[fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="yes" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="100px" padding_left="" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="https://www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dining-Room-043-Cw.jpeg" background_position="left center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="fixed" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_blend_mode="none" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="600px" padding_right="0px" padding_bottom="0px" padding_left="0px" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="0px" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="50px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="center" size="2" font_size="" animated_font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="100px" margin_bottom="0px" margin_top_mobile="40px" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="none" sep_color=""] Drama To The Last [/fusion_title][fusion_separator style_type="single solid" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="#8bc34a" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="20px" border_size="2" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="30px" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="no" min_height="" hover_type="none" link=""][fusion_text] The plastering is done. And the builders have departed. It took a further few days for the cement mixer and the inevitable heap of builders' rubbish to follow in their wake but now that they have we can safely say a milestone has been passed. The wine store is down a couple more bottles of Pinot as a result. Previously, on dining room news: Remember the window sills and seats? To avoid damaging the new wood with moisture from that final coat of plaster the builders had meticulously covered each piece with masking tape and sticky back plastic. It worked a treat. At least it did in keeping the water off the wood. The lightly adhesive plastic is actually the stuff that furniture removers use to protect carpets as they haul stuff in and out of your house. It's called 'Roll and Stroll'. I think that name will be indelibly imprinted on my brain for the rest of my life.. Because, once the plastic was removed, this was left behind. Is it a Roll? Is it a Stroll? It's a double 'l' without a doubt. A premium look it most certainly wasn't. The sun darkened the wood through the more transparent areas of the plastic. Underneath the solid black lettering of the 'Roll and Stroll' the wood retained its freshly sanded (lighter) colour. Fortunately it all came good after another going over with the sander. We decided to keep the natural knots and cavities in the wood. It all adds to the character. Some of the holes are deep enough to go right through.. wing and a prayer the Dyson nozzle will get down there. And then there was the dining room hearth. I'd been hankering after York stone but York is a very long way from Devon. What we found in the end was just as good and, better yet, local to the area. Reclaimed Delabole slate. It certainly wasn't the cheapest solution but I think it looks the part. It came in two pieces, one of which we had cut in half to place either side of the central slab. The cut edges are now concealed by the mortar around the sides of the hearth. It was the last job the builders did and clearly they were determined to go out with a flourish. Having had the floor of the fireplace templated in wood, the head man himself cut the slate to size and settled it into place. I was on tenterhooks to see how it was going to look but my way into the room was barred. It was to be a surprise. A grand reveal. Two builders stood by the door from the sitting room, a further one by the door to the hall. The path outside is considerably lower than the floor level inside making it difficult to peep in through the window. A gardener, of course, can always lay her hands on an upturned flower pot should the need arise. Sadly for me one of the door sentries spotted this ploy, darting across the room to block line of sight from the window as well. Suffice to say, when finally permitted access to my own dining room, I was delighted. So now it's over to us. We're still a long way off putting the furniture back and challenges remain. In this exceptionally damp autumn the walls are taking much longer to dry out than they were. Enter an old friend.. The dehumidifier is working so well it's hard to keep up with emptying the tank. Sharing a room with this thing is like a veritable Chinese water torture of drip, drip, drip into the water reservoir. A plop and a splosh every few seconds. Eventually (we hope!) the plaster will dry and we can start painting. The radiators stand ready to be installed. Light fittings and other electricals need to be connected up. The floor must be cleaned and sealed. This will be a mammoth task in itself, we've been walking through these rooms in working boots and wellies for the past few months. My job currently is cleaning the last of the lime plaster residue off the beams. The builders started this task but there are a few areas they missed. Along the way though they found an excellent tool for the job, a stiff wire brush small enough to fit into all the various nooks and crannies. 'Elf & Safety alert: best not to leave any of these lying casually around the bathroom when you're done.. Onwards! [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="yes" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="https://www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lounge-063-Cw.jpeg" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="fixed" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="100px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_image_id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" hover_type="none" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" border_radius_top_left="" border_radius_top_right="" border_radius_bottom_left="" border_radius_bottom_right="" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_vertical="" box_shadow_horizontal="" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" box_shadow_color="" box_shadow_style="" padding_top="0px" padding_right="0px" padding_bottom="0px" padding_left="0px" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="600px" bottom_margin="0px" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="50px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_title hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="center" size="2" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="100px" margin_bottom="0px" margin_top_mobile="100px" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" style_type="none" sep_color=""] The Turning Point?? [/fusion_title][fusion_separator style_type="single solid" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="#8bc34a" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="20px" border_size="2" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="30px" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="no" min_height="" hover_type="none" link=""][fusion_text] Previously, in the sitting room It did look quite tidy for a bit. In a cave-channelling sort of way. Assuming your preference is to live in a house with 'muck' smeared across the walls. I should point out that 'muck' is a technical term in artisan builder speak. It is a mixture of sand, lime putty and hair. Once upon a time the hair came from a horse. For a period roughly coinciding with the renovation of our last house the fashion had shifted to goat. Then yak. Not that there were many yaks wandering the byways of south Oxfordshire. And even if there had been you might anticipate an animal's consternation on spying an approaching builder armed with a pair of scissors. And the consequences which might then follow. By the time we tackled the first room here, my study, the wheel had turned again and it was back to horse. Possibly because, generally speaking, horses don't retaliate with large and pointy horns. So you can imagine my disappointment to find that even in this most sacred of olde English building practices, modern technology has been brought to bear. Fibre. Plastic. It really isn't the same is it? I can only hope it is recycled. But I digress. As usual. The old ceilings in the dining and sitting rooms were comprised of board covered with woodchip paper. Gaping holes in the ceiling created by first fix plumbing and electrical works we had covered with new board, temporarily, to protect the upstairs rooms from the worst of the sand blasting. All of this, old and new, has now come down. Unusually the builders turned up out of the blue to do this task, leaving us scrambling around laying protective sheets on the bedroom floor while dust and the remnants of the blasting sand rose up around our ears. The traditional method of constructing a ceiling was to use lath and plaster. The wooden laths are fixed to batons running alongside each beam. It took the builders several days to get them up there and it was seriously tempting just to leave it like this, I rather liked the effect. Given the quality of the wood in the laths it seemed almost criminal to smother them in plaster. But a perforated ceiling does not for easy cleaning make and in the end common sense prevailed. The plasterer's wheelbarrow. Not an everyday adornment in a dining room. Note the overturned beer crate (empty), used as a step. As it is applied the lime plaster is forced up through the gaps between the laths, the latter providing a 'key' to hold the plaster in place. This is the scratch coat. The surface is scored using a large metal comb producing, in its turn, the key for the next coat. It does now feel as if a corner has been turned. With the sand blasting of the beams and the plastering of the ceiling real progress is being made. The destructive phase should have reached its end and from this point on it is all about rebuilding. The question marks in the post title are staying though. Both of them. Anything approaching certainty seems like tempting fate. Alongside the fireplace in the sitting room there is an odd alcove which looks for all the world as though it used to be a door. The wall is certainly much thinner at this point prompting the builder to suggest that it needed more insulation. Between us we hatched a plan to turn an awkward space into something of a feature.. The laths will be plastered over and blended into the surrounding walls but the builder has found a lovely piece of cherry wood for the seat. And finally. Imagine my surprise yesterday morning to wander into the sitting room and come across this arresting sight.. Weird English country traditions no. 293 A charm to ward off evil spirits? Bird scarer? Wind chimes? The artisan builder's special celebration of a turning point? The possibilities are endless. Methinks the tape used to protect the beams has lost its stick! Onwards. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]