The office / guestroom - update visitor ready pg 3

[clothmama]

Work has started Day one (well after the mission empty the room the day before!) was getting all the measuring done, discussing what we are going to do and getting the electricity run. The plan was to put plasterboard on 3 walls - the 2 breezeblock ones and the very uneven one and then pointing the stones and leaving them showing on the front wall (where there is the niche):





Just to add this is obviously not the light switch we'll be using - it is just a temporary one while work is on




I worked out the order for all the materials while he was doing that.
Then yesterday we were discussing some details about which plasterboard before we headed out to the shops when we realised that we dont' want to use plasterboard! I'm not sure what we were thinking as we had already talked about it - I think it just seemed like a quick answer in a room where 2 of the walls look modern anyway. Anyway much discussion and working out and we are going to do a proper lime renderon the 3 walls and on the rough wall we are going to do a metre or so height of terracotta bricks to form a striaght line and do protect from what is a little damp behind on that wall, render that too and probably put a nice little oak shelf on the top. Cue the rest of yesterday sourcing the materials which I'll now need to get from 3 different places but it will be worth it, we'll end up with a fantastic finish that will last longer than our lifetime rather than need replacing in 10 years / looking tatty and it is a very healthy, natural way to treat walls (particualrly old stone ones) as they can breathe

Sounds fab, can't wait to see it

I really love what you are doing with this placemail and how you are trying to make it sustainable and in keeping with the original build.

So exciting love to follow the process

[clothmama]

Sounds fab, can't wait to see it

I really love what you are doing with this placemail and how you are trying to make it sustainable and in keeping with the original build.

So exciting love to follow the process

Thanks girls

Just realised I didn't say when I was explaining what we are doing what we are doing with doors - the opening that has the sun streaming in goes out onto a little hallway area with the double glass french doors leading out to the garden straight ahead and back into the house to the left - we have bought some lovely glazed hardwood doors (with little squares) so one of those will go there so that the light can pour in from both sides or the room. Where the current door leading outside is (the wooden thing with plastic stuck over it to keep us warm over the winter ) we are putting a large double opening window in (you can see the window bits leaning - they also have the squares for the traditional look but they are quite cool and come off for easy cleaning ). I need to paint them.

Right better go and get the trailer sorted so we are ready to go to the builders merchant when Rémy wakes up

[clothmama]

With all our time spent collecting some amazing cut stones and other stuff from a Freecycle ad and helping out with a move in exchange we haven't got on as much as we would have liked. Electricity has now been run behind the breezeblocks - kind of like sewing in concrete J said drilling holes and threading through the wire!



We have Josh helping out too as we are so pushed for time before his girlfriend arrives! Here is is starting to clean off the stones for the stone feature wall:



Yesterday we got half the insulation up (horrible job!) and the ceiling rails to hang the plasterboard off:


I really wish we'd done this when it got cold as our bedroom is right above this and I bet we would have been so much warmer! More of the same today and hopefully some plasterboard will go up!

[clothmama]

We have been working on the ceiling the last couple of weeks in between being unwell (again!!), J spraining his ankle and the visitors, needless to say the room wasn't done for the GF's arrival!

The corner a the front right (near the niche) will have a little hole in the plasterboard ceiling to access the electricity box behind there, J has built a little wooden frame for it so just need to make a little door for it too. We'll cut the hole for that once we are done with the (messy) rendering!

Earlier this week we sprayed down the stone walls 2 days in a row with a strrong mixture of bio washing powder as we read that 'enzymatic cleaner' is good for getting smells out of stone / plaster etc and we have had a bit of a funny smell. We didn't' know where to get it or even what it is but figured there are enzymes in washing powder so we did that and it worked amazingly - smells pretty much gone and the stones have come up cleaner without even getting to the cleaning / scrubbing stage so that has been a really successful try without resorting to any harsh cleaners!

And today was finally the day where the first coat of render went on the wall - it is called something really funny in French which tickled me all day (will update when I ask J as I have forgotten!) - gobbité
Sand and lime:

First load in the cement mixer:

Wetting down the walls:

My first section, had to take a picture as I was so pleased it was actually staying on the wall (it is supposed to look rough - this is just a very thin first layer to get a good bond for the later layers):

And the final result for the 2 breezeblock walls:


The very rough wall is having a terracotta wall built at the bottom and there is a lot of building up to do so we gave it a good start but needs a lot more work:

Me exhausted and covered in lime splatters at the end of the day!

WOW you have gotten far on the big project looking good- both the room and you

Is that J's hand in the picture on making the wall damp? We only ever see parts of him, so I think he must be keeping his privacy due to being an international man of mystery.

Anyway, back on point - that's coming along really well. Is this the first time you have done this sort of renovation?