The Forth Bridge

Our house is a bit like the railway bridge, it really needs keeping on top of or it will go to pot. I have been eyeing the soffits and ornamental woodwork for sometime and finally decided it needed to be replaced or repairs and repainted. The roof could be looked at, at the same time.

So first thing was scaffolding. I knew it would take a bit of work and be pricey but if it is needed only once every 15 years then it's a small price to pay. The crew took it right to the top of the roof, so the painter and carpenter had no problem getting on with the task in hand and they worked well together to get it done while the good weather held. They even put the weathervane back and the 1871 year tag digits which had fallen off.

Then it was down to me! Firstly the windows which the cleaners can't reach had to have 15 years of grime removed so we could see out of them again, then I needed to remove a small forest from one of the gully's. I still have to do a bit of rendering and wait for a cloud burst to see if I have fixed the gutters, but all in all I am anticipating the scaffolding can be removed by the end of the month and the house can look it's best for the Autumn.

That leaves the interior to be smartened up, particularly on the top floor where our Airbnb visitors stay. We have a lady coming today for three nights and then a Corbynista arriving for the Labour party conference a bit later. Every little helps.

It is high, but I can see your house from here !

I can see your house from here

As the golf matches slow down for a while, its time for house maintenance. The big job I have been putting off is painting the wooden surrounds and soffits on the roof.

It's a scaffold job, and one I will probably need a couple of professionals for. One to do the woodwork and one to do the painting. So it's a few phone calls tomorrow.

I have built a slide in the garden for the ankle biters. The slide is connected to a tree and the kids have two ways to climb up. Either on the rustic ladder or by using the climbing wall. The wall is made up of coloured handhelds and gives them a different sort of challenge. So it won't be long before an A & E trip is planned!!

A new addition to the eco friendliness of the garden has been a water butt which collects water from the room of the storage shed. I am already using the water on the pots and new flower beds and that has allowed us to harvest our baby salad leaves twice already. We already have wood piles, wild flower patches and butterfly & bee friendly flowers so I seem to be doing my bit for the wildlife.

This has been confirmed by a wren nesting in the eaves of the house, a blue tit nest in the wall and a blackbirds in the yew hedge. Just need to keep those magpies at bay...now where is that air rifle?

Barry Bucknell

I am taking advantage of the mild weather to put the house to sleep for the Winter. It does not Winter well, so it needs a fair bit of TLC.
The first problem was that the dehumidifier in the basement packed up so that gives us a condensation problem. The manufacturers have to send engineers from their base in the Isle of Wright to fix it each time. They charge £100 just to visit, so each all-out is ridiculous. Why they don't have regional reps I don't know! Anyway that's sorted now.

Next challenge is the roof. I have been waiting since July to get some tiles replaced by the insurance company. The scaffolder arrived today but decided he had under quoted so is back to the drawing  board. Its a £100 job which needs £4000 of scaffolding. Ridiculous.

I was hoping to get my soffits replaced and eaves painted at the same time but that's not going to happen now.

So what have I done? Well, the rockery is finished,the first leaves are collected and an annoying tree has been lopped. I've done a tip run, and cleared the drain.

So now it's boundary walls and fences, final grass cutting and pruning outside. Damp sorting, some painting and junk shifting inside.

We have another Airbnb visitor tomorrow, and then SWMBO is off to Tanzania. When she gets back it will be into Christmas festivities......roll on March when the heating can go off!