Latest news

It's been a month since my last posting and we are getting on quite well!  Michael has finished the pipework and tested it so it has no leaks!  The plasterer has been in to tape the upstairs rooms and I have even tried out taping myself!  We have a shower tray and have started to frame around that.  I have also been stripping paint off the wood panels in the hallway - underneath the paint is varnish though and goes really sticky with the heat gun.  The heat gun did keep my hands warm this week!

Bedroom taped nearly ready for painting

Stud wall in en-suite for shower

My first attempt at taping, Barry (the decorator) said it was ok for my first attempt!
It is the cupboard so no-one will ever see it!

First layer of loft insulation - Michael is going up next time!

Panels partly stripped of paint and varnish

I had a lovely letter from Elma whose family owned the house for the 100 years before we bought it!  It was full of info and photos of all the people who lived there throughout it's history.  I will post some photos once I get them scanned.

Plumbing and framing downstairs

After a VERY chilly few weekends Michael has nearly finished the pipework for the radiators upstairs and plumbing in the bathroom and ensuite!  The joiner has also been busy framing downstairs, I think it may be finished before Christmas after all!

Framing in the hallway through to bedroom

How tidy does that pipework look?!

The framing in the living room through the space for the double doors.

We are watertight!

The leaking roof is now fixed so we are wind and watertight ready for the winter!  Michael and his dad were doing first fix of the pipework for the bathroom and en-suite yesterday.  We need insurance for Alf; he had cut his finger within 5 mins of arriving then bashed his head on the car door coming back from the deli!

The joiner is in Cyprus (lucky him!) so downstairs hasn't moved on yet.  We would like to have the framing finished by Christmas but that is only 6 weeks away!!!!!

Can anyone recommend a good plasterer in the Huntly/Keith/Buckie area?!

We have some rooms!

We now have one bedroom, bathroom and ensuite plasterboarded upstairs!  Sorry about the photos, they were taken in the dark!    We have knocked all the walls down downstairs now so it's looking very open-plan at the moment!  At the house again tomorrow to finish off the cementing, pull out a million and one nails from the ceiling and start sanding down woodwork.

Louise and Graham were up the other weekend putting in the waste pipes for the bathroom and ensuite.  They enjoyed a meal at the Crannach and local entertainment in the Three Kings!!

We now also have a roofer (after 2 months of looking) who hopefully will start this week, we will then be watertight, yay!

By the way let me know what you think of the new layout, I'm still not sure!

Main bedroom 

Into the en-suite 

En-suite

The very last of the 100 year old wallpaper!

From dining room into bedroom - the wall facing will be a partition wall.

From the bedroom through to the dining then living room.

Lots happening!

Insulation - the room will be lovely and cozy in the winter!

More insulation!

Boys playing in the mess! 

The space where the wall was between the living room and dining room!

Well, lots has been happening since my last post!  We have pulled down the wall between the living room and dining room!  We think we are going to put in french doors.  The electricity cables are in upstairs (called a first fix I am told!)  One bedroom upstairs has had the insulation started too - it's starting to look like a house again, yippee!!

Off to the auction house again tomorrow!  Have my eye on a wee cupboard!!

Bits and bobs

A Gumtree purchase for the boys bedroom.
The brown part isn't wood it's paint!

After 1 coat of Nitromorse, we removed 4 or 5 layers of paint!

Items found under the old floorboards!

One of my auction purchases.

Another auction purchase!

I discovered Sunnyside Beach last week.  It's between Sandend and Cullen.
You have to walk for over a mile to get to it but it is so worth it.

The doocot by Sunnyside Beach.

Progress!

The outside ground level is higher than inside in this room so was quite damp but this clever membrane keeps all the
moisture out!

The membrane continues out into the hallway

The new joists and damp proofing in the living room.

Bare ceiling in living room!

We were unsure why these openings were here but we have discovered
that the left one was where the original box bed was and the right side was a pantry!

Our 2 'helpers'!  They loved hammering the plaster and helping Michael with the cementing!

Framing starts in the boys bedroom

Framing for the en-suite and bathroom

Framing in the main bedroom.  Disappointed that we are covering up the fireplace but
we would have nowhere to put the bed!