Finally the skip is removed from the drive

Since we moved into our new house in October 2012 one of the first things we did was started ripping the house apart and this meant that we needed a skip. Well it wasn't just one skip that we needed and this week we were up to skip number seven but when this skip was removed we weren't getting another one. 

It's a really exciting feeling knowing that the majority of the renovation work is now coming to an end and that the house is nearly complete but most exciting is that we now actually get to make use of the driveway that comes with the house

There have now been skips on the driveway for the last 14 months so it's left quite a mark on the driveway but i can't wait to have my car on the driveway instead of the skip!

exterior painting

With the sun shining and the temperature feeling summery (if you ignore the cold temperatures in the morning and night) we are making the most of the dry weather to get a few more outside jobs complete. Although we have big plans for the outside of the house we know it won't be looked into until spring next year so to tie us over the winter the back garden gets a lick of paint to brighten the area up ready for winter. 

The plans for this area will be to replace the the stone steps with something a little wider and less dangerous. We are hoping to create something using railway sleepers but for now a fresh coat of white exterior paint will have to do. 

Now it's back into the house to warm up and continue the jobs on the inside.

Painting the garage

With the last little bit of summer I'm making the most of it and painting the rest of the back of the house. We dug out the patio slabs a few weeks ago as we had drainage issues with the outside ground level higher than the inside and water was entering the house. Here you can see the tide line where the patio slabs have been removed. The new ground level is about 7 inches lower than it was previously. This has left us with a grubby black lines running across the wall. Although the wall does need rendering for now it it's getting a fresh coat of paint to brighten it up whilst we continue working on the inside of the house. 

With the outbuilding now painted and the back of the garage also painted it certainly looks much better out there. Hopefully this will last over the winter until next year when the inside of the house is finished and we can start landscaping and improving the outside. Just need new doors, new windows and a new roof and the garage will be up to the same standard as the inside!

Painting the original out building

When we bought the house this is what the outside of the back looked like. Although we had a vision for this area with a nice new patio and a bbq and a table and chairs the priorities were always to work on the inside of the house first.

We made some progress outside through removing the flower bed and re opening the access to the archway but to make the outside just that little bit more appealing we gave the whole area a lick of paint. Removing the lose render off the wall and giving the wall a good scrub meant that it was ready for a lick of paint.  

It needs to be properly rendered and painted but for the time being the old outbuilding now looks a lot fresher. Hopefully it'll stay this way over the winter before we are ready to render the outside of the house properly and make the garden the area that we dream of creating.  

New guttering on the front of the house

With the weather is on our side it is time to replace the rotten crumbling guttering on the front of the house around the garage. This has been a problem since we moved in where the guttering wasn't attached to the wall in most places and the gutters leaked down the walls in other parts.

Sending James's dad out to the local DIY store he picks up the required new section of drain pipe and fixes this to the garage including a new section of wood to replace the previous rotten wood.

Painting the exterior of the house

Waiting for sunny weather in the UK is a very good British past time and when doing DIY this makes no exception. The kitchen window looks straight out onto this retaining wall from next doors garden and whilst it is green and mouldy it isn't particularly nice to look out on. 

With some weather proof masonry paint the old wall brightened up a treat, and this reflects light straight back into the kitchen and through the house.  

Just the rest of the outside of the house to paint before the summer ends!

Gaining access to the back garden

I'm a little behind on my blog posts recently as we've both been busy working and not finding time to write, but with the weather wet and miserable outside I thought I would take the time to update the blog with the house progress. 

Now that the footpath alongside the garage has finally been cleared it gives us the opportunity to gain access to the back garden. With the help of a very dear friend who was visiting us all the way from Essex we used his muscle to knock down the brick wall that blocks up the beautiful brick archway.

Our good friend Brian smashing his way through the block work.

Finally after several hours of smashing the bricks away we now have gained the original access back to our home. Next job is to dig out the raised bed and remove the wall around it. 

Big thanks to Brian for all your help on our little Cornish home renovation.

clearing down the side of the garage

When we moved into the house we knew that down the side of the garage was a complete mess, but we just kind of ignored it and concentrated on the inside of the house. Now with the summer weather on our side we took to the massive task of clearing down the side of the garage and gaining the space back.

This task was a massive task, and just clearing back the weeds to even get to the side of the garage was a big job that involved lots of stinging nettle wounds.

It now appears that the previous owners of this house used the side of the garage as a dumping ground for everything possible. We found 7 car tyres, 2 empty gas bottles and several plastic tubs with signs on some of them saying hazardous waste... the list goes on.

Then we found several lengths of metal pipe, a metal oil drum and a pond! 

After one full weekend of clearing rubbish, weeds and mud we finally have a clear path down by the garage.