Another year starts and so it's time to review what I've done on the house and what I intend to do this year!
I did do a couple of things not listed in the last progress update last June or the end of year update immediately below this entry:
a. The hall landing and stairs were painted in the Earthborn claypaint and look lovely - I do recommend this stuff, but to get the best result you need to roll it rather than brush it.
b. I stripped, repaired and repainted one half of the back gates - as they are from different sources they wear differently, and the one half that I had renovated in 2011 was looking quite poorly. I think this was because it wasn't actually as dry as I thought then.
Now, in the coming year, there are a few big-ish jobs left:
1. The big question is how many sash windows I will renovate. My plan is to do at least the narrow pair in the bathroom, followed by the one in the hall. That will leave one in the kitchen and two in the back bedrooms.
2. There is also some plastering to do: the window recess in the front bedroom is some of the last original plaster left, and it doesn't sound good. Having done the window last year, it makes sense to tackle this tricky bit of work.
3. In painting the hall I found that the plaster in the top of the hall window recess was dropping down and so needs to be re-done as well, with lime plaster. It would make sense to do both 2 and 3 at the same time but that will make a mess in two places at the same time, and the job will want three or four coats with drying time between.
4. The wardobe in the front bedroom needs plastering (modern stuff - it's panelled with plasterboard).
5. I want to install a wardrobe in the second bedroom, but that means that I have to sort out a full four drawer filing cabinet and other stuff...
6. I'd like to put fire black on some fireplaces - I've never done that before and feel that it could be messy!
7. Then there's more decorating and other internal jobs, plus more tidying in the garden - but these all count as maintenance.
Other than those, we have a cruise holiday booked in March and we're going to a square dance convention for three days in July. Moreover the church is not doing any major work this year as our current grant application is for 2017, so it might be a more relaxed year!
http://www.heyfordhoofers.org.uk/
