THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

GreyQueen

We used to play in Nan's wash house at the bungalow (the same one we cleared as a family last October after she died, I cleared out the wash house for old time's sake).

The copper was removed sometime in the 1980s but it was definately a feature of childhood games, along with exhortations not to try standing up in it. Ah, happy memories of duelling with the copper sticks and trying to catch cousins' noses with the wooden laundry tongs which, like the sticks, had their wooden parts heat-bleached white and were silky to the touch, dunno what kind of wood they were made from.

Small outdoor/ indoor spaces where you can let the kiddos run amok are such a boon to the peace of the parents and a saviour of wear & tear on the home, as well as on adults' nerves.

[Deleted User]

lime render and lime plaster are very much alive and kicking, that and cedar. Frost took a bit of render off a low corner of my house, I repaired it with lime render and then you have to use a speacial breathing silicate paint. Minute cracks in lime render self-fill because of new silicate crystals forming. Its good stuff but very soft. Inside I have lime plaster, again painted with eco paint. The whole house has a great atmosphere wrt humidity, it is always optimum for human welfare

I remember my dad using limewash to whiten yard walls when I was a sprog, the heat coming from it when he mixed the water in

Metal detector, just a child one, found a tiny ring in a very deep horse bed of shavings. Was miraculous

[Deleted User]

jk0 wrote: »

He refused this, as he would then need to buy compatible saucepans.

That's not actually a silly as it sounds.

I've just bought a set of new saucepans, as the two I already had, don't work on an induction hob.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Digforvictory..

What you discribed is how we are living now lol.. but living between the cottage and a caravan..

The cottages that are knocked into one.. was in the same family for over 100 years before we bought it. No foundations.. cement rendered over stone that was build with lime etc.. it was sleeping in water.. no builder would touch it. The modulation n the ceiling (Which was very thin ply board) was shavings!!!

We have our own wood supply..

We still got loads and i mean loads of structural work to do. But our circumstances have changed dramatically. And no major work will get done for the foreseeable..

As long as we can eat, sleep and have a bath, go to the loo etc.. it's fine by us..

Edit... I can trace the cottage back to 1790.. so far.. .Luckily it's not listed..

VJsmum

Interesting chat. I've probably put this here before but is worth another outing

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Castle

Mystery castle, Phoenix, Arizona. Built out of all sorts by a man for his daughter. We went many years ago, and met the daughter who is now sadly departed.

Perhaps it should be on the make do and mend thread...:rotfl:

pineapple

kittie wrote: »

lime render and lime plaster are very much alive and kicking, that and cedar. Frost took a bit of render off a low corner of my house, I repaired it with lime render and then you have to use a speacial breathing silicate paint. Minute cracks in lime render self-fill because of new silicate crystals forming. Its good stuff but very soft. Inside I have lime plaster, again painted with eco paint. The whole house has a great atmosphere wrt humidity, it is always optimum for human welfare

Just what I was going to say. Here in my part of Cumbria, builders who can do lime work are booked for solid for repairs/renovation even though it can be relatively expensive.
Many old properties like mine have solid rather than cavity walls and no damp course. The purists contend that the use of lime helps old buildings breathe and that many damp problems are caused by using modern plaster for repairs and/or rendering the outside with modern cement mortar. Then adding insult to injury by using non breathable paints.
Lime rendering does give the outside a lovely 'soft' look.

fuddle

Good to see you CTC. I'm always in awe of you. You live each day with a plan of how to get to the end goal and even when it's ruddy tough you're still plodding on, making do and, above all else, thriving! Your mindset is the mindset to have CTC! Hang on in there x

monnagran

CTC: Do not allow any busybody historical societies, preservation trusts or anyone who may try to list your cottage anywhere near your cottage, which sounds wonderful btw. Do what you have to do. Raise the drawbridge, fill the barrels with boiling oil, sharpen the points of your arrows, get out the "not welcome" mat, anything.

I've had the experience of living in a Grade2* cottage. Total nightmare. I'm not even going to mention the expense. If I did anything more than changing a lightbulb, (electricity installed before the listing or I would have been using oil lamps) involved filling in numerous forms, in triplicate, and purchasing whatever expensive commodity they demanded.

I do agree that these rare examples of 700 year old buildings should be preserved in as near an original state as possible, but no one should be trying to live in them. Unless, of course, they have the bottomless purse such a house requires.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

This place was rendered back in the 70s when the council used to give out improvement grants so it was rendered and the gable And .there is not a straight wall in the house .I will try and get some pics together later..

[Deleted User]

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

there is not a straight wall in the house.

I know what you mean.

I've just papered the living room, and boy was that a job and a half. :mad: