Another End of Year Review

One good thing about a blog like this is that it helps me keep track of what I have achieved with this house and, possibly more importantly, what I have NOT achieved! Hence this end of year review is largely for my own benefit.

Frankly, I don't feel I've done much here in 2017. I did accomplish the previously reported refurbishment of the two remaining large sash windows - both hard work but very satisfying to see (and feel the benefit of reduced draughts). I also managed to repair the corner of a back wall where many stones were loose - I was worried that if my neighbour's side was as bad then the wall might collapse but, fortunately, his side was better anyway. The rest of the list from earlier this year is still outstanding.

There has also been a lot of clearing out in the second bedroom where I have made a wardrobe. This clearing task was made much easier after August as our daughter's wonderful wedding dress was used for its intended purpose and now lives at her house. Otherwise my shed is now full of stuff from my Dad's house that I would like to use, restore or sell - that last task seems to be a lot more work than one might think. I have not done much in the garden except to keep it tidy; I was really annoyed when the people at the back started to cut the ivy on my back wall - I asked them to leave as much as they could as it breaks up the appearance of the wall and adds some privacy, as well as giving food and shelter for birds.When they finished, it looked the same on my side, but on their side they had given the bit on top of the wall a short back and sides - the vertical wall was totally clear and so all the ivy on top had been cut off from its roots! Sigh.

It might be considered that I must have been lying around doing nothing this year, but this is definitely not the case. Leisure wise, I have bought a one-tenth share in a small aeroplane which is older than I am, and refreshed my private pilot's licence, so there is a bit of flying to look forward to in 2018.

At the church, we have done a £250k job on the exterior, thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In the course of this work we suffered some vandalism when some little sod got up the partially completed scaffolding before the alarm was fitted and literally kicked a couple of stained glass windows to pieces - this repair should be complete at last in early January. You can hardly imagine how much work is caused by an incident like that, and most of it fell on my shoulders.

That reminds me of something that I need to pass on about the erection of scaffolding. It appears to be customary trade practice not to fit a scaffolding alarm until the erection of the scaffolding is finished. Now, I can understand why that should be the case for scaffolding around a house, as the alarm will get in the way of the next day's erection work. However, when you are putting up 13 lifts of scaffolding around a church tower, the job will take several days so I cannot understand why the alarm cannot be fitted once you have done the first three or four lifts, as all subsequent work will be above the alarm. If I was the insurers I would be insisting on a change to the current practice, but fortunately they are paying (apart from our excess)...

At one stage recently, one of the two temporary plastic sheets fell out of the window and made everyone very cold for one weekend. To fix this, I hired a 7.2 metre double width scaffold tower which was erected and dismantled by me and two men of similar age. To my surprise, I found that the double width tower was no more difficult to erect

and, in fact, the platforms were easier to manage, so I will use one of these in future. The window job itself took only 25 minutes and our end result is much more secure than that of the professionals who fitted the stuff.

This year we have had a cruise from Jordan to Malaga through the Suez Canal, seeing Petra in Jordan and calling at Crete, Malta, Palma and Gibraltar; we also spent a week in Sicily in September, so we have done OK for holidays. (NB From our cruise we flew back from Malaga and had the most dreadful airport experience of our lives - don't go there! If it's a bad as that on a Sunday in early April, what was it like in August?)

We have become used to being in each other's company for most of the day, almost every day, now that we are both properly retired, and I expect to end my six years as Churchwarden in May 2018, so I will then have even more time on my hands.

More New Year Resolutions

I have found making resolutions beneficial in the last few years - at least by writing my intentions at the start of the year, I then cannot deny what I wrote! Also, it helps my failing memory about what I intended to do, and then what I actually achieved (and when).

The most momentous event of the year was that t'other half finally retired and so no longer travels to London each weekday; we are still trying to work out how to exist together for seven days per week, when for the last six years I have been accustomed to being on my own (and doing the shopping and cooking) for five of those days. We have already learned the benefits of not waking at 6.15am, and are still catching up on years of lost sleep!

Last year I did achieve most of my intentions:

a. The hall landing and stairs were painted in the Earthborn claypaint
b. I stripped, repaired and repainted one half of the back gates
c. I managed to renovate two more sash windows (the back bedrooms)
d. I installed a wardrobe in the second bedroom, using the doors and frame given to me by the neighbour who was throwing them out  - I'm very pleased with the result
e. I built a second wood-store and also did a couple of similar jobs in the church

However, I still have the following to do this year:

1.There is still 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. 

2. 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 1 and 2 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.

3. The wardobe in the front bedroom needs plastering (modern stuff - it's panelled with plasterboard).

4. I still want to put fire black on some fireplaces - I've never done that before and feel that it could be messy!

5. There are still two more of the same size sash windows (hall and kitchen) to do, plus the pair of small ones in the bathroom.

6. One very new job is that the high stone wall (between our neighbour's back garden and our front) needs to be rebuilt - it is about 8 feet high on my side, and about 10 feet on my neighbour's, due to the difference in ground levels. It has a lot of ivy damage and also leans alarmingly. I think I will get it done by a professional...

We have our daughter's wedding to look forward to in August, and have also booked a cruise from Aqaba to Spain just before Easter. Somehow I don't think the year is going to hang around!

Finishing the Summer's Work

Firstly, here's a picture of the finished sash window (upper left window in the picture right). It was a lot of work - probably more than 60 man-hours - but it was worth it simply for the satisfaction of a job well done, plus the appreciation of t'other half!

As I said in August, I'd like to think that the finish on my window is better than the (not so long ago professionally refurbished) window of my neighbour (upper right).  Certainly mine was cheaper and still has the glass that it had when I bought it (although two large panes are not original wavy glass).

Apart from the sash window, I have also done the garden (right) along the side of the house.  This is the bit seen from the kitchen window, so it was really good to get it done before winter.

Having moved half a ton of earth from front to back, the side garden was ready for some turf which I acquired from a well known home store.  The bit recently done is in front of the shed up to the brick wall.  The turf didn't cost the full price as it was quite yellow but, having been down for ten days, it is now indistinguishable in colour from the stuff laid earlier (in three separate phases!) which stretches to the back wall in the distance.  NB The grass ramp is to allow me to push the mower up (as the same mower has to do this raised lawn and the front lawn) - I could lift it up now but know that one day soon it will become impossible for me!

I needed a small amount of top soil to sort out the levels of the last turf beside the shed; this was planned to come from laying a bit more driveway in front but this job just didn't get done for ages until happily it all happened suddenly a few weeks ago.  The new space (left) is only a small addition but I didn't want to loose too much of the lawn out front.  It allows much easier turning of cars in front, as well as a bit more parking when the family visit.

On the left is the view from the back of the garden looking along the side of the house. The back gates still need some work but otherwise now everything is just gardening rather than earth-moving, brickwork or stone work.  As my wife said, "you did all of that yourself!"

Compare this view with the next picture below, which was taken from pretty well the very same spot.

 

Here's a couple of reminders of what it looked like just before we bought it:

Firstly (right upper), looking forward from beside the kitchen, from the far end looking forward to where the back gates and my "repaired" wall now are (where the green bin is in the picture):


Secondly (right lower),  the view looking to the rear from beside what is now the kitchen window:

The tree (visible in both pictures) beside the wall of the house was a lovely pear tree which sadly had to go.  It was so close to the house that a chain saw could not fit between the tree and the wall, but a woodturner friend managed to fell it for me (in exchange for the wood!).  Note the concrete path (along the side of the house) which was about six inches above the floor level inside, whereas my black limestone slabs are five inches below the same floor level.

At the time these photos were taken, we had not actually found the side wall of the garden (somewhere to the left of the bottom photo) as the undergrowth was so thick!  Eventually (about three months later), to our surprise, we found that the garden widens out as you go back (and our neighbour's garden narrows) - I think it is because it follows a boundary along a mediaeval street, which predated both houses!

Recent Progress Photos

I promised some photos of the recent work in my last post.  Here's a view of the end of the finished wall, showing the problematic steps and the patio:

The rest of the dry limestone wall is to the left of the steps and goes along the side of the house - it's about 12 metres long.  Note on the right the small brick wall which retains some earth to protect the footing of the high rear wall; the small wall has the remnants of the paving as coping - and a spare seat!

Here's the view along the side of the house, towards the steps and patio.

Top Tip 1: when doing stone walling, avoid curves and corners - I made life very difficult for myself with my design.

(Left) A close up of the steps, showing the alternative lining for them - when I decided that mortared limestone would take up too much of the width of the steps, I used off-cuts of limestone flooring from the church work last year, cut into one inch strips and held together with NHL 3.5

On a sudden whim, on Tuesday I decided that the weather was cool enough to allow me to do lime work outside, so I decided to finish off the wall end to one side of the front gateway; I did the other side properly two years ago and this side has been dry assembled since 2011 - but was now spreading a bit.  This is the halfway stage when I had done the two levels of stone:

Here's the finished article with the corner coping stone attached on Wednesday.  As you might imagine, I had some difficulty doing this wall with the four year old hornbeam hedge in such close proximity!

Top Tip 2: Always finish a wall BEFORE planting a hedge beside it!!

Well, it's Progress, but not much!

I have been busy this year - honestly.  Much of this year's progress is based on the recent acquisition of my own angle grinder as a birthday present!  However, I don't feel I have much to show for my effort because the list of achievments is largely small jobs, or larger jobs which have been going on for too long.

This year so far, other than normal maintenance, I have:

a. Cut several large coping stones in half lengthways in order to make them a sensible size to cap a 4" thick brick wall.
b. Finished the dry stone wall which forms the fascia to the block/brick wall which holds the garden back, as it is higher than the house floor level.
c. Cut and fitted various items of stone flooring to make the wall lining to go beside the steps up to the lawn.
d. Cut and fitted yet more left-over flagstone into suitable sizes in order to act as coping stone on another low brick wall; these will allow people to sit on them fairly comfortably when we hold a barbecue on the patio!
e. Removed the remaining gunk from two doors and the panelling to the kitchen (the wall is 17" thick) using heat gun plus scraper, then a Stanley knife scraper then sander or just sandpaper, in order to enable painting of the surface. This was a nightmare job.
f. Painted both hall doors (to lounge and kitchen) plus the above mentioned panelling to the kitchen plus the inside of the front door, all in Laura Ashley Eau-de-Nil; although I didn't choose the colour, I am very pleased with the choice and the overall effect.
g. Chosen the shade of Earthborn claypaint for the walls of the hall, stairs and landing, as we finally decided that the yellow limewash done in 2011 was a bit too bright.
h. Painted the back and one side of the shed (see earlier) which I did in early March as I couldn't paint last year because it is too close to a lot of undergrowth.
i. Fitted the bath panel properly (at last!!)
j. Cleared the rubbish (an empty one tonne bag, some old bricks, various tubs of stuff and a rotting pallet) from the area beside the back window.
k. Laid some setts at the end of the paving to hold it away from the wall below the back window, as it's a bit high compared to the floor inside, and laid the last of the paving on sand to fill the gap.

The last of the jobs above to be done was the completion of the wall (b. above); having finished it a couple of days ago, I realise how this interesting but tedious job has been hanging over me for 32 months since I laid the foundations.  Perhaps I do feel that I have something to show for my hard work after all!

Now I have to finish plaster repairs in the hall (these are partly done so not listed above), then paint the hall, stairs and landing with the claypaint.  Then there's a widening of the drive, which will provide some earth to do the last of the landscaping in the back garden, to be followed by some more turf which will effectively complete the back.  Finally in the front I need to build one wall end with lime mortar in place of the present dry construction which was temporarily done in 2012. Then it'll be a few internal details like a new wardrobe and clearing the second bedroom, plus finishing the 2011 wardrobe in our bedroom and a lot of decorating!

I'll put some new pictures up when I've been able to buy some batteries for my camera...

The Back Garden takes shape

This post could just as easily be entitled "The Beginning of the End for the Builder's Yard", which is what my side and back garden has been for the last two years since we moved in.  At last I have made some significant progress to making it look right; I previously reported the completion of the paving here - that was a bit premature as actually there were five left to do, which I wanted to do at the same time as the little back wall. 

As I've said before, this wall is just four courses high but fills several important functions: firstly it provides a good edge for the limestone paving laid on sand; secondly it retains a foot of earth at the base of the stone wall where we had lowered the ground level (this was essential for drainage but I was worried about whether we had gone down too far and that the foundation of the wall might erode); thirdly, it's a home for a good amount of spare earth which I had acquired whilst laying the flagstones and finally, it looks good!

At the far end you can see the foundation for the brick barbeque which I hope to do soon.  The last five flagstones are the ones at the top, beside the wall and the barbeque.

The other major task just completed is that yesterday we collected 20 sq m of turf, which I have laid today. 

This is what now permits me to say that it is now more of a garden than a builder's yard (although you can still see a pallet, my mixer and various plastic tubs in the above photo! Here's a photo of the lawn, (left) with the steps and the unfinished stone wall beside the house (which is just out of picture on the right), and you can just see a bit of the low brick wall which runs across the back of the house (on the extreme right).

Top tip for turfing: buy good turf! It should be consistently thin but strong; if not it's a nightmare (I learned that a long time ago; these were great).

I think you will agree that it's a large change from what we bought almost three years ago:

I reckon the above photo is taken from almost exactly the same place as the one of the lawn above it; the ivy covered apple tree is in the middle at the top of the lawn photo (I just pointed the camera down at the lawn a bit more). In fact this overgrown photo was taken in March 2011 after five months work - the "as purchased" condition was so bad that you couldn't even walk there due to the vegetation.

Feeling Worn Out

I've done almost half of the one foot high brick wall which edges the paving at the end of the garden.  It will be about 13 feet long and have a brick built barbeque stand at one end.  The foundation is concrete, and the reclaimed Imperial bricks are laid with lime mortar which matches the house.  This wall gives a solid edge for the paving laid on sand, and also resolves a worry I had about whether we had taken the ground down too far beside the 6ft stone wall; it will raise the ground level at the base of the wall thus preventing erosion, and also I can dispose of a good quantity of excavated earth behind it. 

I spent yesterday working at my normal speed, until about 3pm.  I had done two major e-mails on church business which, with a phone call as well, had taken most of the morning, and then I got on with the foundations for the second half of the wall. This was hard work as yesterday was very hot, and I was digging through a layer which contains animal bone (no human has teeth that size!) and a good amount of local brash.  This stuff is annoying as you have a few bits of stone as large as your hand hidden in good earth, and if partly hidden they still have to be removed. Suddenly I realised that actually I was very tired, and that I wasn't going to finish digging the hole and mix a load of concrete in what was left of the afternoon.  So I stopped and at that same moment decided that I would do nothing at all today as well - just have a day off. 

I've had a bit of a poor throat recently, but last night I slept pretty well. I had to get up at 6.30 to take t'other half to the station, and when I came back I went back to bed with another cup of tea.  Next thing I knew it was 10.00am! I went to the shops for a few essentials and a haircut, and only then realised that I had not had any breakfast.  After lunch I found myself watching the Formula 1 practice on TV, and an old film with Telly Savalas.  I certainly feel rested and much better today; perhaps this is what retirement is meant to be like?

Yes, there are still lots of things I could do around the house and garden, and I know I have to finish doing things by October 16th (operation day) but I am determined not to let these jobs put such pressure on me in the future.