BLOG 1💐🌸🏡 August 2015 🏠💐🌺

🏡 We found this lovely thatched cottage in Devon & decided to buy it !

 

The garage needs knocking down due to parking issues, that will clear the cottage side windows & let the sunshine in ! A gravel driveway is planned, it’s a tiny tiny garage, no proper parking in front to fit even my mini on it so has to go !

The garden is very overgrown ! A gardener is booked to clear it so will be much better !

Garden was cleared, looking much better !

Calling a thatcher (Phil) was next priorty, he called round & Andy went up the ladder too in the pouring rain ! I stood under the thatch & discovered that rain pours off everywhere, no need for drainpipes ! BUT the cottage does have drainpipes which are not connected at the top, why ? Maybe not originally a thatched roof ? Looking into that ! We do have to have some work done as thatch is thinning a bit around chimney & back of house so that will be sorted as soon as move in. Fun times coming ! 🏡🏠🏡 XX

Advertisement

BLOG 2🏡September 2015🏠

🏡   INSIDE THE COTTAGE
Before moving in……

Hallway

Reception room 1

Kitchen

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bedroom

Bedroom

Bedroom

Each room has its’ own interesting features, but all the rooms have one thing in common, COBWEBS !! The house has been closed up for over a year so cannot blame the spiders !! XX

BLOG 3🏡November 2015🏠

🏡  Brilliant, completion happened today Thursday 12th Nov 2015 ! Moved some items in but need to spend time giving a good clean, its’ been empty for over a year !

Soon the builder is starting work on the garage & knocking it down & plumber installing a new boiler, heat at last ! Knocking the garage down will make all the difference to parking next to the cottage !

Now this is interesting, the cottage was originally named ‘The XVII Century Farmhouse’, this house sign was found tucked in the garage, where shall we put it ?

Found this paperwork of an auction back to 1981 about the cottage named as above, so interesting 🏡

Need to get the house clean & get down to that coast as soon as possible ! 🏄 Yes, made it Saturday morning, Lyme Regis so empty this time in the morning !

Favourite Book Shop in Lyme Regis High Street at night ! XX

BLOG 4 🏡December 2015🏠

🏡  Went to Cottage today to check on new heating system & garage is being knocked down !

Everything seemed good with the garage, lots of rubble & soil to get rid of !

Then walked into a heated house, felt good, BUT
the kitchen had a different story awaiting us !!  As the water system had been off for over a year & now our new boiler installed & water switched back on, the bath tap upstairs had a leak & has dripped down pipework & soaked part of the kitchen ceiling !! Of course we thought it was a problem made by boiler installation but discovered this leak under the bath so quick tightening up of tap & dripping stopped, luckily ! But part of ceiling fell down, so another job and hopefully be fine to fix !

All cleared up, no need for red bucket now !

Well that was a busy day, hopefully not too many more surprises but suppose that’s what it’s all about buying such an old cottage ! 🏡

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 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