🏡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…..
🏡 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…..🏡
🏡 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
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mckenzie2015.wordpress.com
🏡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….🏡
🏡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
🏡 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 …..
🏡 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…🏡
🏡 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
🏡 Starting this blog with a ‘countryside’ photo from our bedroom window….🐮🐄
Taken out old heating tank cupboard in ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom as not needed….
Beam uncovered & original wall exposed, new flooring has been started, stripping out the wooden floorboards and repairing couple of supports underneath, treating them and finishing off with flooring, decided on carpet in the bedrooms.
Put up temporary ceiling in kitchen, if you remember part fell down after a bath tap leaking through from upstairs when water was switched on for first time after a year & half being an empty house, soaked through kitchen ceiling and there you go, ceiling on floor !!
This last week of May we thought we should be painting the rest of that outside wall of the house…
but we are only visiting for a day so this is what we decided instead….to get on with the patio area so we moved the Summer House or Beach Hut as I like to think of it ! What a job that was, all in a day ! From one corner to this area was a challenge, emptied it out first ( it’s acting as a shed at the moment ) and moved each panel and put back together in right area…..actually it’s where the outside toilet used to be !
Base down, after removing broken toilet !
All complete !
And the view….🏡
Until next time….enjoy 🏡 Oh forgot one other thing, decided we wanted the pheasants tails up instead of down, they now look happier !!
🏡A New Year starts….🏡 
Seaton Beach looking good🐾🐕 
Chickens are still laying, all the books say they take a break during Winter, but reckon as they were late starters –November– then maybe that’s the reason they haven’t stopped ? Grateful to the chickens still for all these eggs🐔🐓🐔 
🐓Look at this tiny, tiny egg 🆒🐔 
What do you reckon on the weird egg ? Didn’t use it ! 
🐓Porridge for breakfast🐔 
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🐏🐑Can I say hello 🐏🐑
Lovely Lyme Regis on a calm day..🏖 
☔BUT the difference on a very WET day !!🐾🐕🐶☔ oh dear ! 
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Devon UK Countryside Living & close to the Seaside too 🏡💐🌸🌺🌹 61 Blogs 3,104 Views tinamckenzie1.blog 