Rear extension blockwork - Chigwell

This Chigwell rear extension moved on to the walls once the foundations were in. We set the first block and brick courses in the trench, tight to the house, and checked them for line and level as the footprint took shape.

The shell is a cavity wall: engineering bricks at the base, a damp-proof course, then concrete blocks, with insulation built into the cavity as the courses rose. Drainage pipes were taken through the brickwork, and steel lintels were set over the openings.

Through the autumn and into the winter the walls were brought up course by course and tied back to the house. Corners and returns were kept plumb, leaving the blockwork shell standing around the rear of the house.