2017 Catch-up

Apple harvest time is upon us again, but before I get to posting about a new apple mill renovation project, I thought I should give a brief update of what has happened with the house this year. Building had taken a bit of a back seat the first 8 months of the year, but things are picking up again, with projects that had been put on the long finger getting attention again.

But first, back to December 2016! One of the worst things about the house in winter was the old front door. An aluminium and safety glass monstrosity from the 70s or 80s that would not seal right, and had ice crusts on the inside during the coldest winter nights. Towards the end of 2016 we'd finally ordered a door, so in December I took an angle grinder to the door ope, to cut a space for a future sandstone frame. The original was dumped when they rebuilt this section of the wall, presumably when the existing door was installed, so we felt it would be nice to reinstate a frame.

With the dirty work done, the new door was installed. It immediately made a difference to the climate inthe hall, being well insulated and closing properly, not to mention to the look and feel of the front of the house. Certainly more in keeping withthe style of the house. The colour matches the outer frames around the windows, so despite not being initially too sure about ordering that colour, we're very happy with it.

In January, we had some lovely snow, but also severe storms.

A view of the back of house.

It wasn't till a couple of days after the biggest storm, while walking over to our local, that I noticed the barn roof looked different. Walking around the other side, I saw a large chunk of roof missing. Inside the extent didn't look too bad, but those are asbestos corrugated sheets, and i wasn't happy having to deal with that at this stage. Sometime soon, I want to re-roof the stall part of the barn, and prepare it for solar panels, but that's another story.

 

Luckily, a good friend is in the trade, with the right kind of equipment, so the following day we bought material and patched up the hole with new cement-based sheets. Ugly, but necessary, and a little dear for a temporary fix.

Nearly done

The next big thing was the second vaulted cellar. I had done the walls and ceiling in May 2016 (May!), but had not been able to continue the floor due to shoulder problems in the autumn. In March this year, I was able to kick this off again, with the removal of 4 tonnes of heavy clay, to bring the floor level down a bit. As with the beer cellar, the idea here was to build up a layer of pebbles to promote drainage (this cellar is considerably damper tan the other), topped with crushed stone and a final brick layer.

The stages can be seen in the photos below, including painting with a silicate paint, but that's as far as it got, as i have not been able to source reasonably-priced old bricks. We may do something else if I don't find any soon. This cellar is intended to be used as a food store, and should be ideal for storage of spuds, carrots and the like, once I build a new door.

In between all of this were some more hobby-related tasks, mostly relating to alcohol production.
I acquired a Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique early in the year, directly from the Schneider winery, so I made a stand for it then brewed 200 litres of Imperial Brown Ale to age in it. It's now serving, and was worth the effort!

In late summer I then had my first foray into making fruit wine, after a neighbour asked if I would like to use his father's redcurrants. Sadly, his dad is no longer able to do it, so I was only too happy to help continue the tradition with them. We used a berry mill and the cutest press I've ever seen, both built by his father and uncle. We now have 54 litres in the cellar, finished fermenting, so I'll have to bottle soon.

I forgot to mention the apple brandy I got distilled in January, but I may come back to that in another post. But as the Schnapps buzz has me, I mashed up 60kg of our cherry plums, so am hoping this will make a nice schnapps in January!

And that's a quick roundup of the positive highlights of the past 10 months. Stand by for the attic conversion, cellar insulation and another apple mill restoration.

Vaulted cellar 2, part 3: plastering done

A quick video-only update this time. After all the fun with the barrels (which are still holding water, you'll be pleased to know), I got back to the cellar and finished the plastering off. Now to sort out the floor.

Vaulted cellar 2, part 2: repointing

A short and sweet post to give a quick progress check. I'm pleased with how the walls are turning out, considering how grimy they really were, and the fact that I've been cleaning them down by hand, compared to using a sandblaster as I did in the other cellars.

When it's done, I'll write a proper retrospective post, with before and after, to highlight the transformation, but here's the current status, with before and after of the walls. Although the wall on the right looked quite ok, in reality, it was covered ina slick of... I dont know what, and the old mortar was quite crumbly. By scrubbing it all down, it feels much cleaner,and there's more definition on the stones, not to mention fresh, breathable mortar to secure everything. On the back wall, the effect is even clearer, in this frequently wet spot.

And just repointing the bottom half of the wall on the left, as the top half will be plastered over, but even that makes a big difference, as can be seen better in the video.

Vaulted cellar 2, part 1: getting started

It was over a month ago that I finally started doing something with our second vaulted cellar, and to be honest, not a whole lot hat has happened since I uploaded the video below. Sure, the orignal floor is now out, and I've started cleaning down the walls, but I'll post about that  in a couple more weeks, when there's more to show. The plan, of course, is to bring it to a similar standard as the Bierkeller.

For now, here's an intro video.

The entry hall, part 2

It's nice when things go smoothly, and the past three weeks have been fairly plain sailing for getting the entry hall as far as possible without having our new front door, despite a week away on business.

I'll keepthis quick, and there'sa short vid at the end in case you don't like reading.

So here's how it was at the last update:

After the walls were patched a bit, I stuck on the wall heating panels with foam.

Then installed the piping, leading the ends up to the distribution manifold upstairs through ducts I had laid months before.

At the same time, the opposite wall, which I had already repointed, needed some plastering to hide the ugly top part.

And done.

The bottom steps were tight against the wall at this stage, as I'd added 3cm to the thickness. So, to plaster over the heating pipes, I needed to get the steps out of the way. These were somehow glued on, so i used a car jack to pop them up, and carefully manhandled them out of the way.

And then plastered the whole lot, except the areas directly beside the entry door, as that would have to be blended in once the door is installed.

After letting it cure acouple of days, i turned the heating on to help dry it out. This would have been the ideal time to put some screwsin the wall for pictures, as you could see where the pipes are!

The opening between the entry hall and adjoining cellar area (where the beer cellar is) needed to be closed off, so we bought a cheap door in the local DIY store, and I built a frame to hang it on.

A quick assembly and a few coats of varnish to keep the door and frame clean, and it was ready to install.

And already quite the transformation! The ceiling was primed with a plaster primer, containing quartz sand, and although I bought a plaster to apply with a trowel and finish with a roller, I think we'll just paint it as it is, as the texture is quite ok! Less work too. Once the front door is in, and the remaining bits of plastering done, then the final paint job will be done. In the meantime, I'll start on the vaulted cellar, to try and get into the same standard as the beer cellar (not to mention making a door for it).

We also finally got a new TV, and to replace the kitchen sideboard that we'd used for the ancient thing we've had till now, I tarted up a lovely board I found in the barn, giving it a run over with the Makita brush sander, and oiling it with worktop oil. The lice edge and grain are really nice, so all I need now it to find proper legs for it, as it currently rests on a pair of old speakers.

And that's it! today i started prepping things to set up a satellite dish, and a couple of small projects, but more of those anon. For now, a live view of the entry hall as it is now:

The entry hall, part 1

I don't know how many parts this project will have, as what seemed like an straightforward set of tasks in my head seems to have turned into a cascade of lots of interdependent jobs, some of which I didn't want to tackle just yet. However, I'm re-energised (somewhat) and want to get this done.

Essentially, the entry hall is ugly as hell, apart from the two natural stone walls and the sandstone door frames. The rest is bare blockwork, ugly fake marble tiles and stairs, and a hideous door.

The door is obvious. We need a new one, and must get one, it's just a matter of deciding exactly what type, but it has to be in keeping with the style of the house of course. And once a new door is in, the walls have to be plastered, but before that, they need to be insulated, and a bit of heating installed, to temper the hall a little in the really cold months.

But we also need to sort out the floor before the new door, and that means lifting the tiles, then pouring some self-levelling screed to build uo the level, as the old screed is falling apart and coming away with the tiles. And if we're doing that, we should get the front step sorted out before the door comes in too. And we need a couple of internal doors to separate cellar space from hall space. And the second vaulted cellar should be done before the hall floor is done, to avoide mucking new tiles and doors up.

And if I have to lift the tiles and pour screed, then the treads of the stairs will have to come off to let me access that corner. And they might break, as they are stuck fast, which means I have to accelerate the plan to swap out the treads with wood...

You see?

Anyway, it's going to be great to have a nice entry hall in a couple of months!

And here's a live view.

The Last Blast

Almost two years ago, I had my first experience using a sand-blaster. We used it a lot for cleaning off oak beams in the upper levels of the house, to great effect, and a cursory clean of the walls in the cellar. Since then, the blaster went on its merry way, but we needed to call on its services again this weekend, to do a proper job on the cellar walls. Initially, we'd thought to simply clean the walls enough so that new plaster would hold, but then decided it would be better for the walls if they were left as natural as possible so any dampness coming from the foundation would find it easier to escape. My wife had spent a couple of weeks knocking the remaining plaster off the walls, but they needed a deep clean before we could repoint.

My old friend.

It's dirty, sweaty work, but enjoyable in its own way, as you see results quick. Well, once the dust has settled, which takes some time when blasting clay and plaster off walls in an enclosed space. But, it needed to be done before the heating equipment gets installed in cellar 4, and that, we hope, will be done in time for winter.

First, a look back to the type of thing we got back in late 2010.

Cellar 1

Cellar 4

Then how they looked a week ago.

"Cellar 2" is in two parts, the entry hall, and behind that as mall vaulted cellar. The left wall of the entry hall, as seen below, has been plastered over, with a damp-proof membrane under the plaster. This was disastrous for the wood beam resting on the wall, hence a good idea to leave it free. After removing the plaster and some of the old mortar (more like clay), it looked better, but pretty manky dirty. We thought it had potential, though.

Cellar 2/Entry hall

Cellar 2/Entry. The sandstone had already been blasted earlier.

In cellar 4, the easternmost former stall, we'd already began with the waterworks installation, so everything had to be wrapped up and protected prior to blasting.  There's quite a difference, even at the stage shown below, compared to what it was like when we first got it as seen above!

Cellar 4

Cellar 4

And the post-blasting shots. I think Cellar 1 is unrecognisable compared to what it was like in 2010. But it's still the messiest of all the cellars, and the floor will eventually have to be replaced, but that's on the very long finger.

Cellar 1 now.

The entry hall is important, and it's a pity the stones aren't nicer, but I think it should come out well in the end.

Cellar 2/Entry hall

Cellar 2/Entry hall

Cellar 4 is going to be fun to repoint...

Cellar 4

Cellar 4

 Difficult as it is to see through the dust, it wasn't helped by the visor on my mask getting frosted. Glad I have a backup, but I won't be blasting again!

All that was left to do was the cleanup. The used sand went to the neighbour's chickens...