Author: stephen (Page 5 of 61)

Wall in the bottom field

June 1, 2015 / stephen

There is a wall (sort of) and a gate in the bottom field. I suspect that this was the main route into the property before Upper Hagg Road existed. You can see a “running joint” down the outside of the wall where the wall with the gate joins the wall along the road. I think this is because the gate wall pre-dates the wall along the road.

The wall to the left of the gate was in decent shape and we did repair it earlier in the year. The wall on the right of the gate, however, was largely missing. I am not sure how this had happened since the top part of the wall seems to have survived in tact. Anyway, with lots of stone left over, it seemed like a good idea to have a bit of a tidy up.

The wall to the left of the gate is not too bad, but the wall on the right was largely missing, until I started building it back up. The gate posts have the hooks (iron hooks held in place with lead) on the other side of the gate posts. The only way the gates would have opened would have been away from the camera. So the land the other side of these gates must have been built up – the gates would never have opened against the built up soil.

The wall to the right of the gate was non-existent next to the gate post. We have used all sorts of odd stone to build it up. Once it weathers in, you would think that it had been there for a hundred years.

The wall on the right handside needs to be built up quite a bit – there was no wall against the gatepost before we started. The area beneath the wall with the coping stones has been used as a bit of dumping ground. Lots of old bathroom tiles, concrete and general garbage. We have bagged most of this up to go to the dump together with the other rubbish that we continue to dig up.

Pointing the outbuildings

May 28, 2015 / stephen

Paddy and Jonny have started pointing the outbuildings. Last week we laid a new concrete floor in the end shed that was the original privy for the cottages. The floor in here was raised up with a large stone slab with holes in it. The ground underneath was full of organic matter and straw. I will leave you to work out how it all worked. We removed the large stone slab and dug out the floor – it wasn’t smelly as it hadn’t been used for 200 years! We then put down a waterproof membrane and a concrete floor. The floor level is just above the level of the drive outside to stop any water running in.

It is always a shame to remove original features, but this space just wasn’t usable as it was – there was a big step up and the floor was porous letting in a lot of damp.

We are using the same lime pointing that we used on the house and to point the flagstones in the patio. This way it all matches. It is amazing what a difference it makes.

This end of the shed was the original (18th Century) privy for the cottages. There was a large stone slab about 12 inches up from the floor. The floor underneath consisted of organic matter and straw. I will leave you to work it out! The slab has been removed and the floor has now been dug out. We have installed a new step and a concrete floor. This makes this space much more usable. It does however mean the door is a bit short.

Dry stone wall finished!

May 27, 2015 / stephen

Well, after 2.5 years we have managed to finish the dry stone wall along the side of the orchard and the top field. It was November 2012 when I finished building the first bit of “test” wall – I did this after attending a weekend dry stone walling course. I did keep a record of how many days that we spent dry stone walling, but lost count at around 20. I suspect that we have spent between 50-60 days over the last couple of years rebuilding this wall. We have worked on other walls around the property during this time as well as building the retaining walls in the patio, so we haven’t been doing nothing.

The finished wall is around 110m in length. The wall was in pretty bad shape when we started the project and the vast majority of it has been taken down and totally rebuilt – we have only managed to keep around 3-4 metres of the original wall.

The wall isn’t perfect, but then dry stone walls never are! They are a reflection of the quality of the stone that goes into it. This wall contains the well rounded gritstone that made up the field boundaries, but now contains additional stone left over from the building work or some of the demolitions. While the wall in the orchard is largely straight, the one along the side of the top field has quite a few wiggles in it – mainly due to trees. We still have some stone left over from the building work, so I suspect there is some more dry stone walling to come.

It is just over 110 metres from the gate around to the far Ash tree in the distance.

It is just over 110 metres in length and the original “test section” of wall is in the far distance next to the furthest tree. With each metre of wall containing around 1 tonne of stone, this has been a bit of a labour of love over the last couple of years.

The fields on this side of the wall don’t belong to us so for now we have just had a bit of a tidy up.

You can see the wiggles on both sides of the wall. Plus we also have a fair amount of stone to move before we can start moving right up to this wall.

You can see the wiggles on both sides of the wall. Plus we also have a fair amount of stone to move before we can start mowing right up to this wall.

The bit of wall to the right of the original test section (it is a slightly paler colour) looks a bit of a mess! I think I might have to have a go at rebuilding that bit. If only for vanity’s sake.

Pointing the patio

May 13, 2015 / stephen

The flagstones went down on the new patio before Christmas, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t good enough to be able to point them at that time – it was either too cold or too wet. Well, the weather has started to turn (I did say “started”!) and we started pointing the flagstones this week. We are using the same lime based pointing that we used on the house so that it all matches. Even at this time of the year, there is a risk of rain or frost getting to the pointing before it cures. The pointing is protected overnight with a large sheet of hessian. So far this has worked well for us.

It has take a week or so to complete the pointing on the lower (and larger) of the two terraces. I reckon that the pointing will be complete on the upper terrace too by the end of next week. You wouldn’t think that it would make much of a difference, but it really has pulled the whole area together.

The lime pointing is being mixed to the same proportions as we used on the house:

1: 1: 5 1 portion 3.5 N /sqmm Hydraulic lime : 1 portion white cement : 5 portions Nosterfield River sand

The materials have all been acquired from Womersleys that specialise in materials for restoration projects.

Now the weather has improved we have started pointing the patio. We are using the same lime based pointing that we used on the house. The fresh pointing is protected from the rain and the frost overnight with a large sheet of hessian.

It has taken the best part of a week, but now the lower terrace of the patio is pointed. It makes a tremendous difference to the appearance of this space.

New stairs complete

April 13, 2015 / stephen

The new stairs are now complete! The glass was installed about 10 days ago and this has really brought it all together. There are two pieces of 10mm toughened glass installed as part of the balustrade. The glass is held in place with by grooves in the supporting woodwork. This not only simplifies the design, but also gives the illusion that it is one piece of glass and not two.

We have a spare back and a spare vertical divider that can be installed where the dog’s bed is currently installed. This means that if we no longer have a dog, or sell the house to someone who doesn’t have a dog, then the area for the dog’s bed can be configured as two cubby holes that match the others.

We are really pleased with the stairs and are delighted that, once again, we have been able to rely on local trades people to do an excellent job. The stairs were built by Huddersfield Joinery who also produced all of the hardwood windows for the property.

There are LED lights built into the wooden plinth and, at night, these come on if anyone walks into the hall or the upstairs landing. You can see these on in some of the earlier photos of the stairs – just scroll down. This is achieved using the PIRs for the burglar alarm with the lighting computer. I have a spare LED light and I am tempted to install one in the old road lantern on the bottom shelf in the stair bookcase.

We have still to install the “eyelid” lights that follow the line of the stairs. The wiring was installed behind the plasterboard in readiness for the lights. I just need to find some that will work well in this space.

The two pieces of glass are held by grooves that have been routed into the supporting posts. This simplifies the overall design as well as it making it look as if it is one piece of glass that goes up the stairs.

Last bits on the stairs

March 21, 2015 / stephen

We are getting there with the stairs and the shelving was installed underneath the stairs on Friday. It requires 2-3 coats of varnish, but this will have to wait until Monday. The two pieces of glass for the balustrade should arrive early next week, so everything should be finished on the stairs by the end of next week.

We now have all of the verticals and horizontals in place that make up the shelving under the stairs. It needs 2-3 coats of varnish and the glass needs to be installed underneath the handrail.

Craig and Jake from Huddersfield Joinery (this is all their handy work!) varnishing the newly installed shelving.

With the shelving now in place, we couldn’t resist putting a few books in it to see what it might look like once it is full.

The dog took to sleeping underneath the stairs when the temporary stairs were in place. We have separate divider where the dog’s bed is situated – if we ever don’t have a dog, the divider can be slid in so that it looks like the rest of the shelving.

More progress on the stairs

March 18, 2015 / stephen

We are starting to build the shelving underneath the stairs.

We have started on the shelving underneath the stairs. These are being fitted into the stairs that we built earlier in the week.

The shelving under the stairs is made of oak veneered MDF. Tomorrow the horizontal shelves will be installed. Once all of the verticals and horizontals are in place, the wood will be varnished so that all the oak matches.

Progress on the stairs

March 16, 2015 / stephen

We have installed the knewl posts and the handrail (albeit temporarily) to allow the templates to be cut for the glass panels. These will be held in place by grooves cut into the knewl posts. Hence the posts (and handrail) will have to be removed to install the glass. The posts and the handrail have not been varnished yet, hence it looks a different colour from the rest of the oak.

The knewl posts and handrail are temporarily put in place allowing us to cut the templates for the glass.

Well, these have only been fitted temporarily allowing us to cut some hardboard for the glass panels that will be installed. There is a 1-2 week lead time on the glass once it is ordered. The plan is to carry on with the shelving underneath the stairs while we are waiting for the glass.

New stairs – End of day 2

March 10, 2015 / stephen

Well, it is the end of day two and we actually have a set of stairs that you can walk up – albeit without a hand rail.

The treads and the risers are made of solid oak. These are glued and screwed to the softwood frame underneath. Here we have half of the treads in place.

Treads and risers being glued into position.

Only the top step is left to install. The space under the stairs will house book shelves.

The treads and risers seem to “float” over the edge of the internal splines. This staircase feels so much more solid that the temporary one we had installed before.

The new stairs without the shelving underneath.

New stairs – End of day 1

March 9, 2015 / stephen

It is going to take a few days to get the new staircase installed. The first part of the job is to remove the temporary staircase and build the skeleton that is going to carry the new treads and risers. The splines had been made in the joiner’s workshop and it is then a case of fitting them on site. Even so, this took a whole day. Tomorrow, the oak treads and risers will be installed.

We bought these as a temporary measure when we were renovating the property.

It didn’t take long – 4 screws and it was gone. 30 minutes later and the chainsaw had done it’s job.

There will be two splines that will carry each of the oak treads in the new staircase. Once the stairs are in place. The shelves and cupboards will be built to suit.

The treads and the risers are going to be fixed to the two splines. You can see the bottom tread and riser in place. The treads and risers are made of solid oak.

The two splines are then joined together with pieces of software. The treads will then be glued to these (and screwed on from underneath).