June 2010
The builders have started!
Tuesday 1 June, 2010
The builders started promptly at 8am yesterday and the skip was delivered at 10.30am - so work is underway! Still lots of decisions to make but most of the big ones like the ground source heat pump and the heating system and stuff aredone. It's now things like floor coverings and the colour of the walls.
Then we can focus on the real project of the smallholding.
Building progress report
Saturday 5 June, 2010
The joiners were on site three days this week and have done a fair bit.
The kitchen is stripped out of its units and appliances and the wall between the kitchen and utility taken down. It's quite a big room at 2.5m x 7m - bt as you can see from the dimensions, it's long and narrow. We're keeping the existing cupboard under the stairs to use as a pantry.
Upstairs, much of the lath and plaster on the external walls and ceilings has been removed to allow the installation of the new insulation. Thankfully, everything looks nice and sound, including the latha nd plaster on the internal walls.
Building progress report
Saturday 5 June, 2010
The joiners have been in all week, framing and putting in the insulation. The plumber was here on Friday and will be here all next week, I think. The joiners should be back the following week with the new windows. My job this week, in terms of the house, is to find a tiler who can lay slate, terracotta and encaustic tiles.
Welcome to Dalmore!
Saturday 5 June, 2010
We took this video a couple of weeks ago - we were surprised at how much had changed in the interim, when we watched it last night!A tour of Dalmore from asmallholder on Vimeo.
Vegetable garden
Sunday 6 June, 2010
John and Linda have created a temporary vegetable garden in the walled garden at Dalmore. It's not a huge area and it's full of perennial plants like geraniums and phlox, but the soil is lovely.
They've cleared about a third of it and have planted potatoes, runner beans, peas and French beans. We might use the area for soft fruit in future years because it will be quite easy to net.
.jpg)
Paddock Paradise 3
Sunday 6 June, 2010
I'm starting to get my plan together for this project.
The field margin will have to be cut vey short. It should really be scraped to remove all the grass but we'll see how we go. The field shelter has been cleared out and is great - and it have a pebble floor, good for hoof massage!
.jpg)
At the south end is a line of hawthorn - it would be great to let the horses through there but there's too much grass which can't be easily cut, so I think that will be sheep territory or maybe just a wildlife area. My only concern about the margins is the bunny holes - the soil is very sandy and the holes are well excavated. Large enough to accommodate a Tess, for example!!
Work Party
Saturday 12 June, 2010
We managed to entice a few friends to Dalmore this weekend, with the promise of food, drink and manual labour. Oh, and the football.
Rachael and Claire weeded in the walled garden, while Simon worked on converting the coal shed into the potting shed; Dan did the "grunt" stuff taking off the old roof and Simon started to frame it for the new roof. John has salvaged some clear glassfibre roofing panels, which will let in more light.
Dan strimmed the future apiary and I bagged lath, for burning in the fire pit.
Buddy and Dickie go north
Saturday 19 June, 2010
Well, the boys have moved to Dalmore today. They loaded no problem at all and travelled well. They've had a squirt of Crovect to protect them from flies and I'll worm test them before they go out in the big field.
Meantime, they are in the small paddock that will eventually be the vegetable garden. They've settled in well and seem quite content. Dickie's such a sweetheart - he just loves a good scratch and a digestive biscuit.
Strimming
Saturday 19 June, 2010
Mark, Mo and the boys were at Dalmore this weekend. While John, Linda, Mark, Mo and Lewis went cycling, Ben, who's 15, elected to stay with us and strim. He enjoyed it so much (!) that we've bought him a new strimmer. It's a Husquvarna and much more robust than our current ones. The harness should come this week just in time for Ben's summer holidays.
Ben also assembled a new cabinet for the outside loo - a few pictures and magazines and it will be just like home.
Big meadow land
Wednesday 23 June, 2010
Apparently, the name "Dalmore" comes from both the Norse and Gaelic languages and means "big meadow land". Nice.
The potting shed
Monday 28 June, 2010
We decided to convert the now-redundant coal shed into a potting shed. The existing potting shed, while huge, is kind of, well, ugly. It also sits where John and Linda's cottage will go, so it will be demolished at some point.
The coal shed, on the other hand, has a bit of charm, in my opinion. Its back wall is the wall of the walled garden; the other three walls are made from sleepers. The old tin roof has been removed and replaced with clear glassfibre panels that John salvaged from elsewhere. He also recycled one of the windows from the old potting shed, so it's much lighter than it was before.
Snowy, the wanderer
Monday 28 June, 2010
Our White Leghorn, Snowy, has not quite grasped the concept of fences. All the other hens stay in the run, but Snowy gets out every morning and does her own thing. By afternoon, she's back at the run gate waiting to get in.
I noticed when I was up last week that there were no white eggs in the boxes - indicating that Snowy, who's good layer, had set up an alternative nestbox. After much hunting, John found her nest with eleven eggs in it.
We have been a bit worried that Snowy would come a cropper. Yesterday, she disappeared. John found a little pile of white feathers and we thought "that's it." But last night, John and Linda were sitting outside the caravan when who wanders past but the bold Snowy!
Why do we do this?
Tuesday 29 June, 2010
We had heavy rain last night but this morning, there isn't a cloud in the sky. I picked a couple of handfuls of strawberries, wet with raindrops and warmed by the sun and my daughter and I ate them for breakfast.
In the midst of lawyers and builders and estate agents, it's easy to forget why we're doing this but this morning, I remembered.
No M
Tuesday 29 June, 2010
I got the Ryeland Flock Book Society newletter today. It said that the registration letter for 2010 lambs is N. Last year, it was L. I queried it and have been assured that it is N - M, for some reason, isn't used. Looks like Milly's in for a name change!
The Caravan Club
Wednesday 30 June, 2010
Since our house won't be ready until October and it's a 3 hour round trip and I have no patience, we've bought a caravan. Hopefully it will be delivered on Friday, so we're staying there Friday night.
We bought it from some friends who have just built a new house. It's in very good condition, so we won't be roughing it exactly. I'm really excited about it!
Photos to follow!!
Building progress report
Wednesday 30 June, 2010
Well, the floor is well and truly set, so that's good news. The builders have been here all week fitting roof vents, replacing any damaged slates, re-fixing any slipped ones and renewing guttering and downpipes. They assure me it's a great roof, which is a comfort. They've also put up some scaffolding so that part of the wall can be repointed and concreted the pantry floor. It's been really windy, so I've been watching them on the roof, with some anxiety.
Harry and Kevin, the electricians (Harry's my cousin and Kevin's his son), were here yesterday doing some bits and pieces. We had them have a look at the wiring in the West range; it looks "home made" so it's coming out and the professionals will put in some additional features, like a few more double sockets, another strip light, an outside light and an infrastructure to support it. At the moment, we get regular shorts and trips and since our freezers are in there, that's not a good thing. Harry and Kevin will be back at the end of the week, once the plaster boarding has started.
Building progress report
Wednesday 30 June, 2010
Well, the builders have been in this week. The old fireplaces have gone, except for the one in the living room; the subfloors are filled ready for the membrane and concrete screed; the old flue for the range has gone and the bricking up that needs done is almost complete. Tomorrow, they start breaking up the concrete floor in the kitchen, for the underfloor heating.
Linda has managed to burn all the lath, so the garden is a lot tidier, and with our new super-duper strimmer, we should soon be able to cross the garden without pith helmet and machete. We're still finding the most wondeful plants, though. Again, photos to follow.
Building progress report
Wednesday 30 June, 2010
Well, the plastering is finished, the Ames taping is well underway and the old woodburning stove has been taken out. The electrician is coming tomorrow to lay the underfloor matting in the bathroom, finish off the sockets and get the power on. The digger and the dumper were delivered last night, so the ground works start on Monday, as does the tiling in the bathroom.
There are a few of areas of groundworks - the coil for the heatpump, the trench for the PV cables, the gateway in Sheepfold, the trench for the new water pipes to the house and West range. The PV cells are being installed in the week beginning 15th November.
- Previous « May 2010
- Next July 2010 »
