BLOG 10 🏡April 2016🏠

🏡  Decided to change the two rooms downstairs around, using the log burner when you’re not sitting in the room seemed daft so moved settees into that room, they are slightly big but fine for now….

Back out to garden as weather so good at the moment, thought next job would be to pull apart the chicken house as we are clearing that side of the garden……

BUT look what the chicken house was resting on ! Wheels …! Maybe you could move it around ?

Another shed to knock down was next to the original outside toilet ! (Will not be using that !) From this….

To this……… (that’s the toilet house !)

Problem is we’ve got to get rid of three huge piles of brambles, trees & wood now !! Now it’s lucky across the road lives a neighbour who has a tree cutting/garden clearance & shredder company so when we ready it can go ! Oh and that’s where we get our fresh eggs too ! Handy eh !

Garden looking much clearer on this side now, gained metres due to those nasty brambles, you can see in photo how much gained & where the original chicken house stood.

Well that’s April photos sorted & blogged, it’s May on Sunday so here’s to next blog……thank you for reading xx

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BLOG 11 🏡August 2016🏠

🏡What ! How can it be August, its’ been 3 months since last blog, been so busy here, lots of garden clearing still happening !   Having a long break here this month so been working hard in the garden including many trips to the ‘recycling tip’ !  Thought we should ‘bag’ everything instead of piles of garden rubbish again !

The area by the ‘outside toilet’ to be cleared & made into a patio and ‘chicken area’ hopefully !

The local friendly farmer came by with his tractor to pull out horrible tree roots after a lot of digging !

New fence to be added sometime.

Marking out size for border & shingle…. small wall & concrete all chipped away.

Outside toilet swept out, bit smelly !! So much stuff in there ! Thought of using it as a chicken house but maybe not !

Looking a lot clearer across the garden. Nice views 🌲🌳🌿

New windows will be next BIG  job, on order so hopefully September time, before the winter !  Will they make the house warmer, should do !

To next blog….. ( not so long next time !) X

BLOG 12 🏡October 2016🏠

🏡Windows put in this month, the black windows looked ok but not double glazed & needed painting so new windows a great improvement, test will be when winter comes!

 Windows before:-

After :-

Side view:-

Back view:-

Ordered a new bigger oak house sign to replace worn sign on front corner of house so that will be an improvement too, it’s pitch black at night as no street lights & hard to find which house is which! 🏡 Until next blog…..

BLOG 13 🏡November 2016🏠

🏡  Recently bought a chicken coop, it’s lovely, so cute! After reading lots of information on right sort of coop to buy decided on a complete plastic version, easier to clean !  Took a while to take apart to fit in the car, got there in the end!  Just need to decide where to place it in the garden.   Looking forward to this project, with lots of chicken books on the shelf,  hoping to re-home ex-caged chickens giving them their rightful freedom.🐔🐣🐓🐥

🏡Thatcher has been booked, hopefully February time.  Quite alot of thatch is dropping off including moss, think birds have something to do with it too but does need replacing, will be a good improvement. Looking a bit thin & tired ! 🏡

So come February time,  suppose weather permitting, scaffold will go up just at the back & sides as front section of thatch not being replaced, also lead flash in between the two roofs will be ‘stepped’ as it’s flat at the moment. As lead tucks under thatch it needs to be sorted at same time. No more drips indoors onto the carpets !

🏡Until next blog…..🏡

BLOG 14🏡November 12th 2016

🏡  A YEAR AGO TODAY completion happened on our Cottage, if you haven’t already, have a read from Blog 1 and see what we’ve got up to over that year ! 🏡( really a year, where’s that gone!)

November 2015

September 2017

              🏡🌼💐🌻🏵🌺🌹🌻🌼💐🏡

          mckenzie2015.wordpress.com

BLOG 15 🏡February 2017💐🌼🌺🌸

🏡Scaffold is up all ready to make a start Monday 20th, back thatch as you can see in photo is in poor condition now so right time to replace it. Three sides are being replaced, front section is fine. May replace porch thatch too….

The velux windows will be taken out & replaced with all thatch, felt the thatch would flow better as all one piece, the windows are in two of the bedrooms but both rooms have windows so not needed. 

The ‘valley’ section between the two roofs will be repaired with new lead to drain water away properly. 

🏡Great views of the back garden up here🏡

Side view 🌲🌳

Road side view across to church, school & village hall

This is a project running for approx 6 weeks so further blogs coming very soon….🏡

BLOG 16 🏡March/April 2017

🏡Here goes, thatch coming off !

Thatch is making wonderful progress, looks so different, very neat, what a great skill to have.

Lead work between the two roofs looking much much better, no leaks now!

Remember how awful it used to look, leaking all over the place !

Look at that chimney ! Planning to get painted during thatch work 🏞

Old velux windows coming out, looking better.

How the roof looked with the windows & old thin thatch….the thatch depth should have been up & over edge of windows…. ⬇

Nicely painted facias in deep brown colour, trying to remove all the black paint. Painting the corner lights in brown too as they were black & white but all peeled off.

@tinamckenzie

BLOG 17 🏡March 2017🏠

🏡 This Monday had a company in to sand blast the black beams in the lounge, also strip the paint off the fireplace and clean stonework around it. Messy & noisy, what a mix ! 

Been told the old beam above the fireplace has black candle marks on it which you can see & this was to keep the witches away from the open fireplace ! Sometimes there are other markings but not showing any. 

What a difference it has made.

How it used to look…….

Next step is a good hoover & clean of all the walls & windows, it’s very dusty from the sand ! Then do we decorate this room before furniture comes back in ? We will see …..

BLOG 18 🏡 April – Easter Break 2wks 2017🏠

🏡  Decided to decorate lounge before moving furniture back in, it’s holiday time so have extra days to start a job & finish it ! They say it’s all in the preparation so here goes !

Dust & sand still around from the beams being sand-blasted & trying not to get paint on beam edges was fun !! Worth it in the end as that was a job worth attacking as it now looks much fresher. 

The ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom is being looked at & hopefully work will start on that & be able to use the room again. It has had water damage through the old thatch and dripped through to old airing cupboard and onto wooden floor making them lift away, also as you can see on photo the supports holding the floor are a bit short to wall, support needed for them.  Plasterboard floor will be put down and eventually will carpet the room.  That decision was made rather than wooden floor again as it will be more cozy for the bedrooms & warmer !

Thatch coming along nicely….working on front ridge now, these are ready to be added…

Then onto front porch thatch, seen better days !

Door and frame needs a rub down & will make it same colour, dark brown, as fascias, also paint inside porch with the ‘vanilla’ colour used in lounge.  Maybe add a straw Owl on top ? 

Big job lined up before scaffold comes down is to paint as much as can reach with outside paint, picked the colour ‘ parchment ‘ a creamy colour taking away the white of the house, what a job that will be !  If we get the far end wall next to the road done as it’s the highest end of the house painted, the other walls can be reached with ladder hopefully & scaffold can come down !  This is a job on sunny days & get that suntan going🌞!      Jobs, jobs, jobs…but all improvements ! I love writing ‘to do lists’ but haven’t started one yet, wonder why !! 👎

Until next time…🏡

BLOG 19🏡Last week of April 2017

🏡 Started stripping the porch ready for new thatch….

How can the porch have so much thatch on it, amazing !

Some of the wood needs replacing on roof, must also paint woodwork on door & frame, taking away the black colour.  

Painting done, black colour nearly all gone. 

These two pheasants will have pride of place on top of roof BUT a big discussion is where do they go….together or apart ?!

Decision decided, one on each ridge, so cute ! 

Look at that porch now, love it ! Notice the painted chimney and what’s that on the roof !

The cows in the field wondering what’s going on or maybe they’re not bothered!

Big job next are the outside walls to be painted a nice cream colour, what a job that will be !!  Made a start, primer first….

This side of house is high so making use of scaffold for an extra week so must get as much painted as possible this weekend !  *So managed to get top half of wall painted with primer & one coat of parchment colour, the weather wasn’t the best for one of the days !*  So must give it final coat next weekend, hopefully finish bottom half of wall too !

‘Wobbly floor’ bedroom will be sorted soon by local carpenter…..

Well it’s 1st May soon, here’s to all the May jobs on next Blog ! 🏡 Enjoy….x