House work ...

I forgot to take the before pic, the everyday view of the hall prior to Mike taking down the false wall with the crack in the wallpaper ....

My that cream was a nasty colour ... The old door and frame have been recycled to cover up the electoral thingies that we don't need to see. Also there is space in the bottom for candles and a torch!

Next it's time for an old moth nibbled carpet to go, and those ceiling tiles that look like rice cakes too. 

It's gonna get more messy before it gets better!

Hooked on collage?

Time to paint the porch which has always been original bricks. But now that the house is painted, demanded a makeover too! 

An inexpensive set of hooks has been used for children's coats, but I couldn't bring myself to put it back on the wall without a makeover of its own, so I covered it in cute paper. 

A wash of gold guache adds a special something and looks aged. 

The edges of the paper have been sanded. Difficult to photograph but looks superb! Try it next time to are altering furnature and so on ...

The plated hooks are gently worn from use but that's fine for my purposes and I screw them all back on with glee!

Finally back on the wall! Hooks that make me happy and suit all the little coats that get hung here ...

House work ...

Here is my humble home, who's tired walls and chimney let in a lot of that horizontal rain this past winter ...

Here is mike doing some pointing! We knew that the chimney was badly in need of repointing and we found that it also needed repairs to the flashing. The other chimney had some attention when Mary was a baby. 

Over one or two very soggy says my bedroom wall ran with water and I'm left with some beautiful staining!

The scaffolding provided access to the whole side of the house. More issues were found which may well be the reason of damp in the corner of my room. 

As grey clouds approach again, the ground-out chimney was plastic wrapped to prevent more water damage until drier days again!

Opting to paint after the repointing, the house began to change colour. It's called Birch, and is a gentle shade of grey green , sympathetic to the stone clad buildings that also share our cul-de-sac. No magnolia or cream for me!

The red painted parts have also been reniewed too. 

Now the scaffolding tower is in place for me to create a special something on the front of the house! Any guesses? I'll share that with you soon!

My Amazing floor ...

My living room floor has featured a few times in this blog, including some repairs to some of these old tiles. But i came up with a good plan to say goodbye  to the random pieces of carpet and expensive alternatives ... so i started with a room empty and a thorough deep clean ...

Next Michael got down on his knees and did a sterling job filling and smoothing cracks and gaps, and then the floor was sanded and washed and hoovered!

You know those old family bibles with the covers falling off and the amazing illustrations? Michael and I both have one of those and instead of being a tatty King-James-Version tome that no one bothered to read any more, this one was given a new lease of life with a ton of PVA and a sessions of careful placing of The New Testament ...

I love collage. Working with big pages was a challenge when they were wet, as they have to be wet both sides with a solution of the glue and smoothed in place to dry - with the door closed to keep curious kittens and little girls out!

Once dry I gently hoovered the floor with the brushes out, to remove any dust and fluff before applying three coats of varnish.

The finished floor is alive with stories, and a gentle cream colour. Also very good for car games and perfect for sliding with no slippers on ... 

The children were pleased, and many visitors are impressed. But does it disturb you? Is it ok to physically 'stand on the word of god' as well as spiritually? 

I clearly love patchwork and collage, cant wait to have the new budget home made curtains too!

ground works ....getting our very own skip for the bank holiday weekend ...

back a bit - back a bit ....



Adam = the thinker!



but despite trying to bend the lorry round the wall, it's not going to fit!



so it goes down in the street ...



it's still about old shed new shed - its also about a wider driveway. And I only drive a Hyundai GETZ 1.1!

old shed, new shed ....

space at the top of the garden for a new shed ...



view from the wooden half of my odd, garage extension shed ...



one long shed, two doors, and an odd bit in the middle ...



this should be the guttering, for my garage ... who knew!



all levelled off now, with incinerator foundations dug out, and a tree stump chewed to bits ...



an early morning delivery from the granby ... and us still in our pyjamas!



Adam has made short work of turning the old shed into bricks again ...



old bricks - locally produced hardcore!



Ian telling me another rude story ...



the rough with the smooth, adding the top layer of concrete for the new shed base ...



stay tuned for more 'house work' in raggy rat land ...

House Work Round-up ....

another lot of scaffolding goes up, erected by men with no t-shirts ...



on the ground - one of our new solar panels ...



Ready - Duncan is in position to help lift the panels ...



Malcolm and Duncan Lift one of them - hey, be careful with that!



Up it goes - not work for a windy day I don't think ...



three panels in place ...



all nine panels cooking up some solar energy for us ...



Matty and Daisy watch some other men remove our old broken 1970's fence ...



and see the new fence go up ...



then the porch is finally completed when the floor is tiled ...



The scaffolding goes down, and our house smiles out from new windows, and my hawthorn tree looks very pretty in blossom ...



Thanks to Malcolm for the additional photography ... The Raggy Rat did not climb on the roof!

Ground Works .... Windows all in, Porch being Erected ....

Day 6 ...
Matty and Daisy supervise Mark and Daniel in the dining room ...



during the bank holiday weekend I managed a few DIY tasks - one was painting some more of the dining room walls white ...



Its bin day, and not much room to squeeze past the van on the driveway ... my house its looking very smart, and my rooms are quieter ...



who needs to find things to do, when there are men-at-work to watch ...



I am loving my reflection, but only because it shows I have very clean windows!



this is not really a hat, its one of those shoe covers, designed to keep the mud from customers homes. The boys said that they have been told to wear these, instead of removing shoes, because their feet smell too much!



Day 9 ... Ben comes to erect the frame-and-window part of the porch ... the windows have been beautifully finished on the outside, even matching in some cement to make the lintels look pretty. SOME window companies would have applied more plastic ...



Look, he's throwing it up - it even has a door!



the bricks look nice too ... looks like Ben needs a Wessex FM mug next to the spirit level ...



coffee time ...