tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75669784435235294142024-02-19T06:55:57.100+00:00Incubator More - renovating a Victorian gamekeeper's lodgeThe renovation and restoration of a Victorian gamekeeper's lodge in the UK MidlandsIncubator Morehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17928909719389133280noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-32311697895633923682017-01-13T13:16:00.000+00:002017-01-17T16:04:17.791+00:00Planning for the future - if there is one<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might have noticed that not a lot has been happening here of late, but one of the primary reasons is that we don't actually want to do all that much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've '<i>engaged the services</i>' of an architect with a view to extending, you see, so we can't really start making changes anywhere in case we end up ripping them all out because we want an indoor swimming pool and underground sex dungeon... for example. Which we don't. We're not keen swimmers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the thing with architects and plans and wotnot is that that kind of thing takes time to sort out, included in which is a tremendous amount of cogitation and chin-stroking rather than spontaneous gun-jumping.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-j-VX0wjBbP2AdBfXv0Vp90GdvHjYPohRO5pV30HeO3vD6bqbc_pLOu4u9MhTOsmpPHdJU-wmIeUD-NHhN9d5bH7pywFzY4qQRuzWvhUzk4cooHdBNoinEppVS0RMpRF9WYgpd2S6Q/s1600/floorplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-j-VX0wjBbP2AdBfXv0Vp90GdvHjYPohRO5pV30HeO3vD6bqbc_pLOu4u9MhTOsmpPHdJU-wmIeUD-NHhN9d5bH7pywFzY4qQRuzWvhUzk4cooHdBNoinEppVS0RMpRF9WYgpd2S6Q/s640/floorplan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How things currently look</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our architect, Peter, was recommended to us by a neighbour as someone who has been in the industry for so long that he has now retired from it and has little else to do other than play tennis and watch Homes Under the Hammer, so he likes to keep his hand in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has been the brains behind a couple of very nice homes in the area and gazillions of others elsewhere - so he knows his stuff - and his rates are particularly attractive because he's no longer a corporate robot with £ signs in his eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He's also a very pleasant chap and recently brought us some cooking apples from his garden which Dawn magicked in to a crumble which she then froze and forgot about. So we have apple crumble in the freezer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apple crumble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like apple crumble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not sure where the freezer is and I can't work the oven.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having never made a planning application before we're completely new to everything from beginning to end, so we're kind of feeling our way along slowly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We know we want a bigger <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/search/label/kitchen" target="_blank">Kitchen</a> - probably as a large kitchen/diner - and a bathroom which can accommodate both a bath <u>and</u> a person at the same time would be nice too. So that's at least work on a ground floor extension but it would </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ideally</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">mean a two-storey add-on being built subject to planning and money.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCqnI2C_7LzNQfmrRzKDV4ZsvnOvJqBCqJCJRbvbhKE49pRwOZJ7TTqXmAntSqwpL311-WM54gldZooe0VEVW6DbgK09O9CMrnLs82CMDz8Jf7EE2SPO6Dcr46OSUaKKyFc3Y9TXlRg/s1600/plan1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCqnI2C_7LzNQfmrRzKDV4ZsvnOvJqBCqJCJRbvbhKE49pRwOZJ7TTqXmAntSqwpL311-WM54gldZooe0VEVW6DbgK09O9CMrnLs82CMDz8Jf7EE2SPO6Dcr46OSUaKKyFc3Y9TXlRg/s640/plan1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first plan for a single-storey extension.<br />
There was another one with a secret courtyard but I can't find it.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All simple enough so far, you might think, but a new bathroom would mean opening up the current landing which would give us room to do something with the dangerously-steep Victorian stairs, which in turn might impact upon the existing bedrooms and the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/search/label/dining%20room" target="_blank">Dining Room</a> where the stairs come down in to an adjoining cupboard... etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then there's the outside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We want the extension to move out the back of The Lodge across the existing courtyard, somehow encompassing the old outbuildings, and doing that would mean knocking down the garage which would be blocking the view to the garden... so we'd need a new garage... so we can't really work on the garden even if it wasn't snowing outside...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...and on it goes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The net result is that we can't really do all that much until decisions are made about the future of the property.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, there are a few niggly jobs outstanding but nothing important enough to encourage us in to major action (although we're </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">finally</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">going to get round to lagging the loft soon), which leaves us - especially me, because Dawn is distracted by real employment stuff - at a bit of a loose end.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjCilnrMuClOmaXx9KlRtq2QJ0U6Rj5R39_f9lBjLWFd_8mkM6njaNcuupgiB189Sg7D5hSwLxeGmqT2ZY68OkU64bDeNWbzCcNBBUkTH0QLJJDOusoeo-dr8DtFdRMf-FukKz25BdA/s1600/plan2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjCilnrMuClOmaXx9KlRtq2QJ0U6Rj5R39_f9lBjLWFd_8mkM6njaNcuupgiB189Sg7D5hSwLxeGmqT2ZY68OkU64bDeNWbzCcNBBUkTH0QLJJDOusoeo-dr8DtFdRMf-FukKz25BdA/s640/plan2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The latest plans for our consideration<br />
(Click to make it bigger)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the dangerous part of being in Limbo is that I've got time to let my brain run around a little bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm beginning to think that a Trump-proof bunker could actually be a good idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seriously.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look at it this way: at some point over the next four years, should the permanently-furious and <i>astonishingly</i>-tactless DJT not end up on a drawer in a freezer, there's likely to be some kind of jolly old knees-up between him, Vlad, Kim, Bashar, Xi and probably one or two other <strike>despots</strike> people, and we'll all be invited whether we want to be or not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To update a popular movie reference: "Our intercontinental ballistic missiles will block out the sun." Attribute that where you will.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIIDX6-hEzk_nBocYH6jpLsxhbnSvPw-J9zReL0Zn3CNKuSxQKMUpr1nIHWUg0bk7-IdzMFoVmMIbRg8IYZNIP_dya3GXoMKMc17Rs9JHYxfx4eZytPcwf0moTPIv7H5ydicQ98FUfg/s1600/donald+trump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIIDX6-hEzk_nBocYH6jpLsxhbnSvPw-J9zReL0Zn3CNKuSxQKMUpr1nIHWUg0bk7-IdzMFoVmMIbRg8IYZNIP_dya3GXoMKMc17Rs9JHYxfx4eZytPcwf0moTPIv7H5ydicQ98FUfg/s400/donald+trump.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paranoid, lying, arrogant, shouty lunatic</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So somewhere in the back of my mind I'm digging a great big hole at the back of The Lodge, lowering in a shipping container, filling its shelves with five years' worth of baked beans, covering it up with mud and grass, adding a trapdoor hidden in the floor of a shed and waiting for the sirens. Quite a lot like </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO25JYAaJC0" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">this</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (turn the sound down a bit).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most people would have laughed at the idea a few years ago, but I'm not so sure now.
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</script></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-70791417964595975152016-12-30T13:51:00.001+00:002017-01-17T16:03:47.157+00:00Extreme door stripping<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do you want the bad news?" asked the antique restoration fella as we arrived to collect 10 doors which had been dropped off for <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/12/door-dipping-and-installing-reclaimed.html" target="_blank">stripping</a> a couple of weeks earlier. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two of ours and eight belonging to some friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now the thing with questions like that is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>a)</b> You would normally expect a punchline;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>b)</b> You would also expect some <i>good </i>news to counter whatever was coming first;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>c)</b> 'Bad' news, when delivered in such a way, would be something like "I haven't done it yet"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So imagine our amusement to see that the restorer's workshop now looked like this...</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8M0341BT6gg0VphAcUC6RYH3oPtql8YEFeGvKfm-5UpGLPlogtPZjiJvmgOq0AFYYuYV1H-cqwQeb2qB3OAkV5w1ACDCBT88ZUXntg4ZIAiKNT4v7WpYTHosrgAOKzPCjz7mWDxnj2w/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8M0341BT6gg0VphAcUC6RYH3oPtql8YEFeGvKfm-5UpGLPlogtPZjiJvmgOq0AFYYuYV1H-cqwQeb2qB3OAkV5w1ACDCBT88ZUXntg4ZIAiKNT4v7WpYTHosrgAOKzPCjz7mWDxnj2w/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad news indeed</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unsurprisingly there was no good news on offer as we stood among the smouldering ruins, although on the positive side he had actually finished the job and apparently all 10 doors - every single one of which was circa 150-years-old - looked "beautiful" in the moments before a hot coal unexpectedly hurled itself from an open pot-bellied stove, landing on a workbench in the highly-combustible building which for many years had been absorbing flammable fumes and was lined with shelves featuring many containers of what amounted to pure napalm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apparently the three fire crews in attendance had had a whale of a time for many hours as they battled not only to stop the raging inferno spreading to nearby properties but also to stop the huge bath of caustic stripping fluid disintegrating and the gas bottles used to heat it from entering orbit. It sounded like a right laugh.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIoNiOhHoaTzRDtSllfpP9RfRODMZMfejMgfTtGUfVDnGmxkt0ZhKRfT2JxXKdHTLxcgPHRLj31B4uRok7Tg5UuK93g77j_RGrRtOGCfP2T9UoVrAWGGhgCLrdfZvL0ZLql-G_4ALpA/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIoNiOhHoaTzRDtSllfpP9RfRODMZMfejMgfTtGUfVDnGmxkt0ZhKRfT2JxXKdHTLxcgPHRLj31B4uRok7Tg5UuK93g77j_RGrRtOGCfP2T9UoVrAWGGhgCLrdfZvL0ZLql-G_4ALpA/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least the bath of face-melting caustic (centre) survived</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But all was not lost because there </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>was</u></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a punchline:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I'm not insured," chuckled the jovial-but-slightly-bonkers chap. "It lapsed four years ago."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the few minutes it took to learn all of this, Dawn, Andy and I said very little other than the occasional high-pitched four-letter word, preferring to spend most of that time standing slack-jawed as the blood left our faces and gathered around our vital organs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The drive home in Andy's Land Rover, accompanied by a trailer which was just as empty as it had been on the way there, was one of the most surreal experiences of my life as we struggled to process what was going on in our heads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because not only had Dawn and I lost two original features of The Lodge, including what we think was the original back door (plus original fittings), but our friends had lost <i>every single internal door in their cottage</i>, meaning Christmas and New Year would be celebrated in a house draped with blankets to stop the drafts whistling around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I write we're waiting for the holidays to get themselves out of the way when hopefully the restorer will be in touch to give us the cash compensation he promised - a four-figure sum - so we can all get new doors sorted out and put the whole bizarre episode behind us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After all, as he told us immediately after breaking the news about the insurance: "I'm loaded."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He'd better be.</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>UPDATE - January 17, 2017</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Roughly three quarters of what we asked for has been paid and the cheque cleared today... which was a little bit of a welcome surprise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final payment should be made in a few weeks once the restorer's overdraft comes through, so maybe he's not made of money after all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless, I've got written - and signed - confirmation that the final amount <i>will </i>be paid so it seems as though all's well that ends well, albeit not for our poor doors.</span></div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-8241016109323769972016-11-22T13:17:00.000+00:002016-11-22T13:30:13.369+00:00Skirting the issue<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>CONFESSION:</b> I wrote this post bloody <u>months</u> ago but hadn't sorted out the photos... then my phone (on which reside said images) wouldn't connect to my laptop... then I forgot... then I had stuff to do... then my parents started badgering me about blogging more... then I got a new phone... then I had more stuff to do... etc.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>< sad face ></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As pretentious as it might sound, my mini-mantra when making decisions which affect the finish or overall result of a job is always "<i>if we do ordinary stuff we'll get an ordinary house</i>".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is true, too. I actually use those words out loud in the direction of Dawn's rolling eyes sometimes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Luckily she also (usually) agrees with my great wisdom, which is why rather than slapping a load of pine around the bottom of the Living Room walls, we decided to pay a little bit extra for European oak skirting and architrave to compliment the beams and window sills, which were yet to be made.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other than our <i>Kitchen of the Future</i> the Living Room will be the main place in the house for relaxing or praying for our guests to leave, so we didn't want to cut any corners which would be obvious or make a difference to the end result.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvV4k5K4g1L6N7JUWRPNXHqJaLR0bEdbrpT4J60Ni6-Df-2qWjOo0NailwMJVI155FNax3o6Ek6qI6P6gUIqdM-Fy4ZouWVflmmifRnvX0eUklOvzog4QTJTocx3wo-6FrX5oPdyxkw/s1600/sawmill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvV4k5K4g1L6N7JUWRPNXHqJaLR0bEdbrpT4J60Ni6-Df-2qWjOo0NailwMJVI155FNax3o6Ek6qI6P6gUIqdM-Fy4ZouWVflmmifRnvX0eUklOvzog4QTJTocx3wo-6FrX5oPdyxkw/s640/sawmill.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Workshop porn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But because we don't like making things simple for ourselves we also decided to take a round-trip of almost 400 miles to our friend Will's sawmill near the south coast, which isn't a kick in the behind away from France, where he agreed to let us help make the 7-inch straight-edged oak boards and matching chamfered architrave for around the inside of the door frame.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYL-sdbKJvJ6wV9ItAEPKNAVXARzGtTMaG4_ONoW_Fe63vCq0vVXx9ZNOkf6Xf5Zbz40NbJu4MoUqVhbwUzfdiFMnz_IIVBOneQLxkwGtkBYAFR-3h6OtRQb6_aIHiT9E8O4-G2jKWog/s1600/will.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYL-sdbKJvJ6wV9ItAEPKNAVXARzGtTMaG4_ONoW_Fe63vCq0vVXx9ZNOkf6Xf5Zbz40NbJu4MoUqVhbwUzfdiFMnz_IIVBOneQLxkwGtkBYAFR-3h6OtRQb6_aIHiT9E8O4-G2jKWog/s320/will.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite appearances, Will's fingers are<br />
all of the requisite length</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Will is a tremendously-talented and knowledgeable (and friendly) chap, by the way, and we're not just saying that because we kind of e-know him (long story - it's a web forum thing stretching back more than a decade) - if he wasn't much cop we wouldn't have bothered asking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His website is <a href="http://woodlouseindustries.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>. You should take a look. And yes, that's a bare-faced plug because I want some wallnut and olive from him soon for my latest endeavour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, passports in hand, off we went to Billingshurst in West Sussex which is home to Woodlouse Industries and more wood than you can shake a... lots, anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Will had already cut the rough and filthy boards to size and although we didn't get our hands as dirty as we did <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/any-old-iron-forging-our-own-companion.html">making the companion set</a> (there weren't so many steps to follow where we could get stuck in) we helped to run them through the four-sided planer which churned out beautiful, smooth timber at the other end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the Clumsiest Woman in the World</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> messed around on the bandsaw with sacrificial offcuts and flailing fingers, Will ran the architrave, which is narrower than the skirting boards, over a router table, trimming off the corner edges at 45-degrees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He chucked in a little extra oak - just in case, a couple of boards and a sycamore chopping board that he just happened to have lying around and we strapped them carefully to the roof of the ManTruck, had a quick farewell pint, and made the journey home.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5VGbnfAmjG59UyVccg07KVkntoXVyovCAcHIf5cYf7sdEfqQ9uQczvKVaCMNQCBWJxxh1qxVUc2TsQbaWcNsJblenDEhIcapTBhC3nPmdsNygP0nB0CkDSt7J9Hi1a-hXpkZs-CRHA/s1600/raw_skirting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5VGbnfAmjG59UyVccg07KVkntoXVyovCAcHIf5cYf7sdEfqQ9uQczvKVaCMNQCBWJxxh1qxVUc2TsQbaWcNsJblenDEhIcapTBhC3nPmdsNygP0nB0CkDSt7J9Hi1a-hXpkZs-CRHA/s400/raw_skirting.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poised and ready to transform in to a<br />
gigantic mathematical headache</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A couple of weeks later, after the decorating was done and the floor was given its penultimate finish, it was down to me and the ever-present and helpful Trevor to get them fitted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It took a couple of days to do - cutting to length and mitering (with a 100-tooth chopsaw blade for a smoother cut) - but before long, yet still after much head-scratching and disagreement, we had glued and screwed everything in place, using a couple of 'plinth blocks' for the transition between the skirting and architrave around the door. These blocks were 2mm thicker than the skirting - and hence the architrave - so they stood a little proud without getting in the way of passing toes, and I cut them 20mm higher than the skirting and 20mm wider than the architrave.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAbfkuUQYLy3uGZTzTWbG_Tn0aryK4hHbFXFXw2wfuQ4qMo9Pol526oOtelck4tYu9rLjjvZhIHI-oLaFg-msfu4Wk-ap0oy9U1QUEPUgD-OY1oQfas9-J2fve6fiOQ1J4tGsMLyRNw/s1600/feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAbfkuUQYLy3uGZTzTWbG_Tn0aryK4hHbFXFXw2wfuQ4qMo9Pol526oOtelck4tYu9rLjjvZhIHI-oLaFg-msfu4Wk-ap0oy9U1QUEPUgD-OY1oQfas9-J2fve6fiOQ1J4tGsMLyRNw/s320/feet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Instant grab adhesive. Not so instant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While fitting the architrave we had to deal with a couple of issues, both of which had the same solution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first was that the plaster on the walls rounds-off before it gets to the door frame, which would have left a gap of up to 12mm between the back of the architrave and the frame. To minimise this we left some of the original pine frame's edge exposed as a kind of feature (it was waxed and buffed as the final job) leaving a gap of around 5mm between the architrave and frame which would need to be filled later on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second consideration was that, whereas architrave is generally supposed to hide the frame edge and cover the door hinges, we wanted to keep the hinge screws exposed in case we ever needed to remove the door. This was also solved by keeping around 75% of the frame edge exposed.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECIOF_KL9qy70VMeHO2MXdwxfcniCL_nFZz5i0pXNisSfISjylxHScKfKqePvB6ND8Am4qV5CsdMTHZtRpSOI-FKAuQM9ykcHP3ny9taJ6rKk46aJE3rVjBugVRmKIe8LgwhZi-rfMg/s1600/radvalve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECIOF_KL9qy70VMeHO2MXdwxfcniCL_nFZz5i0pXNisSfISjylxHScKfKqePvB6ND8Am4qV5CsdMTHZtRpSOI-FKAuQM9ykcHP3ny9taJ6rKk46aJE3rVjBugVRmKIe8LgwhZi-rfMg/s400/radvalve.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not easy taking pictures of fitted skirting<br />
so here's one of a radiator valve and<br />
polishing piping</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once everything was in place I mixed some of the fine oak sawdust from the mitre saw's collection bag with a little five-minute epoxy glue to make a paste then filled the countersunk screw holes. I left it all for 24 hours to go off fully, then because epoxy sets harder than stone I ended up foregoing sandpaper and took the grinding wheel of a Dremel to the rough surfaces, finishing off with a once-over with 240-grit sandpaper to make it all flush.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm slightly disappointed that the finish is darker than the surrounding wood but it's not terrible so I'm pretty happy with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, because a straight, smooth wall in an old house is a thing of myth and legend, I masked off the edges of all the woodwork and ran a bead of decorator's caulk around the tops of the skirting and edges of the architrave, just to join everything up to the plaster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And that was it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We're delighted with the final result and although the skirting has a contemporary feel to it with its straight lines and square edges, the 7" height of them still keeps that Victorian thingummyjig going on.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFP30DZmMLyMHYKNnYeTmH8zoXcp45K72eqy-o1LD4W1s38PziDv35nnAPvOItroHv7MwulkvmSc8kDysJELr31C2sbFf1VeRIgw2L8qtf4E7UlGG8obclTgClkxF91BauYmJu_kbyw/s1600/door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFP30DZmMLyMHYKNnYeTmH8zoXcp45K72eqy-o1LD4W1s38PziDv35nnAPvOItroHv7MwulkvmSc8kDysJELr31C2sbFf1VeRIgw2L8qtf4E7UlGG8obclTgClkxF91BauYmJu_kbyw/s640/door.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Things of note:</b><br />
<br />
<b>1.</b> Plinth blocks for the skirting/architrave transition<br />
<b>2. </b>Countersunk screw holes filled with epoxy and oak dust paste then sanded flush<br />
<b>3. </b>About 75% of the door frame's edge is exposed to counter the problem wall edges<br />
and leave the hinges exposed. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</script>Incubator Morehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17928909719389133280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-17520636501036163642016-09-28T18:34:00.000+01:002016-09-28T19:41:48.084+01:00Learning about lime<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n keeping with the 'do as much as we can ourselves' approach, and in the wake of the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/lime-plastering-cautionary-tale.html" target="_blank">horror story</a> that was our experience with a lime plasterer, we decided to go on a lime plastering course a couple of months ago (the end of June to be more precise).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are a few lime product suppliers in the UK, of which we've used three so far for our various house-related purchases: <a href="http://www.lime-green.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lime Green</a>, <a href="https://www.lime.org.uk/" target="_blank">Ty-Mawr</a> and, randomly, <a href="https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Natural-Hydraulic-Lime-NHL3-5-25Kg/p/980753" target="_blank">Travis Perkins</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime Green and Ty-Mawr make their own products as well as selling others and we've found both of them really helpful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition to making and selling products, Ty-Mawr also <a href="https://www.lime.org.uk/courses-site-visits-consultancy/courses.html" target="_blank">offer courses</a> on Lime and Lime Plastering. So, after umming and ahhing for a bit, we signed up.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-Eo-VNWGdXcwj-aQRPag2lNe373lev7XJucZ1LHSZDFV_qn9hrczCqbKOUAXGMZ86aBaEWZPd_yzQqjvuUx6hlHUARqlidJEndOl7sun_u-tAVfwAkIANStvEl7ELOVUHMqo4FH-1RIK/s1600/IMG_2744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-Eo-VNWGdXcwj-aQRPag2lNe373lev7XJucZ1LHSZDFV_qn9hrczCqbKOUAXGMZ86aBaEWZPd_yzQqjvuUx6hlHUARqlidJEndOl7sun_u-tAVfwAkIANStvEl7ELOVUHMqo4FH-1RIK/s200/IMG_2744.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The course comprised of two days - the first day focusing on an introduction to general lime in building, and the second focusing more on lime plastering. The setting is Ty-Mawr HQ in Brecon, Wales - a really gorgeous location with a great set of old buildings that have been treated as product experiments, while also performing normal home/work functions, and a vegetable garden that puts our couple of raised beds to shame. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The co-founder of Ty-Mawr, Nigel, oversaw most of the course, with a couple of experts (Scott, Matthew and Sam) in the plastering and lime fields taking over for the practical/hands-on parts. You also get a book written by the founders of Ty-Mawr to take away and refer to when you've forgotten the inordinate amount of information that's imparted!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here, in no particular order, is a list of key </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">things we learnt:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sand:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNq7esvuT3ClWJn9bOWOv_S8F5IJC0dX4etShiV1AU0_IAQKF8VaEWQ78TSnqZFcWrK44gUGCs-7naxZjM3_wHD62eRZUBYo03wJd_X07pOC37wkoRmChOBIAvWKiOoHbz9eO6MvEm_nkc/s1600/SandGrading.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNq7esvuT3ClWJn9bOWOv_S8F5IJC0dX4etShiV1AU0_IAQKF8VaEWQ78TSnqZFcWrK44gUGCs-7naxZjM3_wHD62eRZUBYo03wJd_X07pOC37wkoRmChOBIAvWKiOoHbz9eO6MvEm_nkc/s320/SandGrading.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well-graded sand is sand with a good mix of grain sizes - some at the fine end of the scale, some at the course end of the scale, but mostly 'middling' sizes - a good bell-curve distribution of grain size. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using well-graded sand gives a good void ratio, so if you add water it will take a third of the volume of water in the same container that is already filled with sand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>T</b></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">he Lime Cycle:</b></div>
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<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime changes its chemical composition as it goes through various treatments, known as the lime cycle. It is first dug from the ground, then crushed and burnt - at which point it becomes quicklime. This is then 'slaked' - where water is added, or extracted, to produce either lime putty (also known as fat or hydraulic lime), or the more-familiar lime in powder 'hydrate' form (non-hydraulic lime) that we buy to mix with sand to make mortar etc. When these products are allowed to set, carbon is reabsorbed into the plaster/limewash/etc, and the final stage returns to its original </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CaCO3</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">chemical composition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime sets by absorbing CO2 from the air. If it dries too quickly, it won't set. Carbonisation occurs at around 2mm a month. </span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Dry lime is not the same as set! </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXPAJK8WHHY_M6rtGgG6g_87zKf8Zd8beun6Xssg5JDuUIwjc0-7gQkK5djqbqBV-X_fmd8P581DIZGas_9QxZiBC1lAn2OiTau2WzEROxkEILlPEPaOtWoOiUpmDNVk7K4vP8oMSB90/s1600/lime_cycle_1_640.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXPAJK8WHHY_M6rtGgG6g_87zKf8Zd8beun6Xssg5JDuUIwjc0-7gQkK5djqbqBV-X_fmd8P581DIZGas_9QxZiBC1lAn2OiTau2WzEROxkEILlPEPaOtWoOiUpmDNVk7K4vP8oMSB90/s1600/lime_cycle_1_640.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Source: Ty-Mawr Lime Limited</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime putty:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime putty is also referred to as: non-hydraulic lime (NHL), and fat lime. It is quicklime (lime that has been burnt and crushed) and water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you cover the surface of lime putty with water it will keep indefinitely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime putty is fixatropic, so the more you 'work' it (knead it, mix it, etc) the more 'liquid' it becomes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mixing lime mortar/scratch coat plaster:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When mixing powdered lime, mix dry sand and lime first, and add water to the mix afterwards - this will prevent the lime 'balling' in the mix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime is less dense than cement, so will rise up at the back of a cement mixer - pull it back down into the mix to ensure it is mixed evenly - add the water after this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Give this sufficient mix time to ensure that it is wet through, without excessive water (around 15 minutes). You cannot over mix it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can leave the mix overnight and mix it again the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Makes of lime:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Different makes of lime use different sources: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">St Astier (from France) tends to be nice and fatty and a finer grade than Singleton Birch (from Portugal). </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is also Hanson (also from France).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pointing:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use a plugging chisel to remove pointing. Rake out twice the width of the joint when removing pointing.<b> </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CfSsinP5jIb9eDR2KgMmYdE52DYronNSSWMIQgtc2-5JRFL33G8dskqchIM8-Nwok5cB-phciit73mtK1MG7rQWY0o_fh5CJQxalzIFS-fQ31iQ5L5SKphR37YILYRgf5nNSQMmyT1P7/s1600/RakingOut.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CfSsinP5jIb9eDR2KgMmYdE52DYronNSSWMIQgtc2-5JRFL33G8dskqchIM8-Nwok5cB-phciit73mtK1MG7rQWY0o_fh5CJQxalzIFS-fQ31iQ5L5SKphR37YILYRgf5nNSQMmyT1P7/s320/RakingOut.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Avoid frosty months!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thoroughly wet the wall down first and leave for around 20 minutes before starting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brush the wall to knock off any loose bits of mortar etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pin out any large holes (throw a lump of mortar in, then wedge in a small stone).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mortar consistency should be 'wet sandcastle' texture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using a pointing trowel, push the mortar into the joints, leaving it slightly proud of the surface.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jRRewzk50rdPavLVR2S6B8OPhg30lUj-ZPTKEAbBqWknu8JGS2PrQLAxrZ9Gxh3VzxJXhztEv0vLvVoLCDWw0zWjWgAV7J2f7nB_HzSlnOrMvvLU6fFqPEQaHRhZWSG2cTpuVzwj_dUr/s1600/IMG_2831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jRRewzk50rdPavLVR2S6B8OPhg30lUj-ZPTKEAbBqWknu8JGS2PrQLAxrZ9Gxh3VzxJXhztEv0vLvVoLCDWw0zWjWgAV7J2f7nB_HzSlnOrMvvLU6fFqPEQaHRhZWSG2cTpuVzwj_dUr/s320/IMG_2831.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you use a pointing bar, moisten the bar with a sponge or damp cloth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tap the pointing with a stiff brush (this is calling 'knocking back'), to ensure the mortar is in the gap properly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shade your pointing from hot sun, or cover it with a damp blanket or hessian.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Protect from any frost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mist your pointing (use a garden sprayer or similar), once a day for four to five days (mist, don't saturate!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Plastering:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sand to lime ratio for both mortar and plastering is the same, but plastering is much wetter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hai</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">r is added to the base coat mix, which ties the mix together and adds flexible strength. The hair is usually either goat, horse, cattle, or synthetic, and is around one-inch long.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fibrelime is a single-coat plaster that Ty-Mawr make for Singleton Birch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aggregate size should be a maximum of one-third of the coat thickness, eg 9mm depth, 3mm maximum aggregate size. This stops 'scrapes', where aggregate drags between the surface and the tool that is applying it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You should use alkaline resistant mesh, etc. Don't use galvanised nails, as the galvanised coating will (slowly) react with the lime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The plaster bonds to the surface either by suction, or by physical bond.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bagging refers to rendering or plastering over the texture of stone/brick, so that the texture remains visible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime plaster will adhere to concrete blocks, and you can also use material to tie lime plaster to plaster board, if you need/want to carry the look and feel through into a modern area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the surface you are plastering doesn't absorb water, don't wet it first!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you struggle to get the plaster to bond to your surface, you can apply a Splatter/Dashing/Hurling coat - where you literally throw a rich 2:1 mix at the wall a day or two before you start to plaster normally. This gives suction, which allows the plaster to key.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Plastering is usually done in a three-coat process (rendering is usually just two).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The three coats are:</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvE7JlzfTbiRCvGHZd1u4ksTiCtkIn6QRR-BWDnpkwLsDMBB5K7CnW62C3qrvySAQR5z6GkzFyZFh6WRu4dElYJriqTq-ZRFIRirb3ovwt25mRh4lUyKNU-7Kw0CQdat8oxf_67Mi6_Qf1/s1600/IMG_2815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvE7JlzfTbiRCvGHZd1u4ksTiCtkIn6QRR-BWDnpkwLsDMBB5K7CnW62C3qrvySAQR5z6GkzFyZFh6WRu4dElYJriqTq-ZRFIRirb3ovwt25mRh4lUyKNU-7Kw0CQdat8oxf_67Mi6_Qf1/s320/IMG_2815.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. The Scratch coat - this is the only coat with hair in, and is around 1cm thick.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This should be scored in a diamond pattern (a special scratching tool can be used, or alternatively the corner of a lath).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This then gives good grip for the next coat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This mix should be a 2:1 or 2.5:1 ratio of sand and lime, with hair added.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The amount of hair to add is a bit nominal - throw in a handful to a mix and look to see that it is evenly distributed throughout the mix, with only a few mm between each hair.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sX4k7tUrRXeBwz3JjlstdLq6VOwLu6tMz03h96LCKYF46_908Q1fs6hPALTJSSRgbRc0KjtClTgZqA-aWNsPUjz3gP3WAWOycGU4fJycxfg4ADjVuZuMvC06B0RIcfW9ODFkdtQCZIU_/s1600/IMG_2829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sX4k7tUrRXeBwz3JjlstdLq6VOwLu6tMz03h96LCKYF46_908Q1fs6hPALTJSSRgbRc0KjtClTgZqA-aWNsPUjz3gP3WAWOycGU4fJycxfg4ADjVuZuMvC06B0RIcfW9ODFkdtQCZIU_/s320/IMG_2829.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. The 'Devil' Float coat - this is applied to b</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e around 1 cm thick, a few hours after the Scratch coat, using a straight edge to line it up, and it should then be rubbed over with a plastic float to 'consolidate' it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is then lightly scored to create a key (usually with a float with small sharp nails hammered through), in a pattern that often gives vague horn shapes, hence the 'devil' part of the name. (If you are rendering exte</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">rnally, rather than plastering, don't key this coat, two coats is finished!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mix for this coat is 3:1 sand and lime, with no hair to be added.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9KyIpRK4bFh6gqBW0BBQrRY4kpQ5v4sBCXBznEDxNiSHy_LChRRYQZnpGOD8oegNbdS3HgjMFfaS-dIKbDTLVLZ235gx7UcVayU3smOXNjBPvWT2CaPRRQHFo7TY2SfErrWCmR3H477j/s1600/IMG_2838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9KyIpRK4bFh6gqBW0BBQrRY4kpQ5v4sBCXBznEDxNiSHy_LChRRYQZnpGOD8oegNbdS3HgjMFfaS-dIKbDTLVLZ235gx7UcVayU3smOXNjBPvWT2CaPRRQHFo7TY2SfErrWCmR3H477j/s320/IMG_2838.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. The Finish/Finishing coat - this is applied to be around 3-4mm thick. It should be done in two thin coats, when you can leave 'finger shadows' in the the first coat, apply the second. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mix is 3 parts silver sand:1 part lime putty. It needs to be mixed with a paddle mixer, so is usually bought pre-mixed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can then finish off by rubbing the plaster with a sponge float in circular motions (this is optional!), then brush water on if necessary and smooth with your trowel edge. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can also rub the plaster with a sponge to give a slightly sandier texture, which is good for blending with other plaster, and also good for removing trowel marks when you're a beginner!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The richer you make a mix, the more it will shrink. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cracks will float out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good plastering equipment source:<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1244070343"> </a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.plasterers1stopshop.co.uk/plastering-supplies-beads-c-90.html" target="_blank">www.plasterers1stopshop.co.uk</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the exceptionally knowledgeable people running the course (Scott) was wearing a T-shirt from '</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://jonesandfraser.com/" target="_blank">Jones and Fraser Traditional Building</a>'</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> - worth noting for future reference!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Ty-Mawr '10 Golden Rules' are:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Choose the right type and strength of lime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Choose an appropriate sand/aggregate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Do not add cement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Mix plasters thoroughly and do not add too much water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Do not remove old lime plasters/renders unnecessarily.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Thoroughly prepare the surface.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. Damp down between coats to control suction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Backing coats must have 'gone off' before applying the next coat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Do not allow it to dry too quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Use breathable paint to finish it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Lime water</b>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is water from the top of lime putty, or lime wash. It reacts to tan in in oak and darkens it slightly, giving a nice, slightly aged, finish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Laths:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When fixing laths, you should leave 3-4mm between the ends, to allow for swelling.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hemp plaster:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hemp plaster is lime putty, hemp, and water.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mix ratio is three parts hemp to one part lime putty, plus water. This mix needs to be mixed in a paddle mixer, therefore it is usually bought pre-mixed.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hemp plaster is much lighter in weight than lime or gypsum plaster, and is therefore favoured by the trade as it's use leads to less long-term injuries!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hemp plaster is also easier to apply than lime. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It holds moisture more than lime, however, so should be avoided in potentially damp places.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hemp plaster will keep indefinitely if covered with water/covered overnight with plastic.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hempcrete:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hempcrete is a good wall insulator and a good sound insulator.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Filler:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can use Plaster of Paris as filler!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can also buy Casein filler, or Ty-Mawr's own <a href="https://www.lime.org.uk/general-purpose-filler-ty-mawr.html" target="_blank">general purpose filler</a>. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paint types:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Limewash and clay paint are both vapour permeable (and plant-based/mineral-based).</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Chalk-based paints are usually Latex-bound, so not vapour permeable.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Farrow & Ball and Little Green standard paints are both not vapour permeable.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Distemper is vapour permeable and also water soluble, which makes it difficult to re-cover.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Casein paint is vapour permeable. It comes in powder form to which water is added. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Silicate/mineral paint is vapour permeable and water repellent (usually recommended for outdoor use, as it is very expensive - for internal use it is generally only considered really worth it for buildings such as churches etc, where they are only heated once a week).</span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime wash:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime wash is lime putty, water and pigment.</span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkC-uHHPfEwF1kUh-RnbvMZFlSufhitwh8F6qjYNpd1sMzJJ2K5s8LzYFzdOic_1_5oIOKd0XE5esADWKoO_nRAV5SuG2QXDA3126Memga5mzQxD4nNaLu4s1qa0AdpxTPS1nKTEU5tF4/s1600/LimeWash.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkC-uHHPfEwF1kUh-RnbvMZFlSufhitwh8F6qjYNpd1sMzJJ2K5s8LzYFzdOic_1_5oIOKd0XE5esADWKoO_nRAV5SuG2QXDA3126Memga5mzQxD4nNaLu4s1qa0AdpxTPS1nKTEU5tF4/s320/LimeWash.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ratio is two or three parts water to one part putty, mixed until the consistency is that of single cream/a batter mix. It will separate when stored, so will need mixing up on arrival.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To a 20 litre mix of water and lime putty, add between one and one-and-a-half kilos of pigment.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lime wash must go onto a porous surface in order to bond to the surface. Where the surface is not fully porous (for example has been fillered), you can add casein, a natural porous glue, to help it bond. Add half a kilo of casein (500g) to 20 litres limewash.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">20L of limewash will give around 60 square meters of coverage.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limewash will 'heal' small cracks in lime plaster.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wet down the surface to be painted before you start.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apply one coat every 24 hours or so.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apply the limewash with a 'wet edge', so don't cut in first etc, instead start from one point and work away from it, as overlaps will give a different shade.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Constant brushing on the same area will burnish the limewash, giving a nice, slightly glossy, finish.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limewash goes on fairly transparently, and the pigment comes out as it starts to set.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mist the limewash for two to three days after painting.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stone repair:</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stastier.co.uk/lithomex/" target="_blank">Lithomex </a>is a stone repair m</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">aterial - a </span>mortar based on Natural Hydraulic Lime, designed for the repair of masonry, brick and stone. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Materials that are not traditionally considered breathable: </b><br />
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There exists something called </span><a href="http://www.promptnaturalcement.co.uk/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Prompt</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, which is a natural cement.</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hydraulic Lime has water entrainers added to it to create breathability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R50 (HL) will adhere to marine ply.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R100 (HL) will stick to painted surfaces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Venetian plaster can be used in a shower (similar to Morrocan plaster).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A 'breathable PVA' equivalent is Casein.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-30762310578550120332016-09-07T13:24:00.000+01:002016-09-07T15:48:11.000+01:00Chick-chick-chick-chick-chicken<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A big fat chicken dropped by yesterday. Just out-of-the-blue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A chicken.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EYiml98kZzq8wAGmmLipqWC8ifhBxiyHci18ZPvGScmhlcaCwFrBvBVOzHEpRg2VMBdvKwnS-LCrjab8TjuslLfvQaPzed_Tzs5I3YVePiojYjG8SXyr9UmJLVoOlMks7A7zc0CM1Q/s1600/chicken1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EYiml98kZzq8wAGmmLipqWC8ifhBxiyHci18ZPvGScmhlcaCwFrBvBVOzHEpRg2VMBdvKwnS-LCrjab8TjuslLfvQaPzed_Tzs5I3YVePiojYjG8SXyr9UmJLVoOlMks7A7zc0CM1Q/s400/chicken1.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There I was pottering about trying to put together a new workshop in <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/p/floorplan.html" target="_blank">Outbuilding 1</a>, when she just... appeared. One minute she wasn't there and the next minute she was at my feet staring up and clucking </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">at me</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She's doesn't belong to the house down the track - they're not exactly the chicken type - and she didn't come from the closest other house way up the road or their couple of neighbours (Dawn asked), and the market gardener through the woods doesn't keep them either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other than that the nearest houses are in a more residential area a mile downhill on a 60-100mph road, and I doubt she made some kind of perilous journey through the woods over a period of weeks, somehow avoiding foxes and buzzards, so for now she is a Mystical Chicken of Unknown Origin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately Grumble sees her as more of a sumptuous meal (Sausage had a swipe then thought better of it) so although Dawn and I have discussed the logistics of keeping her around for omlettes and existential conversation she's going to have to be rehomed with our friends over at <a href="http://stonecottagerenovation.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Renovating an Old Stone Cottage</a>, where they already have a chook menagerie in a lovely big enclosure that they're allowed to wander in and out of during the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the meantime we've called her Tallulah and fed her bits of seeded bread and courgette, and she's crapped <i>all over</i> our tumble dryer in Outbuilding 1, where she spent last night. She has also voluntarily been for rides around on our shoulders and backs - we can't get her off when she's up there - and keeps trying to get in the house through the cat flap, which would make Grumble's day, especially because he broke it in the first place trying to get at her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No eggs this morning, however.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think our new houseguest is broken.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sHUV0NcuvK53DyfWB_WEyGgVE2JB5L8xcDqVRUkd9mkcbiJddyPD8-v3svSKVaR4vrMvKx3i5lu3wqbaKoOoPJPAROEeW6f1ShzSzXp86DpiFy18rL01Wg2AZ27OWhPjE184y5v4Gg/s1600/catflap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sHUV0NcuvK53DyfWB_WEyGgVE2JB5L8xcDqVRUkd9mkcbiJddyPD8-v3svSKVaR4vrMvKx3i5lu3wqbaKoOoPJPAROEeW6f1ShzSzXp86DpiFy18rL01Wg2AZ27OWhPjE184y5v4Gg/s640/catflap.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One look at Tallulah and Grumble started running around like he was on E-numbers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSdNg0TNWXEoN87hse2kF3Cu7dQL0CIuRznpDZsRmG8Tt02M-sGgWKJ6nUKQqbUSg2Fswk9eyVTnlKMxrJXkWx79Qj6PGuEMuBbii4kBUsCxgRPRp2OEiNvU-TC8dpwSLzaVkKQJvhw/s1600/cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSdNg0TNWXEoN87hse2kF3Cu7dQL0CIuRznpDZsRmG8Tt02M-sGgWKJ6nUKQqbUSg2Fswk9eyVTnlKMxrJXkWx79Qj6PGuEMuBbii4kBUsCxgRPRp2OEiNvU-TC8dpwSLzaVkKQJvhw/s640/cat.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sausage was interested for a while but realised he'd be biting off more than he could chew</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-QdycPGrioJOOMpm2hghwFUkzjnP6150MJiFhc7-W4dcWwkLm-pbxizCvjRXQrHzouUTYWMH4vq6uJnEpgo2-GHsJxUOR9VxrqQQFF4HBfIsusU_CD7_4frjItAzFewLQUE493t2gA/s1600/dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-QdycPGrioJOOMpm2hghwFUkzjnP6150MJiFhc7-W4dcWwkLm-pbxizCvjRXQrHzouUTYWMH4vq6uJnEpgo2-GHsJxUOR9VxrqQQFF4HBfIsusU_CD7_4frjItAzFewLQUE493t2gA/s640/dawn.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are chickens normally this friendly?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDVASOP7nEBWDGm4tO5879m1ct9iY5Z8mlIMlEtGUo14a_lOUt03OiL2ZekvJnxshAadFQQoTO9e_MiXa39pgxx_N2IOMfieGSWThyMqUqnBYxhM9WYO8awoD20Pu_KiEpw001jNSQQ/s1600/me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDVASOP7nEBWDGm4tO5879m1ct9iY5Z8mlIMlEtGUo14a_lOUt03OiL2ZekvJnxshAadFQQoTO9e_MiXa39pgxx_N2IOMfieGSWThyMqUqnBYxhM9WYO8awoD20Pu_KiEpw001jNSQQ/s640/me.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New T-shirt required</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-5016471897231790682016-09-01T09:57:00.000+01:002016-09-07T17:04:44.806+01:00Let's get ready to Grumble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZxTC0x9HQw8JdJU8a8pD0GQ5P40q2BMDZ8H5BpH_Akr7U70O0OsS05UCgZxGInbJh2pp6f55t2lIWBkitYm6_XCEtBkF8GJJT3H8tYtiGnxaMa0A9rt-teqyGKbPqi3jSgQyW3NZUiLn/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZxTC0x9HQw8JdJU8a8pD0GQ5P40q2BMDZ8H5BpH_Akr7U70O0OsS05UCgZxGInbJh2pp6f55t2lIWBkitYm6_XCEtBkF8GJJT3H8tYtiGnxaMa0A9rt-teqyGKbPqi3jSgQyW3NZUiLn/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three months after bringing GrumbleTheDog into the family I thought I'd do a brief catch-up on how he's settling in. And it gives me a chance to make you all look at our cute photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But first of all I should correct something.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whereas Croatian-born-abandoned-rescued Grumble, who is mainly crossed somewhere between Irish Wolfhound and German Shepherd, looks in every way like a big, soft, beige lump of fluff with a cutesy broken ear, he is in fact 11.8% reptile.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhembX52AaEzxBvYcsh2W7GL88sozBL9iUR2LEvv-tjD4aAP1HTj5IHO6U8DvYfNRgpnwkbZMpBdX4WEutS43cJJvgzTicu9KZlShBym6gC8uOwuJgGL-idIQYcRtLIUjQEeJ8HLtbyk2He/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhembX52AaEzxBvYcsh2W7GL88sozBL9iUR2LEvv-tjD4aAP1HTj5IHO6U8DvYfNRgpnwkbZMpBdX4WEutS43cJJvgzTicu9KZlShBym6gC8uOwuJgGL-idIQYcRtLIUjQEeJ8HLtbyk2He/s400/5.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mister Grumble and Mister Grumpy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is CrocaDog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For whereas the vast majority of his time is spent being all sleepy and scratchy and investigating his missing bits, and being tickled and brushed and cuddled, a small but significant portion of his day is occupied with hanging off my limbs by his teeth. Or Dawn's. He's not all that fussed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It became obvious from the moment we first walked him that Grumble, who is somewhere between 18-months- and two-years-old and regularly described by strangers as "handsome", would need some training as he tried to chase everything from squirrels to horses and had us on our backsides a couple of times each in the first 24 hours. He could pull like an elephant.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So after recommendations from most doggy-owners we met on our subsequent walks, training was started at <a href="http://www.cosforddogtraining.co.uk/">Cosford Dog Training</a>, which appears to be incredibly popular with 'serious' dog owners from around the Midlands and beyond. The gruff Scouse trainer, Fitz, is a former RAF Police Dog Handler who owns and trains Jimmy, the 2016 British Police and Services Canine Association Champion... so he knew what he was doing. He's even got a new <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educating-Alice-Essential-Training-Perfect/dp/0995490104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472682216&sr=8-1&keywords=educating+alice">book</a> out which I'm sure he'd love me to plug in return for free one-to-one training sessions, even though he doesn't know I'm writing about him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now after an eight-week foundation course - with Bronze-standard Kennel Club GCDS Scheme training starting in a few days - Grumble can sit, lie down, stay (for the most-part) and stop yanking on his lead (ditto). The one thing he can't/won't do 100% of the time is come back when he's called. It's always a gamble. A Grumble gamble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So he's kind of sort of, like, gone missing a few times.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behaving in return for bits of hot dog</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apart from the time he broke his collar at training class and ran after the alpacas... and other than the time he got out of what I thought was a secure field and I found him herding cows - and an amorous bull - 20 minutes later, he has stayed nearby when he's slipped our grasp and gone trotting off or dodged through the courtyard gate, and only goes out of sight in the woods for a minute or two. He has only ran out of the gates and up the roads <strike>twice</strike> three times but we don't like to talk about the horrors of that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was until last night when I deliberately let him off the lead in the woods because I've been experimenting briefly with that lately, in relative safety where there are no roads in the immediate vicinity for him to get flattened on, to see if his recall is improving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An hour and a half later Dawn and I were tramping through the pitch-black trees and heavy, thorny undergrowth with two torches, one of them failing, expecting to see him in a fox snare because other than a couple of early barks we hadn't even heard his chain jangle in all that time. We even got in the ManTruck and drove along the estate's tracks for a while, only to find him looking absolutely <i>chuffed-to-bits</i> with himself back at The Lodge with his fur packed full of stickyweed burrs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've now ordered a GPS tracker and a flashing LED collar for him. Just in case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then there's CrocaDog. Grumble's <i>Other Side</i>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLJfB2iwL6Mzcoy4w3BsEMG-RIt8hZUx6J9NkETX9PVjCghTS9bEzrPp7DMEF4aZtcNhBo7wH9VyvxM-bA_NPA4G1d6XPunCrj6AscBGq5HUjzaLwI7acYm_Ao4A4NpLGxYQISFubodRO/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLJfB2iwL6Mzcoy4w3BsEMG-RIt8hZUx6J9NkETX9PVjCghTS9bEzrPp7DMEF4aZtcNhBo7wH9VyvxM-bA_NPA4G1d6XPunCrj6AscBGq5HUjzaLwI7acYm_Ao4A4NpLGxYQISFubodRO/s320/2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those teeth</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crocadog gets excited. Very, unpredictably excited.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He gets excited when he has a treat; when we walk through the courtyard gate; when nobody's doing anything; when we give him a fuss; when we don't give him a fuss; when we put his lead on; when we do our 'clicker training'; when he sees the bird-feeder (weirdly); when he spies SausageTheCat (who he doesn't get on well with yet, but we're working on it)... you get the idea. Not <i>all </i>of the time, just <i>some</i>times. And when you least expect it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And when CrocaDog gets excited, if you can't calm him with a steady, firm hand on his side and a gentle "shhhh...", CrocaDog goes mental. Seriously, seriously <i>mental</i>. And he bites - <u>hard</u>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've had a T-shirt and a hoodie torn in the frantic battles and both Dawn and I have suffered many scratches and bruises, although I seem to get the brunt of his unstoppable enthusiasm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few weeks ago my entire forearm was black-and-blue from the wrist towards the elbow and one of my legs was bleeding after he literally tried to eat me alive while we were all alone in the woods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although it appears otherwise, none of it is aggression - it's all excited puppy energy - but he was running to the end of his long (80ft) training rope then coming back like a 25kg bullet before launching himself police dog-style at my defensive arm as my life flashed in front of my (tightly closed) eyes and I screamed "NOT THE FACE!". I tried to pin him down but he was squirming like a giant furry salmon so I had to tie him to a tree and run away like a girl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seconds ago - and I'm not making this up - he came over to me for a tickle and after 20 seconds pawed at my hand and started nibbling my fingers. Shhhh...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumble's suspicions are raised when he spots himself<br />
reflected in Trevor's head</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apart from that he doesn't like or trust Terminator Trevor (but they're both getting better with training); being bathed/groomed; toys; strangers with sticks; loose cattle grids when in the car or traffic speeding past him but he <i>does </i>like being in the ManTruck; going to bed early; hot dog and cheese treats; chasing phantom rabbits; digging; having his face scratched all over; lying right across doorways; barking like a loon at other dogs; staring in to the middle distance and grumbling at TV-volume-drowning levels whenever he lies down, which he does like a sack of spuds on the hard floor, or changes position in his sleep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So that's our Grumble now we've got to know him a bit. When he's tearing at human flesh he's genuinely terrifying but the rest of the time he's calm, patient and as gentle as you'd like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He's proper, proper cuddly too.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat training was easy-going before he realised who it looked like.<br />
We're not mad - Fitz told us to do this...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not physically possible</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not digging</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can never get him past this rabbit hole</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Censored for decency</td></tr>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-85666816415071705302016-08-29T19:25:00.001+01:002016-09-07T17:10:25.919+01:00Quarry tile floor restoration<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdyKQVxiQVoHQS-Hk6ly5aMU0N8ARLhHVSc0PNGJYoVNtcR_lGDaOC14ysl_w3kGKqvtrme5VRowMXTSpa2k-tKmJewwfIWwcAaAbL9TtdpQs8q-nmIlA4T4a9TV8yFY7JbZZNh57pg/s1600/blasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdyKQVxiQVoHQS-Hk6ly5aMU0N8ARLhHVSc0PNGJYoVNtcR_lGDaOC14ysl_w3kGKqvtrme5VRowMXTSpa2k-tKmJewwfIWwcAaAbL9TtdpQs8q-nmIlA4T4a9TV8yFY7JbZZNh57pg/s640/blasting.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By far the dirtiest job to date has been the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/11/olivine-blasting-its-future.html" target="_blank">olivine blasting</a>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Step one</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A glaring problem that needed to be sorted out before the Living Room floor was fully restored was where the dividing pantry wall had once stood, but had since been patched-up with cement leaving a cracked strip of grey where there should have been tiles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I dug all of that up to reveal another couple of brick courses from the original dividing wall, which were standing on a bit of crumbled lime and bare earth. Having removed one course I filled in the resulting hole with sand and some of the old lime lumps then offered up some quarry tiles that were removed from one of the fireplace hearths upstairs... only to find that the row on the room side of the divide didn't match up to the row in the Pantry. I couldn't have made it look anywhere decent enough by cutting tiles and fitting the bits in here and there like Tetris which left only one choice... I was going to have to lift all of the Pantry tiles and re-lay them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trevor joined me and before I could get the kettle boiled he had the first tiles up and was setting them out so we could use them again in the same configuration. He was also clearing out the original lime mortar bed they had been sat on, which had completely failed and was totally unusable as it was because it offered no stability or reliable level whatsoever.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUpj7XfCFFEBn0I07KGqIxD5QSvq1nTt3XOec2H2SPb1UxTSlbcE_wioiRZ9TrliBnXT0mkoq60wpI2LM-ef8fVep18oYLa4RJd3nVeVq3aRr5OB-7wExqPXFvhidIcSFiXGCsuYczg/s1600/grumblefloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUpj7XfCFFEBn0I07KGqIxD5QSvq1nTt3XOec2H2SPb1UxTSlbcE_wioiRZ9TrliBnXT0mkoq60wpI2LM-ef8fVep18oYLa4RJd3nVeVq3aRr5OB-7wExqPXFvhidIcSFiXGCsuYczg/s320/grumblefloor.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grumble - less than impressed<br />
that the rows don't match-up</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next two days saw me making tea, knocking-up plenty of 3:1 lime mortar mixes and casting an eye over the job in progress to make sure everything looked level and was heading in straight-ish lines.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trevor levelled the earth subfloor and set the tiles on a new mortar bed, and when his knees gave up I took over and did the two corners and along the end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not completely level, admittedly, and the edges kind of drop or rise by a few mm here and there, but I'm happy with that because 'working' floors like this were never perfect anyway and it looks like it has been one continuous surface all along now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In terms of grout, incidentally, I'm not sure what we're doing. I'd quite like to brush powdered lime over the floor and let the natural moisture from the earth cure it in the joints, but that would dull the surface again... s</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and would do the job but it would make vacuuming tricky... leaving 'doing nothing' as the safest option for now. I might revisit it later but in the meantime, bugger it. It's Character.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0KUdaIHMpqUyOePX-dBW8I7LBIDb_v5bnYtE_ohm456oz25yPtZ_1jtqBQFnOTI7frKp2cn1gDFxEB3-QKcUw3hub0XHDwxjoD9RIt3nouKxOuMo2k4h0czqK3SemKIZsse1j7JAGFcy/s1600/dugup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0KUdaIHMpqUyOePX-dBW8I7LBIDb_v5bnYtE_ohm456oz25yPtZ_1jtqBQFnOTI7frKp2cn1gDFxEB3-QKcUw3hub0XHDwxjoD9RIt3nouKxOuMo2k4h0czqK3SemKIZsse1j7JAGFcy/s640/dugup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forget your underfloor heating, dpcs and insulation, this is what you want under your quarry tiles...<br />
God's-honest-no-frills muck</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKKZEnPbI9K2uZsU11RG6LuDmCQns9vArjUWP17uEKhUeebvU5P9uxUmQSp59Fh6G6itaMya6zNTh9nIPMZIaX7snaehjfNgJL5TqdAVF9dRghQvs4zHyAemYwfMCTUVr5Lj2anKWrA/s1600/pantrydone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKKZEnPbI9K2uZsU11RG6LuDmCQns9vArjUWP17uEKhUeebvU5P9uxUmQSp59Fh6G6itaMya6zNTh9nIPMZIaX7snaehjfNgJL5TqdAVF9dRghQvs4zHyAemYwfMCTUVr5Lj2anKWrA/s640/pantrydone.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The replacement tiles were from the hearth in Bedroom 1, which was causing the ceiling below to sag,<br />
so we reused them here. The black glazing on the sides was later removed during the restoration and the colour<br />
of the paler tiles was lifted during the final stages with a colour enhancer.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Step two</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Searching tinterwebz for how to restore a quarry tile floor mainly results in links to professional firms who will either come over to do it themselves in return for a lorra, lorra money or sell you the stuff to make a half-baked job of it yourself.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RwQUwV9pdyiiFfKdMbpl6aFF_Jlx8ED5yaUCYb2s31mL1IjSRBTUAsWPtUEtX7t97PPjTHV3KjjsBWgPIW-kI5xCa_yEzlYWjpUJcYb_5C27RO3KIMnpjRb7R95fOLoaRlWRDxdUHA/s1600/lithofin_tile_doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RwQUwV9pdyiiFfKdMbpl6aFF_Jlx8ED5yaUCYb2s31mL1IjSRBTUAsWPtUEtX7t97PPjTHV3KjjsBWgPIW-kI5xCa_yEzlYWjpUJcYb_5C27RO3KIMnpjRb7R95fOLoaRlWRDxdUHA/s400/lithofin_tile_doctor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The photos and videos of the pros doing it look amazing, but that's the idea. You wouldn't want to hire a team of sweaty salad-dodgers to paw ineffectually at the floor and leave it looking like nothing had happened, would you? But it's all marketing and I wanted to tackle the job myself, so my only option was to buy tins of 'product' and have a stab at it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The very first, and arguably most important part of bringing the Living Room floor back from the dead over a year ago was to remove the carpet and underlay to start it releasing its moisture again, and that was followed by <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/11/olivine-blasting-its-future.html" target="_blank">olivine blasting</a> (top picture) to get rid of the glue and rock-solid filth left on the faces of the tiles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After this it was left as it was for some months due to the rest of the work that needed to be done in there but for the most part (discounting tarps being laid now and then) it was allowed to breathe properly and dry out.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJukUPD_q_GFJMHSq7_uxGuFTNTW6XcxrR629DkkYNgd5Kgj9m5Un6Q990cTst-5PQljt6NY9i_UHjsRy-C-9CNGAyoW0BGizhTySB-axBFtJqSz9ypvC1eyqvF7PGATM0qSD5Mj4Ykw/s1600/mopped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJukUPD_q_GFJMHSq7_uxGuFTNTW6XcxrR629DkkYNgd5Kgj9m5Un6Q990cTst-5PQljt6NY9i_UHjsRy-C-9CNGAyoW0BGizhTySB-axBFtJqSz9ypvC1eyqvF7PGATM0qSD5Mj4Ykw/s400/mopped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly-mopped and dried before restoration work of any kind</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the main dirty work was finished in the room we stripped everything out and I gave the floor a thorough powerful vacuuming, crawling around on my hands and knees to trace every joint and crack with the nozzle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was followed by two lots of damn good mopping with, again, me on my hands and knees to vacuum up the excess water from the faces and in the joints so it would dry as fast as possible. Anyone looking through the window would think I was playing submissive at a 'Chore'-themed BDSM party.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn had already done a bit of research last year and bought a bottle of <i>Lithofin Tile Restorer for Ceramic Tiles</i> which was supposed to bring out the ingrained dirt and give the surface a thorough, thorough clean.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Except it didn't, really. I'm not criticising it because I don't have enough experience doing this, but even after working the cleaner in tile-by-tile with a scrubbing brush - really agitating it - and drying the faces with a hairdryer after a rinse, they didn't look any different. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only noticeable difference was the black glazing on the tiles that were laid along the edge of the Pantry. It lifted that off really well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My two trains of thought were that either the cleaner wasn't doing its job or the floor was already nice and clean because of the attention it had already been given. I'm erring towards the latter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So not wanting to waste the bottle I tipped it in the mop bucket and threw in a couple of litres of brick acid, hoping that a chemical reaction wouldn't make it explode in my face, which fortunately it didn't.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was mopped liberally on the floor in the hope of obliterating any <i>proper </i>ingrained muck (destroying the mop head) and it was washed off with clean water a couple of times, followed by me on my knees again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had been doing some research myself in to what to do next, if anything, and I discovered <i>Tile Doctor Colour Grow</i> which promised to deepen the colour of what, essentially, were unremarkable matt pinkish tiles, while protecting them from spills but still allowing them to breathe. And that was everything I wanted in one £40 container.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The instructions suggested up to five coats on quarry tiles with no damp-proof course (dpc) beneath, and we applied the first coat easily in just half an hour with a couple of new, clean paint pads... which is when the container ran out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately with 95% of the tiles having no glaze they were very porous which meant they pretty much guzzled up the Colour Grow, but to be fair the transformation was incredible by morning. The red was deeper and the particularly-pale tiles, which contrasted starkly with those surrounding them, had blended quite well so I ordered another bottle and hoped that two coats would be enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again the floor remained this way for a couple of weeks during more work and when everything was shifted back out and more rounds of mopping/vacuuming had taken place (using <i>Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner</i>) we gave the floor another two coats of Colour Grow from the new tin, because the first coat had made the tiles less porous.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6x9SsDB7DIGqlwdhz6qirhXl_ekr8zoWY3BRiiJvSMofDbGAyw6IcA3iVPKxgcjvXdFYEbHWnwDeph4Da9fk4PID54nYm32swoXRxG6Cwxsd-EOHakqi_1zSHzpxxKG3eFnf1yw7eQ/s1600/finished1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6x9SsDB7DIGqlwdhz6qirhXl_ekr8zoWY3BRiiJvSMofDbGAyw6IcA3iVPKxgcjvXdFYEbHWnwDeph4Da9fk4PID54nYm32swoXRxG6Cwxsd-EOHakqi_1zSHzpxxKG3eFnf1yw7eQ/s640/finished1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished floor. Sorry to use this picture yet again but I forgot to take a specific 'restored' one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again, the results were great with the red deepening a bit more but our mistake of forgetting to dab up any excess liquid while were going meant that in the morning the few patches of tiles which had a hint of glazing were still tacky to the touch even through they weren't <i>wet</i>, as such.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYNl5XRdxRlquxJPkgVr8tFIFUNKgQ9Ckz4nzTW4aZVpj3fmjUAORIPZuorQD8PWkpHyBw4thEU9WcUPTW__f5cCFmF2Zz-eXnXBfYnPP6BEaD10j4Gt8t5KRUmdu9J1eqVJAalv8EQ/s1600/sticky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYNl5XRdxRlquxJPkgVr8tFIFUNKgQ9Ckz4nzTW4aZVpj3fmjUAORIPZuorQD8PWkpHyBw4thEU9WcUPTW__f5cCFmF2Zz-eXnXBfYnPP6BEaD10j4Gt8t5KRUmdu9J1eqVJAalv8EQ/s320/sticky.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sticky patches on tiles with a hint of prior glaze<br />
are already starting to reduce</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tried to remove the stickiness with everything from water to - you guessed it - brick acid but because the surface was also more resistant to liquid now nothing would touch it and I eventually gave up the ghost.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we left it and hoped for the best but now after 36 hours it seems to be improving, meaning we won't have sticky footprints all over the rug, which looks better without that kind of thing, frankly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And speaking of footprints we're trying to get in the habit of leaving our boots at the door now but that's already showing signs of falling by the wayside...</span>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-32092956363687349562016-08-29T14:50:00.002+01:002016-08-30T11:44:44.829+01:00Re-pointing the chimney breast with lime mortar<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd like to start this post by saying that there aren't many jobs in The Lodge project that daunt me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly that wouldn't be strictly true because <i>most </i>jobs that don't simply involve destruction or easy mind-numbing repetition daunt the hell out of me and I usually find a reason to fear it and avoid it for as long as possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vA4Tt8L_a351O4JQNnnc_58-k9HUh0sGhmm7Tw8-jBj83EYXZ7tnSA3oT4UQW3OIrprkCBZh4nzyTFidcut6554HKLsXh9wlh1XKUKBpLtTof-6B_usycnN6d-2WkQ3hRHSS89ko8A/s1600/oldmortar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vA4Tt8L_a351O4JQNnnc_58-k9HUh0sGhmm7Tw8-jBj83EYXZ7tnSA3oT4UQW3OIrprkCBZh4nzyTFidcut6554HKLsXh9wlh1XKUKBpLtTof-6B_usycnN6d-2WkQ3hRHSS89ko8A/s400/oldmortar.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old mortar was cracked and failing so<br />
I chiselled it out to a depth of around 10mm or so</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of those jobs was re-pointing the Living Room chimney breast with lime mortar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first parts of the job were easy repetition and destruction - chiselling out the old lime pointing, which had been damaged by the mechanical removal of previous coatings and <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/11/olivine-blasting-its-future.html" target="_blank">blasting</a>, and cleaning up the faces with brick acid, which so far has been one of my favourite consumable DIY products of all time, along with Gorilla Glue, Frog Tape and disposable pencils from hardware stores.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I had been procrastinating over the actual <i>re-pointing</i> job because my one and only previous attempt had been on the front wall where we put the new house sign, and I needed it done in a rush. It was (and still is) a bit of a mess because I hadn't really read-up on how to do it and I had used some left-over mortar from someone's else's job up on the roof. I had never even mixed-up mortar - of any kind - before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So to do a job that could result in an ever-lasting mess that made me hate my clumsy hooves and over-ambition was, you know... daunting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was one of the reasons we wanted to go on the lime course at <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/08/brexit-what-load-of-limewash.html" target="_blank">Ty Mawr</a>, where Dawn could pay attention to the details and get to grips with some practical stuff while I, as Primary DIY Monkey, would get annoyed at my inability to learn any new skills absolutely <i>perfectly </i>and absolu</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tely <i>immediately.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The plan worked and back home we put our heads together and came up with a plan: I just man-up and get on with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are a few ways to knock-up (that's the actual technical term, which I now use in casual conversation to make it sound like I know what I'm on about) a lime mortar mix but the two most cost-effective ways, without getting your hands on an expensive cement mixer for large jobs, is to do it in small batches by hand with a spade or trowel - which is pretty hard work and difficult to mix thoroughly, or to buy an electric paddle mixer and whisk-up a slightly larger batch in a big flexi bucket. I did the latter because power tools are power tools at the end of the day, and I'm a bloke.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incidentally, if you just happen to be doing the same type of thing and end up mixing too much mortar, just tightly cover the left-overs with a plastic bag and it should be okay for a day or two. If it starts drying out you can bring it back to life with a <i>little </i>bit more water </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(less is more) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and a mix. It'll keep indefinitely that way, unlike cement.</span><br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvcUiTReWSGgXErE_c02myPEFnOzq8v6z0m0vPeWnfp1UjmWHfgPQxlj3YUKflfT5dIjoFCe1dmpEVfDks5hn6IUHrHWtzfpEYHpgngeq8_fttNwTCpb5_ovl_bKXqNCSJnD4c3af8w/s1600/mortar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvcUiTReWSGgXErE_c02myPEFnOzq8v6z0m0vPeWnfp1UjmWHfgPQxlj3YUKflfT5dIjoFCe1dmpEVfDks5hn6IUHrHWtzfpEYHpgngeq8_fttNwTCpb5_ovl_bKXqNCSJnD4c3af8w/s400/mortar.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being a bit too generous with the water the first couple<br />
of times, this mix is a bit wet but it was still okay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using an empty 1kg lime putty pot, which was replaced by a child's sandcastle bucket when it split, I measured out a 12:4 (3:1) mix of yellow sharp sand (red sand makes the mix pinkish and I wanted to keep it as white as possible) and NHL3.5 lime from a black bag which someone Dawn knows donated from his garage a few months ago. I mixed everything up dry with the paddle mixer first then slowly added water from a watering can, paddling as I went.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Knocked-up lime mortar should be quite a dry consistency to reduce the chances of cracking as it dries and cures, but just a single splash of water too much in the mix makes wobbly soup so it took a little while to get it right. Also, as I was mixing, I realised that for some strange reason the lime powder hadn't kept too well in its bin bag in the damp outbuilding and some of it was holding together in little 'rocks' so I crumbled the bigger ones up as I went, remembering that all of the original lime pointing I had seen throughout the building held little lumps of pure lime where much the same thing would have happened back in The Old Days. So at least it was accidentally authentic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The process of pointing-up itself, which was the part I was dreading most, was actually pretty simple and quite satisfying when all was said and done.</span><br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYjvaqfXVKq4v-f3VRFJZ2zdV4Ho8bccFhBXcr3WNOd-oNRDsM8sgZKeMhbNlNSZypFE9CSV823ni9yR6kFhLN4cOfs7I6YO6GPUGm0H7quq6EmufeglKzGo9g1Uie_yJLYrn3m5uJg/s1600/pointing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYjvaqfXVKq4v-f3VRFJZ2zdV4Ho8bccFhBXcr3WNOd-oNRDsM8sgZKeMhbNlNSZypFE9CSV823ni9yR6kFhLN4cOfs7I6YO6GPUGm0H7quq6EmufeglKzGo9g1Uie_yJLYrn3m5uJg/s400/pointing.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like a sloppy mess but 'knocking it back'<br />
with a scrubbing brush covers a multitude of sins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having decided to use a narrow pointing trowel (which sounds bleeding bloody obvious, but other types of small trowels can be used with equal success) and a dinky 20cm-sq hawk from Ty Mawr I simply watered the area I was working in with a garden sprayer (which slows the drying process and reduces cracking/shrinking), slopped a little of the mix on the hawk, offered it up to the chiselled-out pointing and pushed morsel after morsel in to the gaps with the trowel, trying to be as neat and careful as possible to keep the brick faces clean.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you go along, the trick here is to push <i>too much</i> mortar in there so the new stuff stands a couple of mm proud of the brick faces around it, so you can 'knock it back' later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I got lower towards the mantelpiece (which was covered) some of the bricks, which had already been a bit loose and wobbly before I started chiselling, had decided to pretty much bounce around in the load-bearing structure which was somewhat worrisome, so I packed (I think 'pinned' is the proper term) around the loose ones with slivers of slate and stone to stabilise them then made sure I pushed the new mortar in hard to fill any gaps.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, a couple of hours after I had pointed an area, and as the mortar was beginning to go off - but before it dried <i>too </i>much - I went across it gently with a stiff-bristled hand-held scrubbing brush, tap-tap-tapping at the raised pointing and 'knocking it back' until it was flush with the brick faces. This way it softens up any hard edges from the trowel, blends the junctions between the horizontal and vertical lines, jettisons tiny pieces of aggregate from the mortar's surface to makes it tactile and more interesting, increases the mortar's surface area to help the structure breathe and generally tidies everything up as it knocks overenthusiasm off the edges of the adjoining brick faces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A couple of weeks later, once I knew that the mortar would have thoroughly dried and cured, I took a small paintbrush and some more brick acid to the faces for the final tidy-up, then once the mantelpiece was uncovered and resanded (down to 240 grit) the stove door was cleaned, we maintenance-waxed and refitted the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/any-old-iron-forging-our-own-companion.html" target="_blank">companion set</a> and had a general tidy-up. This is the final result:</span><br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVZOF-WxwzIPWeyCJjwyRi_LYX-9SPlds4Ed890CS2L1wZmKvGkdwhq1KAZ829w9Ovv4a-5hGGNgadvWQDBoI6dAyiQCwVreHZYZm8haEE9mxKnj8ltUJrcfd2_daG01nt-ss6TIrZg/s1600/fireplacebefore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVZOF-WxwzIPWeyCJjwyRi_LYX-9SPlds4Ed890CS2L1wZmKvGkdwhq1KAZ829w9Ovv4a-5hGGNgadvWQDBoI6dAyiQCwVreHZYZm8haEE9mxKnj8ltUJrcfd2_daG01nt-ss6TIrZg/s640/fireplacebefore.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIplovAf17LVmeuUXSSmXn89Zig5O7M6Vkt3vRchOuOC__k_maUQ7u5Kk6Yuhzh7DQ74wKWVrhZAmIKlFjL6pwt3cOXV-jvpWoXUk98AmvWsntBTUzsvJD-FkydyoRNpm_UB3fvbt2Vw/s1600/fireplacestripped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIplovAf17LVmeuUXSSmXn89Zig5O7M6Vkt3vRchOuOC__k_maUQ7u5Kk6Yuhzh7DQ74wKWVrhZAmIKlFjL6pwt3cOXV-jvpWoXUk98AmvWsntBTUzsvJD-FkydyoRNpm_UB3fvbt2Vw/s640/fireplacestripped.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuaaQp063o38PpNRpAtJaDtEgU1uP4m63QG3TAskryWJqNFrl9FhAKxhqYo1CzX0X7jpsY8Le04lfpCm9SkJCeW8BWjZLhue6FtetL6j3qBCxsX4xPwODcQn8usFGo2R_og2XfCumoA/s1600/fireplaceafter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuaaQp063o38PpNRpAtJaDtEgU1uP4m63QG3TAskryWJqNFrl9FhAKxhqYo1CzX0X7jpsY8Le04lfpCm9SkJCeW8BWjZLhue6FtetL6j3qBCxsX4xPwODcQn8usFGo2R_og2XfCumoA/s640/fireplaceafter.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Incidentally, because I'm planning a few posts in fairly quick succession you might have missed that <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/08/the-living-room-is-finished11.html" target="_blank">we've now moved in to the house</a>!</b></span><script>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-84930070864628353082016-08-29T12:55:00.001+01:002016-08-29T13:05:49.663+01:00THE LIVING ROOM IS FINISHED!!!1!1!!<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>AND WE'RE IN THE HOUSE</u>!</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">503 days since the estate agent woman passed the keys across her
desk and about 489 days after our first night sleeping in the shed,
we're finally kipping under our own roof!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fIt04xo1ikYfd579-OkrkEvsPMe2Y6NomNgnbReOefgxTtKEVdfx012IBb33Yt9FbaUf-SFh8Wx620criUEU5bdp9Qw9bgG0hmpL27ebNNeIq0wsBQVYiJ608ABI1l3qxVfVTBgrsw/s1600/finished1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fIt04xo1ikYfd579-OkrkEvsPMe2Y6NomNgnbReOefgxTtKEVdfx012IBb33Yt9FbaUf-SFh8Wx620criUEU5bdp9Qw9bgG0hmpL27ebNNeIq0wsBQVYiJ608ABI1l3qxVfVTBgrsw/s640/finished1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two or three blog posts over the next few days will look at some of the work that went in<br />
to the things in this picture recently - skirting, radiators, bricks, etc. Bet you can't wait.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> It has been a heavy-going past two or three weeks in the Living Room with some moderately early mornings and a good few post-9pm or even</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>10pm<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">finishes. Terminator Trevor, my Father-in-Law of Unstoppable Perpetual Motion, has been largely leading the charge with jobs which need his prior knowledge and experience rather than my panicked Googling, followed by mortal terror, ultimate failure and swearing, topped-off with a telephone call to Trevor to ask for a loan of his knowledge and experience. So because living in a sodding shed has been wearing a bit thin for Dawn and I for a while now, I/we wanted to cut out the middle man and just get stuff done pronto. Enough faffing about.</span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other blog posts are going to be published in the next few days
about some of the main jobs that were done to get to this point (I've
been too busy/tired to write anything as the work went on) but I wanted
to mark this milestone day with a post to remind us of what the Living
Room looked like before it got full of pizza boxes, dog toys, clumps of cat fur and piles
of washing.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kdMF8EQWvWx4-Ikw-h8XXaXk4tVGIcu5xgmi1ou2MrdtwIefgFkLZdd_SwFXBB5x6gxA7mBVv13Y5uha5nUu3fthx4ku72oPOXLPZAD84GFOYz4vOujWSuKXvHm1_EVj8Min6iiiqg/s1600/finished2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kdMF8EQWvWx4-Ikw-h8XXaXk4tVGIcu5xgmi1ou2MrdtwIefgFkLZdd_SwFXBB5x6gxA7mBVv13Y5uha5nUu3fthx4ku72oPOXLPZAD84GFOYz4vOujWSuKXvHm1_EVj8Min6iiiqg/s640/finished2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shiny floor tiles are caused by a layer of breathable sealant which hasn't been fully absorbed.<br />
It's not wet - just still a little bit 'tacky' - and brick acid won't even shift it so we're leaving it<br />
in the hope that it soaks in over time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile the living arrangements are in flux as I write this.
Dawn is in bed in the Pantry dog-leggy-bit while I sit on the settee with the TV on
mute and the lights low so I don't disturb her; the dog is asleep on the rug right where I
can fall over him (he's gurgling in his sleep) and a stairgate
isolates the room from the rest of the house in the vague hope that
SausageTheCat realises that the shed is now out-of-bounds and gets brave
enough to come in and risk becoming supper. </span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So things are a bit up-in-the-air in terms of family harmony but
hopefully it'll work its way out without bloodshed or weapons over the</span></div>
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<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Aaaaaand that's where I fell asleep last night. Dawn woke me up at 3am and told me to get to bed.</b></i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>It wasn't far. And nor was the loo at 5am.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>I like living in a house.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Here are some ever-popular before/after photos:</b></i></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOoqcw1uoe1QedZ7xEC4ODBHf0uXlmsYbeVtk5o4aqLGtU2Y5uf4jc1qEZ7W5HL_nmrPybO09s_Q2UtAjW-9W3E7nbclvwS1PegImuyHEIDXf6MkoVUparDm7E1o0CDo4C0PGqrlUXA/s1600/chimney1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOoqcw1uoe1QedZ7xEC4ODBHf0uXlmsYbeVtk5o4aqLGtU2Y5uf4jc1qEZ7W5HL_nmrPybO09s_Q2UtAjW-9W3E7nbclvwS1PegImuyHEIDXf6MkoVUparDm7E1o0CDo4C0PGqrlUXA/s640/chimney1.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highlights of the chimney breast were a 30s open fire, a stone pillar facade,<br />
cracked slate hearth and damp patches on the wallpaper.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOgi38S0Xrjic41ufSHYye601RUYf3n8_0UNDsyEw32qIyTPpMwpkbvVNyKZnqu0Q56t7eym0LeT52SbVqazzb-f6j9x1EgG29Iew2w4r_It-GumyofCCvIm-1tbxZR0i5Q9FleAYdg/s1600/pantry1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOgi38S0Xrjic41ufSHYye601RUYf3n8_0UNDsyEw32qIyTPpMwpkbvVNyKZnqu0Q56t7eym0LeT52SbVqazzb-f6j9x1EgG29Iew2w4r_It-GumyofCCvIm-1tbxZR0i5Q9FleAYdg/s640/pantry1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole room, particularly the Pantry, felt damp and unpleasant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg338PnnbwqNDNLdotH5BjdAPeD6M_yivD1oQ7zVq4ZMJ0qYvYBJwv5DMHBRf4I9z1-TgNJzw1QNlzu8BtFgRmSzoZWPKJEmYK86eqURlA8ytdMOsL4muGVKE0GyXFeP1dLODQs-07exg/s1600/wall1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg338PnnbwqNDNLdotH5BjdAPeD6M_yivD1oQ7zVq4ZMJ0qYvYBJwv5DMHBRf4I9z1-TgNJzw1QNlzu8BtFgRmSzoZWPKJEmYK86eqURlA8ytdMOsL4muGVKE0GyXFeP1dLODQs-07exg/s640/wall1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cement and gypsum plaster walls were affecting the breathability of the Living Room and<br />
as a result moisture from the floors and everyday living was settling in the coldest spots,<br />
making the mouldy wallpaper crinkle and peel. The wall on the left was also covered in<br />
corrugated bitumen sheets for reasons we've never worked out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6SQa1BihLFeuFZkSzVWSmLvHhctgVH4XDhuiZfvl-Ggr8_J99nkRPUjd8oXmXTMflAnAwv0BbppE467hM7LZwNZIpc0qtbFPkaurhr3wjcJJwsrP1EYDx6-O_58jKGrpS5Rim8LhBg/s1600/carpet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6SQa1BihLFeuFZkSzVWSmLvHhctgVH4XDhuiZfvl-Ggr8_J99nkRPUjd8oXmXTMflAnAwv0BbppE467hM7LZwNZIpc0qtbFPkaurhr3wjcJJwsrP1EYDx6-O_58jKGrpS5Rim8LhBg/s640/carpet1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The carpet/underlay combo was one of the biggest offenders, trapping moisture from the tiled<br />
floor beneath and keeping the humidity levels up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejwTkB4RyqUVENETFlthJNRIbSUG5hmZUOO0op7BAQb_fT502nZOV243TF-A3rNZIop_HFoQmj4Hp1NPpVjkFEhV7H7srWANGS6rmL1DCOkxi4ivYehGtkKaEoYE5r9Hv0RfjDTD7Ew/s1600/floor1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejwTkB4RyqUVENETFlthJNRIbSUG5hmZUOO0op7BAQb_fT502nZOV243TF-A3rNZIop_HFoQmj4Hp1NPpVjkFEhV7H7srWANGS6rmL1DCOkxi4ivYehGtkKaEoYE5r9Hv0RfjDTD7Ew/s640/floor1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And once it was dumped we found that the underlay had been glued to the quarry tiles, making<br />
things worse all-round.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xpxwCDn4nXlMr_gwvnGFt2notnFlXLJ4kvoqNYYuhs3J-wjzUX7zCCuwcKUOzFMpMc8otZlu-_eBpjCxddThChVSAsAqgE5GrW5zEFh7fwqk2SaFctxtzCRaQ2NcXmzlt0zOVnrnqA/s1600/room1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xpxwCDn4nXlMr_gwvnGFt2notnFlXLJ4kvoqNYYuhs3J-wjzUX7zCCuwcKUOzFMpMc8otZlu-_eBpjCxddThChVSAsAqgE5GrW5zEFh7fwqk2SaFctxtzCRaQ2NcXmzlt0zOVnrnqA/s640/room1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the mid-point everything had been ripped out and the fireplace was opened up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBt4huGzyJ_KJjKefvYh05Lbb0p9kJwRpb4-oAOQgkFML1YRyrSzdMfVyv5HuNp9DvUhZSkeUPMADxENC9nncVB5V2voXE1Oun5zMc7J3taApMhKP71e8VFsLPICXwV3XuEZbwGpasw/s1600/furnished1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBt4huGzyJ_KJjKefvYh05Lbb0p9kJwRpb4-oAOQgkFML1YRyrSzdMfVyv5HuNp9DvUhZSkeUPMADxENC9nncVB5V2voXE1Oun5zMc7J3taApMhKP71e8VFsLPICXwV3XuEZbwGpasw/s640/furnished1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The furniture is elderly but it fits okay so it'll do for now.<br />
Hopefully the curtain will be hacked in two soon so we can have half either side of the window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fC5iaqTDu8CE792ncyb-9sDuOIKXBkf24Xz6yVW2dG5x8BJe05kFFxmHEu5hMU_BS_R9FEzv_am-zBPdLmUqkMPag-9TTBnCmvf_qetWUNl7NXeDCFBnT5uJRHNcv0Wo7C-7UOtM1A/s1600/furnished2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fC5iaqTDu8CE792ncyb-9sDuOIKXBkf24Xz6yVW2dG5x8BJe05kFFxmHEu5hMU_BS_R9FEzv_am-zBPdLmUqkMPag-9TTBnCmvf_qetWUNl7NXeDCFBnT5uJRHNcv0Wo7C-7UOtM1A/s640/furnished2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The oriel window at the front of the building is the next major job because it'll have to be replaced<br />
with something bespoke and the sandstone sill will need to be repaired at the same time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-35968820493352839392016-08-22T12:44:00.000+01:002016-08-30T11:58:56.958+01:00Brexit - what a load of limewash<div class="nH aHU">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everyone
knows what they were doing on the day they heard that Boris and Nigel
and all those other loons guaranteed that Britain would get its bendy
bananas back and that dirty rotten forriners would be surrounded by a
huge brick wall and barbed wire. Or something. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqHIju9LUDDUZUCfeaoVbMYtaFNjWdOpGu-_F1UlwPdlK_S843fGQGZ3mdjM3Lrofprs3px9xkjrui016vCFleI2YqdMRWjINCtfCmXQh1Q5tvEhSz-LZxqL1dkWqmDFykSSWKAhl9Q/s1600/boris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqHIju9LUDDUZUCfeaoVbMYtaFNjWdOpGu-_F1UlwPdlK_S843fGQGZ3mdjM3Lrofprs3px9xkjrui016vCFleI2YqdMRWjINCtfCmXQh1Q5tvEhSz-LZxqL1dkWqmDFykSSWKAhl9Q/s320/boris.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boris arrives at the office for his first day<br />
as Foreign Secretary</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For us, we were in the badlands of Wales on a two-day practical course all
about the joys of lime and where to stick it. You would have read a
blog all about it by now if Dawn could be bothered to write it, but she
can't. It's not even like she's got anything better to do, like earn a living. Sheesh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, one thing we learnt on the course at <a href="https://www.lime.org.uk/" target="_blank">Ty-Mawr</a>, which is one
of just a few reputable lime product manufacturers and suppliers in the
pre-anarchic UK, is something we'd been wondering ever since we
first started on this magical journey of marvel and mishap - how to pronounce
Ty-Mawr. The best way to write it is that it rhymes with See Flower or
Flea Power or Tree Hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's Ty (like 'tea') and Mawr (like 'sour' but with an M). It's Welsh, innit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So now you know. Accept no substitutes and feel free to correct people with confidence and authority. Tell them we told you so. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the other things we touched on was limewashing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limewashing is like painting but much, <i>much </i>more annoying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Remember the last time you decorated your bedroom with one or two coats
of your favourite shade of matt avocado and lost the will to live as you
glossed the skirting? It's nothing as joyful as that. Not even close. </span></div>
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyyPvF_5THgg0ir8lfafW5wogFTplaFP4n7tVNU6FEOC_TAGwV65AzL4LJ3a9fbIg4Ga_QWyORPXU5mgBN0EyTuQTPK9m53IkIYwhpj7wve7VGvzTWs_PZU8wRyUKLBhwqcfbBmWRxQ/s1600/walls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyyPvF_5THgg0ir8lfafW5wogFTplaFP4n7tVNU6FEOC_TAGwV65AzL4LJ3a9fbIg4Ga_QWyORPXU5mgBN0EyTuQTPK9m53IkIYwhpj7wve7VGvzTWs_PZU8wRyUKLBhwqcfbBmWRxQ/s320/walls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original brown lime surfaces were a patchwork<br />
of new and old repairs using regular filler or lime</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course we only really learnt that lesson back at The Lodge when
we tried it. Across at Ty-Mawr - staffed by very nice, knowledgeable, down-to-earth pro-lime nerds, essentially - we were told that although it's not a
decorating finish that suits everyone it's authentic,
environmentally-friendly and fully breathable, which is exactly what
we're after. We saw lots of examples, all in limewashed rooms at the
beautiful Ty-Mawr working family home (it's a funny old set-up in a beautiful part of the country), showed the experts some photos of our
Living Room, asked some pertinent questions, got our hands dirty with some excellent practical
experience and left assured that we'd get the uniform, level finish we
were after on the ceiling and walls with just two or three coats even
though the more traditional finish is somewhat patchier, which makes it
an acquired taste. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlu5a2CypecRWDrjC96BGKkrLJGbmcfAAUrlCny7GVFT98W0R63H53OoCX8LufjtOaAe0mJ3z0pR5IU_0y9sCCT16DvZ6Ge-ZWTR1sMYn72SND_ZiX1Us7076_hrfsK58M-AJgen6C2Q/s1600/folks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlu5a2CypecRWDrjC96BGKkrLJGbmcfAAUrlCny7GVFT98W0R63H53OoCX8LufjtOaAe0mJ3z0pR5IU_0y9sCCT16DvZ6Ge-ZWTR1sMYn72SND_ZiX1Us7076_hrfsK58M-AJgen6C2Q/s320/folks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The olds.<br />
Absolutely clueless.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We drafted in my folks and aunt for the inaugural first coat and
bought five buckets, five brushes, five pairs of safety glasses, the
same amount of gloves and some party sausage rolls, in addition to a
Screwfix electric paddle mixer (which later exploded) for the white pre-mixed limewash which we brought back from Ty-Mawr. </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now the thing about limewash, and where it differs significantly
to regular paint, is that at 3:1 water to lime putty (we also added casein which is a natural product made from milk and helps the wash 'stick' a bit better), it's not only thin
but it needs to be applied in very thin coats so that when the wash
begins to dry it doesn't leave behind a thick layer of lime which will
then crack as the water disappears. It's a bit of a faff but one we had
steeled ourselves for. </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other thing about limewash is that it's <i>totally invisible</i> for hours. </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yyHaM-wAxpB04pV_07R2gSjbXxpoqNZs9FvBv9JDQdcAjxuYRxLffzGQtIqil4MBOtPKqa9wvXbo8wUm3f18i_ABv1dokG3vJnV7Ylc4CrGqMX8pnXu0t4I8n8Ow4qbtbT86bT31VA/s1600/patchy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yyHaM-wAxpB04pV_07R2gSjbXxpoqNZs9FvBv9JDQdcAjxuYRxLffzGQtIqil4MBOtPKqa9wvXbo8wUm3f18i_ABv1dokG3vJnV7Ylc4CrGqMX8pnXu0t4I8n8Ow4qbtbT86bT31VA/s320/patchy.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four coats in... grrr...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you're painting under normal circumstances you get your
brush, roller or pad, load it with the thick coloured gloop of your choice and smear it
over the wall in areas you haven't done yet. With limewash, however,
because you're wetting the surface with tap water (to arrest the
drying process) before brushing on your equally-wet and barely-coloured
limewash you can't see if you've already done that bit or you're missing
great swathes as you go. The only time it begins to become apparent is
when it starts to dry overnight and the coloured pigment begins to show itself (which is a very impressive reveal in the morning, by the way). But that's when you realise you need another coat all-round. Then another. Then another. Ad infinitum.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After four coats on the ceilings and walls over 10-or-so days - and with the unwanted 'traditional' patchy, rough limewash finish still very much in evidence -
we gave up because we were getting nowhere. It just wasn't worth the effort and despair. Each coat went on just as
infuriatingly-transparently as the last and the whole room was taking a
day or more (with at least a day in between while it dried) in return for
absolutely no progress whatsoever. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsSw_60Yw_irGg1RJr6JrNhyphenhyphenAfdaf0E-17SS_uI_9_5wb6-aCPdUJfWKnz3P8eh-uEuhyphenhyphenIehU90-n3OAXrgfo6Ir3RW4JHA4IcNOCNxIcw0yqqnWqy81qgbp8hF7Is2UAG9CysigXQg/s1600/claypaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsSw_60Yw_irGg1RJr6JrNhyphenhyphenAfdaf0E-17SS_uI_9_5wb6-aCPdUJfWKnz3P8eh-uEuhyphenhyphenIehU90-n3OAXrgfo6Ir3RW4JHA4IcNOCNxIcw0yqqnWqy81qgbp8hF7Is2UAG9CysigXQg/s320/claypaint.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cavalry!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not only were the walls patchy and uneven, even where they'd been limewashed earlier, but there was
lots of deep yellow staining bleeding through on the ceiling, perhaps
from the old original lime that was still up there or residue left over from the
<a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/10/how-to-remove-artex-revisited.html" target="_blank">Artex</a>. Either way we couldn't live in a room that looked as though it
had been a gentleman's smoking parlour for the last century so we went with the alternative - also recommended by Ty-Mawr - clay paint.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once we knew the fourth failed coat of limewash had dried the
ceiling took one coat of Earthborn 'White' - eliminating the jaundiced patches; the walls took a single coat
of <strike>magnolia</strike> 'Vanilla' and the two feature walls by the Pantry took two coats of 'Cat's Cradle' grey, with delicate cutting-in around the brick
detail.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the results are excellent. The coverage was great with a pad and because
the 'paint' was pretty thick it covered the patchy white with ease - and
you could see where you'd already been!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only downside was that where old, original lime plaster had
been limewashed, particularly on the ceiling, the wash came away in small areas where a roller took
it off and reapplied it in lumps a few millimetres away (which we quite
like, weirdly, because it goes with the lumpybumpy look). A brush didn't have so much trouble though, and there
were no application problems when we clay painted over the limewash on
new plaster.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So at least the limewashing made for a reasonable undercoat which also sealed small cracks in the plaster, and the whole lot is breathable, too.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv9bmjJOrVY_HZlI998s5duqHt2UelQVuvVBKaJyR4j3kr5fC9bZVQGw_ZVcPbzTtN0jF-cLRRk_5kS8NaLlAKfhSvKzBKjonk8nQfZL3WfTPZN5q8XWJbOSNao2xsd0RDuxk7RwyNQ/s1600/painted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxv9bmjJOrVY_HZlI998s5duqHt2UelQVuvVBKaJyR4j3kr5fC9bZVQGw_ZVcPbzTtN0jF-cLRRk_5kS8NaLlAKfhSvKzBKjonk8nQfZL3WfTPZN5q8XWJbOSNao2xsd0RDuxk7RwyNQ/s640/painted.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ignore the skirting - I haven't written about it yet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The lesson: one person's '<i>perfect</i>' is another person's '<i>problem</i>'
and although I get where Ty-Mawr is coming from in terms of
authenticity and tradition when it comes to the finish, it's not always
going to be for us. The lessons in pointing, however, were right up our
street and that'll be the subject of the next blog... whenever I get it
written.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Must rush. I'm building a Post-Brexit Bomb Shelter and the excavator has just arrived...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbhusrcTSSnX_aJsQk8PAmUaGDCR5V2AmUcU7aG68ffT5IO7xksnxet6aevMq21L_eskkbQ6WIgwjd7qHRqNKuy6eFO2BVxK_juyDBeSk73rxv-2rpewkoW4FDCt_gg1FR_GOcYhstw/s1600/dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbhusrcTSSnX_aJsQk8PAmUaGDCR5V2AmUcU7aG68ffT5IO7xksnxet6aevMq21L_eskkbQ6WIgwjd7qHRqNKuy6eFO2BVxK_juyDBeSk73rxv-2rpewkoW4FDCt_gg1FR_GOcYhstw/s640/dawn.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The £50 Energer paddle mixer from Screwfix.<br />
Only buy it if you enjoy seeing smoke coming out of your power tools before the job is finished.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-61912638436175777662016-07-26T16:25:00.000+01:002016-09-07T17:24:44.939+01:00A long-awaited catch-up<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been a funny old couple of months since I last wrote a blog post and I'm not sure I want to tell you why. I mean I <i>want </i>to, but perhaps I shouldn't... some of it is quite personal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVatvk2A6VbotY2DCGxKyam-l8MXeVYng20E0r4VoO9ZyAa5OFDHDZ9e3fqo9t-ThvwZ8CoMFxGZ0ib56a2ZcG14XN88kCnyMsOfKzHWk1Sph27VnbiKsPfcsNPvTCHAfLDSqMXO8QeA/s1600/dogwalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVatvk2A6VbotY2DCGxKyam-l8MXeVYng20E0r4VoO9ZyAa5OFDHDZ9e3fqo9t-ThvwZ8CoMFxGZ0ib56a2ZcG14XN88kCnyMsOfKzHWk1Sph27VnbiKsPfcsNPvTCHAfLDSqMXO8QeA/s400/dogwalk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My aunt counts her fingers to see if Grumble has eaten any while my mam<br />
feigns arthritis to avoid having her arm ripped from its socket.<br />
Dad draws the short straw.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For one, the introduction of </span><a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/05/31.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Grumble</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (as he's been formally named) to the family has changed our routines and focus a little bit - naturally - and setting the unfinished Living Room up as a </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">functioning </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living Room for the doggy home-check proved to be an irresistible draw and has remained that way ever since. Such an arrangement isn't conducive to </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting Stuff Done</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But there have also been significant problems which, for June at least, made things completely grind to a halt. Over the past year our only neighbours, who we share the access track and <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/08/a-beginners-guide-to-using-gates.html" target="_blank">gates</a> with, have been gradually becoming the kind of neighbours you only read about in the newspapers once the justifiable homicide starts and things have been bubbling over with them recently as <strike>our</strike> my tolerance and politeness rapidly ran out</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(we briefly considered selling-up at one point)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. I've also had a couple of non-life-threatening (!) health issues to deal with too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I might write about it all one day, but then again I might not. The main thing is that we're all fine and dandy and things have started to move again with the help of our parents who have gently cajoled us in to action and even done some of the work to help egg us on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll blog about the bigger jobs which have happened in separate posts, but here is a run-down of the things which don't need much in the way of wordage:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>The Dining Room has been de-junked</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">aka the Murder Room, the Dining Room has been used for storage since we first moved in, attracting a tiny bit more clutter on the hour, every hour.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It spent a little over a year playing host to shelving, boxes, cabinets, boxes, the TV stand, boxes, drawers, boxes, the sofa bed and even the bathroom door, with the gaps between all of those being filled with more boxes, some of which had split and spilled their guts all over the place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomd6fzuH5aIBpHwTQDxcaEnYjsbYOiDLt-8XdnigCGF1lPkd8SL9UYar-MjPdqU-f7Jitml7RA7IPqRPiGVXAK1dR20-L82ftJYBiGtqQ6qHeflpnY-rAUNWJdDA0caY1P2cyJ70PnQ/s1600/murder_room_carpet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomd6fzuH5aIBpHwTQDxcaEnYjsbYOiDLt-8XdnigCGF1lPkd8SL9UYar-MjPdqU-f7Jitml7RA7IPqRPiGVXAK1dR20-L82ftJYBiGtqQ6qHeflpnY-rAUNWJdDA0caY1P2cyJ70PnQ/s400/murder_room_carpet.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Imagine our surprise when we found a massive beige dog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">lying at a funny angle under the old carpet</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was in desperate need of sorting out and as we wanted to get the old red - possibly asbestos - tiles off the concrete floor we thought we'd kill two birds with one stone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sofa bed was already in the Living Room being used as our main settee, so we dragged everything else in there, cleaning as we went, pulled up the disgusting old carpet then prised up a manky tile only to find that it had been glued to the floor with thick, still-sticky, black bitumen tar which stayed right where it had been slopped many decades ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well that was </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">that </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">job scuppered. We weren't going to spend untold days scraping and dissolving the black stuff off only to pull the concrete up at a later date - which we will be doing, so we decided to skip that and leave it for such a time when we begin 'proper' work in there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the whole room was vacuumed top-to-bottom, the floor was mopped and dried (for what it was worth), a thick tarp was laid over the tiles and the cabinets et al were reintroduced with a semblance of order this time, giving us room to actually swing a cat. Of course more clutter has been appearing hourly again, but at least we can now kind of get in there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Old Oily has been dismembered</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuJaOxrwKibRDD1aeehMrP4X-33zw734innXqFKoOBE3DWLuXlZ4SPo2YvrXmwnp6clHnn79onmoLOXS5_2sOpnjwdPYHDDLZrDLFyjc7hIauPGfWqD99Q2_m9NDjaMNyAhLDx6FJNw/s1600/boiler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuJaOxrwKibRDD1aeehMrP4X-33zw734innXqFKoOBE3DWLuXlZ4SPo2YvrXmwnp6clHnn79onmoLOXS5_2sOpnjwdPYHDDLZrDLFyjc7hIauPGfWqD99Q2_m9NDjaMNyAhLDx6FJNw/s400/boiler.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death throes</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Way back in March the gigantic oil-fired boiler in the Dining Room decided that something in the region of £700-worth of servicing and repairs wasn't enough to keep it going and it <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/03/going-right-off-boil.html" target="_blank">decided to die</a> for want of another £500 pump.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But being connected to the electricity, water supply, radiators and the oil tank meant that there was no way on earth that I was going to dismantle the thing myself, unless I wanted to set The Lodge on fire then put out the flames with a flood of Biblical proportions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So Terminator Trevor And His Trusty Bag of Tools were drafted in and the poor old boiler was slowly and methodically pulled to bits, ready to go to the tip. Bits of it are now piled in the back yard while its main innards are out back by the bins, where they've been for a few weeks now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We just can't bear to see it all go, but on the plus side we've gained a whole new section of Dining Room floor on which to pile stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every cloud and all that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Replacing rotten water supply pipes</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the boiler was out of the way we had access to a boxed-in corner of the Dining Room which housed the main water supply pipes to The Lodge, complete with stop tap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yanking that boxing off revealed (c)rusty old pipework which had obviously been caused by the tap which had been leaking </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">since the dawn of time</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> - just a tiny bit - and a small weep on the joint of the incoming water pipe. The two combined had made a right old manky mess of the pipes while keeping that corner lovely and moist right against the external wall.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ27KV2VPfF4iZz5UGnrdWevQ1CIySi1HWjPuPpC_bJFQO0gAnq77k4yNi_VsueFkznRuBPplGNvTvHVboh39_26MplNW2xtos6EgShiHFhhrjcQSsxXgG7nOU8o_JYRgYLCKGS5T-Gg/s1600/waterpipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ27KV2VPfF4iZz5UGnrdWevQ1CIySi1HWjPuPpC_bJFQO0gAnq77k4yNi_VsueFkznRuBPplGNvTvHVboh39_26MplNW2xtos6EgShiHFhhrjcQSsxXgG7nOU8o_JYRgYLCKGS5T-Gg/s400/waterpipe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water supply in the back garden has limited uses at the moment...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a related note we had been meaning to get Severn Trent Water in for some time so they could locate the main external stop tap, which we thought was one of two that we'd found, but one didn't turn the water off and the other one was about 6ft below ground, so we got them to come over and investigate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turned out that one of the taps we'd found was for something unidentified, and may have been disconnected altogether, and the other extra-deep one fed an independent water supply in among the weeds in the back garden area which we discovered last year. So that was a nice bonus. T</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hey found the one we actually needed with a metal detector, hidden under the gravelly/stony area at the front of the building. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once they were done and we were able to turn off the water to the property completely we called the providers of our home-emergency-assistance-cover-type-insurance-stuff who came and replaced both the decaying pipework from the external tap to the house and the leaky stop tap in the Dining Room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's all pretty boring really, but when the washing machine decides to explode when Dawn is at work one day I won't have to run around outside waving my arms in panic as a tsunami sweeps through the downstairs - I'll be able to calmly turn the water supply off at the shiny new stop tap then have a little sob while rolling up my trouser legs. Minimal drama.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>History hiding in plain sight</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Planning the various stages of the Living Room means looking at all of the detail that'll be present when it's finished. Which led us to a surprising little discovery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The modern pendant light in the middle of the ceiling has been screwed to a wooden pattress all this time, but because it had been layered in white paint over the years we had never spotted it (thinking it was part of the existing plastic fitting), even though I've scraped Artex from right around it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygRoPT-lYwmtm5LB5iyLhaijSQ1OnKAPay-amZm9YdFsVrTV53foTC9cWwckbi_mrM1Yrk8_eS9ptfhiCJ7SwqDbSnotBs-JTgvjRf292G3eRy8Se4Z0Ao_3NqweI_qTt1lImqFVxjA/s1600/pattress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygRoPT-lYwmtm5LB5iyLhaijSQ1OnKAPay-amZm9YdFsVrTV53foTC9cWwckbi_mrM1Yrk8_eS9ptfhiCJ7SwqDbSnotBs-JTgvjRf292G3eRy8Se4Z0Ao_3NqweI_qTt1lImqFVxjA/s640/pattress.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattress<br />
It rhymes with mattress </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I unscrewed the light fitting and spent an afternoon carefully stripping the paint back while trying not to frazzle myself, revealing a solid disc of turned pale wood (I'm rubbish at ID-ing wood) which I'm guessing is <i>old </i>but not <i>original</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An original mid-late 1800s pattress in that spot would likely have supported an oil or gas lamp which would have caused it to discolour with carbon build-up and scorching over time, but because there is none of that I'm assuming it was put there to support an early electric light - maybe around the 1930s when the National Grid first made an appearance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not terribly important to us to find out minutiae like that, but we're happy to think of it as something worth keeping when we come to install the new lights. We're yet to decide whether or not to stain it to match the light or keep it as natural wood against the white ceiling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Out in the garden</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv52HtsT7TNjlmzPpvE-3OV4qhYEV9XRg9S9LMDrPOCm_bLi6lD55teucg0Wt8tMObaMpeegEB6dzhCfx2WRpRUxFWSMCTqsNtDiNBimN3Wl2-FCPvy4F9mtbfTmJ4jfjtF5dmD1kceg/s1600/vegbed1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv52HtsT7TNjlmzPpvE-3OV4qhYEV9XRg9S9LMDrPOCm_bLi6lD55teucg0Wt8tMObaMpeegEB6dzhCfx2WRpRUxFWSMCTqsNtDiNBimN3Wl2-FCPvy4F9mtbfTmJ4jfjtF5dmD1kceg/s640/vegbed1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We could do little but shake our heads at Sausage in the hope he'd get the message</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Months ago I knocked-up a couple of raised veg beds for Dawn in the front garden by the shed, and although that particular area could do with quite a lot of care and attention at the moment, the greens are coming along a treat in the one which has been put to use.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know nothing about growing veggies other than celery is evil and shouldn't be entertained, but I'm told there are peas, mangetout, yellow courgettes, butternut squash, leeks and tomatoes in there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before it was planted there was also a SausageTheCat in there more often than not - doing what cats do - but a couple of dozen well-placed wooden BBQ kebab skewers soon convinced him to go elsewhere. It's not like there isn't a million acres of woodland on the doorstep.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgragWRRfvTjElsi1dGgH-6nDophm3TCsDPmmy4Q4X1LNtzcqTdu38yYCOgCYImuLqt2VU21u0FptQVwihrVegrlEIAGE9n9aw7_TSQi7PtECiHOmALHZPJHGgwigltybvKUR7nq80Ayg/s1600/vegbed2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgragWRRfvTjElsi1dGgH-6nDophm3TCsDPmmy4Q4X1LNtzcqTdu38yYCOgCYImuLqt2VU21u0FptQVwihrVegrlEIAGE9n9aw7_TSQi7PtECiHOmALHZPJHGgwigltybvKUR7nq80Ayg/s640/vegbed2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fertilised</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've been donated a ride-on mower which has pleased Dawn no-end because she has wanted one since she was a puppy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fact that the carbs need cleaning out regularly, the battery doesn't hold charge, the 'key' is a screwdriver and one of the rear wheels literally falls off every 10 minutes is of no matter. It's a ride-on mower and that's all that counts...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBFWUsbp5qMRTOT4gA27V1-pp3c3rKcWOXTo7YMuOLZfN5YdJGtkYjn_sOJd0K8zwI6YMa6glIVK9_Px1vpihtGLG6337UzcUD4so9CBn2CQmCta5kV47iyu4b9_K5KyRWRrcLg1wvQ/s1600/mower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBFWUsbp5qMRTOT4gA27V1-pp3c3rKcWOXTo7YMuOLZfN5YdJGtkYjn_sOJd0K8zwI6YMa6glIVK9_Px1vpihtGLG6337UzcUD4so9CBn2CQmCta5kV47iyu4b9_K5KyRWRrcLg1wvQ/s640/mower.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a 'pre-loved' Westwood Gazelle which, when one of the rear wheels overtakes you<br />
and heads off across the grass, becomes a Westwood Donkeytrike</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I didn't realise until it started to fruit last year, but we have a large wild cherry tree in the front garden which is extremely productive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not having made jam before I didn't want to jump straight in to it without doing the necessary reading, so I waited until this year before picking a whopping 2lb of lovely ripe cherries, pitting each one by hand over an entire afternoon (they're too small for a hand-held de-stoning thingy), throwing a load of sugar, lemon juice and pectin at them, boiling them up and producing a paltry two-and-a-half jars of surprisingly-lovely jam that's absolutely jam-packed (pun intended) with fruit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm quite proud of my first ever <i>Country Kitchen</i> moment, but I'm not sure I can be arsed to do it all again even though there are still thousands of beautiful dark red cherries on the tree.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YDe6-nZp6ttS9DOIC4PYA6amxZxvpwX4UOHDLbBMEXcFNDVTP7Z-Fv_mRoSAFDYLxrI3ZmDz0WCgmT8VMVgP4mmm1w-Y8YMtaoP9hB7ZOIZnDtzyCmbNhUGSQ3ZWjNWYO4Guo-dzQg/s1600/cherries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YDe6-nZp6ttS9DOIC4PYA6amxZxvpwX4UOHDLbBMEXcFNDVTP7Z-Fv_mRoSAFDYLxrI3ZmDz0WCgmT8VMVgP4mmm1w-Y8YMtaoP9hB7ZOIZnDtzyCmbNhUGSQ3ZWjNWYO4Guo-dzQg/s640/cherries.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the time I was finished pitting them I was sick of the sight of wild cherries</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>I keep getting wood</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not complaining - <i>at all</i> - but we've now got more wood for the log burner in the Living Room than I know what to do with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I first built the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/how-to-build-woodshed-for-almost-free.html" target="_blank">woodshed</a> I figured that four decent-sized bays full of split logs would get us through a couple of years on rotation, with one or two bays providing seasoned logs while unseasoned wood in the other two had time to dry. I'd either scrounge or buy wood over a period of time to keep it all topped-up and things would tick along nicely.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, for a start, we're rattling through wood like nobody's business. Up until the last couple of weeks the British summer has been nowhere near warm enough to heat the (stone) house on the inside to any kind of survivable standard so we've had the log burner on during the evenings to keep the place warmish and the damp at bay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll admit that being male I'm somewhat enthusiastic when it comes to fire, but we've already emptied one seasoned bay and started on the other - wasps' nests and pied wagtail nests notwithstanding, meaning I need to get chopping and fill the first one up again with the sycamore cross-sections we've had stockpiled to the side of the woodshed since early April, of which there are many.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibk-hn38Bvto0KGWktDoYHEYAuqvMmHpsvetfuZ77M_FdXtEQH_s8FzXjhnWqjW4ASSJTbfJjSBDUPR5-I8MeSP81mZHQ9Le8TAdHSpBs99pbVTO1qpZB1xUaLLu7RVoWMogJ0YAnk7Q/s1600/woooood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibk-hn38Bvto0KGWktDoYHEYAuqvMmHpsvetfuZ77M_FdXtEQH_s8FzXjhnWqjW4ASSJTbfJjSBDUPR5-I8MeSP81mZHQ9Le8TAdHSpBs99pbVTO1qpZB1xUaLLu7RVoWMogJ0YAnk7Q/s640/woooood.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holy cow... and there's another truck-load coming tomorrow</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Except the tree surgeon fella from further along in the woods (one of our distant <i>friendly</i> neighbours) has decided that he doesn't want some of his latest good-but-not-great-firewood acquisitions and donated a flatbed full of willow a couple of weeks ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just today he's dropped off most of a 90-year-old lime tree in the form of branches and trunk sections and another load is due to arrive tonight or tomorrow. Again, I'm not even <i>close</i> to complaining, but I don't think I've got the strength of character or the muscle power to work my way through it all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So if anyone has a decent heavy-duty hydraulic or electric log-splitter that's either dirt-cheap or even going free please let me know. My back and arms will thank you.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-89268792521835262012016-05-28T22:57:00.003+01:002016-05-29T10:40:40.580+01:003+1=?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems that we have accidentally become four.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Say hello to ?TheDog.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrjX3htkfo5477QVcsjwxsmxZ52X0Gh-WFJbODntN5bQGFtm2PpkpP6PXK3gy-PEGhnzwowspH80Mdc_COXdoPdUuAVrXUNsFhOWs_QEMvZJXaRZbnACK9ypxhFdWIYSSHYyTLyMNJw/s1600/window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrjX3htkfo5477QVcsjwxsmxZ52X0Gh-WFJbODntN5bQGFtm2PpkpP6PXK3gy-PEGhnzwowspH80Mdc_COXdoPdUuAVrXUNsFhOWs_QEMvZJXaRZbnACK9ypxhFdWIYSSHYyTLyMNJw/s640/window.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">?theDog was stinking and shedding on the trip home in the ManTruck.<br />
By the time we got back Dawn and I were wearing most of him and we needed a shower.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have wanted to get a mutt for some years now but circumstances have always conspired against us. We've looked at rescue dogs online now and then and seen many we love the look of... then weighed-up our options and decided against it with a tear in our collective eye.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But usually unbeknown to Dawn I've dipped in and out of the myriad pet adoption websites from time-to-time, just "idly looking to see what's around" (my lame excuse when I've been caught), then closed them down and carried on with life.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But a fortnight ago I was rumbled again.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There I was, just idly looking to see what was around, when Dawn caught sight of my laptop. I was looking at a big lump of a dog called Kan, when: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oooh, I like </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">him,</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">" came the voice from beside me in bed. Perhaps that's why I was caught - I wasn't being very subtle about it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OH84bT7jFqgmpO23p84Ne1loCCf1Zv5NeaiG064N6Khgu6Cte-BohgQh0IWFr5r5jS-Q55dK8PMSf7RI_NwVHzDrjGNH1eIudMGWU2vf1VpkJ7S9sTbK5wqeyhXGWsi8XjdaaR0PaQ/s1600/kan_advert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OH84bT7jFqgmpO23p84Ne1loCCf1Zv5NeaiG064N6Khgu6Cte-BohgQh0IWFr5r5jS-Q55dK8PMSf7RI_NwVHzDrjGNH1eIudMGWU2vf1VpkJ7S9sTbK5wqeyhXGWsi8XjdaaR0PaQ/s1600/kan_advert.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Known as 'Kan' back in Croatia, where we think this nervous-looking pic was taken, he was very close to being sent to<br />
the big kennel in the sky before he was rescued by Action Aid for Animals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talking then happened.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>For</u></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm at home all day.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We enjoy going for walks but need an excuse to do more.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We live in the woods.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We love dogs and I grew up with them, so we've got an idea of what to do.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I'm a non-practicing part-qualified dog groomer. Yes, really. Don't ask.</i></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Against</u></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We live in a shed.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We're renovating a house.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We've got SausageTheCat, who has been our only pet for a number of years.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This led to a visit to meet Kan in 'person', which was followed a week later by a home-check, and yesterday we became the proud - but nervous - owners of a stinky, shedding, two-year-old Irish Wolfhound with German Shepherd legs from Croatia whose breath could knock out a squirrel at 50 paces.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZYilboMK0wFWMmRpxfUMgMQ7SFlxxuzfIpbHobkg5LGzWlVDpW5lMwzGoA4P4sfN-HpwKgW8JeJOrQt6jX4yVSKtHTGbQnBafOlCZm_g8k7p1ID-MDjR8xtBBuWV8grptl7a-TSHqQ/s1600/groupshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZYilboMK0wFWMmRpxfUMgMQ7SFlxxuzfIpbHobkg5LGzWlVDpW5lMwzGoA4P4sfN-HpwKgW8JeJOrQt6jX4yVSKtHTGbQnBafOlCZm_g8k7p1ID-MDjR8xtBBuWV8grptl7a-TSHqQ/s640/groupshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family portrait minus SausageTheCat, who was somewhat reluctant to join in</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And he's lush. Proper lush.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite only having had him for 31 hours he is showing all the signs of being ideal for us - he's delighted when we walk in to the room; slept soundly all last night; lies elsewhere when the Humans are eating and doesn't give <i>The Eyes</i>; is bouncy and happy; doesn't misbehave <i>too </i>much when on the lead (which he will be for a month or two at least); seems to get on fine with other dogs and loves a good brushing.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only downside so far is the whole SausageTheCat situation.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we first warily introduced them there was barking from one and hissing from the other, and there has been very little contact since then.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having said that, StC was sleeping in the house last night (which he occasionally does anyway) and ?tD was in the shed with us in his new bed, but at 5.15am during a heavy rain storm, Dawn and I were woken by pathetic meowing from outside, which also occasionally happens anyway.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I popped our new family member's lead on and trapped the end under a heavy piece of stored furniture then carried StC in without fuss from any quarter. And it stayed like that for the rest of the night, although I'm not sure ?tD really woke up during the whole episode.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebOJj9qFv74sqDrIUqet6ZUxWhpoAT9yTylZt8ELUN8K4EacbV5w4a-43QltqaijywLNzNqVCdhoflpvcIpPO82tgMaS21PHNjQ5mN2RF_KFZnMEpv0vuuJl8j_dRS7le5tR0NCOUxA/s1600/groomed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebOJj9qFv74sqDrIUqet6ZUxWhpoAT9yTylZt8ELUN8K4EacbV5w4a-43QltqaijywLNzNqVCdhoflpvcIpPO82tgMaS21PHNjQ5mN2RF_KFZnMEpv0vuuJl8j_dRS7le5tR0NCOUxA/s640/groomed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't claim to be anything like a pro groomer, but ?tD was bathed and had a haircut today.<br />
He doesn't like the bath/shower, the electric clippers, the hair blaster, his head trimmed or his paws messed with, but it was still a partial success although he still whiffs a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I type we're trying to get them used to at least being in the same room as one another.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had to go and find StC because we've barely seen him all day, and he's now ensconced in his basket on the Living Room windowsill with ?tD fast asleep on the floor with his head on Dawn's foot. He's snoring.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The past hour-and-a-half has been a mixed bag though with ?tD alternating between sleep and barking and StC alternating between sleep and growling.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Who knew that cats can growl? Mad.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The barking is so sudden and sporadic that I'm now making an attempt at isolation training, but only time will tell how that works out.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDTJagvPdibRTKFFI9BWMgMwkZMopDNRWn5hKTBaVi7NCej3hstxT0ftCUXbM8oTakiP0ULiHTwhkaWFUYXaS9rJ6ZNcQBvVkfDaJz2UpDQ3w3EQkFT68IJkgq5Pl7Op-EzLxVkNfPg/s1600/relaxed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDTJagvPdibRTKFFI9BWMgMwkZMopDNRWn5hKTBaVi7NCej3hstxT0ftCUXbM8oTakiP0ULiHTwhkaWFUYXaS9rJ6ZNcQBvVkfDaJz2UpDQ3w3EQkFT68IJkgq5Pl7Op-EzLxVkNfPg/s640/relaxed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've had friends over so we set the TV up temporarily a couple of days ago.<br />
Our new mate appears to approve.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, his name.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We can't call him ? forever and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kan is a bit rubbish, but we're at a loss about what it should be.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We'd ideally like something so uncommon that nobody has ever heard of a dog called <i>that </i>before, and I also like normal human names, but what should it be?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Here are some of our musings so far</u></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Chops </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(we're <i>almost </i>set on this, but keep getting swayed)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buggerlugs </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(which I <i>love</i> because one of his ears is a bit duff, but Dawn mistakenly thinks it's a mild swear word)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Dave</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Dave Growl</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(only people with a decent taste in music will get it)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Bob</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Watson</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Charlie</b> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(too common?)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Grumble / Mister Grumble</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Snort</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There have been many more names mooted but the last two are based on an adorable habit that ? seems to have.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whenever he lies down on the floor to rest his eyes for a few minutes he makes a surprisingly-loud, deep, rumbling grumble like an old man easing himself in to a chair. It almost sounds like he's deflating, thankfully from the front end.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02j6Fg3a8Bt9amSimlWJFTOv5qzkUg3VsBSEoLowviwwD_-j2ym9YifAW4dv7TdmufvsMA_IayzY5QTQRBrTPTlqegXoY5D-bQqwhLZoP0qojUt8qHWiz3L888yl8y3pGZdo0naSUWg/s1600/walkies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02j6Fg3a8Bt9amSimlWJFTOv5qzkUg3VsBSEoLowviwwD_-j2ym9YifAW4dv7TdmufvsMA_IayzY5QTQRBrTPTlqegXoY5D-bQqwhLZoP0qojUt8qHWiz3L888yl8y3pGZdo0naSUWg/s640/walkies.jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two hours of this...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ok7JRx8RHaemrTRAxZ2h_K1hOtcDLCi0Icn9Y301WoxgmlOIJFxK7zTeaPIFh_Mt9DwaPL0dD38FZd0NDVIXhNPDnGQl0dPJ3fhh1ah-LVtmu-1LscNHVV0d7rEu7wOdo5UU1bs1aw/s1600/bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ok7JRx8RHaemrTRAxZ2h_K1hOtcDLCi0Icn9Y301WoxgmlOIJFxK7zTeaPIFh_Mt9DwaPL0dD38FZd0NDVIXhNPDnGQl0dPJ3fhh1ah-LVtmu-1LscNHVV0d7rEu7wOdo5UU1bs1aw/s640/bed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...leads to many hours of this</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>On a personal note - rescue pets all the way.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Why anyone would be shallow enough to want to pay many hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds for a pedigree animal with potential future health problems from a breeder (who is only in it for the money) when untold numbers of amazing animals are sitting unloved in shelters or about to be put to sleep is beyond me. It makes me mad, it does.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Utter, utter shame on those people.</i></span><br />
<div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-80406440738460434142016-05-26T19:28:00.000+01:002016-07-26T16:49:28.867+01:00The Living Room jobs list<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please ignore me, I'm just popping in to post my Living Room To-do List as its own entry because:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's the only list I've got to work from</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although I've published it before it's buried at the bottom of another post and I keep forgetting where to find it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't keep using "I can't find my list" as an excuse not to do anything</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So here it is. I'll keep updating it as I finish things off and, rest assured, I'll let you know when anything interesting happens...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Note: The jobs on this list are unofficially sponsored by BBC Radio 5's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lvdrj" target="_blank">Kermode and Mayo's Film Review</a> podcasts which, at a rate of around three or four per day, I appear to be mainlining.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hello to Jason Isaacs.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Buy oak skirting (acclimatise!)</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Buy oak architrave (ditto!)</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Buy radiators + feet</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><strike>Buy switches and sockets</strike></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><strike>Buy light fittings</strike></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Buy door knob</strike></b></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ol><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b></b>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Sand ceiling</strike> (03.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Sand walls (esp around sockets etc)</strike> (04.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Scrape out chimney breast pointing</strike> (25.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Brush down original exposed pointing in feature wall</strike> (13.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Sand beams above oriel window</b></strike></span></li>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strike><b>
</b></strike></span>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Caulk ceiling edges to walls</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Strip door frame reveal in to hall</strike> (06.05.16)</b></span></li>
</span></span>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Fit oriel window wall light and chase electrics</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Make oak window sills x2</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Remove old radiator pipes from pantry</strike></b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Install new copper pipes to repositioned Pantry radiator</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Replace copper pipes to front radiator</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Brick acid chimney breast brick faces</strike> (26.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Brick acid feature wall brick faces for final time and stabilise</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Patch delaminating sandstone window sill?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Fill missed areas in front window ceiling with lime putty</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Putty-up Pantry wall where radiator pipes used to be</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Fill all accidental holes from previous jobs with lime putty</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike><b>Repoint chimney breast</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Cut skirting and architrave to size ready for fitting</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Re-sand mantelpiece</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Repaint around edges of register plate</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Decorate</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Wax and finish door frame reveal</strike> (07.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Replace switches and sockets</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Replace light fittings</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Fit window sills x2</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Restore floor</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Fit skirting</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Fit architrave</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Fit radiators + feet</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><strike style="font-weight: bold;">Fit refurbished door</strike><b> (07.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Fit door latch and knob</strike> (21.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Rob bank to pay for new custom-made oriel window frame</span></li>
</span></span></ol>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"></span></span><br />
<ol></ol>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFXxE9HfKFkDierpxm62bzOqkSZEtoTmdnWqYXDKTIvu4RAaou6z7lOP5Cyct0nt6Dl5tY4GVhyerohqWETN7rYMImc6DsVOrYMteuxKzGrXF-VWYaSUs-XXDCF622uyqDQXGRWsqRw/s1600/pointing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFXxE9HfKFkDierpxm62bzOqkSZEtoTmdnWqYXDKTIvu4RAaou6z7lOP5Cyct0nt6Dl5tY4GVhyerohqWETN7rYMImc6DsVOrYMteuxKzGrXF-VWYaSUs-XXDCF622uyqDQXGRWsqRw/s640/pointing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Living Room chimney breast has been the focus of attention for the last two or three weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Scraping out the old, crumbly lime pointing by hand is easily as soul-destroying as having</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to scrape <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/10/how-to-remove-artex-revisited.html" target="_blank">Artex</a> from the ceiling</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRtlLzenDJ1g18oo3p97nkhfRK8gfePtT08S-0UfSNUpKzrusIvMi7BfssUJ5xNC9OFuO6XuH5HYwdxy-D94R8tr1hkZzKK1wHdo8RUv4gy-F5-8R1X_C983EwJXo9QDUlIgX-YhIqw/s1600/acid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRtlLzenDJ1g18oo3p97nkhfRK8gfePtT08S-0UfSNUpKzrusIvMi7BfssUJ5xNC9OFuO6XuH5HYwdxy-D94R8tr1hkZzKK1wHdo8RUv4gy-F5-8R1X_C983EwJXo9QDUlIgX-YhIqw/s640/acid.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">...and compared to scraping the pointing, using a half-inch paint brush to coat each individual brick face</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">with neat </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">brick acid in order to clean them up is a doddle</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-22996860860985621192016-05-16T22:06:00.001+01:002016-05-19T11:13:51.422+01:00When owls attack<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite all of the nice things we've been saying about our owl population during the last year and regardless of all the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/p/the-stc-kill-count.html" target="_blank">food</a> we've left out for them, it seems it hasn't been enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last night they rebelled. At least I <i>think </i>it was the owls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having dragged myself out of bed at 4.30am to visit the Little Boy's <strike>Room</strike> Garden (I'm old) I heard some noises that I couldn't quite place. Kind of like sporadic knocking from somewhere nearby. It was nothing frantic and not loud enough for me to attribute it to human activity, so it was more puzzling than worrying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being half asleep and fully in the altogether I wasn't all that inclined to investigate either - and it was cold - so I returned to the shed, poked Dawn in the ribs and explained what was going on to the tuft of hair that was poking from the top of the quilt. Her barely-audible expletive gave the impression that I should forget about it... so I did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then, as Dawn was about to leave for work at 8am she found this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2noC6AsR8BNPEr6BJgqeONXauHW-M80oqx_jCnQ_eQyBYBy6B0U6OSEUIVdxkmfD6XxxE3RRZBignEGY8ZPKtx_g-oFUH_KSaBhJyR7XI9qgWr_7fPsxJirR-QeBsnhyf9RKnw8UcUg/s1600/attackyowls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2noC6AsR8BNPEr6BJgqeONXauHW-M80oqx_jCnQ_eQyBYBy6B0U6OSEUIVdxkmfD6XxxE3RRZBignEGY8ZPKtx_g-oFUH_KSaBhJyR7XI9qgWr_7fPsxJirR-QeBsnhyf9RKnw8UcUg/s640/attackyowls.jpg" width="598" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look closely at the pic, and other than the obvious mark on the front there are numerous ones on the upper left of the bonnet, the far right-hand-side of the bonnet, two-plus lots on the roof and on both wing mirrors.<br />
The back end was just as bad, as were the sides.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It appears that at least one, if not a veritable </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">squadron</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, of owls had taken a dislike to her shiny new indulgence and had spent some time flying straight in to it from all angles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were a dozen or more brown dusty <i>thumps </i>all along the sides, the bonnet, the boot, the windows and even on the roof where the attackers had been body-slamming as many surfaces as they could during the night. I'm no Chris Packham but I guess the early hour - I'm assuming that that's what I heard - rules out pigeons and blue tits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Presumably stationary Audis are seen as a threat to (breeding?) owls, despite their inability to climb trees*. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe it was the shininess of the bodywork coupled with the full-ish moon that sent it/them in to a frenzy but we'll be keeping an eye open to see if it happens again, at which point we'll have to get either a cover or an eagle. That'll learn them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>EDIT: May 19</u></b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPNrXvPMqK75sjVG0F5QoZFmEFODUMfEuWWZC72yXo7imSIY6sWJ1Cm-65UUCsoIK3pJK7jqgzI7hKkVCKGj6UnFIygOLyEdqLcZx-PKZjAfAgJwzg11drgTE_bJYvSu-GQw1l2vphw/s1600/peacock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPNrXvPMqK75sjVG0F5QoZFmEFODUMfEuWWZC72yXo7imSIY6sWJ1Cm-65UUCsoIK3pJK7jqgzI7hKkVCKGj6UnFIygOLyEdqLcZx-PKZjAfAgJwzg11drgTE_bJYvSu-GQw1l2vphw/s320/peacock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Google.<br />
The ends of its wings are certainly of the correct design...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn has been working away for two nights, but now she's back it has happened again. This time with poo and talons. <i>Lots </i>of poo and talons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While we await an appointment with Mr T-Cut we're going to have to think of an actual solution - I'm thinking move it closer to the CCTV, cover it and possibly stick a fake hawk or something on the roof.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If it keeps happening after that, which it shouldn't, I'm seriously going to have to get the air rifle out and lay in wait if it turns out to be crows, magpies or pigeons. It's not ideal, but things are about to get expensive if the attacks escalate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, a quick Google search suggests that peacocks can get a bit tetchy around shiny cars, but I'm not sure. We've only ever seen one peacock, which must have been around nine or 10 months ago, and if I remember correctly they're not shy in verbally announcing their presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More news as it comes in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">* Well, they </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">can get </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">up </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">there </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but they can never get back down again, much like cartoon cats.</span></span>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-36916492670056370602016-05-13T10:12:00.003+01:002016-05-15T23:33:31.697+01:00We've hit a Grade A snag<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking ahead to our longer-term plans for The Lodge, we've had a couple of architects over to give us some ideas for an extension.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We're not sure what we want because this kind of thing isn't </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">exactly</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">our forte, but the Kitchen is pokey, as is the Bathroom and the upstairs landing area needs something doing to it because the stairs are too steep and there's a brain-rattling overhang halfway up.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So with that in mind we mainly want a bigger Kitchen/Diner and a Bathroom which can accommodate both a bath <i>and </i>a human being rather than either/or which isn't far off what we currently have. <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/p/floorplan.html" target="_blank">Here's the current floorplan</a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrbEYZtICghhYvDFaLeT7VO7trxX1h4IuNqpFwaizK0zRC4-UsVBYoJhbJWQ3Sk-C0P52s_qJMlEYs6o4-lwwNBVndlk4SQV1qIofg5YIbL6ijQ4RyphL4Zmvwz7F5sYG7kN1QasZgw/s1600/kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkrbEYZtICghhYvDFaLeT7VO7trxX1h4IuNqpFwaizK0zRC4-UsVBYoJhbJWQ3Sk-C0P52s_qJMlEYs6o4-lwwNBVndlk4SQV1qIofg5YIbL6ijQ4RyphL4Zmvwz7F5sYG7kN1QasZgw/s640/kitchen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the galley Kitchen (itself an extension) before we moved in and filled it full of stuff.<br />
It's so narrow that the units on the right are wall cupboards, rather than regular wider floor-standing jobbies<br />
which would have made the room almost impossible to get around. It's bad enough as it is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because of the amount of money we've spent so far we very much doubt we'd be able to do the whole thing at once, if at all, so the (very fluid) idea for now is perhaps to get a one- or two-storey shell up and out of the ground when funds allow and then do everything else in stages over a period of years. But the very first port of call is to find out what we can and can't do, which is where our chin-scratching, clipboard-carrying architects come in.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first of those (two more are coming in a week or two) got back to us last night and presented us with a short list of all the lodges on the estate, under the heading <i>Local List</i>. We've seen this simple .pdf document before and although we weren't exactly sure of its purpose we filed it under 'quaint little lodges on our estate which someone wanted to make a note of for posterity'.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course there's another way to look at it, and the architect, who knows what he's doing, assures us that this is the correct interpretation:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Lodge is LOCALLY <u>LISTED</u></i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Listed. Protected by law.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And just to twist the knife a little more, with options ranging from Grade C up to Grade A, guess what The Lodge is? Yep. You've got it.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c2UlZQNI55IxP4NXeNkZsxpUJOGtfFCCEvptNd3he8jRI3VaFVnW_HIGxtQTTSoj0AlhO51touZaYTazpDlO17Hb1uHH8X3wDvQII7AW7NkN737lbaZtTyXwSz_aqPfToDzcKzYhXA/s1600/bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c2UlZQNI55IxP4NXeNkZsxpUJOGtfFCCEvptNd3he8jRI3VaFVnW_HIGxtQTTSoj0AlhO51touZaYTazpDlO17Hb1uHH8X3wDvQII7AW7NkN737lbaZtTyXwSz_aqPfToDzcKzYhXA/s640/bathroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photograph (from before we moved in) was taken from <i>outside </i>the Bathroom, standing on the landing<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope we're not the only people in the world not to know what something being <i>locally </i>listed means, so here's the very first '<i>what is a locally listed building?</i>' search result from the Google, courtesy of Birmingham City Council:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><i>A Locally Listed Building is a building, structure or feature which, whilst not listed by the Secretary of State, we feel is an important part of Birmingham's heritage due to its architectural, historic or archaeological significance.</i></blockquote>
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<i>The grading system for Locally Listed Buildings is as follows:-</i></blockquote>
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<i><u>Grade A</u> (107 buildings)<br />These are buildings which are of statutory list quality, although not currently nationally listed. We will seek national listing or serve a Building Preservation Notice if it is imminently threatened...</i></blockquote>
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<i>...As with Statutory Listed Buildings, any works carried out should preserve or enhance the building and any features of architectural or historic interest retained and appropriate materials used.<br />Inclusion in the Local List does not give the building any statutory protection but we has </i>[sic] <i>additional policies in the Birmingham Plan to help guide development. </i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lovely. So the Brummies, if we lived there, could regard The Lodge as being important enough to slap a Grade I national listing on, which is the most restrictive thing imaginable in terms of building alterations and making a period property fit for modern-day living. It's the kind of thing grand stately mansions have to prevent cowboy builders destroying them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although we're yet to find out precisely what our own authorities make of locally listed buildings you can bet your bottom dollar that our Olympic-sized swimming pool is out the window and my indoor/outdoor orangutan sanctuary could even be under threat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Further down the line we might even have to fight the council over things like windows, doorways, the roof, ceilings, internal walls, <i>decor</i>... the list is endless and chock-full of otherwise seemingly unimportant minutiae, all of which represent potential flies in the ointment. It could be a nightmare waiting to happen or it mightn't make the blindest bit of difference to us - I suspect we'll be somewhere in the middle.</span></div>
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One question you may be wondering is why our conveyancing solicitor didn't get round to telling us this rather important detail before we bought the property.</div>
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It's a very good question and one we plan to get to the bottom of. Perhaps it slipped his mind...</div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-8842670497600244192016-05-07T21:06:00.001+01:002016-05-13T10:13:07.900+01:00Throwing good money after bad<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sun is out, the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/05/nature-its-like-bloody-countryfile.html" target="_blank">cuckoo</a> is back, our <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/07/magpies-v-swallows-v-22-air-rifle.html" target="_blank">swallows</a> are crapping all over the courtyard again and I thought I'd do a quick update just to show that things are beginning to move again now that spring has sprung.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all, following Dawn's brief <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/one-year-later.html" target="_blank">sojourn on to the roof</a> to check out a duff tile, Terminator Trevor directed us to a couple of chaps who he knew would get up there and get our tiles sorted </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">out</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">without the need for expensive scaffolding, ropes, Health & Safety assessments or any of that trivial fuss. All they needed was a couple of ladders and simian reflexes.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxWRki36ze-LP8J1M86qE5jQXvuJJSys0ldjR-sCud1fjzkzJFgngSLI07RDySAEg3db7cDAcjGBqvC8c_jldJHUknb2i4Afby25CspTntsPrS-HyrL8BDI7e6huhQbCnRL3GTNA7og/s1600/TIMMY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxWRki36ze-LP8J1M86qE5jQXvuJJSys0ldjR-sCud1fjzkzJFgngSLI07RDySAEg3db7cDAcjGBqvC8c_jldJHUknb2i4Afby25CspTntsPrS-HyrL8BDI7e6huhQbCnRL3GTNA7og/s640/TIMMY.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like rats up drainpipes, they were</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pair in question turned out to be Harry and <i>TIMMY!,</i> an old-fashioned father and son double act with about 180 years between them, most of it spent up on roofs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They only came over on Tuesday to take a look and give us a quote but within 20 minutes had actually started work and were getting the first tiles off. No messing about. The bad news was that every single ridge tile along both ridges was loose and as a result the tiles immediately below those were starting to crack, so large parts of the roof were gearing-up for relocation.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR2ZyeE52CbIcFKfvCYzqvUymbP9CkJFmAOk7NxHU8eT2Kgka23cyqPbDwZSYM5QASrxmTPPDDhNYmMSxYY2-5yo95Y4D2Fu0dVgk4Nqs3GrfBtG-FWx5t-iPcFv_nTM8aSqdzTR7sw/s1600/BENNY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRR2ZyeE52CbIcFKfvCYzqvUymbP9CkJFmAOk7NxHU8eT2Kgka23cyqPbDwZSYM5QASrxmTPPDDhNYmMSxYY2-5yo95Y4D2Fu0dVgk4Nqs3GrfBtG-FWx5t-iPcFv_nTM8aSqdzTR7sw/s320/BENNY.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>BENNY!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basically, sorting it out was a job that the woefully-inept and bone idle <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/06/back-on-roof-in-for-long-haul.html" target="_blank">Roofer #1</a> should have done last year when the scaffolding was up for the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/06/back-on-roof-in-for-long-haul.html" target="_blank">chimney-rebuild</a> but "no," he told us, "the roof's fine". It clearly wasn't - he was too interested in seeing the inside of the pub and taking our money in return for his name in 10ft letters hanging from the platform on a banner for the passing traffic. Not that I'm bitter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harry, who was one of those fragile-but-not old-timers who never leaves the house without a shirt and tie on (even up on the roof) and <i>TIMMY!</i>, who I swear was the double of Benny from Crossroads (I don't mean that insultingly - he actually <i>looked </i>like him), not only re-mortared all of the ridge tiles firmly in place but also sorted out Roofer #1's mastic bodge on the west chimney stack's lower pointing; fixed the ropey lead chimney flashing that Roofer #1 was asked specifically to repair (rain still leaked through to Bedroom 1); removed all of Roofer #1's flash band that was just kind of resting against the bricks rather than stuck to them; cleaned and fixed the gutters that Roofer #1 should have done but didn't and replaced more than a dozen cracked tiles that Roofer #1 was also asked to do but also didn't. I'm really, <i>really</i> not bitter about all that wasted curry money.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And they did that all in a day-and-a-half, working non-stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No tea, no butties, no fag breaks, no nothing - just graft. It's a method of getting on with the job that I've really only seen once before at The Lodge, and that's <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/search/label/terminator%20trevor" target="_blank">Trevor</a> who is also not quite right in the head, although even <i>he </i>pauses briefly for a cuppa now and then. It must be a generation thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Note to self: employ more pensioners.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUvSqZyF0ryS5-Il_sDuDzZUWwEZQykFaw6iSw_0yLH5Q6QmXsbxFkyVUKL7j62boRusf9HPUCF5NmoorxcGt5q1P8MjL-BFeIVV99pjFQ51o5J0nXYjkyqgqiBbTERbXt_tvUt0SEw/s1600/frame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUvSqZyF0ryS5-Il_sDuDzZUWwEZQykFaw6iSw_0yLH5Q6QmXsbxFkyVUKL7j62boRusf9HPUCF5NmoorxcGt5q1P8MjL-BFeIVV99pjFQ51o5J0nXYjkyqgqiBbTERbXt_tvUt0SEw/s320/frame.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I forgot to take a 'before' picture so this is the best<br />
I can find from back in November when we had<br />
Mr O in to <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/11/olivine-blasting-its-future.html" target="_blank">blast everything</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So while they were doing that I set about stripping the Living Room's pine door frame. I've already started scraping out the chimney breast wall lime pointing but it's such a tedious job that I've decided to do it in stages to stop me going bananas and running screaming in to the woods. Probably naked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've already tortured the (original) <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/12/door-dipping-and-installing-reclaimed.html" target="_blank">pine door</a> by soaking it in a fizzy warm caustic bath before attacking it with a Stanley knife and giving it a liberal smothering of beeswax, so it was time for the frame to get the same treatment, minus the bubble bath bit because it's nailed to the wall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started off with a heatgun and scraper to dig my way through the many layers of yellowing rubbery gloss white paint then, when I'd got as much off as was going to come off without causing damage, I glooped thick splodges of gluey paint stripper all over the surfaces and worked it in to all of the holes and splits with a paintbrush, leaving it for a few minutes to get to work.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eKZKl5bUD-aG-Z1O2A8_qouTlG1OgQJLYYOwzP0NBJztnhejxxmnW7FiDjQbvuaCkd2Ud77ETmS1yx_p5L9gKZiIL6lrXQdXDFDZBxVszY6WgorN3gqgxVsENVTyDaURxArMIGfAjw/s1600/frame2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eKZKl5bUD-aG-Z1O2A8_qouTlG1OgQJLYYOwzP0NBJztnhejxxmnW7FiDjQbvuaCkd2Ud77ETmS1yx_p5L9gKZiIL6lrXQdXDFDZBxVszY6WgorN3gqgxVsENVTyDaURxArMIGfAjw/s400/frame2.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not easy to photograph, so I didn't, but as you come<br />
in to the room there are scuffs and small marks on<br />
the left of the frame near the bottom, The same goes as<br />
you leave the room - scuffs and marks on the left near<br />
the bottom. My theory is that it's from someone right-<br />
handed carrying buckets or coal scuttles in their left<br />
(opening the door with their right) and banging whatever<br />
they were carrying on the woodwork.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once that was all washed off with sugar soap and I had repeated that part of the process again, out came the trusty Stanley knife and I tested out my kneepads for many-an-hour as I pick-pick-picked at all of the tiny flecks and recesses of white, getting the wood as clean as possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then it was on with a light hand-sanding with 240-grade paper and another wash-and-dry, and I finished off with two coats of <i>Flag Classic Wax 'Antique Pine'</i> professional wax as recommended by the restorer who dipped the door, buffing thoroughly between the coats and to finish off with a soft brush attachment on my cordless drill. And when I say "thoroughly" I mean 'four full battery charges'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After that I gave the door another waxing/buffing and temporarily re-hung it, discovering something amazing in the process - nothing creates a room more than filling that gaping hole in the wall with a door with which you can shut off the rest of the house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've now got a real Living Room and I can't wait to crack on with the rest of the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/blog-awards-one-that-got-away.html" target="_blank">jobs</a> (apart from the ones I'm scared of).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally a couple of random photographs for no reason whatsoever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn and I went for a walk across the fields and through the woods this evening, setting off just 10 minutes before three opposing thunderstorms rolled through, bringing with them all of the associated rain. Fortunately, being <i>Country</i>, we were armed with foresight and were wearing our walking boots and waterproofs. It's boring being all growed-up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_-Gvi1zuP1Ae3y6uunF7Ksj0MywPnRqD2ctiMvy5uNNSx7ph48NVlEyZMwjlGgKROTeI8S_sr4e6i0lNvRCSppBOCio_QJpbrKqqDg-_0oGe4vyMY3OR5oAU_A1B-sa6dNa4yDuTSA/s1600/storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_-Gvi1zuP1Ae3y6uunF7Ksj0MywPnRqD2ctiMvy5uNNSx7ph48NVlEyZMwjlGgKROTeI8S_sr4e6i0lNvRCSppBOCio_QJpbrKqqDg-_0oGe4vyMY3OR5oAU_A1B-sa6dNa4yDuTSA/s640/storm.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFxULgobqg_bf1QAR7fjIDPjYuAT8rZeozx_Gw5Y3p_SFJhygtlDqnVL0mXij0zsUNgPQB15-bu6EgZng-kAjXT2LdUS0tSEWOlb-17M-5H0fSqDXMxjQjrnCpVG36dgT6o8P225wEQ/s1600/rapeseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFxULgobqg_bf1QAR7fjIDPjYuAT8rZeozx_Gw5Y3p_SFJhygtlDqnVL0mXij0zsUNgPQB15-bu6EgZng-kAjXT2LdUS0tSEWOlb-17M-5H0fSqDXMxjQjrnCpVG36dgT6o8P225wEQ/s640/rapeseed.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-74912680285833618352016-04-30T21:35:00.001+01:002016-05-15T23:45:36.558+01:00Blog awards - the one that got away<div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Life is just </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">soooooo unnnnfaaaaairrrrrrr</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> sometimes!!!</i> <stamps feet><sulks a bit></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The UK Blog Awards 2016 took place last night down in that there London, where more than 600 guests had a wash, fuffed with their hair and donned their finest finery to hob-nob and glad-hand the night away and maybe win some gongs if they were lucky.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9czObPG40Wp4aC8Vmv4jh-uk1rH2OGlSYdxoG6_fpFajVvJOUUtwl8AfeZM7BZFBmmxikFvDJBgzGAMICj1xvSM_u56bh5e_6YjjYMfyeI2Vzd0QQNv2FgvTDESKYqDqVRMRVeK87Bw/s1600/winners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9czObPG40Wp4aC8Vmv4jh-uk1rH2OGlSYdxoG6_fpFajVvJOUUtwl8AfeZM7BZFBmmxikFvDJBgzGAMICj1xvSM_u56bh5e_6YjjYMfyeI2Vzd0QQNv2FgvTDESKYqDqVRMRVeK87Bw/s320/winners.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what winners look like<br />
(pic @HillsBalfour)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>You didn't know that, did you?</i> Well, you learn something new every day, as they say.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's exactly why </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incubator More (that's us) was on a <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/were-blog-award-finalists.html" target="_blank">shortlist of 10</a> in the <i>Education category</i>, what with us being all brainy and stuff and being willing to teach our lovely readers how not to do things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/uk-blog-awards-2016-its-winning-that.html" target="_blank">Your generous and irresponsible voting</a> helped us along the way, of course, so ta for that.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To be perfectly honest I had forgotten all about it until yesterday afternoon, so later on I nipped on to the Twitter and followed #UKBA16 just before it all kicked off.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judging by the pictures and tweets I think it was <i>far </i>too formal and networky for me (Dawn would have managed, mind, because during working hours she's a soulless corporate robot) and I was pleased that I was tucked up in bed with pizza rather than fighting with a clip-on a bow tie and gurning at strangers all night.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03DJtWuv0gzdkLSk-erLWROSoWCsJXO72C_lnghzRCFnzlVloznMIOkiAp6fDhcMmiETSXVMXwKjbTqZBKsuELgp0Xm6CYOpwB63hJKH_Mo12jgq_EPcazTGi8vT6C4THzYihhXrfGA/s1600/awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03DJtWuv0gzdkLSk-erLWROSoWCsJXO72C_lnghzRCFnzlVloznMIOkiAp6fDhcMmiETSXVMXwKjbTqZBKsuELgp0Xm6CYOpwB63hJKH_Mo12jgq_EPcazTGi8vT6C4THzYihhXrfGA/s320/awards.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe next year<br />
(pic @MissUnderground)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, we didn't win. Not even a Highly Commended.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we don't need to put on a brave face while secretly drowning our sorrows - I'd have been mortified if we'd won anything because the other nine worthy entrants on the shortlist were actually <i>educators</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We're just a couple of nuggets who have somehow been lucky enough not to get electrocuted, flattened, exploded or otherwise generally deaded in the last year. Making the shortlist is more than enough for us.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So congratulations to Lee James and Grange Park Primary School in Shropshire who together actually teach things to tiny people which is far more than we'd ever be able to do. <a href="http://gpict.primaryblogger.co.uk/" target="_blank">Here's the winning blog</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We might end up going for it again next year in a more relevant category, just because, so get exercising those voting fingers in preparation!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
</h4>
<h3>
<hr style="text-align: center;" />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Back on with the job at hand</u></div>
</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JScgq9au9NH610PtMWHs_TzBVqcutcUVahNxYZLBMGcnNoZo1oyDUrn_YpefUbwDDH5OiT5a0fcQFiYkUKmNkHsgblJwdoEvjE-Z45cWWBWbINNlOsscO4ugA0SaQZLb08OOLdM6Pg/s1600/edison-light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JScgq9au9NH610PtMWHs_TzBVqcutcUVahNxYZLBMGcnNoZo1oyDUrn_YpefUbwDDH5OiT5a0fcQFiYkUKmNkHsgblJwdoEvjE-Z45cWWBWbINNlOsscO4ugA0SaQZLb08OOLdM6Pg/s200/edison-light.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>An Edison light bulb</u><br />
This is a clue to what we bought today<br />
for a paramedic-summoning<br />
amount of money</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Changing the subject completely, here's a list of all the jobs - in rough order - that currently need to be done in the Living Room now the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/lime-plastering-cautionary-tale.html" target="_blank">plastering debacle</a> is out of the way. We've decided to compromise on the skirting and architrave and buy it in (I had wanted to make it) in an attempt to make up a little bit of recent lost time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've left off jobs involving the actual oriel window itself because that's an ongoing discussion about a potentially-massive job and I have no idea where it'll end up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thought of some of these scares the life out of me (plumbing and electrics to name but two) but we'll get started on Monday morning and see how injured I am come the end of the list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I play my cards right I might end up with a Darwin Award after all...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(EDIT: I've decided to update the list as I go along so I can keep an eye on where I am and ground myself during moments of panic) </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Buy oak
skirting (acclimatise!)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Buy oak
architrave (ditto!)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><strike><b>Buy
radiators + feet</b></strike></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><strike>Buy
switches and sockets</strike></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><strike>Buy
light fittings</strike></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Buy
door knob</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<ol><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b>
</b>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><strike>Sand
ceiling</strike> (03.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><strike>Sand
walls (esp around sockets etc)</strike> (04.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Scrape
out chimney breast pointing</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><strike>Brush down original exposed pointing in feature wall</strike> (13.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Sand
beams above oriel window</span></li>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;">
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;">Caulk ceiling edges to walls</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.2667px;"><b><strike>Strip door frame reveal in to hall</strike> (06.05.16)</b></span></li>
</span></span>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit
oriel window wall light and chase electrics</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Make
oak window sills x2</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Remove
old radiator pipes from pantry</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Install
new copper pipes to repositioned Pantry radiator</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Replace
copper pipes to front radiator</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Brick
acid chimney breast brick faces</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Brick acid feature wall brick faces for final time and stabilise</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Patch delaminating sandstone window sill?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fill
missed areas in front window ceiling with lime putty</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Putty-up
Pantry wall where radiator pipes used to be</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fill
all accidental holes from previous jobs with lime putty</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Repoint
chimney breast</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Cut skirting and architrave to size ready for fitting</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Re-sand
mantelpiece</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Repaint
around edges of register plate</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Decorate</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><strike>Wax and finish door frame reveal</strike> (07.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Replace
switches and sockets</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Replace
light fittings</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit window
sills x2</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Restore floor</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit
skirting</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit
architrave</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit
radiators + feet</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;"><strike style="font-weight: bold;">Fit
refurbished door</strike><b> (07.05.16)</b></span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Fit
door latch and knob</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">Rob
bank to pay for new custom-made oriel window frame</span></li>
</span></span></ol>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 14.2667px;">
</span></span>
<br />
<ol>
</ol>
<br /></div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-53882429219231551342016-04-26T22:45:00.000+01:002016-07-19T10:44:03.810+01:00Lime plastering: a cautionary tale<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So, the lime plastering's finished."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Oh."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLF7-24POOeEgMQEiXN3HNMMyFfwAvLBXcn44yR6VLXsCykxG9AtJPiq-0UVwqsHqQgJ44APD-okHuEZA2_Z_K9NHVDVEZQv0awb1HYgLFQ1HaIG95drOL5CppZsz_9t6im-3afXs9TA/s1600/solo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLF7-24POOeEgMQEiXN3HNMMyFfwAvLBXcn44yR6VLXsCykxG9AtJPiq-0UVwqsHqQgJ44APD-okHuEZA2_Z_K9NHVDVEZQv0awb1HYgLFQ1HaIG95drOL5CppZsz_9t6im-3afXs9TA/s320/solo.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an entire conversation it isn't much, but it's how we're expecting to greet the end of this particular chapter in the project... kind of non-plussed... although at least it's a step up from our recent range of attitudes towards it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You see this isn't my first attempt at writing this particular blog post. In fact it's not even the second, third, fourth or fifth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><counts on fingers></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually it <i>is </i>the fifth, but that's still three more attempts than usual, mainly because I literally have no clue how to phrase what's in our heads. I got quite far during the third attempt, while the work was still supposedly going on, but it was during an angry period and I was tying myself up in knots trying to explain how I was feeling about it all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bits of this particular version were started while I was more resigned to the delays ahead but now, as I wait for the final few hours' work to be done, I'm in the <i>Fed Up To The Back ****ing Teeth</i> stage so I have no idea how it'll go. Nevertheless I'll send it live when everything is done and dusted (however long that takes), by which time the following line will be true <span style="font-size: x-small;">(edit: just a few hours later, as it turned out to everyone's astonishment)</span>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<hr />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the lime plastering's finished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Almost three months after period property renovation expert Andy Skinner walked in to The Lodge, trowel in hand, and knocked up his first bucket-load of lime plaster, the Living Room and Bedroom 1 are done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That equates to about two months over schedule and two months of trying to occupy myself, waiting for the time I could get in those rooms and do all of the jobs that hinged on the plastering being finished before we could get them sorted out and move in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's two months of mounting frustration for us both for just t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wo rooms. And one of those was just a single wall and some patching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-Xq4FFiRiCKPGoiSm0Vh4ZM0Mnk6hqnsBPzVi-S8siiGQccyRVNf_AM02-y03JOZSN9KuDD_nxg4efB2t0LtHxwUkRpRoXA1HAyJ55oXFZO3-HKzTaNeRG0mJzH5Sldal4EjEZjD7w/s1600/andy_skinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-Xq4FFiRiCKPGoiSm0Vh4ZM0Mnk6hqnsBPzVi-S8siiGQccyRVNf_AM02-y03JOZSN9KuDD_nxg4efB2t0LtHxwUkRpRoXA1HAyJ55oXFZO3-HKzTaNeRG0mJzH5Sldal4EjEZjD7w/s640/andy_skinner.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy got loads done in the first three days, including our Living Room<br />
feature wall (this is one of two base layers between which are sheets of fine mesh)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But it doesn't really begin there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all begins back in August when we started looking for lime plasterers (a rare breed, and good ones are even rarererer) and ended up calling three people for quotes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One, who had worked at our friends' house so we knew his work, couldn't fit us in before our arbitrary finishing date of 'Christmas', and another one (who came loosely recommended) brought his mate so they could each stand like statues and stare at the walls in rooms they wouldn't even be working in. In total silence. They were very strange.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were broad mumblyIrish too, so I couldn't understand a word they <i>did </i>say. I have a sneaking suspicion that I agreed to have Dawn either jetwashed or covered in Tarmac but they never came back to do it. Their loss - I can be a generous tipper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqS8BpfNK-zeXhpnqO8URwC5_ajFeDA_OslU4C4a_L1WYEIl7mHwJ5bhxlxNJCWnEG9Uy9kqUTy8xEEu9JYoBDwHbMSj69ruRXA8H31LDlwhNcAzSqxvWvFk-ITkB60fkO5Q23epOaw/s1600/oriel_ceiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqS8BpfNK-zeXhpnqO8URwC5_ajFeDA_OslU4C4a_L1WYEIl7mHwJ5bhxlxNJCWnEG9Uy9kqUTy8xEEu9JYoBDwHbMSj69ruRXA8H31LDlwhNcAzSqxvWvFk-ITkB60fkO5Q23epOaw/s640/oriel_ceiling.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Finished</u>: The underside of the roof above the oriel window in the Living Room, before and after.<br />
We plan to install a small light at the back of the beam to show off the plasterwork above it.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then came Andy from Severn Plastering (not to be confused with our pal Andy from SamTheDog), who really impressed me from the get-go because he seemed to know his stuff. He was friendly, chatty, enthusiastic and although he was busy he could get done by Christmas. It would be a couple of weeks' work spread over a month or so because he would be fitting us in during lulls in a bigger job he was doing somewhere else (a common occurrence on bigger projects with more trades) and, besides, different coats would need time to dry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That sounded good enough and fairly typical for such a trade (I vouched for him because Dawn was at work) so we settled back and waited for the quote - which didn't come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I gave it a not unreasonable fortnight then called Andy over a few days until he eventually answered. He apologised and said that some 'life problems' were happening which had derailed things a bit but he'd get the quote to us by the end of the week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t didn't come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVg0SL-nMqouyOv3OIkcVc7NTXaC-6vMHQpkFNIf52nOdA48EEsn9Vw1381MW27fNRlAdUqbf49ZMwdOy8MxFrPMn9Sp764VptDei5TvkmSVuP5ZzUvzDziSqOQ0rc_bjStDoJrYbCQ/s1600/ceiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVg0SL-nMqouyOv3OIkcVc7NTXaC-6vMHQpkFNIf52nOdA48EEsn9Vw1381MW27fNRlAdUqbf49ZMwdOy8MxFrPMn9Sp764VptDei5TvkmSVuP5ZzUvzDziSqOQ0rc_bjStDoJrYbCQ/s400/ceiling.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Finished</u>: Countless cracks in both ceilings have been<br />
lime puttied-up and repaired. There's still some gentle<br />
sanding to be done but I said I'd take care of that.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But his knowledge and understanding of period property renovation seemed excellent and I really wanted him to do the job so we gave it another not unreasonable fortnight before we gave up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cutting a longer story short the first plasterer (who we went back to) couldn't fit us in for a while, so in desperation, I gave Andy another call.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He came out again full of apologies and met Dawn this time. Yes, he could still do the job in the early new year (we'd given up on Christmas) and the big job he was on was delayed so things would probably move smoother and quicker for us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He gave us a verbal quote there and then, which we accepted - good lime work is <i>very </i>expensive, and he turned up on February 5 and 8 to lay tarps and size things up properly before mixing that first bucket on Tuesday, February 9.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually, no.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The morning of the 9th started with a message from him to say there was a delay and he'd see me the following day, which is pretty much how the rest of the work went.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That day became another day here, two days there, maybe a week. The 'on my way' texts and occasional calls became reasons why he couldn't come that day, then for the most-part they dried up altogether only to be replaced by no communication at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When he turned up he would do full days sometimes, half days sometimes, or just a few hours. I understand that lime plaster needs to cure in stages which takes time, so there's a limit to what can be done in one sitting, but after giving him the benefit of the doubt for the first five or six weeks we came to the conclusion that there were significant reliability issues going on and although some 'reasons' were probably genuine, we were being given little more than plausible excuses for others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was just impossible to tell one from the other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeGaFDoAA0x2xiC9rmfaO1oMIB-X_lM74dj1LUcbRmRs_TUgGECWsMqkYBAnFTcH6q0F3wZtEATSvvdQxnDedmOjn6sNhNu23M_7jtW7B7xBKpm5D7qUuld82xMfvVZ9YpOCnPUPHlg/s1600/bedroom_wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWeGaFDoAA0x2xiC9rmfaO1oMIB-X_lM74dj1LUcbRmRs_TUgGECWsMqkYBAnFTcH6q0F3wZtEATSvvdQxnDedmOjn6sNhNu23M_7jtW7B7xBKpm5D7qUuld82xMfvVZ9YpOCnPUPHlg/s640/bedroom_wall.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Finished</u>: The south-facing wall of Bedroom 1 has steel bars bracing the brickwork beneath the window where<br />
I think the heat from the radiator has dried everything over time and forced the bricks to crack and spall.<br />
We decided to keep the jack arch and sandstone lintel revealed to retain an original feature and to break up what would otherwise be a plain wall. The lime edges curve in (pillow) towards the brick to keep a more authentic and original feel.<br />
The wall directly opposite between Bedrooms 1 and 2 is already lath and lime plaster and the walls to either side we've decided to leave as bare brick to keep the room tied in to the fabric of the building and create a warmer feel.<br />
(The top coat is whiter than this in reality but the pic was taken at twilight with the light on)<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might be wondering why I didn't say anything to him at the time, and that's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my defence I <i>did </i>ask every time, but when you're being drip-fed what could easily be genuine reasons in their own right and you start off taking them as such, there comes a point when you simply can't say anything more <i>just in case you're wrong</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And that's complicated by the fact that good plasterers are thin on the ground so if you somehow scare one off you're left in the lurch. <i>And </i>on a purely personal level he's a nice, likeable bloke with a great line in movie-chat, which makes it even more difficult.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, Dawn and I have put our heads together to come up with a list of reasons we were given - some more than once and some related to each other, for why he had to arrive late/leave early, couldn't make it that day or didn't turn up for longer periods of time during the last three months:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<li>Poorly partner</li>
<li>Burglary</li>
<li>Police visits</li>
<li>Waiting for deliveries which didn't show or were late</li>
<li>Meeting with officials on another job</li>
<li>Hospital visit(s)</li>
<li>Doctors' visit(s)</li>
<li>Collecting child from school</li>
<li>Lost float (plasterer's trowel)</li>
<li>Short on supplies and specialist shop closed</li>
<li>Shoulder injections</li>
<li>Elbow trouble</li>
<li>Hand injury</li>
<li>Family illness</li>
<li>Unspecific delays on another job</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And just to prove to ourselves that we're not imagining things, we've also gone through text messages and photos to plot the days that Andy should have been here. We're not sure about the few days marked in yellow but a weekend and Easter Monday are on there, both of which we were also told would be worked.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMRotUwLAqX3EC2AQME-VyD-uIEbfPZ_Yf0V8axXiFr1SddDwpHsaTiET4O_WjWoy-4VNmsQg5MBVJ4CTW8cU_Fceh48pM35hygLooZVnxBNwD0yss75tNgT5IG-THMpMRXnXu286aw/s1600/calendar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMRotUwLAqX3EC2AQME-VyD-uIEbfPZ_Yf0V8axXiFr1SddDwpHsaTiET4O_WjWoy-4VNmsQg5MBVJ4CTW8cU_Fceh48pM35hygLooZVnxBNwD0yss75tNgT5IG-THMpMRXnXu286aw/s640/calendar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then at some point over Easter came the death of his father.</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Family bereavement</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Now </i>what were we supposed to think? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were already wondering how one man can be so unlucky (a phrase we had literally used out loud) and then along comes something which makes us look like awful people for doubting him.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It took around a week of me texting and calling Andy to find out why he wasn't at The Lodge and by the time he got back to work almost three weeks later I simply didn't know what to think.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Outwardly I was understanding and sympathetic but a little area of my brain was wondering why he seemed to avoid the question when I asked when it happened. It was processing his unprompted-but-offered reasons for not putting an obituary notice in the paper (security) and to be entirely honest it was wondering if he had died before.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They're terrible things to think, I know, but Dawn used the words "crying wolf" and that's exactly what it boils down to.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6mbUyJ78RLlMQXsMfxoMlcLPwudNZ0OT7YYKUL0Zk4yQJry-PKmUkLr9H3nXBHuAUp2fGgUuifjpk_0HgIWH-sQ-zPPfUkMC9dDG0YEtCVaONaOv6PmFzcLCH0REyeNMkxz7igB7_w/s1600/feature_wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6mbUyJ78RLlMQXsMfxoMlcLPwudNZ0OT7YYKUL0Zk4yQJry-PKmUkLr9H3nXBHuAUp2fGgUuifjpk_0HgIWH-sQ-zPPfUkMC9dDG0YEtCVaONaOv6PmFzcLCH0REyeNMkxz7igB7_w/s400/feature_wall.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Finished</u>: We think this might be a bit Marmitey.<br />
Where the dog-leg in the Living Room turns in to the<br />
Pantry (left) we found the old door frame beneath the<br />
plasterboard. It was tied in to the bricks with wooden<br />
blocks, leaving these recesses. Highlighting it like this<br />
not only creates a talking point but gives Dawn<br />
somewhere to put tealights. Everyone's a winner, baby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He came back on Thursday, April 14, promising to make up for lost time that weekend.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He didn't turn up either day, but he did two full days and two half days in a row after that, then didn't show up for the next two days at all. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the meantime he made a point of apologetically insisting that he doesn't usually work like this. He thanked me for our patience and said he hopes we'll use him again.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm genuinely sorry to say we won't.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The plaster finish and detailing is great and just what we asked for, but we won't be having him back.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has delayed significant progress in The Lodge by three or four months in all (including the quote palava), we've cancelled plans on promises that came to nothing, gone months without any form of heating in the house during the coldest parts of the winter and a fortnight ago had a rare, <i>huge </i>row caused by sheer frustration, so to knowingly put ourselves back in that situation would be nucking futs.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(I'm ashamed to admit that I was too cowardly to tell him this in person today - I came close but couldn't do it)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The kicker came during a chance conversation shortly after Easter between Dawn and a work colleague who she rarely sees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turns out he had some lime restoration and building work done a few years ago which eventually failed (not the plastering but rebuilt walls and suchlike) and he was in the process of threatening legal proceedings against the mystery tradesman. This person had apparently been unreliable and difficult to contact, stretching a short job in to a number of months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Whatever you do, don't use a bloke called Andy Skinner," he said without any prompting.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His emails really say the rest:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt03r_QvLKIOjDz1yP3THuvuG8yoh1oopujhBkQjMMaRtd2vjjBdthiB2iBM7B9WhTURZGo0mGiAbqfSM_TKd7htCWM8TPB66s-yR9uabcjBjrRVscDOANVqimIOukJFwCEDuVCK4ug/s1600/email1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt03r_QvLKIOjDz1yP3THuvuG8yoh1oopujhBkQjMMaRtd2vjjBdthiB2iBM7B9WhTURZGo0mGiAbqfSM_TKd7htCWM8TPB66s-yR9uabcjBjrRVscDOANVqimIOukJFwCEDuVCK4ug/s640/email1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Email #1</b><br />
"...he text[ed] me back yesterday after 18 months..." follows on from the conversation with<br />
Dawn in which her colleague said he was also having communication issues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDM8OW3AfFxB1eEZpFYAFWDVYIBrSYGj58URWP52ThhbVSFusJt4nPzY5srB04DFwbjR6F4lXVkEHecDx2qsaf4x9P_FgLAwSGn9dtJ3o-zuW_tlkfg5vm7LWS_wr9FirYbPjOt5xWw/s1600/email2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDM8OW3AfFxB1eEZpFYAFWDVYIBrSYGj58URWP52ThhbVSFusJt4nPzY5srB04DFwbjR6F4lXVkEHecDx2qsaf4x9P_FgLAwSGn9dtJ3o-zuW_tlkfg5vm7LWS_wr9FirYbPjOt5xWw/s640/email2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Email #2</b><br />
Although I have no way to verify any of this, I'm told that the meeting happened<br />
a week or two ago and a settlement was agreed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt03r_QvLKIOjDz1yP3THuvuG8yoh1oopujhBkQjMMaRtd2vjjBdthiB2iBM7B9WhTURZGo0mGiAbqfSM_TKd7htCWM8TPB66s-yR9uabcjBjrRVscDOANVqimIOukJFwCEDuVCK4ug/s1600/email1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><u>Note</u>: I've thought long and hard about whether or not to name Andy Skinner and Severn Plastering (also known as Severn Lime Plastering) in this post.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I liked the man in a way - he was good craic and the final result is excellent, but his work ethic was terrible and I need to write about it because above everything else this is a warts-and-all account of our experiences. And it's Fair Comment (legally).</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So I have decided to use it as an opportunity to let other people make a more informed decision if they decide to do some research. We did and found nothing either way.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Finally I've been specific about the company identity because I'd hate for anyone to get confused between him and other plasterers with the same name, who do exist.</i></span></div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-78714377330311330992016-04-17T18:50:00.001+01:002016-05-16T00:21:44.594+01:00...one year later<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today marks exactly 8,760 hours since we moved to The Lodge and started trying to knock the place in to shape.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other than the fact that living in a shed for a year isn't as bad as you might think (for the most part), we've learnt a lot of things on the way that we thought we would share to mark our anniversary, so we’ve put our thinking caps on and concocted a list each, which I’ve mixed together below. If you're considering setting sail on a project of your own, take heed because I guarantee that almost all of these will prove to be relevant one day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We also thought we'd share a few random photographs that haven't made it into the blog before, mainly because I had no idea what to say about them. Nevertheless, many still tell tiny stories all on their ownsome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, our one-year anniversary. Some of you may be wondering how we’re going to celebrate this landmark occasion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well tonight we’re going to cook pies, peas and chips and eat tea in our camping chairs in front of the wood-burning stove which has been lit just once in the last 10 weeks. We’re going to sing Kumbaya, spend a fruitless hour looking for the Scrabble board then talk about light fittings.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Disclaimer: some of this is not true but the pies, peas and chips in front of the fire bit is)</span>.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Dawn and Muz</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>putting the <i>why?</i> in to DIY since April 17, 2015</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSXVh3BTnQcVns9wUI68jdFiWQe-NoCSOYoEVbPh6T9u-iYoXni9kdDd2Nzhd_HDADLwov0fsn9i_0sNj5rAxw6vcuU4QMvHN4PWhlzAk36dPaY62-cvBrqNE6uuiT3iv1O9h4r-Guw/s1600/dawn_on_roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSXVh3BTnQcVns9wUI68jdFiWQe-NoCSOYoEVbPh6T9u-iYoXni9kdDd2Nzhd_HDADLwov0fsn9i_0sNj5rAxw6vcuU4QMvHN4PWhlzAk36dPaY62-cvBrqNE6uuiT3iv1O9h4r-Guw/s640/dawn_on_roof.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>Yesterday</u></b><br />Dawn decided to go scrambling around on the roof to look at a missing tile.<br />She does that kind of thing whereas I don't. Ever. She found three in all, knocked<br />a fourth one off herself then came back down having waved at passing cars.<br />I've told her she's not going up again. We're getting A Man in to sort it out.</span></td></tr>
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<ul><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<li>Your 'best' T-shirt is the one you've done least angle grinding in and/or has fewest holes</li>
<li>Tradespeople are utterly hit-and-miss. If you find a good one, keep hold of them</li>
<li>Hooting and screeching owls are wonderful at 10pm but an air rifle target at 4am</li>
<li>Small talk gets easier - although not easy - with practice</li>
<li>Glamping is fun. A big shed with your own bed is way better than a poky old caravan and much more versatile when you move out</li>
<li>Glamping is less fun after a year of getting fully dressed and traipsing to an entirely different building every time you need a wee [EDIT: not <i>every </i>time though, eh? Dawn? Eh?]</li>
<li>Consider putting a Portapotty thing in your shed</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQx2qwIn1G5iCppFM6-nudSPKB8Oxvd2f1o0mDEkSjPEBbD5-zP7tdW0G-gCKx-i3UGSn-BcxFqdtj5PczWGzryFainS3p75COmLf7HLfE9p6EYKpiGOh6C8EDj0CU5PGjoWt7nr6vA/s1600/beeses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQx2qwIn1G5iCppFM6-nudSPKB8Oxvd2f1o0mDEkSjPEBbD5-zP7tdW0G-gCKx-i3UGSn-BcxFqdtj5PczWGzryFainS3p75COmLf7HLfE9p6EYKpiGOh6C8EDj0CU5PGjoWt7nr6vA/s640/beeses.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>June 2015</u></b><br />After the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/06/attack-of-killer-ish-bees.html" target="_blank">bee swarm emergency</a> in the front garden a small colony stayed behind<br />to set up shop in a pile of patio slabs for a few weeks. By the time we returned<br />from holiday they had left for warmer climes.</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tradesmen don't always know what they're waffling on about but will still try to talk you in to doing it their way. If you know you want it a different way, don’t cave in</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friends are excellent providers of food, shelter and gin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you stand in the shower long enough your eyes will actually prune</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The things you need most will be: tape measure; Stanley knife; gaffa tape; pencil; bumper box of screws; cordless driver</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The things you will lose most often will be: tape measure; Stanley knife; gaffa tape; pencil; bumper box of screws; cordless driver; patience</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQpRorBsEWNPSshv_3X_92pRcpTB-j6YMm5PXoaneVDbEm1xBwolSkTqh0DRfWGRTSOVGYxVCjUgmGE4gnaC7mRKxJ_-nYm4GDDocK_NC2nglkAiQuOeAGGQ-WQkdoCnvfY6Wh6e_0g/s1600/collapse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQpRorBsEWNPSshv_3X_92pRcpTB-j6YMm5PXoaneVDbEm1xBwolSkTqh0DRfWGRTSOVGYxVCjUgmGE4gnaC7mRKxJ_-nYm4GDDocK_NC2nglkAiQuOeAGGQ-WQkdoCnvfY6Wh6e_0g/s640/collapse.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>August 2015</u></b><br />Bedroom 2 has been a no-go zone since the beginning when we decided to use<br />it for storage. One day Dawn went missing. I found her trapped under an avalanche<br />of boxes, where she had been for 20 minutes. She was less than impressed<br />that I then made it 21 minutes by taking a photo or two. Or three.</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Time is fluid. If a tradesman tells you he'll be there at 9.30am today, expect him a week on Tuesday when you're getting in the shower at 7pm. If he tells you he'll see you tomorrow... don't bank on it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Randomly turning up on people’s doorsteps in similar situations to yourself can end up in unexpected friendship, sometimes with added coffee cake*</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oil-filled radiators take all of your electricity, chew it up, spit it out and demand more <i>NOW!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mentioning 'Blue Tits' (the bird) continues to be amusing even when you’re surrounded by them day in, day out</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll know it's time to change your jeans when you forget which month it was when you first put them on</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5p2OhfhavKARlaDheuSxKDWOw9JirBIzx90iYFeqYZysGiHQZhw1787XwCctrH_vECJSMDhT1f5drbEB5DqKsasPB6d6M_Icf7Dvq3VcT8v2VEie_t3Dul8_vzIvvJtS7CA_P72yaw/s1600/bt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5p2OhfhavKARlaDheuSxKDWOw9JirBIzx90iYFeqYZysGiHQZhw1787XwCctrH_vECJSMDhT1f5drbEB5DqKsasPB6d6M_Icf7Dvq3VcT8v2VEie_t3Dul8_vzIvvJtS7CA_P72yaw/s640/bt.jpg" width="466" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>October 2015</u></b><br />British Telecom has the worst customer service in the history of the universe.<br />After problems, complaints, compensation and more problems relating to half a dozen unconnected things (sometimes literally) we eventually got hooked up to BT Infinity Broadband. Or did we?<br />Here I decided to set Dawn a fun text quiz to work out this week's excuse for why the engineer, who was at the door, couldn't make our broadband run any faster after we'd been paying for it for six weeks.</span></td></tr>
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<ul><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<li>Parish newsletters (available by wandering randomly into your village church and posting 50p into a slot), are a handy source of local tradesfolk</li>
<li>Productivity decreases dramatically as the weather deteriorates and picks up again when the sun comes out</li>
<li>Using your own two totally unskilled hands to make <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/07/woodworking-for-dummies.html" target="_blank">something out of wood</a> - which doesn't then fall apart and/or over - is incredibly satisfying</li>
<li>Community Facebook page recommendations for tradespeople are often just nods to their useless pals rather than actual use<i>ful</i> tradespeople. Don't learn this lesson the hard way. Ask your neighbours instead</li>
<li>Shaving is for office workers</li>
<li>Even if you aren’t full-time ‘on-site’, you will find yourself living in a uniform of walking boots, thermals and waterproofs most of the time</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IT0t23083rVFV7yHahCIKteywbIdjeQ0OuqAoNp_JV5G58Ia7jNgPhfvilTXSpWgExouPdnHNonIaZ8hL1C3p49S05zKtUR8O2wZbLkr_SsY8Vz8K_U9Dg8L3RE9IzftwRgxzsWhIg/s1600/dawninwoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IT0t23083rVFV7yHahCIKteywbIdjeQ0OuqAoNp_JV5G58Ia7jNgPhfvilTXSpWgExouPdnHNonIaZ8hL1C3p49S05zKtUR8O2wZbLkr_SsY8Vz8K_U9Dg8L3RE9IzftwRgxzsWhIg/s640/dawninwoods.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>June 2015</u></b><br />This is on our doorstep. Literally almost literally <i>literally </i>on our doorstep.<br />It's easy to forget how gorgeous it is come winter when the rain drips through the Living Room window and you can still see your breath in the shower.</span></td></tr>
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<li>Flytippers, who are much more common that you'd care to think, need to see the business end of a shotgun</li>
<li>The most important question to learn during a renovation project is: "Do you have a cash price?" but because circumventing VAT-based legal stuff is generally frowned upon by the Government, make sure the words don't leave your mouth unless you're in a soundproofed room by yourself</li>
<li>When you don't watch UK television for a year (apart from the Moto GP) you realise how mind-numbingly banal most of the shows were anyway, but...</li>
<li>...an Amazon Prime subscription is a sanity-saver</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8PuISZMW_ScjscgzI89qq-TECt_SWB15ZAoOjD01ul5hfFIgJ8BHEzfUxbzPVHMGhoEUf-nLHaar75CwTr4WgGkd0XRqzm4CqxNPFrHsxVE0Qv1WfUI3QzIoUw5CzpyH0GPuP-CT3g/s1600/kingspan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8PuISZMW_ScjscgzI89qq-TECt_SWB15ZAoOjD01ul5hfFIgJ8BHEzfUxbzPVHMGhoEUf-nLHaar75CwTr4WgGkd0XRqzm4CqxNPFrHsxVE0Qv1WfUI3QzIoUw5CzpyH0GPuP-CT3g/s640/kingspan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>October 2015</u></b><br />At £400+ a pallet of 120mm Kingspan (seconds from eBay) isn't cheap - and Dawn needed some persuading - but it made the winter more than bearable in the shed, it made it <i>pleasant</i>.<br />We only covered about a third of the inside in all, concentrating on the bed end, and the rest of the packs are still cluttering up the Dining Room where they are likely to stay for some time yet. When the shed eventually becomes our workshop we'll get the rest in then.</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Deep in the countryside, wing mirrors are sacrificial</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your best 'casual footwear' will be walking boots that you have to run under the outside tap to get the plaster dust off</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Neighbours whose houses you can’t even see are often exceptionally friendly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to meet said neighbours, owning a dog - or them having a dog - greatly increases those chances. If neither apply, take cake</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u><b>February 2016</b></u><br />Back when we had some form of heating in The Lodge</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAd5jIhqutmEXGcjBI0gnU-u1uYq4Ab7cJbqvspZ3Gc7tQTMc0gOpOzPquoAjHLl1h1yOIz7ZM0e-AKvSS4D1NlP-ERFAZJ-T-LFRRrDWg3mRdMW-h3zSmXqtzu-9YJvpYHzKF_eKZg/s1600/cctvfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAd5jIhqutmEXGcjBI0gnU-u1uYq4Ab7cJbqvspZ3Gc7tQTMc0gOpOzPquoAjHLl1h1yOIz7ZM0e-AKvSS4D1NlP-ERFAZJ-T-LFRRrDWg3mRdMW-h3zSmXqtzu-9YJvpYHzKF_eKZg/s640/cctvfall.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 2016</u></b><br />Dawn's IKEA bag full of soggy washing can't save her from a trip to the iPhone repair shop courtesy of an untied pair of bootlaces. Again.</span></td></tr>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kevin McCloud is right - every job you do will cost 3.6 times as much and take 73 times longer than you think it will</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You won't be in by Christmas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cats are lovely when they're all curled up asleep at 10pm but when they're scratching to be out at 4am only to want back in at 4.05am you'll consider lining them up next to the owls</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFptbaceaSWUB2T3NJRPywpCalHIG8musey6WaVB5QDdqFiMIrHQl1OQ0K6chI5ffzz4fldxYjqz1EC8BujX4qPSjlU2uzj9zy5IBLJbI_zVbm9arTALI0X4ruKbVdStsMks9IQo5kQ/s1600/quarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFptbaceaSWUB2T3NJRPywpCalHIG8musey6WaVB5QDdqFiMIrHQl1OQ0K6chI5ffzz4fldxYjqz1EC8BujX4qPSjlU2uzj9zy5IBLJbI_zVbm9arTALI0X4ruKbVdStsMks9IQo5kQ/s640/quarry.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 2016</u></b><br />Having looked at old maps as part of our <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/02/digging-up-past-or-not.html" target="_blank">research</a>, we found an old quarry (1700s-1800s) within the estate boundary which was just a half-hour walk away through the woods.<br />It took us nearly a year to make the journey but we found a gorgeous 60ft steep-sided horseshoe-shaped scar in the sandstone, beneath which were deep pools inside low caves that we couldn't see the end of.<br />The best thing about the place isn't that it's almost untouched by latter-day humans (other than a tiny bit of fly-tipping) it's that the sandstone is pinky-red which is exactly the same as that used back home on the outside of the house.<br />We're now thinking of this quarry as The Lodge's birthplace, which is ace.</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't assume that getting <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/03/going-right-off-boil.html" target="_blank">hooked up to gas</a> will cost an arm and a leg - check with the National Grid before you buy a million litres of fuel oil for a smelly old boiler that heats neither water nor radiators. It might be much cheaper than you think</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An electric blanket will take the immediate sting out of winter, but…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">…when your other half suggests spending good money on good insulation for the shed that you were only planning on spending the summer in, just agree. You won’t regret it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Surrounding farmland throws up all manner of new and overwhelmingly-nauseating smells but sometimes, just sometimes, it's <i>you</i></span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQH4h2tcToFUKgfW7ofeGFjz8iPCxiwnEdhj7GNm5KdRyU-Yx9YhnG28qCGBpoR73-sobRSsLLAUSV7lc8NzmkBd-v-Enh7opJlRSn4xqop1QA21y9uNVw6uwam549rR0a4OguzWEgTQ/s1600/newt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQH4h2tcToFUKgfW7ofeGFjz8iPCxiwnEdhj7GNm5KdRyU-Yx9YhnG28qCGBpoR73-sobRSsLLAUSV7lc8NzmkBd-v-Enh7opJlRSn4xqop1QA21y9uNVw6uwam549rR0a4OguzWEgTQ/s640/newt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>April 2016</u></b><br />This, I think, is a female Smooth Newt.<br />I found her on the driveway at the back a week ago, hidden in some damp leaves under a bag of rubbish.<br />She was very dry and nowhere near a water source so I took her to the front garden where there used to be a koi pond in the 80s. Underneath a bush there's a small murky pool-thing which used to be a water feature of some kind to feed the pond. It's permanently full of rain water and leaves and yummy newt stuff so after spending 10 minutes on a leaf making her mind up, in she plopped never to be seen again.<br />No calls, no emails, no chocolates, no nuffin'...<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6IhCahafQd2k6sw4yGnuQQwL3Olh3t6essupywfaz_JhZtVjySuT_RzeeKt0oKojcSJhDGn8v8w4ZlWNbl4rVnRrL7KrW5YR7mjASCC5hEKZ3hyphenhyphenoF7ZHL9yvHqXQ1G6wfuA3j90pug/s1600/icutbaremoron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6IhCahafQd2k6sw4yGnuQQwL3Olh3t6essupywfaz_JhZtVjySuT_RzeeKt0oKojcSJhDGn8v8w4ZlWNbl4rVnRrL7KrW5YR7mjASCC5hEKZ3hyphenhyphenoF7ZHL9yvHqXQ1G6wfuA3j90pug/s640/icutbaremoron.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 2015</u></b><br />The INCUBATOR MORE sign takes a sinister turn<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw86DyQv_0n6XKf1Kg14vQlr-OBiX3Pkj_nLeSEuAS_HkQw0D33Py9CXQmWFII9QCVgfJ80k0BB9CimBGfX99g_lTqLn49C5Jk23jGPjbncUNbOXXRQ4qMm2g6l4y-dVZ8O63ZQrXBQ/s1600/ken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw86DyQv_0n6XKf1Kg14vQlr-OBiX3Pkj_nLeSEuAS_HkQw0D33Py9CXQmWFII9QCVgfJ80k0BB9CimBGfX99g_lTqLn49C5Jk23jGPjbncUNbOXXRQ4qMm2g6l4y-dVZ8O63ZQrXBQ/s640/ken.jpg" width="520" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 2015</u></b><br />Technically-speaking we started work before we officially got the keys. We can probably legally admit this now that a year has passed but telling you how we got in will likely get us jailed. I must brush up on my property law.<br />One of the very first things we did was to set my folks (let's call them Viv and Ken for legal reasons) to work stripping wallpaper in the Living Room so we could begin to work out what we were dealing with beneath. This pic is shot through a window looking in to the Pantry from the Courtyard, in case you get confused.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Important note</i>: we're outside, not inside. Outside of the building. Completely.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOMkEUDbA9h38a7T1_iu_a1Ps4MUmktkr4Ckd49KMBn_vuWCjiJZWg7bbdWiRmuoLafO6OGxNliJAAFRKCoh4LQPR6oYzFpELDIs29MNH690VUaoySe-Fj3GGp4_kQlHYEU-5TUr80g/s1600/muntjac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOMkEUDbA9h38a7T1_iu_a1Ps4MUmktkr4Ckd49KMBn_vuWCjiJZWg7bbdWiRmuoLafO6OGxNliJAAFRKCoh4LQPR6oYzFpELDIs29MNH690VUaoySe-Fj3GGp4_kQlHYEU-5TUr80g/s640/muntjac.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 2016</u></b><br />Beyond the woods are thousands of acres of farmers' fields followed by more woodland. Living among that lot are muntjac deer which are no bigger than old, fat labrador dogs but more delicious to eat with a little rosemary and ground black pepper.<br />This one couldn't have given a stuff that I was there and came to within about 30ft before meandering off, chewing the crops with little more than a sniff in my direction.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05znEtO2V0hOxOK4BPubLRFdjvKYKnCXxn4nENzsSfnPbn8_Q633D5tdFJsa1KZHobzAPtikym1nNDeqnri9KO9LyfaFeFcVT4C7POUl0kPJ-HIqjLk8qKqAO6aUDZ-2PkHyermb_-Q/s1600/cutebrainroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05znEtO2V0hOxOK4BPubLRFdjvKYKnCXxn4nENzsSfnPbn8_Q633D5tdFJsa1KZHobzAPtikym1nNDeqnri9KO9LyfaFeFcVT4C7POUl0kPJ-HIqjLk8qKqAO6aUDZ-2PkHyermb_-Q/s640/cutebrainroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>April 2015</u></b><br />Just lined up in jars, looking all squidgy and that.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcAzrhPi-GhHhJ5GiiwhYJW90ZfsqQyw5mwdBx4j5-CNexeon_aN3FzxLoHGExkDPli_WBv1nGiODVVFmeSqU2VjwyGuFgDDh2lWDt_j7BwcmtYdRtC-e8mYY1LBgjP_WIXiz7bHrlw/s1600/eclipse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcAzrhPi-GhHhJ5GiiwhYJW90ZfsqQyw5mwdBx4j5-CNexeon_aN3FzxLoHGExkDPli_WBv1nGiODVVFmeSqU2VjwyGuFgDDh2lWDt_j7BwcmtYdRtC-e8mYY1LBgjP_WIXiz7bHrlw/s640/eclipse.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>March 20, 2015</u></b><br />Total eclipse of the sun over The Lodge.<br />You can only really tell because of the lens flare towards the bottom right, though.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w6lLlmEpJ_omxa4OJsARHkxyfppfCevWAJcXZkT6bgnomM81p38ByZU8LVidg6iX8y8ZcmlGvNj_0kdXmQ_u5D6raEaKAcBdIhvFK2w06vYonjejp2gM41BzsyuKPJtDO4Yc7hEr3Q/s1600/postoffice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w6lLlmEpJ_omxa4OJsARHkxyfppfCevWAJcXZkT6bgnomM81p38ByZU8LVidg6iX8y8ZcmlGvNj_0kdXmQ_u5D6raEaKAcBdIhvFK2w06vYonjejp2gM41BzsyuKPJtDO4Yc7hEr3Q/s640/postoffice.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u>May 2015</u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A few miles away is The Old Post Office, which is in a different village altogether.<br />Identical in almost every way to The Lodge and also a former Crown Estates property, it had just been bought by John and Jess (who we later made friends with) and was about to be gutted. We reappropriated much of the skipped timber, some of which was used to build the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/how-to-build-woodshed-for-almost-free.html" target="_blank">woodshed</a>.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RbQ8vs3Bt9sTCK9CAm-667mC875PAc1AuG-NhbUbnHegQ3hQKAcL_s5jn-qr_m5foErq6Boatr1bfpSogWSQwznaaHgP5l2_SsU2p1wptXLrpc7EiP-0axWpjVWvGksvlY_iM2sEhQ/s1600/wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RbQ8vs3Bt9sTCK9CAm-667mC875PAc1AuG-NhbUbnHegQ3hQKAcL_s5jn-qr_m5foErq6Boatr1bfpSogWSQwznaaHgP5l2_SsU2p1wptXLrpc7EiP-0axWpjVWvGksvlY_iM2sEhQ/s640/wallpaper.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>July 2015</u></b><br />Just two samples of the wallpaper which once tastefully adorned every vertical surface in the Living Room.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVFH_K9LcBRzSDC6sORHqDa-Y0MbSB0TNXMDOVbgBHUsqvagRoEY2gXV2gfQtZHTDleEyYWItkaeyf3VUgvYjnAQPsgdDuaQjLWCk19R8JYN6BhjeDhEHei3a7dO5s8qUY0cbxQHaqw/s1600/owl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVFH_K9LcBRzSDC6sORHqDa-Y0MbSB0TNXMDOVbgBHUsqvagRoEY2gXV2gfQtZHTDleEyYWItkaeyf3VUgvYjnAQPsgdDuaQjLWCk19R8JYN6BhjeDhEHei3a7dO5s8qUY0cbxQHaqw/s640/owl.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>June 2015</u></b><br />An early version of our NatureCam CCTV caught a tawny owl landing on a patio chair which had previously been used to dry washing in the front garden.<br />Despite NatureCam moving elsewhere every now and then we've never seen another one on the cameras.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMk8E4nIiGsaUerA8Oz6L6dT3zLYi8So4wCBbqxKGwVcf23AGSnSoa1MsyuuY0Yskm7fFlIlXjGxEOpClD20PBf0S8UQuPPn1bPahF5bXGcVGuNKCS48FBmjRov358OwH2BX_9h8ylsg/s1600/meritourbacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMk8E4nIiGsaUerA8Oz6L6dT3zLYi8So4wCBbqxKGwVcf23AGSnSoa1MsyuuY0Yskm7fFlIlXjGxEOpClD20PBf0S8UQuPPn1bPahF5bXGcVGuNKCS48FBmjRov358OwH2BX_9h8ylsg/s640/meritourbacon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>October 2015</u></b><br />After a brief stint as 'OUR BACON REMIT' this is how the garage door<br />sign has remained ever since.<br /><br />*</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2bFcpgxdkkqcK54tnEC3_gReMeEvYLzfc6uySvg3xRMIhH85s0YS9p1CNVhgjKCWevjb7XhAc4Vec0ZZ8Lv08KwnH_jLes8MqVS3DfaDrz5TGs5kSF0-kJQc3DTF7FtWvVljdDGEyQ/s1600/mowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2bFcpgxdkkqcK54tnEC3_gReMeEvYLzfc6uySvg3xRMIhH85s0YS9p1CNVhgjKCWevjb7XhAc4Vec0ZZ8Lv08KwnH_jLes8MqVS3DfaDrz5TGs5kSF0-kJQc3DTF7FtWvVljdDGEyQ/s640/mowing.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>NOW</u></b><br />Dawn is giving the front garden its first mow of the year while I sort this blog out.<br />In fact I've just heard the mower go <i>CRUNCH!</i><br />When I set this post live I'll pretend I'm still doing it so I don't have to help because I'm mean like that. Besides, I've pulled my neck, etc...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">EDIT: Monday, April 18</span></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">By coincidence, after my thoughts about flytippers not 24 hours ago, I drove past this today. It's about a mile-and-a-half from here on a beautiful country lane, right in the gateway to a field and around the entrance to a peaceful footpath/bridleway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Seriously. There's just no need. I can normally at least <i>understand</i> how other people think about certain things even if I don't agree with them (see my fox hunting posts) but this... I just don't get it. I mean, that's a <i>perfectly </i>decent bucket.</span></div>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-10157084028873684732016-04-12T01:06:00.003+01:002016-05-16T00:29:52.322+01:00Cabin fever sets in<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I've went and gone and added a <i>subscribe </i>widget thingy over <b><span style="font-size: large;"><---</span></b> there somewhere.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WpX6z0UpUBgjkR8CqP6nLffVIuljx1arLtC8hombPxw2J789k3cAIcNhStb0W1j7L2fOIraIRC4RgSVVE2qt0WeIrIw407iDHOwjUhC2LR-Yj3-brYRY-wikJTvVkewn5WjRK0M31w/s1600/theshining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WpX6z0UpUBgjkR8CqP6nLffVIuljx1arLtC8hombPxw2J789k3cAIcNhStb0W1j7L2fOIraIRC4RgSVVE2qt0WeIrIw407iDHOwjUhC2LR-Yj3-brYRY-wikJTvVkewn5WjRK0M31w/s320/theshining.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Give me a month...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you enter your email address then click a confirmation linky sent to your inbox you should, in theory, get an </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">email</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">alert whenever a new blog post goes live. Like this one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have no idea if it'll be useful or not, but give it a shot. It'll provide a much-needed short break from looking at cat videos and dirty women.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I say I "added" the widget I kind of <i>made </i>a bit of it. That's why I'm not entirely sure it's working - my behind-the-scenes dashboard is telling me nobody has subscribed even though both Dawn and I definitely have. It's under construction, let's say.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>(EDIT: It doesn't work. I've ditched it.)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So yes, I made it. Ish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I stole the envelope picture using Google as my willing accomplice and made it pretty. I reminded myself of a little HTML to make the whole widget (that's what they call those bits) smaller. I changed the words. I set up an account to handle the automated emails...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...then I topped-up the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/02/gertrude-wreaks-havoc-round-up.html" target="_blank">rat poison</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lugged a few tools around from one place to another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Incinerated all the rubbish wood I could find in a fire that lasted almost three days</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Made two big veg planters for Dawn out of new half-sleepers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Emptied the water butt by the woodshed. Four times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pointed our CCTV NatureCam at a tree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lumbered around in the woods for a bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Angled my bedside lamp so it points more at the wall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sat by the window watching the raindrops trickle gently down the Perspex.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tinkered with the blog page background, making it a more loggy one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Emptied the ash pan from the criminally-underused </span><a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/fitting-wood-burning-stove_28.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">log burner</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Realised I've run out of land to go </span><a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/search/label/metal%20detecting" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">metal detecting</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> on...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Things are slow at the minute, I won't lie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't really explain the reasons just yet, but we have a job on at The Lodge which should have taken a reasonably short period of time but has rapidly become much more of an unexpectedly-lengthy affair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By that I mean '<i>it's at a standstill and is holding up every other job that can possibly be done inside the house at the moment</i>'.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0U7cneRtdjmaCdA4rRMdZgrvTyOWfklo4s1Q-Ny-5i7k5QyJVTQUWOmUlA1WN5FEj_TzOSMvNian4c31_DdN3omE9sNyQlm7XeLLT9twDhsybU2EXrguIxE5WtVsJ4DMxuyxDBw1HA/s1600/pig-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0U7cneRtdjmaCdA4rRMdZgrvTyOWfklo4s1Q-Ny-5i7k5QyJVTQUWOmUlA1WN5FEj_TzOSMvNian4c31_DdN3omE9sNyQlm7XeLLT9twDhsybU2EXrguIxE5WtVsJ4DMxuyxDBw1HA/s400/pig-18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't find a suitable picture to go at the end of this post,<br />
so here's a piglet in wellies</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I have been finding things to do, which is how the woodshed was born and why I on-and-off spent the best part of a fortnight carefully crafting a <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/04/how-to-build-woodshed-for-almost-free.html" target="_blank">gargantuan blog</a> about it which I <i>dare </i>anyone to read to the end. Even <i>I</i> fell asleep when I was writing it, possibly more than once.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So that's it, really. I don't suppose even this post is necessary, but it's something to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please subscribe to our (mainly <i>my</i>) ramblings using the gubbins at the top of the left-hand sidebar. If not before, you should get a new post alert on Sunday when it's our one-year anniversary at The Lodge, so if it doesn't arrive it's buggered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm going to sleep now. Tomorrow I plan to rearrange the cutlery drawer. I might break with tradition and do it alphabetically. Then I might blog about it. With a picture gallery.</span>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-22223136674709779682016-04-02T23:33:00.001+01:002016-05-16T01:04:06.885+01:00How to build a woodshed for (almost) free!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The supplementary title for this post is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"In The Time It Has Taken Me To Write This Blog I Could've Built Another One"</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWUeBBmGZImYC7urra72pG-xjQDuOLZCRvMIKa0studr5BBQYbypYdz4jBVaIozCvy1tTRxOMON02SufWiBVpWsnVcmLC_forbfLkVkM0M33kIvRO4GOE1M6XS4FV7vcnNzjkUKO0SQ/s1600/finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWUeBBmGZImYC7urra72pG-xjQDuOLZCRvMIKa0studr5BBQYbypYdz4jBVaIozCvy1tTRxOMON02SufWiBVpWsnVcmLC_forbfLkVkM0M33kIvRO4GOE1M6XS4FV7vcnNzjkUKO0SQ/s640/finished.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part-way through filling the finished wood store, before the rains came</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've always harboured the need for a giant woodshed in which to prepare fuel for my fire, keeping my family warm while I hunt buffalo and forage for berries at the Co-op.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's just a man thing, I suppose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/01/fitting-wood-burning-stove_28.html" target="_blank">roaring fires</a> need lots of wood and h</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">aving looked around the interwoz for ideas and inspiration for a structure in which to store it I have discovered three things:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Web-bought, flat-packed, man-sized woodsheds (or wood stores, whatever) cost an absolute fortune. Many hundreds of precious shekels.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some people decide to knock up their own but will throw together any rickety old tat, chuck a flappy and torn tarpaulin over the top and make do. Horrible, grotty things next to the shed, providing a subtly-desperate ambiance to any drizzly summer barbecue.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A minority of people make their wood stores out of free, reclaimed wooden pallets and a few of those even make a decent stab at it.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like the word '<i>free</i>', so with the desire to save our funds for curry and wine and having decided that The Lodge deserved more than just a couple of beer crates with sticks jammed in to them I did what any enthusiastic DIYer would do and went blindly ahead with building a pallet store, possessing neither a plan nor the brain power to come up with one. It needed sides and a roof. That was my limit. Oh, and pallets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all a quick tale: We are friends with a lovely couple, John and Jess, who live a few miles away in an 1800s house - a former village Post Office - that's <i>identical </i>to ours.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdFhGkIjXei8bUHRGKmpkv38wvqwtkPzT51kLHYZUDaOaWQGTGTrFTtDLg-xor4yv-MWVl_UL19f-HaW2Qe4Ss-8QGVEBWHdwxxiUHVIDuVRmOGyFEUGHTDIrIaJ1wyWwWHdXmS2bog/s1600/tarpshed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdFhGkIjXei8bUHRGKmpkv38wvqwtkPzT51kLHYZUDaOaWQGTGTrFTtDLg-xor4yv-MWVl_UL19f-HaW2Qe4Ss-8QGVEBWHdwxxiUHVIDuVRmOGyFEUGHTDIrIaJ1wyWwWHdXmS2bog/s1600/tarpshed.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'tarp over sticks' look might work for this chap in Alaska,<br />
but at The Lodge a good-looking wood shed is the only thing<br />
we have to compete against the neighbour's new Ferrari</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's one of just three such-styled houses that we know of (including ours - the other appears to be dropping to bits), but when we brazenly rocked up last spring to introduce ourselves and demand a tour, J&J had just bought theirs and were gutting/renovating it at the same time as us. The crucial difference being they had drafted in teams of builders, chippies, roofers and sparkies to do it all in one fell swoop that spanned a few months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jess makes amazing chocolate cornflake cupcakes, by the way. If you'd had one you would want to tell people too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the last year they have created a beautiful home, and while some of the things they've done won't work so well for us we plan to shamelessly steal at least part of their extended kitchen idea and maybe open up the upstairs landing in a similar way to theirs too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But because they haven't taken quite the same approach to the project as us their work created waste,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> a great deal of which we stole from their skip to use here because we 're cheap like that. Besides, reclaiming stuff is our thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a result we got a ton (probably literally) of sturdy main timber framework and a good amount of green corrugated box-profile tin roof from them in exchange for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trevor also managed to bag the pallets for the sum total of nowt, and we carted somewhere around 20 of them back to The Lodge in our cars because this all started way back before the <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/02/gertrude-wreaks-havoc-round-up.html" target="_blank">Man Truck</a> came on the scene.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, to business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not sure how a How To Guide will pan out, given my <i>Make It Up With Confidence</i> approach, but let's see what happens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of this took a good five or six weeks, but work going on in the house and some terrible and/or freezing cold weather took up most of that time. So at a guess I'd say it took maybe 14 days overall with an unskilled workforce of one, then two (Terminator Trevor appeared for a couple of days, bringing the classic food combo of cupcakes and radishes), then back to one again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For obvious reasons, many of the steps below would work better using two people, but if you're careful and patient - and there's no wind to blow everything over - you should be able to manage alone, albeit with a few snapped screws and wonky bits here and there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But "<i>you're not building the Taj Mahal, it's just a woodshed</i>", as people kept on telling me.</span><br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>A bodger's guide to building a wood store</u></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Get some pallets</u></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24a_PG_iztsIBbc9UPS5nXARUaZo1DYY9eF9TjCvE_I-BOthaS_fqWVLtrXkVyesZdNZ8hjrCSB0aM58XzD0fd7e9YegcVu7ms3ozPLp8kw_5RPw5ZfZPSbMwmgHPMOt_SqApt6EkVA/s1600/palletes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24a_PG_iztsIBbc9UPS5nXARUaZo1DYY9eF9TjCvE_I-BOthaS_fqWVLtrXkVyesZdNZ8hjrCSB0aM58XzD0fd7e9YegcVu7ms3ozPLp8kw_5RPw5ZfZPSbMwmgHPMOt_SqApt6EkVA/s400/palletes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pallets on the right were all the same size so were used for the main<br />
base, back and partitions. The others were pulled apart for the sides.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How many you'll need depends on how long you want your wood store to be and how high you want it. Roughly, think of one trimmed-down pallet (like you'll be using) being 4ft x 3ft, so a store that's two pallets long and two high will be about 8ft long x 6ft high at the back x 3ft deep. Some pallets are a different size altogether</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, of course,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">so work with what you can get but try to get them the same size as each other if possible. It'll save a load of faffery later on when you just so happen to want the back as long as the base... which you will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll also need some extra pallets for dismantling to make the sides and any internal partitions that you decide to create. Plus a few more as spares, just in case.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLtqKu0VgAA7QrpraZbM5zD9Owc4JmjOfqxgNcrH2nDHruvL-Qsdf_ogTIsgWjyxksFgVwF0sac9J2Pfy5YYn4n076-iu5hm_bdoWI0GowhZ3Rp4Pem7PI0Zp-SBsr2tD09bHQDLFDQ/s1600/stringer_pallet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLtqKu0VgAA7QrpraZbM5zD9Owc4JmjOfqxgNcrH2nDHruvL-Qsdf_ogTIsgWjyxksFgVwF0sac9J2Pfy5YYn4n076-iu5hm_bdoWI0GowhZ3Rp4Pem7PI0Zp-SBsr2tD09bHQDLFDQ/s200/stringer_pallet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Important: the pallets I have used (not deliberately - it's just what we were given) are 'two-way stringer' pallets rather than 'four-way block' pallets. The difference being how the top deck of slats is separated from the bottom deck. With stringer pallets, once the ends of the slats were trimmed off we could securely attach two pallets together simply by screwing the exposed edge stringer of one pallet (which helpfully runs from one end to the other uninterrupted) to the same on the next.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the decks on your pallets are separated by corner blocks then things will be a little trickier and you'll have to make things up as you go along. Much like I've done here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Get your hands on any decent-looking and sound old timber you can find</u></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh-KeKdONp350pCRmLXVQIr2Sr879ONLw4lcS25TDisXVdjcGa8rYe40j01xURSPTR2bSkSaJrD2VeJjOusr9056X8w1ZnzOV_el2oDkEKeIbkffhPmX0Loo66hVipk__a0hYr5QGxw/s1600/timber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh-KeKdONp350pCRmLXVQIr2Sr879ONLw4lcS25TDisXVdjcGa8rYe40j01xURSPTR2bSkSaJrD2VeJjOusr9056X8w1ZnzOV_el2oDkEKeIbkffhPmX0Loo66hVipk__a0hYr5QGxw/s400/timber.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolts and nails <i>everywhere</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've said how we did it, but you could go skip-diving (with permission) or whimper outside the gates of a nearby house building or renovation project or something. Use your imagination. Basically </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">scrounge</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, is what I'm saying because you don't always have to buy and even the tattiest looking length of wood can scrub up well enough for this job, and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">even if the ends are rotting you can always trim them off.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You'll need two good, solid posts that are at least 3x3 for the front corners, but more if you're planning to build a long structure. We used three, with one in the centre. The rest of the wood can be mismatched lengths of different-sized timber - it doesn't really matter, but nothing too thin for structural work or it'll bend, snap or split. Make sure you get any nails out and tidy them up before you use them if safety and looks matter to you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Get some corrugated iron or bitumen roofing sheets</u></b> <i>(not, not, not asbestos)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5m5lWqY_fF1hinDFCZNHkUJbzp43NzF85n1nIMC_BYsqeS8QvK36MAwwn7DMUPp47xfLajidL6vou320VYQmM55WpKa2ohLoy6QDHnb1d_N2507KU96_SaBiXINO8f1N2e0RSqn-5Bw/s1600/roof_sheets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5m5lWqY_fF1hinDFCZNHkUJbzp43NzF85n1nIMC_BYsqeS8QvK36MAwwn7DMUPp47xfLajidL6vou320VYQmM55WpKa2ohLoy6QDHnb1d_N2507KU96_SaBiXINO8f1N2e0RSqn-5Bw/s320/roof_sheets.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Box profile roof sheets, as blown over<br />
by Storm Katie</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This one is a bit tougher, especially if you want a roof that's in decent nick, but if you can skip-dive some or beg some from a friendly farmer then do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a push you might need to buy some, but if we had to then I'd have gone for the black wavy corrugated bitumen roofing sheets from Wickes. Or you could get some sturdy marine plywood from a timber yard or even B&Q and cover it with roofing felt. It's up to you, your budget and your imagination.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you do end up scavenging, make sure the profiles of the sheets match each other or you're going to have a problem when you want to start overlapping them along the edges as you build the roof.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As long as they're in generally good fettle it doesn't matter about any holes or gouges because you'll be plugging them up later on and painting everything black, which hides a multitude of sins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Tools you'll need</u> (no particular order)<b>:</b></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Claw hammer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Extension lead</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Electric drill/driver + metal drill bit to suit roof screw diameter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jigsaw with 'wood' blade + a spare or two</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A dozen or so hard, modern house bricks or similar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crowbar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pencil</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tape measure</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Belt sander</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A straight-edged length of wood or a carpenter's square</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spirit level</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Plenty of good quality wood screws of various lengths and diameters</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Roofing screws with waterproof caps and/or a roll of flash band waterproofing sealant and/or a tube of black mastic</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Angle grinder with metal cutting disc</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dustpan & brush/broom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Compound mitre saw or, if you're absolutely mental, a handsaw</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- guttering with brackets and angles and stop ends and downpipe and suchlike (Wickes' Miniline range is probably the cheapest you'll find)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- cheapo wood stain and paintbrushes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- Budget metal primer/paint</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- Dremel Multitool with deburring attachment or a simple metal file</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- something to measure angles with (or just use your eyes)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Optional </i>- water butt</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. <u>Select and clear the area</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As my complete lack of injuries during the entire Lodge project will attest (discounting burns, cuts, bruising and a really annoying habit of banging my head on every low doorway), my entire Being is based around the principles of health and safety and it's very rare I even leave the shed without a full risk assessment. And you should treat this exciting mini side project with the same life-preserving approach.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GGov0SeZql32YRIp9OluprBr9ia6IPYeLadVZ35s8oVmqBk-egQsiU_16T_vnPUfRg5CR4dIYTOnQILvbD45osg_2lng9UXQ2xt36aqLjtTdpzTRpSCT29ZnbRp8hfcI8T7ojsoGQw/s1600/mess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GGov0SeZql32YRIp9OluprBr9ia6IPYeLadVZ35s8oVmqBk-egQsiU_16T_vnPUfRg5CR4dIYTOnQILvbD45osg_2lng9UXQ2xt36aqLjtTdpzTRpSCT29ZnbRp8hfcI8T7ojsoGQw/s320/mess.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's hard standing under all this danger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Find a location for your wood store where it will be most sheltered from the brunt of the bad weather, but preferably gets a lot of sun in the warmer months. It should be close enough to the house so you don't get knackered just keeping the fire going every day, but far enough away so it isn't in the way of normal life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Best not build it against the side of your precious house or anything else combustible like a fence or conservatory either. Wood has a habit of burning quite a lot and if a stray BBQ spark gets lucky or someone accidentally flicks a cigarette end in there... it <i>does </i>happen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make sure you choose somewhere with a good, solid base so your very heavy fully-laden wood store doesn't start sinking in to the mud this time next year. An area of old hard standing or solid paving slabs will do, and if all else fails try old railway sleepers or a gravel bed. You want a surface that will drain and dry out after it rains or your store will eventually begin to rot at the base.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wherever you choose, get rid of all the rubbish and trip hazards. You'll be falling over various tools and extension cables enough as it is, so the last thing you want is to step on a rake or stand on a piece of Lego in just your socks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. <u>Lay out the wood store</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Start with a row of pallets side-by-side flat on your chosen surface, with the slats running front-back. This will give you a rough idea of how long you want the store to be and, as a result, how many partitions you're going to have in it, assuming you're having some.</span><br />
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<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prop up some more pallets, with the slats running top-bottom, along the back against the wall (or wherever) at right angles to the base to give you the lower half of the back then, if you're feeling brave and your life insurance is up-to-date, rest at least one more pallet on top of the first row to show you generally how big the whole thing will be and (roughly) how high it'll be at the back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't let that carefully-balanced pallet fall on you, though. If you die you fail the task.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s1GYkO8LJvaINcxXt3-2BvNvgVCPuVC7C8Gi_9QUPqMosb5-1TxKD3iu15yvYJuHjhlJv-U32YnRAD2uYKYGwMuBO7KZCztqxENLJYHij7Uoxcap1XcAxS8-hqAnG2akFEGfF460-g/s1600/laid_out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s1GYkO8LJvaINcxXt3-2BvNvgVCPuVC7C8Gi_9QUPqMosb5-1TxKD3iu15yvYJuHjhlJv-U32YnRAD2uYKYGwMuBO7KZCztqxENLJYHij7Uoxcap1XcAxS8-hqAnG2akFEGfF460-g/s640/laid_out.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the end I went for just four pallets long (should've done five).<br />
You'll notice I forgot to take a photo with a pallet balanced on top of the back row - this will<br />
be a recurring theme for this How To Guide...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The finished back won't be quite as high as it looks at this stage</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> because you'll shortly be trimming off the ends of all of the vertical slats, losing quite a few inches in all. But at least you're getting the idea now, so make any size adjustments you need to at this stage or you'll regret it later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. <u>Start screwing bits together</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Remove everything from the work area apart from one pallet on the far left or right of the base and its corresponding upright pallet which will become part of the bottom row of the back. If that makes sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking the upright pallet, use your jigsaw to trim the slats, removing all of the overhanging ends (about a couple of inches each side) and leaving the long flat surface of the outermost stringers exposed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now measure halfway along the longest edge of this pallet and chop it in half through the stringers in the same direction as the slats, giving you two identical baby pallets. Put one half to one side where you won't fall over it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpT1IO0IOUc6h5Gjhf070nKa7JHwFYL648WpPXFbrny3HBCfk3Vc5fQ8xMWsNAm1aT9N_Di3x2QWtyjZZ4G4_-a_e13K1gJKNR_JvnRaXTB7_dzfolW7z8CCKviHSM1tWYDtid319aA/s1600/span.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpT1IO0IOUc6h5Gjhf070nKa7JHwFYL648WpPXFbrny3HBCfk3Vc5fQ8xMWsNAm1aT9N_Di3x2QWtyjZZ4G4_-a_e13K1gJKNR_JvnRaXTB7_dzfolW7z8CCKviHSM1tWYDtid319aA/s320/span.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Span the joins between pallets with strips<br />
of wood to stop them pulling apart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using your house bricks or solid blocks of off-cut wood (preferably treated against rot), get your end base pallet exactly where you want it and level.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stand one of the trimmed-up pallet halves at right angles along the rear edge of the base pallet, making sure the outside edges are in line with each other and the stringer that's in contact with the base is directly over the base pallet's rear-most stringer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use your spirit level to make sure it's perfectlyish upright in comparison to the base then screw straight down through the stringer in to the stringer of the base pallet to join them. The slats will be sandwiched between them, but that doesn't matter providing your screws are long enough to keep it all solid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use as many screws as you want but remember that this will be part of the overall strength of the structure, so make sure you're happy with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take another full pallet and lie it on the ground with the slats running front-back again, butting it up next to the first section of base.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Use your bricks again to get it level and aligned with the base section that you've already created, then secure them both together a couple of inches back from the front edge using a random length of wood to span the two across the join. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This will stop the base sections drifting apart from one another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next get one of the whole pallets you chose earlier for the back and trim off all of the ends on the top and bottom decks again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Offer this up to the edge of the first half pallet you screwed in place, again sitting directly above the stringer at the rear of the base pallets. Screw it down as before - you'll notice that because you used a half pallet earlier this one is now spanning the join between the two base sections like brickwork and because you screwed it firmly in place it is stopping the base pulling apart at the back now, too.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTSs66ii3Je4rdFbMGxPeuCVShtOMCVfDMiE7SfDe6gfWKbvmP5djKFeTZnqvMldoPxnni6CIRXu-e-EYMSFKnpglCdUs7RrlJL1_u35X-R-8elnw9El_czBUmKTuj0VX7Y_RvETAXg/s1600/joined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTSs66ii3Je4rdFbMGxPeuCVShtOMCVfDMiE7SfDe6gfWKbvmP5djKFeTZnqvMldoPxnni6CIRXu-e-EYMSFKnpglCdUs7RrlJL1_u35X-R-8elnw9El_czBUmKTuj0VX7Y_RvETAXg/s200/joined.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trimming the ends off the slats<br />
lets you screw the stringers directly<br />
together, giving more strength</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just like you did with the base, secure these two pallets together using a length of wood spanning the join between both. You can do this across the stringers at the very back if you want to keep things neater, but whatever you do don't use the pallet slat off-cuts like I did at first because they're too small and split far too easily.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally (for this part), trim-up another pallet, sit it carefully on top of the upright one-and-a-half pallets, align the edges and screw down through its bottom stringer, straight in to the top of the one below it. No sandwiched slats this time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Give or take an inch or so, this is the height your wood store will be at the back, although the angle of the roof will make it a little lower at the front.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the way, can you tell I didn't get a photo of just the first few pallets screwed together? Working right on the edge of disaster has a habit of making you forget about keeping picture records.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. <u>Get your first corner post in</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rummage through your reclaimed timber pile and find the two thickest, strongest posts you have because these will be your two front corners. All-the-better if they match each other. These should be somewhere around the height of the section of back that you've just knocked together - in our case we used two 4x3s which were nominally 6ft long (the word 'nominally' came up a <i>lot </i>during this build, it has to be said). A third matching 4x3 was used as a centre support later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spend a few minutes tidying them up and pulling out the nails, angle grinding them off or punching them in. If you want to sand everything down later on you won't want to miss any!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You need to have your first post at the very front corner of your structure, which means you may have to jigsaw off the overhanging end of the outermost slat on the base to get it in place, but once you've done that either get someone to hold it upright or drive a couple of long screws in at an angle in to the base's stringer to temporarily hold it there.</span><br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFbPoBMNzyQyYz03zwLSrZMyfFzX-tCP8VK46fjlPyR5Bl6_4UXfBE8V3lQKzDnwIHcMmgO6TF153tYm8JgnEjGiynTjO9FAXDWH5gyLX5ojxyqHb4HTxh7_KhbEAxycZGkizatFt9g/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFbPoBMNzyQyYz03zwLSrZMyfFzX-tCP8VK46fjlPyR5Bl6_4UXfBE8V3lQKzDnwIHcMmgO6TF153tYm8JgnEjGiynTjO9FAXDWH5gyLX5ojxyqHb4HTxh7_KhbEAxycZGkizatFt9g/s400/side.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the bit where I cut the corner post in the wrong place<br />
then had to glue some back on and brace it with more<br />
wood? No? That's the correct answer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take a step back and look at the beginning of your frame.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now convention seems to say that your finished roof should run at a slope of about 15 degrees for optimum rain-sheddibility, but opinion seems to be split between the slope running </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">back-front or front-back. I went for the former, just because.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was also a little concerned that at 15 degrees the front would be a little too low for me because I'm 6' 1", so I decided to lessen the angle a little and hope for the best.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now you need to work out your roof line so you can see where to cut your corner post in order that the sloping sheet which will be fixed to it is flush.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have an angled spirit level like we do (dirt cheap at Aldi or Lidl or somewhere a few months ago) then all you need to do is set it at the angle you want, hold the upper horizontal section at 90 degrees out from the top of the back then draw a sloping line across the side of your corner post, following the angle of the lower section of the spirit level.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or you could just use your eyes and guess.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you've chopsawed your corner post at the required angle screw it back in place again and offer-up a section of sheet roofing just to make sure you're on the right track.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now grab another piece of sturdy timber (again, having a second identical one will be handy for the other end), de-nail it then offer it up horizontally to the structure as a side brace between the corner post and the back. Now draw a line and chop through it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Screw this side brace firmly in place against the very side edge of the structure, starting at the point where the two layers of back pallets meet and ending straight across at the corner post. If you've got your post in the right place this brace should screw right on to the outside of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do the same with an angled brace running down from the top of the back to the top of the post </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(again on the outside) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">then, if you're feeling flamboyant and have enough timber, put in a diagonal brace from the inside bottom back corner up to a reasonably high point on the back of the post to ramp up the rigidity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now go and have a cup of tea, happy in the knowledge that your corner post won't fall over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. <u>Repeat until happy</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What happens next depends on how long your store is going to be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's already two pallets long with the back extending along one-and-a-half pallets on the bottom deck and one pallet on the top deck.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If that's enough for you, find the second half pallet that you tucked safely away and fix that to the end of the bottom row of back pallets. Trim-up another full pallet and fix that one to the end of the top row and to the top of the bottom row, remembering to brace all of the joins with random lengths of wood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to make the entire thing longer, add however many base pallets you need and keep going until you're done. But still end the bottom row of upright back pallets with that dinky little half pallet. This way you're ensuring that all of the joins between pallets are off-set from the identical joins in the row above or below, like courses of bricks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once you're happy with that lot, repeat the process described loosely above on the other side to fashion the corner post and side of the frame.</span><br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57G-Ud_JqhBSsgsNx5SUrHQFQXRE8-SdhkJ4UWVj09jCC0gGC4a4dLRbES-CqcKc3I-zPtAo6JUZALcazWmIr0thuVlunJrVbYICuPPSEBuWU_taK9cpYxBKY2qhUguVcR63eSC26LA/s1600/sides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57G-Ud_JqhBSsgsNx5SUrHQFQXRE8-SdhkJ4UWVj09jCC0gGC4a4dLRbES-CqcKc3I-zPtAo6JUZALcazWmIr0thuVlunJrVbYICuPPSEBuWU_taK9cpYxBKY2qhUguVcR63eSC26LA/s640/sides.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upright. Nominally.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>6. <u>Fix your centre post in place</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Depending on the overall length of your wood store, you may need a post in the front and centre (or more) for extra strength and for something to support the roof to stop it naturally drooping in the middle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have a length of timber which matches the corners then this is where to use it, although it doesn't have to be quite as chunky as those if you don't. The main strength already comes from the sides and the way you've screwed all of your pallets together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This stage is very much like attaching the corner posts, so find the centre of your structure which, if you've used an even number of pallets for the base, should be where the middle two join. Trim off a couple of slat ends at that point, enough to accommodate the post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Slot your post in, get it roughly upright, then drive a couple of screws in from the side through the post and in to the stringer, holding it in place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Offer-up another cross beam across the centre, front-to-back, resting it gently against the side of the post at the front with the back end going no further back than the front face of the first slat it comes to. Using your octo-arms to hold it in place, draw a pencil line on the beam at the front edge of the centre post then trim it to length.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZHcdI3Moa9m6tFqH_EQNZ1sqxQmYKumTSViVbmKMiA4XXNmxZtMuvg9A3RAOzIqFHHrmyTCOV1SwlMnXWYw9oNUmkr0ulckxPUgvasxX7vF5MDPh_fsRj9IGj7AkgOIGJsK6abxvNA/s1600/petrolcan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZHcdI3Moa9m6tFqH_EQNZ1sqxQmYKumTSViVbmKMiA4XXNmxZtMuvg9A3RAOzIqFHHrmyTCOV1SwlMnXWYw9oNUmkr0ulckxPUgvasxX7vF5MDPh_fsRj9IGj7AkgOIGJsK6abxvNA/s320/petrolcan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, there were off-cuts to get rid of...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Offer it up again and note where the beam's back end naturally wants to rest against the slat of the pallet it meets. Draw a line on the slat to mark the place then screw in a chunky vertical batten down this line against which you will butt your beam (I know - I can't think of another phrase) and screw it in (ditto).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your centre post is now firmly in place, held there by the cross beam which in turn is providing more front-back stability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next step is to attach an angled roof beam at the top from the centre beam to the back, but as this is only needed to provide support for the roof sheets that will rest on it (which aren't very heavy and are rigid enough in their own right from front-to-back), it doesn't have to be a beast - a length of old pine skirting or something will do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trim it to length and attach it with a batten in the same way as you did the horizontal beam below it, being sure not to have any part of this top beam poking above the level of the highest point on the back, or your roof will have a hump in it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may have to trim the ends of this beam at angles to get it to fit where you want it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want you can add another angled brace from where the back joins the base up to the beam as we have done (and like you've already done at the sides), but it's not strictly necessary.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, find some more pine skirting or similar to run from corner post to corner post across the front at the top, via the centre post, for roof support at the front and for something to attach the gutter to if you're planning to have one. If what you have to hand is pretty wide you might want to jigsaw it straight down the middle to split it in two, the bonus of which is you've now doubled the amount you have.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlK9c94VNCJ645j_OVP_JEz_4Wbz2ndHx8e3X04Jbf0_TAGA9lrq_cI4frFrT3Mg9QF-za54mXH9LrWiii2StuCblaR2ospI7TOqACNOcd8ZPhm8AbUuOZyx6feK9xcV8y1x8miUkug/s1600/mainframe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlK9c94VNCJ645j_OVP_JEz_4Wbz2ndHx8e3X04Jbf0_TAGA9lrq_cI4frFrT3Mg9QF-za54mXH9LrWiii2StuCblaR2ospI7TOqACNOcd8ZPhm8AbUuOZyx6feK9xcV8y1x8miUkug/s640/mainframe.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now... just screw it in place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I nipped in to make a brew Terminator Trevor fashioned some fancy corner thingies to finish it off </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">too</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, which is something I wouldn't have thought of and they look good on the finished product.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>7. <u>Add partitions</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was going to say that adding partitions is entirely up to you, but having now filled the woodshed with all of the wood we currently have available I think they're pretty much essential to keep the contents in order.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you're going for the '<i>chuck it all in and let it fall where it may</i>' look then knock yourself out, but we have three main batches of wood, all of which are seasoned differently to each other, so I needed to keep them apart. One batch (bought) is seasoned and ready to burn, while the second lot (donated) is slightly reluctant to burn properly so needs a little longer to dry. The third (also donated) pile, on the other hand, is manky. It has been sitting out in the rain and snow and damp for months so it's muddy, slimy, fungi-y and wormy. So it needs at least 18 months to season and for me to want to touch it again.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTPjwXLaCz1mQWdlc8E01QzzYfWhyphenhyphenoBztnB2sZgOdoeZrzHQqMQDWQjO67gkwKeD6XqOkh3EpcRnfB_rHs0i3OCJPhaj7kvjZ-aAJm745va-CpbFq02SViqhBxqYJJWREBGnJZuxUrw/s1600/partition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTPjwXLaCz1mQWdlc8E01QzzYfWhyphenhyphenoBztnB2sZgOdoeZrzHQqMQDWQjO67gkwKeD6XqOkh3EpcRnfB_rHs0i3OCJPhaj7kvjZ-aAJm745va-CpbFq02SViqhBxqYJJWREBGnJZuxUrw/s400/partition.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You may have to take a notch out of the slats for a<br />
better fit. Note the angle of the screw. You don't have<br />
to screw directly in to things to make a fix. Going<br />
in at an angle - or from the side - can be useful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adding partitions is simple because in our case they're just single trimmed pallets screwed in place, as you can see from the picture above.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To be honest it's really just a case of jigsaw the ends off and screw it firmly in place anywhere you can - there's no particular trick to it. If you have screwed lengths of wood across where the base pallets join at the front you might need to notch a little bit out of one of the bottom slats, but that's the only real technical thing about this stage, although the rest of it isn't exactly particle physics...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing you'll probably notice is that there are more slats on the top deck than on the bottom deck of your average common-or-garden pallet, so this is where your crow bar and hammer will come in handy. Pry apart one of your spare pallets (which isn't easy, but if you're careful you won't split too much wood) and attach some of the slats to the bottom deck(s) of your partition(s). This will stop the logs falling in to the dividers once you start stacking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While you're at it, pry a few more pallets apart and screw slats in place on both sides of the central support structure (creating another partition), because I learnt the hard way that they come in handy. By the time I figured out that I really needed some there I had already stacked one bay and could only fix slats in place on one side. It works but it's not ideal for airflow around the wood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While you're still prying those pallets apart, do some more because you need to...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>8. ...<u>get creative with the sides</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-If8fPlQ03nvyM_yQ0EOte4O4nUFPb707iH0VzyIhOXtyDQlTvpmukRe487hlV-Mv7pTBMlDPlECRbotdVLjQMx9HT0reOPOqTH5eEzkigSHGJioFRcVbORsaJ9H8EmbYM1N6xHEnXA/s1600/sideslats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-If8fPlQ03nvyM_yQ0EOte4O4nUFPb707iH0VzyIhOXtyDQlTvpmukRe487hlV-Mv7pTBMlDPlECRbotdVLjQMx9HT0reOPOqTH5eEzkigSHGJioFRcVbORsaJ9H8EmbYM1N6xHEnXA/s320/sideslats.jpg" width="206" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine your finished wood store, which is now full of wood. It looks lovely from the front, doesn't it? All those split logs and different colours and textures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But what does it look like from the sides?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want the finished product to give the illusion that you've put some thought and effort in to it, I think you need to get fancy with the only real part of the structure that will be seen, other than the roof. It's all-too-easy to throw a bunch of horizontal slats at the two sides and make then look like regular pallets, but spending a little bit of extra time to fix the slats at an angle makes all the difference.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only point of note is that you may find your available slats are too short to reach from one corner to the other at the longest span, so you'll need to join a couple together. Being an occasional practicing perfectionist I first tried Gorilla Gluing two pieces together but that failed miserably so I went for the quicker option of butting two lengths together, battening them at the back, then trimming them to size. Much simpler.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>9. </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">Sand it</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(you might want to do this before you add the side slats so it's less fiddly and awkward, and you can always sand the edges and corners of those slats afterwards, once they're in place)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQg61kPUL4F1AY0lAYKkZZY4ptA1ufi3RzdVLoOzE-QuXhscDIGfckM0_Egm3H7EK3vxKoemxRcdIA04YhZG9o8wLb8YVQlIrX-KqI-olp1JJLGPOvcN6TMPHOD3U_sHOQq9NMJXQEyw/s1600/rounded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQg61kPUL4F1AY0lAYKkZZY4ptA1ufi3RzdVLoOzE-QuXhscDIGfckM0_Egm3H7EK3vxKoemxRcdIA04YhZG9o8wLb8YVQlIrX-KqI-olp1JJLGPOvcN6TMPHOD3U_sHOQq9NMJXQEyw/s400/rounded.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rounding the edges and corners off softens<br />
the look of the whole thing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This takes a bit of time and you don't <i>have </i>to do it but, again, it's worth it. It adds to the overall finish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A good old brutish belt sander with a medium-grade belt is the tool for this because it will cover greater swathes of wood than if you were tickling your creation with a detail sander.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The good news is that you're not sanding <i>everything </i>down - that would just be silly - and as for attempting to sand the faces of the slats, forget it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started with the timber of the main frame, some of which had been coated with limewash at some point in its life. The rest of the timber was generally a bit scruffy so I sanded all of the surfaces that would still be visible when the store was full to clean them up so the wood stain would take better later on. Remember that I was de-nailing the timber as it was being constructed!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I then moved on to the roof/gutter support across the front which, having served its original purpose as skirting board, wasn't helping anyone by being painted gloss white.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once that was finished I then decided to use the belt sander to take the corners and edges off all of the timber which would be visible from the front. I just think it looks smarter and it has already been noticed by awe-struck admirers so it was worth the effort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>10. <u>Stain it</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once again this isn't essential and to be honest it's a pain in the backside, but a coat of stain helps elevate things from a bunch of tatty pallets to a decent-looking woodshed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing you need to know is that pallet wood is generally horrible, rough stuff. All of that splintery roughness gives rise to <i>a lot</i> of surface area which needs to be stained, so find the cheapest stain you can that's still a reasonably respectable colour, and get more than you think you'll need. I completely misjudged how much I'd need and when my 5l tin ran out I supplemented it with a 2.5l tin, followed by a 1l tin in to which I had to pour five 25ml tester pots of different colours (I've been testing skirting stains), and even then I used every single last drop in just one coat.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXHQCTQS6HVm4mUdWlvFUasBRwd3gq5w913qnqhTWCWm3zMdJ23a1r0_0LAr0CwEJGWzdctrZkU4lguy0fE3BLUvG0KxuF1dWGaqhuZ-a_ZcWOsTesyrO7plomCaptfwu9mQuHAfs0A/s1600/stain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXHQCTQS6HVm4mUdWlvFUasBRwd3gq5w913qnqhTWCWm3zMdJ23a1r0_0LAr0CwEJGWzdctrZkU4lguy0fE3BLUvG0KxuF1dWGaqhuZ-a_ZcWOsTesyrO7plomCaptfwu9mQuHAfs0A/s640/stain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I find that podcasts really help alleviate the tedium of crappy jobs like staining.<br />
This part of the project was brought to you by Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast or, as all<br />
the cool kids are calling it, RHLSTP (pronounced <i>ruh-huh-less-tuh-puh</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as the <i>'natural'</i> stain I used for the main body of the store I pushed the boat out and got black (<i>'ebony'</i>) for some of the side timber, to break up the expanse of brown, and for the front roof support so it would blend in with the roof and gutter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another thing to mention is that you only really need to stain the surfaces that are visible so you don't have to do the back, for instance. To make the stain go further I considered leaving the insides of the bays bare but full woodsheds don't stay full forever and it would keep me awake at night to know that one day I'll remove a log only to see a pale yellowy slat staring back at me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>11. <u>Roof it</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>First things first</i> - if you're using reclaimed roofing sheets give them a good scrub with soapy water and a stiff brush to get the muck off. It's much more awkward to do once they're in place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Second things second</i> - if you're fitting a gutter (you don't <i>have </i>to but it'll prevent water bouncing off the floor back on to the front of your woodpile) you might want to consider doing that now unless you're happy enough to do it after the roof is fixed in place. If you don't want guttering, put some thought in to how to protect your soft, squishy forehead from the sharp roof edges when you're stumbling around in the dark on a drizzly winter's night.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lrdRHydm3dweEDvvX7EASP9JYK3dNsPH3yx-ZRR5f1byKwJYq7aZTLWvDvThHJAufgl5XnnU-Zf0_jfZvSSlLJDRgcoPFzVDlR1EMEoj-yZtUbM95K1JhM5zAkOeGcEu3bS7eC30QQ/s1600/roof_overlap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lrdRHydm3dweEDvvX7EASP9JYK3dNsPH3yx-ZRR5f1byKwJYq7aZTLWvDvThHJAufgl5XnnU-Zf0_jfZvSSlLJDRgcoPFzVDlR1EMEoj-yZtUbM95K1JhM5zAkOeGcEu3bS7eC30QQ/s320/roof_overlap.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlapping the roof sheets will help lock them together<br />
Secure them further with bolts for 100% peace of mind</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To work out how long you want each sheet to be simply measure from the top of the back down the diagonal to the top (the very front edge) of a corner post... then add two or three inches for overhang at the front and a tiny bit at the back. It's all nominal. If I remember correctly mine were about 51" or thereabouts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take your first reclaimed sheet, measure it up and cut it to length with an angle grinder, then lay it carefully on the roof of your structure, overhanging the side by an inch or two and the front by a similar amount. It'll feel like you're leaving the side very exposed to the wet weather but there's no way around that and, besides, the design of the structure is to allow as much airflow as possible through the wood while blocking the worst of the bad weather, so it'll still do it's job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Measure and cut your next sheet then lay it over the edge of the first, heading towards the centre of your roof, making sure to overlap the edges of the two sheets. The profile of the corrugation should mean that you can interlock the edges together, creating a stronger join.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Keep doing this until you get to the other side of the roof, where you might have to shimmy the whole thing by an inch or two from one side to the other to make sure it's in the right place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following fixing method is what I did, but how you do it depends on what you're using:</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusc36bdnklIrbwr7spwsUfEppGeKrBbP6kB8Vkhbu4PkhN38oRmeMyUf5WtGwjCS5zgO7NlABS9c4wpAR2LayOOndhdKgpr_10oC40OIIqz5eah5xqwvL9UHNwWOSDpIMZiPJ2GnjAw/s1600/flashband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusc36bdnklIrbwr7spwsUfEppGeKrBbP6kB8Vkhbu4PkhN38oRmeMyUf5WtGwjCS5zgO7NlABS9c4wpAR2LayOOndhdKgpr_10oC40OIIqz5eah5xqwvL9UHNwWOSDpIMZiPJ2GnjAw/s320/flashband.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The caps on the screws were crap but the<br />
rolled squares of flash band should be more<br />
than enough. I didn't get any tar on Dawn's<br />
hairdryer either. WIN!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using a cordless drill with a metal bit I drilled a pilot hole at the bottom </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">outside</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">corner of the first roof panel, cut a 1.5 inch square piece of flash band off the roll, popped the pointy end of a 70mm roofing screw, complete with transparent waterproof cap, through the flash band patch then drove it through the hole and in to the top of the corner of the main frame.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I pointed a Nicky Clarke hairdryer at the flash band for a few seconds then rolled it as flat as I could with a piece of stainless steel bar I found lying around. Like a rolling pin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I then snapped the waterproof cap over the top 25 times before I decided to glue the useless bloody thing in place. In fact the same went for about half of them... rubbish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Repeat this process for all four corners, then put plenty of screws in to all of the sheets at various points along all four sides, with some screwed down the central roof support from front-back. The general idea is that the more screws you use, the less likely it is that your roof will wipe out a tractor three miles away when Storm Megalolz comes around next winter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you want to go full belt-and-braces you could always bolt overlapping sheets directly to each other to lock every one of them together, but I couldn't be bothered and the roof has already passed the test of Storm Katie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally for this bit, hairdryer and roll more squares of flash band over any holes and gouges you find that water might drip through. I couldn't be bothered to flash band right along all the overlapping edges either but if you're extra picky and still have the energy, feel free.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdPSzwcSwrKHWR7hBM_iHnl5FIh82fq6jYztQ6eKmTU17PlkVU1J9h_71uLtZpNky0_JOHo1WwGkpyKaCTRnwL_t9z2q3MGBU6g_cD542PatU_kj7PGUtBUnY4AaWVjDtjZ4aV4potA/s1600/green_roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdPSzwcSwrKHWR7hBM_iHnl5FIh82fq6jYztQ6eKmTU17PlkVU1J9h_71uLtZpNky0_JOHo1WwGkpyKaCTRnwL_t9z2q3MGBU6g_cD542PatU_kj7PGUtBUnY4AaWVjDtjZ4aV4potA/s640/green_roof.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldn't really reach to get many screws along the back edge but I'm hoping the wall will protect it from<br />
any major gusts. It has already survived one storm, so fingers crossed it'll hold on</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next comes another optional element - tidy up the exposed edges of the roof.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used a Dremel Multitool thingummy with a deburring attachment fitted to smooth the roughly-chopped metal edges off. Like most people, I suspect, I had no idea what the deburring tool looked like but it's the pinkish conical stony-feeling thing that lives among the dozens of other mystery attachments at the bottom of the box. That one.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorurt3XXa24dGWBfZxZPeM_VkCUpHjpKkau0IBW5X-cywgw3tS_c4CT-ShpZw4EAfsU-Fs3TbyV-ld99vzCZL1G_5-f_vc_v0A-1men5TnqAIZ5AeSux3DTV5_p23iaxC-CSgQMn-Vw/s1600/dremel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorurt3XXa24dGWBfZxZPeM_VkCUpHjpKkau0IBW5X-cywgw3tS_c4CT-ShpZw4EAfsU-Fs3TbyV-ld99vzCZL1G_5-f_vc_v0A-1men5TnqAIZ5AeSux3DTV5_p23iaxC-CSgQMn-Vw/s320/dremel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That's </i>what it's for!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, finally, finally, give it a couple of coats of paint. I've read that a black roof is preferable because of the heat absorbency properties (the sun will heat the roof quickly, which will then transfer faster in to the firewood, getting it warmer faster so even if the sun goes in the wood is already as warm as it can get)... but in any event it looks pretty smart too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was tempted to use Hammerite, but it's 'only' a wood store so I picked up a tin of No Nonsense No-primer Metal Paint from Screwfix and did the job with that. The only reason I didn't pre-paint the roof before fixing it in place was because I didn't want to scratch the sheets while shimmying them around and I also wanted to paint over the screws and caps so everything would blend together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doing the actual painting wasn't easy given the awkward balancing act, but the roof was pretty strong so it could take a little weight as I leaned across. I didn't tap dance on it, but you know what I mean.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>And that's it!</u></span></b></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd7cyDZ5YEFgL2OeWnluXQ2O7Mai8jp7xYAEzmJAdTFbEddlYu1xyTOVVtWlNw44uq9FHxHN50mPOOAoG1tfaphggklCjkydERj7Zn4cR58TD4o2HpabEz50IUrbUG8-Z8k-ieAVfmA/s1600/black_roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd7cyDZ5YEFgL2OeWnluXQ2O7Mai8jp7xYAEzmJAdTFbEddlYu1xyTOVVtWlNw44uq9FHxHN50mPOOAoG1tfaphggklCjkydERj7Zn4cR58TD4o2HpabEz50IUrbUG8-Z8k-ieAVfmA/s640/black_roof.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As has been pointed out many-a-time, it doesn't look level at all - I know.<br />
But the wall isn't level and the base heads off in a different direction altogether.<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The woodshed, believe it or not, is perfectly nominally level.</span><br />
I should've boxed-in the bit between the base and the ground, though. It looks a bit tatty as it is so I might take a look in the summer. Nevertheless this is the finished wood store, the only difference being that I retrospectively added about 10 horizontal slats to the central partition once I realised I needed them - which is when it was already half-full of wood.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Building a woodshed with pallets is a big and time-consuming job but it's not all that difficult when it comes down to it. If you're not in a rush to get it finished, take the time to take your time. Think about how you want it to look when it's done, how much effort you're willing to put in to it and how much money you want to spend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You could theoretically do it for absolutely nothing but if you want a few bells and whistles it'll cost as much as you want it to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All-in our woodshed cost somewhere around the £50 or £60 mark, but that was mainly because I had the probably-mistaken belief that the wood stain should be 'quality' (I got Sadolin), and we forked out a little for guttering... which we may or may not have been accidentally undercharged for. We already had the water butt, not that it's being used for an actual purpose other than to finish the drainpipe off. I've already had to empty it three times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The very last job is to fill the wood store, but don't underestimate the effort needed to get there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been chopping and chainsawing wood for a week and I've done my back in twice. I've also become weirdly precious about my wood pile - we've had the fire on tonight for the first time in two months and I didn't want to spoil my creation by taking logs off it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm really going to have to have a word with myself about that.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AqeqZ8UNhF8ksY3MLzE9TO9QW5b3cCFtRErLhgVg3li4Jcvs9eHgtXcKmqVEwmWv14jQPCC1bwTYRprRzoCjmCWDi28W9ANcv5rcZs6Qmuf_poy3Ij1xTAiIcRzRHN-nzOIfIL41Tg/s1600/full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AqeqZ8UNhF8ksY3MLzE9TO9QW5b3cCFtRErLhgVg3li4Jcvs9eHgtXcKmqVEwmWv14jQPCC1bwTYRprRzoCjmCWDi28W9ANcv5rcZs6Qmuf_poy3Ij1xTAiIcRzRHN-nzOIfIL41Tg/s640/full.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">SamTheDog popped over yesterday. His help was somewhat limited.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the wood in the bay on the far right was bought-in and is ready to be used. There wasn't quite enough to fill the bay so I tried making a fancy pattern with it to show the three 'stacks' inside.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The jury is still out on whether it works or not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next bay contains another three levels of firewood, all of which was chopped by hand so it's a little bit rougher than the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">first lot. The full bay at the other end holds two layers of that manky, wormy stuff which needs 18 months to season and the emptyish bay currently contains a bunch of sticks I don't quite know what to do with, but I'm booked in to help chop down a few trees on Monday with Trevor and his friend, so I'll see what I can get in the back of the ManTruck.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
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<b style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>EDIT</u>: Tuesday, April 5</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was only one tree - an 80-year-old sycamore. I managed to get a little bit of it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa2re-JF-7VeYkoa9B8kHXgeF_pj63tqfjlwBx8uG0__x_jnDWFqtszXdOI5xNqbY6NyixEWEMBPaDM0Y2yTKHN6n7mcwnJ8XLdD92VMMKYWoNwIDW_CLzTTrwxiF_p0nlwl2-TjhlQ/s1600/tree.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa2re-JF-7VeYkoa9B8kHXgeF_pj63tqfjlwBx8uG0__x_jnDWFqtszXdOI5xNqbY6NyixEWEMBPaDM0Y2yTKHN6n7mcwnJ8XLdD92VMMKYWoNwIDW_CLzTTrwxiF_p0nlwl2-TjhlQ/s640/tree.gif" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbczQ-jRa6bZKydY6a01VhNS6pgHnRgqGeaULTyrojjVdiXXYJtp4rj1wPQB-Xuiyd4CIjgPQZJESMID6sya1deGkWf8KJfPPNukrjK2YCwuu6KMJPErLZmHq98MLrBNGGWDtZLCB3DQ/s1600/megawood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbczQ-jRa6bZKydY6a01VhNS6pgHnRgqGeaULTyrojjVdiXXYJtp4rj1wPQB-Xuiyd4CIjgPQZJESMID6sya1deGkWf8KJfPPNukrjK2YCwuu6KMJPErLZmHq98MLrBNGGWDtZLCB3DQ/s640/megawood.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make that <i>almost all of it</i><br />
We're gonna need a bigger boat</td></tr>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-75491329772958861972016-03-22T00:44:00.001+00:002016-04-07T20:03:31.335+01:00Going right off the boil<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's not often you get a job like this where the boiler is totally ****ed and you need to get a new one," laughed the heating repair man as he adjusted the drawstring on his Stetson, holstered his six-shooter, snatched £40 from my trembling grasp then galloped off into the sunset.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And he wasn't even on a horse.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZL9Igj8Car0cc81q21VZCYmtGEhSPO8x_C5qU2RV9w4LkSWXua5cEyhW5LFPBUxZQZUBg0o_S1dBaNymA7yPeL9GiUJdwRKTE0VBpmGtsE95LDXNvrvHEZiS0x_4Yzj1uA4HF_0lbQ/s1600/dining_room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHZL9Igj8Car0cc81q21VZCYmtGEhSPO8x_C5qU2RV9w4LkSWXua5cEyhW5LFPBUxZQZUBg0o_S1dBaNymA7yPeL9GiUJdwRKTE0VBpmGtsE95LDXNvrvHEZiS0x_4Yzj1uA4HF_0lbQ/s400/dining_room.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RIP Old Oily<br />
2006 - 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, like the late, great toupee-</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">headed trickster Paul Daniels (and the kitchen door security light) our oil-fired heating system has sadly passed away. <i>Jusht like that</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember happier times back in 2014 when we first met the boiler. Old Oily.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There it was, all massive and lonely in the corner by the Dining Room chimney breast, looking for all the world like a washing machine which had eaten another washing machine, and like a nervous puppy we took it under our wing and lavished love, attention and heaps of cash upon its oversized, neglected innards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was serviced by a <i>Man Who Knew What He Was Doing</i>; a great big red metal drum which contained some kind of important diaphragm was replaced; the vital and hideously expensive tiger loop thing outside was replaced with a brand new one which looks like a spaceship; settings were adjusted and tweaks were made and eventually, over a remarkably extended period of time, we brought it spluttering back to life, filling the house with the welcome and comforting aroma of thick, choking diesel fumes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we had heat and we had hot water which was, quite <i>lid</i>erally, on tap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Granted, at least half of the radiators had been removed and the hot water tap in the bathroom had to be turned on and off with molegrips, but there was an element of comfort that was well worth something in the region of 600 English pounds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But after a couple of months of toasty bliss and shafts of sunlight piercing the haze of blue fumes, the Halcyon Days were over. Trouble was coming.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHjuQ3ek69VhbZxLFSKvnAdGsJbmYtRrZKL_qvlzy6V4i4eM6d2PW7C37Q8xnjyXzi05x60dJjfZc2566odOd5LbGCgPMPq0XabsTY8Q_yrnKKPzBa4Gk4yfIiklE1jnAnkekkqDFtg/s1600/fitted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHjuQ3ek69VhbZxLFSKvnAdGsJbmYtRrZKL_qvlzy6V4i4eM6d2PW7C37Q8xnjyXzi05x60dJjfZc2566odOd5LbGCgPMPq0XabsTY8Q_yrnKKPzBa4Gk4yfIiklE1jnAnkekkqDFtg/s640/fitted.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boiler was fitted exactly 10 years and one day before it was declared dead. How weird is that?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all started a couple of months ago when the hot water began playing silly buggers. Water of the required temperature would come from the taps for all of 30 seconds before rapidly flash-freezing our fingers, so anything we needed to do with any element of warmth needed to be over within a very short period of time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But hot water wasn't a huge problem because we could boil the kettle for the dishes and the shower is electric. The only annoyance was washing our hands in Arctic ice-melt, but it was something we could live with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the lime plastering started we had to switch the heating itself off so the screed didn't dry out too quickly but after a couple of weeks of depressingly-cold temperatures in the house (4C at midday, anyone?) we negotiated for the heating to come on low for one hour, three times a day, which it did for a couple of weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then it didn't. And it hasn't ever since. The Big End has gone <i>kaputt</i> and there's no hot water at all now either. It was just a £500 pump too far.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">RIP fella - at least we tried, even though we could have bought most of a new boiler for what we paid to have you resurrected. You ungrateful lump of useless <strike>s</strike>crap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We can only assume that we upset Old Oily by getting gas hooked up to the house some weeks ago. It was the last straw for it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6Etl287r4Z1bdVy_3zgSj3fqnP3ZyNLpA1VykQuxlFTScg9Hwtb_QJr0gUObhC8XJ828ZaAJZI6jtldNLAL-gHi4YVnv6zlg9TGTbWWO-y3TO6VL_VG9SRYZ2IHpjuerxdvPzZNGLA/s1600/traffic_lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6Etl287r4Z1bdVy_3zgSj3fqnP3ZyNLpA1VykQuxlFTScg9Hwtb_QJr0gUObhC8XJ828ZaAJZI6jtldNLAL-gHi4YVnv6zlg9TGTbWWO-y3TO6VL_VG9SRYZ2IHpjuerxdvPzZNGLA/s400/traffic_lights.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As demonstrated by the picture, rush hour outside The Lodge<br />
was chaotic for a full week. The work itself took half a day.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I didn't blog about it at the time but, very briefly, before we moved here we made the daft mistake of assuming that if gas </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">could </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">be routed here, it would have been done by now. All of the other properties in the area are on oil and there's a large customer base around here for a reason, so getting connected to gas would either be impossible or ridiculously expensive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then while Dawn was <strike>bored</strike> between jobs at work one day she made a phone call to the National Grid, just on a whim.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turned out that not only did the main gas pipe for the village a mile down the road pass within 10ft of our boundary wall, but connecting to it would cost the measly sum of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">£265. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why hadn't we checked nine months earlier???</i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we got connected before they changed their minds, and even though it's just a blanked-off pipe coming through the wall with nothing on the end of it, a gas supply forms a huge part of our long-term Kitchen extension plan.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslT1NoHhLOqDEV3jwdlMq4iouvPVY_f5SOlZE7QicZqeUCq6G2r154VK2zf-SxAPw3OulbILf9TVX4g78I1HNT63NC7ImCiSFoJaW0eyamaY05qLOGpKYoORGSptxuHnuOtCADkUAYQ/s1600/tab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslT1NoHhLOqDEV3jwdlMq4iouvPVY_f5SOlZE7QicZqeUCq6G2r154VK2zf-SxAPw3OulbILf9TVX4g78I1HNT63NC7ImCiSFoJaW0eyamaY05qLOGpKYoORGSptxuHnuOtCADkUAYQ/s640/tab.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good idea, mate. Get that cigarette lit good and proper.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>And here lies the point of this post - and there <i>is </i>one, believe it or not: don't assume anything. It makes an ass out of you and anyone else you can pin it on. It doesn't matter how convinced you are about something, check to be sure.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So now we need to have some discussions about what to do and when.</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do we get a cheap interim oil-fired boiler from eBay and have our friendly regular repair man (who found an ideal one online as he was telling me the bad news) install it until we're ready for a gas boiler? That's what he's done at home and he saved around £2,000 on new.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or do we get a new gas boiler in now? But where would it go? The Kitchen is way too small to take it, even on the wall, and it's hardly ideal in the Dining Room, which is still being used as a dust-collecting storage room anyway. As well as that we want to extend the Kitchen, so how would we figure that in?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A third option is to sit it out, hope the weather improves, and see where we're at in the summer when plans may have moved on a bit.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't care what we do as long as I can one day have hands that are both clean and warm at the same time and I don't have to stand in the shower for 90 minutes just to thaw my eyes out. Small luxuries and all that.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOG9F3QrguMVzYGGLzCz60phBXCiBHVjTy8UZZ-Wqr0VViAc9ZUJ5Lm8h5EmEnw0jOZWyIcJkoWDqu7HwZ8cnuGafLmILJUpuXlwYpu4nXqzcGREa_JdClNIxu9Ca_WJ68FG8X9kIog/s1600/gas_outlet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOG9F3QrguMVzYGGLzCz60phBXCiBHVjTy8UZZ-Wqr0VViAc9ZUJ5Lm8h5EmEnw0jOZWyIcJkoWDqu7HwZ8cnuGafLmILJUpuXlwYpu4nXqzcGREa_JdClNIxu9Ca_WJ68FG8X9kIog/s320/gas_outlet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All that bother for a piddly little pipe in the wall</td></tr>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-38448301828074110512016-03-13T21:54:00.000+00:002016-04-07T20:03:01.069+01:00Fox hunting again - lines are crossed<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Before I begin</u>:</b> Pest control is perfectly legal, and that's fine. Foxes are regarded as pests and can therefore be killed, and that's fine too. I am not against the killing of foxes in a quick, humane manner. It has to be done, so just shoot 'em. Full stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What I <i>am </i>against is the jolly old British tradition of hunting foxes with packs of hounds, which is quite rightly against the law of this land.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think it's a cruel, torturous way for a terrified fox to die as it is chased relentlessly through the undergrowth then literally torn limb from limb the moment it makes a mistake. I don't <i>care </i>what the Countryside Alliance thinks and I don't <i>care </i>about what legalisation would do for rural economies, hunting foxes with hounds is wrong.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77OD5g5o9UqZs3BbW3nQ2ok79tDB8IeUjZXmxFO0THJtAn2LSrcFzqOHyKQLbrx2D8HXifpiSHRx2yCGFs-8g-LkoZsyFp5GSi8cV5_JneEA0o5TRoohdhM3VojCOp8huUY7IQ7wYQQ/s1600/stream_img.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77OD5g5o9UqZs3BbW3nQ2ok79tDB8IeUjZXmxFO0THJtAn2LSrcFzqOHyKQLbrx2D8HXifpiSHRx2yCGFs-8g-LkoZsyFp5GSi8cV5_JneEA0o5TRoohdhM3VojCOp8huUY7IQ7wYQQ/s320/stream_img.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deadly serious: me and Dawn yesterday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That said, I uphold another British tradition by protesting quietly under my breath and not actually doing anything about it. I don't lay false trails, I don't protest at meets with a crackly loudhailer turned up to 11 and misspelled placard and I don't drag bugling horsemen off their trusty steeds and beat seven shades out of them, using their blood as warpaint in front of the world's media and gaggles of baton-wielding police officers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I pretty much just keep it to myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm telling you this so you don't go thinking that I'm a sandal-wearing, yoghurt-weaving type of tree-hugging, handcuffed-to-railings nutjob - I'm just a regular bloke who can't see any justification whatsoever for hunting foxes with hounds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, now I've told you that, go and read my post from November about <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2015/11/taking-stand-against-fox-hunting.html" target="_blank">the first time our local hunt barreled through unannounced</a> and my reaction to it...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...welcome back. The quick update is that we had our suspicions confirmed that there was nothing we could really do about the hunt coming through, so we decided to let them get on with it. Nobody said we couldn't <i>try </i>though either - it was more a case of shrugged shoulders and vaguery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As promised, the Hunt Master dropped by a few days before the next hunt was due just to give us fair warning, and we (Dawn, too) had a chat and a bit of polite laughter while making it clear that while we don't condone the activity we're prepared to be civil for the sake of peace. This has happened three or four times over the last few months and sometimes we hear or see the hunt running past the end of the front garden or don't catch them at all. They haven't entered the estate through our gates again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In retrospect - and I was kind of aware I was doing this at the time while deliberately not dwelling on it - I had somehow convinced myself that the hunt was just following pre-laid scent trails and the dogs were getting a good run out. A bit of fresh air. In the back of my mind I knew differently, of course, but it was the only way I could stay calm about it all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yesterday's hunt turned everything on its head, though, and for perhaps the first time in my life I have consciously decided to stick up for my principles instead of rolling over and pretending they're not there because it's less hassle. Such was the significance of the occasion that I forgot to get any proper photos, so CCTV screenies will have to do. Sorry about that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all started normally, with the Hunt Master forewarning us a few days ago that they might be around on Saturday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yesterday afternoon came about, somewhere around half four, and we were both outside when we heard bugling from the woods so we stood at the top of the trail leading away from The Lodge to watch. I have to admit that the sight of a full hunt powering through is one to behold if you put aside any moral objections.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hunt was pretty scattered, which is seemingly normal, and one huntsman appeared at the bottom of the track and plodded his horse up to stand with us while the rest of his group sorted themselves out.</span><br />
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil59isRkUMkvVOqWfKnpT190UD2SXSGgeZM-fSPLjeOIzFe0SLzfcbMzo1ZFfg36f0u4VhB16UUZYkFW94aD0tAUy3euwl4ghjSku2c8EmDjoAUxRqyz_50Fl9SVKEkIBpf_pkXjMU-A/s1600/quads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil59isRkUMkvVOqWfKnpT190UD2SXSGgeZM-fSPLjeOIzFe0SLzfcbMzo1ZFfg36f0u4VhB16UUZYkFW94aD0tAUy3euwl4ghjSku2c8EmDjoAUxRqyz_50Fl9SVKEkIBpf_pkXjMU-A/s640/quads.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The arrival of the cavalry<br />
We're stood in the top right corner - you can just see a pair of feet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We did the polite chatter thing again, then a few minutes later two quad bikes came along another track and joined us. Four people were aboard the quads, two older blokes, one younger bloke and an older woman. Every one of them a pig-squealing redneck.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When they motored off down the track and in to the trees, we asked the huntsman what part they played on the hunt. His answer was vague at best and he didn't really commit. Maybe something to do with dogs... maybe not... nice day, isn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right then a fox came running like hell through the undergrowth, crossing the track right in front of us and crashing off in to the trees.</span><br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3Joo0CLgon-0rfTWAPOBIKlJZMn3hWO3564P0WRu6UuFAWoogL5-rkxM49h-kPvcO6IeHhGQzb3RoKtkQur-7LyR7Pwc9Hw6anU3Ly9XP53IfWMDBFb0KtymQ2c-Vb48gxYd4i8QIw/s1600/running_fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3Joo0CLgon-0rfTWAPOBIKlJZMn3hWO3564P0WRu6UuFAWoogL5-rkxM49h-kPvcO6IeHhGQzb3RoKtkQur-7LyR7Pwc9Hw6anU3Ly9XP53IfWMDBFb0KtymQ2c-Vb48gxYd4i8QIw/s640/running_fox.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Caught on our front garden cheapo NatureCam CCTV, this is what a petrified fox looks like when it's running for its life.<br />
It crossed the track in front of us a few seconds later, followed 30 seconds after that by a hound.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I'm not sorry to say this, but I lost the plot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was no time for me to consider my reaction, no time to think about what to say - I lost it in an instant.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of a sudden I effing <i>hated </i>the man on the horse beside us and I hated everything he represented. Never in my life have I experienced such a sudden surge of... what? Revulsion? I literally started to feel sick and developed a pain right across my stomach. All of a sudden my passive compliance was out the window. In fact I was so angry that I was close to tears - do you get that? You're not sad or scared but you're </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">suddenly </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">so </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">furious </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that your unconscious reaction is to blub? That's me. I hate it. I'd be a terrible professional boxer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always with sudden adrenaline rushes, I don't really remember what I <strike>said</strike> shouted in his general direction but I strode off down the track at the same time ready to take on every hound with my bare hands before it got past me. Fortunately the main pack was crossing the track further down, but one hound was right on the fox's scent and followed in its wake 30 seconds later only to be faced by a mental version of me, screaming and waving my arms at it. It ran off in a different direction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I continued shouting and gesticulating wildly at the huntsman while fending off a confrontation-hating Dawn as she tried to calm me down and he quickly left the scene without another word, presumably before I could locate a weapon. I managed to inform his firmly-turned back that I'd had enough of being polite and I'd be closing and locking the gates whenever I know they're out from now on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then, in something of a surprise move, Dawn left too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She wandered straight ahead in to the trees without saying a thing and vanished for 20 minutes. She didn't even look back. It was like a preamble to a bad psychological thriller.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turned out that whereas my lovely wife was in full agreement with the sentiment of my message, the range of words I chose to use from my otherwise pretty extensive vocabulary was somewhat limited and, often, too 'specialist'. And loud. The delivery was perhaps a little off too. She wasn't terribly pleased with me for that, but that wasn't why she wandered off - she wanted to give me time to settle down while she looked for fox remains in order to justify blasting a blunderbuss at the hunt next time it passed through.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She didn't find any, but she did hear suspicious human noises coming from the undergrowth a short distance away... so we went to investigate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The noises were at the end of the quad bike tracks in the grass, off the path in a secluded part of the woods behind thick rows of rhododendron. Voices, chopping, snapping branches... manual labour sounds. But there was no way to find out what was going on without being totally obvious about it and putting ourselves at potential risk. Anecdotal accounts that I've heard over the years from people who actually know these things suggest that hunt participants can be just as... er... <i>defensive and unpredictable</i> as their saboteur counterparts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then, as luck would have it, we heard the quad bike engines start up so we did what any fully-grown adults would do and ran away to hide in the trees with our hoods up as they drove on by.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7l9GCEUhBOFUExKwRlRQw3WanuQfhDi7uBZI-xA0nBDftJrnGHyjWkLHS153KcR9D-x4yEewH6aWFcD_nG5BYVlgYkJBQGISrihFq-eS5JpYXwdr7BqEcuttikq4zMoSkIuSKpQiNRw/s1600/entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7l9GCEUhBOFUExKwRlRQw3WanuQfhDi7uBZI-xA0nBDftJrnGHyjWkLHS153KcR9D-x4yEewH6aWFcD_nG5BYVlgYkJBQGISrihFq-eS5JpYXwdr7BqEcuttikq4zMoSkIuSKpQiNRw/s400/entrance.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured from inside the enclosure looking out, the<br />
only pathway to and from the den was crudely hidden<br />
from view with pulled-over foliage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The area of rhododendron they had been in was kind of horseshoe-shaped, with one way in and one way out, which the people had tried to hide by pulling foliage across the entrance. Beyond the 'barrier' (being careful not to step in any traps) we found five large entrances to what appeared to be a reasonably-sized earth. Four of the fox holes had been dug out but there was no blood, no bodies and no signs of anything violent having taken place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we took some photographs then went back home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now here's the thing: Which, if any, laws have been broken?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organised hunts like this aren't allowed to specifically target foxes with hounds, b</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ut by digging out an earth </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">while hunting with hounds is going on in the immediate area thanks to a group you're clearly <u>with</u></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, isn't the Hunt Master blatantly ignoring the law?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But here's the other thing: I know what they were up to and Dawn knows what they were up to, but everything can be easily explained away by the hunt if it came down to it. They were just out for a run with the hounds. Maybe the quads weren't part of it. Maybe the quad people had guns to shoot anything they found - it's not illegal. Maybe they thought they'd do a little ad-hoc pest control while they were out... all of that easy, indisputable bullshit which hunts no doubt rely on up and down the country all year round as they deliberately circumvent the Fox Hunting Ban.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPsMxwd8jbUMMN51edLADCM3Ft35JfwSB8JwaX1OlQfMzL5_bHPhufeh7zHgJTtk8TfPGPMLq3ZyIFFflMVLiI_ZpiRWDf78Pdm-OsK5M-4_Kd-a1i2ksjf7Gf6k7gIfjEBxmxo8XSA/s1600/foxhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPsMxwd8jbUMMN51edLADCM3Ft35JfwSB8JwaX1OlQfMzL5_bHPhufeh7zHgJTtk8TfPGPMLq3ZyIFFflMVLiI_ZpiRWDf78Pdm-OsK5M-4_Kd-a1i2ksjf7Gf6k7gIfjEBxmxo8XSA/s320/foxhole.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't exactly know the purpose of digging out fox holes<br />
without doing anything else. My thought was that they'd be<br />
back later with terriers. Either way, doing it as part of an<br />
organised hound hunt has to raise <i>some </i>questions, right?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know that there are bigger things to fret about than what effectively amounts to simple pest control, but they've pushed my buttons and I </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">want to do everything I can to disrupt them now. I want to get the police involved, lay false trails, dig a pit for the quads to fall in to, shoot stuff... but I'm not going to, no matter how angry it has made me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless I'll still unleash my tiny anarchic side next time they pass through - I'll not only be closing the gate but I'll lock it this time, too. Even if the horses don't always come through that way, it'll still mess things up for the quads and other hangers-on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">EDIT</span> (March 19)</b> - The word '<i>Terriermen' </i>has been mentioned to me. Not being a country boy I had never heard of them. Terriermen. Apparently it's a real word.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's what they were.</span><br />
<br />
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-34366092150647922112016-03-05T12:04:00.000+00:002016-04-26T10:19:21.662+01:00Beep... beep... beeeeeeeep!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've found one!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I mentioned a few days ago that I'd bought a Garrett Ace 250 metal detector so I could go digging for history around The Lodge, the first decent find from which was an <a href="http://www.incubatormore.co.uk/2016/02/digging-for-buried-treasure.html" target="_blank">aluminium thimble</a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That simple thing - probably given away as a promotional item around the beginning of 1900 - kept us smiling for days, but it wasn't <i>quite</i> enough.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because I'm an uncomplicated kind of chap the whole point of me getting the metal detector was to find coins. For me, coins represent the passage of time and history in a way that <i>things</i> can't do.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They're minted in a particular year which is clearly stated (unless you go even further back in time), then spend the rest of their lives being passed around by maybe hundreds or thousands of people as they go about their daily lives. Coins would be used to pay rent or wages or be offered in exchange for bread, meats, cleaning products, Calvert's Carbolic Tooth Powder, jewellery, clothing... stuff to make peoples' lives better or prettier or easier or whatever. None of this internet banking lark. No debit cards or contactless payments. Pah. These are from a time when cash was king.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It just feels like there's more <i>life</i> in old coins. Does that make sense or am I talking rubbish?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyaa7vmA5A5dlnGkWAzZA445luWeFFqfKbxoDfOpYkajckQxpZM-xzHizgK84GF_xXbW8mLUWg29Mi99Bni8v4wjPM8n9vJCWlSSFMMiVN4OmVAOwby1-3ho_RJXVt4nDHEX5w8yCbw/s1600/penny+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyaa7vmA5A5dlnGkWAzZA445luWeFFqfKbxoDfOpYkajckQxpZM-xzHizgK84GF_xXbW8mLUWg29Mi99Bni8v4wjPM8n9vJCWlSSFMMiVN4OmVAOwby1-3ho_RJXVt4nDHEX5w8yCbw/s320/penny+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Georgivs V couldn't even spell his own name</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, I've found one!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After nigh-on 100 years buried in the mud, along comes an idiot with a fancy machine that he can't use properly and suddenly it's back in the daylight. I know metal detectorists treat such finds with little more than idle curiosity once they get used to digging them up, but for Dawn and I it's perfect and hopefully the first of many.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The obverse (I've been Googling) is in good condition and clearly shows that it's a George V copper penny, complete with monster moustache, which places it between 1911 and 1936.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The reverse is in poor condition, but you can just make out Britannia and the fact that there's a date there too, but it's very unclear. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've given it a brief rub with a vinegar and salt mixture, which has lifted some of the grime and decay, but it's still not entirely clear - 1916? That would certainly be a happy coincidence.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless it's now soaking in olive oil for a few days, which also apparently helps, and hopefully I'll be able to read it better towards the end of next week. I'll update this post with new pictures when I can but in the meantime I might set up a 'metal detecting finds' page so I don't have to bore everyone with tales of my latest Tizer can ring-pull whenever one makes an appearance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>EDIT - I made the page then I ditched it. I've run out of land to detect so while I write to local farmers for permission to roam their land and wait for their replies (I'm expecting it to take months) I've loaned the metal detector to a friend.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5kBBjbmypfA5745wC7HP1aHNQIuXNMlgsga-HXtM8SNFM2l9AC3MQOpG-Cs4eXe-7W29WgTQ3cZgSbPVM_S1Yd0mfukc7o6gqLQb0cOWvYa8icf-k_0F30b1YyfFbG8zFncX70snyg/s1600/penny+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5kBBjbmypfA5745wC7HP1aHNQIuXNMlgsga-HXtM8SNFM2l9AC3MQOpG-Cs4eXe-7W29WgTQ3cZgSbPVM_S1Yd0mfukc7o6gqLQb0cOWvYa8icf-k_0F30b1YyfFbG8zFncX70snyg/s640/penny+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1916, maybe?</td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>EDIT (March 10)</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After posting this I decided to give the coin a brief soak in the salt/vinegar solution - just 10 minutes or so... then went to bed. Needless to say I'd made a right mess of it, with dull grey blotches, green patches and general unpleasantness on both faces. Not only was the tarnish still there but it was 10x worse. The only area of tarnish to come away encompassed the date, so it seems the pic above was always going to be the best I could get.My first coin (discounting a 1988 2p)... I was gutted. So I Googled again, where it seems the best advice is that less is more when it comes to cleaning. Toothbrush, water, nothing more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But if you <i>have </i>to clean them up electrolysis is, apparently, the answer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So having knocked together a DIY electrolysis bath out of an old 12v phone charger, some alligator clips, salty water and a spoon I left the coin fizzing away for a couple of hours. Of course when I say 'left', what I mean is 'switched off and checked obsessively every two minutes'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite losing the date altogether the result is actually very good. I'm delighted that I've managed to save the coin and keep the it nice to look at.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">George himself looks good (although to be fair he also looked good with the black 'just found' patina too. Britannia, on the other hand, has come up a treat. She could barely be seen originally but now you can certainly make her out, especially in the right light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, enough of this. Photos.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrPhyphenhyphenX7xitTGKwvPtmWwYxU6zYYdNXcObLJrWcpW45eRF3KffunM7EDgRJbVwX8kN0XiOVV3Sk3XFwZDNuE2ScPu_JFDwCVSDtso9caIWC9RosGj4msIr251fo2u5bh3ML3Mn3ntN3g/s1600/electric_head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrPhyphenhyphenX7xitTGKwvPtmWwYxU6zYYdNXcObLJrWcpW45eRF3KffunM7EDgRJbVwX8kN0XiOVV3Sk3XFwZDNuE2ScPu_JFDwCVSDtso9caIWC9RosGj4msIr251fo2u5bh3ML3Mn3ntN3g/s640/electric_head.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyrEVfavur4cwdcf9gu0SlZAZzHTtPH7FgahQhnhdOBYdf5rrEwU9iCJ9fLiKAcG2w-I12f_UhSJ8tyQhyphenhyphenU-IIjSdILTA-YqSODfYH2tkWMl2PuL5UaVazVFd-yf2BTs1ixydcNneVg/s1600/electric_tails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyrEVfavur4cwdcf9gu0SlZAZzHTtPH7FgahQhnhdOBYdf5rrEwU9iCJ9fLiKAcG2w-I12f_UhSJ8tyQhyphenhyphenU-IIjSdILTA-YqSODfYH2tkWMl2PuL5UaVazVFd-yf2BTs1ixydcNneVg/s640/electric_tails.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPVPEuVwIVd6F2vzzxp4-_S6CIxQhOvSZEg-gWxaEuHQc1_fX6m4XSsJ2ZO1X7xr4eb2RMRuMq8xO0qU9sgiPSBvbpUjW7J78R09b7qKASBIIX8oztdZ4N8-S-vZODMhEPvnOmvvMuA/s1600/pennypennny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPVPEuVwIVd6F2vzzxp4-_S6CIxQhOvSZEg-gWxaEuHQc1_fX6m4XSsJ2ZO1X7xr4eb2RMRuMq8xO0qU9sgiPSBvbpUjW7J78R09b7qKASBIIX8oztdZ4N8-S-vZODMhEPvnOmvvMuA/s320/pennypennny.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How she would have looked in happier days</td></tr>
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7566978443523529414.post-80651158968082701222016-02-29T09:16:00.000+00:002016-04-07T20:02:40.577+01:00Digging for buried treasure<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back when I was a kid and still in 'explorer' mode, I persuaded my parents to buy me a metal detector so I could make them rich and they could buy me a bike.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_NtlDArqW3GgBqUbUUMFom-nkDuH9uPBk5oYi7sP2qazC8MZz1JG0gzO6zjPnH3nHvinFZB5TIB_AQ02i1cr8S2oNzcp1Au9D1KIEJmLmAA27bWQYlT-Qc51a7xq0zN44B-Z5Qw7bg/s1600/garrett+ace+250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Garrett Ace 250" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_NtlDArqW3GgBqUbUUMFom-nkDuH9uPBk5oYi7sP2qazC8MZz1JG0gzO6zjPnH3nHvinFZB5TIB_AQ02i1cr8S2oNzcp1Au9D1KIEJmLmAA27bWQYlT-Qc51a7xq0zN44B-Z5Qw7bg/s400/garrett+ace+250.jpg" title="Garrett Ace 250" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garrett Ace 250</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have no idea what kind it was but it was cheap, it was blue, it made noises and it gave me an excuse to get muddy, so naturally it was brilliant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My only memory of using it, other than a vague recollection of trawling the beach for pennies, is when my folks - <i>totally </i>illegally - took me and it to Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands to look for Irn Bru cans dropped during the massacre in 1692.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After 10 drizzle-soaked minutes I found a rusty old beer barrel hoop at the bottom of a tree, then got bored, went home and gave the metal detector away. The hoop stayed where it was and we weren't gaoled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, a mere 30-some years later and with a small patch of historic land I can legitimately call my own, I'm back. And I'm packing a Garrett Ace 250, which is apparently perfect for a newbie like me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Moving here has given us an appreciation for the history of the property, so the promise of literally unearthing a piece of it is too good to resist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The metal detector</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> might be £175 but it'll be completely worth it if I find just one Victorian or Georgian coin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first spin around the place ended with the Ace 250</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> going bananas for no apparent reason and refusing to power-up, so it went back and was replaced a few days ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This time the new one is behaving better, but I've read that getting to know how it responds to different triggers is a steep learning curve - and that's proving to be true. Often it beeps once but won't repeat it, many times I get a beep which seems to move around like I'm chasing a robot mouse and on other occasions it'll insist there's a horde of treasure beneath my feet only to petulantly stop beeping altogether when I've dug a crater big enough to bury an elephant.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The garden, yesterday</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless I </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">have</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> been finding stuff: a 5ft length of bent iron bar; a lump of lead with a bolt in it; a nail; acres of chicken wire and three small calibre bullet casings. I've also found what may or may not be an original hinge from the original gate at the front, but because that was lying on the surface under a tree it doesn't really count.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But yesterday I found my first proper <i>Thing</i>, and we're well chuffed! Dawn was Googling all night about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a mostly-flattened Calvert's Carbolic Tooth Powder thimble, and at first I thought it was probably silver (I </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">wanted </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">it to be silver, too) although it has since been suggested that it could be aluminium, which sounds more likely because it was clearly a promotional freebie.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsNIkvU7oMftP-FWyhiCVZkWoD-GUzsSqjFQi6shtq_0CIJTHKyzKtAsH8m8TWNXvqzVdVLWYEIHGSVP2K28VCnu7A_4BW13uwAf0wpmcTu4tdV_I0j9AO078cewbRplLluXzwXEwTw/s1600/thimble1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsNIkvU7oMftP-FWyhiCVZkWoD-GUzsSqjFQi6shtq_0CIJTHKyzKtAsH8m8TWNXvqzVdVLWYEIHGSVP2K28VCnu7A_4BW13uwAf0wpmcTu4tdV_I0j9AO078cewbRplLluXzwXEwTw/s400/thimble1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thimble, left</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If that's the case I reckon it's possibly dated somewhere between the last few years of the 1890s and the first few years of the 1900s because it seems that aluminium production in Britain sky-rocketed around the cusp of the new century (with prices dropping accordingly), and the latest Calvert's advertising I can find that uses the logo enclosing the 'a' inside the 'C' is around 1908.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, see the little star on the picture below? It's only used to mark the beginning and end of the legend, but over a century later it looks very much like a Star of David to me. Back then, presumably, once the symbol could be mistaken for signifying Judaism I doubt it would have been used in such a flippant manner - which again puts it somewhere in the first decade of the 20th Century at the latest. Ish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's all over-reaching guesswork, of course, but in lieu of anything concrete I'm happy to go with that for now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly that's the limit of my Calvert's thimble knowledge (should've paid attention in school) and the internet has failed in its duties to provide information about such a thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Calvert's, yes - to a point, but Calvert's thimbles, no.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we're not rich yet, and I still can't get that bike, but I'll keep looking. I won't be happy until I find my first coin. I'll let you know when it happens.</span><br />
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We just happened to have a jar of silver cleaner in the cupboard. This is the result after a <i>lot</i> of soaking.</div>
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'Powder * Cal'</div>
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The other side. Not a second thimble, dad.</div>
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(v on left edge)</div>
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'ert's CARBOLIC Tooth'</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRRD64v05xRPogu7AKnAKAg87Vet_5qKUHLwZ5EAKNF1JU4NPhulkQiaqtjZAjaNRGCFPnp1BXCIUnc0uwk8Sf0XQnVwt7TfNJGVXYNwtMmgIUwc9_lx0GLgBc8Ea-fDNLxrzbxfhww/s1600/ad1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRRD64v05xRPogu7AKnAKAg87Vet_5qKUHLwZ5EAKNF1JU4NPhulkQiaqtjZAjaNRGCFPnp1BXCIUnc0uwk8Sf0XQnVwt7TfNJGVXYNwtMmgIUwc9_lx0GLgBc8Ea-fDNLxrzbxfhww/s640/ad1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How nurses washed their big knickers in the 1880s</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TMN898_M_wdDRefCCAPolfg83u2kYDvu7iRwP5PfcmpiCXBVxFMLaqOKpRckdEikVqi0qKMlCGsDfH0wMyJtPE4nFWQPZueI55jLpIaymzahwA3h7j6uUW65Y6Oya60wELax73a9qg/s1600/ad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TMN898_M_wdDRefCCAPolfg83u2kYDvu7iRwP5PfcmpiCXBVxFMLaqOKpRckdEikVqi0qKMlCGsDfH0wMyJtPE4nFWQPZueI55jLpIaymzahwA3h7j6uUW65Y6Oya60wELax73a9qg/s640/ad2.jpg" width="411" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The '<i>I will stab you in your sleep</i>' look of the 1890s</td></tr>
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