatory.

So What is First Fix?

According to Design Building, First fix (sometimes described as shell and first fix ) is a short-hand term used to describe the processes that are undertaken during construction works up to the point of applying internal surfaces – typically plaster. It is normally used in relation to the work of specific trades such as carpenters, plumbers and electricians.

Generally first fix will include constructing the structure, cladding, flooring, doorframes, stairs and so on and installing cables for electrical and ICT distribution, pipework for water and gas distribution and heating ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) distribution. First fix is not normally visible when looking at the finished building. Where possible first fix should be tested before second fix (for example, plumbing riser stacks).

Second fix takes place after the internal surfaces have been applied. It comprises those items that are visible in a finished area and are held back to avoid damage, or sadly sometimes theft. This may include fitting internal doors, skirting, architraves, handrails, fixtures and fittings, including connection of appliances (such as electrical equipment, sanitaryware, radiators, and so on) testing and commissioning.

So What Have We achieved in the last Month?

In our case, we’ve been busy with the following the last few weeks,

We’ve signed off the rest of the M&E designs,
Completion of Counter Batten and internal air guard, thermal insulation to the exterior of the building. This allows us to install the Vastern Oak Timber Cladding. They’re already on site and they’re absolutely gorgeous, The Oak is provenance it is sourced locally from Savernake Forest near Marlborough,
Installation of Underfloor heating pipes on first floor and pouring of liquid screed to all floors,
The first floor landing steel bridge has been installed which connects the kids bedroom with the master bedroom and stairs,
The side door to the utility room which is from Urban Front has been installed, temporary front door installed, It will be replaced once we’re done with finishing with an Urban Front door,
Powered Kitchen Roof light installed,
Cabling for power and data completed to basement and ground floor including hot and cold water pipes, first floor to come,
SSE have installed the incoming power supply which is a three phase connection for electricity, Octopus Energy will install the three phase meter at the end of the month, We’re using three phase since we will be feeding energy back to the grid and have a couple of EV Charge points,
The Kitchen and seating build is progressing well off site. I’m going to do a post on that with YEO. It looks fab,
They’ve created templates to place on the slab so that the finishing folks will know the positions of all cabinetry,
We’ve finalised all of our selection for paint finishing and floor finishing,
We’ve selected a provider for the window treatment for the master bedroom windows,
External installation of the flint is complete we’re now starting with the pointing. This means the lime mortar will be used within the recesses of the block to point them,
The stud wall has been completed to the basement, first fix is pretty much done there too,
The plant room is ready, power connection installed there including undercoating manifolds the first equipments are already on site for installation,
The green roof with wild flowers have been installed this week, They look fantastic, fortunately, they timed the installation for when we’re going to have days of rain, this makes my job easier as it will need watering for the next 28 days before it takes,
The meadow has been seeded with local provenance wild flower seeds from Brightseeds a local company near Salisbury that provide seeds for most of the local meadows. They were recommended to us by the Parish Council,
The meadow seeds come in 50KG bags and the meadow needed to be harrowed and flint stones picked before seeding,
The field shelter foundation has been completed, including shuttering, steel rebars and pouring of the screed,
The installation of the field shelter will happen next week,
On the planning side, the local planners have approved our revised landscape with the ditch and Gabion wall, The swimming pool will also be approved in the next few weeks subject to posting of the latest notice on site over the next three weeks,
The metal stud work has been completed on the ground and first floor, In some cases the ply has been installed so that finishing can commence,
We’re pretty much almost at the end of first fix and will be commencing second fix shortly as well completing the pointing of the flint and installation of the Vastern Oak Timber cladding to complete external finishing,
Once this is done, the scaffolding can come down for us to start external landscape work.