🏡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….🏡
🏡 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
🏡 This is the Month we have waited for & by the end of it we’ll have moved in ! 🌞 🏖 🏝
In the garden we moved the ‘Beach Hut/Summer House to the area of the ‘outside toilet’ (Imagine when that was last used ?!) Made the patio area all clear of weeds & levelled the soil.
Andy removed concrete slabs, broke them up & put them & the other rubble into a path edge around the hut, to then fill with concrete/sand and finally shingle. The edges to hold all this in will be sleepers, needing a couple of steps made as hut is higher than patio. Good way to bury the rubble.
Wobbly floor in bedroom is now sorted, can now walk ‘straight’ in the room!🐭 Couple mice nests found when lifted floor 🐭…& very dusty boards ! What a job that was to clear the floorboards to the rubbish tip ! Still have another trip to make but most has gone.
(completed floor photo coming soon !)
Here’s to moving in next, but where’s all our stuff gonna go ?! Oh well, sort it all one day, maybe when it rains because we’re gonna be at the beach otherwise !! 🏖 🏝 🍦 🍨 🌊 🐾
🐔🐔 Chickens now in the family (Egg laying family members only) !!🐔 Pouring with rain we visited Manor Farm, only 15 mins away, luckily for us & them they were indoors. He had quite a few, different ages, we picked 4 aged 12 weeks, trying to catch them was fun, oh no not by us but the expert farmer ! Should hopefully start laying in around 6 weeks 🐔, so looking forward to first egg, who’s gonna have that, me ?! Abbie held the box tight on the car journey home, little tweets coming out of the box, but they were fine, got home & straight into coop & run, not sure to come out at first but lovin’ it now 🐔.
Abbie has spent many hours in with them, even in the pouring rain under a cover, feeding from her hand, stroking them, handling them, they’re used to her already ! 🐔
Their first morning was the perfect picture & they climbed up there themselves !
Introducing Gwen….
Introducing Nessa……
Introducing Pam & Dawn…….
Where did those names come from…name the TV Show ?! 🐥
Oh dear Smudge, have to keep away ! Toby is playing up too, fingers crossed they calm down eventually ! 🐔
Brilliant photos taken by Abbie sitting in with them x 🐔🐔🐔
Next move is to corner off the garden with fencing, put the coop & run behind it so the dogs realise they cannot reach the chickens & let the chickens have a good run around. So while they’re young they seem fine but planning soon to expand the area….🐔 and that will be another job sorted ! 🐔
August…..Expanded the area for them, have lots to explore now !
🐔Just chillin’ out ! 🐔
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🏡 Well the weather hasn’t improved for the Month of October…oh well suppose Winter is coming ! The only excitement having weather like this is visiting Lyme Regis when storms are approaching, quite spectacular ! The dogs love it and we all come back with sandy feet !
Looking at the ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom, (must change that name as the floor is fine now!) have taken down the bin liners which were stuck over the holes catching the rain from the thin thatch, now sealed up so no draughts, also fixed this in landing ceiling, that had same problem but all sealed and no leaks ! We can paint over the plasterboard when we decorate. Looks very neat work by Andy ! I stood and helped if he needed it ! So this room looking much better, needing decorating, carpet, wardrobe….now thats going to be fun chosing a wardrobe as walls are not straight and beams in the way ! So think only one part of the bedroom suitable to get decent size wardrobe in, so on the look out at the Antiques shops.
The doorway to this bedroom is very low, ok for me being bit shorter but you have to duck to avoid hitting your head if taller, so the plan is to cut out above the door frame and put in a bigger door. Andy cut away the plaster and discovered a very dry messy mixture of dirt, a dry cob mix used to build this wall.
It covered everything, it was so dusty, looking around for a new size door, thought of a downstairs door between kitchen and boiler cupboard which is never used and yes it fits width ways and door frame cut to size height ways, may need a new door frame to hang door onto as original frame, part of beam used before makes the door hang funny angle and will not be moving the beam !
Thinking of sending the chickens back….they still have not laid any eggs !! Only joking but what is going on….they are about 25 weeks old now and things should have happened ! Fingers crossed for VERY soon ! We wonder if they were younger than the 12 weeks when we first saw them at the Farm. More wood added to their run today to eventually add a waterproof cover over the top to protect them in the winter, should be better for them. They were trying to shade from ‘Storm Brian’ so putting a cover on will keep them dry.
Enjoying breakfast 🐔🐓🐔🐓
Hoping next blog will include eggs !! 🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔
UPDATE….🍳First egg laid on 5 Nov 2017 …..at last !! 🐓👍🐓🍳
Devon UK Countryside Living & close to the Seaside too 🏡💐🌸🌺🌹 61 Blogs 3,104 Views tinamckenzie1.blog 