....with the picture I said I'd not bore you with yesterday. The reason for this is that I still haven't heard back from the queen, and feel therefore compelled to proceed on the assumption that Christmas will be on its usual date, and thus spent the whole day wrapping and faffing and that sort of stuff. I have, however, labeled the picture with some interesting annotations which you can read better if you click on the image to enlarge it.
How exciting! A bit of the renovation you haven't seen yet. This brick wall blocks what will become the opening into our third reception room (the one we use for emergency receptions). Therefore, it needs to be removed!
First, I get my safety gear on, which according to Janine has the added benefit of covering most of my face so she doesn't have to look at it.
Then, I set to work with my trusty old Titan hammer drill taking the bricks out. What you can see in the gap is in fact the plaster on the wall on the other side, most of which remained in place. I got all the bricks out today, but I won't bore you with another picture of the same thing... maybe I'll bore you tomorrow. I'm off to have a bath now, no pictures of that either.
This view looks down towards the patio doors from the mezzanine floor. You won't see through the gap when it is finished as the mezzanine will be all sealed up with access via a trap door.
This view is from the same spot looking up at 90 degrees clockwise from the other shot. Richard is off on other jobs until after Christmas, so all you'll see between now and his return is what Arne and I manage. I will post pictures of my bodged efforts and have Richard racing round to sort it all out!
The room you can see through the hole is our middle reception room. We have so many receptions here we need at least three rooms to have them in. The hole through which you can see it is where once stood a very cheap hardboard door. Part of Richard's work today was making the hole into a wall, which you can see below....
....was done very effectively. This view from the other side shows to advantage the wonderful decor in our middle reception room. I'm devastated that no matter how I try, I can't seem to source any of that beautiful pink textured wallpaper to fill the gap and cover those horrid blocks. If anyone knows where I can get some, please let me know, I'd so hate to have to redecorate the whole room!
Above you can see most of the ceilings are now up. Amazing how the space underneath seems to widen.
Another view taking in the bathroom, and the outside wall is now done too with insulated board.
More insulated board goes up where the kitchenette will be. We hired an apeman to put the boards up.
Meanwhile, I was cutting the insulation boards and filling the gaps between the rafters. That stuff gets everywhere. In your lunch, in your hair, in your eyes, in your underwear. No wonder Richard got me to do it.
Richard and I put up plasterboard on most of the ceilings throughout the space. Would have been great to get a shot of us in action, but there was nobody around to do the photography, so this snap will have to suffice. Rich, don't forget the dust masks if you want me to cut the insulation tomorrow! Get a few of the good ones with the valve, they are about a quid each.
Site Inspector Jenssen (wearing festive super custom handmade protective Norwegian headgear today) waves his approval after inspecting the new skylight installation.
What do you call someone who used to like tractors but doesn't like them any more? (The picture is a clue)
First Richard crouched down on the mezzanine floor and stood up quickly.
Then he set about making the hole bigger.
Despite the bump on his head, it all seems to be going well, but....
....he just can't help being infantile. Personally I think its not funny and its not clever.
Hi, and in particular, hi Richard, as I expect you will check in tonight. I hope your garage door went well today. Here's a picture you'll not enjoy as it means more work for you! When I took the boards down from the ceiling I found this badly mended joist (there are more where that one came from) and you can see the end joist is rotten. Cuh, old 'ouses eh.... Oo'd 'ave em?
Hi! A fairly horrible day here in Culmstock, and although all these supplies arrived this morning, they have just been lying there all day while Richard and I had discussions, made plans, wrote a shopping list and generally decided what to do next. He's fitting a garage door for someone tomorrow and given me a load of jobs to do in his absence, so stay tuned for that, bloggers! And Jane, great to hear from Jo that you are checking in. Now then, I can't believe the picture below didn't attract some comment when I posted it yesterday. Perhaps it was the wood among the trees, but come on, Batman having a pint with The Penguin....
Part of the challenge was for AJ's parents to get out of bed in time (see posts below) to get AJ to the start line in time for the Uffculme Challenge race, a competitive cross-country run of 1.75 miles for his age group. Here he is crossing the finish line; the look on his face says it all.
