Things are getting quite quiet here, for a change

The refurbishment work continues apace, so I won’t bore you with details of my trial hairstyle, ready for being mother of the bride later this month (thanks, Lee), or the training I have attended on digital marketing.  No, I will get straight to the point, once I have told you how fantastic the weather still is here, and how beautiful the landscape is looking – although I grant that it remains necessary here to make allowance for the volume of junk still lying in inaccessible (but sadly visible) areas of the grounds.  We really must try harder!

Mike has de-nibbed the ceiling and is over-plastering the old swirled ceiling plaster.  (The colour is because we have sealed the ceiling with 2 coats of PVA; the first coat was yellow-ish, the second red-ish so that we could see where we had painted).

Meanwhile, I was taking down some old stud walling as the doorway to the en suite bathrooms needs to be relocated.  Imagine my surprise when one decent heave with the sledgehammer moved the entire wall!  I am not sure how visible it is in the shot below, but about central to the shot is a sheet of plasterboard that has left company with its frame.

Mike and I have been insulating the stud walls which has had the undesired side effect that we now cannot talk freely to each other from room to room; we have to position the radio very carefully if we are both to hear it; and if folk call ‘hello’ from downstairs, there is only a very small chance either of us will hear them.

In bedroom 2 we have almost completed the ceiling and walls ready for plastering.  The ‘short’ wall under the Velux window was installed today, leaving a space for an inspection hatch as we have completed the pipework for the radiators, but will not be able to connect this up for another few months as we complete other floors.  The inspection hatch will enable us to fully investigate any damp patches that may result when we start the system running, which given our recent experience of unintentionally flooding part of the cafe is a sensible precaution, methinks.

We have also insulated the wall below, partly because it is ‘a good thing’, but mostly because it made it simpler for us to install the electric socket in this wall.

To take a quick break from the internal work, I have had my chitty signed entitling me to a day or two outside to do some much needed weeding, as our beautifully reclaimed land and the associated flower beds from last year had disappeared under long grass.  These grasses have been roughly removed and raked away because tomorrow, if I play my cards right, Mike is giving me permission to remove the slope you see below.  This used to be part of the fire exit from the rooms, but as we now have the stairs in place, this has become a redundant eyesore rather than a simple eyesore.

I will leave our detailed plans a surprise until the photos can reveal more, but thought you might also enjoy a quick snap of the hydrangea petiolaris doing its thing on the front wall.

Look forward to showing you more of our endeavours in a day or two…