We don't live here anymore....

Both IRL and online - this blog is now saved here alongside the new blog about our new adventures!!

parquet 2

Bedroom floor at last - only the hall to go! The laying of the parquet was easier this time than in the spare room, but the sanding harder - so we've left it more 'textured'!

Completed over 2 weekends in June 2014.

And the flood

So a few things to add to Emily's post!
We have also tiled by the hob, and put up the knife rack, so the kitchen is really sorted now. Only a better set of shelves to make for the left hand side of the hob and it will be done!?


Also when we got back from seeing the early showing of Senna (great film) on Friday we came back to a paddling pool / swimming pool in the courtyard and a rather wet MVHR unit. It had done some torrential down pours whilst we were out, and while the side of the roof over the MVHR is now covered with felt, the other side isn't and the rain poured in. We were rescued on Saturday morning by Matt and Scott (our builders) coming over and putting a tarp over the other side of the roof, protecting the MVHR and allowing things to dry out. Hopefully they will have the felt up in the next 1-2 days on the other side, and then they have to re-do the middle wall, retrofit purlins, re-do the front walls and doors and windows.......only a little bit of work!?


The other exciting news is that Gil has submitted the plans for the balcony and fence to the planners - so now we just wait - I can't seem to upload the plans tonight, but will see if I can work it out for later in the week. Now off to bed to rest very weary arms from painting.

Of roofs, promontories and painting.

I think C showed a pic in the last post of the roof off our shed; here's a bit more of the same sans builders on it. Currently the side nearer the house and courtyard has been felted and the slats for the slates to be nailed to have been attached to counter-slats (ie there are ones going vertically, so the horizontal ones don't trap the water running down the felt). The felt is new-fangled, breathable stuff.
The other side is more complicated with a wall plate that is angled so the gully behind the parapet wall has a pitch allowing water to flow to the outflow at the house end, and to match the steep pitch of the road and therefore the wall. It's in progress though, after complications with the RSJ over the garage door (half the size it should be and almost rusted away).



We've also finally finished knocking down the dodgy potting shed with the big (heavy!) red tiles, up at the top of the garden (the place that is best for sun in the afternoon/evening). Now it's a lovely place to sit (it'll be lovelier once we sort out the paving). Just as well, we thought we might die horribly while knocking it down (thank you Sarah for your help!)



D'you like the phone-box door? Bought about 12 years ago in Cornwall and lugged about till now. We think we'll try to grow something up it, not too overwhelming and hopefully nice smelling.

There's been progress inside too. Our lovely friend Han came for the weekend and used left-over engineered wooden boards from our upstairs floor to create a promontory for the kitchen, giving us more work-surface and shelving. I understand others call this sort of thing a peninsular unit. Hmmm.

Han working



And this weekend lots of painting has been done - largely by Clare as I have an elbow injury (no idea how, but v limiting as to rollering).





A place for those cookery, garden and house books - and the oversized art ones, too. (Hundertwasser, anyone?)


And the coffee-maker is happy at last!

It's really feeling as if the whole place is coming together.

Shed Stuff

So we started removing the old shelving from inside the outbuildings, to reorganise and start the bike room etc, and found a slight problem;

Dry rot - and a massive leak down the street side wall through the roof.

So we are now back in a destruction phase, with builders back to re-do the outbuildings, which includes rebuilding an entire wall, redoing most of the wooden beams for the roof and redoing all the slates - here is where we are at....


Only a little work for the builders (!) - oh and no yard and lots of skips again.......

some garden stuff

The front garden in toto:

And the detailed versions: everlasting peas, then buddleia,wallflower, lavenders, passionflower, more lavender, fuchsia, chamomile. The pots have some sedum and a tiny fig cutting. Mmmm.

And the elephant ears (bleurrgh, but good ground cover), something purple whose name I've forgotten, and pretty feathery astilbe.

A look up the garden to the shed when we'd just planted out herbs (from Riverford, where we get our veg box).

That was then - this is now. The shed has become a bus shelter, and the broad beans and herbs have gone BANANAS!


The raspberry crop, and the loganberry survives! (Both cuttings from my Dad):


And the new little shed. Should we grow a clematis over it? Clare's done a dry-stone-wall next to it to control one of the wood piles.

Working outside

So its been ages since our last post. Rather unsuprisingly the decorating hasn't moved much further on, not quite sure why, but I have plans for next weekend, this one being rather filled with another triathlon and then a friends birthday party!

Outside, however things are moving a bit.
We removed the shelving in the bike shed, to find a little bit of damp (or rather a massive leak from the roof all along that side of the outbuildings!?)

After the last week of rain, imagine all of that old original, tie a horse to it, wall wet and add the inside of the sauna area too....luckily we have Scott and Matt, who worked on the house as part of the woodsends team, coming to re-do the roof, remove the flooring, remove shed 5 (I think its 5, might have to check previous shed post), plumb in the washing machine and sink and move some electrics, so the sheds should be watertight and functional in a few weeks time.

Hopefully no more rotting sheds.

Talking about sheds we have also built a new shed in the swimming pool area (Dolores / Dads name for the small sunken area near our neighbours garden) and will be finishing the demolition of shed 1 after the triathlon and party this weekend!


I also tidied up with the spare bulwell stone removed from around the windows when they were extended, and have built a little dry stone wall and wood store area.

And with some help from George and Sue (again!) we have done some gardening and got things a little bit under control.
Herbs and Broadbeans
Outside our bedroom outside the front and general weeding and pruning

Also realised we hadn't posted pictures of the fantastic gable end cladding, that makes us feel nautical!


We are also meeting Gil next week to look at plans for the balcony, hoping to submit them to planning asap and get on with that too.....
We will try to keep you posted!?