Man Cave Mk2

[b33fy]

The house really does look fantastic Mike, well done. I bet you're looking forward to moving in and putting your feet up!

The Rogue Runners are at Ecclefechan from 18th to 24th May next year, I've had a look and it is 75 miles to Kelso taking in the beautiful Moffat to Selkirk road, so I should be able to come over one morning, go out for lunch and get back to the hotel at a sensible time. I hope you are around then.

Thanks Duncan. That sounds great, looking forward to catching up. If you want to do a “loop” You could head to Lockerbie then aim for Langholm, Hawick (other half’s home town) Denholm, Bonjedward, Kelso, or in reverse. It’s across country to Langholm then fast’ish A roads with some scenery. Used to have fun delivering for the father in law in a MK1 Caddy on the A7 before they straightened out the really twisty bits. When you had a 1500 non turbo diesel, you had to be creative to ensure you kept up the momentum.

Mostly concentrating now on getting the bathrooms and bedrooms ready for plastering. So some wiring, plumbing, plaster boarding and tiling is on the list. Spent a bit of time chasing after a few bits, was still undecided on the living area floor, though after a trip to Edinburgh have decided on solid oak parquet. Found some at a very good price except it’s got micro bezels. Not keen as they can collect dirt etc and would rather have square edge blocks and a smooth floor. Sadly can’t find good quality square edge parquet anywhere at a good price so it looks like we will shove 60m2 of micro bezelled blocks through the thicknesser to square off. A before and after below. Also ended up in Carlisle today chasing Black Friday deals on showers. Made a good saving though probably spent it on diesel.

The living area is now plastered. Greg’s done a superb job on it. All the lines and edges around the windows are spot on. Greg is coming back to put up the coving as I’m pretty slow at that and the end result usually needs a ton of sanding. He’ll do it in a day and leave it paintable.

[b33fy]

A small sprinkling of snow this week though more expected tomorrow. Gone for the solid oak parquet flooring. Cheaper than Karndean even allowing for glue. Pros and cons for all types of flooring. Decided solid oak natural oil finish and let it wear in. TBH I’m fed up tying myself in knots over the floor and sometimes you just gotta jump.

Coving done in living area which is all ready for paint. It’ll have to wait though as Greg will be back on 16th December to plaster the bathrooms and two bedrooms. So we are up against it a bit.

Bathrooms are getting there. On the third one now with wiring and plaster boarding to finish then lay two floors. Next job will be to trial fit rads sinks bogs etc so pipes can be terminated in the right place then we can close up the walls in the bedrooms.

[DJ.]

I'll have a look at your suggested route, I realdy like the B6399 south of Hawick, but that will be too far out of the way.

It must be nice to know you are properly weather proof as we head into winter.

[b33fy]

I'll have a look at your suggested route, I realdy like the B6399 south of Hawick, but that will be too far out of the way.

It must be nice to know you are properly weather proof as we head into winter.

Yep, though it’s still rather cold inside, so I bought another heater. Had a large Clarkes diesel heater which threw out over 60KW of heat turning an icebox into a sweatshop in about 10 seconds. It burnt through diesel though. So bought the smallest version of it. This one lasts 2-3 days on a couple of gallons, though continuous running would get through it in 12 hours if you really wanted to.

I was hoping to have the log burner up and running as we got some expensive solid oak flooring samples to burn Unfortunately the hearth isn’t level and our attempts to level it have failed thus far. Hope to have it cracked over the weekend.

In other news we finished the three bathroom floors other than grouting. Pleased with the way they came out. We used a levelling system to get it right and after trying a couple of wedge based systems, ended up using a spin levelling system with screw down cones and frictionless pads which help stop any accidental movement of the tile. They also act as tile spacers, simplifying the process, whereas you need to use tile spacers alongside other systems.

Had a day out picking up the parquet floor from Edinburgh. Hired a van as it was a considerable amount and over a ton in weight. Was pleasantly surprised when the hire company gave me a relatively new Transit Custom albeit a basic one, though it drove surprisingly well.

Pushed on with the living area as we need to get that done before we can rip out the last old part of the lodge. Stewart the Slater popped round for a coffee and catch up and offered his services if the weather was too bad for roofing. So he was enlisted to Mist Coat the living area. Did a second day today with me with a second coat on the lid and some colour on the walls. He sneaked off for a couple of hours to keep a roofing customer happy so I ran James to the station so he could get his flight down south. Then I had a little time to fit the downlighters in the bay window, Really pleased with the results, not the cheapest option by any means but you get what you pay for.

Plan for the next week is to fit some more lighting and hang the rads in the living area, more to get them out the way than anything else. Then get on and finish some plumbing and wiring in the extension. Hopefully when James is back the following week we can get two of the bedrooms plasterboarded and ready for plastering before xmas.

A few shots below, including painting in progress, and Floors Castle taken on Wednessday.

[DJ.]

Looks great Mike, it is nice you are getting volunteers to help out too. We visited Floors Castle when we stayed at Alnwick, and I think it was one of my favourite stately homes that I have visited.

[b33fy]

Looks great Mike, it is nice you are getting volunteers to help out too. We visited Floors Castle when we stayed at Alnwick, and I think it was one of my favourite stately homes that I have visited.

Thanks Duncan. The gardens are unreal at Floors. Even the vegetable patch is a work of art! There’s a few big piles around the locale including Paxton, Marchmont and Mellerstain. At Mellerstain next week, hopefully for the last time if we can get the lodge liveable soonish.

On the coast there’s Bamburgh Castle, hoping to go there when Swmbo’s here next week. Apparently they do xmas through the ages theme. (not that I’m mad on xmas..) Then there’s Cragside, a techno marvel for its time and my favourite, owned by the Armstrong’s as in the First World War arms manufacturers.

[DJ.]

Bamburgh is magnificient on a nice day, although there is much less inside than Floors or Alnwick. Good to hear you are getting a bit of a break

[b33fy]

Bamburgh is magnificient on a nice day, although there is much less inside than Floors or Alnwick. Good to hear you are getting a bit of a break

I never thought the day would come when I’d be comparing stately piles. Hope it’s not an age thing. Abbortsford was disappointing, with the gardens not looking their best and not a great deal on show inside. Funnily enough the visitor centre, shop and cafe is state of the art.

Some lighting and sockets done. Had a five pendant light from Kent we didn’t use so decided to stick that up after a bit of rewiring where the silly cap style connectors had come off.

Had another go at the hearth. Looked at the wood burner installation and gave up for now. At least I know I don’t need a register plate but I do need a closure plate.

Grouted all the floors and have been sorting out bathroom fixtures and fittings so I can work out where to stick the pipes through the walls. Realised I’m two bogs short and I need corner radiator valves Mocked up a few bits and got some measurements so the next few days will be on the plumbing.

[b33fy]

James is back from a bit of a break in Kent so cracking on to attempt to get two bedrooms and the three bathrooms ready for the plasterers return on Monday. Gonna be tight tbh. Still got wiring and a bit of plumbing in one bedroom to do. Gotta dig the floor up to get the pipes in the correct place for the rad. They look awful coming out the wall so decided to make the effort. Have to batten the ceiling for plaster boarding as the joists are too far apart to support the plasterboard properly. Some bathroom plumbing still to do along with fitting the plaster in downlight housings. Hopefully we’ll buy a bit more time next week if Greg works on the rooms that will be ready.

Treated ourselves to some nice ironmongery from Suffolk Latch Co, for the double doors, antique brass finger plates and door pulls. Also a six way solid bronze flush fitting switch for the living area from Corston Architectural Detail. They do some great stuff though all pretty expensive, especially if you want to kit put a whole room with matching details.

More of the same over the next few days, hopefully relax a bit once the plasterer starts.

[DJ.]

Nice fittings make a big difference if you can stomach the prices.

Hopefully the plastering is all done before Christmas.