Another Deadline

We enjoyed a nice break in the Yorkshire Dales where it was cold but dry and we were able to go walking every day. Coming back, while being very pleased with everything we had accomplished before Christmas, it was a bit of a shock and actually a bit depressing to see how little is actually finished and off the list.

With a functioning heating system, kitchen and shower room, the next thing we wanted was a utility room with washing machine, so the first thing to do was to build the brick wall round the hearth and actually create the room. Being brick sized bricks and having to cut them round pipes etc from the boiler made it a week long job but it makes the living room look really cosy. We are kept on our toes cutting and chopping logs which are soaking wet and need coal under them to dry out.

Internal Walls
Thank heaven for the board lifter! We plasterboarded the downstairs walls and ceilings fairly easily and with the rooms (almost) white, the place looked much lighter. Then came the plastering. We used lath and plaster in the utility and shower rooms but kept the plasterboard in the kitchen so that the ceiling would be level with the rest of the dining/living area.

After much deliberation, we decided to use a clay plaster skim coat. We contacted a local plasterer Ian Howden who came along and decided that he could do it. Needless to say, he hadn’t worked with clay before, so it has been a bit of a learning experience for him, but he really likes the stuff and has been fussing lovingly over curved corners, while trying to restrain his natural inclination to keep smoothing it out.

I really don’t know why we have to import clay from Germany. There must be a business opportunity for someone with a waterlogged clay field that they can’t grow anything in. Anyway, it is weirdly chocolate brown when it first goes up. Gordon has been back helping to complete the wiring and said it feels like being inside a chocolate egg. He wants to lick it.  It dries slightly more grey but is still gorgeous and makes the rooms look as though we have decorated. In due course, we will paint them as they are a bit dark but it is interesting to see the effect of these colours and textures on the house.

Our next deadline is the trip to Australia to see Jo and John. As we are visiting other places on our way round the world we have had to get visas and injections (I’m convinced I was ill with diphtheria for a couple of days!) and just to help matters, the campervan died on us and had to go to Glasgow to be repaired. John has been trying to get in some training for the Carnethy hill race but doesn’t like to take time off.

The last thing to do in the house has been to get the utility room functioning so that we can get the use of the washing machine. It has taken what feels like ages, as we kept having to stop and move rooms around and unwire and rewire things for the plasterer. Also, of course, we had to plane and lay the flooring in there and faff about with the plumbing.

We were in the midst of all this when architect Chris came over to check up on us. He seemed quite pleased with our efforts and interested in the feedback. Later that evening, we ceremoniously put on the first (of several!) load(s) of washing!

The last thing we wanted to do before leaving was to get some drains in the vegetable garden. It had been too wet to take a machine on the ground when we first got back and then it snowed. It has been surprising how long the half inch of snow is lying up here as the roads are clear.  Emily and Richard will be coming over to do bits and pieces in the garden while we are away but after last year’s experiences we know we have to improve the drainage for it to be worthwhile. Anyway, we have run out of time.

From below freezing to the extreme heat of Melbourne where bush fires are wiping out timber homes in minutes – it’s going to be quite a culture shock.