Friday 25 September 2009

No fiddling on the roof.

The picture of the back of the house shows just how far the re roofing and laying of ridge tiles has come along, thanks to our very late summer. I was afraid that the roof work would perhaps be delayed until next spring with consequent water damage but the chaps have made great progress and another week should see the job finished.Plans for new barge boards are being drawn up with rather more adventurous finials than attempted by me before, plus the search for vintage chimney pots continues. Then new gutters,render repair,painting etc will result in a house that should be able to weather another century or two of English winters....whether I can is a moot point (and yes I intend to live forever!)

8 comments:

James Higham said...

Will you ever stop to enjoy the place or will it always be in the building?

Thud said...

James...I love building but it would in this case be nice to finish and live in but the renovation work involved means that a finished house is quite a way off...then the cottages etc need getting a grip of.

Philipa said...

Well it's looking good!

On the subject of barge boards; I'm sure this won't apply to you directly but.. mine need replacing and I was cold-called by a company, a lady came around and showed me a UVPC relacement system that took back the roof by a metre, fitted their product and replaced the roof. I was unhappy to sign on the day and they wouldn't allow a phone number to call back so I said to call me when I'd checked my finances. They pushed but I don't sign anything like that. They didn't call.

Anyway, I had no argument with their product, which looked fine. But I just need new barge boards, not to replace half the roof! Another company will cover the existing ones for £270 with UVPC sleeves, which I don't want. But neither do I want to pay £3000 for the other option.

I envy you being able to do such work. I wish I was able to. I could choose which prods I want and just get on with it.

Best luck for a smooth build.

Thud said...

philipa....some builders think that anything requiring work at altitude deserves a price to suit...you had a lucky escape.

Vinogirl said...

Roof looks great...princess OTW is doing a fine job.

haddock said...

will you paint the window frames to match the other woodwork ?....white draws attention to the windows rather than the overall picture.
It will keep Princess busy 'til she starts school.

Thud said...

Haddock...will paint windows in some eggshell off white,I'm not sure exactly which shade yet.I'm trying to figure out how to salvage the antique glass out of the windows that are being replaced as it's very fragile stuff.

Philipa said...

Thud, I'm sure we can all make guesses as to how to salvage antique glass but I wonder if you have thought of phoning any of the big houses that have been restored, such as Windsor Castle? They have a qualified restoration/preservation team that's usually very helpful. Even if it points you to where you can get such specialist info.

Just a thought.