I’ve not been committing a lot of time to the spare room lately, so hadn’t gotten very far since before Christmas.
I made an effort today, though, so the floor’s now back down, removing the risk of creating a new, quicker route to the kitchen.
The vent on the far wall has been the subject of some discussion recently; it hinted at the possibility of a bricked-up fireplace.
So, we made the obvious decision to explore further.
I came to North Shields this morning in search of beaded skirting board. And I was very pleased to find a close match to the 1800s skirting in the house.
The timber yard was very busy, a Saturday morning thing I guess. A man helped me find the right skirting; they have a huge range. He asked me how much I needed and i said around 2.5 metres (knowing the limits of public transport).
He went off to find a piece and returned a few minutes later. Apparently, it only comes in four metre lengths, which is actually great, but he’d cut off a metre and a half to match the size I wanted. He had to sell me the whole length, but it’s good to have spare. He said he’d left it outside for me, so I paid then went to collect the wood.
The wood is currently with beer kegs out back at the Magnesia Bank. I realised that, even reduced in length, I’d not be able to transport it on the Metro. And, so, I needed to find somewhere to wait for a lift home. The Maggie Bank was an obvious choice.
It’s six years since I’ve been here; I came for a pint with Ellen before a pretty cool wedding. Well, the pub’s just round the corner to the register office.
It’s not a bad place to wait with a piece of skirting board.
I came to Ouseburn this morning, led by a web page, to attempt to find a match for some old skirting board. Unfortunately, the wood product vendor no longer copies old mouldings. It seems that the internet cannot always be trusted.
It hasn’t been a wasted trip though. I’m now sitting round the corner, in the Free Trade Inn, in front of a fire, with a delicious pint of Box Social Porter. It tastes very chocolatey.
They seem to have standard torus skirting here, so shouldn’t have any problem if they ever decide to remove a doorway.
An early Kings of Leon album is playing and Craig David is asleep on a barrel. I’m quite content.
It’s now raining, so I shall stay for another pint of Porter.
Today was mostly spend plastering. A first coat.
The second picture appears somewhat bumpy, but that’s due to shadows from a light shade.
A second coat should be possible on Tuesday. Assuming that I have no hangover, that is. Tomorrow evening is our second of three Augustines gigs.
After considering it for a couple of years, I’ve committed to a project for the autumn/winter.
Two rooms are soon to become one. Well, perhaps not exactly soon, because a project shouldn’t be rushed.
One door, and frame, has been removed and boarded over. And there’s a large hole between the two rooms.
Today was spent digging concrete out of the garden. A task made more arduous by a huge tree root wrapped around one lump. However, I have successfully excavated the various layers of concrete archeology from our garden.
In doing so, I found the base of the old extension, demolished in the early 80s.
I’m quite enjoying sitting in the garden, watching my second in command making stuff.
Another coat of paint is needed, but I have completed my shelving project.
The space previously occupied by the (deceased) jukebox has been empty way too long. So I have begun to construct some shelves.
A picture of the finished project will follow.
An early finish at work today allowed seeds to be planted (chilli, coriander, chives and thyme) and a Windows (stick) computer to be made more useable.
A productive evening.