Renovation Blog

1 May - My kingdom for a plumber
I have so far spoken to five different plumbers, some of whom have come back for second viewings, to get a quotation for doing the first fix to the house. Unbelievably not one of them has given me even a ballpark figure, and despite constant chasing, emails and phone calls I just can't get a price for the job. If they don't want the work I'd love it if they just said as much, but all when pressed say they are keen and just "putting together some figures". Very strange. Perhaps they'd rather be doing easy call-out work than several weeks on a job? Also I fear the prospect of connecting to my wood chip boiler is scaring them off, though all it does is provide a hot flow and return which is hardly complicated.

4 May - Green heat
Excellent news - Lincolnshire has a range of grants up to 25% for installation of biomass systems, and we should be eligible for one for our boiler, which will help with the budget. It just goes to show it's always worth checking with your local council as to what grants are currently available. Generally speaking, anything that improves your house's energy efficiency is a possible contender.

7 May - Good news and bad

8 May - More windows

Some of the windows are falling apart but I re-glue them and fit new pegs in the corners where necessary, and soon they will be as good as old. Interestingly most domestic windows at this time were made of softwood and although it was better quality than today's basic pine replacing them with oak reproductions is not actually very sympathetic, so you should try and use slow grown Douglas Fir or similar if you need to scarf in any repairs.

12 May - Pointing

After observing the professionals I decide to give the pointing a go for myself. Any loose joints must be raked out by hand so as not to damage the bricks and to ensure that you have a good base for the new mortar. Working with lime mortar is incredibly easy as it stays workable for a long time, and after a day's work I decide I can finish off the rest of the pointing myself to save money. Obviously this will distract me from the windows but I am needing a break from them. STILL no plumber...

15 May - Rain rain go away
Suddenly the weather has turned. The roof is off and only vaguely protected by tarpaulins which are flapping around like mad, and I'm now wishing the roofers would hurry up.

18 May - More pointing
I'm now less thrilled with all the pointing needed, especially as the raking out takes SO long, but I am working on, and the rain can't stop the raking...

23 May - Keep on pointing
Working round the bad weather we are progressing slowly with the pointing. Especially with lime mortar you have to ensure it doesn't get rained on as otherwise it will wash out and may stain the bricks below. Therefore there is a lot of rapid covering up to be done at times.

31 May - Back on with the roof

It feels like it's raining all the time, and under cover of a tarpaulin the roof starts to go back on. These are the original slates that have been carefully cleaned and re-sized, then are laid back again, on top of a breathable membrane. They are mortared in place (lime of course) so again we have to keep the rain off them while it sets. Note the ever-present cups of tea!