Georgian House Renovation Up North - 5 Years and Counting
Discussion
stewjohnst said:
Having shelled out another grand and a half on bricks and cement I was at least cheered up by the sight of the old beech tree in the sun.
It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
Trees are awesome arnt they, and beech one of the nicest.It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
We are currently doing battle with the mortgage companies following a massive de-valuation, however once we actually have the house having a look see and the trees and getting a decent apple planted is high on the list.
Daniel
dhutch said:
stewjohnst said:
Having shelled out another grand and a half on bricks and cement I was at least cheered up by the sight of the old beech tree in the sun.
It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
Trees are awesome arnt they, and beech one of the nicest.It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
We are currently doing battle with the mortgage companies following a massive de-valuation, however once we actually have the house having a look see and the trees and getting a decent apple planted is high on the list.
Daniel
I think our best planting was three Quince about ten years ago.
Even if you don't like their fruit, they have a graceful habit. I love all things culinarily Quince.
stewjohnst said:
Having shelled out another grand and a half on bricks and cement I was at least cheered up by the sight of the old beech tree in the sun.
It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
Ours is always the last to spring into life, not shown it's face yet but shouldn't be long now!It appears to spring into leaf overnight every year but makes opening the curtains on a morning so much nicer.
I planted a few hundred metres of beech hedge about a week before the the big freeze so currently waiting to see if any of it springs into life
I had the most stunning and enormous beech in the back garden in London. It defined the whole garden. We lost it to honey fungus inside of two years. Very sad and the garden never looked the same.
I had the most stunning and enormous beech in the back garden in London. It defined the whole garden. We lost it to honey fungus inside of two years. Very sad and the garden never looked the same.
Honey fungus is a b
h. We have it over the garden wall - not in our garden itself thankfully. It has lay waste to a row of willow and we’re debatig what to replant in there to counter it.
We have a few small fruit trees in the garden. An apple that is very hit and miss, although this year we have some blossom after two fallow years of trying to recover its shape after years of neglect.
We also have a cherry tree that now I’ve got the hang of pruning does actually provide edible fruit that doesn’t cause your face to pucker like the other end of a drugs mule at the customs border.
It’s a race with the birds to get them though.
And there’s a pear tree that would have given us more than three pears last year, had the dog not cottoned on to what they were and pillaged the low hanging fruit.
And finally, the centrepiece is this beautiful magnolia - looks amazing for three days a year (but been known to flower up to three times a year if hot) but creates a lot of debris throughout the year - leaves, petals, twig drop, buds, etc.
Just waiting for her to drop the rest of the leaves and we’ll see about pruning off a few of those water shoots up at the top.
h. We have it over the garden wall - not in our garden itself thankfully. It has lay waste to a row of willow and we’re debatig what to replant in there to counter it.We have a few small fruit trees in the garden. An apple that is very hit and miss, although this year we have some blossom after two fallow years of trying to recover its shape after years of neglect.
We also have a cherry tree that now I’ve got the hang of pruning does actually provide edible fruit that doesn’t cause your face to pucker like the other end of a drugs mule at the customs border.
It’s a race with the birds to get them though.
And there’s a pear tree that would have given us more than three pears last year, had the dog not cottoned on to what they were and pillaged the low hanging fruit.
And finally, the centrepiece is this beautiful magnolia - looks amazing for three days a year (but been known to flower up to three times a year if hot) but creates a lot of debris throughout the year - leaves, petals, twig drop, buds, etc.
Just waiting for her to drop the rest of the leaves and we’ll see about pruning off a few of those water shoots up at the top.
At the front of our place in London was an enormous old magnolia. I used to look forward to it flowering every year. For that one week it was a magnificence of white. The most important thing about it was that it was on the other side of the road in a neighbour’s front garden so not my bloody mess to clear up. 
Somewhere on ph, I have a readers car thread going cold about my 147 but with these few snippets of sunshine up north, the neglected Alfa always seems to lose out (probably rightly) to the kids.
I did take the youngest to playgroup in it today and she loves me redlining the Twin Spark (responsibly of course) on the straight “Racing cars daddy” but the afternoon was spent with us planting up an old Belfast sink we’ve had lying about with some flowers she chose the other day at the garden centre.
I could of course go out and do the thermostat and leaking coolant bottle on the Alfa now the kids are in bed. However, this overlooks the fact I am almost wholly submerged in the bath, trying not to nod off and drop the phone as I type.
I did take the youngest to playgroup in it today and she loves me redlining the Twin Spark (responsibly of course) on the straight “Racing cars daddy” but the afternoon was spent with us planting up an old Belfast sink we’ve had lying about with some flowers she chose the other day at the garden centre.
I could of course go out and do the thermostat and leaking coolant bottle on the Alfa now the kids are in bed. However, this overlooks the fact I am almost wholly submerged in the bath, trying not to nod off and drop the phone as I type.
The weather forecast said sun today but the incessant spitting rain and wind would say otherwise.
I have a skip to fill and drying logs to rotate so not much work done outside.
I did find time to drop a couple of stone slabs into the border to make a path for the wife to plant around and for the kids to subsequently trample...
I never throw anything away so total cost of these steps is a whopping zero quid.
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Cool steps, bored now daddy...
I have a skip to fill and drying logs to rotate so not much work done outside.
I did find time to drop a couple of stone slabs into the border to make a path for the wife to plant around and for the kids to subsequently trample...
I never throw anything away so total cost of these steps is a whopping zero quid.
User reviews by a VIP
Cool steps, bored now daddy...
I always worry this may thread may turn into some type of (god forbid) lifestyle blog - but I thought today of all days - the 11th anniversary of my wife’s mother’s death from a brain tumour many years ago - brings home what matters.
It is is a little too windy and a little too cold to be sitting outside but the kids have gone to bed and the wife and I are sitting outside clinging to the warmth of the chiminea and discussing life over a 30 year old Barolo that is being wasted at the temperature we’re drinking it at.
In retrospect, I paint the life on here of some rural idyll, a little plot of perfect England, away from the rush and hustle bustle of the world. It isn’t true.
This house is often a drain, it is as demanding as an ex-wife, as impatient for attention as a current wife, as thankful for the care as two kids and as financially ruinous as a 250GTO for the school run and it costs the same as an expensive family holiday a year just to keep in working order but...
...Life is short, and if you can step above or away from the grind of what you do day to day and admire all that you have or have become/achieved in a non-material sense, then you are doing well.
The wife and I had a very recent and heated debate about whether I loved her or the house more as we debated the horrific outstanding cost of work to do...(kitchen, windows, utilities, etc - £50k I reckon) but I would sell the house in a moment if my wife and kids were at stake.
Life is for living, for those than can.
Cheers, nana Jean.
And yes, these slippers belong in1985.
It is is a little too windy and a little too cold to be sitting outside but the kids have gone to bed and the wife and I are sitting outside clinging to the warmth of the chiminea and discussing life over a 30 year old Barolo that is being wasted at the temperature we’re drinking it at.
In retrospect, I paint the life on here of some rural idyll, a little plot of perfect England, away from the rush and hustle bustle of the world. It isn’t true.
This house is often a drain, it is as demanding as an ex-wife, as impatient for attention as a current wife, as thankful for the care as two kids and as financially ruinous as a 250GTO for the school run and it costs the same as an expensive family holiday a year just to keep in working order but...
...Life is short, and if you can step above or away from the grind of what you do day to day and admire all that you have or have become/achieved in a non-material sense, then you are doing well.
The wife and I had a very recent and heated debate about whether I loved her or the house more as we debated the horrific outstanding cost of work to do...(kitchen, windows, utilities, etc - £50k I reckon) but I would sell the house in a moment if my wife and kids were at stake.
Life is for living, for those than can.
Cheers, nana Jean.
And yes, these slippers belong in1985.
Edited by stewjohnst on Thursday 26th April 22:59
I like the sentiment. I had a similar moment, sitting in my back-garden in the sun last week, looking back at the house: "Holy crap, this is ours. We did this."
Our old Victorian place hasn't needed anything like the amount of work you've put into this fascinating thread, but there's always been a project or three on the go since we moved in four years ago, and I'm constantly thinking of new ideas. Reading threads like this, not to mention Harry's, doesn't help though
Most of our friends live in 60s housing estates or new builds and look at us with the fear of God when we tell them how much the Aga costs to run, and why we can't have double glazing. I don't care if they think we're mad
Our old Victorian place hasn't needed anything like the amount of work you've put into this fascinating thread, but there's always been a project or three on the go since we moved in four years ago, and I'm constantly thinking of new ideas. Reading threads like this, not to mention Harry's, doesn't help though
Most of our friends live in 60s housing estates or new builds and look at us with the fear of God when we tell them how much the Aga costs to run, and why we can't have double glazing. I don't care if they think we're mad
stewjohnst said:
I always worry this may thread may turn into some type of (god forbid) lifestyle blog - but I thought today of all days - the 11th anniversary of my wife’s mother’s death from a brain tumour many years ago - brings home what matters..
In retrospect, I paint the life on here of some rural idyll, a little plot of perfect England, away from the rush and hustle bustle of the world. It isn’t true.
...Life is short, and if you can step above or away from the grind of what you do day to day and admire all that you have or have become/achieved in a non-material sense, then you are doing well.
The wife and I had a very recent and heated debate about whether I loved her or the house, but I would sell the house in a moment if my wife and kids were at stake.
Life is for living, for those than can.
Cheers, nana Jean.
Cheers to nana Jean indeed!In retrospect, I paint the life on here of some rural idyll, a little plot of perfect England, away from the rush and hustle bustle of the world. It isn’t true.
...Life is short, and if you can step above or away from the grind of what you do day to day and admire all that you have or have become/achieved in a non-material sense, then you are doing well.
The wife and I had a very recent and heated debate about whether I loved her or the house, but I would sell the house in a moment if my wife and kids were at stake.
Life is for living, for those than can.
Cheers, nana Jean.
I have a thread going at the moment about the issues we have had over the last 3 months of trying to buy half an Edwardian mansion just outside Birkenhead just on mortgage down valuations, issues with lenders not accepting various income streams, and incorrect advice from lenders on what they can and cant lend against.
We haven't even got the keys and its causing pain but we love it, and we also know that at the end of the day even if this ones goes tits up, what matters is living together, with the dog, and spending time enjoying life, with friends. The house is just a vehicle for that.
seiben said:
... look at us with the fear of God when we tell them how much the Aga costs to run, and why we can't have double glazing. I don't care if they think we're mad
Fair. You have to be able to afford food and to be able to enjoy it, but if you are, you can't take it with you.Daniel
Some excellent progress today as the concrete foundation was poured.
The builder had helpfully asked me whether I wanted to compare prices for buy it by the cube or just have a concrete taxi turn up.
I opted for the latter as I didn’t want to be short or have half a cube left over to throw away.
This proved a fortuitous decision on my part as the trench performed an admiral impression of Mr Creosote and continued to eat and eat. The estimate of 3 cubes proved a little wide of the mark and 5.3 cubes were actually required by the time the Benny Hill wheelbarrow show was over.
Naturally, this meant more money but as the mixer was late, the lads helped me shift a load of the bricks over the wall as there wasn’t much else they could do on site.
I seem to have become a small reclamation/builders merchant by accident...and there are four pallets yet to be moved.
Ready to go rockery set anyone? This was all just tidied bits of stone I had lying around
Not suggesting building works in the past just made do with whatever was to hand but I do seem to have quite a varied history collection from old brickworks in the area.
In garden news, as these candlestick primulas are behind the fence, this is what they would look like we’re the kids not picking them every 30 seconds.
Bending down to take this photo reminded me the Hydrangea needed the old heads chopping, so as I added that to the list for extra brownie points, these were banked and confirmed by way of an approving nod from her indoors through the window.
I contemplated mowing the lawn but as my fit bit just rolled over 20,000 steps and 280 active minutes for the day, I decided some jobs can wait.
A decision I then reversed by chopping down a couple of small dead trees (killed by the tree surgeon machine gunning them to death with wood chippings) to make use of the skip.
Tomorrow is more of the same, with the added bonus of seeing the foundation brickwork starting tomorrow!
Takeaway and beers required tonight I think.
The builder had helpfully asked me whether I wanted to compare prices for buy it by the cube or just have a concrete taxi turn up.
I opted for the latter as I didn’t want to be short or have half a cube left over to throw away.
This proved a fortuitous decision on my part as the trench performed an admiral impression of Mr Creosote and continued to eat and eat. The estimate of 3 cubes proved a little wide of the mark and 5.3 cubes were actually required by the time the Benny Hill wheelbarrow show was over.
Naturally, this meant more money but as the mixer was late, the lads helped me shift a load of the bricks over the wall as there wasn’t much else they could do on site.
I seem to have become a small reclamation/builders merchant by accident...and there are four pallets yet to be moved.
Ready to go rockery set anyone? This was all just tidied bits of stone I had lying around
Not suggesting building works in the past just made do with whatever was to hand but I do seem to have quite a varied history collection from old brickworks in the area.
In garden news, as these candlestick primulas are behind the fence, this is what they would look like we’re the kids not picking them every 30 seconds.
Bending down to take this photo reminded me the Hydrangea needed the old heads chopping, so as I added that to the list for extra brownie points, these were banked and confirmed by way of an approving nod from her indoors through the window.
I contemplated mowing the lawn but as my fit bit just rolled over 20,000 steps and 280 active minutes for the day, I decided some jobs can wait.
A decision I then reversed by chopping down a couple of small dead trees (killed by the tree surgeon machine gunning them to death with wood chippings) to make use of the skip.
Tomorrow is more of the same, with the added bonus of seeing the foundation brickwork starting tomorrow!
Takeaway and beers required tonight I think.
I’ve 150 woodland geraniums to plant, a row of hedging and a quarter acre of bare soil to rake over and clear of debris ready for turfing. I’ve done bugger all today and suspect the same effort tomorrow. My Fitbit has been mostly nagging me to vacuum the upstairs living room today but I’ve studiously ignored her. I’m not expecting any dinner.
My Fitbit has been mostly nagging me to vacuum the upstairs living room today but I’ve studiously ignored her. I’m not expecting any dinner. Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff