With the ceiling boarding complete, we started taping & jointing the boards to provide a (hopefully) smooth finish to the new ceiling. The joins were taped with plasterboard tape and skimmed over with a thin coat of plaster. After letting this go off for 24 hours we then attacked the ceiling with a sanding pad…

First “real” task on the agenda (after yesterday’s clean etc) is to strip out a er, lovely built in wardrobe. Looks like it was knocked up by an over zealous chippy when the house was built – complete with a fine example of 1970’s wallpaper for good measure. Definitely has to go…. Only question is…

… Without a set of drains ! The old utility room was equipped with a water supply but unfortunately no drainage. As a result, during a rare break in the surprisingly snowy weather the focus switched to some outside works to lift most of the patio paving slabs & re-route underground drainage to accommodate the…

With another day of brilliant weather upon us we took the opportunity to tidy up & plant the rest of the front borders. The day started off with a trip to a nearby garden centre to stock up on plants followed promptly by B&Q for more (yes, more!) compost & plant food. Heading home with…

Just to finish off the last post, here’s a picture of the nearly finished front garden; snapped in this morning’s sun.

On inspecting the heating / hot water systems (DHW) when we first got the keys we’d noted that the hot water cylinder was getting a little tired, and would probably need to be replaced at some point relatively soon. What we weren’t quite expecting was to come into the house at around 3pm on a…