Category: Uncategorized
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Bah-humbug!
There are days when everything just seems to go wrong. After having a day off DIY for Chris to give his uncle a hand with turkey plucking, we were hopeful of a productive Sunday. Having had a massive stack of insulation delivered, which is now filling up most of our lounge, we began by trying…
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Holding things together
We arrived at the house this weekend to see a world of white. Being higher up than our current house, we drove from frost into flurries of snow. The highest hills were completely white, with the valleys still largely green. We started out by clearing out some of the last few bits and pieces left…
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Goodbye Scaffolding
Right back at the start of our renovation, one of our first jobs had been to collect a van-full of secondhand scaffolding. From unloading the van, to putting it up, to taking it down, moving it and putting it up again, assembling and disassembling the scaffolding has been one of the most exhausting parts of…
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Over Our Heads
Since we brought the house in May, we have been the ultimate in party poopers. I’ve said no to birthday parties, family gatherings and even just countryside walks. Unfortunately, with only weekends to get the house done, it’s a necessary sacrifice, thankfully only for this short period of our lives. Yet, there have been things…
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Katie’s big week off
Having landed a new job, and handed in my resignation, I decided to take a week off between roles to get some more work done on the house. The week started with all hands on deck, my parents having travelled up and Chris being free for the weekend. With the additional help, my dad and…
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Chipping away
In a day and age where you can order almost any variety hot food to arrive at your door within the hour, or get next day delivery on anything from socks to craft scissors, it’s frustrating that building materials can take days or weeks to appear. Despite only having a small area of the roof…
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Helping hands
I don’t know how we got so lucky to have so many friends and family come lend a hand, but it’s certainly much appreciated. This weekend was the turn of my old school friends Sarah and Michael, who travelled over specially from Sheffield to work in appalling conditions for no pay. Lucky them. The weekend…
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The roof
With the structure of the roof repaired, we were now ready to begin rebuilding what we had so laboriously taken apart. So, booking another week off work, we set about a 9-day marathon of roofing. With the slates cleaned and sorted into three piles, depending on their condition, we started our work on the hip…
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A heavy weight…
Asking for help is something most of us are disinclined to do. This is largely because we, incorrectly, view the inability to carry on alone as a weakness. Yet, there are plenty of tasks that are simply easier, and lighter, when shared. Such as renovating a house. We were lucky to have many extra pairs…
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Padstones
What is a padstone I hear you cry. Well I recently learnt that they are large, surprisingly heavy, blocks of concrete that prevent massive hunks of steel from dropping through your ceiling. So pretty important, all in all. The two purlins in need of replacement in our roof are opposite each other on the side…
Ruined 