On my own I can get through stuff and make decent progress but recognise that I’ve been pacing myself over three months. When friends turn up they’re brilliant at turning up the wick because of course they want to see something tangible for their time.
I want them to see something tangible for their time too, and of course benefit from their achievements. I’d like to update the blog for posterity and to communicate but that’s selfish when going out to find WiFi, stops progress. So it gets pushed back in the queue and we accelerate the project work.
Sorry for the gaps - is what I want to say.
So two weeks of ‘push’ from Mr Hoggarth particularly, but Ros and Angie too and it’s time to breathe again. You’ve seen the interior shots - here’s a missing one of the linen store on the landing which finally went in after the remainder of the floor went down. - Carl and I laid the first piece of laminate weeks ago..
Alongside inside, we were moving paint around outside and replacing the soffit boards which were rotten, beginning to fall to bits and threatening to drop the old nests they were holding up.
The rafters are uneven so the new upvc covering follows them in a wavey form that doesn’t look brilliant but is tidier and should be maintenance free. More redundant cabling went in the bin, bathroom shutters fettled, painted and the missing keepers installed.
Painting the render wasn’t so easy and it looks a bit patchy in places particularly around the repairs which will need another strategy to match them in. John introduced an old quality test - ‘Will it look okay from the Ormskirk train?’ - to which the answer is certainly “Yes”.
Overall a big step forward for the external appearance thanks to Hoggarth sweat (the weather has improved) with much more to come (visual improvement - not necessarily Hoggarth sweat) once windows are done.
One more set of shutters to paint but these days that’s a nice easy mind in neutral job.