Category: Uncategorized
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Finishing at the start
When people say not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess they mean that things that seem free always come with a catch. Probably about right. When we were going through the motions of buying the house Chris went back one day to take some measurements. The estate agent, who was there…
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Slowing down
Anyone who has ever done any DIY will know there are periods when everything just seems to slow down. You’ll be flying along feeling like you’ve hit your stride, when suddenly it’s as though someone has placed the hourglass on its side and everything stops. This is how our second long weekend has felt. While…
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Changing rooms
This week, on our fourth week of owning the house, we had our first full seven days of DIY. When we first knew we were getting the house, we agreed that all holidays would be devoted to its renovation until further notice. Now at the end of our allotted time we are bruised and battered,…
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All hail the Recycling Centre
It’s been our first long weekend at the house. Normally long weekends are a relief, a chance to relax and unwind. But it’s a little different when you’re lugging bags of rubble down a narrow staircase. We had planned to hire a skip to remove the bulk of our DIY waste. However, due to the…
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Opening up
One of my favourite things about old houses is the history they come with. Marbel staircases worn with the passing of feet, brass door handles polished by many hands, layers of paint and paper exposed by rips and chips. Yet, while the past can be picturesque, it doesn’t always meet modern needs. When updating an…
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Up, up and away
When it comes to DIY planning, Chris is the expert in our little team. I am an over-optimistic DIYer. I look at jobs that take weeks and think; ‘oh yeah, that’ll be done in a few hours’. One of the reasons for this is that I forget that jobs are like Russian dolls. Open up…
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Constructive destruction
I don’t know how it is for everyone else, but I often find the anticipation of work much more tiring than the actual work itself. After months of waiting and thinking, it was a relief to pull on our ever attractive PPE and start making a mess. Our first job, as marked out in Chris’s…
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A hill of beans
Today we got the keys to our new house. Walking through the doors, I think we both felt a mixture of relief, excitement, and absolute terror. Looking at the task ahead of us, it was difficult to build up the courage to start. So we started small. Much of the build-up to getting the keys…
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Falling in love with a ruin
There is something about a ruin that is more exciting than the comfort and convenience of a sleek and modern house. Depending on your viewpoint, they are full of flaws, or simply blessed with many quirks. Personally, I enjoy the unexpected nature of older houses. Tiny doorways may not be practical, and rusty ironworks always…
Ruined 