Wood Rot and Rose Wrestling
A Renovation Journal
Hello! It’s been another busy week here and we’ve been making the most of this little faux spring that we’ve had. It definitely felt warm for a couple of days but I hear we now have snow on the way. Well, that’s why they call it faux spring I guess. Just a little taster of what’s to come before plunging us back into winter!
“Winter is nearly gone. Time flows on to a spring of little hope.” J.R.R. Tolkien
Monday
A bit of rain today so I went to check on the gutters and the lime pointing I did last week. The pointing looks fine although I still need to work on my neatness. Luckily this bit is super high up on the chimney stack so I’m thinking it will look fine from the ground! The gutters still aren’t quite right. There are three separate short bits on the third floor and getting them to fall right but not look completely wonky is a challenge.
Tuesday
Emma and I got a bit more painting done up on the scaffolding and I started raking out over the dormer windows on the third floor. I took out all the cement over the window lintels. ( We have a hodgepodge of old lime, new lime, and various coloured cement pointing!) It’s a bit of an odd arrangement here with the wooden lintel being flush with the brickwork. Usually, it’s recessed a bit. Anyway, there’s a bit of rot on the top of the lintel. It’s not enough to cause any structural issues so I don’t think there’s any need to replace the lintels. I’ve scraped out all the rot and painted on some wood rot hardener. If we can just keep them dry I think they’ll be fine. I think a strip of lead flashing over the top should solve the problem.
Wednesday
I got a second coat on the painting we did yesterday. I also weeded the borders under the teddy bear hedges and planted some tulip bulbs that I’ve meant to plant since November. I’ve covered them with spiky hawthorn branches to try and deter the squirrels.
Thursday
Today I thought I’d pop over to the estate office and do a quick bit of tidying up. This took much longer than I thought and I still haven’t finished the one room! James has been using the sitting room as a workshop and the dust and detritus were incredible. It’s almost done now and hopefully, the other rooms will be quicker.
Also, we’ve had our hedges in the paddock cut. It looks so smart!
Friday
I spent the morning in the garden. I’ve cut nearly all of the giant rambling rose out of the mulberry tree. Then I watched Gardener’s World and realised you should prune ramblers in the summer. It means it won’t flower this year now but at least the mulberry tree (which I care about much more) is liberated and it was much easier to see what I was doing without any leaves on the tree. There are still some bits of rose stuck high up in the tree but I’ll tackle those when I’ve got someone to hold a ladder.
Saturday
Today I got the new chimney caps on. These were the only ones I could find that fit these chimney pots. These square federal chimneys are a bit awkward with the shaping around the top. These fit perfectly though and are easy to install once you’re up there. It was quite a nice job, to be honest. This chimney has 3 pots that have cement caps on them. Not ideal but we’re not seeing any damp issues in those chimneys so I’m going to leave them for now. One is for the wood burner that we’ve just put in then the other two are, I think, a fireplace in a third-floor bedroom and the one from the basement sitting room. I probably ought to put a smoke bomb in these and check that I’m right about that!
We also finished plasterboarding the ceiling in the estate office kitchen. This feels quite exciting as I can get the plasterer booked in now.
Sunday
My rest day. I spent a lot of time today planning what I want to do with the ground floor of the house. I think I’ve got a plan which involves reconfiguring a few doorways but nothing too major. The kitchen is going to need some clever design work but I think it’s doable. It’ll be ages before we get to this part of the house but it’s exciting to have a plan!
I hope you’ve all had a lovely week and you’ve enjoyed some warmer weather too. We’ve got loads of snowdrops and crocuses up now which feels very cheering. Spring is on the way!
This Week I’ve Been Enjoying:
Supernatural Season 12
Snowdrops and crocuses
Dog walks with the neighbours
Rustenburg - my favourite white wine at the moment
Neatly trimmed hedgerows
This week for my paid subscribers I’ll be doing a video tour of the third floor and explaining what our plans are for this space. My paid content buys me the odd cup of coffee and makes the time I spend writing all this a bit more sustainable. I also feel I can share a bit more with a smaller group of people. In these posts, I will hold nothing back as I invite you into our home. If you’d like to support me in this crazy adventure then do consider becoming a paid subscriber below. If you’d rather continue as you are then I completely understand and I will continue sharing my weekly-ish updates. Thank you for being here x
So fun to hear of your adventures and all of the new things you are learning. I love snowdrops- such cheery little plants to brighten to damp days of late winter.
Enjoying the journey! Love seeing your accomplishments along the way. Everything is so interesting and turning out great! Wish I had your energy. Kudos on the 'diet', too! Proud of you!