June 2023

 

1st June: The cupboard under the stairs has been plasterboarded. On the right will be the cupboard door into the living room.

1st June: Backing boards for a radiator.

1st June: The windows have arrived. Lying on their side are the bits for the French windows in the living room.

1st June: Here are all the other window frames and panels waiting to be fitted. Made of a special kind of timber, they are supposed to last 50 years.

5th June: The main areas downstairs are now plasterboarded.

5th June: Window cavities and sills downstairs are plasterboarded. Timbers are temporarily supporting the boards at the top.

5th June: Detail showing the cavity between the two parts of the brick wall. The top layer of bricks is now topped off with blockwork.

5th June: While waiting for the stairs to go in, this is a last chance to examine what goes on between the downstairs ceiling and the upstairs floor.

7th June: Dan and Josh carried the staircase across the lawn from the garage in the morning. By evening it was all in place and secured.

8th June: The silver flue has now been boxed in.

8th June: This timber framework is in the second bedroom above the staircase. To the left of it, there will be a cupboard.

9th June: The roof is not pitched all the way up, otherwise it would be too tall. There is a flat area at the top (see next two photos). The transparent lid of the inspection hatch will let daylight into the attic.

9th June: The inspection hatch gives a good view of the main house's roofs, including one roof which is currently being rebuilt.

9th June: The top of the roof with the flue poking out.

13th June: The scaffolders are here, carrying away the corrugated sheeting that formed the protective tin roof.

13th June: With the tin hat removed, the cottage's roof is now fully revealed.

14th June: Upstairs, timber frames are created for the doorways. Above the east and west facing doorways, glazed panels will be fitted to allow daylight to filter into the landing from the windows that are directly opposite the doors.

14th June: The whole of the cottage is now plasterboarded. This is the second bedroom, showing the cupboard space to the left of the stairwell.

24th June: During the past ten days, while waiting for the plasterers to move in, Dan and his team have been busy rebuilding part of the roof on the main house. Now at last the plasterers have arrived. The first thing they did was to tape all the joins and edges with a slightly sticky pink mesh.

24th June: A close-up view of the scrim tape. It reminds me of the canvas I use for my needlepoint work.

24th June. By the end of the day the main bedroom was plastered.

26th June. Two artists diligently painting at their easels on a beautiful summer's day.  

28th June: Plaster drying downstairs.

28th June: The plaster upstairs has dried, bestowing a beautifully smooth finish on the walls and ceiling.

28th June: In the bathroom and main bedroom, windows are sitting in queues, patiently awaiting further treatment before discharge. Each one has many surfaces and facets to treat, and each one needs four or five coats of paint. The colour is Labrador. Many people choose white for their window frames, but I wanted my wooden frames to look like wood.

28th June: The scaffolders came to remove more of the scaffolding. The rest of it will be removed once the windows are in place.