Renovation Blog

5 July - Windows and frames
I'm still working on various windows, puttying and painting. Also I've (hand-)made the mouldings round the door frame into our new shower room and fitted them into the opening. Last night we harvested and ate 14 baby courgettes with their flowers - delicious!

14 July - Glutton for punishment
I've spent the past week helping a friend replace all the windows at the front of his house with new wooden sashes. Hard work, but we managed to get them all in and he just has some tidying up and painting to finish the job. He will be coming to return the favour some time in the future...

25 July - Cornice

I have a friend staying who is repaying some days' labour, and we are putting up cornice in several rooms where it is missing. It is proper plaster cornice, so is rather heavy and certainly needs two people to manipulate it.

30 July - Ceiling removal

We have removed a false ceiling that had been inserted for no reason that I could understand. There will be quite a bit of work to make good the original ceiling above, but at least the proportions of the room have been restored.

31 July - Accidents!
I have been using an old wooden step ladder for the past few days and happily standing on it, but as I climbed it to continue with the ceiling removal one of the feet snapped clean off and I fell down. Ouch. Nothing serious, luckily, but a few bruises and rather shaken. Then to compound things, my friend stood on a 2 inch nail protruding from a piece of wood which went right through his boot and into his foot. Ouch again!